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starlit-typewriter · 1 month

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Genshin SAGAU, Creator of Teyvat, but not Humanity Part 3

Someone did ask for the Fatui's opinion on the creator and well, this isn't quite that, but there are a couple of hints.

Warning for spoilers up to 4.6

Masterlist |Prev Part | Next Part

~~~

One of the biggest ironies in your admittedly rather long Genshin playing career was that you were not a “Try Hard,” at least you didn’t consider yourself that. You already spend enough time being teased as a lore fanatic and a completionist without adding that title on.

While you’d still level up your characters and try Spiral Abyss every once in a while, as long as they could handle the overworld content you were content.

It wasn't that you didn’t enjoy domain farming, not that there’s much there to enjoy. It was just an odd feeling of discontent when you spent too much time farming for a specific character.

Well, it’s not that odd you supposed. Plenty of people change their main dps all the time when they get bored with a current playstyle.

For you, well it happened with supports as well.

Case in point, Zhongli.

The illustrious retired geo archon.

More specifically, his terrible build.

Well, actually the build didn’t bother you all that much since you didn’t use him very much, but it did bother one of your friends.

For context, that friend is a Zhongli simp so it makes sense that they would complain at your half built Zhongli with missing artifacts and half leveled talents.

It didn’t matter since you didn’t use him.

But you couldn’t put your finger on why.

There was just something about him that you didn’t feel comfortable using.

It’s not that you didn’t know how to play his kit, that accusation is both untrue and hurtful.

He just felt off.

Actually, it’s not just Zhongli that provokes this feeling.

All the Archons do.

You could always come up with an excuse to bench them almost immediately after getting them.

Venti’s kit is too reliant on his burst,

Zhongli’s kit is useless if you know how to dodge,

Raiden could be replaced with Fischl,

So on and so forth.

But you know those aren't the truth, not the full truth at least.

If you didn’t like these characters you wouldn’t have pulled for them. But a part of yourself is still uncomfortable with playing them.

It’s maddening.

Why are you benching perfectly fine characters that you’ve spent your hard earned primogems on?

No idea.

It’s like you’re possessed everytime you try to use them. A small angry part of you just hates them, which would be fine if it appeared before you pulled for them, but it only appears after you’ve wasted months of work of saving primogems on a character you won’t use.

The entire situation is just so dumb.

You stared at your screen where your wishing team stood.

The newest Fatui Harbinger had just been released and from your playthrough of her trial and story quest, she seems very interesting.

You positioned them outside the house of the hearth and switched over to the wishing page.

It was a bit silly to have a ritual, but you couldn’t deny that it was fun to set this up.

A quick check to your primogem counter and you pressed Wish

~~~

The Knave exhaled, watching as her breath condensed into a white puff air in front of her.

Even after all these years, she never truly enjoyed the cold the way a Sneznayan would. However, this time was much different than the other times she’s made the trip.

If she concentrated, she could feel it, a tiny flame sitting in her chest.

A blessing,

She was never one for worship, her childhood in the house of the hearth had taught her to value strength rather than gods.

They beat in obedience to the Tsaritsa of course, as an organization run outside of Snezhnaya, it wouldn’t do for the illustrious homeland to doubt their loyalties.

But this was different.

Everyone was quite surprised when rumors of an outlander running across Teyvat started popping up, of course with Signora’s brief meeting with them, they didn’t seem like they were much of a threat, however with Tartaglia’s report following the mission to retrieve the Geo Gnosis, things became much different.

It was clear that their potential to grow stronger was many times that of normal vision holders, and apparently had the ability to pass on that same potential onto others.

It had taken the Mondstatian and Liyuenian agents and embarrassingly long time to realize that those whose abilities had skyrocketed were more than just particularly talented vision holders, and in fact had an actual connection.

Namely the Traveler.

And the fools couldn’t even get that part correct since Lyney managed to figure out, within a few days of meeting the Traveler might she add, that they were not in fact that one that granted that potential, or blessing as some have been calling it.

It seemed that they weren’t sure why this was happening any more than the rest of Teyvat, not that they didn't have their own theories she was sure, everyone has their own secrets and the Traveler seemed particularly adept at keeping their own close to their chest.

It was quite irritating as well, considering how Tartaglia’s battle skills have improved by leaps and bounds since receiving that same blessing.

Not that it helped all that much with their research, considering how battle obsessed the man is, she pitied the poor researchers in charge of getting him to sit down for an examination.

At least he went through it first and satisfied the majority of their curiosity before her children were blessed.

She already had a difficult enough time rejecting Dottore’s ideas for new collaborative projects they could work on. The last thing she needed was for him to have an actual excuse to get his hands on one of her children.

As good as a poker face Lynette had, Arlecchino could still see through her, it was clear she was worried about how this blessing may impact their operations.

Thankfully it was very little, as she wasn’t stupid enough to go around flaunting her newfound strength like other people.

Even so,

She rubbed at her own chest, feeling slightly discomforted by its presence.

It wasn’t malevolent, at least not so far.

From the Fatui’s extensive research it seems to be connected to an ancient god.

The ancient god.

It wasn’t something that concerned her until her children got involved, and well.

The information was interesting.

There are still many gaps in their information, which makes sense considering that it spanned the time before human existence.

The creator,

The unknown, unnamed creator of Teyvat.

Arlecchino let out a mirthless chuckle, if things were truly going the way it seemed, well.

Then there'd be no need for Project Stuzha after all.

Her gaze flickered to the side as Fatui members ran around the deck, preparing for docking.

It seems that the first leg of this trip was over.

Her boots crunched as she stopped onto the pier, it never truly stops snowing in Snezhnaya.

Thankfully she didn’t have to stay standing in the elements for long, as there was a prepared automatic carriage waiting, ready to take her to Zapolyarny Palace.

One of Sandrone’s more “useful” toys, no horses, no wheels, and heating on the inside as well. It glided on the snow as smooth as can be.

The knave leaned back in her seat, looking as elegant as can be, when in reality her mind was very much in turmoil.

There would no doubt be many questions for her once she arrived at the palace, questions that she sadly had no answer to.

In all their research it was clear that the blessing was only for those that the Traveler favored, or at the very least those with whom they were on good terms.

Lynette and Freminet were never overt with their Fatui ties when spending time with the Traveler, and their youth made it easy for people to drop their guard around them.

Even Tartaglia has his own boyish charm to him, and even he reported that he did not receive the blessing until after the Traveler had seen his softer side, babysitting his brother all day and seeing him sick and vulnerable.

But her,

She never showed such weakness.

While the Traveler did become privy to her past and her connections with her children, she did not view those as weaknesses.

The opposite actually, since their duel had proved that the Traveler had yet to reach her level.

Not that it would take long, considering how fast they improved, she wouldn’t be surprised if they would be able to give Il Capitano a run for his money soon enough.

This whole affair was made far more frustrating than it needed to be.

It just added another layer of complication to an already delicate operation; she's sure that Dottore will try to use as his chance to examine her further to see if this blessing could have any effects on her curse. As if she doesn't know her own body’s condition by now.

Regardless, it was of no true concern for her, merely another weapon in her arsenal.

Whom she was truly concerned for was Lyney.

The late bloomer in that little trio, the last one to receive a vision and, it seems in this case, blessings as well.

Not that there was any guarantee that he’d receive a blessing, there were many who’ve met the Traveler and failed to receive a blessing.

Of course the criteria is a bit more strict than that, but there is no true rhyme or reason behind it.

From what they’ve managed to extrapolate, all those who were blessed must have two things in common, a vision and a meaningful interaction with the Traveler.

What a frustratingly vague criteria for such a massive boon.

Even so, she’d seen the glimpse of frustration and jealousy once she revealed that she’d received hers.

Not that it made that much of a difference, while the blessing is no doubt incredibly beneficial, as she’d told him before, she didn’t choose him for his combat prowess, but for his desire to protect his family.

But of course children don’t listen.

She expected to have another talk with him soon.

The carriage slowed as it neared the palace, it was still daytime sadly so there was no aurora for her to see, it would’ve been fitting after all if she could see them on her way back from saying goodbye to Clervie.

She’ll have to stay up late tonight it seems.

Not that she would’ve been able to sleep early anyways, her coworkers always seem to take joy in piling her up to her ears with paperwork the second her foot touches Snezhayan snow.

How terribly tedious.

Arlecchino could not stifle the sigh when she saw exactly who greets her at the gates.

Standing here, ignoring all the gawking soldiers was no other than the youngest of them. Wearing his winter coat he waves at her eagerly, clearly excited.

She could already foresee where this was going.

She shuts off his train of inquiry with a sharp “No,” the second he opened his mouth.

He pouts, following after her as she strides into the palace, her heels clicking.

“You didn’t even hear me out,” he complained, keeping pace with her.

“I already know what you were about to say, and see no interest in entertaining this train of thought,”

He sighs, dramatically, “I’ve never had the chance to spar with another Blessed before, can you blame me for being excited?”

“You have sparred with the Traveler on a couple of occasion if I recall correctly,”

“That’s different and you know it,”

Still it seems that he is not willing to pressure her on the issue any longer, perhaps he is finally gaining some much needed maturity, or that her displeasure with the situation is showing more than she’d prefer.

Still that does not seem to stop him from gawking at her like a new toy.

“You don’t seem particularly pleased with your blessing,” he said, after a short pause.

The Knave lets her silence speak for her,

“Yikes, and considering Dottore was so hopeful that he’d get one when he made his trip to Sumeru. Using his original segment no less,”

“What that man wants is of no concern to me as long as long as it does not involve me,”

“Still, the Tsaritsa hasn’t made any proclamation about these blessings, makes me wonder what she’s planning,”

“I’m sure her majesty has her one plans in place,” she replies noncommittally,

“I’m sure she does, after all two of her Harbingers have already been blessed, think of how much more powerful the Fatui would be if more of us were,”

“You sound as if you wish for our fellow Harbingers to share this same blessing,”

“Well, won’t that be a sight. Imagine the Fatui Harbingers traveling across Teyvat to get into the good graces of the Traveler.”

“It sounds like the premise for one of those Inazuman light novels,” she commented lightly

“Right!” Tartaglia snickered to himself, before the two settled into a pensive silence.

“You never answered my question you know, and I don’t mean the one about a spar” he defended, raising his arms in a gesture of innocence.

The Knave stopped, causing him to stop too.

Usually she wouldn’t entertain his questions, but

This one was poignant.

Why did she feel so unsettled by this blessing,

Well the answer was simple,

“Power does not come without a price, just because the price for this power has not revealed itself yet, does not mean I’m willing to relax my guard.”

Tartaglia’s mouth opened and closed a couple times, he didn’t seem to have a response for her.

When it became clear to him that she wasn’t about to move and that their conversation was over, he excused himself, heading to his wing of the palace.

She turned her gaze to one of the nearby windows, she could barely see her reflection in the clear glass, her blood red eyes stared back at her, a constant reminder of her bloodline and powers.

Beyond that it was simply the frozen tundra that was Snezhnaya, whirling winds and snow, nothing but an empty expanse of white.

But for a moment, between blinks, she could’ve sworn she saw someone.

A figure,

Then they were gone.

She knew there was someone there, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember what they looked like.

Were they tall or short,

Male or female,

What clothes were they wearing, or even what color,

Nothing.

It seems that the stress of traveling had caught up to her.

She scanned the landscape again,

Nothing.

Still white and pristine and untouched, no sign of any human disturbance.

How very odd.

~~~

Masterlist |Prev Part | Next Part

~~~

A Taglist For those who've requested it!

@bunniotomia, @lucid-stories, @ymechi

Pls tell me if i'm doing this correctly.

If you'd like to be added feel free to send me an ask!

#genshin impact #genshin impact sagau #genshin sagau #sagau #genshin cult au #My writing

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mythaura-blog · 5 months

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Development Update - December 2023

Hi folks, a very Happy New Year to you!

In the spirit of new beginnings, Mythaura has entered a new chapter in its development, which we detail in our December development update. We also take time to review what was accomplished in 2023 (our first full calendar year with Mythaura!).

We've also got our color contest winners, the winning Fighter companion, and much, much more. And of course: our demo is now live! We're so excited for you to traverse the Wild Area, a procedurally generated map with monsters for your team of three Beasts to defeat.

Demo Trailer

youtube

Message From The Developers

We're thrilled to share this pivotal update about Mythaura’s development journey, which showcases many of the core features we have planned for this game. Today marks a significant transition: we're shifting from the intricate and challenging phase of game engine development to the exciting realm of feature development.

Since beginning this project, our focus has been on scoping and then crafting robust and core components. Features such as wild areas, battle, and multiplayer systems, not to mention the complex breeding system, passive effect management, player inventory system, and the beast image engine. We've also been diligently integrating these elements with complex user interfaces and ensuring they will work on most devices (an ever ongoing battle). It's been a journey of overcoming unknowns and technical challenges, and we're proud of what we've achieved.

Now, we're entering a new chapter. Our attention turns to fleshing out the game's features, with a special focus on developing an immersive questing and dialogue system, towns & shops, skill trees & progression, and tools for content development among other needed feature development. The hardest challenges have by and large been solved at this stage and our focus can now be how to best deliver an amazing gaming experience by bringing them together. This shift doesn't mean the work is done—far from it. But it's a major milestone that brings us closer to realizing our vision for the game.

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support and enthusiasm, and look forward to a jam packed 2024.

Year In Review

This year has been marked by numerous milestones. Below is a recap of our key accomplishments, excluding the latest updates which have been a major focus of our efforts for the past several months.

1. Introduction of 'Supers': Enhanced breeding complexity by introducing 'Supers' as a new mechanic, making well-structured breeding projects more valuable. We started with the debut of our first Super: Tegu.

2. Special Additions: Welcomed the special Panda to our list of Specials.

3. Expressions for Beasts: Implemented expressions for beasts, a significant and ongoing undertaking that gives life to your beasts as they interact with NPCs.

4. Elements System: Introduced the Elements system, assigning each beast a pair of inherent elements. An element page was added that delves into the lore of each element.

5. Beast Sizes: Standardized beast sizes, assigning each beast a unique size within its species' range.

6. Beast Classes: Initial build of beast classes, providing each beast with a class-based playstyle and initial items.

7: Radiant Companions: Unveiled Radiant companions, rare alternate colorations for companions that are bound to be highly sought-after.

8: Deep Dive into Seasons: Explored the planned feature 'Seasons', designed to reward ongoing gameplay.

9: The Weekend Traveler: Designed the Kobold NPC known as the Weekend Traveler, who deals in ultra-rare goods, along with the Kobold non-player species.

10. New Colors on the Wheel: Established a sustainable method to introduce new colors to our color palette, allowing us to add 16 new colors this year (including the 3 contest winners).

11. Ephemeral Inks: Introduced Ephemeral Inks, a way to alter the colors of a beast.

12. Color Wheel Page: Created a dedicated page listing colors and corresponding inks.

13. PvP Battle Demo: Rolled out a demo showcasing our multiplayer technology in PvP battles.

14. Mutations Feature: Added Mutations as a rare breeding-only feature, beginning with our first Mutation: Piebald.

15. Items By You: Crafted 11 sponsored companions (excluding recolors), 5 sponsored apparel pieces, and 2 sponsored items.

16. New Game Engine: Designed a render pipeline that can create the 2.5D effects used in Wild Areas during exploration. Including, but not limited to, dynamic shadows, volumetric fog, real-time lighting, collision detection, special & particle effects, and gravity simulation, all accelerated by your GPU.

17. Granular Settings: Created a UI to manage game settings, graphics settings, audio settings, etc as well as added gamepad support with keybind remapping to Wild Areas.

18. Procedural Map Generation: Developed technology to procedurally generate bespoke Wild Areas.

19. Ongoing Production: Work on ongoing behind-the-scenes features such as worldbuilding, map design, systems design, and the exploration features we showcased on this update!

UI Update

You may notice the UI has received an update. This redesign focuses on being accessible for players using controllers, which is something we are working towards supporting on all screens and not just the Wild Area demo. The about page has also been updated. All the links to informational pages you would have found in the left-side menu of the previous design can be found on the about page with the exception of the /species page, whose contents has been moved to the about page.

We have also added an install button to the homepage that will display for users who have browsers which support Progressive Web Apps. This will add Mythaura to your taskbar/home screen for easy full-screen access.

Mobile and tablet users may enable gyroscope to interact with the parallax graphics if they would like.

Feature Spotlight: Wild Area

Wild Areas are a key pillar of Mythaura’s gameplay, and will be where you can expect to spend a lot of your time.

At A Glance

Procedurally Generated Levels

Traverse through uniquely generated levels with your trio of beasts. Control your adventure with WASD for movement and Space for jumps and shift for sprint. This can be remapped in the settings.

Each Wild Area boasts a series of floors. Your goal? Reach the top (or bottom)!

Your Safe Havens: Checkpoint Floors

Leave the Wild Area without any penalties

Choose to start from any previously reached checkpoint.

Encounter formidable bosses or minibosses at many of these checkpoints.

Prepare for the Journey: The Adventure Bag

Your Adventure Bag is your lifeline. Pack it with essential items for survival and success.

Provision Wisely: Stock up and get ready to face the unknown.

Limited inventory space for both what you bring with you and what you find along the way.

Keep Your Energy Up

Your team's energy is key. Keep it replenished with food from your Adventure Bag or found on your journey.

Running out of energy or facing defeat? You’ll black out, dropping your Adventure Bag's contents. But don't worry, you can retrieve them by returning to your last stand.

Encounter the Unexpected

From unlocking treasure chests with lockpicks to aiding NPCs, each exploration offers unique surprises.

Day and Night Dynamics: Encounter different enemies and events. A full day/night cycle completes every 12 real hours.

Wild Areas have natural water bodies, perfect for a fishing escapade.

Escalating Challenges

Increase difficulty with each New Game+ cycle and encounter new enemies and challenging secret bosses.

Multiplayer Co-Op

Up to 3 players can group up to take on a Wild Area together.

Take on enemies as a group with co-op battles.

See your friends jump and move in realtime, split up to make the most of your exploration while keeping tabs on your team-mates through the text chat and the minimap.

Fledgeling’s Forest Demo

The demo features a single floor of the Fledgeling's Forest Wild Area, with unlimited energy.

Day/Night Slider: Experience any time of day at your convenience. (Note: Creatures that spawn remain the same in the demo)

Currently Disabled: Fishing, lockpicking, loot & foraging, multiplayer, and other events are not available in this demo.

NG+ Cycle Update

In last month's update we revealed our plans for Mythaura's New Game+ system. Originally, our plan allowed players from NG+2 and beyond to create any Tier 1-Tier 3 Beast.

We have since changed it so that at the beginning of a player's NG+2 cycle they may make a Tier 1-Tier 3 Beast with up to three Specials, but NG+3 and beyond will not feature any custom Beast creation. The player will instead have access to a pool of NG+3-exclusive items that they will receive items from.

Thank you to our Discord members for all their input, it provided us with a much better direction to move forward with!

Winter Quarter (2024) Concepts

It’s the first day of Winter Quarter 2024, which means we’ve got new Quarterly Rewards for Sponsors to vote on on our Ko-fi page!

Which concepts would you like to see made into official site items? Sponsors of Bronze level or higher have a vote in deciding. Please check out the Companion post and the Glamour post on Ko-fi to cast your vote for the winning concepts!

Votes must be posted by January 29, 2024 at 11:59pm PDT in order to be considered.

All Fall 2023 Rewards are now listed in our Ko-fi Shop for individual purchase for all Sponsor levels at $5 USD flat rate per unit. As a reminder, please remember that no more than 3 units of any given item can be purchased. If you purchase more than 3 units of any given item, your entire purchase will be refunded and you will need to place your order again, this time with no more than 3 units of any given item.

Fall 2023 Glamour: Ghastly Grin

Fall 2023 Companion: Saddleback Rattlecat

Fall 2023 Solid Gold Glamour: Ryu

Custom Color Contest Winners

Last month we revealed the names of the winning colors of our first ever Custom Color Contest--now they've made their official debut in the Beast Creator!

Congratulations again to:

Xander's "Moonstone"

Rhahatl's "Wintergrass"

Andydrarch's "Trench"

We were so impressed by all the amazing entries you all submitted. We'll definitely be running more contests like this in the future, so please stay tuned for them in future updates. Thank you all for participating!

Fighter Class Companion Winner

The brutish Domestic Wolverine will be the starting Companion for the Fighter Class! These brave and hardy creatures are perfectly suited to aiding new Fighters. Next month, we will vote on the next class companion: Rogue.

Meet the Team

We've gotten to learn so much about our supporters over the past year and a half, we thought it was time to share a little bit about ourselves as well! On our About page you can find short bios on each of the devs, including their favorite Mythaura species, color from our color wheel, and other fun and (very miscellaneous) facts.

Safari & iOS Problems

At this time, iOS devices like iPad and iPhone are only partially supported. These are the issues that the dev team is aware of and actively working on:

On iOs, Safari forces a refresh if the memory usage spikes, forcing you back to the demo start page. This happens at different times on different devices dependent on its RAM usage.

Sometimes when starting a battle, battlers start shifted down, then snap to the correct position after interacting with a button.

The zoom in on a beast image is pixelated (Safari bug: https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=27684).

On Mac Safari, battle animations showing with a black background. iOS is fine. Solution is to disable battle animations in the settings.

You will need to be running at least iOS 15 and Safari version 15 or greater in order to use Mythaura.

Mythaura v0.25.1

Improvements to AI Behavior: Improved target selection and behavior profiles for AI enemies.

Class Infrastructure Addition: Added new class infrastructure.

Stat Effects from Classes: Implemented functionality where classes affect stats.

Glamour CMS Process and Fixes: Updated and fixed issues related to the glamour content management system process.

Ability Usage Tracking: Implemented increments in the 'ability times used' counter, enhancing tracking of abilities' usage.

Policy Code Refactor: Conducted a significant refactor of policy-related code, improving efficiency and maintainability.

Item Actions Refactoring and Rename Feature: Refactored item actions and added a new feature to rename items, allowing users to name their companions.

Book Item Type Addition: Introduced a new item type - books, adding to the game's content.

Encounter and Description Fixes: Fixed issues with encounter metadata and corrected miss descriptions.

Shadow Maps Generation: Added tools that allow the system to generate shadow assets.

PHP 8.3 Compatibility Updates: Made updates to ensure compatibility with PHP 8.3.

Queue Configuration and Fixes: Improved the configuration of job queues and fixed related issues.

Fixes and Updates for Battler State: Addressed issues in practical testing and refined the battler state management.

Refactor of Current Effects: Refactored how current effects are stored and managed. Moved current effects to state and resolved turn resolution issues.

Map Generation and Space Management: Improved the map generator to add empty spaces when out of view.

Behavior Selection and Shadow Rendering Fixes: Fixed issues with behavior selection and shadow rendering in battle states.

Party Leader Management Updates: Implemented changes for setting new party leaders upon defeat.

Stat Resolution Enhancements: Updated the resolution of stats, improving the mechanics of stat calculations.

PvP and Demo Battle Fixes: Made fixes specifically for arena PvP and demo battles.

State Management and Pruning: Improved state management, including pruning data when no longer needed by the system.

Species Data Addition: Added species data to the about page.

Rest & Defend Action Health Gain: Resting no longer increases health but does recover more stamina. Defending no longer recovers stamina.

Remade Companion Page: Used the new scene component to improve usability and performance of companion page.

Adjusted Radiant Overlay: This fixes an issue Firefox users had with viewing radiant companions.

Updated Tooltips: Tooltips have been replaced with a more modern library.

Gyroscope Support: The game can use a devices gyroscope to move parallax scenes around.

Websocket Connection Updates: Ensures websockets get cleanly disconnected at the end of every battle.

Improved Hitboxes and Rendering: Objects no longer appear to "float" regardless of their size and their hitboxes have been refined.

Added Global Sound - App can now maintain music across different pages and the settings control master, sound effects, and music seperately.

Enhanced Settings - Greatly improved the number of modular settings a user can use in both graphics and gamepad.

Wild Area Game Pad Support - Wild areas now support game pag usage. Full game pad support is in progress.

Virtual Joystick - Touch screen devices can control movement with a virtual joystick.

General Cleanups and Tweaks: Conducted cleanups and minor tweaks across various parts of the system.

Thank You!

Our first full calendar year with Mythaura has been one primarily focused on foundation-building. We're so excited to use these systems that we have built to create the content that players will engage with as they travel throughout Mythaura. Again, a heartfelt thanks to those who have supported us through all of this--we really couldn't have done it without you. We hope to deliver an experience that you'll want to revisit again and again.

As always: we'll see you around the Discord!

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summermimosas · 4 months

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The Itoshi Brothers: And My Very Late Take On Them. (Part 1)

look, I've had very strong blue lock brainrot for a long time now. Rambled plenty to my dear partner-in-crime about it.

The reason this post exists is because I read almost all of the analysis posts by @/riririnnnn regarding the Itoshi brothers, and now I need to add my own two cents.

In particular, this was inspired by two posts: Rin and Sae by @/riririnnnn Rin's Ego and Aura by @/boinin

The core of this theory/analysis is: What exactly is the core of Rin's character, why it made Sae react the way he did, and why this entire mess exists in the first place.

If you think about it, from the very beginning Rin has had no basis of ambition or foundation for himself at all. His beginnings were really humble, wherein he just watched Sae play and thought his brother looked amazing as he did it. It was admiration, and the kind of younger sibling energy that makes you want to emulate your older sibling. It isn't just about playing alongside Sae, but it's about being like Sae.

It spurs him to read Sae better because he wants to learn. And eventually, it happens. He's reading a talented player, and he has the same(?) talent within him, so it's no surprise that he shocks just about everyone when he can keep up with Sae.

This? This is why Rin started playing football. To be like Sae, to play with Sae. Sae, sae, sae, sae- It was never of Rin's own volition. And it won't be, for a very long time.

He learns to emulate Sae, be the player Sae wanted on his team. That requires him to be precise, elegant and efficient. Sae hasn't changed fundamentally as a person even after Spain, the core remains the same. He passes to people worth passing to. And in their old team, nobody was worth passing to except Rin. So it worked out, that Rin kept associating his plays, his dreams, his ambitions, with Sae.

I think this is why he never had an "aura" of his own- or any sort of foundation of his own, at all.

And Sae knows this. That is exactly why this is one of the few times we see him genuinely curious (concerned?) about what Rin will do when Sae is gone. When it does have to require him thinking for himself, being his own person.

He's right to be worried.

Because, as expected, instead of Rin becoming his own person, he takes Sae's playstyle and makes it his own. He's very good at it, mind you. Nobody understood Sae quite like he did, all this time. But it's not Itoshi Rin anymore- it really is, just, Itoshi Sae's little brother.

And he doesn't realise it just yet- but that becomes a trend. From here on out, that is what people will see him as. After all, he's made his playstyle to be viewed as such. Those elegant kicks and precise analytics that Isagi observes the first few times he plays with Rin- they're not completely Rins' at all. They're adapted, taken from Sae. It's why the beginning of the U20 Arc feels like looking at a better, more midfielder focused Rin.

It's always been the other way round.

And so, when Sae comes back four years later, he is understandably disappointed. Nor has he ever been once to mince his words. Rin could never understand- of course he couldn't, he doesn't know what's wrong. He's not letting Sae explain. Sae isn't about to explain, either. They SUCK AT COMMUNICATING, THE PAIR OF IDIOTS.

Rin, if there's one thing you shouldn't have taken from Sae, it was his pathetic style of communication.

(Rin notices how tired and unwell Sae looks- that one's more explored in the post I linked as my inspo. Not getting into that- maybe some other day? If people care enough to listen.) Rin, above all, feels betrayal and shock at the change of Sae's ambition. If Sae changed his dream, and Rin has been emulating his older brother all this time, what happens now?! What is he supposed to do!? There's really no point, then, if he can't play with Sae. The way he's been envisioning for years now. It's brutal, and it's also pathetic because neither of them care to listen to the other speak.

Sae will never understand how Rin's ambitions and connections to other people for his own sense of self work. Rin will never understand what Sae went through and why he changed. He will never know why Sae was so upset with Rin constantly, constantly viewing himself from someone else's lens.

And Sae knows.

Oh, he knows.

But even after that- after ALL THAT, Rin will not think of himself as a separate entity. Nonono, now it's just- defeat Sae, instead of be with Sae. Sae, sae, sae, sae-

After Blue Lock, there's more labels that come in. He's Itoshi Sae's little brother, he's the Number 1 Striker in Blue Lock, he's Isagi's shadow, rival, partner, he's Shidou's foil, counter, the center piece for the Blue Lock 11 Team- (I remind you, again, of how his playstyle and moves are described. Beautiful. Elegant. Perfectly thought out. Now take those adjectives and use them for Sae. Don't they fit better?)

But he's never Rin. Heck, he's never ever ITOSHI Rin. Why would anyone see him as Rin alone? Part 2- Explores U20 and further.

#blue lock #itoshi rin #itoshi sae #bllk #rin itoshi #sae itoshi #why are they such MASSIVE IDIOTS #i have so many thoughts about them #that i literally needed to make a part 2 #this is how badly i'm suffering.#txt: lune

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furret-anon · 6 days

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What weapons would pkmn characters main in splatoon?

I couldn’t sleep the other night and I’ve seen some crossover art where people imagine pokemon characters as inklings or octolings. I haven’t played Splatoon 3 in months BUT! I HAD to know, so I give you:

Volo:

Volo would be a charger user with good aim. Great aim. Never misses. He probably squidbags too. Do not give this man a sniper he’ll go for the kill. Also he’d probably throw matches and spawncamp because fuck you, that’s why.

Adaman:

Splatana user because it looks cool, duh. He’s not too bad either, and probably knows how to use the vertical flicks well. I like to think that he and Volo have a weird sort of rivalry going on.

Kieran:

Teal Mask Kieran would just play for funsies. Little Timmy got a switch, has to share with Carmine, plays Turf War and mains Splattershot Jr. He just wants to have fun. Maybe he’ll even graduate to the Tentatek Splattershot one day.

Indigo Disk Kieran plays to KILL. Probably uses chargers or a hefty splatling. Exclusively plays ranked. Goes Putz12 when he loses. Does not squidbag because he doesn’t need to taunt his opponents, he only aims. His killing intent can be felt through the screen. Imagine the stereotypical Japanese charger main with godlike aim, that’s Kieran. He went Putz12 and Carmine unplugged the switch. He cried.

Arven:

He would probably be a backliner, maining something like a slosher. The best way to win the technicolor cephalopod game is to just use a big ass bucket. He plays turf war and doesn’t even know what he’s doing he just sloshes paint everywhere. He probably paints the walls too because he thinks it helps (it does not). He’s trying his best and the spirit is there.

Jacq:

Jacq uses dualies and he’s pretty decent, but every time he tries to do a dodge roll he falls into water or something. Stupid idiot.

Hassel:

Hassel would main the Octobrush because he’s an artist, duh. Never seen on a team without Brassius. His playstyle is less aggro than Brassius too, preferring to focus on the objective instead. Splats only when he needs to.

Brassius:

Brassius would main the Inkbrush because he’s an artist, duh. Never seen on a team without Hassel. He can zoom around and is annoying. Probably runs run speed up too, just to be slippier.

Guzma:

Big bad Guzma mains a big bad blaster. Any and every blaster. Because OBVIOUSLY, the best way to win the technicolor cephalopod game is to just brute force your way through it. Goes for the kill. Rushes into enemy territory. Dies. Respawns. Rinse and repeat.

Emmet and Ingo:

Dualies, but they’re twins so each muppet has only one gun. Don’t ask me how they make it work, I don’t know it just does. Emmet is a feral beast out for blood. Ingo is the Emmet handler, and prefers stealthy tactics. They are two halves of a whole. Use Kensa Dualies because black and white aesthetics.

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just-some-sorta-person · 7 months

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Hiori's words, Reo's Insecurity, and Nagi's Enforced Indifference

+ The Necessity of Communication and Despair

there's no need to read this prev post to understand this one, but it is a continuation/development of my thoughts in that post in many respects.

Hiori's Words

HIORI: "It's not about facing each other, and its no good if one side tries to match... it's a relationship where you can only believe in each other toward the same future. That feels good to me... I feel like I've found a new way to live... Thanks, Isagi-kun"

The newest chapter made me think about the Hidden Path post I made because Hiori's words on expectations really matched what I've been thinking about Nagi and Reo's partnership, and what their end dynamic might look like if it evolves to survive in Blue Lock and become an exception.

What Hiori says is "It's not about facing each other" (focusing on each other on the field), "and it's no good if one side tries to match" (trying to mold their playstyle to someone else). It's about "a relationship where you can only believe in each other towards the same future", - playing with the same goal in mind, no matter how you're playing. This reminds me of Nagi and Reo's dream. Of course, Hiori is referring to interactions with people in general, but I think we can apply this reasoning to partnerships in soccer.

How I interpret this is that the key to maintaining a partnership or duo within Blue Lock or soccer without dooming yourself is the partnership not being based on soccer, but rather existing outside the field as a motivator. This is because if the partnership exists within a soccer context, it bends your playstyle and stifles your potential.

For example, Rin/Sae's duo didn't work because it was based off of Sae being the first best striker and Rin being the 2nd. This created a vision that compared Rin to Sae, which affected Rin. Rin always had Sae in mind - wanting to copy him and comparing himself to him. Because he's supposed to be "2nd best" or "the one that foils Sae", he restricted his vision of what he could do by always "facing" Sae. Rin grew when he stopped focusing on narratives about him created by other people, and embraced his own individual style instead.

In terms of Bachira's dependence on Isagi, the visualization at hand was always a "monster" Bachira could pass to and alleviate his lonelines with. It took form in a way that dictates a playstyle that "matches" others.

Reo and Nagi's dream of winning the world cup together is inherently different because at its core it has no reference to the playstyle they should inhabit or even the dynamic that should take place. Even the emphasis on being together, Nagi takes to mean in goal/spirit, and not physically when he teams up with Isagi.

That doesn't mean, however, that their partnership as it exists is good. They dynamic right now is "facing each other" and "trying to match". But if we investigate the reasons why, we can see that the potential for their dream still exists, because the issue with their dynamic isn't their dream.

Reo's Insecurity

Reo's self proclaimed ego unfortunately matches and faces Nagi, but I think his perception of his role in their dream is subject to change, especially because the basis of Reo wanting Nagi to need him after their breakup, something that could be interpreted as an extension of "I will make Nagi the best striker in the world", seems to be Reo's insecurity in their friendship.

Reo directly states that he feels that if "I wasn't the one who changed you", then he "couldn't stay by your side". If he isn't the one driving Nagi's development, he can't justify their closeness. He later imagines a scenario where he accepts Nagi's independence, stating "If I said that, you'd never come back to me". In other words, if Nagi's soccer doesn't depend on Reo, Nagi will leave him.

You could argue that he's worried about Nagi abandoning their dream and not their relationship, but Reo ultimately seems to conflate the two. When he talks about his dream disappearing, he remembers things that are progressively less soccer related (from a goal celebration, to a piggyback ride after practice, to a bike ride completely off field), then admits loneliness at the thought.

This sentiment returns in the 3v3, where Reo ties winning the match and proving his worth to "Nagi will definitely come back to me". You can see the conflation as well when Reo compares his inability to let go of his "ego" with Barou. The panel shown is a goal celebration, like last time, and special emphasis is put on Reo's smile - it's the joy he felt being with Nagi that he can't let go of.

Nagi saying those words and turning away - this was exactly what Reo feared the most in the entire world. The treasure that he treated so dearly was heading somewhere he could no longer reach.

During the 2nd breakup in the novelization, Reo describes his greatest fear as Nagi leaving somewhere he could no longer reach. It's again the idea that if Reo isn't good enough, not useful enough to Nagi, that Nagi will abandon him and their dream.

The conflation of proving his worth with Nagi's companionship is seen again when Reo discovers the Chameleon technique. He describes the radiance of soccer idiots, picturing Nagi, then immediately afterward describes what he wants, picturing Nagi again.

And it makes sense that Reo would think this - besides Nagi's inept communication skills and own possible angsty complexes preventing him from expressing himself.

No, I'll create a winning track record and make them - my parents - recognize me. ...And the basic premise of this is my own ability. It should be fine if I become so good at soccer that others can't complain

In both Reo's Light Novel and Epinagi, we can see that his parents' acknowledgement is contingent on Reo being not just good, but exceptional. The maintenance of this relationship depends on his abilities and usefulness.

Reo must think the same of his relationship with Nagi - that Nagi's acknowledgement is dependent on Reo's abilities and utility.

Nagi's Enforced Indifference

Aren't tricks and pranks a pain? Count me out. I'd be happy to get candy, and if I don't I'd be sad but that's fine

PWC halloween dialogue from @mzk_70 on Twitter

Nagi has a habit of holding back his thoughts and feelings. And I don't just mean in a funny "shakes the devotion out so Reo can see it" way, I mean in a way where this is a real part of his character that affects his soccer and his relationship with Reo. To be honest, I'm not sure if "Enforced Indifference" is the right phrasing but its the best I could come up with ("Pretend" Indifference doesn't seem right because when Nagi suppresses his emotions he ends up not being conscious of them sometimes. Its dream doping adjacent due to the accepted helplessness, but not quite the same thing...) I and I hope what I mean gets across.

----

Light Novel

In his light novel, he claims to not need a passion and want to "enjoy life" by creating a situation where he can work as little as possible. But, it's fairly clear that doing so little with his life is killing him inside, making him "tired of living anymore". The way he's so grateful for Reo giving him a passion shows that maybe he wanted one but just thought it was impossible and therefore something he should practice indifference toward.

A dream he could be really passionate about…… he couldn't imagine it at all. (Rather than dreaming like that……I want to enjoy life. Ha~ what a pain.) _______________________________ Earn money without overworking and tiring himself, retire as soon as possible, and stay in his game room…… Just as he envisioned such a future, he was shot dead. ... (Why do I get hungry…… If I don’t feel hungry, I wouldn't have to eat.) If you don't eat, you don't have to brush your teeth and you don't have to go to the toilet. ... Nagi was already tired of living anymore.

This can also be seen in how he treated the loneliness in his life. The same "game over" motif used when he envisioned his lazy future is used when Nagi thinks he isn't lonely, a sign that he's in denial with regards to his own suffering. He's lonely, but ignores it.

In Nagi's case, it's not like he's lonely or wants to talk to someone. However, it is also a bother to forget how to speak out loud. Nope, if this society doesn't have a problem with it, it's fine. But surely it’s not. “......Ah, I’ve been shot.” The words "GAME OVER" appeared on the screen.

His loneliness is proven by how he gets Choki - intentionally buying a living creature, and immediately getting attached.

A communication partner should be at least a living thing.

He named it "Choki”*. It was a name he gave without thinking, but when you give a name to something, you get attached to it. That night, he said “Good night” to Choki.

We see this again when Nagi describes himself as weird and claims to be unbothered by his inability to endear himself to others.

In Nagi's case, rather than being a loner, he just liked to be alone, so he had no complaints about being treated as a weirdo. Even though he’s called a weirdo, he's having fun playing games, so he doesn’t mind. Above all, just as those around him thought he’s weird, he saw his classmates as "weird creatures."

But when Reo shows interest in him later, Nagi is hopeful (later happy when Reo says he's fun to be around). We can actually see enforced indifference at work when Reo first meets Nagi.

Something's making him so happy that his eyes are sparkling. Something's making him fired up... is it me? All his life, others have never been interested in him, but he's also never been interested in others. Even his cactus, Choki, doesn't talk to him either. "Let's play soccer!" Nope, don't wanna. It's a pain.

Nagi notices Reo's interest in him and has to remind himself that people don't have interest in him, and he's not interested in anyone. No one talks to him, and he doesn't want to do anything because life is a pain. Don't get your hopes up, remain indifferent. I don't think he's necessarily doing it on purpose, its probably just a defense mechanism that became an automatic reaction.

---

After We Met

Even after he meets Reo, we can see this enforced indifference when he gets fired up, then reverts back to his original state for seemingly no reason. When he gets tagged, he even gets the black smoke, but he reverts. When Reo first asks him to lend him his talent, his eyes shine, but then he goes blank again. When Ego challenges him, he seems a bit fired up, but easily agrees to leave.

He applies this to his relationship with Reo as well. There's hints of Nagi missing Reo, and when this happens, he seems to default to ignoring the feeling.

Even at their 2nd Breakup, the most emotionally stormy moment they have, Nagi does this. Looking at the translation of the novelization by @mzk_70 on twitter, we get insight into Nagi's thoughts.

Reo's words were like a nightmare. --- The day that Reo invited him to play soccer. The day that they arrived at Blue Lock. And the day that they swore to each other they would become the best in the world. Nagi was bitterly disappointed in Reo, who was acting like all those days were lies. "You're the one who's forgotten our promise." "..." Reo looked up at Nagi, shocked. "...I mean... just forget it..." Nagi turned his back, as if to erase Reo's figure from his sight. "You're a pain, Reo. I don't care anymore."

Here, Nagi is clearly feeling horrible, describing the situation as a nightmare. His response is to walk away from the situation "as if to erase Reo's figure from his sight", claiming that he doesn't care. Nagi doesn't succeed at being indifferent here, but he's sure trying.

This also fits with Ego calling him a "self-conscious bastard" and "afraid of getting hurt". It ultimately seems like Nagi is afraid of caring about certain things. Afraid of being hurt. We can see it with how in the egoist bible, nagi doesn't let Reo play his games because he thinks Reo will improve too fast and get bored, which made Reo a bit sad :( . The same reasoning didn't apply to Isagi, who Nagi let play games on his phone, because Isagi can't hurt Nagi like Reo can. We can also see this in how Nagi waited to the last minute to tell Reo his plan because he wanted to avoid seeing Reo mad at him.

This starts to change during Blue Lock. One form of evolution we can see is his goal celebration - an indication of expressing your desires and when you've reached them. At first, he doesn't really celebrate. Then, he pumps his fist, calling it cringe. Then, he's able to go all out.

"We also see this in how he treats Reo. Well, the very first step is Reo and their dream becoming the only thing he's worked toward, and his decision to care about Reo. However, he expresses this with shiny eyes and "you're not a pain". Then, he decides to start making an effort toward their shared goal, though he doesn't choose to verbalize the level of his devotion to Reo. Then after the Manshine Match, and Reo giving some hints that he can't mindread, Nagi openly expresses his gratitude. Something Reo thinks is out of character and unusual of him. We can also see this in how shameless Nagi is in the voice guide script, set after Manshine.

Nagi's journey is far from done, though. there are still certain things he won't tell Reo. For example, he easily agrees to Reo's proposal of aiming for 300 million while thinking of how they were when they first met. Nagi doesn't seem enthusiastic about this goal, and I think on some level he knows it won't motivate him, but he doesn't say anything, perhaps scared of losing Reo again?

Reo then tells him to continue to be himself to aim for the top, but from Episode Nagi, we know that Nagi knows that in order to achieve that goal, he needs to change. His lil "..." and dead eyes prove to me that Nagi has reservations that he's not voicing. Instead, he allows his train of thought to be overshadowed (like the bottles) by Reo's logic, allowing their pattern of awful communication to continue despite the improvement.

Because expressing his wants wholeheartedly is difficult, and risky, and vulnerable, and he's never had to do that before.. Also, the one time he took the most initiative resulted in the destruction of his most important relationship. It's better to deny himself agency....

Communication and Despair

So, Reo and Nagi's partnership has the potential to be functional, but its hindered by their dependence on each other due to external factors. Reo's insecure because he thinks Nagi's partnership is dependent on Reo's utility to Nagi. This causes Reo to frame himself as Nagi's tool in becoming the best. Nagi depends on Reo's initiative because Nagi's still not expressing himself and he's denying himself agency due to not wanting to be vulnerable, causing him to lack initiative himself.

Reo

Reo's issue could be solved in 2 ways. 1). Permanent separation from Nagi, which I think is unlikely for meta reasons. 2). Communication with Nagi, so that he can understand that Nagi's friendship is not conditional. I'm not sure what the journey would look like from there, as its bound to not be that simple, but I do think this first step is key.

Nagi

Nagi's issue is different. His issue is wholeheartedly wanting things, linked actually to his current lack of sustained motivation (beating Isagi being fleeting motivation that dissipated once he scored that goal). He needs to allow himself to find and chase his ego. This ego is hinted to be linked to Reo/their dream

(The runner up theory in my opinion is the idea that his ego is to challenge strong players, but with how his motivation to defeat Isagi dissipated, and how its hinted to be a surface level "false" ego in the linked theory, and the timings of the skull's appearance, I don't personally buy it. Esp with how Nagi cites their dream dying in how Isagi sparked his motivation).

One possibility is that the dream he has with Reo will be challenged by a new rival, but that already happened with Isagi - It got put in danger - and although it worked in getting Nagi motivated, it was only on a superficial level. Nagi started blindly looking to play strong players, while not actually understanding his "deep" ego.

Another possibility is that the dream is challenged by Reo himself. I have difficulty imagining Reo leaving Nagi on purpose, but a miscommunication could occur where Nagi thinks Reo is leaving him for good (when maybe Reo really means for the both of them to improve, the reverse of before) But based off of Nagi's interpretation of their 2nd breakup in the LN, ie, Reo implying that their whole relationship was a lie, as well as the distant way they act afterwards and how Nagi says "I know" to Reo's "This has nothing to do with me", this miscommunication already happened!

I've been implying that Nagi needs to despair.

Isagi beating him didn't give him despair, but rather frustration. (despair-lite, you could say...). I actually recently found an interesting thread on that that someone wrote.

But I haven't stopped to consider that maybe Nagi did despair.

This will age either well or poorly in the next couple of days with the release of Episode Nagi chapter 17 - But given that Nagi's feelings after the 2nd breakup were never defined, what if it was despair? We never see his expression, but its described as a nightmare that nagi decided to erase from his view. What if Nagi despaired and dream doped?

When he reflects on that moment, he doesn't seem to accept his own agency. Rather than engraving the despair like Reo did in the 1st breakup to "win" Reo back, he accepts what Reo says, "You were probably right about me..."

But if you think about it, this makes no sense as a genuine reflection on the situation. What Reo told him is "You've changed. How could yo forget our promise to become the best in the world together?". Nagi may have shown change in the moment he left Reo, but not because he had forgotten their promise.

Nagi then goes on to "Hope" that Reo forgives me, somehow (against logic) - AGAIN contrasted to Reo's "I'll make you say you need me". He accepted the situation as an inevitable result of his newfound interest in soccer, then clung onto the "hope" that Reo comes back to him instead of acting to make it happen

This matches Ego's description very well. Nagi's acceptance of what Reo said as inevitable is a lack of admission of failure. Nagi's hope represents a "Dream that was supposed to come true" that then existed "just for the sake of being chased".

What this establishes is that losing Reo and their dream has the capability to make Nagi despair, whereas being beaten by a strong player can make Nagi feel frustration, but not necessarily despair (despair is probably still possible if it jeapardizes his dream). So far, Nagi has avoided dream doping frustration, but not despair. But Nagi has grown and changed, and he's starting to allow himself more drive.

_______ So___________

For Nagi to want wholeheartedly, he has to despair to realize that its necessary. Some circumstance has to put him and Reo's dream in real danger, and when he realizes this danger, he has to avoid dream doping this time and evolve.

Ah and to bring this back to what I said about Reo, once Nagi obtains sustained, verbalized motivation connected to their dream of winning the world cup, I don't think he would let Reo treat himself as a tool for Nagi's goals. And then Reo might feel rejected, prompting an opportunity for communication that goes well this time. Or if Nagi's despair came from a push/rejection from Reo, Nagi might meet that push by taking action to chase him + take more soccer initiative, plus communicate to even out their dynamic and in that address Reo's insecurity. maybe.

#reo mikage #nagi seishiro #blue lock meta #blue lock #bllk meta #episode nagi #bllk #nagireo meta #nagireo #reonagi #oh god they have had such a chokehold on me in the last couple of weeks...

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pierrotdameron · 1 year

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[...] As the game begins, your character arrives in a remote corner of the world of Eora called the Living Lands as an envoy of the Aedyr Empire, where you've been sent to investigate a mysterious plague. "Not everybody in the Living Lands is super thrilled to have an imperial presence in this far-flung land," she said. "So adventure ensues."

[...] CEO Feargus Urquhart told me that in scope Avowed is more akin to Obsidian's past RPGs like The Outer Worlds in size than it is a sprawling open world a la Skyrim, though that was actually Obsidian's initial pitch. When the developers sat down and focused on what Obsidian does best—stories and companions, in particular—the more compact scale came naturally.

The way you interact with other characters in Avowed will be similar to The Outer Worlds, where your dialogue options reflect the tone you want to want to use. "We try to hit a sweet spot when we're writing dialogue options where we invest enough personality for those options to be fun and interesting, but also leave enough space around them so that the player can really invest whatever headcanon they built for their character into that option," she said.

Patel wouldn't spill much about Avowed's story, but did give me some of the basics on what form of RPG to expect from Avowed:

You have an established role as the imperial envoy, but your "personality, appearance, and philosophy and vibe you bring to that role is up to you as a player to decide"

You can play as a human or an elf, but not other races

It's purely singleplayer—no co-op

The world is lightly systemic: think water and lightning interactions, but not the ol' bucket-on-the-head trick

You'll have two companions with you at a time, with their own combat specialties and, of course, personalities

There are several ability trees to progress through, and you won't be locked to a particular class or playstyle

You will level up, but the focus is on unlocking abilities rather than putting points into stats to grow stronger

Early in development, when Obsidian decided to prioritize a story "more focused on depth than breadth," the first-person combat ended up benefitting, too. Patel said that it was an example of a piece of Avowed that was surprisingly fun in their first vertical slice, a time when the team has to decide on what to commit more resources to and what to scale back on. Combat became a key focus, which should be music to the ears of every Elder Scrolls player who's always found the sword-swinging a bit wimpy. "Our combat has come along really, really well, and the bones have been there since the beginning," she said.

Patel cited a lot of time spent tuning the feel of swinging a sword vs. a mace vs. an axe to make combat feel right, but the options available to players seem like the more significant element at play here. You're free to dual-wield weapons, wield both magic and melee simultaneously, and as in Pillars of Eternity, there are some old timey guns available. When I brought up how bored I am of game loot with imperceptible stat differences from one sword to another, she said that's been on their mind, too.

"The way we've tried to approach that is erring on the side of fewer but meaningful upgrades. If you're upgrading your weapon from one tier to the next, you should feel the difference. If it's a small number change next to your item name, that's not going to feel as meaningful as going through an upgrade process, trying your weapon again and realizing it's doing a lot more damage. Fewer but more meaningful upgrade tiers."

From today's trailer, magic looks like it could be the bit of Avowed that really gives it its own fantasy flair. There's some excellent hand animation at work when the envoy draws runes in the air to conjure a fireball and later lifts a pulsing void skyward, sending a pile of guards orbiting weightlessly around it. I want a whole lot more of that, and I'm excited that I can mix magic with melee without being railroaded into a class.

"In most of our games companions have been optional, which I think offers a wonderful degree of choice to players, but it means there's a limit to how deeply you can tie them into the core story. With Avowed we decided companions are going to be core. They're going to be part of the experience. And that means we can invest so much more in them and tie them much more closely, and personally, to the events and the parts of the world the player is encountering."

And can they die?

This time there was a pause. "You'll have to see," Patel said. Until 2024, then.

#Avowed #Pillars of Eternity #Feargus Urquhart #Carrie Patel #obsidian games

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satoshi-mochida · 4 months

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Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC

From Gematsu

Publisher THQ Nordic and developer Purple Lamp Studios have announced Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC (Steam). It will launch in 2024.

“I’ve received more heartfelt fan mail from players of all ages about Disney Epic Mickey than any other project I’ve worked on—a true indicator of the timelessness of this game,” said Warren Spector, director of the original Disney Epic Mickey, in a press release. “That my team and I contributed to that legacy is truly an honor and I’m delighted that old fans and new will get to enjoy the adventures of Mickey and Oswald in Wasteland once again.”

Disney, Pixar, and 20th Century Games vice president Luigi Priore added, “Having been part of this from the earliest beginnings of the creative idea, all those years ago, I can’t wait to see new players discover this enduring classic on modern consoles. We are excited that fans of the original will also get to relive their own experiences wielding the paintbrush and thinner once again.”

Here is an overview of the game, via THQ Nordic:

About

Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed brings the magic of Disney to life in a vibrant 3D platformer. This beautiful remake sends Mickey Mouse on an epic journey through Wasteland, a realm of forgotten Disney characters. As Mickey, you will dive into a fantastical world and, armed with paint and thinner, shape your adventure and the fate of this alternate world. Every stroke of your magic brush matters! Use paint to restore beauty and harmony or thinner to alter your environment and uncover hidden secrets. Your choices influence Mickey’s destiny and change the outcome of this artistic odyssey. Will you become the epic hero Wasteland needs? Encounter various iconic characters like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first creation, as you travel between lands in Wasteland. Collect virtual Disney pins, tackle creative challenges, and uncover secrets, all while exploring classic platforming levels inspired by animated films and shorts. Originally envisioned by Warren Spector, reimagined by Purple Lamp, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed employs state-of-the-art visuals and improved controls to breathe new life into a beloved classic. Experience new movement skills for Mickey, such as dash, ground pound and sprinting. The game’s compelling story makes it an unforgettable adventure for long-time fans and newcomers alike. Join Mickey Mouse and unravel the mysteries of Wasteland in this

Key Features

Explore a reimagined Wasteland, full of Disney’s timeless characters and stories.

Wield the magic brush: Paint to create, thinner to alter. Every choice shapes your story.

Meet Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney’s original star, in a rich, narrative-driven world.

Enjoy advanced gameplay with new abilities and enhanced visuals in a classic setting.

Mickey has new moves such as dash, ground pound and sprinting.

High replayability with multiple endings based on your unique playstyle and decisions.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

youtube

#Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed #Epic Mickey: Rebrushed #Epic Mickey #Mickey Mouse #Oswald the Lucky Rabbit #Disney #THQ Nordic #Purple Lamp Studios #Gematsu #Heck yeah #Youtube

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boatemlag · 16 days

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Jimmy DPS Build Guide (AKA my "hear me out" manifesto)

Hello Everyone! In this post I will share with you the detailed build guide of the 4-star Pyro Polearm User Jimmy. Before you type your angry comment, just hear me out.

I used to play Jimmy back when I was F2P in 2.0, before the Seven Days Replay set was released, and I decided to see if he's a good option now that we have the set.

✦✦✦ Kit and Playstyle ✦✦✦

Jimmy is a 4-star HP scaling Pyro Polearm user who is very F2P friendly, considering every account has him, and they run him in the store every other month. His kit is based around losing health, so it is necessary to have a healer on the team. He works well on teams based around elemental reactions!!!

◇ Normal Attack: Laying Down the Law

No extra mechanics here. Deals up to 5 consecutive strikes using normal attack. Holding down attack lets him do a charged attack.

◇ Elemental Skills (E) : Changing Tactics

Pressing E makes Jimmy rush forward to attack one enemy dealing Pyro DMG. Holding E charges up his attack, and does more of an arc of Pyro DMG that can hit multiple enemies in a cone in front of him and knock over smaller enemies. Changing Tactics has one charge, and a CD of 5s for press, and 7.5s for held.

◇ Elemental Burst (Q) : Revengeance

The majority of damage you want to do with Jimmy comes from his burst. Revengeance unleashes a powerful AoE Pyro attack with a decent range, and boosts characters ATK based on Jimmy's HP.

Jimmy has an energy cost of 40 and his cooldown is 12s.

◇ Passives

Tactical Retreat (1st ascension) - Using Burst boosts the ATK of the next character to switch on field within 2s. (This is typically why he's considered a support or sub-DPS, but shhh.)

Heating Up (4th ascension) - Revengance does more damage based on the amount of damage taken by Jimmy in the last 30s. (A surprise tool that will help us later!!)

Forgaging Familiarity - Displays the location of nearby resources unique to Ention on the mini-map.

✦✦✦ Ascension & Talent Materials ✦✦✦

◇ Agnidus Agate

Like all Pyro characters, Jimmy will need Agnidus Agate for ascension. Luckily, his boss drops it! Players will need to collect the following amount to get his final ascension:

Agnidus Agate Sliver x1

Agnidus Agate Fragment x9

Agnidus Agate Chunk x9

Agnidus Agate Gemstone x6

◇ Drops from Undead Brutes

Undead are found all throughout the world, most commonly in early regions like Ention or Riveia. Undead Brutes typical spawn in Camps, and can be fought on Ention Leylines. To get Jimmy to final ascension, you will need:

Wishbone x18 (x18)

Bone Club x30 (x66)

Reinforced Femur x36 (x93)

(Parentheses are for all talents to level 10.)

◇ Unburning Branch

Unburning Branch can be claimed by defeating the Young Dragonspawn in Ention. Like other bosses, it costs 40 resin to collect materials. You will need x46.

◇ Red Capped Mushroom

Red Capped Mushroom is the local specialty in Ention that Jimmy needs. You will need x168. They can be grown in the teapot.

◇ Confidence Talent Books

Confidence Talent Books can be gotten from Riftmouth Cave (Ention) on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

◇ Heart of the Machine from the Surveillance Prophet weekly boss

Complete the Ention Archon quest to unlock this boss. This boss cannot be done in co-op.

✦✦✦ Artifacts & Stats ✦✦✦

Jimmy's best artifact set for a DPS build is Seven Days Replay.

2-piece set HP+20%. 4-piece set gains stacks of Knowledge when a character takes damage. Knowledge applies the following effects depending on the amount of stacks: 1-3 stacks, increase DMG by 10%. 4-6 stacks, increase crit rate by 8%. 7 stacks, increase incoming healing by 10% for the next 2s, and reset the amount of stacks.

Sands: HP%/ER

Goblet: Pyro DMG

Circlet: CRIT rate/DMG

Substats: ER, HP%, CRIT rate/DMG, (EM if needed)

ATK is a dead stat for Jimmy

ER: ~120-130%

This is basically the only set that is good for Jimmy as a DPS. Alternate options are any set that give an HP or HP% bonus if you don't have a full 4-piece set for him yet.

✦✦✦ Weapons ✦✦✦

Jimmy's best in slot is typically considered the 5* standard Benevolence, and this is a decent option. For the purposes of DPS, though, getting your hands on Harvest Moon is really good. (Pearl rerun when... [Pearl_Sip])

Good 4* options include Killer Instinct (BP weapon) and Sidepiercer (Standard). His best 3* option is Asclepius, but if you didn't grab that then go with Nighttime Arrow. If you must.

✦✦✦ Talent Priority ✦✦✦

Burst > E. Skill > Normal Attack

A good suggested level for folks who do not want to go all the way is 9/7/6.

✦✦✦ Team Comps ✦✦✦

Ention Bros - Reverse Melt team with Jimmy as DPS, BigB for cryo application and sub-DPS, Pyro False for off-field Pyro application, and Netty for heals. Netty is a really good healer for Jimmy DPS teams, and these are all F2P friendly options. Make sure to pile on some EM if you're using this team.

Suicide Bombs - Overload team with Jimmy DPS, Tango for off-field electro application, Xisuma for electro application/electro resonance & heals, and the last slot I keep for a flex support. Pyro False is a good option for the resonance, but Cryo False is good if you have her C2 for the automatic shield, just so Jimmy doesn't explode and die constantly.

You almost never want a shield character with Jimmy (Cryo False is the exception), since it prevents Jimmy from taking DMG, and effectively nerfs his burst.

✦✦✦ Constellations ✦✦✦

C1: Gives guaranteed elemental particle when hit.

C2: Using E skill reduces Burst CD.

C3: Talent level increase.

C4: At 30% health, healing bonus for party.

C5: Talent level increase.

C6: ATK boost for Burst when Jimmy is at 30%.

All his cons are good, but none of them are necessary to play Jimmy as a DPS, unlike some other characters. C1 is really good for Burst uptime, so at least aim for that.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

That's all! Just try to keep in mind that this is subject to change once we get release 6.0, since I'm hearing leaks that Sausage is basically gonna be Better 5 Star Jimmy. But whatever. [Sob] Jimmy mains will catch a break some day, I believe it. Comment if you have any ideas for this build or have any success with it! Thx!!

#wizard scrolls #solidaritygaming #genshin impact au #<- which i guess is a real tag on my blog now.#target audience 2 people as usual

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mcdonaldsnumberone · 2 years

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touchin’ like we know each other !

physical touch headcanons

gender neutral reader

—pinching his cheek

Truth be told, Ness likes to be babied a bit. He fulfills his role in Bastard Munchen like his life depends on it, often playing the cut-throat supporting role for Kaiser and his belligerent playstyle. So a slightly childish part of Ness wants to be a bit greedy with receiving praise and affection in the same way that Kaiser does, wanting to be acknowledged rather than constantly being his biggest supporter. While he won’t outright say that he wants you to fawn over him all the time, he enjoys being coddled by you a lot more than he thinks.

Having his cheeks pinched is something he would never admit to enjoying given how much his team would tease the living daylights out of him, but he likes how you always lavish him with attention whenever you touch him. Sometimes it’ll be a quick gesture to get him to loosen up before a big game, and other times you’ll do it to catch his attention when he’s distracted. But it’s such a cute yet casual motion, it reminds Ness of how close the two of you are.

He also likes the slight contrast between who he is as a person and how you treat him. He’s an athlete with a bright future, and he could literally overpower you physically without doing much, yet here you are, fearlessly babying him and feeling up his face whenever it strikes you. Despite all the rigorous training he goes through, Ness knows he still has a bit of a babyface (and one hell of a poised smile too), so it’s always jarring to think that while he must come off as a ferocious opponent to some players, he’s just mochi-faced Ness to you.

Sometimes he’ll pinch your cheeks too, just to mess with you. It’s cute when you get all flustered and stunned, always used to being the one to do it to him. He likes riling you up only to smile at you angelically like he always does, blatantly wearing his satisfaction all over his face. If you let him get carried away with it, he’ll trail after you for as long as he can. Lying in wait for the perfect chance, he’ll stick by your side as if glued to your hip to swoop in and catch you when you let your guard down. Don’t worry—he’ll make sure the rest of his team doesn’t see you with your face stretched out in between his hands.

“Did I play well today? Yay, I’m glad to hear! Kaiser’s playing is really amazing, isn’t it? It’s fun to see my magic work out. Won’t you reward me for always giving it my all?”

—kissing his eyelids

Chigiri likes reveling in the calm after the storm. After giving it all while playing, what he needs to unwind is something that can take his mind off of things for a little while. He’s still looking for ways to improve and utilize his full potential, but he’s more than his skillset at the end of the day. He wants someone who can hold him and tell him he’s doing great as he is, reminding him that these quiet cadences in between high tension moments are necessary to ground him.

Chigiri finds himself at his happiest when he’s laying down, his head resting in your lap. It would be so easy to just drift away and forget the world as he is, but he wants to stay awake for a little bit more to watch your face and lose himself in your presence. Sometimes you’ll play with his hair or distract yourself by watching something on your phone, but you never fail to lean down every once in a while to kiss his eyes and call him your precious pretty boy.

He never knew such a simple thing could make his heart flutter so much. He’s been stuck in his head for too long, focusing too much on ‘what ifs’ and his own fears, that such a small act of intimacy is enough to throw him off entirely. Chigiri wants to become more graceful at taking whatever kisses you send his way, so he isn’t staring dumbfounded at you with his cheeks turning the same shade of red as his hair. He feels like a schoolgirl with a crush when you beam down at him as if nothing happened, and the butterflies in his stomach are enough to keep him up the entire night.

Unlike some of the other boys who would rather die than be caught doing anything couple-y in front of their teammates, Chigiri has absolutely no issues with it. He’ll smugly walk onto the field after you kiss him good luck, knowing perfectly well that he’ll give it his all as usual when he knows you’re cheering him on so thoroughly. His teammates can only dream of having such a supportive significant other as you, and he always looks to you with pride when he spots you in the seats during practice or actual games.

“Do you like kissing me on my eyelids that much? You do? You’re making me shy… It’s fine. I don’t want you to stop. Kiss me again?”

—adjusting his appearance

Yukimiya is used to having eyes on him all the time. Even away from having people always evaluating him for his athletic career, he’s used to being stared at whenever he’s on the street or being ogled by the people who directly help with his modeling career. He doesn’t think too much of it usually, but sometimes he wants a breather where he can exist without someone scrutinizing him from some angle. This is why he likes being with you so much. You never treat him like some spectacle. He’s your boyfriend, and that’s all there is to it.

And whenever you adjust his appearance, it’s never to make him more “palatable” or “professional.” You do it to help him out. It’s never these glasses will make you look more handsome, it’s you’ll get a headache if you wear your glasses crooked for so long, Yuki. You really have nothing but his best interest in mind at all times, and you don’t care about how he looks. He could be coming straight from a modeling job or be rolling out of bed; you love him all the same.

He especially likes it when you fix his clothes a bit. It warms his heart whenever you take a moment to button up his coat for him or smooth out his hair, your hands lingering over his body enough to make his heart skip a beat. It’s a kind of everyday, domestic intimacy that Yukimiya learned to appreciate while he can. They don’t come often for someone who always has to stay poised and ready like him, and he devours your cozy love like the starved man he is.

Yukimiya swears that one day he’ll work up the courage and the status to do whatever he wants with you. He won’t do anything rash, but he wants to be comfortable enough with his job and himself to be able to kiss you and hold you in public, to not have to be so reliant on these quick touches and fleeting gestures to satisfy his longing heart. But until then, he’ll ask you to continue being patient with him, and he promises that he’ll return your love tenfold when he can.

“I have something on my face…? Would you mind getting it for me? Thank you, love. You’re always so kind to me. It makes me very happy. I hope you know that!”

—hooking your arm around his

Reo has been raised to be a gentleman, only ever getting aggressive when the situation calls for it. He follows his own desires, refusing to give them up no matter what, and his love for you runs deep in the same way. But he won’t ever let you be harmed by his own greedy wants, preferring to show the more polished and smooth side of him more than the desperate boy within him that wants something to keep him on his toes. He’ll be the ideal boyfriend, being your knight-in-shining-armor (or a shining limousine) and never pushing you into doing anything that makes you uncomfortable.

Which is why he likes it so much when you sometimes take the initiative and confirm that you feel the same way about him. You hooking your arm around his tells him that you like being around him enough to actively go out of your way to get closer to him, and despite all the immense pressure around the two of you due to his status as an heir, you don’t mind being seen with him in a way that’s clearly romantic. It makes his heart swell up with happiness to be parading around the street with you latched onto the crook of his elbow like a normal couple, and with how cute the two of you are, you’re bound to leave everyone green with jealousy.

To top it off, at the end of every hangout or date with him, Reo will insist on escorting you back home. Not only is it a way for him to make sure you get home safe, it’s also a great excuse to spend a few more minutes with you. He cherishes these stolen moments: walking through your town with you right next to him, arms entangled together, away from the chaos of Blue Lock and his family, with nothing but the rising stars and the elegant moon to witness you kissing him goodnight before being dropped off.

Reo can’t wait for the day where you won’t ever have to let go. He might keep a picture of you like that saved and stashed away somewhere in his room. The two of you on a small date, side-by-side, lost in each other: whenever he finds himself missing you, he’ll pull it out to stare at it before smiling like the lovestruck fool he is. He might even gush about it to Nagi, chatting the poor boy’s ear off about how he wishes you were there right now to cling to him until Nagi eventually smothers Reo with a pillow so he can go back to gaming in peace.

“Hold me tight, and stay on this side of the sidewalk, okay? It’s not safe to walk close to the road. Don’t worry! I’ll protect you! You can always count on me.”

#blue lock #blue lock x reader #bllk #bllk x reader #alexis ness #hyouma chigiri #kenyu yukimiya #reo mikage #x reader #my writing #YUKI NATION WAKE THE FUCK UP IM HERE TO FEED YOU

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