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cool-fancier · 8 months

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The Brightest Part of My World

Synopsis: The air in the café crackled with tension as Bada confessed her love to Y/N. With trembling hands and bated breath, she awaited Bada's response, uncertain of what the future held.

A/n: nothing really , cold!reader , Bada not really liking idea of love. Also I’m sorry I haven’t posted in so long personally I lost motivation to write so this is a bit rushed and I am busy with other things going on in my life so yeah.

Word count:2.4K

Bada had always been a skeptic when it came to love. From a young age, she had seen the messy aftermath of failed relationships – her parents' bitter divorce, her friends' heartbreaks, and the countless stories of betrayal and disappointment that seemed to litter the landscape of romance.

Growing up in a world where love often felt like a fleeting illusion, Bada had learned to build walls around her heart, shielding herself from the pain and uncertainty that came with opening up to another person. She had convinced herself that love was nothing more than a fairytale, a fantasy that had no place in the real world.

As she grew older, Bada became even more cynical about the idea of love. She watched as her friends fell in and out of relationships, their hearts broken time and time again by partners who promised them the world but couldn't deliver. She saw the toll it took on them – the tears, the sleepless nights, the shattered dreams – and she vowed never to let herself fall into the same trap.

For Bada, love was a weakness, a vulnerability that left people exposed and defenseless. She prided herself on her independence, her ability to stand on her own two feet without needing anyone else to complete her. She was content with her life as it was – focused on her career, her friendships, and her own personal goals.

But then she met you.

— — — —

You entered Bada's life like a whirlwind, turning her carefully constructed world upside down with your infectious laughter and boundless optimism. From the moment you met, there was a spark between you – a connection that seemed to defy explanation.

At first, Bada tried to resist your charm, telling herself that she didn't have time for distractions or complications. But the more time she spent with you, the harder it became to ignore the feelings stirring within her – feelings she had long buried beneath layers of cynicism and self-doubt.

You were different from anyone Bada had ever met. You saw through her walls, peeling back the layers of her tough exterior to reveal the vulnerable heart beating beneath. You didn't judge her for her past or try to fix her broken pieces – you simply accepted her for who she was, flaws and all.

Slowly but surely, you began to chip away at the walls around Bada's heart, showing her that love didn't have to be painful or fleeting. You showed her the beauty in vulnerability, the power in opening up to another person and allowing them to see the real you.

But even as Bada's feelings for you grew stronger, she struggled to fully let go of her doubts and fears. She had spent so long believing that love was nothing more than a fairy tale that the idea of opening herself up to the possibility of being hurt again was terrifying.

— — — — — —

Despite her reservations, Bada couldn't deny the growing bond between you. She found herself confiding in her friends about her feelings for you, seeking their advice and guidance as she navigated the unfamiliar territory of love.

Her friends, who had watched Bada's transformation with a mixture of surprise and delight, were quick to offer their support. They saw how happy you made her, how you brought out a side of her that they had never seen before, and they couldn't help but root for your relationship to succeed.

Lusher, Bada's closest friend and confidante, was particularly vocal in her encouragement. She had known Bada for years, had seen her struggle with her doubts and insecurities, and she was thrilled to see her finally opening up to the possibility of love.

"You deserve to be happy, Bada," Lusher would say, her voice filled with warmth and sincerity. "And if Y/N makes you happy, then you owe it to yourself to give this a chance."

Tatter, who had also grown close to you over time, echoed Lusher's sentiments, offering their own words of encouragement and support. They had seen the way you looked at Bada, the love and adoration shining in your eyes, and they knew that you were someone special.

With her friends by her side, Bada began to let down her guard, allowing herself to embrace the love that had blossomed between you. She knew that the road ahead wouldn't be easy – that there would be obstacles and challenges to overcome – but with you by her side, she felt like she could face anything.

And as she looked into your eyes, feeling the warmth of your hand in hers, she knew that she had finally found something worth believing in – something worth fighting for.

— — — —

Bada sat at a small café, nursing her cup of coffee as she waited for Jennie to arrive. She glanced at her phone, checking the time for the umpteenth time, feeling a twinge of impatience. Lusher was notorious for being fashionably late, but today, Bada was eager to share something with her friend.

Finally, she spotted Lusher's familiar figure approaching the café, her bright smile lighting up the room as she waved in greeting. Bada couldn't help but return the smile, feeling a flutter of anticipation in her chest.

"Sorry I'm late, Bada," Lusher said as she slid into the seat across from Bada. "Traffic was a nightmare."

Bada waved off the apology with a laugh. "No worries. I'm just glad you're here."

Lusher raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "So, what's this big news you wanted to share with me?"

Bada took a deep breath, steeling herself for the conversation to come. She had rehearsed her words a thousand times in her head, but now that the moment was here, she found herself struggling to find the right ones.

"It's about Y/N," she began, her voice quiet but tinged with excitement.

Lusher's eyes lit up with interest. "Y/N? What about her?"

Bada hesitated for a moment, trying to find the best way to articulate her feelings. "I...I think I might like her," she admitted, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Lusher's smile widened, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Oh, Bada! That's wonderful news!"

Bada felt a wave of relief wash over her at Lusher's enthusiastic response. She had been worried that her friend might judge her for her newfound feelings, but Lusher's unwavering support was a welcome reassurance.

"But...what about all that stuff you've said about love being a myth?" Lusher asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Bada sighed, feeling a pang of guilt at the memory of her past skepticism. "I know I've said some pretty cynical things in the past, but...with Y/N, it's different. She makes me feel...happy, I guess. And I just can't shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, love isn't as impossible as I once thought."

Lusher reached across the table, squeezing Bada's hand in a gesture of solidarity. "I'm so happy for you, Bada. You deserve all the love and happiness in the world."

Bada smiled, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders at Lusher's words. She knew that she still had a long way to go in overcoming her fears and insecurities, but with Lusher's support, she felt like she could face whatever the future held.

— — — — —

Later that evening, Bada found herself curled up on the couch with Lusher and Tatter, sharing a bottle of wine and reminiscing about old times. As the conversation turned to relationships, Bada hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to broach the topic of her feelings for you.

"So, have you heard from Y/N lately?" Tatter asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.

Bada felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment at the mention of your name. "Um, yeah...actually, there's something I wanted to tell you guys about Y/N."

Tatter perked up with interest, her eyes bright with curiosity. "Ooh, spill the tea, Bada. What's going on with you and Y/N?"

Bada took a deep breath, summoning her courage as she prepared to share her news with her friends. "Well, the thing is...I think I might actually like her.

There was a beat of stunned silence as Tatter processed Bada's words. Then, to Bada's surprise, she broke into wide grins, their faces alight with excitement.

"That's amazing, Bada!" Tatter exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I always knew there was something special between you and Y/N."

Lusher nodded enthusiastically, her eyes shining with pride. "Yeah, you two are like, perfect for each other. I'm so happy for you!"

Bada felt her heart swell with gratitude at her friends' unwavering support. She had been worried about how they would react to her newfound feelings, but their genuine happiness for her was a welcome reassurance.

"Thanks, guys," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "I really appreciate your support. I know I've been...skeptical about love in the past, but with Y/N, it just feels different. She just makes me want to believe that maybe, just maybe, love isn't as impossible as I once thought."

Tatter reached over, pulling Bada into a tight hug. "We're here for you, Bada. Whatever happens, we've got your back."

Bada smiled, feeling a warmth spread through her chest at her friends' words. She knew that she still had a long way to go in overcoming her doubts and fears, but with Lusher and Tatter by her side, she felt like she could face whatever the future held.

And as she thought of you, the person who had turned her world upside down in the best possible way, she felt a surge of hope and excitement for the journey that lay ahead.

— — — — —

The air in the small café was heavy with the scent of freshly brewed coffee and the soft hum of conversation. It was a cozy little spot tucked away in a corner of the bustling city, a place where people came to escape the chaos of the outside world, if only for a moment.

At a table near the window sat two women, their faces illuminated by the warm glow of the afternoon sun. One of them, Bada, traced patterns on the surface of her coffee cup, her thoughts a whirlwind of uncertainty and longing. Beside her sat Y/N, her best friend and confidante, a mysterious aura surrounding her like a veil.

Bada had known Y/N for a couple of years, ever since you were young girls growing up in the same neighborhood. You had been inseparable since then, sharing secrets, dreams, and countless adventures. But lately, something had shifted between you two, an unspoken tension that hung in the air like a storm cloud on the horizon.

You were a complex soul, your emotions a tangled web that Bada had long yearned to unravel. You were guarded and aloof, your walls so high that even Bada sometimes struggled to breach them. But despite your enigmatic exterior, there was a vulnerability in you that called out to Bada, a softness that lay hidden beneath the surface.

As you both sat in silence, the weight of unspoken words hung heavy between you. Bada longed to reach out, to break through the walls that separated them and lay her heart bare before you. But fear held her back, fear of rejection, fear of ruining the delicate balance they had managed to maintain for so long.

But today was different. Today, Bada had made up her mind to finally confront her feelings, to lay everything on the line and let the chips fall where they may. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come, and turned to face you, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Y/N," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "There's something I need to tell you."

You lifted her gaze, your eyes meeting Bada's with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine. "What is it?" You asked, your voice soft but filled with an underlying tension.

Bada took another deep breath, her hands trembling slightly as she reached out to grasp your hand in her own. "I love you," she whispered, the words hanging in the air between you both like a fragile thread.

For a moment, there was silence. Bada held her breath, waiting for your response, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew there was a strong chance that you wouldn't feel the same way, that you might even reject her outright. But she had to tell her anyway. She couldn't keep hiding her feelings, couldn't keep holding herself back from expressing what was in her heart.

Your entire body seemed to go statue still, your breaths shallow and unsteady. Bada lifted her head, searching your eyes for any sign of what you were thinking, but they were dark and unreadable, like a tumultuous storm brewing just beneath the surface.

"Bada..." your voice was raw, filled with emotion. "I don't deserve your love."

Bada's heart clenched at the words, a surge of pain shooting through her chest. She squeezed your hand tighter, refusing to let go. "You deserve it more than anyone," she said, her voice trembling with emotion. "I'm not expecting you to say it back right now. But I wanted you to know."

Your chest rose and fell with ragged breaths as you struggled to find the right words. You reached up, your hand curling around the back of Bada's neck, and pressed your forehead to hers. "The day I met you," you said, your voice barely above a whisper. "Was the luckiest day of my life. You've always been the brightest part of my world, Lovely. And you always will be."

Tears pricked at the corners of Bada's eyes as she listened to your words, the depth of emotion in them cutting through her like a knife. "You don't strike me as a woman who believes in luck," Bada said softly, her voice catching in her throat.

You let out a soft chuckle, the sound a balm to Bada's soul. "I believe in everything when it comes to you," you confessed, your voice filled with tenderness.

Including love.

In that moment, a sense of relief washed over Bada, a weight lifting from her shoulders. Leaning in, she pressed her lips to yours in a gentle kiss, a silent promise of the love that had blossomed between you two.

As you pulled away, surrounded by the warmth of their shared affection, Bada knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, you and her would face them together. Hand in hand, your love would light the way through even the darkest of storms.

#bada lee x reader #swf2 #swf2 x reader #bada lee #street woman fighter 2 #bebe #bada lee fanfic #bada lee x oc #bada lee x y/n #bada lee imagine #bada #bada x reader #bada fanfic #bada lee imagines

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karniss-bg3 · 5 months

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Salute, Larian Studios

Heya folks! It’s been a while, I hope everyone is doing well. I’m breaking my hiatus to discuss the recent announcement made by Larian Studios on their steam development blog. I will add the link here for those who wish to read the blog in its entirety but be warned, there are patch seven spoilers within. I wish to focus on a particular section in the final three paragraphs of the document, which reads as follows:

“Being given the chance to develop a game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe has been a dream come true for all of us. But as Swen recently confirmed, we won't be introducing any major new narrative content to the story of Baldur's Gate 3 or its origin characters and companions, nor will we be making expansions or Baldur’s Gate 4. As an independent studio since 1996, we value the freedom to follow our creativity wherever it leads. In this case, after six years in the Forgotten Realms and much discussion and rumination, we’ve decided to seize this opportunity to develop our own IPs. We’re currently working on two new projects and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future has in store. It’s still early days - we’ll tell you more about those later down the line. But know that even as our focus turns to these new games, the sensibilities that brought you Baldur’s Gate 3 are alive and well here at the Larian castle. We’re fueled by the very same fire in our bellies, one that drives us to create immersive experiences shaped by your choices, and we can’t wait for you to join us on this next adventure.”

I will admit, when I first read this I felt a tinge of disappointment. As someone who had a lot of hope in seeing some stories continued, Kar’niss especially, this feels like the once open door is now sealed shut permanently. To be entirely fair, I always looked at an expanded Kar’niss story with skeptical optimism; hope for the best but expect the worst. After all, Kar’niss was designed as a throw away plot device that had no real bearing on the over-all narrative. Most of what has been derived of the character is entirely fan driven and not based on anything confirmed by Larian as a whole. Furthermore, there were many fan favorites that had a larger base than our dear drider and chances are even if Larian did decide to do an expansion, Kar’niss still wouldn’t make the cut.

With that said, I respect Larian in their choice. To expand on other characters would cost a lot of money and time. To juggle that alongside making new games would be unrealistic, and I understand their point of view completely. We also don’t know what is going on behind the scenes which could’ve influenced their choices all the more. Over all this situation mirrors the old saying, “Don’t cry because it’s over, be happy that it happened.” I am happy, and grateful. Without Baldur’s Gate 3 this blog wouldn’t exist. All of the amazing interactions I’ve had over several months would’ve never occurred, nor would I have found the courage to publicly publish stories to the internet. While I don’t consider myself an awful writer, I never believed my work was good enough for those outside of my personal circle. To say that my confidence has blossomed over the last few months is an understatement, and I owe that to the fantastic support of those in the fandom as well as those close to me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

With Larian closing up the BG3 shop after the next few patches the question becomes, what’s next? For me, I don’t know. Sadly I’ve been swamped lately and it’s not destined to slow down until the middle of May. By then I hope to have a sufficient breather so I can return to projects I’ve left on the back burner in the interim. The Kar’niss blog will remain in place along with all of the archived stories, theories, and miscellaneous posts that are present. I still have a few writing requests that have waited a lot longer than I anticipated, so forgive me for the delay. I may also make a new blog that is dedicated solely to writing and other fandoms of interest. When the time comes I’ll post it here and folks can follow it if they wish but I’ll understand if not. Regardless of what the future holds, I am very stoked with the experiences I’ve had within the Baldur’s Gate 3 fandom. I’m a painfully shy individual and I am not a spotlight seeker by any stretch of the imagination. This section of the internet allowed me to expand my horizons a bit proving that you can indeed teach an old writer new tricks.

I look forward to seeing what is in store for Larian Studios. So long as they stick to their passion for making good games and treating their customers like people instead of money cows to be milked, then I will support every game release that comes in the future. While I’m sad that the many questions I had about Kar’niss will go unanswered, at least the drider will live on through the stories, art and other creative works made by his fans. In that way he is eternal, as are all of the other characters we’ve grown to love over this journey.

I hope to return on a more regular basis soon. Until then drider army, take care of yourselves and thank you for your continued support.

#baldur's gate 3 #kar'niss #bg3 #karniss #drider #baldurs gate 3 #larian studios #steam #essay #writing #I've missed posting here #the chaos on my end should be over soon #I hope

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monathedefiant · 4 months

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ricky september is racist but there's hope for him. . .

right?

ricky might not be racist in the same way as lindy and her little friends. but he's grown up in the same white supremacist culture as everyone else. there's nothing in the culture he's exposed to that's challenged the racist ideologies that he's grown up with as just a part of life. he's not racist on purpose, That's Just How Things Are and that makes his brand of racism just as bad if not worse in some ways.

it's the kind that sneaks up on bipoc when we feel safe and when we've let our guards down. a moment that happens so quickly that we can almost tell ourselves we're being ridiculous. . . until it happens again, and again, and again. like when the doctor tries to explain the codes to ricky who then cuts him off to assert his own knowledge while giving a skeptical up and down look. as if he's perturbed that someone that looks like the doctor would assume they have knowledge he doesn't.

HOWEVER!!!

ricky's reaction could also come from feeling underestimated. he's a pretty boy pop star who's brand is bright, flashy, and geared toward teenagers. he's probably used to people assuming he's dumb because of his outward appearance, despite the fact that he goes out of his way to learn and take in knowledge.

so, part of ricky's reaction is "how dare someone who looks Like That speak to me That Way" and the other part is "i may be pretty and popular but i know things and don't need to be coddled about something so simple".

i say this because ricky's interactions with the doctor (for the most part) don't feel that different than his interactions with ruby. he gives them both the same boyish grin he gives lindy when they first meet. he doesn't do a double-take at the doctor's presence. ricky doesn't make the doctor feel out of place in conversation or question the doctor's knowledge. to a certain point, he doesn't even seem rejecting of the information the doctor's giving him. more just overwhelmed and pretending not to be. hence the hand by the ear thing which reads more as self-soothing that anything else.

that being said, i can't read that skeptical up and down look as anything but a manifestation of the passive racism he's unknowingly learned to live by all his life. that look says "who do you think you are" in a way it doesn't toward ruby and i can't ignore that.

just as important, though, is ricky's potential to go against the grain of what's been ingrained in him. the world he lives in has been whitewashed to hell and back. the history books favor the "victors" (read: oppressors) over the Ugly Truth. i doubt it describes the Great Abrogation as anything but a benevolent necessity (when it was clearly an act of colonialism). we don't see anyone with anything close to radical ideologies, and they definitely aren't there to share those thoughts with any of the named characters. not to say they don't exist (and isn't that the perfect nugget for fic based off this episode??) just that they get no air time. even if ricky feels that something is off in this society, where would he learn the type of truth that could truly radicalize him?

while we don't get ricky the anti-racist, i still see potential in him. he frequently takes breaks from social media to touch grass and read books. he's open to new experiences even when they're scary or difficult. we see how lindy struggles that first time not depending on the dot and bubble even just walking around. let alone seeking out information. ricky put himself through that multiple times (ON PURPOSE!!) to learn how to walk and to gain an appreciation for reading.

which tells us he's willing to learn ideas that challenge the status quo. he's also willing to share what he learns with others. if given half the chance, ricky might've been just as bad as the rest. maybe i've got my head in the clouds and am refusing to face the Very Clear Facts.

but the man is dead and we'll never known for sure. so, i'm choosing optimism because like why tf not ya know. plus, i just like the idea that even someone steeped in a shitty society can still unlearn the bad and do better. i do after all live in the u.s. and support palestine so *shrug* i'd like to think ricky's no more damned by being born into a White Supremacist Wonderland than i am from living in a Nationalist Nightmare Zone.

#ricky september #doctor who spoilers #doctor who #the fifteenth doctor #racism

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deancasbigbang · 1 year

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Title: Then Till Now

Author: silver_penny

Artist: spiffyflypie

Rating: Teen

Pairings: Dean/Cas, Sam/Eileen, Dean & Sam, Dean & Charlie, Cas & Anna, Cas & Claire

Length: 20000

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Tags: 17776 AU, human/nonhuman relationship, alien invasion, happy ending, dialogue-heavy, rocketry

Posting Date: November 1, 2023

Summary: It's the year 17776, and Dean Winchester is used to the peace. Humanity has stabilized the climate, vanquished world hunger, and achieved equitable global co-operation. Nanobots swoop down to heal every little paper cut, and if no one is born anymore, well, no one dies either. When the Cassini-Huygens space probe crashes into his life – newly conscious, bluntly sarcastic, and deeply skeptical of humanity's late triumph – it's the most interesting thing to have happened to Dean in millennia. But out in deep space, something truly interesting is stirring...

Excerpt: Bobby’s wrong about the house – it’s not too big, not for Sioux Falls and especially not for their family – but when he opens the door and the creak echoes out into a cavernous empty space, it kind of feels that way. Dean ends up in the Deancave, curling up in the best seat and summoning up something old and a little mindless to watch. Hello. It’s the first thing he’s heard in hours, and for a moment Dean doesn’t even recognize it as another person. But it lingers, the way real environmental sounds do. Dean mutes the TV. “Hello?” Yes. Dean bites his lip. “Hello, yeah. You okay?” I’m not sure. “Alright. What’s up? Can I help?” I am unsure if that is something you are capable of doing. Dean blinks. “Okay. You just soliciting or something? Sorry, man, not interested.” I am not...soliciting. “Okay?” I have no interest in solicitation. “So any reason you decided to barge into my evening, then? If you don’t need anything, you don’t want anything...” I am talking to you on the advice of my brother. “Who’s your brother?” Pioneer G. Dean blinks again and then slowly sets his remote control back down. “The – the space probe? Pioneer G?” He likes to be called Gabriel. Of course he does. “You’re talking to me from space?” There’s a very long pause. Yes. “Huh.” I don’t know where else I would be talking from. “Yeah,” Dean says, “of course not.” You are also talking to me from space. “From Earth,” Dean says absently. “Not quite the same thing.” There had been, of course, probes on the news. How humanity built something that, millennia later, could wake up like that, for lack of a better term...that was still a mystery. The scientists were all over it, of course, but maybe a little less urgently than they might have been, once upon a time. And now there was a spacecraft interrupting his show. Dean clears his throat. “So, um, any reason your brother thought I would be the best person for this conversation?” He didn’t. Now Dean squints at the ceiling. “You know, you’re not doing a great job answering my questions.” There’s a beat. Two beats. My apologies. Gabriel requested that I “go find one of those humans to chat with if you want to talk so much.” You were in an optimal position. “I am, huh?” Yes. “You mean, like...spatially? Cosmically?” Your position on Earth is optimal for transmission at the current moment. Also I can see your television. Huh. “So who are you, then?” Dean asks. He kicks up his feet a bit and studies the ceiling, imagining the moon and stars that might show behind it, once the sun goes down. He racks his brains, but even back when the space program was at its height, it didn’t make top thousand on the Winchester priority list. “Hubble? Sputnik?” Sam would know more. Cassini-Huygens. Dean catches his breath.

DCBB 2023 Posting Schedule

#dcbb 2023 #fic preview #2023 promo #deancas #destiel

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seizethedeansofproduction · 2 years

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Everything everywhere all at once winning best picture and all the other awards makes me very emotional. From a representational standpoint yes. But I guess also from a filmmaker standpoint.

(I KNOW THIS IS LONG BUT IF YOU COULD READ THIS, THAT WOULD MEAN THE WORLD)

I’ve been making films for 10 or so years and for many years never saw much outward success. I would put my all into a project, down to hand making the sets, costumes, editing it myself (etc), but when I would submit to festivals for kid filmmakers, I would be left heartbroken sitting in the theater knowing that my film wasn’t good enough. That is had been too weird, not shot on a good enough quality camera, and that it simply wasn’t the “type of film” that could win awards.

Then enter this film. It marched to the beat of its own drum, it told a story that was authentic and sincere, it told a story about a Chinese immigrant and her family (A STORY WHICH RARELY GETS TOLD TO A MASS AUDIENCE IN MAINSTREAM HOLLYWOOD), it told a story about a queer woman struggling with family issues and depression and suicide, it gave no fucks, it gave them all. It was goofy. It was chaotic. It was heart wrenching. It was everything.

I’m a filmmaker, but I’m also sometimes a cynic. At times I am worried about the future of creative fields I hope to enter given AI threatening real artists, the increasing difficulty to break into Hollywood with no connections, and of course a litany of reboots, sequels, and franchises (not to say that this is bad, but there’s a tiny part of me that fears that this is all it will end up being. At least in terms of studio funding). I worry that while I may make films now, there may not be a place for me one day.

Seeing this film changed that. EEAAO was so boldly itself that it relit my creative spark to make work that would do the same.

And of course the awards.

If you had told me a couple years ago that a film about rocks and hotdog fingers would win best picture, I would have been confused then probably laughed. Even as the award season beast was beginning to awaken from it’s year long slumber, I remained skeptical that this film would get awards, much less hundreds of them. Yet it destroyed the competition and with every win and every speech, my heart got a bit more full and damn it, I believed that maybe there was a chance this film could take the title.

Last Sunday, I wasn’t able to watch the oscars. I had just gotten over being sick and needed the sleep. The next morning I woke up and by some stroke of fate the people on the radio were talking about the Oscars, I held my breath, and I heard it. Best Picture Winner Everything Everywhere All At Once. I later watched the acceptance speeches that day and wept. This meant the world to me now but also to the me years ago who sat in those theaters with a broken heart thinking that their movies weren't good enough.

Now of course you can still be a cynic (or a realist who knows?) and assume that this changes nothing. No needle was moved. And next year the films getting awarded and produced with tons of eyes on them will be the next Green Book or whatever. But if this movie’s taught me anything, its that feeling optimism is ok.

And yeah given all it's wins, people are probably now gonna rag about it and say it's overrated. They can have their opinions, but I don't care. Like what you want to like, life's too short.

I’m gonna keep on making movies, the kind of movies I want to make not what I try to make to win awards or impress other people. I’m gonna try to be a kinder person. I’m going try to keep on telling stories of queer people, of found families, of hope, of comedy, and of whatever else I can think of. I’m gonna hope that people continue to create just as they always do and that this time they get the attention, platform, and opportunities that they deserve instead of it going to those who don’t.

Thank you Michelle Yeoh. Thank you Stephanie Hsu. Thank you Ke Huy Quan. Thank you Jamie Lee Curtis. Thank you James Hong. Thank you Paul Rogers. Thank you Jonathan Wang. Thank You Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. Thank You Everything Everywhere All At Once.

You changed my life and countless others. Thank you thank you thank you.

#will anyone read this full thing? probably not but im glad i got to say it #sorry if this is too sentimental #i can talk for hours on this film but I think I'll just limit it to this #but also every single speech of ke huy quan's makes me cry. he deserves everything he is getting now. he is a treasure #movies do have the power to change lives ig :)#movies #oscars #academy awards #everything everywhere all at once #eeaao #michelle yeoh #stephanie hsu #jamie lee curtis #ke huy quan

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eiuuei · 5 months

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I kinda have no other place to share this, so allow me to rant, and feel free to respond; either to this or w stories of your own maybe.

I just started going to therapy again after years of taking a break. I used to struggle with many things in the past, which I learned a great deal on how to cope with.

Now I am doing way better in life, I am responsible when it comes to my happiness and health. Which I think is a grand accomplishment.

But there are parts of me that no matter how much I apply these coping mechanisms to, they don’t get better. I lost my ability to trust people, I cannot form relationships like I used to be able to; romantic or platonic. I always feel like I am decieving people when they like me, and that once they discover who I truly am that I will lose it all.

So I started theraphy again, for those reasons, and I felt as though my therapist tried to instigate and reopen the old wounds again in order to be convinced that I had them. The ones I already put a lot of effort in learning how to mend.

It is so frustrating for your effort and pain to be questioned because you are in a better place now.

She didn’t even try to understand that I was struggling with relationships because I have been very risk avoidant: didnt go on dates, didn’t develop expectations of people so that I would never took it personally when they forgot about me.

When she said: “what are the examples of why you feel that way?” I didn’t have a lot of recent examples, because I removed myself from those kind of close relationships. And when she asked “why is it important for you?” I could calmly respond because I have been meditating on it for a long time, and had convinced myself to be momentarily careless about them so I could enjoy my life more.

She was skeptical of my long term circumstances and uninterested in helping me unpack them. I think because I was doing well. And without any of the evidence I could provide that could convince her, she told me to seek other avenues to solve this.

I also, couldn’t convince her that I already did, and that they told me to seek psychological help.

I wish I could believe that something wasn’t intrinsically wrong with me, but putting in so much effort in to find help, and being turned away from every door I knock on is really making it hard to hold onto my hard earned optimism.

We haven’t been seeing each other for that long with my therapist. But every time we meet again, for a week I struggle to find my footing again. I have been spiraling pretty bad. And none of this has been helpful for any breakthrough or anything.

I think I am going to stop seeing her.

I don’t know what to next. I think I will try to pick the pieces of my previous better-mood and coping mechanisms. But first, I need to figure out, or give myself time to get out of spiraling.

I felt like there’s no other place I can share this on, since a lot of real life friends follow me on everywhere else. I apologize for writing so much. I wanted to talk about it.

#personal rant #therapy #sorry for the rant #mental health

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healthtacher · 5 months

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Unleashing My Inner Entrepreneur: A Review of Billionaire Brain Wave

For years, I'd dreamt of running my own successful business. I devoured self-help books and podcasts, but the information often felt scattered or overly theoretical. Then, I stumbled upon Billionaire Brain Wave, a digital program promising to unlock the mindset of an eight-figure earner. Skeptical at first, I decided to give it a go, and let me tell you, it's been a game-changer.

Actionable Strategies, Not Empty Promises

Unlike many self-improvement resources, Billionaire Brain Wave isn't filled with empty platitudes. The core of the program is a video sales letter (VSL) presented by a seasoned eight-figure marketer. This individual's proven track record immediately instilled confidence in the program's methods. The VSL delves into practical, actionable strategies I could implement right away. From crafting a compelling sales funnel to mastering productivity techniques, the program provided a clear roadmap to success.

Sharpening My Mental Edge

Billionaire Brain Wave goes beyond just business tactics. It dives deep into the psychology of success. The program explores mind optimization techniques that have helped me develop laser focus and unwavering determination. Learning how to manage my limiting beliefs and cultivate a growth mindset has been particularly empowering. These mental tools have not only bolstered my entrepreneurial spirit but have also spilled over into other aspects of my life.

A Wealth of Bonus Content

The core VSL is just the tip of the iceberg. Billionaire Brain Wave comes packed with valuable bonus content. I received in-depth guides that provided a deeper understanding of key concepts. The additional video modules offered advanced strategies for specific business challenges. These extras felt like getting an entire library of resources at my fingertips, all designed to fuel my entrepreneurial journey.

Results That Speak for Themselves

Since starting Billionaire Brain Wave, I've noticed a significant shift in my approach to business. I'm no longer overwhelmed by the "what-ifs" but am laser-focused on taking action. I've implemented several of the program's marketing strategies, and I'm already seeing a positive impact on my fledgling business. More importantly, I feel equipped with the mindset and tools to navigate the inevitable challenges that come with entrepreneurship.

If you're serious about achieving financial success and building a thriving business, Billionaire Brain Wave is an investment worth considering. It's not a magic bullet, but it provides a clear roadmap, actionable strategies, and the mental fortitude needed to turn your dreams into reality.

#Billionaire Brain Wave #Wealth #6th Sense #Mind Grow up #Mind Power #Brain Capacity Increase #Brain Power #Brain Grow up #Brain Waves #Health Guru #Health Teacher #Health Care #Health is Wealth

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pollstuck · 1 year

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Alright these fuckers are Done and Named. And while i'm sure they all have meaningful introductions and an intricate web of relationship dynamics that we could spend hours poring over. I do not have that kind of time.

Everyone skips to act 5 act 1? We're Skipping act 5 act 1.

Uno reverse card bitch.

-- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] --

EB: hey flighty! TT: Hi. EB: how are you doing? i don't even remember the last time we talked. EB: i have been so busy. EB: and it looks like you have been too. EB: i mean, hopy shit! EB: my house is HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE! TT: Actually, building up your house has been one of the more trivial ways I've passed the time. TT: Great swaths of the structure may be copied and pasted with little architectural consideration. TT: I've only bothered to do so while in contemplation. TT: It's relaxing. EB: oh. EB: well, it must have cost a fortune! TT: We have a lot of grist. EB: how much? TT: I don't recall any hard figures off hand. TT: Last I checked, more than a million units of several different types. TT: Torrented between the three of us. TT: After I unlocked the disc from your registry and deployed it. TT: I convinced your nanna to install it on your computer. TT: Before an imp threw it out the window, that is. EB: you got her to do that? but she's an old lady! also, a ghost. TT: My methods of persuasion have been improving. EB: also! EB: what's up with the alchemiter? EB: it looks weird. TT: Upgrades. EB: did you get nanna to do that too? TT: No, your consorts were utilized for that. EB: the salamanders?? TT: Yes. They seem eager to receive simple instruction. TT: I'm guessing they find their way back to your house to allow the client player to remain productive while the server player is away. EB: yeah… EB: uh… EB: what have you been doing this whole time??? TT: Why don't you tell me what you've been up to first? TT: I've been curious, but too preoccupied to inquire. EB: well, EB: i have been talking to a lot of trolls, for one thing. EB: they sure are a talkative bunch! TT: I've noticed. EB: and then i cloned some slime babies in the veil. TT: Did you? EB: yes. um… EB: ok, long story short is, farmstink is my slime clone sister, and insufferable is your slime clone brother, and we were all born today! TT: Yes. EB: yes? TT: I figured that out. EB: oh. TT: Anything else? EB: umm… EB: then i fell asleep, and woke up on the battlefield. EB: now stop being so spookily mysterious and tell me what you've been doing! TT: Investigating, mostly. EB: investigating what? TT: Everything there is to investigate. TT: Information hidden in the lore of our lands, concealed in ruins and riddles. TT: I'm looking for whatever there is to discover about the game, and more importantly, whatever exceeds its boundaries. TT: The cloaked traces of myth beyond its scope. EB: its scope? EB: oh, flighty, did you know that we are supposed to be creating a universe with this game? TT: Yes. EB: i think that's pretty neat! TT: It is, in principle. TT: But it won't happen. EB: so you believe the trolls then? TT: It's not a matter of believing them. TT: The writing is on the wall. Literally. EB: it is? TT: This session was never meant to bear fruit. TT: It's barren, so to speak. EB: that's a bit of a bummer! EB: i am still skeptical about that, though. TT: That's why you're our leader, Zoosmell. EB: huh? TT: Optimism through stalwart skepticism is a defect not everyone is lucky enough to be cursed with. EB: that's stupid. EB: i'm not your leader, i am your FRIEND, there is a BIG difference! TT: Statements like that are also why you're our leader. EB: pff. EB: laaaaaaaame. TT: Yes, kind of. EB: so, if you're sure that we are going to fail… EB: what is the point of everything we're doing? TT: Simple. TT: The objective is no longer to win. EB: um… EB: i mean, what are we actually shooting for here? TT: To do as much damage to the game as possible. TT: To rip its stitches and pry answers from the seams. TT: We will snatch purpose from the jaws of futility. TT: Are you ready to wreak some havoc, Zoosmell? EB: i suddenly don't understand anything.

-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] --

GA: Okay This Will Probably Strike You As An Odd Moment For Me To Mention This GA: But Actually GA: There Are Not Many Moments Ive Observed On Your Timeline Which Wouldnt Qualify As Odd GA: And Somehow GA: Your Idle Moments Seem To Invite Interruption The Least GA: And This Is A Difficult Topic For Me To Broach GA: For Reasons That You Probably Wont Understand TT: You're rambling again, Queer. GA: Okay Sorry GA: Ive Just Been Meaning To Say GA: That I Read Your Instructional Guide

TT: Oh? GA: Yeah TT: Sorry to hear you were subjected to that. GA: Why TT: It was a little melodramatic in retrospect. Heavy-handed. TT: Have you ever written a message you regretted instantly upon sending? GA: Lately GA: Almost Perpetually TT: That line included? GA: Wow Yeah Kind Of GA: Also GA: That One TT: I'm sure you must regard the walkthrough as pretty quaint. GA: Actually GA: At The Time Of Reading It Lent Some Useful Insight GA: Into The Nature Of The Game I Hadnt Yet Considered TT: At the time? TT: When exactly did you read it? GA: Uh GA: By The Way GA: What Are You Doing Here GA: Is This Part Of Your Ongoing Investigation

TT: Yes. GA: Are These Tactics Really Necessary TT: It's faster this way. TT: If there's one thing you and your friends regularly remind us, it's that time is not on our side. GA: I Know GA: But I Thought Our Methods Earlier Were Effective TT: My current strategy is comprehensive. TT: Your notes have been helpful, but the facts you've supplied are being cross-referenced with understandings I already have, and data gathered by the sort of means presently on display. GA: But These Means Presently On Display GA: Are Making Me A Little Nervous GA: I Think Its Kind Of A Reckless Use Of GA: Influence By The Gods From The Furthest Ring GA: The Communion You Seem To Have Developed With Them I Find Kind Of Troubling TT: I don't think they are as nefarious as you might imagine. TT: Many of them seem to be intent on helping us. GA: How Exactly Do You Know That TT: From their whispers in my dreams. GA: How Much Time Have You Really Spent Sleeping GA: Since You Began Playing TT: Not much. TT: But quite a lot in a failed timeline. TT: And now and then, memories surface from that alternate reality. TT: They spoke to me in my sleep and told me much of what I needed to know. TT: Including what to do to reset our timeline and create the present reality. GA: That Makes Me No Less Nervous TT: I have assurances I'm on the right track. TT: Surely you must have spoken to the gods by now. TT: What did they tell you to make you so suspicious? GA: Actually GA: I Havent GA: I Have Never Visited Derse Or Traveled Beyond The Veil GA: Prospits Moon Was My Home TT: It was? GA: Yes TT: This surprises me. GA: Why TT: … TT: Good question. GA: Skaia Was Always The Foil For My Curiosity GA: But It Only Showed Me What I Needed To See GA: It Very Much Had The Presence Of Something Sentient GA: And GA: Benevolent GA: But Silent GA: Not Something To Converse With Or Be Instructed By GA: I Always Trusted It GA: And I Dont Trust Gods That Would Eschew Its Light TT: You didn't actually answer my question. TT: When was it exactly that you read my walkthrough?

GA: Oh GA: A While Ago GA: Why Dont You Put The Turtle Ruins Down GA: And Return To Your House GA: I Have Sketched Some New Outfits For You That I Think Are Nice GA: We Could Try To Make Them GA: It Will Be Fun TT: You seem to have taken quite an interest in my wardrobe decisions. TT: Are all trolls so fashion-minded? GA: Urrgh No GA: Sadly TT: Maybe later. GA: What If There Isnt A Later TT: Well, we already know there won't be. TT: That's nothing new. GA: I Mean GA: There Not Being A Later Might Happen Sooner Than You Think TT: Wow, what? GA: I Mean GA: For You Specifically GA: Okay GA: This Was Something Else I Wanted To Say GA: Or Ask About GA: But Im Afraid My Asking Might Play A Role In The Outcome GA: And I Dont Know If I Want That

TT: The outcome will happen one way or another. TT: Whether you have something to do with it or not. TT: You might as well ask me. GA: Um TT: I have a question for you too. TT: Let's swap ignorance, ok? GA: Alright GA: I Cant See You In The Future GA: The Viewport Wont Let Me After A Certain Point GA: Its Black GA: But Only For You GA: Not The Others TT: When? GA: Several Hours From Now GA: Do You Know Why This Could Be TT: I have no idea. TT: I can't see the future. TT: But I promise that if I have a hand in it, it won't be because you told me. TT: Does that make you feel better? GA: Sort Of GA: But It Remains Ominous TT: Is that why you want to dissuade me from my admittedly zealous investigation to go play dress-up again? TT: Because our time here is almost up? GA: Also Sort Of TT: That's thoughtful of you. GA: What Was Your Question GA: I Believe Youre Owed Some Compensatory Ignorance TT: Yes. TT: I was wondering.

TT: What do you know about the Green Sun? GA: Ive Never Heard Of It TT: Thank you. TT: The transaction was very tidy. GA: Agreed

#homestuck #pollstuck #john egbert #rose lalonde #kanaya maryam

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max1461 · 2 years

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Oh I haven't done any bullshitish taxonomizing in a little while. I should get back into that.

As usual I will occupy the position of "specialest ever most perfectly balanced guy" in this taxonomy.

So I think that there are maybe two kinds of people. They sort of overlap with humanities people and STEM people, but not exactly. I'm going to call them, uh, Order people and Chaos people. And Order people like order and Chaos people like chaos. Or something. So Order people, you know, aesthetically they love efficiency and elegance and all that, and they tend to think in a structured, deductive way. And Chaos people, well they like chaos, aesthetically they enjoy syncretism and particularism and partial patterns, and they tend to think in free associations. Or something.

And yeah, this is the same thing as every other dichotomy. I've reinvented this like five times. This is autism vs. schizophrenia, this is STEM vs. humanities, this is extremism vs. centrism. The trads will even tell you this is man vs. woman. This is the ur-bullshitish-dichotomy.

And anyway the reason I am specialest ever, as usual, is that my aesthetics are Chaos and my thinking is Order.

I hate optimization, optimization sucks ass, beauty is messiness and incomplete patterns and ordered rules layered with ordered exceptions layered with ordered exceptions-to-the-exceptions until it looks like there are no patterns at all. That's the way natural language is, that's the way ecosystems are, against the efforts of every computer scientist ever that's the way computers still are, at least in some ways. To be uncharitable: order is for suckers who don't want to think, chaos gives you a never-ending stream of new puzzles. More charitably: order is for people with a low novelty drive and chaos is for people with a high novelty drive. Or something.

But, you know, I'm an Order-thinker, I'm very careful, I'm reasonably skeptical. I feel like any satisfying explanation for an effect should contain a mechanism, free association isn't good enough. That kind of thing. I don't believe in astrology.

And anyway this makes me the bestest, the coolest ever, as usual. I'm like the girl from the teen dystopia where they sort everybody into types, but I'm two types at once. Doesn't that make me neat. Anyway.

#bullshitish taxonomizing #navel gazing #saying this yet another way

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nemirambles · 9 months

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Sonic Frontiers - Maybe The Most Important Sonic Game Ever Made

INTRO:

It has been a little over a year since the release of Sonic Frontiers. I’ve likely dumped more time into this game than most Sonic games. I was extremely skeptical about the release of this game. It was rather difficult being a fan of Sonic at the time, it still is arguably, with every showing of the game it just led to more skepticism and dooming. I couldn’t tell if I should be excited or not as I did want this to be good but who’s to say with Sonic, y’know. Eventually the game did release and well, I will vividly remember my first experience with it. Watching the game finally unlock at like 11 AM and taking it all in was so great. Kronos was a great intro island and hearing Undefeatable was insane. I hadn’t felt this sort of hype and joy since I played Unleashed years ago. I no life’d the game and finished it in like 18 or so hours. I thoroughly enjoyed Frontiers start to finish although there were some hiccups here and there. But do I still feel the same about it now? Absolutely not.

Dirt tastes better when you’re hungry. If this interests you, keep reading as this will be a sort of in-depth-ish review of Sonic Frontiers. There’s a lot to cover and it might be a bit messy but I’ll try my best.

OPEN ZONE:

The Basics:

This is gonna be a bit of a difficult thing to talk about but I’m gonna try my best here. Sonic games famously have added gimmicks to their games to help pad out the run time. It’s no surprise to anyone that making giant maps to blast through is rather difficult. Even making multiple maps for characters who aren’t that fast is a lot of work. This is why Mario games will give you multiple objectives for singular maps in a lot of his 3D entries. So for Sonic Frontiers, the padding for this game is the open zone. I want to clarify that this is NOT open world. Open zone refers to having a large open play area but not exactly being an open world. It’s more akin to something like Super Mario Galaxy than it is something like Breath Of The Wild. You don’t have absolute freedom here, just some decently large maps with multiple objectives for thingamabobs you need to collect, like a collect-a-thon!

But how does it actually turn out? It’s… polarizing. Frontiers throws you into these giant playpens of rails, springs and enemies where you’re going from set piece to set piece as you collect these memory tokens. These memory tokens act as your way to progress through the game as you need to hit certain requirements in order to progress the story. These tokens are scattered about everywhere and despite that, they’re still a chore to collect. You’ll need about 150-ish tokens for each island which means you more or less need to go through 150 of these little set pieces or get a bundle of tokens randomly by cylooping. I think enemies can drop them too at times as well. The little segments you need to do are immensely boring. This game takes Sonic's automation issues and makes it worse.

You’re gonna be going through automatic set pieces over and over. Grind this rail and watch this little thing as you basically mindlessly hold down boost. There’s gonna be times where you have to sometimes press an extra button or two but these are really unengaging. Exploring the map in general isn’t all that fun really. Part of what makes Sonic fun is optimizing routes to get from point A to point B but there isn’t anything like that here. There’s not much to really optimize given the fact that these segments don’t take any time and don’t have much of any depth. The most you can do is find ways to try and skip these segments and once you have the tokens, you have them. The objective isn’t there anymore. Same thing for all the other things in the hub world. That kind of just leaves the open zone to be nothing but busy work padding to make sure you don’t just blitz the game.

It should also be noted that playing Frontiers without anything like the spindash or maintaining speed when jumping enabled makes traversal much less fun. However when you do have these tools, it’s a lot more manageable and enjoyable. The thing is that you won’t have spindash unless you unlock it when you have a new save. You either need to S rank a bunch of action chain challenges or you have to get it automatically from playing the Another Story campaign which is on the final island. This sucks for a plethora of reasons because this tool is maybe some of the most fun you’ll have in this game and it’ll just be inaccessible to a lot of players starting out.

Personally, if you're on PC and haven't played Frontiers before and you'd want to, I’d encourage using a cheat to unlock spindash from the start it if you’re going through the game for the first time. I'd also encourage making sure you tweak the settings to make momentum conservation stronger while also tweaking the "bounce height" option to change how far you can fling yourself with the "bump jump" ability.

The aforementioned "bump jump" ability. The localization refers to it as "bounce height" for some reason, not realizing that Sonic has a built in bounce via his stomp follow up.

The spindash and momentum being retained won’t make these memory token segments more fun per say but getting from objective to objective ends up being quite fun when you need to go across the map to meet up with Tails or something. I guess I should also mention that the spindash is less of a burst of speed like previous games and more like a sort of "moon jump" that's also tied to the boost gauge. When you use the spindash, you get a lot of speed but it dips momentarily meaning that it likely isn't designed to be a consistent source of speed like the boost. This thing is for flinging and flying and as such it's not really affected by gravity. There isn't any momentum really applied here, you just kinda go flying. Not saying that this is a bad thing but it is something to note.

But there’s also challenges to do in the open zone! You have things like action chains, koco challenges and these puzzles to unlock the map. The puzzles are just fine. None of them are that fun or difficult but I find the tetris and path puzzles enjoyable enough to where I don’t mind doing those. I actually enjoyed the action chains a lot because it gives you a goal to grind towards much like a traditional Sonic game. You don’t have an objective to work towards that’s just gone, just your own limit on self improvement and your skills. The koco challenges do fall into the camp of being things you do once and never again but I will say that doing them is quite fun and a welcome challenge compared to the piss easy game that Frontiers generally is.

Side Tangent; The M Word:

Sonic Frontiers is a game that lacks the traditional 2D Sonic momentum. You don't really gain speed going down hills or anything like that. While I do find it very weird that a open zone game like this was conceptualized without proper momentum or ball physics or insert buzzword here, I can't help but feel like complaining about it at this point is missing what the game is trying to do. Frontiers is leaning more to be a precision platformer it seems, being more of what the boost games wanted to be. Very fast with split second reaction checks. The spindash isn't like a normal spindash, it's more used for platforming and specifically launching yourself. It's a new function for the ability and they utilize it quite well in the context of this game. I think in general, Sonic Team has done very well with the platforming game design of Frontiers by the end of it.

If you add regular momentum to Frontiers, it gets quite boring to be frank. The game isn't made around it. But when you simply add an option that gives more freedom of movement while still keeping it controlled enough to fit in the game, it's pretty fun. I think this is one of those things where you just need to accept where Frontiers decides to deviate rather than knocking on it for not being more of what we haven't gotten in maybe 30 something years. Even Adventure 1 didn't have proper momentum physics. While momentum to Sonic, in my mind, is what jumping is to Mario… that hasn't been the series goal for quite some time now and maybe it's time to move on from that…? I dunno, maybe this is a really hot take but it's starting to be more of how I feel.

More Of The Same:

I was going to originally break down what each island was about but I honestly don’t see much of a point to. Whereas with something like Sonic Unleashed or Sonic 3, where each level has some different defining gimmick, these islands do not. They might as well be the same location with a new coat of paint on each. You traverse them the same way and progress the same way. The only thing that changes is that each location gets bigger and more annoying to navigate if you don’t have the spindash. This is ignoring Rhea which is basically just one giant set piece but you actually do something interesting and different here so I appreciate it for what it is while being a good moment in the story.

The guardians you fight on these islands don’t even feel particularly unique to them either. If you switch Asura and Strider, what really changes? They compliment the location just about as much as any other guardian. The only exception I can think of here is Shark who uniquely needs to be somewhere with sand so it can traverse through it. This is the only guardian in the game actually themed after the location. Any other one can fit pretty much anywhere else. I guess now is as good a time as any to also mention the new open world gameplay that comes with update 3.

It’s more of the same. The only real compliment I can give is that I actually find the new challenge towers very fun to climb. It’s a tense situation that honestly isn’t as challenging as most would lead you to believe. I heard some people say that update 2 was just this extremely difficult thing where you had to restart your save file if you failed and in the nicest way possible I just wanna say that if you believed this or felt like this was what you needed to do, you are very very bad at Sonic Frontiers. And that's okay! Just don't pretend it's a genuine design issue when in reality you just suck!

As for the new characters… they’re… definitely there! I don’t have much to say about them when it comes to platforming and traversal, they are fine. I'll speak on their combat later when I get to that segment of the blog, but as for the platforming that they go through, it looks like total shit.

It's mildly fun but a visual eyesore. Update 3 in general completely shat the bed in terms of immersive visuals because what the hell man.

Island Art Direction and Storytelling

I suppose now is also a good time to talk about the actual aesthetic of the islands and to be honest, I like Frontiers’ art direction. I generally think a lot of the things here look really cool. My main huge complaint though is a noticeable lack of it. Frontiers is not that good with its environmental storytelling and we really have no idea what’s going on with these ancients. We were given reasons as to why it’s so weird and barren yes but those are reasons crafted from the game being empty. You see things like houses but never anything like transpiration, cities, important social structures or anything like that.

Photo mode is genuinely a blast!

While this might feel like a lame nitpick I feel like it’s important for Sonic games to really immerse you in the world and its inhabitants. Unleashed felt immersive. The Adventure games also felt immersive. The Classic games felt immersive too. Sonic 2 and 3 have so many structures and locations that probe at the mind and make you wonder how it got there. It makes you curious about the inhabitants and the world they lived in.

Frontiers just doesn’t do this. There’s weird unexplainable structures and such sure but unlike a game like Sonic 3 or Unleashed, these never really contribute much to the gameplay or how you get around. You don’t have crumbling statues that block off your path really. You don’t have any temples you go inside of to explore. You don’t have any sort of amusement parks to blaze through. What would an alien festival look like? How would Sonic interact with it? How would he interact with their transportation? Are there any buildings built to utilize the chaos emeralds in day to day life? You never even use the chaos emeralds for any sort of utility in Frontiers to power a building or whatever, it’s purely for combat.

When you make a world more alive with more content and more proof of existence, this will inherently give Sonic more to do as well. But that’s the issue, this world isn’t lived in and doesn’t invoke any sort of imagination and as a result we don’t get any fun Island exclusive gameplay that plays off these concepts since they simply don’t exist. It’s a really huge missed opportunity that I wish Sonic Team focused more on. I would’ve taken smaller, more content dense islands with real history over giant plains with nothing to do and nothing to see.

Because Ice Cap is the only snowy area, it is the only place where a set piece like this can work. They used the location to it's advantage to create a unique scenario that no other stage could do!

It’s also a given but I really hate these floating platforms littered around. They don’t blend with the scenery very well and since none of them are themed around the islands it gets very tiring to look at them very quickly. Sonic Team has been doing this drag and drop block placement shit for years now and it’s both disappointing and embarrassing to see them keep up this tradition with Frontiers, especially seeing mods that at the very least theme the platforms.

The "Reimagined Platforms" mod created by Davihhh seeks to solve this issue.

I know that it’s usually bad faith to say “oh but look at these mods!” when discussing game quality as modders often get as much time as they want and foresight to see the issues with a game, but these platforms are just glaringly bad even as a first draft.

COMBAT:

A Sonic Boom with no charge motion? Impossible.

For some reason or another, Sonic Team decided that the new Sonic game ought to be a character action game which is honestly something I’m all for. I’m not an extreme action game fan, I’ve pretty much only played the Kingdom Hearts series, Metal Gear Rising and some DMC. BUT I have played a lot of fighting games and love that genre which I feel is a pretty close relative to the action game genre. I’m also 19, creeping up on 20 at the time of writing which means that I grew up in the Flash era of the internet so a lot of my tastes for what Sonic should be came from a lot of DBZ inspired Sonic content. When I saw Sonic shooting ki blasts and battling giant monsters in the trailer, I was extremely excited for what this would bring. So how did Frontiers do in this department?

Combat Variety:

Poorly. If it wasn’t for DMC 2 and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, I’d be able to easily put Sonic Frontiers down as the worst action game combat I’ve ever experienced. This isn’t due to it not being as deep as something like DMC though. I have no issue with simple gameplay, I’d expect it from Sonic, the issue comes from a lack of experience and direction. Frontiers suffers from a lot of core issues. First let's talk about its offensive options. Frontiers has a basic combo system where you mash out a button and you get a finisher. You can select what the specific finisher is by holding a direction on your control stick. As you go through the game, you unlock abilities on a skill tree using skill points that you get from killing enemies or randomly getting it when you cyloop.

You can also cancel some of these attacks by inputting a defensive action like parry or dodging. With this combined it’ll allow you to extend combos for longer than usual since you’re constantly going into specials that restart your position in a combo. This is actually really cool as it allows for the player to get a lot of freedom in how they choose to beat up the enemy. But there’s just one small issue. None of these attacks provide any real utility for maybe 95% of the game.

Fancy combo right? I think so at least. But I didn't really make a lot of, if any, meaningful decisions here. I was more or less just choosing what flashy cinematics to do. I could've done hurricane kick into cross slash over and over again to infinitely juggle them and melt their HP and it would've had the same result pretty much. It's a combat system that basically relies on how cool you personally want to feel as a player which is fine and all but being cool is made cooler when you have restrictions and things to keep in mind.

Using something like KH2 for example, when I do combos in KH2, I’m doing combos that are specific to the context and situation that I’m currently in. Not every boss falls for the same strategy. Now this is different from there being optimal combos. Even KH2 has strategies that stay dominant, but it’s not about avoiding a dominant strategy, it’s about making the player make meaningful decisions that will influence what tools they decide to use on enemies. One thing that heavily influences gameplay is how many enemies you have to fight.

Action games often give you a crowd of baddies to defeat and you'll need to pick them off or weave between them in order to avoid being harmed. Frontiers has none of that. You're always fighting enemies one on one unless it's something specific like the foot ninja enemies you can find in the overworld. These enemies DO make you switch up your strategy through needing to cyloop them to break their defense but once you knock them into the air it's business as usual.

I will say though that utilizing the cyloop in combat versus a crowd is rather cumbersome due to the fact that you want to stay mobile in combat and you’ll need to circle around enemies who are also mobile while hoping the terrain is flat enough as to not break your trail. You also go quite slow if you aren’t boosting while cylooping and honestly good luck trying to keep a tight cyloop circle when you’re going at 90 miles per hour. But outside of that, that’s really it for ways to deal with crowds. There is a combo ender that knocks enemies up however.

This is should be a good tool to have because these jobber enemies can’t follow you into the air, however you don’t actually have a convenient way to follow up once you’ve popped enemies up there due to the immense amount of hitstop you suffer when attacking enemies and combo finishers have even more hitstop and slow down which means even though they’re defensive cancelable, it’s not that quick. Your best bet honestly is just using the spin kick on a guy to knock him in the air and then do a parry cancel so you can juggle him. That way the other enemies can’t bother you and they can’t decide to defend themselves. Also note that for some strange reason parry is laggier if you don’t hold a direction when releasing it.

Defensive Options:

On the note of defensive options, they’re bad. I wanna take a moment to say that I think the infinite parry isn’t a bad idea on paper. I think where it messes up is that it has no risk/reward. Parry is a zero risk/extreme reward option no matter how long you hold it. Personally I think if the slowdown you gain from a parry was relative to how long you held it, i.e. you do a perfect parry and you get max slowdown and when you do a 5 second long parry you get no slowdown. This way you encourage people to learn to parry more precisely if they want more slowdown. It’s a kids game, I think the mechanics being easy to understand and utilize is fine so long as they beg for exploration and help children problem solve.

Speaking of slowdown, that mechanic is also not particularly great in my opinion. Whenever you parry a physical attack, the game does this cinematic to emphasize the parry while slowing down time to allow Sonic to attack. This is a neat little idea and feature but when you do it repeatedly it can become quite repetitive and causes some interactions to be really awkward, especially when attack hitboxes don’t actually disable despite being parried.

You also have a dodge maneuver. It has minor invincibility frames and can only be done either left or right and attacking at what seems to be any point during the animation will cause the zigzag attack. There isn’t much to say about it outside of the fact that it’s not really useful at all outside of canceling attacks considering Sonic has such incredible speed that simply boosting in any direction works better.

Minor Things:

There’s some other minor things too like how you can’t really naturally change targets due to there not being a normal targeting system. You have to hit something and then press a bumper to target the next thing that corresponds with the direction your bumper is. The combat is also very… sticky. This is due in part to the excessive hitstop on everything but also due to how they handle inputs. I don’t really know how the game deals with inputs exactly but the buffer here seems to be something where the game stores an input no matter how much time passes. A good example can be found with Amy. Her homing attack has a slight delay for whatever reason but if you double tap the button to try and force it out, she’ll attack after she homing attacks which is nearly a full second later. Another example is with Sonic where if you hold down R2 and just happen to press X when near an enemy that will also lock you into an attack. This nasty sticky control issue permeates throughout the entire game and makes the combat feel way way worse.

But now that this is the groundwork the team is going with, how do they actually design around it?

Enemy Design:

Enemies in Frontiers range from brain numbing to irritating with only a few ever really being fun to fight. Unlike a game like KH2 where Sora has multiple ways to deal with enemies and for enemies to force specific interactions, Sonic has a much more restricted tool set that requires more outside the box solutions to. You don’t have magic or anything like that. This isn’t exactly a bad thing though as Sonic is still a platformer at heart so making him do platforming adjacent challenges while battling an enemy is welcome. The issue for me is that a lot of these aren’t fun. I wanna talk about the fun ones first though, Sumo, the Ninja series, Asura and Ghost.

Ghost just literally sort of appears at the last island and it starts draining rings from you and you need to complete a platforming segment in order to get it to stop. It’s stressful, random and actually amazing. Sure it’s guaranteed damage but it’s guaranteed damage in a game where you can avoid taking damage and farm health as much as you want so I mean hey, it is what it is.

Sumo is another fun enemy that makes you bounce off these walls in order to gain up lots of speed to slam yourself into them so they’ll go flying into electric walls. It’s not a deep fight at all but it does make you try to position yourself properly and it feels extremely satisfying to pull off a good slam.

Asura slams down one of it’s arms and you’ll need to run up them, hit the little weak points at the top, be knocked down to the bottom and then rinse repeat as it gets a bit harder with each arm. Except you actually don’t need to get knocked down. If you hold parry while the explosion cinematic plays, you’ll stay in the air where you can then maneuver your way over to the other weak points, skipping the first part of the phase entirely.

Last but not least is Ninja and its clones which are what I believe the only guardians you can juggle like a regular enemy, opening them up for a lot of combo potential. They aren’t particularly difficult but it is very fun to just see how you can beat the shit out of them.

Contrast these with something like Fortress. When fighting Fortress, you ride some grind rails and then you start hitting it. That’s kinda like Squid, where you run along a path and start to hit it. What happens if you don’t kill it in time? Well you just have to chase it down again. Is it particularly difficult or engaging? No. There’s also bosses like Spider.

For Spider, you need to cyloop its legs in order to make its main body vulnerable. Afterwards, you have to play a skydiving segment where you need to go through these rings in order to make it vulnerable, again, and then you’re allowed to beat up on the Spider. You are forced to do this every single time. The issue with these 3 is that the time it takes to make them fully vulnerable is independent of player skill. There is no way to become better at chasing down Fortress or Squid unless you literally just do a drive by which I doubt was the intended design. These are spectacle fights that lose their luster shortly after doing them the first few times and it becomes boring.

With the positive examples I listed, the amount of time it takes to do them is up to the player and there’s clear places to make optimizations. It never feels like there’s just dead time where you’re just waiting for things to get interesting whereas in a lot of Frontiers’ mini bosses, that’s what they feel like. Wasting time. And if they aren’t wasting time it’s usually because you’re tearing right through them. I’m also gonna take a moment to mention Wolf and Shark. I didn’t use those two as specific examples because it’s honestly just too easy of an out and everyone knows they’re terrible. After a while I almost just wanted to avoid enemy encounters all together because it would generally be more of the same old same old.

But I think it’s also meaningful to analyze why enemies are like this. While in a game like KH2, you have limited movement with set options that developers either know you have or expect you to have. Arenas are small, closed in spaces where you can’t really just run away without going into a new room entirely if you even can. Contrast this to Frontiers where like I mentioned before, Sonic has much higher movement along with this being a giant open area where he can come and go as he pleases. There’s also the fact that you need to factor in the variable speeds that players will have due to speed being tied to a level system along with all the customizable stats there are for Sonic. There’s just quite a lot of factors that you have to keep in mind when designing challenges for Sonic so it makes sense as to why it’s like this. It needs to be broad and unspecific in what it wants from the player because the range of variables at play are also generally broad and unspecific. This is why Cyberspace has its own Sonic preset, designing around them all would be nearly impossible. But before getting into ways I think this could be handled going forward, we need to address the giant titan sized elephant in the room.

Titan Design:

One of the absolute highlights of this game when it launched. When you saw people talk about how Sonic was back, these titan fights were at the forefront. Sonic leans fully into more shonen inspirations as the heavy metal and rock music in the back pumps you up. These fights were and still are great spectacle battles that I still find cool after the fact. The issue unfortunately being just how easy they are. “Punch punch stomp” is the name of the game here and works as pretty much THE dominant strategy. There is never a reason to do anything else. Even on the hardest section of the game, Master King’s trial, it is still extremely easy. But maybe easy isn’t the right word, poorly designed might be more like it.

Giganto:

Giganto’s hitboxes do not align up with his animations very well at all. This spinning attack isn’t meant to be parried as he does it but a bit after, towards the end of the animation. When you knock him down with a cinematic, he’ll often get up with an attack that you can parry, leading for an easy loop until his second phase if you know the pattern that he swings in which is the same every single time. These swings do not have hitboxes that line up with where he swings and sometimes where it feels like something should connect, it doesn’t quite do it. Once you get into this second phase, it becomes a bit harder because now he has these lasers on his back that will hurt you when he turns for a spin. Don’t worry though since you can avoid this by standing perfectly still. He also has a laser beam attack he can do which forces you to lose some rings as it happens, meaning you don’t want to let him do this often.

But of course, you can simply get in, cyloop him and then start punching and stomping. He’ll try to retaliate after you cyloop him with this weird janky animation but you can simply parry it and be fine.

Wyvern:

The Wyvern is a fight that has cool spectacle. You kind of just parry the missile, parry its attacks and then whale on it. It’s an extremely flat and braindead fight that only really has its spectacle to carry it. There really isn’t anything much else to say here except it’s extremely hard to tell when exactly you need to parry its attacks when you’re timing them because the hitboxes both don’t align very well and don’t even really make sense depending on the animation. Good luck trying to parry the missiles with perfect parry in the second phase when you have all this screen pollution going on by the way. This fight blows.

Knight:

Knight is my favorite titan fight in the game and it’s probably the one with the most mechanical depth. You start out the fight by just beating on it. I think what you’re supposed to do is try and cut Knight off as he spins around the arena but I’m not too sure. This is just what works for me. After beating up on him he’ll try to counter attack but much like Giganto you can simply parry this and get back to gaping him. The camera does not function well in this fight and sometimes his counterattacks are really janky and ambiguous or they simply don’t work properly.

Sometimes he’ll put up his shield to defend himself and if you beat on it enough, it’ll initiate a sequence where you ride their shield, avoid missiles and have to hit them in the face with the shield. This is actually a really cool segment but this isn’t exactly how you’re supposed to do the fight. In reality, you need to hit the shield, press R1 to change your lock on to the Knight and then start hitting him again. This is honestly really weird game design to see so late into the game. Rather than the game punishing you and trying to make you test your options if just pressing the button isn’t working, it rewards you with a spectacle segment that you can’t see otherwise which then gives you an opening on the boss.

In the second phase, you’ll need to parry the shield that is flying around the arena and send it towards the Knight. I find this to be a very cute way to make the second phase more interesting and I wish the other titan fights had gimmicks like this as well.

Supreme/The End:

Supreme is a fight that exists. Both versions of Supreme are pushovers that have little to no challenge. I beat the new Supreme on my second try and the original Supreme on my first without even knowing how it works and I’d honestly say my only one loss to the new Supreme was that I didn’t think my rings would just not replenish after the first phase of the fight. Since they made it clear that this wasn’t gonna be leisurely I decided to play the game the way that it had asked me to when doing Master King’s challenge and then this happened.

Absolutely pathetic. It would be really easy for you to see this and say "well you can just choose NOT to do this" but this arguement is anti-game design as hell and super ignorant. If something is this easy to discover and use, it is a flaw on the game design and deserves to be critiqued. Yes, it is true that you can simply not do it, but why does the game allow you to in the first place? If the next Sonic game had a "instantly win the game and unlock everything button" would it be perfectly fine because you can choose to not do it? No, it's insulting to the developers and it's insulting to people who put in the work to actually experience what you've ignored. Games are well crafted experiences where developers vaguely guide you down it without holding your hand too much. Having ways to effectively skip these experiences in extremely easy ways isn't a good thing.

Why did I decide to do this? Well the "punch punch stomp" strategy was literally the only way I was getting through those titan trials. I felt like that was the way that most people were getting through them, so I just assumed Sonic Team knew this and designed around that. That and I had a small pool of rings so I wasn't going to really take my time. So I ended up getting what you saw above. I already knew that cylooping would boost the damage you did but I had absolutely zero idea that it stacked and I have no idea why it would even stack in the first place. I don't really have too much else to say, both fights are easy.

The End, the original from the base game is maybe my favorite part of the game. I don't have a deep explanation on why or anything like that, I just found it really fun and I'm sad that they basically made it the non-canon final boss/ending with this new DLC.

Wrap Up:

There honestly isn’t much else to say about these fights. They’re fairly braindead spectacle driven fights that don’t last long and can be brute forced through with ease. Personally I feel as though the spectacle of a fight should come from not only what the boss can do but what the player is made to do in response to the boss’ actions. But I understand WHY they’re so simple. These are meant to be cathartic moments for the player to have them really feel the power of Super Sonic. I’m perfectly fine with this. The issue is that it’s just not that fun when you have it all figured out. I think part of what makes boss fights great for me personally is the feeling you get when you finally overcome these impossible odds. When the cool cinematic you see works as a reward for your hard work. There’s no hard work here. Just flashing lights and one time thrills. I hope going forward we can get fights that strike a balance of cool but still interactive to where they feel rewarding to beat.

Suggestions To Improve Combat:

So I wanna say this first before I offer up any suggestions or things to think about. I am not a professional game designer and I do not think I know any better than the people in charge. I simply have opinions on what I think could make a more fun gameplay experience. Any design ideas I offer up here have many many ripples on the overall game that I simply just can’t go over every nook and cranny of because when you pop one pimple in the game design hill, many more arise in response. This is just speculative and spitballing.

That out of the way, I think Frontiers needs a more heavy handed “combat mode” for Frontiers. Through being near an enemy and pressing both the bumper buttons, Sonic will enter a locked on state. Pressing the right stick will cause the lock-on to move to whichever direction you inputted the stick in. Pressing the bumpers again will make Sonic exit this lock-on state and resume back to normal gameplay.

In lock-on mode, his movement is restricted to be slower as the camera locks onto whoever he’s locked onto. Pressing R1 makes him put up his guard where he’ll take slight chip damage whenever he blocks an attack. Inputting a direction while having your guard up will cause Sonic to roll in the direction you input. Pressing R1 while moving will automatically initiate a roll with invincibility frames. Pressing one of the face buttons will cause Sonic to do specific parries depending on the button. Speed parry, power parry and replenish parry. These parries have a window of just 5 frames so you’ll generally need to know what you’re doing for max reward with these..

Speed functions like the parry we currently have in the game, allowing Sonic to slow down time in order to beat up on opponents. Power parry will cause an instant kill to an enemy who’s under 20% health through a QTE segment similar to Sonic Unleashed, bosses not included of course. Replenish parry utilizes a new mechanic called the “phantom meter”. There’s a sort of meter system in the game with phantom rush and quick cyloop but I don’t think these add much. Under this new mechanic, Sonic has a secondary meter that he spends in order to use his special attacks. Each attack has a cost that’s relative to its damage. This means now you cannot just mash cross slash because you’ll run out of the resource it needs. You can refill this meter either slowly through attacking the enemy or by using the new replenish parry. By putting your nuts on the line, you’ll gain a significant amount of phantom meter back.

Under this new system, you might’ve realized that defensive cancels are gone. Nonsense! There’s just a new mechanic to sort of emulate what that used to be, Phantom Cancels. For just 10% of your phantom meter, you can cancel any attack instantly so long as it hits an enemy. Into what? Whatever you want. You’re put into a completely actionable state after this. Think of Guilty Gear’s roman cancel system. This now simply prevents enemies from being comboed forever as you will eventually need to end the combo and now you must consider how much meter you burn on cancels.

Is this system perfect? Probably not, there could be a plethora of issues with it but I can’t test these ideas so I won’t know myself. But it should address concerns with combat feeling a bit too braindead. This doesn’t address enemy design since I don’t really want to get into how I’d redesign every enemy to fit under these systems but with a more limited control scheme and more precise control over the character that ignores level stats and customized settings should make a Sonic that’s easier to design around for enemy encounters.

Combat Concerns:

I had a concern when I asked for input on this idea and got told that there shouldn’t be a sort of “combat mode” for the game but I regret to inform them and anyone else worried that the game already does have a combat mode. It’s just automatic. Sonic already gets into a new state where quick steps become dodges and his idle changes so the game already has something like this. I think making a separate mode also helps with navigation since at times when you’re trying to do something in the open zone near an enemy who’s a part of a set piece, you will be forced to attack them. Making a manual mode for attacking and such fixes this issue as well.

Going Forward With Combat:

I don’t really know if I trust Sonic Team with combat going forward. Based on how they addressed difficulty concerns in the final DLC. It seems that their idea for a challenge is just “more harder = more strict, more faster, more stronger” which can contribute to difficulty but when that’s all your challenge really has to offer it shows me that you aren’t really sure how to design a good action challenge. I hope that in the next game, if they return to this combat formula, they can find developers who are a bit more experienced with how action games are supposed to be.

CYBERSPACE:

Oh look, my favorite parts of the game. Kind of. Cyberspace brings a more traditional experience to Sonic Frontiers where you go through stages that are pretty much stages you’ve played before but worse. To keep it brief since I’ve already said so much and there are things I rather talk about that I ought to get to, Cyberspace is rather boring for a majority of the game. For some reason, Sonic’s physics feel awful in both 2D and 3D with him feeling extremely slow in both. I’ve been told that Sonic’s speed in Cyberspace 3D is actually higher and that it’s an FOV difference that’s making it seem slower. I would like to direct you to this comparison.

It was brought to my attention that the Unleashed clip skips the QTE trigger which means Sonic's speed isn't capped but considering that Frontiers has no QTE trigger at all, the comparison still works in my opinion.

Anyways the 2D sections are pretty bad too. They feel abysmally slow and none of the layouts are particularly fun. Making a 2D Sonic game that’s less fun to play than Sonic Rush is an achievement that Sonic Team should probably not be praised for but lowering the bar from the floor to hell is quite impressive in my book. The spindash once again does make some of these issues better but again this isn’t something every player will have or had at the time of playing. The main Cyberspace levels I really do enjoy are the ones that actually take from the Adventure series. I think that Frontiers Sonic controls rather comfortably in Sonic Adventure level layouts and I wished there were more in the game because I had a lot of genuine fun with them. The new levels brought in for the DLC were also ones that I found extremely fun. The DLC just straight up gives you the spindash so you have it for these levels as they’re designed around it.

There’s a lot of ramps to launch yourself from with a plethora of alternate routes to take along with many objectives to do. The only issue is that these stages can feel rather cluttered and like they rely too heavily on the player just flinging themselves around. One level in particular has moon gravity for some reason and while it was cool to fly off for a while, trying to do what the level wanted got kind of slow and boring since it took so long to land. Other levels can just be a pain to navigate because it just becomes hard to know exactly where to go. Other than this though, I found these levels to be quite fun.

WRITING:

For Sonic Frontiers, Ian Flynn was brought on to write the story. You may know Ian from his work on Archie and IDW Sonic comics. He’s sort of held as this golden standard for Sonic writing and while I think that’s absolutely insanely incorrect for the comics, he wrote Frontiers’ character dialogue pretty decently for the most part. I don’t think there are really any large stand out lines to me that come off lazy or bad. At worst it’s just kind of boring. The plot for Frontiers goes as follows. Eggman fucks around some ancient ruins at some unknown island and is trapped in CyberSpace. For plot reasons, the Chaos Emeralds are suddenly at these islands. Sonic and friends follow the signal but are then shot down where they’re all trapped in CyberSpace. Sonic promptly escapes because plot and is deemed “The Key” by a mysterious totally not evil sky voice. He then has to travel through CyberSpace in order to collect keys to unlock Chaos Emerald vaults.

But as it turns out, everytime he goes into CyberSpace, he gets slightly more corrupted.

Why? Because the plot demands drama.

So after Sonic gets all the emeralds, he has to fight a Titan and go off to the next island where he rinses and repeats for a while. Around the latter half, he ends up pretty much dying after the corruption becomes too much to bear and he’s trapped in CyberSpace. His friends then huddle and make a friendship circle to bring him back to life so he can… continue to corrupt himself through interacting with CyberSpace. And then he fights the last Titan and then The End which is an allegory for death. Was the concept of death weaved throughout the narrative in order to make this sort of thing make sense? No. By the way the moon isn’t really a moon. The characters see it as something different. Ignore the fact that this fact is literally never brought up once until the DLC technically and serves no real value.

This plot sure is awesome! The dark era is back!

Character Writing:

For the most part. Sonic feels fine here. He’s not overly wordy or preachy like he is in the comics. His responses are snappy and he has a nice sarcasm to him that I think Roger brings out really well with his new voice performance. Two lines in particular I like are his goal ring joke and his initial response when Tails asks if he’s a burden.

The goal ring one is actually a nice bit of humor that this game really severely lacks where the Tails conversation is just really real. That might be a weird compliment to give a Sonic game because this is a series about brightly colored furries but it just felt like that genuine response you’d get from any real life person who really cares for you. I’ve had these same sorts of interactions with people and Sonic’s response really hits the mark here. But let’s get onto more specifics.

Amy:

Amy is unfortunately probably at her most boring here. She’s my favorite character in the series so it does hurt a bit to say that I didn’t enjoy her here not that much. The reason why I love Amy so much is that she’s not a character with a sort of larger than life character. She’s not some mystical force that goes with the wind or a child super genius or the last of her tribe or a tube baby. She’s just a girl who gets by using her compassion and ability to bring the heart out of characters. She’s compassionate and more down to earth than other characters with a determination and will that pushes her well into the tier with her peers, even being able to keep up with Sonic.

This doesn’t really get to shine here. A lot of her tomboy-ish spunk is gone and she doesn’t really have anyone to bounce off of but Sonic so she’s not really bringing the heart out of anyone really. Her romantic interest in Sonic also seems to not even be mentioned here weirdly enough. She gets set up but she doesn’t get any actual time in the game to really shine. I feel like maybe she should’ve been reserved more towards the end of the game so she could bond with Sage and help her understand love. Part of Amy’s character here is that she wants to share her love with the world and it feels weird that the character who needed that the most, Sage, wasn’t given any from her. This could’ve been a great moment to help humanize her as she began to warm up to others and realize her emotions. Alas, we don’t get that so fuck it I guess.

Knuckles:

I really enjoy Knuckles’ character in this. His story is about him feeling alone knowing that he’s the last of his kind and he’s doomed to just guard the master emerald. While I did say I enjoy Knuckles in this game, it’s not because of his story. A complaint that I have with this game’s writing is that they’ll sort of create issues that just aren’t there. Knuckles is the guardian of the master emerald, yes, but it’s not like he was missing out on game appearances because he had to be there so this arc feels kinda out of nowhere.

Knuckles has basically not missed a single adventure since his introduction in the series apart from Unleashed and I think Colors? It feels weird to make an arc around this when it wasn’t an issue before so why would it be an issue now? He made time for a hoverboard competition and sees Rouge often enough to get her flowers but he’s really alone, right? There’s also some parts where he feels sentimental about the island due to it being linked to him and his people, which is an alright idea in concept but it’s hard to care with how much we already don’t care about the ancients.

Knuckles has fun dialogue with Sonic and their friendship feels genuine, but outside of that I can’t help but feel like this just wasn’t that great of a direction for him.

Tails:

Tails is another example of this story kinda presenting solutions to issues that aren’t there. In Frontiers, his character arc is that he feels as though he’s a burden to Sonic. While I think the actual dialogue in this is well written, I can’t get behind why this happened. A few things in this story really seem to bend to the will of the fanbase for better or for worse which I’ll go over later but as it pertains to Tails, it’s for the worse. Tails says that “Whenever there's a crisis I'm either running away or standing on the sidelines! You're always rescuing me when all I do is follow you around!” which is just… does this count as character assassination? Tails saved Sonic’s life, he saved Station Square, he fought Chaos, he helped take down Metal Overlord, he built the Extreme Gear that his team uses in Riders, he was a key player in 06 when Sonic died, he was helping Sonic get around the globe in Unleashed, he was the one who built the god damn translator for the wisps.

Tails is REALLY important and he KNOWS he’s important. He had this same exact arc back in Adventure 1. He even got a bit of a complex in Colors and Lost World about just how smart he is and honestly he’s not even wrong for that. But because he had this one weird slip up in Forces that people would not shut up about I guess Ian felt it was necessary to give a little “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again”. It blows. I can’t really say much outside of that since that more or less just is Tails in this game unfortunately.

Sage:

Sage man. Sage is a character archetype that I enjoy very much, which are characters who learn to be human, so it disappoints me a lot that Sage’s first appearance did her pretty badly. Sage not telling Sonic what’s going on honestly felt kind of contrived. She constantly states that Sonic is the enemy and that she’s not supposed to help him while also going out of her way to protect his friends and even him by just telling him to get lost. She trapped them in Cyber Space so whenever The End got out, they would be safe. It can be assumed she tried to do the same for Sonic also but he broke out because plot.

So for the rest of the game Sage is more or less just probing Sonic for no real reason while trying to make him leave the island. The reason this bothers me is because I can’t quite grasp why she would want this. Just like hear me out. Sage notices that there’s something wrong with the island. She then traps Eggman in CyberSpace to protect him from it. But later in the game she notes that there’s something that’s trying to get out of CyberSpace. So why would she lock him in there? She’s also given the task to get Eggman out of CyberSpace but barely makes mention of the fact that she locked him in there to protect him.

But she’s also trying to prevent Sonic from letting his friends out which would in turn let Eggman out which would... accomplish what she’s trying to do. What is her goal? Also just a side thing but it’s weird because Knuckles, Amy and Tails are somehow trapped between CyberSpace and reality but Eggman seems to be fully there. Sonic was told that his memories form Cyber Space and the reason he could get out was due to just sort of “following his memories”, but if that’s the case why couldn’t Eggman do the same and why do they literally share a memory of a place neither of them have been to?

Anyways, back to Sage. Sage’s motivation sucks, her plan makes no sense and she doesn’t really add anything to the story. The worst cutscene in the game also belongs to her. I can’t believe they really gave Sage and Eggman ZERO scenes to truly show their bond and then gave her a flashback scene of her reflecting on their time together. It’s just fucking scenes of him yapping off to her about getting him out of CyberSpace as they just stand around statically as if the game had zero animation budget.

Overall Writing:

Man the writing here just… isn’t great. It’s super contrived, character arcs either feel like they’re pandering, are misplaced or just unfulfilled. The concept of death is barely present in the story. Sure, the ancients died but like… it isn’t really used in an interesting way. The End is kind of like “oh I killed the ancients and now I’m gonna kill YOU” but for what purpose? The End is so sudden and out of nowhere that characters don’t even have time to process that it’s coming. You could say that the fact it just appears adds to how much like death in life, it happens randomly and unpredictably. But all sorts of deities just sort of randomly appear in Sonic so I don’t really know. The End ends up being as much of a symbol for death as something like Biolizard, i.e not at all. The connection wouldn’t really even be there if not for there being a statement in a stream saying so.

Supposed translation of this livestream.

Ironically, another game starring a moon uses the concept of death to much greater effect, that game being Majora’s Mask. Majora has imminent death linger over you for the entire game. You see how it affects people and even affects you as you play through it. Even Sonic Unleashed, a game that isn’t really even about death, has moments where you see people try to triumph over their despair of everything going to shit with a sort of unbreakable optimism. Sonic’s main highlight in that game being his unbreakable will and inability to give up.

This isn’t to say that Frontiers doesn’t have good points or that that unbreakable will isn’t there of course. One of the best scenes in the game is from Sonic being on his deathbed and feeling the full force of the cyber corruption. He limps onward, barely able to walk. Sage appears to ask him why he persists despite every sign saying not to, to which he gives a deep breath, smirks and continues pushing on. That is a great scene. He doesn’t give some wordy response, he doesn’t beat her over the head with his morals, he just remembers his friends and that’s enough to push him through.

I also feel like Sonic’s final line before battling The End was also good… even if it doesn’t make sense in context.

“He took your home world... He took your lives... Are you going to let him do it all over again?! I need your help. We can end this! Please!!”

Who’s he saying this to? Absolutely nobody. But it’s still a nice line. The DLC does revamp the ending but it feels more like something someone would write to try and fix the story more than anything else. It’s crammed with all sorts of things that don’t really add anything to the story and feels more like they tried to band-aid fix what people saw wrong with the original ending. A complaint people had with the game was that Sonic didn’t actually get a new cyber form akin to how he used to get exclusive forms for the storybook games. So they decided to give him a new form through learning to control his cyber corruption by proving himself through trials given to him by the ancients.

That’s cool and all but… how? I’m not trying to be nitpicky or whatever but surely I’m not the only one curious as to how a corruption that is given to you through interacting with CyberSpace can somehow be harnessed into a power and even a new form. But whatever, at least we get a cool new form– …and it’s just Super Sonic with blue eyes while the more unique design is used only for a cutscene. Godspeed, Sonic Team.

Another complaint was that the other characters weren’t involved as much so they got hammered in. I guess I should talk about the pilots of the titans but there isn’t really anything to say. They existed and they got washed by The End. None of them really have any character depth. They don’t really add much but they sure are there.

Overall, the narrative of Frontiers feels like a mess that tries too hard to address issues that fans had without realizing that fans honestly don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about sometimes. Ironically I feel like listening to them and jumbo-stuffing the ending didn’t really help it out much. I heavily prefer the original ending, Sage’s sacrifice was a great way to conclude her arc even if her character was poorly done. It felt more emotional and a bit less like bullshit plot armor or convenience coming through to give fan service. The shmup was also great. It’s a good ending.

If the writing section of this feels messy, that’s because I had a lot of thoughts about Frontiers’ writing but I quite struggled with putting them down. There’s so much to talk about with so many threads you can go on to really question the choices made but I just can’t do it all. From how weirdly unexplained CyberSpace is, to why the Ancients look the way they do, to why the emeralds just magically appeared at the islands… There’s just a lot to cover. Hopefully this wasn’t too incomprehensible. If it was, sorry.

QUICK POINT RAPID FIRE:

There’s some stuff I wanna mention here but they’re kinda like loose leaf notes so here’s just a quick rapid fire of some takes I wanna throw out.

It Sounds Nice:

The music in Frontiers ranges from fine to fantastic. While the start of Kronos and pacing of the music was phenomenal, I cannot remember a grand majority of the open zone tracks outside of their final more triumphant versions. While I appreciate the ambition to create like 7 different orchestral tracks for each phase of the island, I can't help but feel like it wasn’t fully worth it considering many of them are just alright. The CyberSpace tracks are also alright mostly. A large amount of them aren’t too amazing and they feel rather detached to the stages they’re applied to. They became much much better in the DLC.No opinion on the new character themes in the DLC. It is okay. The Titan music is fantastic, zero complaints.

Pretty Lights:

The lighting in this game is marvelous. I genuinely love how the CyberSpace stages look and Frontiers has some genuinely beautiful landscapes. The VFX work here is also amazing. They didn’t skip out on making sure these effects looked as good as possible. The cutscene animation is more static but the camera angles are a lot more dynamic than usual which helps with keeping the scenes looking interesting even if movement is minimal. The dynamic camera angles in combat are also quite nice but I can’t help but feel like Sonic Team didn’t utilize foreshortening and forced perspective quite as much as they could’ve. The Titan fight cinematics in general could’ve been improved had they been more dynamic and striking.

Is That Fur Genuine?:

Sonic and his stupid friends look good. Well, their textures look good. The model quality still isn’t very great but I’m at least glad the fur is back to the same quality as SA1. It’s nice. Heres to hoping they give us an actual good model in the next game because Sonic Team can clearly fucking do it.

Shinji Frontiers:

The voice direction here is nice. I think everyone did a very good job. I’m happy to see Roger finally start to get his roses because he does great with his Sonic voice.

Creaky:

The bed creak sample is used in the alternative Tower theme. I just find this kinda funny.

youtube

WRAP UP:

So that’s Sonic Frontiers. A very confused and messy collect-a-thon that doesn’t really succeed at much of anything. Its open zones feel half baked and like a game that’s far too late to the collect-a-thon party, the combat feels like a first draft, the writing is a mess and only makes itself messier with time and its more Sonic elements suck at being that. So what is good here? Uhhh– A lot of small stuff. Notably the movement. Probably some of the best movement that Sonic has ever had in a 3D space. This isn’t to say everything else sucks, this isn’t a broken unplayable game, but it’s a very polarizing one, at least to me.

My title for this review was calling it the "most important Sonic game ever made" and that's not really just clickbait. Frontiers is the most experimental game this series has ever seen I think. There's just so much added to it and so much being tried that there's legit so many possible directions to take after this and I think it will end up being the most influential game in the series. This is a turning point for better or worse. Whether Sonic Team gets their act together and does something great with it or we're sentenced to more mediocrity is up in the air.

Personally, I'm on the side of cautious optimism, but I do hope the best for the blue bastard going forward.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #review #nemi be sayin shit fr #Youtube

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mrfancyfoot · 8 months

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Raphael x Evie (f!"human"OC) | Rating: E/varied

Chapter 3: 'Jingle Bells' of Prosody is now live on AO3! :D

Summary: Raphael’s Boots of Brilliance have the flavor text: “Tiny bells are sewn into the boots’ cuffs. They jingle subtly with every step.”

I am also now accepting requests for Prosody: please see this post for more info.

Thank-you so much for reading/commenting/liking/reblogging/etc etc!! <3

Chapter Rating: T / SFW Warnings: (Mostly) non-graphic discussion of removing an eye; Pardon Evie's info-dumping

Evie’s ears caught on a curious sound over his words, twitching every time she heard the barely perceptible interruptions that now rang thunderous. Her eyes scanned down his clothing as her ears honed in on where it was coming from.

The shoes.

Her head canted.

The feet stopped their slow pacing. “Is something the matter? …Evie.”

Her eyes shot back up to his, shaken from the fixation she’d found herself in. “Hm?”

His shoulders rose and fell with his sigh, his mouth pinching into the start of a scowl. Raphael strolled towards her, the softest of jingling accompanying each step. “I find the newly sprouted ears suit you. They complete the picture of a curious vixen. Unlike all those pretty little ceremorphosis symptoms - sundering skin, dissolving guts… You’d best pay attention, fox. One might say you’re a paragon of luck, yet as the clock ticks, it will run out. And here I’ll be waiting with my generous offer of salvation.”

“Bells,” she said. “The…bells are distracting.”

He looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue, instead plastering on a smile and asking, “Have you sufficiently considered my offer?”

Evie rolled her shoulders in a shrug and rocked back on her heels. “I suppose. I wasn’t expecting to be brought here or I’d have brought my copy.”

Raphael’s eyebrows shot up as his eyes brightened in surprise and his smile turned from one of performance to genuine excitement, prior grievances seemingly forgotten. “No need to worry, I have one all prepared.” With a snap of his fingers, one appeared before them.

Frowning, she gave it a dismissive wave and set her hands on her hips determinedly with a huff. “Like I’m going to remember all the red-lining I did. That was awful, forcing myself to read through it the other seventeen times.” She sighed, half wondering if it was even worth the effort to explain. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’m rejecting it on the principle of unacceptable parameters. Poetry has no place in contract legalese and only serves to provide you with smokescreens and loopholes to exploit,” she criticized with a shake of her head. “Properly define your terms and supply a more suitable exchange and I may reconsider.”

“I don’t think you fully appreciate the direness of your situation. You’re hardly in any place to be making negotiations,” the cambion sneered.

The direction of this conversation combined with things he’d said in the past confirmed something that had been nagging her. “See, this is how I know you - or one of yours - have been in my companions’ minds…but haven’t been in mine. And I hardly believe it’s because y’all haven’t tried. You’re projecting them onto me with the presumption that we’re at least similar if not the same. I’m not desperate.” She figured he was at least spying on them somehow.

“Oh? Are you looking forward to growing tentacles and losing your mind to the oblivion of being an illithid slave for the rest of your days?” he asked mockingly, unhappy at being called out and turned down again. She noted that he said nothing about her accusation of spying into their minds.

“No. I don’t think it will get to that point,” she said, maybe too flippantly.

Raphael was unenthused and clearly skeptical of her optimism. “An awfully intrepid belief. Are your companions aware that you don’t share their urgency?”

“We are still acting with a sense of urgency. I’m simply not clouded by it,” she tried to reason. “However, I would never block anyone else from going to you should they decide that’s the best choice for them.” That didn’t seem to be swaying him any. “Unless…that’s not good enough? For some reason, you want mine specifically.” Evie crossed her arms, feeling an uncomfortable confusion trying to take root in her mind. She tamped it down, telling herself she had to remain keen right now.

His bright eyes stared into her for several long seconds, as though weighing his words. Could he actually see her soul? “ Your soul, dear fox,” he pointed at her with a clawed finger, “carries unique qualities that devils find attractive. And though you may not see yourself as the Leader- the Hero of Baldur’s Gate - yet - others most certainly will. It is a covetous thing to own the contract of one who has played such a part.” This wasn’t the first time that he had referred to her with that title and it wasn’t one that she was comfortable with, as he well knew from their prior talks.

He had assigned her a role that he expected her to play in order to, essentially, load her soul’s CV with the achievements he desired to make it extra…whatever devils valued. ‘Heroic’ seemed like a theme, so maybe there was a corruption component? This wasn’t something she was warned about in Sunday school.

If they were successful, he wasn’t going to stop pursuing her soul.

Undeterred, she confidently replied, “Well, unfortunately for you, I would rather pop my own eye and yank out the parasite myself before signing away my soul.” Eternal damnation didn’t exactly sound better than simply dying. Though her worry now was that he might try to manifest a scenario in which she would have to sign her soul away to him. The tadpole was looking like it was just an object of current convenience for him.

If he wanted her soul, she at least wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

Raphael openly rolled his eyes. “You truly believe you can be rid of it that way?”

Evie held her fingers up in a pinching gesture. “Well, a bard, a goblin, a hag, and an illithid have all suggested doing such, so far, which tells me that there may be the barest of slivers of merit to it.” She’d be the first to say that their methods were highly sus and not probable to come without their own consequences - it was simply yanking it out and most of them may not have put any thought into it beyond that. But she wasn’t them…and it might be more feasible than she initially thought. “The advantage I have is the modern-day knowledge of physiology and medicine. And probably far more finesse than any of that lot.” And Volo had a fake eye if not. She could rock a fake eye.

Astarion would make fun of her for being even more clumsy for the lack of depth perception, but people loooved eccentricity in business moguls!

And the way she was with her new claws, she was wont to take out her own eye at some point, anyway.

“Do extend an invitation to me whenever you decide to try to pluck your own eye from your skull,” he hissed sardonically. “I would like a front row seat.”

“I have a friend who can pop his own out on a whim. I don’t need to remove it entirely, just get around it and the optic nerve. And muscles. And thanks to the wonders of daytime - and late night television, I’ve at least actually seen it done before in a professional medical setting. That’s probably not the difficult part, though - relative. That would be not accidentally lobotomizing myself in the process. Buuut at least I wouldn’t feel that. Probably.”

The cambion before her was the picture of disgusted exasperation.

Unfortunately for him, that did not stop her rambling and info-dumping now that she was excited that she might actually be onto something.

Raphael was under no illusions that, upon summoning her to him tonight, she would actually acquiesce to signing over her soul right then. He did believe that he could slowly whittle away at her pesky sensibilities and plant the needed seeds that would lead her back to him once she hit the point of desperation.

It had never once occurred to him that he might unwittingly lead her to the thoroughly audacious conclusion that she could remove the illithid blight herself. Delusional.

Was it a bluff? The more he watched her, the more he doubted that it was.

His resistant heroine closed her eyes and touched a hand to her chin in thought while she audibly walked herself through the theoretical process in a far more knowledgeable manner than he could have anticipated. That knowledge was making her comfortable. The conviction was impressive, if foolhardy.

Her attention diverted, he watched as she continued to mumble to herself, and then something on the bookcase next to her caught her eye. She turned and stooped slightly, her words trailing off mid-sentence. Her head tilted to read the words along the spines of the books.

Though irritated that she had just…walked off from the conversation without being dismissed, he allowed her to peruse the room under his observance, to stumble her own way across a line that would land her within his claws. He could see her fighting the urge to touch. Perhaps a minor contract could be the catalyst for her soul.

She jerked back suddenly, eyes wide, and brought her fist down onto her palm. A classic gesture indicating a spark of thought. “Oh! I should ask Wyll about his eye!” she exclaimed to herself. Then she pointed to a golden fixture set upon a side table whereupon a handful of especially bright souls rested and addressed him as though she hadn’t been behaving as though she had forgotten about his presence, “What’s this?”

“That is a lamp,” he answered flatly, wondering if that knowledge would bring any alarm or disgust to her.

She gave a curious hum and walked on. Attention already on the next thing as her tail flicked blithely behind her.

The little fox was seemingly not ignorant to what he was, but she was decidedly without fear of him.

It couldn’t possibly be due to confidence in her own strength - she wasn’t and had none - but rather the belief or trust that he would not harm her. Like some soft little pet.

Overly familiar in her language and behavior.

Presented herself as though his equal.

The rules and etiquette by which she governed herself were most typically found among the working class. Not nobility by any stretch unless that class held very different traits and values in her locality. Yet highly educated. There were some…odd notions in there, however, but he was uncertain if they were a product unique to her or from whence she came.

At present, she had nothing to her name and no desire to return to her plane. A beautifully blank canvas. From what he had been able to discern, the pure novelty was what led her desire to stay. She was confident in her ability to thrive here and perhaps had the ambition to achieve that on her own. If she didn’t get herself killed first.

“Ah, you do have clocks!” she suddenly exclaimed and turned around to face him. The fox continued with an unprompted explanation, “You said ‘as the clock ticks’ earlier and part of my brain just caught up and threw it at me. I’ve been trying to figure out the general technological timeline of Faerûn but that’s really hard considering I’ve never been in a city, so far, and with talks with the others, I’ve learned some things are called different things here. I was looking for a clock but either you don’t have any or you subscribe to the casino theory of timekeeping. Or they look different.” She gestured to the room at large with her next words, “But if you - a noble - live like this, I think I have a better idea.”

Like…this.

“Elaborate.”

Her head fell to the side and her eyes drifted up as she collected the thoughts to distill into words that, for both their sakes, had best resolve the ire building within him to which she appeared oblivious. She held her hand up as though counting while she spoke, but quickly did away with that endeavor as she started pacing, her hands and face emphasizing her words with a new gusto, “You have hot, running water as indicated by your bath. But no electricity - though I think there’s a strong case for magic working as a sort-of substitute here and for some other use cases. Some of the things in Grymforge and the arcane tower were wholly novel to my companions, which tells me that technology may be unique to those locations and-or the prior occupiers. Books - printing press and even detailed, graphical covers!”

She stopped pacing abruptly and tapped her foot briefly before throwing her hands up in a sharp shrug. Frustration leached into her explanation, turning it into a rant, “But you use quills and no-one’s heard of flushing toilets! ‘Ice boxes’ are maintained by magic and not a chemical vacuum system or electricity. Air conditioning, heating - is also mostly magic but largely only by those capable of it. Which throws a bit of a wrench into trying to match things against the technological timeline of my world because we don’t have magic. Higher technology is definitely missing, though, or I think you’d probably have signs of it. Though also possibly not since I’m sensing a certain aesthetic and that kind of thing doesn’t always pair well for those who are…discerning.”

Oh, did the fox realise she was ranting? She had the sense to look contrite, but uncareful words before a devil were dangerous. Information was a currency in his world and she was offering up more and more with each successive summons.

She might have been lower born, yet it was a clear bet that, courtesy of her own plane’s advances, she was used to a standard of living even much of Faerûn’s nobility did not have. Her ‘every day’ was found in the very lap of luxury here. Was she prepared to face that reality? That she may never obtain that without a truly obscene amount of ambition? Of drive? Of connections? Of money? Of power?

While he presumed her to be conventionally attractive beneath the ratty, oversized clothing, she had made her features unique enough that she may get away with being someone’s spoiled pet - but would she be satisfied with that?

This he could use.

He rolled his shoulders and felt his mood lift. He stepped towards her and ignored how her eyes dropped to his boots again. “You seem to have a certain disdain for quills.”

Face souring, she spoke in a clipped tone, “I haven’t been the biggest fan of having to relearn how to write. They’re so inefficient! And messy. I swear, my handwriting isn’t anywhere as bad as they make it seem…” The first worry she had expressed in his presence…and it was about her handwriting.

Raphael grinned with a flourish of his hand. “Fear not, I shan’t care how your signature looks upon any of my contracts.”

She breathed a laugh at his humor and shook her head.

Time for her to return. “The night has grown long, little fox. We will speak again soon.”

Her hand rose in a wave. “This has been an eye-opening conversation,” she giggled as she disappeared swathed in his magic.

His jaw clenched. What an aggravating little thing.

#baldur's gate 3 fanfic #baldur's gate 3 raphael #bg3 Raphael #raphael the cambion #baldur's gate 3 raphael fanfic #raphael x tav #Raphael x OC #Raphael #Plots & Prosody #mrfancyfoot

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