#like I looked up at the TV where my partner is playing FFVII Rebirth and down at my phone just now

[afniel]

God damn I'm tired and extra dizzy today, which I've figured out some of why that happens. Evidently that's my reaction to overstimulation fatigue. Good to know, explains a lot. No idea what to do about it and I did expect to have some sucky days after going to San Francisco anyway so it's whatever, but it's nice to have figured out a specific trigger.

Except that's cool and all but I almost couldn't fold laundry today because it involved a lot of looking up and down and that was unnecessarily rough. This was after sleeping like 11 hours because my shit-ass tired-ass brain demanded a hard reboot more or less, and I'm still kind of gross today even so. Kind of glad they rescheduled the root canal I was gonna have Tuesday for like two weeks out, because I am probably not gonna be quite recovered for another week at least and dental work fucks me up also so that would have been an Everything Hurty Syndrome 2x Combo.

Bleh. At least when I'm writing chronic illness/disability it's some own voices legit type ass shit, but does it have to be, because I could do without this. My whole me hurts and nothing seems to help and also turning my head too fast will knock me the hell over. Good times. ✌️😔

[vex-cti]

[LONGPOST] I just finished... Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

I wanna write down all my thoughts before I delve into more in-depth online opinions. I'm writing this on the same day as having done the last two chapters of the game, so I may have not had time to process the story completely. However, I've been playing this game for the entire month and I got a lot to say. Obvious spoilers ahead, but I'll still try to keep some things vague enough.

Okay Square Enix, you win, I'll use photo mode

Graphics in video games are like how attractive a dessert looks, it doesn't dictate how it will taste, but it makes you want to try it. Rebirth feels like one of those games that is finally showing what the PS5 is capable of, with environments extremely rich in detail, superb lightning that's both colorful and conveys the right emotion for each scene, this is the prettiest Final Fantasy has ever looked, even compared to 16 which had some optimization issues and dull lightning in some areas, specially towards endgame. No single location in Rebirth feels half-baked, what used to be single screens and flat textures in the original have been completely re-imagined to have their own identity. I will talk about more about the open environments when I talk about gameplay and exploration.

Reliving the moments: Going above and beyond

The cutscene direction for this game is absolutely phenomenal, I love that they have amped up the campiness of the original 7, while also being faithful to the serious and emotional moments. What shines even more in Remake is the excellent writing when it comes to the characters, their performances are full of charisma, and it made it clear to me why the cast of seven ended up becoming so iconic to gaming as a whole. Every scene with these characters interacting, no matter if it was the dullest of sidequests, made everything entertaining. But the best part of Rebirth, like its predecessor, it's when it brings back the iconic moments we all wanted to see. The Junon Parade, Costa del Sol, Red XIII and Cosmo Canyon, Barret and Corel, and many more of these moments have barely altered from how they happened originally, reliving these moments feels like watching a high production TV Series based on a book you loved as a kid. If you love the original FFVII but have no intentions of playing the remake due to how things change, I at least recommend you look up the scenes that do stay faithful.

Some things left me wanting

Still, Rebirth only covers up to the end of Disc 1 section of the story, and has some blatant teases from trailers and the game itself that left me wanting. The Planet's weapons are mentioned and different versions appear, but there's no Diamond or Ruby weapon superboss yet. Both Cid and Vincent make their debuts near the final chapters, but are not playable for now, which left me a little disappointed. And this lets me segway perfectly into the other best part of Rebirth...

Can I just say I love the portraits in this game? Love me some PNGs

When I first played Part 1 of the Remake saga, I felt like I had no idea of what I was doing with the combat, I found the action-hybrid system too complicated and visually cluttered I felt like I was brute forcing every fight and not really enjoying myself. I finished the game and didn't come back to it until early this year where I decided to do Hard Mode for the Platinum, and this time I had a way better time, now understanding the combat system and each fight better. It makes for a flashy, semi tactical game with very visceral and satisfying animations, powers, character building thanks to materia, the importance of positioning, blocking, switching aggro, it felt like the realization of what games like FF12 and 13 aimed to be.

So imagine my surprise when Rebirth made it even better. Fundamentals are still the same, new skills were to be expected, but my favorite new addition are synergy skills. Not only do you get special commands you can perform with your partners in the party with extremely satisfying animations, you also have synergy real time action commands which reward you for being more reactive and agressive, now adding perfect blocks and counters, now every time you play with a different team composition you're gonna feel the difference of having Barret or Red or Yuffie as your partner, as you get access to different skills.

They also help you build ATB for characters not actively controlled at any given time, which is an excellent quality of life improvement. My only nitpick is that despite the menus allowing you to have 3 different party compositions and even allowing you to set the leader for each, Cloud is mandatory. Cloud is of course good at everything, so it's not the worst thing, but it does suck that I can't play as a team of Barret, Red, and Yuffie at any time in the open world. Though you can do that at virtual combat challenges or the colliseum. This feels like an oversight.

Fortunately, this meant I was playing around different characters all the time, because they're all great, and it feels super satisfying to set the right materia for each one according to what you envision them to be and complement their abbilities. Some are obvious: give Yuffie the steal materia, give Aerith healing materia. But who gets to be the mage, the debuffer, the buffer, the tank, that's up to you. I found Red XIII + Darkside materia works extremely well thanks to his Reaper Claw abbility and his health regeneration, sort of like a bestial Dark Knight, great crowd control and support all around. Cait Sith takes some work to get used to, and requires lots of setup, but his luck based gameplay can have some serious benefits, I'm sure he will come in handy in hard mode. Yuffie plays almost identically to her DLC, and she is excellent for handling boss fights with multiple parts or different weaknesses.

Exploring will either be fun or tedious, depends on who you ask

I feel like the other primary component of the gameplay, which is the exploration and traversal, will be a bit more divisive. It takes tropes from standard open world games like towers, points of interest, fast travel, loot locations, hunts, there is nothing new or original about it. However, that doesn't mean it can't be fun. Completing areas feels like I'm playing a collect-a-thon akin to Sonic Frontiers, where while it may not be the most exciting thing in the world, it is very relaxing for me, as I take in the sights and look for ways to get to new areas and find the next rare fiend. What I enjoy about the world design is that areas are not large, but are very packed and designed in such a way where you can't get everywhere by just looking at markers on the map, sometimes you do have to look for clues on the environment to get to where you need to, meaning you're looking at where you're going more than your tracker, which is great, but you still get the benefits of one. So it's a nice compromise, not as open ended as BoTW or Elden Ring, but not as braindead as a Ubisoft game. However, completing these areas can take a while, and if you're like me and plan to do all of them, don't be surprised when each area can take you up to 10 hours if you want to do everything.

"No seriously Cloud, I'm still waiting!" -Sephiroth, 100 hours into your game file

If you remember FF16 (I love that game too btw), you might remember how universally hated the sidequests were, not so much for their stories, but for their large amount and lack of variety. It seems like Rebirth is an active effort to avoid those same mistakes. Most sidequests in this game has you doing something different, have an entertaining story or character development attached to them, or even have you doing something dumb like bringing chickens back to their sweet innocent mother, or following an Ex Shinra employee in some brutal gold saucer challenges. I won't say every sidequest is a winner, at the end of the day, they're still busywork, and never will a game make you feel good saying "Congratulations on your progress, you have unlocked even more sidequests to do!". Still, I have to commend them, they do not bombard you with them, you can do a few at a time and be good for the next area, and the rewards allow your party to access more skills.

They have some of the most fun music too

The sidequest also introduce an excuse to have you do more of the minigames and take on their harder difficulties. And BOY did they add soooo many minigames, I could not believe I was encountering a new one what feels like every hour. There's something both horrifying and admirable about the devs commitment to bring back the spirit of a ps1 classic in this way. Have you noticed that triple AAA games basicly don't do minigames anymore? Yea fishing games are still around I guess, but Rebirth is not ashamed to harken to those videogamey roots and sheer goofiness. Red football, Fort Condor (love the reinterpretation), Super Dolphin Sunshine, and so many more. Enjoy youself with these minigames, and pick your least favorites too because there will be at least one that will make you want to break your controller. Contenders for me are Glide de Chocobo for it's terrible camera, and Gears & Gambits for having an overwhelming amount of Gambits for such a simple minigame (even FF12 had you start with a small amount). Still, there is more bad than good here. What I was not expecting was a brand new card game, akin to Triple Triad in 8 and 14: Queen's Blood.

*Insert Yugioh abridged reference here*

Not only did I not expect a new card game 2 hours into the game, I did not expect it to be so good, and have me thinking about different deck builds, deck synergy, strategies, and ways to one up your opponent with some smart plays. Queen's Blood is an extremely fun time sink and nice break from all the combat and normal exploration. It can be overwhelming at first, and having so many different cards with effects each is a hassle I've seen many not even wanting to bother with, finding some of its rules to be too confusing. I will say that if you're not constantly updating your deck with better cards you won't be making much progress, but you also won't know what cards are better if you don't play enough to get what your objective is, so it's best to start getting into it the sooner you start the game. Do make sure you take note of some of the later puzzles and challenges, as they can teach you strategies to make comebacks on hard duels.Screw the survival challenges, though.

But the journey isn't quite the same, after all

Perhaps the stuff I have the least things to say about, are the new elements to the story, which are more prevalent during the beginning and ending sequences of the game. I was honestly intrigued at the start, the tension and anxiety felt in this unknown timeline Zack has walked into, and the mystery surrounding the true fate of our protagonists, as it shows you bits and pieces of more information the further you progress, I was curious to where things were going. Unfortunately, the ending provided even more questions than answers, and I still feel like it's not as emotionally impactful as perhaps it intends to be, maybe due to the lack of clear information. I understand it wants to keep itself vague with the idea of multiple timelines and universes colliding, or what Sephirot's actual plan is. But it does make things like the Whispers feel even more pointless than when they showed up in Remake, but at least their presence has been reduced, as expected. Areas where changes to the story were most effective were when they were not pointed out to be a product of a split timeline, like the conclusion to the Junon festival, or the Gongaga reactor sections.

But of course, what most people were more curious about, was how was the ending going to change, we all knew it was going to be different no matter what. And while I feel like these convoluted elements do take off some of the emotion of the original scene, there is one element which does seem to align these new events with the emotions of the original: Cloud himself. For he experiences the events of the ending differently from the rest, and it's left unclear how reliable is his perspective. Add Sephiroth's manipulation of Cloud's emotions and he becomes this genuinely creepy and ruthless shell of himself. This new problem does not completely go away by the end, as Cloud is not fully aware of it yet. But with how the new version of the ending has unfolded, it left me with these feeling of doubt and... hollowness, confusion, not sure if to be sad, or hopeful. Which I feel is exactly how Cloud feels as well, as his human nature is questioned.

Despite thinking a faithful story remake would have been more satisfying, I can't deny these new events had me thinking about the story of FInal Fantasy 7 in ways I could connect emotionally to it even more. Perhaps, what this game truly achieved for me, is remind me just how much I love this franchise, for its extremely creative worlds and creatures, to its unique stories and unforgettable characters. Rebirth is a celebration of Final Fantasy, a joy to look and play, to relive and to guess. It's got one more part to prove if these changes to the narrative were really worth it, nonetheless. And honestly, I hope they don't keep relying on vagueness as much.

But when they are not being vague, I promise you, every moment, old or new, will feel exciting.

[thewhiteroseofshaerrawedd]

Greek Myth Asks

          Since no one ever Asks me anything, I’ll just take the liberty of filling this thing out myself. Have fun reading the whole thing!! *waves*

by @wonderbreadwoman and @spidcrsman

GODS: Life

Zeus: What’s your name or nickname? Sarah

Hera: Where are you from?  Missouri

Athena: How old are you?  almost 30

Hephaestus: When is your birthday?  In June

Aphrodite: What’s your relationship status?  Single

Poseidon: What are your pronouns?  Do what? WTF does that even mean?

Dionysus: Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Introvert

Demeter: Do you have any pets?  4

Apollo: What kind of music are you into? Everything except Rap

Artemis: What do you first notice about new people?  Color of their eyes

Hades: What’s a big fear of yours? Fear itself

Ares: What’s a big pet peeve of yours?  Having someone read over my shoulder

Hestia: Where do you consider home? Where my home is...?

CREATURES: Lasts

Pegasus: Last movie you watched? Warcraft

Mermaid: Last tv show you finished? Psych

Centaur: Last book you read? A WoW one I don’t remember the name of

Siren: Last song you listened to? Warrior by Anilah

Gorgon: Last thing you ate? a cupcake

Cyclops: Last time you cried? Really cried or acting?

Minotaur: Last time you were truly happy? I don’t know

Sphynx: Last text you sent? Er...that was a long time ago

Chimera: Last call you made? To my brother

Griffin: Last thing you did before going to sleep last night? Shift uncomfortably

Nymph: Last dream you remember? Kyuubi was chasing a kitten and couldn’t fit into the hole it ran into. I woke up laughing

Satyr: Last time you couldn’t stop laughing? Today

HEROES: Experiences

Heracles: Have you ever had a dream come true? No

Theseus: What is your worst regret? Not being brave enough

Perseus: Have you ever been arrested? Almost

Cadmus: Have you ever had your heart broken? Yep

Achilles: Have you ever had to be hospitalized? Yep

Actaeon: Tell about a memory you wish to forget. Don’t really have any that stand out

Bellerophon: Have you ever passed out? Yes

Agamemnon: What is an achievement you’re proud of? Not dying

Oedipus: Have you ever been in love? I honestly don’t know

Jason: Have you ever traveled abroad? Where? Nope

Atlanta: Have you ever stood up for someone else? Yes

Hippolytus: Tell an experience you will never forget.  Busting my head wide open when I was 5 and had to get 10 staples. I don’t recommend it.

MAGICAL ITEMS: Favorites  

Trident: Who are your favorite people? Ones that aren’t stupid or sucky

Lightning Bolt: What are your top three favorite movies? FFVII Advent Children, How To Train Your Dragon, and Rise of the Guardians

Sun Chariot: What is your favorite mythological creature? Pegasus

Lyre: What are your top three favorite songs? Blackheart by Two Steps From Hell, Kodama by Death & Rebirth, and Dawn by Arn Andersson

Caduceus: What is your favorite color? Black

Aegis: What is your favorite book or series? Harry Potter

Scythe: What is your favorite tv show? Psych

Bident: What is your favorite way to spend free time? Reading, writing fanfiction, playing video games

Harpe: What are your top 3 favorite places? Cheyenne Mountains in Wyoming, my bed, and my room

Cornucopia: What is your favorite place to eat? At a Chinese restaurant that serves sushi

Winged Sandals: What is your favorite thing to do when you hangout with your friends? Drinks and shopping. Or vice versa

Golden Fleece: What is your favorite animal? Black panther

PLACES: Goals and Wishes

Olympus: Describe your dream job. A job where I can be myself, have flexible hours, do what I love instead of stuck in a job I despise, and have a good environment where people are friendly and warm and there’s no dumbass drama

Tartarus: What’s a short term goal you hope to achieve? Learn to get along with my anxiety

Underworld: Describe your dream vacation. It would start in Florida where I would get to see the ocean for the first time. Then, it would go to Italy, so I could travel around the ancient cities and marvel at the architecture, then it would take us to the Virgin Islands where I could dig my toes into the sand and sip martini’s.

Styx: How would you like your life to look like in 10 years? Together

Athuna: If you could live anywhere in the world for the rest of your life, where would it be? Not here

Sparta: Do you have a bucket list? If so, what’s on it? All sorts of stupid shit I wrote when I was drunk, but never bothered to change

Elysium: If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Flying

Ogygia: Describe your dream husband/wife/life partner? Someone who is caring, but opinionated. Someone who is proud of their accomplishments but still humble and still learning. Someone who can make me laugh but knows when to be serious. Someone who can take me and all my insecurities and bad days and still want to be with me. Someone I could wake up to and cuddle with. Someone I could have an intelligent conversation with, but also someone who enjoys the silence.

Troja: What is the craziest thing you wanna do before you die? Live

The Labyrinth: Have you ever died and came back to life as a vampire? It didn’t work sadly.

Delphi: Are you currently doing anything to pursue your dreams? I’m getting there