#it's the same with her introduction in the 3.0 quest

[immobiliter]

herta texting tb like she's some sort of gameshow host will never not tickle me lmaooooo

[hexpositive]

Hex Positive, Ep. 047 - What My Granny (Weatherwax) Taught Me

Now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms!

Lozzie’s back, friends and neighbors! And this month, we’re sitting down to talk about everybody’s favorite coven - the Witches of Lancre, from Discworld. Longtime fans of the show have heard the works of Sir Terry Pratchett (RIP) and the wisdom of Granny Weatherwax quoted many times on the show, but what other lessons might the Lancre coven have for us over the course of their many odysseys, quests, holidays, and general mucking about? (Tangents include which fantasy character is Legolas’ hot grimy dad, why certain tourists are so bloody annoying when they go abroad, which Discworld quote made Lozzie snarf tea out her nose, and what Bree and the sainted Sir Terry’s origin stories have in common.)

If you love Discworld, this episode is for you. If you’ve never heard of Discworld or are only passing familiar, consider this your introduction. Bit late for the Glorious 25th of May, but all the same - Here’s to Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably Priced Love, and a Hard-Boiled Egg! 

The Witches of Lancre 

Equal Rites - Wyrd Sisters - Witches Abroad - Lords and Ladies - Maskerade - Carpe Jugulum

The Tiffany Aching Saga

The Wee Free Men - A Hat Full of Sky - Wintersmith - I Shall Wear Midnight - The Shepherd’s Crown

(GNU Terry Pratchett)

Upcoming Events:

Sunflower Witch Market - https://www.facebook.com/events/191005147387320

Free Spirit Gathering - https://www.freespiritgatheringmd.org/ 

CritWitchCon 2024 - https://criticalthinkingwitches.com/events/ 

Follow Bree and Lozzie on Instagram at @breenicgarran and @bihexualhistory. Visit the Willow Wings Witch Shop on Shopify and check out this month’s featured items. Make sure you also visit the Redbubble page for even more cool merch!

Check my ⁠⁠Wordpress⁠⁠ for full show notes, as well as show notes for past episodes and information on upcoming events. You can find me as @BreeNicGarran on TikTok, Instagram, and WordPress, or as @breelandwalker on tumblr. For more information on how to support the show and get access to early releases and extra content, visit my ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠.

Proud member of the ⁠⁠Nerd and Tie Podcast Network⁠⁠.

MUSIC CREDITS

Intro & Outro – “Spellbound” & “Miri’s Magic Dance” Host-Read Ads – “Danse Macabre – Violin Hook” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

[hungnitan]

Amphoreus TB 3.0 Impression

To put it simple, it's introduction of new world for whole stories and of course lore abudant. I think it took almost seven hours for me, include many main story puzzles which I think it doesn't neccessary needed there.

Overall story so far is satisfying without any rush and leave some questionable things for next version. Story feels like main story + world quest combined and Genshin players should know that most Genshin world quest stories are awesome to best.

Noteable Scene :

One of screw loose TB but not at right moment ! To think writer would insert kiss jokes right after train crashes feels weird to me somehow (I wanna see too but not in this situations lol).

Of course there are many unneeded joke inserted everywhere even PhainonMydei moments just doesn't feels right remembering Amphoreus (and AE) current situations.

Additionally I don't remember TB Danheng worried on AE except the last scene (Oh please I still remember Danheng keep messaging AE like crazy at middle Luofu TB quest before...)

I remember FGO had nearly live death similar moment on LB7 (good enough NA version just release lately or I gonna forget the details lol) and they wouldn't dare to jokes like that so those scene is big minus point from me and truth enough at the end of stories Welt explain their train are fine which making the tension goes off

Ah yeah baseball bat, the backstories and now they're adding ice sword into lancer of fury user agenda...He's Kevin for sure 🤣🤣🤣

Additionally if you choose to leave Amphoreus, it stated Phainon is not a real name... That info are disclosure at Phainon flamechaser book story (the book located similar at our phone menu like Penacony sticker book)

But it's somehow fresh hearing young cheerful Phainon voice like "finally he become happier in different universe" (eventhough I'm not sure after his godhood ascend😭)

I somehow didn't suprise even in godhood place, internal strife between humans still happens. Well, it still suprising Aglaea took initiative taking care on it.

Remembering Penacony story, I'm sure the main problem / side story TB quest will feature those elder.

The one I really suprise is the fact that Amphoreus currency and language are same as HSR world uses. I could only think their Aeons (Erudition / Remberance / other one) took it and spread them as national terms.

To think RMC would unlock with Stellaron Hunter memories and the timing could not be more perfect with I ALREADY MISS KAFKA TOO !!!

Eventhough feature in banner, her involvement still small but I'm sure she will get drag by AE at next version.

Nanoka situations, seems she gonna into frozen state again. So AE current situations are TB Danheng at Amphoreus, Himeko Nanoka at express and Welt Sunday convincing Herta help them.

My conclusion : Good start, at least TB quest onward feels promising. Storyflow convince me to search Amphoreus lore from books but most TB jokes are too dry in the current gloomy world.

For future version, I think current character still have big parts + other heroes. Most likely too Phainon have bigger screentime than now as it's clearly Amphoreus is all about him (let's just hope his playable won't take too long like Sunday 🤣).

This version couldn't make me love Phainon more than before ! While on other side, I still feels nothing on Castorice Mydei...

Don't get me wrong, 90% I'm sure Castorice is just waifu bait later (I'm still hurt with Firefly case believe me) while Mydei... I'm sorry I know Gilgamesh first or you would become my first Amphoreus husbando target 😭

PS : I suggest to read every past fragment at Cremnos, as it telling Mydei's past pretty details. Now I pity his past life, no wonder his main art feels like suffocating to see 😅

[eggoreviews]

Nintendo Direct Feb 2019 BREAKDOWN

So, that direct was pretty okay right? If you missed it or even if you didn’t, I’m gonna be taking a look at everything announced and giving it a vague excitement rating! Enjoy!

Super Mario Maker 2

This was a pretty great way to kick off this direct. With the promise of a host of new features coming in this entry to build upon the first, including the introduction of slopes (finally) and a new texture pack based on Mario 3D World, I reckon this is definitely one to mark in the calendar. Mario Maker 2 is slated for a, gratefully soon, June 2019 release.

Excitement Rating: YEEHAW

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

The long awaited third entry in the MUA series, to the surprise of many, is in fact a Switch exclusive. For those who don’t know, this is a hack-and-slash fighting game, of course tied heavily to Marvel comics. This entry seems to be riding in off the back of Infinity War, with Thanos and the Black Order showcased as central villains. Honestly, this game looks like it could be fun, especially with friends, though I don’t think it’ll turn out to be anything special.

ER: Sure, why not!

BOX BOY! + BOX GIRL!

This adorable little puzzle platformer is making its debut on Switch this spring, with the promise of local multiplayer and more levels than ever before. Looks to be a goodun for fans of cute, minimalist art design and box-based puzzles and the like.

ER: Cool! Those boxes can move!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Ver. 3.0

Nintendo sort of slapped us in the face with a lovely, welcome announcement of a new Smash update! Oh boy! New features! And then they turn around and say they aren’t gonna tell us what they are.

Oh.

Kind of makes me question the point of putting this in the direct a little, but I’m sure whatever they’ll add will be cool! On top of that, a tentative release window for Joker was given (before the end of April this year) and we got a cheeky look at some of the new spicy amiibos, being Snake, Simon and the Pokemon Trainer lot.

ER: Yay?

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker Updates

Here’s one that definitely caught me offguard, but I’m more than happy with it considering I just picked up the game. Part of the new Captain Toad content is free, adding in proper 2 player co-op where you can both play as Toad. The paid ‘special episode’ stuff struck me as a little odd, considering this game was already a Wii U port that’s now getting even more paid DLC. Regardless, it’s not too pricey and you can even pick up the first DLC course now, with the rest coming March 14.

ER: That’s cool! 

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

This not-quite-Castlevania game could easily be mistaken for a knock off of that franchise, but seems to have some defining elements of its own. The art style is bold enough to make it unique and the game seems to have an interesting variety of puzzles and side quests to make this more than just a run of the mill 2D platformer. An obvious choice for those with a Castlevania shaped hole in their hearts.

ER: You go bouncy vampire lady

Dragon Quest Builders 2

What is basically just Dragon Quest Minecraft with a story mode apparently, this oddly charming sandbox game was seemingly popular enough to warrant a sequel. And I won’t lie to you, it got me a little excited. As a fan of Dragon Quest its art style and general building-ness, I think I might have to pick this one up. And it’s got a cool retro map!

ER: I’m not excited, you are

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age: Definitive Edition

In case you hadn’t guessed, I literally adore Dragon Quest. The bright colours, the developed characters, the expansive world, awesome monster designs, great soundtrack and lame sense of humour, it all just gets me. It just sort of sucks I already own this on the PS4, where I can’t access all this new content. Oof. But yeah, pick this up if you can. You won’t regret it if you’re a JRPG fan.

ER: More like echoes of an exclusive age amirite

Disney Tsum Tsum Festival

Oh.

I won’t lie to you right now, nothing screams ‘soulless’ to me more than small Disney plushes with all the personality taken from them being stuck into totally random minigames. Don’t get me wrong, I love Disney (mostly through Kingdom Hearts but that’s besides the point) but I don’t think this elicited much excitement in anyone.

ER: I guess this exists, huh?

Starlink: Battle for Atlas - Spring Update

This was another one that surprised me. Considering how mind meltingly badly Starlink bombed, partly down to its odd reliance on the whole ‘toys to life’ craze that died out in 2013, I really didn’t think there’d be any further support for the game and they’d just sort of slip it under the rug. But nope, we’ve got some more Switch exclusive missions involving some more Star Fox characters, as well as the introduction of Wolf’s buddies. Honestly, I think Nintendo needs to do themselves a favour and just release a new Star Fox game.

ER: Great, if for some reason you bought this!

Rune Factory 4 Special & Rune Factory 5

Here’s a series I’d literally never heard of until last Wednesday, but the only way I can describe it from what I’ve seen is it looks to be a cross between Animal Crossing and kind of also Dragon Quest. You cook stuff, you farm stuff, you fight things and you can get married if you want, so definitely cool if you’re a fan of the series. But also cool if you’re someone who wished Animal Crossing was a bit more JRPG. Alongside the announcement of a remastered Rune Factory 4 later this year, as well as confirmation of Rune Factory 5 sometime in the future.

ER: Cool! Plants and stuff!

Oninaki

An action RPG with an intriguing premise and a rich, dark colour scheme, Oninaki seems very eager to set itself apart from other JRPGs on the market and still manages to stand out just a bit, even in a direct that’s basically been packed with JRPGs. Oninaki explores themes of reincarnation and grief, following the story of one grey-haired dude saving lost souls from a place called the Upside Down the Beyond to stop them from turning into monsters. Another one to add to the list if you like edgy RPGs!

ER: Edgy and cool

Yoshi’s Crafted World

Another update for this adorably cardboard entry into the long running Yoshi series, we’re finally getting close to actually being able to play it. Nintendo showcased some of the more interesting variants of gameplay, with the use of rafts, cars and planes definitely making this seem that there’s some substance here to go with the style. Alongside this, a demo released on the eshop so go play that if you haven’t already and decide if it’s for you!

ER: Wow, this game has a Labo costume! I’ll definitely grind for that!

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Finally some more info about Nintendo’s latest instalment in their anime Game of Thrones series Fire Emblem, we got a big ol infodump about some of the stuff to do with the game. While the video itself will explain everything better than I can, this time players will be able to interact with three kingdoms and three main protagonists, all of this centralising around one academy the game is set within. Overall, this game certainly looks interesting to play, but one I’m not quite sure I’ll be picking up just yet. Basically, if you’re unfamiliar with the games but love a tactical RPG, this one is a no brainer.

ER: Edelgard’s design is pretty cool. If one of them has to get into Smash, I hope it’s her.

Tetris 99

The game many have been calling Tetris Battle Royale, this is the very first Nintendo Switch Online exclusive offering and it’s totally free if you’re a member. It’s Tetris and you have to win against 98 other people, also playing Tetris. Nice!

ER: Tetris block for Smash

Dead by Daylight

As a game I got for free through Playstation Plus, it should be fairly obvious that this port isn’t one that excites me greatly, especially after seeing the quality of the graphics in the trailer the direct showed us. While the concept of an online match with several survivors and one killer sounds good on paper, it seems as if the quality of this port may leave a lot to be desired. But still, this could still only be early development footage and we really have no idea how it’ll look by the end.

ER: Tentative

Deltarune

Undertale is one of my favourite games of all time, so of course it excited me to find out I’d finally be able to play the sort of sequel, Deltarune, which Toby Fox has taken in the interesting direction of splitting the game into chapters. The first of these chapters will be free (yay I like free) and it certainly seems like the same abstract sense of humour and charm present in Undertale has been carried over to this sequel. Definitely one to watch.

ER: Always excited about cartoon doggo

Daemon X Machina

This mech-fighter has been floating around in various Nintendo directs for a fair while now and it’s encouraging to see the game come close to release. In a commendable move, the producer of the game has offered a free demo of the game allowing you to pilot your own custom mech and experience a boss battle in the demo known as ‘Prototype Missions’. The aim of this to gain feedback from potential players in order to make the game as good as it can be, which is amazing! It’s honestly a bit of a dream world where every game developer and publisher is as open and transparent as these guys, so kudos to them. As well as this, the game looks pretty heckin’ fun so it’s definitely worth picking up the demo off the eshop and giving these guys your feedback!

ER: Big ol’ robots hell yeah

GRID Autosport

As of yet, the Switch has lacked a realistic racing game. Enter Grid Autosport, which seems to be packed with a variety of cars, tracks and game modes, including all DLC from the original release of the game. Not one for me, but I’m sure there’s plenty of Switch owners out there whose racing fix isn’t quite satisfied by Mario Kart.

ER: V big if ur a car person

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

This game was notably created in collaboration with neurologists and those who experience psychosis in order to properly portray the main character and her mental health struggles. Following the quest of Senua as she fights to save the soul of her dead lover, this game created a huge wave through the industry when it first launched and won major awards for its artistic design and performance. While this isn’t one I’ve had the chance to try yet, it certainly looks as if it provides a brilliant, emotional experience from beginning to end.

ER: A lot

Mortal Kombat 11

This was one everyone basically already knew about, but this direct gave us a reminder of the release date and various features such as custom characters. For fans of this long running, brutal fighting game, get April 23 in ur brains.

ER: Cool

Unravel Two

This adorable puzzle platformer sees you and, optionally, a friend take control of two little creatures made of yarn as they navigate a colourful world and help each other pass various obstacles. For those fans of platformers like the Yoshi series, Unravel is definitely one to consider.

ER: Cool

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered

This is the iconic stealth fighting series Assassin’s Creed’s first outing on Switch, but if this footage is anything to go by, it’s not looking brilliant. While this once again could be put down to unfinished development, the first look at a game is often the most important, and a slow frame rate shown during the direct could mean this game isn’t what fans want it to be.

ER: Tentative

Final Fantasy Release Dates

For fans of the legendary and slightly intimidating JRPG series, several games in the series both new and old will be coming to the Switch in 2019:

Final Fantasy VII on March 26th

Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY! on March 20th

Final Fantasy IX is out now!

ER: Cloud is my favourite twink

Astral Chain

Admittedly, at a first glance, this title in a brand new franchise didn’t particularly excite me. But after having another look, I can definitely see where all the hype is coming from. This looks to be a hack-and-slash sort of action RPG with all the edgy story elements and setpieces of that ever so popular steampunk genre that players seem to love these days. With all these mechs, explosions and edgy voiceovers, it makes me think that Xenoblade Chronicles and Deus Ex had some kind of torrid love affair. On top of this, with a dev team that has Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101 and NieR: Automata under their belt, this is a game that will almost certainly impress when it finally comes out on August 30. Platinum Games might just have another winner here.

ER: Big yes

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

oKAY, let’s be real, this is the one that really knocked it out of the park. At least for me it did. As the final reveal, this made me scream a little tiny bit. I think we’d all heard the rumours of a 2D Zelda coming to Switch, but I was highly skeptical to say the least. But a wonderfully charming and artistically bloody P E R F EC T remake of Link’s Awakening?? HHHHHH. They even kept all the Mario enemies for some reason! Oh boy, whenever they release this in 2019 apparently really can’t come soon enough.

ER: AAAAAAAAAAAAA

That was all for this direct! I hope you enjoyed my silly, unplanned breakdown of all the cool things that happened. Til the next direct!

Oh and if you’ve got a craving for more game news, be sure to check back on my blog March 1st for the second ‘issue’ (lol) of my monthly viddy game mag!

Stay hydrated my dudes.

[arakhiin]

Skyrim Romance Review

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, took the world by storm in 2011 with its free-roam method, legendary music, and dynamic environment; the game did pretty well despite being released in the same year as Batman: Arkham City, Portal 2, Dark Souls, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution; titles that are critically acclaimed and far superior in graphics, animation, and gameplay compared to the most recent Elder Scroll installment. Less than a couple of months after its release, Bethesda introduced the Creation Kit which allowed players to modify the game to their liking.

The Skyrim community has never been more alive with the accumulation of talented writers, programmers, modders, and designers; banding together to create free AND high quality content that enhances the user experience on the game. SKSE, RaceMenu, SkyUI, patches, and FNIS are essential mods to download as most aesthetic and immersion-enhancing mods support them, some would even require SexLab that can be downloaded from a separate site (Loverslab.com). One of the most downloaded mod of Skyrim is ‘Alternate Start – Live Another Life’ where the long introduction of Skyrim is replaced by the Racemenu, and the player beginning at a locked cell where they have to approach a medium-sized Mara statue to choose their origin story. ENBs may not be the most downloaded mod, but, everyone who has downloaded one can agree that it can improve people’s Skyrim experience, why not many people download ENBs is due to the complexity of having to download a third-party application, and altering the SkyrimPrefs folder, unlike the RealVision ENB where you simply have to download via NMM or Mod Organizer and voila. There are many impressive and large quest mods such as Bruma and Enderal that completely changes Skyrim, and there are the fair-sized quest mods such as Helgen Reborn and it is equally as amazing. The Skyrim modding community is also famous for unique custom-voiced followers, some hot and some that looks badass, most of these follower mods have personal quests that allows the player to better understand the characters like Inigo and Vilja. In 2014, a small team of ambitious Skyrim modders decides to create Skyrim’s largest follower mod focusing on character development and romance.

Despite having a marriage system in Skyrim, the game failed to deliver character and relationship developments between the player and NPC, a point in which the Skyrim Romance team focused on producing for this mod. Skyrim Romance has been founded by Mara (not the Skyrim Goddess Mara though), the newest (and  their biggest) update on the mod was on May 2017 called Skyrim Romance 3.0 where they fully released an upgraded Bishop: new voice actor, outfit; added three major NPCs, post-marriage content, post-Alduin content, animations, and much more! The mod’s target audience is Skyrim’s female community and therefore all 100 newly added NPCs of the mod refers to the Dragonborn as “she” and would cat-call or address your player as a feminine i.e. princess. The mod completes every female fantasy such as: going to a magnificent ball with a handsome knight/(in this case) Paladin who pays for the expensive ballgown of your choice, a handsome and flirty bard that dedicates a song to you during his concert, and a ragged ranger who accompanies you which is the biggest mistake of his life due to the never-ending jealousy, and torment of not being able to bed your sexy ass-that is until after you’ve visited at least three main town and she finally agrees. The mod requires (like many major mods) SKSE, SkyUI, FNIS, Racemenu, SexLab, plus Realistic Ragdolls with Force, XP32 (mainly for physics and skeleton), Shape Atlas for Men/Schlongs of Skyrim, and UNP/CBBE (the last two are mainly for better experience of SexLab).  There are sex options in the mod, however the player can simply turn Bishop down if they do not want to participate. There are always three choices for the player when responding to the characters of Skyrim Romance, this is to allow the player freedom to create the personality of their character and see how Bishop reacts to a sarcastic, nice or flirty Dragonborn.

To begin the mod, the player must meet Bishop outside the Sleeping Giant Inn at Riverwood and accept his request to help him find his companion, Karnwyr, a beautiful brown wolf with custom textures. The player can flirt, ask questions, speak, trade items, and disband with Bishop, however, the player cannot ask him to do something because it is against his nature. To progress the mod, the player must speak to Bishop recurrently and trigger events found in different cities of Skyrim. The player can show interest but not pursue romance of any npc from the mod except for Bishop. Over the course of your journey, Bishop realizes his growing feelings and tries to deny it though eventually he lets his lust for the player trickle out: complimenting her, kissing her, sleeping with her; eventually he admits that he “love[s] you”, and he wants something more than casual sex. On the 3.0 update, Bishop marries the Dragonborn and has a child with her, Bishop is still recruitable but the son, Julian (named after someone dear to him) is not. To prevent incompatibilities and problems in the marriage system, the mod does not replace the player’s current spouse (if they had one) or force the player to kill or divorce their spouse, instead it has a new NPC to wed the two characters in a private wedding ceremony at a chosen custom location completed with a bittersweet atmosphere, and sweet music. Upon having a child, the player can watch Bishop bond with the son through short cutscenes, the player can interact with the kid such as speaking to him, asking him questions, or getting him to go to bed. Outside the mod, Bishop reacts when the player leaves to defeat Alduin, you can find him back at the Sleeping Giant Inn after the quest where he will drunkenly patronize you. The following paragraph will contain spoilers on the mod.

Bishop is a rugged ranger who travels only with his trusty wolf. Not much is known about him except that he is sharp-mouthed, handsome, charismatic, and over-powered with the bow and dagger. Trust comes hard to the ranger considering that he grew up surviving for himself and his siblings with no support from his parents. He stole a dagger-the one he currently uses- when he was a kid, joined banditry, made trouble for a renowned Paladin, and crossed paths with a sadistic band led by Thorne -who you later stumble upon in a dungeon near Falkreath-. Upon marriage, he reveals that his parents cared little for his siblings and him, his father going as far as sleeping with one of his brother’s (Jack) fiancé then murdering the him after he tried to duel the father. Bishop trained so once he was 17 he avenged Jack along with the help of his half-brother, Jules; freeing himself and his nine siblings-who were none too pleased- Jules was the only one that truly followed Bishop away from the nightmare and stayed with him. The two brothers lived a life in poverty, they developed their charisma-which you’ll be able to observe when he barters for a room at whiterun- through days and days of bartering for food and money, used their skills in battle to become mercenaries and eventually banditry. One fateful day, Jules betrayed Bishop and their bandit group for the sake of his own family, unfortunately, it was too late that by the time Bishop realized his brother’s intention…he was gone, killed by the bandits, killed by him. The only memento of Jules that Bishop had was the wolf ring that he made; and when Bishop parted with it to the player, it’s a symbol of a new beginning for him.

There’s more to Bishop than meets the eye, he’s your typical Coodere guy; at first he is cold and distant, later he tries to act cool and rebellious, just to impress you. He does not understand the purpose of helping other people and ticks him off whenever you attempt to do pointless quests such as killing random npcs, or fetching heirlooms, this leads to him trying to seduce you into leaving Skyrim with him just to avoid the War and your fate as Dragonborn. Bishop is not just another Batman, he has his flaws such as being a terrible drunk, openly-jealous, always picks a fight, and has “Florence” for his middle name. To you he can be your knight in shining armour, your guy next door, your best friend, your guardian, he can be the light when you are at your darkest pit of loneliness and depression, he can be who you need him to be. But think what he can be to your child, a loving father who is willing to provide everything for his kid even if he has nothing, he spends his free days at home nurturing your child, he would make sure that he grows up to be modest, strong, smart, generous, and better than himself. That is who Bishop is, because he would never wish upon anyone to experience what he had when he was a kid, a childhood devoid of happiness, and surrounded only by the harsh realities that life would ever offer.

For the last three years, the Skyrim Romance community have grown to thousands of active followers on their website (SkyrimRomance.com) creating amazing stories, beautiful screenshots, and artworks. With Skyrim Romance finally fully released, the following updates related to the mod are simply bug fixes, the team announces a long-time planned mod that centres one of the major NPCs in the Skyrim Romance mod, Cael, a young forsworn man and the chief’s son. The mod, called Forbidden Love, is currently in the works with the team looking for extra helping hands in writing, voice acting, art, animation, video editing, and textures. The SR team aims for the Forbidden Love mod to be “five times larger” than Skyrim Romance, with new enemies, music, locations, armour, and races being announced in the span of 2 weeks. If you prefer the knight, another team has taken upon themselves to join the Skyrim Romance community to work on a Casavir Romance mod which is currently on 50% completion, they are also looking for volunteers for graphics art and voice actors. With Skyrim Romance’s success, the team pushes on with greater motivation and innovation to expand the world of Bishop and Skyrim Romance, there is no doubt that the future of Skyrim Romance will strive.

Skyrim Romance mod website|Join the fantastic community!

[livvyplaysfinalfantasy]

Showing More Respect for Faerie Tales: What We Know Thus Far of Return to Ivalice

In honor of all of these new reveals for Return to Ivalice, I’ve decided to make a post compiling the basics for those who may have questions about what players can expect to find in Final Fantasy XIV 4.1′s new raid.

Please feel more than free to contact me with any questions concerning the specifics of Ivalice or XIV, or how one might tie into the other! I will, however, try to make this as accessible as possible to people who might be unfamiliar with Ivalice.

What is Ivalice, anyway, and what makes it so special?

The Ivalice Alliance is a subset of games in the Final Fantasy series, all of which take place in the world of Ivalice created by Yasumi Matsuno. Though a handful of Final Fantasy games are considered part of the Ivalice Alliance, the “main” three regarded most highly by fans are those that received some direction from Yasumi Matsuno: Final Fantasy Tactics (1997) / Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (2007), Vagrant Story (2000)*, and Final Fantasy XII (2006). Matsuno left Square Enix during XII’s development, citing stress and health concerns, leading many to believe he was pushed out of the project.

*Note that Vagrant Story originally wasn’t meant to take place in Ivalice; its setting, Valendia, was established as a continent in Ivalice through Final Fantasy XII’s lore. It also isn’t, technically speaking, a Final Fantasy game.

Final Fantasy Tactics is thought to take place roughly twelve hundred years after Final Fantasy XII; those who include Vagrant Story in Ivalice’s timeline put it at least four hundred years after Tactics. I’ve previously written out a prospective and highly theoretical timeline of Ivalice from the perspective of its religious organizations, which can be found here.

Apart from their shared setting, Ivalice titles distinguish themselves from other Final Fantasy games predominantly through their phenomenal writing: Matsuno’s works are known for their complex political dramas and hard-hitting dialogue, which are often translated into intricate English scripts by Alexander O. Smith. Ivalice Alliance titles tackle such themes as imperialism, class warfare, and intergenerational violence with a level of skill and subtlety that even few modern video games are capable of. Most Ivalice games also feature scores composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto.

Why is Ivalice relevant to Final Fantasy XIV?

At Fan Fest Japan 2016, Final Fantasy XIV’s developers announced that the next expansion, Stormblood, would contain a twenty-four-man raid called Return to Ivalice, and that Yasumi Matsuno himself would be writing its storyline.

As with many Final Fantasies, elements from the stories of Ivalice games have appeared throughout Final Fantasy XIV purely as references. (This is by no means an exhaustive list.)

Final Fantasy XIV’s overarching story includes a number of villains called the Ascians. Most of the Ascians are named for Final Fantasy XII’s Scions of Light, a group of mythical beings that never appear directly in XII but who were created to oppose XII’s Espers in a Revelations-like battle between the divine and the damned. Each Ascian’s sigil is derived from half of its corresponding Esper’s glyph. (The dev team confirmed at Fan Fest Las Vegas 2014 that the names and glyphs are references only, meaning that the Ascians are not meant to be the same mythical beings as the ones from Ivalice.)

The Corpse Brigade, an Ala Mhigan criminal group in Southern Thanalan, drew heavy inspiration from the Corpse Brigade from Final Fantasy Tactics. Their leader, Milleuda the Slitter, was even designed to look like Milleuda Folles, a captain of Tactics’s Corpse Brigade.

Quite a few infamous lines of dialogue from Ivalice games - including “Blame yourself or God!” from Tactics, and “The reins of History back in the hands of Man!” from XII - have been said almost verbatim by some of XIV’s characters.

There have been a number of hints in recent years that the world of Ivalice may be connected in some way to the world of Hydaelyn. (It is possible that these could be no more than references, but given the ambiguity of the relationships between dimensions introduced through 4.X’s Omega storyline, they are nevertheless important to mention.)

The void is a recurring concept throughout the Final Fantasy series. During the Warring Triad quest The Fate of Stars (3.2), Unukalhai has this to say about Hydaelyn’s void: “...What I am about to divulge concerns the fate of another star entirely. On this other world, a magick was devised that allowed the realm's champions to use a stone known as ‘auracite’ to contain the power of primals. So armed, these heroic souls conquered god after god, oblivious to their weapon's fatal imperfection: its propensity to bleed primal energies. And with each victory, the heroes changed, transforming at last into fiends of endless appetite. Insatiable in their hunger for aether, they ultimately went to war over the star's ever-dwindling life force... ...And fought until there was nothing left.” Encyclopædia Eorzea confirms in its entry for Cuchulainn (p. 300), a being adapted from Tactics, that Cuchulainn was one of twelve auracite-bearers from this doomed world. This concept is highly similar to plot elements that appear in Final Fantasy Tactics: much of Tactics’s story is about its antagonists gathering pieces of auracite to summon the High Seraph Ultima.

Throughout XIV 3.X, much of the discussion between Elidibus and Urianger concerned a work known as The Gerun Oracles. Gerun is a character from XII, a king of his brethren who is obsessed with maintaining absolute control over the fate of mankind. For more analysis on the possible significance of Gerun being namedropped in a work of prophecy, click the above link.

Most importantly, however, we have received confirmation in the past that certain locations in Hydaelyn share the names of locations in Ivalice.

In Japanese only, one soldier claimed to hail from Rabanastre rather than Othard during the Ultima Weapon’s introduction.

In Japanese only, Lucia goe Junius refers to Dalmasca as part of her backstory when she removes her circlet in 3.0.

In an interview with Koji Fox in April 2016, he confirmed that Dalmasca and Rabanastre are places in Othard, close to a land bridge that’s part of Ilsabard. Dalmasca is a nation in Final Fantasy XII, of which Rabanastre is the capital.

What can we expect to see of Ivalice in XIV 4.1?

During the Final Fantasy XIV fourth anniversary livestream, the devs revealed  that XIV 4.1′s official concept art - the concept art for the entire patch, not just the raid - is of Ramza Beoulve and Delita Heiral, the two main characters of Final Fantasy Tactics.

The following has been listed on XIV’s official forums by Anonymoose in a summary of the information revealed during the fourteen-hour broadcast:

In the world of FFXIV, the Final Fantasy Tactics story is a well-known fairy tale known by anyone from Garlemald. Keeping the FFT story as a base, it also has an essence of FFXII. Return to Ivalice has been designed in such a way that those who do not know either of these can also enjoy it as well. Players will enter Rabanastre as the first part of their journey. (The patch art features Ramza and Delita, and was drawn by Akihiko Yoshida.)

Return to Ivalice, then, will delve into the story of Rabanastre as it exists in Othard, rather than what we currently know of Hydaelyn’s void.

Whether XIV’s Rabanastre and Dalmasca simply share the names and aesthetics of the locations from Ivalice or if they are the locations themselves has not yet been determined. Yet. Currently, however, all signs point to the former: that these locations are only representations of XII’s setting, and that Ivalice and Hydaelyn are not the same world.

The primary reasoning for this has to do with what we know of Ivalice’s and Hydaelyn’s maps: unless all of Ilsabard is revealed to be Ivalice, it isn’t likely that the three continents we see in XII - Ordallia, Kerwon, and Valendia - could fit on Hydaelyn’s map, especially since there’s an even bigger continent, Rozarria, immediately to the west of Dalmasca.

There’s also the fact that XIV’s timeline of events is “backwards” from Ivalice’s. In Garlemald, Dalmasca exists in the present day and the story of Final Fantasy Tactics is an old legend. In Ivalice, however, Dalmasca was likely destroyed twelve hundred years before the plot of Final Fantasy Tactics even begins.

It’s now almost guaranteed that we’ll be seeing Ramza and Delita in Final Fantasy XIV. When we do, it’s likely that they will appear in a manner similar to Krile Baldesion from Final Fantasy V and Matoya from the first Final Fantasy: nearly identical to their original counterparts, except for the fact that they and the settings they hail from happen to be located in Hydaelyn.

Anonymoose hints that the Tactics story is “a well-known fairy tale” to the people of Garlemald - but the plot of Final Fantasy Tactics is about uncovering the truth behind the War of the Lions (also known as the Zodiac Brave Story) after over four hundred years. A common thread of all Ivalice Alliance games is that history is never truly what it seems; as such, it seems likely that we’ll be uncovering similar truths during Return to Ivalice in XIV.

Could this mean that viera are going to be a playable race in XIV?

I have no idea.

What would be the best way to introduce myself to the Ivalice Alliance?

Final Fantasy XII was recently remastered to great success for PS4; if you have the means to play it, I would highly recommend that you do so. XII received a lot of flak when it was first released - some of it deserved, most of it not - but the remaster, subtitled The Zodiac Age, has improved on the original’s gameplay and brought the quality of its already masterful cutscenes to stunning high definition.

Tactics is harder to find a copy of, because you’re going to want to play Tactics: The War of the Lions. It’s the same game as the original Final Fantasy Tactics, only with a much better translation. You can play Tactics: The War of the Lions on your PSP if you still have one. There are also mobile ports for iOS and Android, but these tend not to be as enjoyable to play due to the game’s longer battles. If you’re new to Tactics, please keep in mind that the beginning battles are slow and unforgiving, even for experienced players; if you get through the first four or five story fights, though, you’re more than set for the rest of the game!

What’s with the joke about noses in your last post?

Most of the Ivalice games feature Akihiko Yoshida as the leading character designer. (Akihiko Yoshida has also contributed to XIV's concept art, especially for 1.X and 2.0.)

Yoshida's art style includes minimal detail to faces, including the definition of noses.

Here’s some concept art of Delita and Ramza from Final Fantasy Tactics (1997):

Here’s a screenshot from an in-game cutscene in War of the Lions (2007):

...And here’s them now.

(Another joke-but-not-really stemming from Akihiko Yoshida’s art design is gratuitous butts - a trait that Final Fantasy XIV’s developers have commented on in the past.)

What are your hopes for Return to Ivalice, Livvy?

Well, I stopped breathing for so long when Return to Ivalice was first announced that my free company thought I had died, so my bar is admittedly set pretty low. All they’ll have to do is drop that “show a little more respect for faerie tales” line to get me to start sobbing.

But I’d sell my soul to the High Seraph Ultima for a dungeon inspired by Vagrant Story’s Leá Monde in 4.3, so there’s that.