#i think its fun to have themed cosmetics like that

[dragonroilz]

cosmetic ideas for S105

[xamiipholia]

okay y'all seemed to like the last one so here's a few more Horizon 3 thoughts:

Aloy won’t die. It would completely upend the series’ themes and just be really nihilistic.

Since Nemesis is a gestalt entity I think it’s a safe bet that we’ll see Sam Witwer, Carrie-Anne Moss, etc again. I’m curious how they’re going to do it because at least structurally, it’s basically a reaper. Maybe it’ll use different Avatars when communicating like the Leviathan in ME3. 

It's gonna take some work to make a flashback/dream/vision not contrived but I would love to see Varl and Rost again. I think we deserve that.

Minerva is gonna have its work cut out for it blocking access to both the dormant Faro Swarm and the ZD terraforming system. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if Nemesis has some sort of corruption function that becomes the equivalent of the corruption in HZD. It would be a really fun tech showcase if GG uses Zenith nanotech for machine corruption and leans into mechanical body horror.

If we’re going to Ban-Ur I really really hope they do the work to make the Banuk less problematic and more fleshed out as a culture. A quasi-Spartan society absolutely would not survive in an extreme environment, *especially* without megafauna to hunt. The Banuk characters are lovely and well-written; they deserve a society as well thought out as the Utaru or Carja. I’m honestly fine if there’s retcons or revamps to the cultural lore because the whole “outsider barges in and becomes chief” is rooted in racist, colonial tropes and we just don’t really need that imo.

The most recent footage of Death Stranding 2 (also running on Decima) has me SO excited for the visuals. GG’s gonna knock it out. The facial rendering and animation that Kojima Productions are doing looks industry-peak and I’m sure GG’s gonna match that. Aloy’s Gay Panic™️ scene on the beach in HBS is already top-tier nonverbal storytelling through animation. Digital Foundry actually just posted a really cool tech breakdown of the current Decima engine. I’m especially excited about the environmental stuff. The ocean simulations in HFW are already incredible and I hope they increase verticality in the world. I can’t wait to see the Sacred Lands in current gen graphics. 

I really love Kotallo’s DIY arm and it’s so so important to his development but Beta and Gaia now have access to Zenith nanotech, maybe give your buddy a sick upgrade hmm?

Speaking of, I can’t wait to see Beta come into her own. She’s one of the best parts of HFW and Aloy’s character absolutely shines in a sibling dynamic. 

I wouldn’t get your hopes up for a romance mechanic. Everyone’s feelings on that aside, it would be really odd from a game development perspective to just overhaul part of how the narrative develops Aloy’s character in the last act of the story. Yeah, there are flashpoints but I would argue that the presence of choice in Horizon is smoke and mirrors- cosmetic at best. Kentucky Route Zero (which you should play) does something similar where the player is given a certain amount of control over the substance of individual conversations and scenarios and it does absolutely nothing to alter the plot, by design. I think it’s the same here - this isn’t really a choice-based RPG, the flashpoints don’t really affect anything plot-wise or for Aloy’s character development. Olin is still out of the story, Nil lives, Regalla still dies one way or another. Aloy’s character development is pretty firmly on rails (think Jin Sakai, not Shepard - you get to guide some momentary character reactions but that’s it). I don’t think HBS is a testing ground either - If they were gonna introduce a romance mechanic I think they’d just do it, and not spend two years making a direct continuation of HFW’s main quest and establishing a specific romance hard-baked into the plot, complete with multiple leitmotifs for the character relationship (which is something they haven’t done before afaik) just to introduce a side quest mechanic coming in 5 years. I genuinely can’t think of any game or dev that has beta tested a major alteration to upcoming game mechanics that way - it doesn’t really make any sense in terms of developer resources, and these games are extremely time-consuming to make. I know this is a thing a bunch of people want and I can totally empathize with that! I just think it’s probably not on the table. 

I would bet money the series will bookend itself and the epilogue will involve a) the naming of Zo and Varl’s kid and b) Lis’ pendant. 

Mostly I'm just looking forward to being surprised. One of my favorite things that Horizon does is use carefully established elements in the world to pull the plot in unexpected directions and keeping the world grounded while they lean into speculative science fiction. I can't wait to see what Guerrilla is cooking up

[pebblemae]

Buckle in, this one’s a long one.

I feel this image sums up the whole Tournament.

It had its great points! The idea of being able to root for your team and play, in my opinion, really fun mini games (I’m lookin at you, crab race) and play with friends in a big competition in the center of Skys huge arena in celebration of the Olympics? A real world event where countries from all over the world can come together? Was a great idea and, in some ways, worked really well.

On the other hand. This even was inherently unbalanced from the start. Team Forest (through no fault of their own, I’m confident) had an unfair advantage and was able to win all but one gold. Even my own team, Wasteland, was able to get every silver after the first couple days. Making the whole game no longer friendly competition, but an event to watch as two podiums grew, and two podiums fell behind. And though I didn’t experience this myself, I’ve also heard many people have bad player experiences with players who placed first gloating at the finish line and others piggybacking, making the races un fun to play.

My thoughts? I did still enjoy the event despite this, though I recognize I probably had a better time with this than red or yellow because I was on the second place team. But even then, my heart sank for my fellow competitors who stopped putting in effort or even stopped playing all together because it just wasn’t fun to play anymore.

“Well it’s a competition! People are gonna lose!” Has that ever been what Sky is about? Sky is about team work, compassion, friendship and community. And I do think this event could have fit in that. It’s just unfortunate that it didn’t.

I don’t want to completely down talk this event. I did genuinely have fun and I even made a few new friends! I had a blast flying down the side of Prairie Peaks Mountian and racing through the Forest. My favorite game was hands down racing as crabs through Wasteland. Even the cosmetics (though the good ones were IAP, were not getting into that rn) were cute and very on theme! I made friends while waiting for games to start and, personally, had almost entirely positive interactions with players from other teams. And even having a team cape felt really nice.

I really hope TGC take this event, it’s good and it’s bad, and really learn from it if they want to try something like this in the future.

To all my competitors, it was truly a pleasure to compete with you. To my team, we really gave it our all. And while this certainly wasn’t the most fair competition, at least we can all laugh at how stupid that picture up there looks. We got some great memes out of this mess.

[raviosprovidence]

So Lets Talk about Season of [REDACTED]

So recently, a bunch of content for the next season of Sky came out from beta and...I have some thoughts below the cut

Spoilers for next season if you don't want to read

So the new season is called Season of Remembrance, and all of the new spirits are themed around war and the effects of it. The takes have been...mixed. So let's start with the good.

War stories have always fascinated me, and I love the fact that sky is delving more into some darker lore and not just "haha funnee spirits go whee" type stuff. Even though sky is geared for all ages (and thus there's more of a younger audience) the idea that younger audiences can't handle mature subjects is ageist and harmful. Kids are a lot smarter than we think, and showing war through the eyes of the victims is very good for insight.

However, war is still a touchy subject. It's an almost unavoidable subject in real life. Right now, there's a war going on that's received a lot of media attention, and thus, this can be seen as insensitive. As of right now, TGC stands to profit entirely off this season about war and trauma. And this seems really...insensitive? Like they haven't announced donating any % of the profits anywhere. It definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth considering how greedy they've seemingly gotten lately, with removing passive AFK spaces and pushing IAP's constantly.

And maybe yeah, it is a bit weird that you're watching these horrific things happen, and then taking the spirit's emotions and clothes, but that's...just how sky works. You can't want war stories in sky and then go all surprised pikachu when the game is played properly.

So yeah, it's a little bit of a mixed bag. TGC has been dropping the ball a lot lately with its playerbase and im not sure if pretty cosmetics and a fun concert will be enough to keep people satisfied.

Feel free to reblog/leave your opinions below. I'm very open to discussion

So next season, instead of paying money for IAP's and Season Passes, maybe donate to a charity taking care of refugees or veterans. Your money will go much farther than if you spent it on fake currency

[the-writer-nerd-ro]

Just remembered I forgot to post my very self-indulgent fic where Sara Pena meets Sloane from the Fursona Telephone episode (Sloane does not actually appear in this fic but she is discussed at length and will appear in future fics I promise 🥰)

Anyways, enjoy!

Love in its many artforms

Once in a blue moon, Hunter's life intersected with Sara's career, which, today, involved Facebook stalking.

“Oh, Hun, you're Facebook friends with my new client,” Sara called from the living room.

Hunter poked her head out of the kitchen, where she was preparing dinner.

“Hm? Who is it?” Hunter hadn't used Facebook in six and a half years.

“Sloane Clark.”

Hunter inhaled sharply. “I forgot I was Facebook friends with her. She hired you?”

“Yeah, we met at the last party I worked and she said she was having a get together and wanted my energy to liven it up.”

“Oh, cool.” Behind her, a pot of macaroni boiled over.

“How do you two know each other?”

“We went to the same high school,” Hunter said, wondering how much she wanted to elaborate.

“Aw, fun! She seemed really nice.”

“She was pretty nice in high school. We did a group project together.” Hunter took a deep breath and added, “Honestly, I had a bit of a crush on her.”

“I can see that,” Sara said, since she knew she was Hunter’s type and Sloane seemed like her in a slightly different font. “Do you want me to do some digging? See if you would've had a chance in high school?”

“What, like ask her if she's gay?”

“Yeah!”

Hunter blushed, “I don't need to know. But, um, if you wanted to.”

“I won't push the matter, but if it comes up I'll let you know.” Pause. “Unless you wanted to come with me?”

Hunter cringed, glancing behind her. “Shit, the macaroni.”

Sara got up to help sort out dinner (mostly providing moral support) and wait for an answer to her question.

Hunter seemed to mull it over while she pulled the overflowing macaroni pot off the burner. She hadn't started on the roux yet, so at least that wasn't burned. Sara's burner had taken some cosmetic damage, but the rest of their meal was salvageable.

“Do you want to go to the party?” Sara asked again.

“No,” Hunter finally said. “I don't want to know if she remembers me. It can stay an unrequited crush, I have something so much better now.”

Sara threw back her head and laughed. “Thanks, hun. I do like hearing about who you were before I met you. Thank you for letting me into your life.”

“Thank you for wanting to be a part of my life.”

“I could say the same to you.” Sara went to set the table while Hunter finished the mac and cheese.

“I'm still going to find out if Sloane is gay,” Sara added.

“Go for it.”

“And then you can come to the next party.”

Now it was Hunter's turn to laugh. “We'll see about that.”

Sara had a good time at the party, though it was a bit smaller and cozier than she was used to. She got her answer pretty quickly, and a few more answers than she was expecting.

When she came home she was brimming with information.

Hunter usually waited up for Sara after a party and tonight was no different. “How'd it go?”

“It was lovely! Very 90's themed, so that was fun. Like, I don't think she played a single song that came out after 1999. Which is a shame because I know a Valley song she'd love.”

“Interesting,” Hunter said, “what else?”

“Oh yeah, the secret mission.”

“Don't say it like that, that makes me sound creepy,” Hunter said, dressed in her all black vintage nightgown. In the light of Sara's ever-growing collection of candles, she looked like a Victorian ghost come back from the dead to haunt her secret sapphic lover for one last night of passion, unaware that her moans of pleasure sounded like the howls of the damned.

“Sloane is in fact bisexual, though I'm not sure she knew that in high school. But she is also a furry so I'm not entirely certain you're her type.”

“Huh. That's a surprise. Well, thanks for looking into it for me, I guess.”

Sara plopped down on the couch next to Hunter and rested her head on Hunter's shoulder. “No problem, Hun.”

Hunter was quiet for a while before musing, “If we'd dated in high school I would have gotten so good at drawing furries.”

“Love drives us all to create,” Sara said wisely, glancing up at the photo wall of photographs and paintings Hunter had made.

“By the way, I made you a playlist.”

Hunter smiled and pressed a kiss to Sara's cheek. “I love you, too.”

[betawooper]

why YJH orv shouldve been a girl

*Specifically a trans woman, btw. If she was a cis woman that would be a different conversation and there are nuances regarding transness which wouldnt exist in what im talking about otherwise

(This is gonna be a bulleted list bc fuck ordering things in an essay format, also mega orv spoilers so look away if you havent read the novel in its entirety)

it wouldve been a legitimate time save in previous regressions while mastering breaking the sky swordsmanship and that concept is So Funny to me

the transcenders are all gnc af, theres a whole theme surrounding breaking from the norm to reach their true potential, it wouldve fit thematically

if done right, it could emphasize the theme of loneliness thats tied with joonghyuk’s character if none of her other companions are trans; even if they were it wouldnt have mattered since they would have forgotten she was a woman in future regressions anyway

if she tries to repress her identity bc expression of it is deemed unnecessary or meaningless, even more points

would have pushed the narrative foiling with dokja even further since they already have opposing imagery and metaphors, now they would be the opposite gender too

the ‘does dokja and joonghyuk is gay’ joke wouldnt poke fun at the thought of two men being together, but rather at the absurdity of a relationship occurring and still being called such in the first place simply bc of joonghyuk’s gender

bonus points if you emphasize joonghyuk’s canonical lack of interest/attraction to men in light of this, dokja could have joked about that easily

random person: “you two look like lovers lol”

dokja, internally: the bitch is literally a lesbian but Okay-

it would have fit orv’s style of comedy a lot and also remove the slightly homophobic undertones of the original joke too, do you see a downside to this? i dont

she would parallel sookyung (dokja’s mom) even more since joonghyuk essentially “raised” dokja after sookyung could no longer do so

theres already a strong theme about how twsa became dokja’s caretakers in a sense and having joonghyuk be a mother figure instead of a father figure would push the idea of her taking up what should have been sookyung’s duties

besides, the narrative focuses way more on how the lack of a present maternal figure affects dokja over a paternal one so itd be more relevant

also insert joke about joonghyuk being a milf

next, this would parallel sooyoung a lot more, there tends to be this joke amongst creative circles that a creator often projects parts of themselves in their works and that includes characters, both of them being women would make that way more obvious

parallels hayoung bc uh, Trans obviously (sooyoung loves her trans main protagonists lmao)

transfem joonghyuk wouldve made her dynamic/relationship with seolhwa much more interesting since they wouldnt be a typical “het” couple anymore, seolhwa’s character could have been given a little more relevance with the kind of conflicts which could arise from this, the most obvious relating to sexuality

on that note, their ideas of femininity and how they prefer to express it are completely different despite them both being the same gender which could bring up interesting conversations about it (mostly thinking about that scene where seolhwa and joonghyuk go to the auction house prior to gigantomachia and talk about cosmetic skills, this scene couldve been way more fleshed out than it was presented in canon)

if you still want the punisher to exist, this could also fit into that conversation about gender expression and bring up interesting ideas depending on how butch you make joonghyuk

both seolhwa and the punisher would add a lot of complexity to joonghyuk’s whole relationship with self-indulgence and happiness since again, bc of her situation as a regressor she either wouldnt want to open herself up in the interest of practicality or doesnt feel deserving of it when her goal hasnt been accomplished

god are there more points? ill edit this if so but this is already so fucking long-

I actually wrote a whole thing about joonghyuk being uncracked during the events of orv and the comedic potential of it is endless when dokja is the only one who knows, so trust me when i say it does work out very very well (i can link to the stuff in the replies? so far ive got uhhhhh *counts* 54k words of that shit)

Anyways transfem yjh supremacy

[aotopmha]

I finished the Myths of the Realm alliance raid.

I've actually been super busy in FF14 these last two weeks – I also did the 6.1 MSQ, the job quest capstones, the ShB role quest capstones, the Omega Endwalker capstone and a bunch of other stuff that's not story-related.

As far as major content left, I think I only have the 8-man raid series, EW role quests and the rest of the MSQ to go now.

Though the EW role quests don't feel as immediately significant as the ShB ones, so I'm not as much in a hurry to get them done.

All of these bits of content will probably get their own posts in due time.

And I think there is a bunch more to say even for stuff I've already talked about.

But for now, I'll talk about Euphrosyne and Thaleia.

And I think they didn't quite continue the momentum in terms of mechanical creativity that Aglaia started, which is sad, but I think I'd at least place them above any of the Crystal Tower and Void Ark raids and I can say I don't agree with some of the more extreme takes on them because I think they still have some really creative fights/elements in there.

Firstly, I'm sad they didn't continue the mini boss encounters and instead defaulted back to regular mobs between fights. It's something fairly unique to any encounters in the game.

A few more could've been fun.

But going from Byregot's really cool "crafting" mechanic theming to Nophica's comparatively mundane AoEs is also a downgrade.

It's a beautiful-looking fight with the season changes and I even get the farming theme within the AoEs, but I think her fight is probably the weakest fight in the entire raid series.

It really is just basic AoE dodging. The alternating colors are the most unique part of the fight, but I think Tsukiyomi did that in a much thematically stronger way, too.

Moving on, I really like the Astrologian theming for Nymeia. Her design is one of my favourites. I love her clothes.

On one hand, Nymeia and Althyk are the only double fight in all of the three wings, which in itself gives the fight its own identity, but on the other hand I wish each had their own fight.

I like how the gravity and cards are combined and needing to play according to the card effects is neat, though, again, in comparison, I think Rhalgr was just so much stronger in terms of having its own identity, particularly with its super unique arena that is used in fun ways.

Avoiding gravity has been in many fights at this point and so has been dodging status effects and I feel this fight doesn't really do much new with that.

But it is also not entirely devoid of personality by combining these two ideas.

Next, I think Halone actually gets a really good fight. The memory game in her fight isn't necessarily new, either, but I like how it is executed in it because I think it and her delayed attacks are really satisfying to dodge. Her nature as a spear-wielding warrior goddess comes through really well in the fight and I love her transforming weapon.

In fact, I want that weapon for DRK (would be really cool if it was available for both DRK and PLD in its respective spear and shield/greatsword form, maybe even having a form specifically for DRG, and you'd be able to change between them for cosmetic purposes).

I feel there is a fun fire/ice parallel with Aglaia and Eusophryne and Azeyma/Halone: fire being dark-aspected and ice being light-aspected, and the identities of their fights contrasting each other.

While Azeyma felt like a free-flowing reactive fight, Halone felt very orderly and "set in stone" so to say. Passive vs active and I think that's really cool.

I want to mention the ice citadel and the two moons, too, which is probably my favourite location in all of the three wings of the raid visually, though Aglaia's Heaven of Fire is a very close contender.

Menphina I'd put on par with Althyk and Nymeia.

There are some "almost" unique elements with her fight, like Dalamud jumping out of his target ring or the moon creating an attack when it becomes full, but they're more like neat details than fully substantial unique mechanics.

Menphina is one of my favourites out of all of the gods in terms of actual personality.

She's so playful and fun. Her having a magical girl-like aesthetic for a goddess of love is also super fun/cute and I want Dalamud as a mount.

So, all of the fights in Euphrosyne have their own "personality" visually, but it doesn't always translate into the mechanics. But when it does, we get cool stuff like Halone's fight or cute elements like a puppy named Dalamud that is having fun with hit boxes or the goddess of fate using Astrologian cards. It's not as distinct as what came before in a general sense to me, but I still had a bunch of fun running it.

Moving on to Thaleia, I definitely like Thaliak more than Nophica because I like the Zodiark positioning mechanic and I like dodging the triangles because you have to think slightly more about your positioning than with fairly generic AoEs. It's not "unique" so to speak, but what is there is done well enough.

I see Lymlaen the same way. Nier did the corridor running better, but I still really like how she creates an opening in the middle of the whirlpool she created as her arena. It's such a cool idea, but most of her fight still ends up being AoE dodging, which at this point just frustrated me.

I feel you could've done some neat stuff with manipulating the whirlpool and that alone would've strenthened the general identity of it.

I do love that the goddess of the sea is a tough pirate lady, though.

I think Oschon is the best fight in Thaleia. I love the predictive mechanics involving his archery. His fight is a super distinctive fight in terms of showcasing him as a fighter, just like Halone's.

I feel like Bards are fairly underrepresented in the game, too, so the fight is welcome in this sense, as well.

They even manage to weave the straight-forward stuff into this reactive archery identity of the fight.

Finally, there is Eulogia.

I think this fight is basically the alliance raid version of the final Eden fight. I like final fights that test you on mechanics that you've encountered up to that point.

In this case, I think it being a "test" fight really benefitted the narrative structure and did a great job at crafting a sense of finality for the entire raid in terms of the gameplay and story alike.

To me it completed the entire package, even if I thought the first wing was the best part of it.

In a general enjoyment sense, I was never truly bored through any of the encounters, I just think some fights could've been better.

They still sound great and look great and give some really cool glamour.

And I'll probably be happier to get any of these raid wings in roulettes than Nier or Ivalice because I feel you can get through them comparatively quickly. Nier is really long in particular.

So, I can see where the criticisms for the series come from, but none of the criticisms I *personally* have for it truly ruin any of it.

Now if the game kept going down this path and never changing and leaning more and more on these generic encounter tropes, it would eventually become a true problem.

Once again looking at the statements about Dawntrail, though, luckily it seems they are aiming to nip this homogenization issue in the bud.

[kuwdora]

for the ao3 wrapped writers ask game: 17 and/or 29 pretty please!

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

Mmmm, this year?? Vilgefortz. I had a very Specific Itch to scratch and golly, I sure did indulge myself—and @reinvent-and-believe and @sidprescot too, mwahahaha. The TWN Thanedd episode came and went with Vilgefortz. His scenes with Geralt worked me into a froth because I absolutely needed more because how much I loved their book scenes. And honestly it’s not right how truncated Vilgefortz' dialogue is in the show. And thus my brain overheated and Ouroboros happened. It really was that saying—write for that group of like 3 or 5 people who are gonna lose their minds. And they did. I think @littlestsnicket's brain melted and I'm not sure @sidprescot will be the same lol. It was great. I winked so hard at my readers that my eye fell out and @reinvent-and-believe picked up my eye, cleaned it off and handed it back to me and @sidprescot is just foaming at the mouth and brain the whole fucking time (ilu all). I also managed to post more about writing/drafting this fic than anything else I’ve written in the last few years, lol god. I have 15 million witcher thoughts at any given time (mostly about yennefer and yennskier and geraskier) but this is what i manage to post the most about, sdflakjsdf. I love Witcher canon blending and riffing on themes, okay. My blending is not to everyone's tastes, but yeaaahhh I had quite the time writing Vilgefortz this year. All the Continental art history was so much fun to weave throughout the story.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Here’s my favorite passage from chapter 1 of Ouroboros, it’s about 900 words. I loved starting the fic off with the TWN characterizations and then running with it back to some book vibes and all my feelings about all the canons and aaaand and…lots of things. Love this whole passage. Indulgent.

“Doesn’t appear to be much glory in this gallery,” Geralt said, gesturing at the vertical diptych he was studying.

Vilgefortz nodded and strode closer to point out the relevant details. There was a curious furrow to Geralt’s brow that made Vilgefortz more confident in encouraging Geralt to voice his thoughts.

“This one is called Ships in a Desert and it’s a very controversial piece with multiple meanings. Each canvas represents a different interpretation of First Landing and encourages the viewer to engage with different possibilities. This bottom artwork is clearly not historically accurate because as you can see the ship and its wreckage is strewn across a desert landscape rather than the coast of Redania. The artist Yona Skanfall also intended this scene to subvert Ithlinne’s Prophecy.

“You can see in the foreground a future where the Continent’s water has dried up and its inhabitants are boiling their own skin as a direct result of humanity wielding Chaos. People did not take kindly to this kind of heresy against the prevailing narrative about the White Frost. But there were those who were ardent defenders of this piece because it held true to the original prophecy’s themes of a calamitous end by humanity’s hubris. But Aen Ithlinnespeath was a sacred elven prophecy and any minute deviations from the story caused an uproar. Yona certainly made no friends by implying the Hen Ichaer died before they could save the world—note the desiccated seed pod in this dune. If this scene alone had not gotten Yona banned from two kingdoms for smearing elven canon and laying waste to the kings of her day—see the scattered crowns in the sand here and here—her choice to depict Jan Bekker as a woman gave others all the more reason to ostracize her.”

“Why were people offended by Jan Bekker as a woman?” Geralt asked.

“Why indeed? Vanity. Sexism. Most primary sources and historical records suggested that Jan Bekker was actually quite a hideous man. In the early days of the Brotherhood mages had not yet mastered the art of cosmetic transformation. Many saw their ugliness as intrinsic to their character, especially those first survivors who bore the scars of scurvy from their journey. To remove that element and depict Jana Bekker as a buxom heroine was antithetical to their view of history.”

“You’re telling me mages are superficial in more ways than one? Color me surprised.”

Vilgefortz laughed and found himself warming even more to the witcher. He bit the inside of his lip and stepped closer, brushing against Geralt’s elbow.

“There have been other interpretations of Jana over the years. I myself have collected several woodcuts of her and Nina Fioravanti in mid-coitus from a series called Ars Orgasmica. I could show them to you, if you’d like.”

Geralt didn’t verbalize a witty retort, though Vilgefortz could sense the words propositions and pornography floating on the surface of his mind. Geralt turned his attention on the other painting from Ships in a Desert. He gestured. “Tell me about this one.”

Vilgefortz tore his gaze away from Geralt, carefully gathering his words. “This painting depicts a slightly different interpretation of her original interpretation. The wreckage of First Landing is in the foreground and the bodies of the ship's crew are barely visible in the sand. The emphasis here is on the future that was lost. Notice the verdant hills in the background, never to be discovered by the first mages. Perhaps if there was a lighthouse in this desert sea, these two ships would not have crashed and fallen to the dunes and become lost to memory. Perhaps they could have met, shared resources, and survived in spite of the hardship. They could have thrived and built a new world together.”

“The hills are better off without the mages,” Geralt murmured.

Vilgefortz turned back to Geralt and nodded solemnly. “A solid interpretation. The commonality amongst these pieces is suffering. Yona depicted it well.”

“Your lot is notorious for causing suffering.”

“Truer words have never been spoken.”

“Truth is something this ball is in short supply of.”

“Tonight there’s so much more on offer,” Vilgefortz said.

“If I wanted to have my fill of lies and subterfuge, I would have stayed downstairs eating from the bottomless pit of illusory caviar.”

Every one of Geralt’s conversational parries aroused more desire in Vilgefortz’s chest. He’d hoped to keep the witcher’s attention for more serious matters tonight, but the wry humor was an unexpected delight. Enticing and novel in a way that Vilgefortz had known others had been charmed by, but never believed he would also find so alluring. He wanted more of Geralt.

“I agree. Stay with me. At my table we would feast upon spiced boar and toast to our communion. No illusions, only the boundless companionship of two men appreciating art and history together.”

A grimace passed across Geralt’s features, like Vilgefortz’s words were little more than indigestion. The firelight from the braziers cast a warm glow upon Geralt’s face, and there Vilgefortz saw a world beyond the staid neutrality that Geralt wore like a tattered cape. A place where two outcasts would be respected and admired. A time where Vilgefortz could lose himself beneath the witcher’s broad hands and taste Geralt’s scars for the first time.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go take a shit. Must be the caviar.”

read on ao3

ask game - ao3 wrapped

[aliceyabusamesoneball]

Since you like analyzing fashion and clothes, I was wondering. What is your favorite element to each of the Witch's Heart characters designs?

OKAYOKAYOKLAY i acutally really like all of the designs .. ILL JUST DO THE 9 MAIN CHARACTERS BECAUSE ITS EASIER

FOR CLAIRE i really like her bow its super cute and its like her signature

shes so true

for ashe i like that he wears a cheongsam because it shows that he travels around since hes not wearing a piece of clothing that originates in the area that the game takes place in (DOES THAT MAKE SENSE..)

slso the color scheme is nice and fits his hair <3

for wilardo his pendant is pretty and also he gets it from gramps so i think its relaly interesting

IT ALSO FITS HIS COLOR SCHEME.. maybe there is a common theme

actually forget what i said about that common theme because my favorite element of sirius' design is his moon earring

this picture is so silly ANYWAYS ITS SO ICONIC and tbh gold goes nice with purple so ill say it fits

for noel i like the little blue bow he has tied to the collar of his shirt

ITS SO SHINY and also it sort of shows his closeness to claire because htey both have blue bows + it fits his color scheme

for zizel i like her mismatching bows on her braids I HAVE NO REASON TO i just think theyre cute and one of her signature things

<3

for charlie their little cape thingy that attaches to the hoodie of her outfit is really cute

going to steal ALSO I LOVE THE BOWS

umm for lime this is sort of specific but her eyes are really pretty.. like the eyelashes and the color of her eyes and everything

also she has a very catlike face.. lik eyou could imagine her doing :3

TBH I REALLY LIKE ALL OF THE CHARACTERS' EYES THEYRE ALL SO PRETTY AND FIT THEIR CHARACTERS SO WELL..

ok finally for rouge i like the cosmetics she has (IS THAT THE RIGHT WORD??) like her lipstick and her nails

THAT PICTURE IS SO TINY anyways i think it sort of shows her status as being the highest ranking demon in hell because she doesnt have to like do work or anything.. like she can afford expensive (??) things like having her nails and makeup done even though theres no like money it still sort of shows her status which is cool i think

ANYWAY I REALLY LIKE ALL OF THEIR DESIGNS AND JSKMDFNDF I LIKE THE COLOR SCHEMES AND EVERYTHING ITS SO FUN I LOVE WITCHS HEART

[birdsquirrel]

not to mcyt blog, but every mcyt smp should at least include some good aesthetic mods for the builders and some good food and animal mods for the rpers.

like:

biomes you'll go: adds lots of nice wood types, stone types, and flowers, gives more options for where people settle down, so it's not just everyone living in the plains

chipped: adds tons of pretty variants of vanilla blocks

quark: adds tons of features, which the person running the smp can customize to suit. i'd say use at least the building, mobs, and world features, though most of the qol stuff wouldn't hurt

supplementaries: adds lots of very pretty and moderately useful decorations to let the cottagecore girlies go feral

alex's mobs: not only adds a ton of creatures, but they have interesting interactions and drops, unlike certain similar mods)

macaw's mods: a series of mods that add tons of decorative options, largely themed after vanilla materials

creeper overhaul: adds several (beautiful) variants of creeper, each with different behaviors and drops. is actually in one of the current smp series and has already caused entertaining chaos

any farming mods that add lots of crops, cooking items, and cooked dishes, such as farmer's delight + its addons, pam's harvestcraft and its addons, and/or croptopia: i think there are compatibility patches available for at least some of these. much more interesting than everyone running around eating steak all the time for everything.

farming for blockheads: adds a market block intended to sell seeds, saplings, and flowers. while by default it's 1 emerald per an item, it's also very easy to customize, which could be hilarious depending on what items are available at what price. also adds some useful items, such as a nest that auto-collects chicken eggs

other good options include:

create: which is the ideal balance of beautiful and functional, AND enables batshittery. thankfully, create has managed to break through enough that people are using for their smp series already

waystones: useful for quick travel between bases. another that has actually made it into recent smp series

lootr: gives loot chest unique-per-player inventories, so people don't have to worry about leaving stuff for others.

apotheosis: probably not all the adventure module, which can lead to getting very op very fast and will badly clog inventories, but at least the enchantment module (allows higher level enchantment than vanilla, but requires things from the nether and the end for the good stuff) and spawner module (allows moving and modifying spawners)

comforts: adds sleeping bags, so people aren't carrying beds everywhere and constantly resetting their spawn

sophisticated backpacks + sophisticated storage: help with inventory management, have nice qol features, and also are aesthetically pleasing

journeymap or xaero's minimap + world map: for navigation

ftbchunks: for claiming areas and preventing mob griefing. could theoretically be used in place of the mapping mods above, but not as nice for that purpose

the one probe or any similar mod: displays item names and what mod it's from. not only useful for the player, but very useful for viewers, so the comments aren't all "what is that thing and what mod is it from?"

cosmetic armor reworked: so people can show off their skins and/or favorite armor sets

artifacts: has fun, silly, and useful items for people to wear

construction wands and/or building gadgets: to speed up building

ftb ultimine: to speed up resource gathering

a lot of mods, especially most tech and mass storage mods, are fun to play, but boring to watch.

silent gear could be good. it lets people customize their tools and armor, so not everyone would have the same stuff + some of the effects are neat/useful. unfortunately, it shines best in packs with lots of added late-game materials, which mostly means ones with lots of tech mods.

mob grinding utils and dark utilities can lead to some interesting builds, but not necessarily the best multiplayer gameplay (unless your audience likes you launching your friends into traps at high speeds, which you can already do with other mods on this list).

mods that add new structures can be a mixed bag. ones that add small points of interest, new villager houses, or overhaul existing structures are nice, but ones that add huge dungeons are, i think, better suited to single player series.

the large changes in how vanilla terrain gen works unfortunately broke a lot of modded terrain gen. terralith is okay, but heavily focused on making its own biomes. my all time favorite, terraforged, has only gotten as far as an alpha for 1.18, though there is a full version available for 1.16 and some earlier versions.

there's probably other mods that would be good for smp series that i'm forgetting, but this is probably Enough Thoughts On The Subject For Now

[overthinkingtaleblr]

Here’s how the League of Legends AU thoughts are going I’m drawing ✨Cosmetics✨ for no reason

That sounds bitter but I’m actually having so much fun. Based on how the story works. he Should be getting hit with the Ruined cosmetic from the pirate cosmetic, but I’m trying to properly define his style and general design bible before I do anything like that. I guess it’s kind of like voicing a character who is making an impression of another character: you need a good understanding of both before you do that.

Yellow guy in first picture is Light Zeron bc i like thinking about that time someone said they should be friends… honestly if any of my character designs needs a design bible its him because I promise he has distinct characteristics it’s just kinda hard to notice when i don’t use color and chose to say he has a variety of things he wears and uses hair dye and stuff— but I promise there is Some method Somewhere in the madness ^^

For people who missed my initial post here’s an explanation of the skins:

The pirate skins take place in a place called Bilgewater— its where the pirates all are— and at some point there’s a whole event that takes place there, where a bunch of characters across the map go ooh being a pirate sounds fun and get funky new styles and a story to boot. Gavin, specifically, would be going to Bilgewater with Light because the duo are traveling together as friends from the same region (Piltover/Zaun) and probably because they’re wanted for Some crimes. Gavin has powers over something called the Harrowing from Piltovians playing god, and Light follows Janna, a wind spirit who protects Zaun’s harbors from pollution, and has managed to get some powers over the wind from it. Together, they realize they’d be valuable to have on a ship that needs to go past the Black Mist— dark clouds surrounding what was formerly known as the Blessed Isles that contain very murderous souls (the Harrowing is an event where the clouds periodically expand over usually Bilgewater, since its closest, and it wreaks Havoc). Together they get on the good graces of a captain and get a job on her ship using paths through the black mist to get merchants and travelers to places faster than others, with light at the helm and Gavin at the front of the ship.

At some point not too long after they start, the spirits within the mist get restless and suddenly lashes out against the ship. Some manage to escape, but being so close to the front of the ship and being highkey completely exposed, Gavin is not one of them. The dude who basically acts as the leader of the black mist, Viego, realizes how useful of an asset someone who can control the Black Mist would be, considering Viego has a goal to basically conquer the entire map. So, Gavin becomes the first “Ruined” character of the Ruined King/Sentinels of Light event, where the black mist inexplicably spreads across the entire map— leading to several characters getting borderline possessed by Viego. Genuinely, I don’t think any explanation was given as to why the mist was suddenly able to expand across the entire map, so being able to add a character who retroactively explains that part of the story works for me. Plus, the Ruined skins has themes with royalty, which I think is fun for Gavin :] Everyone in this skinline Should have an equal and opposite in the Sentinels skinline from a similar place, but my style ideas for Light doesn’t work with the Sentinals theme. Ideas include Toast, leading to brotherly reconciliation, and Poppy, who I have as the captain of the ship who was able to escape because she is immune to the Black Mist.

That’s everything I find important to say for now? But these are the design sketches and I like them.

[fili-urzudel]

Infodump

Whoops it looks like my threat to infodump backfired lol

I wanna let you guys get to know me without compromising my personal information online so if this seems vague in weird spots that's why.

Name: well I just looked through my several Name notes and saw the name Maewyn (the name of my future daughter in Stardew Valley lol) and I like that so why not, if you need to refer to me call me Maewyn or Mae.

Family: I live with my parents and sister, all of whom I adore! I'm the eldest child. We got our first dog when I was 12 and he's still with us.

Favorite Color: Purple. It's pretty and I look good in it ngl. I prefer more blue-tinted shades like indigo or periwinkle.

Favorite flower: it's insanely hard to choose! Botanical gardens and hikes through parks are some of my favorite activities and oh my goodness the pretty plants you see in those places. I might just have to say roses because I have three bushes of my own in the front garden that I tend to every summer and fall.

Favorite Animal: Elephants! I have reasons but I'm not going to articulate that right now sorry

Favorite metal: I'm not a very jewelry oriented person, mostly because of my eczema, but I own mostly silver jewelry.

Favorite stone: once again hard to choose, they're all so pretty. Opal is magnificent, but my only problem with it is it's so soft, so as a practical person who prefers day-to-day wear, it's not the best stone for me.

Zodiac (just in case you were thinking of asking): All I know is I'm a Scorpio.

Hogwarts House: I took the Pottermore quiz in fifth grade and got assigned Ravenclaw so that's what I'm sticking to. Not knowing anything about Harry Potter, I think I'm a Ravenclaw with Hufflepuff tendencies, or vice versa.

Favorite thing to study: I am a student of a lot of things so it's hard to choose, I think every subject has its charm. I love reading and thinking about themes and creative writing (obviously) but I couldn't see doing that for a living because I fear I either wouldn't be motivated enough or having to make money off of something artistic would take the joy out of it. I'm studying Computer Science, and it's very interesting. Biology and Anatomy are super cool as well, but once again I don't think I'm suited to the life of a researcher or a doctor.

Hopes and dreams: just to be a well-adjusted and kind person. I want to be the person that people are drawn to and feel like they can trust, the kind of person where "my door is always open" is a reliable statement. I'm a very shy and quiet person, and maybe not necessarily super emotive, so I feel like at the moment it's a bit hard for people to believe that I care or I'm someone who could care, even though I do, very deeply. Literally my personality goals are Peeta Mellark, Beth March, Samwise Gamgee, and I think my faith plays a lot into that.

Other Fandoms: Star Wars (esp. the Prequels and cartoons) and Star Trek for sure!! I have another sideblog dedicated to that. I'm watching ST:TOS right now and it is so unbelievably fun. I used to be a Marvel fan. I'm still a hardcore Spider-man fan (all media fr fr). I play Stardew Valley, a little Palia but just for the graphics if I'm honest. Uhhh I'm blanking right now so that must mean those are the really important ones.

Fun facts:

I need all four wisdom teeth removed and either braces or Invisalign in the next few years, along with a not-so-purely-cosmetic periodontal surgery.

I downloaded Goodreads maybe three weeks ago and I have 229 books on my Want to Read list.

I skipped all of my high school English classes through Dual Enrollment.

When I clean my room I clean clean but I only do it once every one or two months, and in between it kind of turns into a disaster zone.

I'm gonna get my hair cut from 18 inches to 4-6 inches in a couple months and I'm nervous and excited at the same time.

I want to make myself a capsule wardrobe soon.

I crochet and as soon as I have a little more free time I'm going to teach myself to knit. After that probably quilting, even though I suck at sewing.

I interviewed someone about his beard today.

I'm watching The Vow with my family right now when I probably should be working on my physics.

And if you know me irl, these fun facts will probably let you piece together that it's me running this blog.

That concludes this evening's infodump, I hope you enjoyed.

[joshay98]

Day 572 - 581 (1 year, 208 - 217 days)

Heya! How are we doing today? Hopefully great. Been a while but for that I have a really big update.

Today was the last day of Season of Passage. And you know that means. I review the cosmetics and give a general overview to the season.

So, first the cosmetics. I don't have a Season Pass so I only get the free ones, which there are not many of.

The Oddball Outcast comes with two free cosmetics. A hairstyle and outfit. The hair are a short cut which fades down the sides. Looks nice even if I'm not a fan of this kind of haircut.

The outfit is a red-purple robe with golden details. It looks very comfy and even comes with fured boots. Gives off a really royal feeling. Might be worth wearing it with the crown hair.

The Melancholy Mope has two items as well. A hair accessory and an outfit too. The accessory are two tusk earrings. I imagine they get covered by most hairstyle so you would need to wear something shorter. Still very unique.

The outfit is exactly the reverse color scheme from the Outcast. A golden robe with purple accents. This outfit has a more casual feeling to it. You would think it would stick out more but the colors are very close to the default outfit colors so I can see this being used with a lot of things. Good outfit either way.

The Overactive Overachiever has only a cape. A fluffy black cape, red on the inside and comes with a giant fur collar. I really like this cape! The fluff is just so comfy looking. Even if the colors clash with my cap, I just want to wear it.

You might notice one of the spirits is missing. Turns out the devs thought it was a good idea to lock all the Tumbling Troublemaker's cosmetics behind the Pass. The only thing I got was the Level 3 emote. Sad...

Now onto the Season itself. It's a great season and gameplay wise one of the most unique ones! Each quest is basically its own minigame which you complete with other people. After the past couple seasons basically just implement and show off new features the devs added to the game, this season actually feels original! The quests are very fun, even if buggy at times thanks to the social gathering feature being active. Additionally you get rewarded with candle wax for doing well in them. So if you candle run and want to spice it up a bit then you can do one of these.

The atmosphere of the season itself is gorgeous. The main hub and all quests take place at night, even in areas which only have daytime. In contrast the quest masks and torches scattered around really light up the areas and give a nice lightshow. You barely recognize the areas at times. And the themes of companionship and working together are a really nice touch.

The guide and teens might be one of my favourite spirit groups. They have so much personality to them. The teens, at beginning, are really silly and are off to do their own things, not taking the passage that serious. And the guide has to act like a parent figure for them.

Then near the end they all show respect and have really grown up. It's such a nice development to see and the writers for these spirits really outdid themselves. ^^

So overall the season was great! Lots of new ideas, the feeling around is very wholesome and while the free cosmetics are limited in number, you do get some gorgeous outfits. Can't wait to see what the next season brings. ^^

And that has been it. What a season. Tomorrow a new event starts. The Days of Music! It takes place in the harmony hall so it's nice to see that they make use of that place. ^^

I will see you then! :D

[gorematchala]

Astral Chain's story is kinda of a confusing mess but I think I understand it and I think I like it lol. Overall the game doesnt have the strong characters or theme songs that Metal Gear Rising had but this is probably my second favorite character action game behind DMCV now. The combat is super fun and the post game run of non stop chimera fights is exactly what I was hoping for. Just let me fight stuff and grind for cosmetics while I work on my skill trees. AND its got an enemy model viewer.

9/10 great game. Maybe 8.5 just because the box carrying minigames and stealth are really not great but theyre also very few and far between so its fine. Still absolutely no idea why everyone I ever spoke to about it didnt think it looked cool

[zexalweek]

Hey, everyone! I’m here to reveal the prompts for Zexal Week 2021! For those who can’t properly see the above picture, Zexal Week will be Sunday, June 13th through Saturday, June 19th!

You’re in no way obligated to participate, though if you do, you don’t have to do every day if you don’t want! You can do half the days, every other day, even only one day if you want!

Feel free to get creative with how you celebrate Zexal Week! I know the most common mediums of producing content are usually through fanfic or fanart, but anything goes! AMVs. cosplays, a lil mini vlog, GIFs, simple texts posts just wording your thoughts, whatever you can think of is cool! (Even mature content is acceptable, so long as it’s marked mature somewhere in the post, for those who wish to filter that content!)

And remember, participating in Zexal Week isn’t simply limited to producing content! Contributions are as simple as reblogging each others’ works and posts, or commenting on what you find enjoyable, even if it’s something as simple as a “thank you!”, “I love it!” or even a thumbs-up emoji!

Without further ado, the prompts will be presented beneath the cut!

Sunday, June 13th: 'A Parallel Self' - Let's acknowledge the talent that voice actors brought in bringing the Zexal characters to life! Do a little digging to see what other anime characters share your favorite Zexal character(s)'s voice! (For example: Astral's Japanese VA also voices Koushi Sugawara from Haikyuu!.) Share with us your finds, and maybe indulge in a little crossover of sorts if you'd like!

Monday, June 14th:  'Mythological Twist' - Akin to YGO DM's use of Egyptian Mythology, Zexal uses bits of Christian and Greek Mythology for its series. (i.e., Utopia/Hope being a 'Guardian Angel', The Barians being named based on the Big Dipper, the recurring theme of Carnivals in the first half of Zexal [which, I have discovered, are festivities rooted in both Christian and Greek cultures, apparently?]) Take this time to either go all in on those mythoses, or apply a different one to the Zexal story!

Tuesday, June 15th: '10 Years Later' - Seeing as it is Zexal's 10th year anniversary, what do you think the Zexal cast would be doing 10 years post-canon?

Wednesday, June 16th: 'Challenge the Game!' - Aside from the Duel Monsters card game, what game(s) could you see the Zexal characters getting into? Be it a different card game entirely, board game, video game, sports game, mobile game, etc.!

Thursday, June 17th: 'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue' - It's June! Likely named for the Roman Goddess Juno, the patroness of Marriage, let's see what Zexal spin you can put on weddings! Be it a ship getting married, a marriage tradition(s) you think a specific character(s) would have, etc.! (suggested by JKDiamondGold)

Friday, June 18th: 'Cosmetic Cybernetics' - Inspired by the AR Vision was introduced in Zexal (Duel Gazers, Duel Tattoos, and those who could augment their eyes to the AR Duel fields), what Cybernetic enhancements do you think the characters could have? Would they have them in-canon/post-canon, or in an AU? Are they purely for cosmetic purposes, or do they aid the character in some way?

Saturday, June 19th: 'Free Day!' - Just as it says: a free prompt day! Do whatever comes to mind!

Alternative prompts:

Fun in the Sun

Medieval Fantasy AU

Flower Language

Bucket List

Treating Wounds

"I'd go to the ends of the Earth for you."

"Your memory may be gone, but your heart knows who you are."

"A picture's worth a thousand words, though in your case, this one's worth a million."

"Honestly? There's no place I'd rather be."

"It took letting go to realize... I was holding onto nothing."

Ultimately, all these prompts aren’t mandatory! They’re more of a baseline, I guess; Something constructive for those seeking specific prompts! But if you want to do your own thing for any or all of the Zexal Week days, then go for it! This is a weeklong celebration of Zexal, and I don’t want to stifle your creativity!

For those participating, I will be tracking the tags “#Zexal Week” and “#Zexal Week 2021″ to find your posts and reblog them here! Though I would suggest also tagging this blog somewhere in your post just to be safe! Last year there were several occassions where posts made weren’t popping up in the tags I was searching in!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to shoot me an ask! Anonymous is on, like always!

Thanks for your patience, and I’m sorry again for posting the prompts and rundate a couple days late! Also, here’s hoping this post doesn’t get eaten by the tunglr tag demons! I’ll keep reposting this as needed, until the tag demons accept it!

See you guys in a month!

-- Krys 💙

[fridge-reviews]

Boyfriend Dungeon

Developer: Kitfox Games Publisher: Kitfox Games Rrp: £15.49 (Steam) $19.99 (Itch.io) Released: 11th August 2021 Available on: Steam and Itch.io Played Using: An Xbox One Control Pad Approximate game length: 8 Hours

I have to say I wish the real world worked like it does in this game, whatever fears and insecurities you have just manifest in a dungeon in your local area and you can just go there and beat the tar out of them to get over it. That'd be great, especially since the monsters strictly stick to the dungeon and never ever leave. Not sure how I'd feel about people turning into weapons though that has all sorts of moral and social questions that I wouldn't want to think on for too long.

Before I start into the review proper I feel I need to make it known that I was one of the backers for this game on Kickstarter.

Y'know its been difficult trying to explain Boyfriend Dungeon to my friends. I mean, it sounds like some kind of BDSM themed hentai game which incidentally I do have one of those to review at some point but that's a while off. What Boyfriend Dungeon actually is is a dating simulator/visual novel combined with a isometric dungeon delver. It should be noted that even though this game is called 'Boyfriend' Dungeon you don't actually have to have a boyfriend, you could have a girlfriend or even a non-binary person... hell there's even the option of a cat eventually if you don't want to have a romantic relationship at all.

When you start the game you get to name and design your player character which includes an option to pick which pronouns you prefer (the default being they/them). Regardless of what pronouns you choose it doesn't place any limitations on who you can date. And if you later decide you want different pronouns, a new look or a new name you can change it all simply within your apartment.

The game is set in the town of Verona Beach (which I assume is the one in New York state). Your player character has come to visit for the summer and luckily has an apartment to live in rent free for the duration thanks to your very kind cousin. In short order your character discovers that apparently some people can turn into weapons and those that chose to make use of them (with consent) are given the title of wielder. Of course, just because the rent is free doesn't mean everything is paid for, you still need to eat after all (not that that's something you have to actually manage in the game). In yet another stroke of luck you can get make money by dungeon delving. It seems that dungeons filled with monsters have been appearing and they drop money when you kill them. They call this past time “dunj-ing”... a term I thoroughly disapprove of.

As you date and flirt with the weapon-people you increase their 'love rank'. Doing this unlocks new skills that each weapon has. Dependant on which weapon you take with you into the dungeon your combat style will change for example; the glaive is slower but more powerful while the daggers are quick but relatively weak on their individual strikes. As the weapons gain more skills and effect your tactics will change.

The monsters of the dungeon are manifestations of your fears and insecurities. In the player characters case they mainly seem to be old rotary telephones, flip phones and CRT televisions. The game will eventually tell you what the fear in question is if you defeat the dungeons final boss. If you happen to run out of health while in a dungeon (which is the only place you can lose health) you fall unconscious and are retrieved by paramedics. There isn't really a downside to this as all items and money found in the dungeon are kept. As you would expect with a dungeon delver as you fight you gain experience and eventually increase in wielder level. Since all the moves come from the weapons this increase doesn't change anything other increase your health pool and attack power.

While on dates (and in certain places within the dungeon) you can give gifts to your potential paramours, each one has their own likes and dislikes that you can work out through conversation and by just paying attention to what they like and don't like (similar to real life). What I found interesting is that unlike most dating sims I've come across its not you doing all the giving, sometimes your love interest will have a gift or two to give you as well.

You can find materials and blueprints in the dungeon to craft gifts and cosmetic items. That's right this game has crafting! Like every other game in existence it seems (sorry I'm just over inserting crafting into every game). It's perfectly functional and I like that quite a few of the cosmetic items you make are references to other games by Kitfox. I'm also slightly bemused by some of the items used in the crafting, I made a pizza using some wire and sugar, I'm pretty sure that's not what pizza is made out of, but what do I know?

Typically visual novels tend to be... verbose. That's not the case in this game, while it's all very well written its clear the developers wanted to keep things succinct and stuck to the most important and impactful parts. I do urge that if you play this game not to simply skip past all of this as there are some very heartfelt scenes and interesting aspects to the characters that are shown in these sections.

It must be mentioned that this games main plot (for it is not all about romancing the weapon-people) revolves around stalking, there are some warnings about this when you start a new game but they are vague and I know that on certain platforms you wouldn't be able to get a refund based on these. Personally I have no issue with the use of that theme but I know that some could find it problematic. I know that the game has been updated since the time of writing to be more specific in its content warnings but I honestly can't remember how the warnings looked previously to compare.

Is it worth your time? That's down to you. However, I had fun with the game enjoying every moment. I also know I'll be returning to it later once the developers release some of the other characters that were slated to be added in.

If this appeals to you perhaps try;

Analogue: A Hate Story Huniepop