#something really haunting about p3

[entertext]

HGSN 22-2

Chapter (Japanese)

(Please hit the green thumbs up at the end of the chapter to show support)

Rough translation by me

P1

(sfx: wakes up)

Yoshiki: Uwahh!

Yoshiki's mom: Dear...! Are you alright!? Why did you go to Takeda-san's place..!?

Yoshiki: Mom...

Mom: Is it true!? That old Takeda geezer went into a rage and knocked the two of you out?

Mom: The researcher? staying there managed to stop him, but...

P2

Yoshiki: Wait...slow down...you didn't call the police or anything...

Mom: A small quarrel within the village that isn't worth getting the police involved over...that's what it will be settled as, it seems. I seem like a fool. Even if I filed a complaint...

Yoshiki: Enough of that, what about 'Hikaru'...?

Mom: He's sleeping on the next bed...

(sfx: curtain swish)

Mom: But he hasn't woken up yet...

P3

(sfx: thump)

Tanaka: (This katana...)

Tanaka: (I snuck it into Takeda's house for an emergency, but it came in handy. It was able to cut "that" better than I thought)

Tanaka: (This confirms it. It took a long time to get to this point. I'm...really lucky... To think that it's manifesting in this era)

P4

Tanaka: (On top of that, how funny! Not only does it have an ego but it made itself weaker!)

Tanaka: (So things are already progressing towards my goal?)

Tanaka: (But....if that's now the case...)

Takeda: Tanaka!!!

Takeda: My father...they said he probably can't be saved. That it was a heart attack.

Takeda: What the hell happened...!?

P5

Tanaka: ...my apologies. I rushed there but didn't make it in time.

Tanaka: I noticed too late. ...It's my fault.

Takeda: ...

Takeda: My father...had said "I'm next"

Takeda: Was that was true then?

Tanaka: ...seeing the beings on the other side means the other side can find you more easily too

Tanaka: If you find them, the more you fear them, the easier of a target you make

Tanaka: That's all that happened to Matsuura-san and your father.

P6

Takeda: I see...no, to be honest

Takeda: My wife and I were relieved...though that isn't proper to say

Tanaka: ...

Tanaka: ...by the way, my sunglasses

Tanaka: have you seen them?

Takeda: They're right in front of you, aren't they...?

Tanaka: ...

(sfx: splash)

Takeda: You...

P7

Takeda: Is it possible that you're blind?

Tanaka: Yeah....

Tanaka: That's right.

Tanaka: But this is a kind of spiritual impairment. Even with a medical examination, there's nothing wrong

Tanaka: Besides, with these sunglasses I can more or less see

Tanaka: Though its annoying that they're company provisions

Takeda: How long ago?

Tanaka: ...since a very long time ago. Are you finished?

P8

Takeda: Wait

Takeda: What the hell is your goal here?

Tanaka: It's my job

Tanaka: My "company" is looking for a particular thing that originates from the other side

Tanaka: They've searched for several hundred years... It's worth that much effort

Tanaka: And that's why they send people like me out to survey any place that it has even the slightest chance of being in

P9

Takeda: No, I'm talking about your personal motive

Takeda: I don't know anything about that company or whatever

Takeda: But for you to do so much, you must have a reason

Tanaka: Haha, you're suprisingly sharp

Tanaka: Regarding "Nounuki-sama"...it's not wrong to say I plan on doing something about it

Tanaka: At the very least... I'm on the side of humanity

Tanaka: ...but I've just gotten a few more things to do now.

P9

Tanaka: I'll be gone from this village for a moment, so you're responsible for now

Takeda: !? Hey!

Takeda: What about dealing with Nounuki-sama!! If someone gets attacked by impurities...

Tanaka: Please fight them with that katana! Takeda-san, you're 6th dan in Kendo, aren't you?

Takeda: Is that possible!?

(txt: Missed Call: Satou)

==

Next chapter: in two weeks probably

Twitter Extra (link):

If he started speaking before it was stuck back on:

Yoshiki: ....!

Hikaru: How about working at a haunted house?

[phoebehalliwell]

have you ever wondered which actresses could portray the charmed ones if the story was set nowadays? (it may seem weird but i like to make fancasts about the books/shows i like and i was curious if you also thought about it...) i love your blog btw!

hiiiii i actually have never thought of this but i did some thinking over a lunch break or two and i came up with five different options ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Option One

The Tried And True Brunettes!!

basically a one-to-one of the original except set in 2024 so adding a couple more modern slants i imagine prue would maybe work in tech or an app or a start up instead of the auction house, phoebe would def have some plotline with dating apps something or other tying into her column, chappell roan is def performing at p3

Claudia Jessie as Prue Halliwell // i’ve only seen her on bridgerton but the sharpness and the softness she displays with eloise i think would really help encapsulate prue

Victoria Pedritti as Piper Halliwell // ive seen her in a couple things but specifically the characters in the haunting of hill house and the haunting of bly manor i think could really lend itself to her earlier seasons versus her agro kind of insane variant as love in you could def show itself in the later seasons

Danielle Rose Russell as Phoebe Halliwell // if anyone’s seen legacies whenever drr is playing lizzie… i know she’s got the sauce

Mikey Madison as Paige Matthews // i only know her from the scream reboot but i totally see the vision

Option Two

It’s San Francisco!!

for a show that so frequently reminds us it is set in san francisco and the surrounding bay area, it features so few asian characters it is honestly confusing, given that the city itself is roughly one third asian. the show initially seemed like in wanted to lean into that in the very first season given episodes like dead man dating, but it really petered out. this recasting offers a new perspective of the city as well as different facets of life for the charmed ones to explore (i would love to see a lunar new year episode / zodiac episode to overwrite the existing one in canon which is just so :///). for this specific casting, i would have them be a vietnamese family, with paige being half asian and half white raised by adopted white parents, so when she comes into the fold, it's not just her learning about her magical heritage but also her getting to learn and connect with her asian heritage as well

Kelly Marie Tran as Prue Halliwell // i've only seen her in star wars admittedly i don't even know which one i'm not a star wars girlie But i think she carries with her both the bravery of prue and that kind of strong dignity/forceful aura that would really help shape the role

Lana Condor as Piper Halliwell // i know her as lara jean from to all the boys i've loved before and honestly from that alone i think she'd kill as piper

Leah Lewis as Phoebe Halliwell // okay. so while i haven't actually watched nancy drew, my mutuals love it, and from the gifsets i've seen + the promos they would show before riverdale, i do think we've found our phoebe

Piper Curda as Paige Matthews // not the first and not the last pick from Legacies, piper was introduced in the 4th season i'm p sure and i really like her laid back / obviously gay aura and i think she would make a really interesting obviously gay paige

Option Three

Asian Doesn’t Inherently Mean East Asian!!

i wanna see desi witches i feel like i never see desi witches!! plus the bay area / northern california as a whole has a very vibrant indian community so i would love to see that tapped into

Simone Ashley as Prue Halliwell // while she is in sex education we all know the example i'm going to give you here is kate sharma from bridgerton who is basically just regency prue halliwell

Amita Suman as Piper Halliwell // i know her as inej from shadow and bone which admittedly as a series, i did not like. however, i think amita is a talented actress and could pull off an excellent piper

Avantika Vandanapu as Phoebe Halliwell // best known for playing karen in the new mean girls movie. definitely would kill it as phoebe

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Paige Matthews // best known as devi in never have i ever, a show that i actually did not watch but my mom did so i've seen roughly 1/3 of all episodes. i think she's a very skilled actress and could play the willful, stubborn, and creative paige excellently

option four

Black Girl Magic!!

i'm going to be perfectly honest with you -- this was absolutely motivated by having an ayo piper. think on it. like. gas.

Omono Okojie as Prue Halliwell // yet another legacies pick but what can i say i love the cast. i think she would bring an appropriate gravitas and like cool stubborness to prue

Ayo Edibiri as Piper Halliwell // hold up sydney adamu from the bear. hold up piper halliwell. they're the same picture.

Jadah Marie as Phoebe Halliwell // i know her from descendants 3 where she was playing dr facilier's daughter celia and that was really all the evidence i needed. she's totally phoebe

Madison Reyes as Paige Matthews // she's julie from julie and the phantoms which if you haven't seen you should esp if you love dcoms bc it's another kenny ortega classic. i think madison brings the right spirit to paige. additionally, being the half sister, she is actually not just black but afro latina, and could introduce new perspectives from her specific puerto rican descent esp in regards to brujeria (a la josefina in season 2 or maybe 3 of the charmed reboot)

Option Five

Everyone Knows The Charmed Ones Are Blonde!!

We're standing in the home of the Charmed Ones, we've got their powers, we got their book, and we got blonde multi-tonal hair!!! on a very real level, could not resist making the blonde variants. largely motivated by sabrina carpenter as phoebe

Meghann Fahy as Prue Halliwell // known for the bold type and the white lotus i think meghann could really the convey the whole i'm lonely but i'm good/i'm bitter but i swear i'm fine vibe prue has going for her

Elle Fanning as Piper Halliwell // we see piper's soft side when elle plays aurora in maleficent and her agro side when she plays catherine in the great

Sabrina Carpenter as Phoebe Halliwell // do i really need to explain this? i'm right. you know i'm right.

Renee Rapp as Paige Matthews // come back to television the kids miss you. i know she usually plays the more prue coded characters like with leighton in the sex lives of college girls and arguably even regina george in mean girls but i've seen her in those interviews. "There is this man who owns a bus touring company. His name is buddy, and he is such an asshole, and he was so disrespectful to my friends, Priscilla and Bella, who I work with, and to my mother. If you're watching this, I can't stand you, and I hope your business burns. You are so disrespectful and so misogynistic. I. Hate. You." that's my paige matthews

castings for other characters under the cut ❤️

Leo Wyatt

Dev Patel // like. logically. could we book dev patel? no. but does that make me want him any less? also no.

Kedar Williams Stirling // best known as jackson in sex education where he just exudes such good vibes you know what i'm saying? that just like nice aura. that's what i want for leo. when leo's around i want the feeling like things are going to be okay bc he's just so good

Alex Roe // if any of you watched siren on freeform i highly recommend the first two seasons i did give up on the third season but the first two were really good. he plays the male lead ben who i feel like honestly would translate over really well to leo. knowledgeable and constantly dealing with the women he loves as shit keeps getting weirder

Vanessa Morgan // she does that "gazes lovingly at a person you are basically cosmically tied to" so well in riverdale i know she could kill as leah wyatt

Cole Turner

Manny Jacinto // i'm not watching the acolyte but i am watching those fancams and i'm gonna need more sexy villian manny jacinto asap

Nathan Parsons // one of those cw actors that gets passed around like the blunt so it only makes sense to have him here. i know him best as max from roswell new mexico but it's specifically when he plays jones, for all intents and purposes max's evil twin that he really starts cole cooking imo. i think he would offer a really fun take on cole.

Havana Rose Liu // who wouldn't go against both heaven and hell to be with her? i mainly know her from bottoms where she might not feel super cole coded but i see the vision

Chris O'Shea // i only know him as percival pickens in season six of riverdale but he served down and i know he'd make a great cole. watch s6 of riverdale. you don't have to watch any of the earlier seasons or any of the seasons after it to understand what's going on i promise. it's the season where they all get magic powers.

Darryl Morris

Quentin Plair // another pick from roswell new mexico he plays dallas the sexy preacher among other things and i think he has a really good um. it's like. that running out of patience type vibe you know what i'm saying? i really like the way he can get the terse like i am being nice right now but i need you to know that is a choice i am making type vibe that i really like when darryl gets (like when darryl first meets cole and there's that tension its such a good darryl moment)

John David Washington // could we book him? idk i don't know if he's really been in any tv shows i know his mainly blackKklansman and tenet and i feel like he def has the chops to give us an excellent darryl

Charles Michael Davis // another cw actor best known to me personally as marcel on the originals and as we can see in the photo looks great in a suit i think he would make a really good darryl esp in the softer moments connecting with the sisters/leo

William Jackson Harper // okay thru googling him right now he's 44?? that's insane to me he does not look 44. most know him as chidi from the good place which i think offers the perfect "this might as well be happening" type energy darryl so often has

[freevoidman]

Did you see how they sanitized everyone in 'the answer ' remake?

YES AND IT PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH. Literally how do you make that translation so fucking awful. How do you make one of the most haunting cutscenes in Persona history so fucking NOTHING that it left seriously zero impact. How bad do you have to push Aigis/MC to the point where you completely annihilate all the other charcters' developments?

Thank god I didn't buy it. All those negative reviews on Steam are retroactively justified. $35 for a somehow WORSE experience than FES's Answer. We should've gotten FeMC instead.

This also makes me worried about the future of Persona as a series. They pulled out literally ALL of P3's aesthetic teeth and completely changed the entire tone of that game. What the hell are we gonna get in P6, because P5 was BARELY willing to depict some of its incredibly serious topics directly, and P3 just got watered down to hell and back.

Like... hopefully Metaphor will have something that feels appropriately themed and middle-ages enough, because Episode Aigis and P3R's changes makes me worried. We are never going to get a title like P3 again. We are never going to get a game like Digital Devil Saga again (which is one of the few other games I really want Atlus to port [and it better STAY a fucking port if they remake it and get rid of all the cool shit in there I'll be fucking pissed]).

[wilderavyn]

Watch Hidden Agenda Ep 7 with me.

Spoilers Ahead!

P1

2:29 Love what a confident king Zo is. lol

8:13 A place he loves because of his grandma and he wanted to share it with Zo. 🥹

10:07 Ouch. That's a nasty memory Zo.

10:45 Damn. He gaslit him.

10:59 That's a whole nother level of f*cked up man.

11:20 What an absolute jerk.

15:03 The fact that this is not even that scary of a haunted house makes Joke getting scared 10 times funnier. 😂

17:25 Oh no. Pok please don't fake happiness.

18:11 Glad he knows something is wrong and is trying to get answers.

19:23 Nice to get smooches from them but these two are kinda making me kinda sad. I hope we see some more development from them.

P2

0:49 Grandma looks so sour about him damn.

1:37 Damn she's really not liking Zo. 😐

2:54 I'm not liking her at all so far.

4:17 Love Zo's attitude towards grandma. 😀

6:01 Finally getting somewhere with grandma maybe?

6:21 Just a test huh grandma? I personally hate tests like this but at least grandma's not a homophobe.

7:18 Oh grandma is sweet now.

9:04 Smooth Joke smooth. Also enjoying the super unnecessary bare chest Joke is serving.

10:54 That more like it Zo. I wouldn't miss out an opportunity like this. 😏

P3

4:01 Cute! 🥺

5:01 Fast recharge is even cuter! 🥹

P4

0:15 Damn. Why are we suddenly at the hospital?

1:07 As someone who doesn't have their health anymore I really appreciate Joke saying it's the most important thing.

2:42 Playing with clay is such a perfect way to relax.

4:14 Pok is so adorable.

7:32 Well played Zo. He doesn't deserve your private time.

9:52 Well said Zo. He doesn't get to just start over where he left off after what he did to you.

10:31 That was resolved perfectly. I hope it stays that way.

12:47 Finally!

14:00 That was amazing, hot, and hilarious!

This was the perfect episode!

[myreia]

Top 10 Video Games

Thank you for the tag, @thevikingwoman! 💗

I've been thinking about this for a few days. My top 5 has been in place for a few years now, but my top 10 tends to change from year to year depending on new things I've played and how much of an impact they made or games I've revisited and rekindled a love for.

Criteria is pretty personal: games I enjoy because I find their gameplay supports their story and vice versa; games I like because it's doing something cool with the roleplay aspect; games I like purely for the gameplay; games for nostalgia or personal importance; games I think did something interesting with an interactive format to tell a story.

I'm going to exclude interactive fiction or visual novels here for a few personal reasons.

tagging @lilas @greyyourwarden @coldshrugs @galadae @a-shakespearean-in-paris @hylfystt @allaganexarch @sunshinemage @impossible-rat-babies @roguelioness if you want!

10. Heroes of Might and Magic III

I grew up with the HoMM series. It was the first computer game I was old enough to understand; I spent hours exploring maps, building up my towns, getting freaked out when the enemy AI surprised me. Hours in the custom map maker and campaign maker trying to create playable stories. The third installment in the series has so much going for it--colourful world, really beautiful creature design, interesting and challenging campaigns that really made you think about the systems and utilize them in different ways. It's light on story, but the story that is there is interesting if you spend a couple minutes thinking about it.

This series is probably the basis of turn-based combat being my favourite type of gameplay.

The music is also really nice!

09. Persona 3

I feel like a Persona game needs to be on this list, but I wasn't sure which one. My introduction to the series was backwards: I played Persona 5 first, then P4, then P3. I think the thing that always stands out to me about Persona is how much fun the turn-based combat, combined with its sometimes bonkers monster design, the dynamics between the core cast, its in-depth storytelling, and, of course, the music.

There's something about 3's characters and story that always comes back to me. The conversation it opens about death, grief and loss is very raw but also very compassionate. I think it has one of the most thoughtful handling of existentialist and nihilistic viewpoints in gaming. It has the kind of ending that will haunt you after you witness it. You might not think about the game for years but you'll have a day where you remember Persona 3's ending and get pulled right back into thinking on it.

And Mass Destruction is here.

08. Dragon Age (Series)

I can't choose one! I can't!

Dragon Age: Origins was the game that got me into gaming. I hadn't really played anything since HoMM as a kid. The flexibility of its UI and systems to be a kind of cross between an action RPG-style and a CRPG style made it really friendly for getting used to gameplay mechanics I was not used to. The storytelling and characters pulled me right in, and I think DA:O still is one of the best examples of interactive storytelling where the player actually has an impact on the unfolding narrative to date.

Dragon Age 2 continues to fascinate me. There are obvious issues with the gameplay, design, and overall storytelling, but the foundation of what they were trying to execute is really unique. The three-act structure is very theatrical and almost Shakespearean, using Varric as a bookend to narrate the whole experience adds another layer (what is the truth? what is fabricated for entertainment?). Act 2 has some of DA's strongest storytelling and really digs into its dark fantasy roots even as it rushes towards a conclusion that is unavoidable, grotesque, and bitterly unfair. I played this one last so I knew what I was getting into when I played it, so I was able to temper my expectations a fair amount and enjoy it for what it is, rather than what it could have been.

Dragon Age: Inquisition was the second DA game I played and it's the one I have the most hours in. The combat is a lot of fun, it has one of the most versatile CC's to date. The landscapes are beautiful and were a lot of fun to explore on the first few playthroughs. I'm still very fond of the story and the characters.

DA's transition from a more CRPG style and dark fantasy genre to an action RPG style and high fantasy genre is a shift that will probably always fascinate me and I love to talk about it.

If I had to narrow it down: it's DA:O for the overall story, DA2 for the characters, DA:I for the combat and gameplay.

I don't have much to say about the music other than Trevor Morris went off for Trespasser's Lost Elf theme.

07. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

I'll be honest, I almost put Jedi: Fallen Order here because I wanted to talk about my favourite Star Wars game but it's been a hot minute since I last played it and I think Amalur has been on my favourites list for too long to kick it off.

Kingdoms of Amalur is really good and really bad and it is trashy and I love it.

If you go digging you can find its whole sordid history, but the reasons I'm very fond of it:

whacky, campy art style

colourful worlds

THE COMBAT

The combat in this game is excellent. It is freeform. You can respec at any time. There are three main classes (warrior, rogue, mage) and you can multiclass them whichever way you want. Warrior/Rogue, Mage/Rogue, Warrior/Mage, Warrior/Mage/Rogue... It's so much fun to change it up on the fly. Combat feels smooth, and once it clicks it's really easy to feel like a badass.

This game FINALLY gives mages a cool weapon. No more scepters or staffs, we're going for magic chakrams and I love it. Best weapon in the game, hands-down. Every fantasy game that has come out after 2012 that hasn't given their mage classes chakrams is missing out.

Amalur's a campy power-trip. The worldbuilding is really interesting if you want to take the time to dig into it, but you don't have to. Its MMO roots are there in much of its quest design, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. YMMV with the main characters (there aren't any companions here, there are a couple of people who regularly pass in and out of your PC's life), but in general everything is just big goofy fun that shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Again, don't have much to say about the music other than Grant Kirkhope did Grant Kirkhope things. The Dalentarth theme has some nice atmospheric stuff happening.

06. Final Fantasy XV

I love Final Fantasy, it's one of my favourite game series/franchises, but I'm only allowing myself one FF game to be on this list and it has to be this one.

FFXV is a weird game. Troubled development history, troubled story, troubled execution. It has a lot of good ideas packed into it that may or may not be done well, kind of confusing worldbuilding, and a kind of confusing story that asks you to do homework in advance (you can watch Kingsglaive and Brotherhood if you want to; I didn't, but I did end up having to read a few wiki articles to make sense of things). However, the final version of the game (Royal/Windows edition) has so much heart and soul and love in it. This is my comfort game, and I find myself returning to its world a lot just to drive around.

I think it helps to reconfigure FFXV from a grand sweeping epic adventure fantasy to a character study. The four boys and the bonds of their very deep friendship are at the heart of everything in this game. And if it does one thing really well, it's that it makes you feel for them and everything they go through and you're going to be a sobbing little puddle on the floor by the end of it.

The ending is sad. I love it, but it makes me cry. About halfway through you get an idea of where this is going and I'm so glad they commit to it because Noctis' story hinges on it.

The world is a lot of fun to drive or ride (chocobos chocobos chocobos) around in. You can fly, but you may get the boys killed because crashlanding it very easy to do. Pitioss Ruins is a thing that exists and it breaks my brain. The combat is a lot of fun once you get used to it (the secret is to press and hold the buttons, button mashing doesn't get you very far).

It also has one of my favourite FF villains. Ardyn is delightful. The level of spite emanating off this man is just a wonder to behold.

Oh, and the music is really, really good. This is probably my favourite FF soundtrack.

05. Nier: Automata

Um. Hm.

I don't know how to explain this game.

It's uh...

I don't know how to put it other than the utilization of game mechanics and UI within its story structure blew my mind. This game has an ending I still think about because I can't untangle it. Your first 15 hours is going to feel like a pretty standard scif/fantasy JRPG. Then you're going to hit what feels like the end of the story, except it's not, be asked to do something and then you're going to make faces and throw your hands in the air and ask WHY is the game asking me to do this again.

You're going to get through that next 15 hours, hit another point that feels like it should be the end of the story--

And then.

And then.

I don't know how to say that the silly android vs robots game where you can blow 2B up to see her butt (yes that's a thing, ignore it) is one of the weirdest but most compelling gameplay experiences I have ever had. It's weird. But it works. But it's weird. But it works.

Also the gameplay is really fun but it's sheer chaos because it changes what it wants to do every 5 minutes because it gets bored. You go from bullet hell shooter to hack-n-slash action with combos, to hacking into a robot and running around in a pixel world dodging balls.

The balls are endless.

The balls are everywhere.

We become as gods balls.

Have I mentioned that the music is really good.

04. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

This is another comfort game. There's something about BOTW's world that is just so relaxing. I love exploring every nook and cranny, cresting the hill to see what's on the other side. I am content to ignore the main quest just to see if I can scale a mountain in the rain (no) or terrorizing an enemy camp by launching a burning tree trunk into the middle of their campfire.

I feel like all the systems work together cohesively, building off each other in a way that lets the player flex their imagination, test things, and see what happens.

I remember the score getting some flak because it didn't have the bombastic and catchy themes that previous Zelda games have, but the scaled back and atmospheric tone really works for the game. BOTW is a gently horrifying post-apocalyptic world. The moments when you do need strong themes, the score delivers in spades.

03. Horizon: Zero Dawn

I love this game so much.

Aloy is such a joy to play as. Her characterization is set in stone, but when you do have diverging dialogue options, everything feels like something she would say so it's really easy to roleplay her. She does talk a fair amount as she roams around the world, but Ashly Burch's voice acting is really lovely to listen to.

HZD has one of my favourite post-apocalyptic worlds. The worldbuilding is in-depth, the developers have thought everything through in how these societies came to be and now function. The combat system is so much fun; early techniques provide a foundation for later ones, and you have options in how you want to tackle various enemies or problems. There's a lot of flexibility in how to go about things, so one person's playstyle may be completely different for someone else.

The animations and sound designs for Aloy's assorted bows are so satisfying.

This is another game where I love wandering around the world so much I usually forgo fast travel because I love the journey, even if it takes me longer.

Not much to say about the music other than the themes for Meridian are very nice.

02. Hades

Hades is probably the most polished game I have ever played. It is virtually bug-free. The gameplay compliments the story and the story compliments the gameplay in such a way that you cannot separate them. It feels like every choice behind this game's design was done with purpose and precision.

The art style is gorgeous. The music is off the charts - sometimes you can't tell what came first, the level design or the music, they're so in-sync with each other.

The characters are delightful. Everyone has understandable motivations and desires; everyone is ridiculously likeable, particularly Zagreus himself.

It's so easy to fall into the pattern of "just one more run" because you want to stay in this world a little longer, you want to push yourself further, you want to challenge yourself again. And even when you don't complete a run, losing or messing up doesn't feel like a punishment because you have all your favourite characters waiting for you back at home with another opportunity to talk to them.

01. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

I don't know where to start because I love this game so much. Turn-based combat with an in-depth levelling system and a diverging storyline so there are actually FOUR separate stories in one? Catnip to me.

The combat system is exactly the kind of turn-based combat that I can get addicted to; I love the risk/reward, the chance of failure, yelling at the AI for getting the better of me because I put a unit in a risky spot and now they're permanently dead and I can't rewind time.

Each of the stories can stand on their own and give really different perspectives on unfolding events. How you view one character on one route will be completely different when you see them on their own and get a chance to get to know them.

The cast of characters is very large, but everyone has their place and everyone has their own journey and arc to go on. The character interactions are delightful. Because of the house and recruitment system, it is really interesting to see characters you recruited out of their houses and into yours and how they change when the story diverges and puts them down a different path--especially if that path puts them in direct conflict with a former friend.

The English dub for this game is out of this world, it is one of the best ENG dubs I've heard in years. The music has some absolute bangers for combat music, especially in the endgame. Shout out to my favourite, Chasing Daybreak and also Funeral of Flowers because it's underrated.

[crescentfool]

hi! do you perhaps have more thoughts on your p3 actor au? cause I cannot for the life of me stop thinking about it

i hope you're having a wonderful day!! 💖

hi anon, i hope you didn't mind the wait for me to answer this ask! wanted to put some thought into it 🙏

for the p3 actor au i think these could be some fun thoughts. mostly blooper/cut-content oriented because i'm that kind of person:

elizabeth's actress is one of those people who literally lives their role (nearly identical to it), even when the cameras aren't rolling. i love thinking about SEES hanging out and they're like "you know we aren't filming, right?" (but they appreciate her quirky nature)

minato's actor sometimes brings his switch to set and may play it during his break times. i like to think that at some point his headphones accidentally unplug while he's playing and then whatever scene going on needs to be refilmed because there was a "WOOMY" noise in the background.

i think that aigis and ryoji's actors should be best friends, actually. as a treat. this is self-indulgent of me, really. unfortunately i can't elaborate.

re: aigis's costume design, i think that there won't be much green-screening needed (since cosplayers have managed to make the design before! which is really impressive!). compared to everyone else though, i think she'd have the longest make-up routine/prep-time... sorry to aigis's actress 😔

pharos would be played by a child actor and i think he should be friend's with ken's actor. i don't know how that would work but ken should have some more people his age on set tbh 🤧

ryoji's actor definitely got his scarf snagged on something during filming... maybe the escalator at port island station...? in a similar vein, i would not be surprised if chidori's headband or aigis's shoulder part fell off mid-filming and they had to take a temporary break afterwards.

on the show's social media, for halloween, the cast took a special featherman-inspired photo! but also i think it'd be cute if the actors went to a haunted house together and filmed their interactions.... not that it'd be much scarier than tartarus, LOL. i can see yukari just being fed up with junpei's attempt to make the visit even scarier than it needs to be.

i think if anything about the show/set would be leaked online... it would be through junpei's instagram live or something like that 😔 i am very sorry about this but also i think that junpei would be very happy and proud of the cast's work. he'd just be so happy and be like "HEY GUYS check out what the director sent-" and all the comments is everyone else telling him "NO"

i think shinjiro, fuuka, and hamuko would occasionally cook group meals for the set! nothing beats a good ol' home-made meal! 🥺 and really, i think shinjiro would make nice gestures and just help the others on cast a lot, even after october 4th is filmed.

also something that has vaguely crossed my mind: "the cast of persona 3 reads your tweets / posts." specifically akihiko and mitsuru... i just think that they'd both be fun yknow 🥴

this is silly but i think that during december 3rd when ryoji comes and gives his lil' info-dump on what SEES has to do- he should sneeze in the middle of it. ruin the immersion y'know 😎

also in general i think it's cute whenever there's cast interviews or "see how well the cast members know each other" (and those kind of things..?). other than the full-cast, i think i can see there being group interviews with the senpai trio™ (mitsuru, akihiko, shinjiro), ryominaigis + hamuko, the second years (fuuka + junpei + yukari), etc. etc. any grouping could make for some fun questions!

and lastly.. obligatory ryomina because this is me we're talking about... ryoji has absolutely gone off script during some scenes. i could see him either referencing that one evangelion thing (i was born to meet you) or just turning it into a confession scene... LMAO.

okay that was. a LOT more thoughts than i thought i had, oops!! admittedly i have not thought about this au in FOREVER so it was nice to think about it again!!! i tried to make it a bit more balanced in terms of giving more than one character spotlight

thank you for the nice wishes anon- and i hope you enjoy the thoughts on p3 actor au! have a lovely day and take care 💗

[ancient-day]

Honestly I feel the same way about Fuuka. Like whenever I think about the P3 cast, I always seem to forget her and when I see her, I'm like "Oh yeah, Fuuka's there too!" And ngl it makes me feel really guilty... Because Fuuka's a good character! She's really sweet and her struggles are very relatable. It's just... She really doesn't stick out all that much. But that doesn't really surprise me much when you consider her storyline compared to everyone else's. The poor girl is somehow the most put together of the whole group.

That's fair! And you're right, comparatively, she doesn't have as much going on after rescuing her, and she's not as much as an immediate threat to herself as others in the party. And saying she's the most put together in the group is probably the best way to describe it haha and for me, she's definitely this pillar that grounds us and keeps the group together. Through so many events, she seems the easiest to approach, and I'll never forget talking to her after 10/4 and around Christmas. Now that the port's about to come out, I'll avoid specifics, but her words kinda haunted me for a while, with the latter still with me. I'm really glad that even if she slips from folks' minds, there's still some love for her 💜

Admittedly, in spin-offs where you get to choose between the Navigators, I actually always pick Fuuka. Maybe it's because P3 was my first Persona, but there's just something that feels Right having her back me up haha also her ability Oracle is still one of the funniest things in the world to me.

[still-we-rise]

You know what gets me, what REALLY gets me about all this, aside from how that situation yesterday showed what I and every other black and people of colour have to deal with everyday.

It’s the fact that Lewis throughout the season sacrificed his title hope to ensure merc walked away holistically with the constructors. Every collision avoided when he was ahead, every hour spent in the debriefs and simulator even when they were way slower than RB(that run including the 2 austrias still haunts me), not forcing VB to hold his place(Austria when he got that damage) and allowing him to pass to get P3. Like every little time he thought of the bigger picture is what allowed those points to accumulate over RB. And then for merc to drop it to protect the image of the sport??? What image, what integrity?? I mean the fact even at the death yesterday when he could have pulled a macs move to get them both off track so he stayed ahead but didn’t because had he come off with damage or dnf and macs still in it, merc wouldn’t be 8x constructors.

Like come one… I’m just so emotional,y and spiritually finished

wait, so they officially dropped it? i've only seen articles that they are considering giving up, but right now, to protect my fragile mental health, tumblr is my only source of information, so i'm probably not up to date.

i get that pr and money are important, but that's not what they told us they fight for. that's not what lewis fights for.

like i said before, i don't care about that title. i want lewis to be able to properly cherish his victory and i know he still has power and determination to win his 8th wdc and many more.

but mercedes played the bigger person for way too long now. they handled the abuse, they handled the bias, they handled everything that was thrown into lewis' face, but they can't just clench their teeth and say that it is what it is forever. no matter who you support, we need them to finally clap back, because something has to change. i can't say i'm surprised with the lack of action from other teams, but on the other hand... if it was done to lewis and mercedes, what stops them from screwing over other teams for the sake of 'entertainment'?

[amethystpath-writes]

Dance with the Devil P3

First one here

Continued from here

Tag list:  @nuttynutcycle @igotthesmellofbooks @revrevrew-personal @tobeornottobeateacher @freefallingup13 @kactus-loves-writing @nightfrostshadow  @whatwhumpcomments

******

Shoulders stiffening, Perse eyed the dark lord sitting at the other end of the table. Hades was at ease- of course, he was. This was his lair of fire and doom, his home of wrath and fury. He was comfortable in the gloom and death of it all. It was sickening. “I hope you do not mean this is dinner.” A single bowl of pomegranate seeds sat on the obsidian table in front of the Goddess of Spring.

“Eat up,” the lord said, plucking a seed from his own bowl, and pinching it between his teeth. Even from afar, Persephone could see the juice splatter about. Disgusting.

“I know what the seeds do,” she told him. Maybe if she didn’t eat the pomegranate then whatever possession Hades had on her would fade, and she could leave. Perse could escape. Maybe she shouldn’t have admitted to knowing what the seeds did. Then Hades would know exactly why she wasn’t devouring them, especially after having not eaten in so long. “If I am to dine here, I should expect a proper meal.”

The lord sighed- Perse heard it all the way from the other end of the table. She swallowed, preparing for yet another reason she wouldn’t be able to escape this hell.

How could Zeus let this happen to her- let her be dragged down by his very own brother, who he knew was despicable? Was it because he expected his daughter to become a queen? There were other ways of doing that- not that Persephone ever wanted to be queen, but she certainly didn’t want to become one here. All the torment, the screams of the damned, the gut-wrenching pleas that haunted her every moment. In the end, the only thing that could save them was sunlight, which Perse was mostly made of. Goddess of Spring, and all. When the souls pleaded with her to save them, all they really asked was for her to sacrifice herself to them. Persephone was almost sure she would sacrifice herself, but Hades would never allow it. He was wicked that way.

“Did you hear a single word of what I have just said?” Hades asked as his bride stared down at her legs. She did that so often- dreaded the shadows on her legs. The King of the Dead would never remove them, no matter how much his love despised them. They served as a reminder to her that he was not the only horror in this Land of Misery.

Persephone barely shook her head. If she could ignore the lord altogether, she would, but he was so bloody persistent that it was impossible. It was better to half listen than to not listen at all. She regretted slipping into her thoughts just now because of this last fact.

“You will starve yourself if you do not eat and-”

“I should rather starve than become your hideous queen.” At least her quipped tongue was still present if nothing else. Persephone was shocked Hades hadn’t taken that from her. It was because of this thought that Perse hated herself. She was grateful for a quipped tongue, and grateful that her current chair wasn’t made from thorns. Gratefulness. The lord didn’t deserve that, but here she was delivering it, even if only in her mind.

Hades chuckled. “You are not, and could never be, hideous. But as I was saying-”

“That was not the focus of my point. I will not be your queen,” she reiterated.

“As I was saying,” the undead god stressed, “not eating will not help you any.” Teasingly, he popped another seed into his mouth. “I will let you come close to starving to death, and then at the utmost end of it, I will command you to eat. You forget this is not a game, Persephone.” So, my freedom will still be in his clutch even if I do not eat the seeds.

Perse frowned- more than she already was frowning. She never thought this was a game. She thought it was misery. Dread. Horror. Damnation. Cruel. Sick. Twisted. Uncaring. Selfish. Every horrible word in any book or language. “Do not call me by my name.” The words came out as a whisper, but, of course, Hades heard.

“Then what should I call you by?” Another seed busted between his teeth. Perse felt herself flinching, although she didn’t know why. Maybe the red of the seeds reminded her of blood. She wouldn’t allow herself to be affiliated with something as such. Then again, didn’t blood represent life? As the Goddess of Spring, perhaps she should have been drawn to the blood-like seeds, the only thing in this godsforsaken land that was even relatively close to home.

“You should not refer to me at all.” Persephone took a deep breath. The longer she stared at the bowl of seeds in front of her, the more appetizing they looked. What was so terrible about that fact was this; it wasn’t the dark lord’s command; it was only Perse who felt the connection to life through the accursed seeds. She couldn’t adapt to this world. No way could she allow herself to enjoy any part of this horrible place.

“A bride without a name? That will be one for the myths and legends.” Hades chuckled, and the obsidian table shook, candles’ flames going out, and the room plummeting into an endless dark.

******

Part 4 here

[gayregis]

Question. Part 1. Hi. I like your blog and your analytical analysis of books, which is always very accurate and insightful, so I couldn't find anyone better to ask a question to. I am haunted by the scene where Regis announced to the male part of Hansa that Milva is pregnant. Then there is a dialogue, at the end of which Regis asks Geralt to do something... I felt connected to Jaskier as a character for the first time because I also don't understand what it is about. ->

P2. I asked my friends who had read the books, and their opinions were divided. Some believe that Regis asks Geralt to dissuade Milva from having an abortion, while others, on the contrary, believe that Geralt should persuade her to do it. Or maybe that's not the point at all? Further, my reflections, which may not be relevant to the question... Maybe I'm the only one who noticed a lot of "c*nservative" ideas in books.

P3. We cannot ignore the fact that they were written quite a long time ago and many ideological and cultural aspects of Poland (see the law banning abortion in 2020) that could influence them. It was the 'poll' at the beginning of this scene that made me think of this. Why do men decide whether to give Milva medicament or not? Secondly, Geralt insistently refuses to call it "medicament" but prefers the word "agent."

P4. Secondly, Geralt insistently refuses to call it "medicament" but prefers the word "agent." He also demands that Jaskier shut up when he supports Cahir that "only a woman decides." Pro-life vibes, or is it just me? We also can't ignore the fact that Geralt is very concerned about his infertility.

P5. In general, continuing the theme: very many sorceresses also lament the lack of ability to have children, and all of them, even if they had relationships with women, were always looking for the ONE AND ONLY man. Moreover, the same-sex relationships in the book are only female/female shown, but never male/male (a quick and disdainful mention in "Season of Storms"). But even f / f relationships are presented as some not-serious-play; remember how Ciri called it all "fun," talking with Mistle.

P6. Here again, I see a toxic-masculine culture that sexualizes lesbians and completely denies gays. (This also reminds me of Poland's situation, where the majority of the population is very religious and homophobic.) I was too disappointed by the stereotypical representation of women: hatred because of the same outfits/jewelry, thin waists and small portions (remember how Yen and Fringilla eat), eternal gossip, and so on. I mean, women aren't like that, man.

P7. The toxicity of the presented heterosexual relationships has been said a thousand times before me. In general, I am always a little upset when I see that someone calls Sapkowski such a tolerant writer. According to my observations, toxic masculinity, "conservative" ideas, and strengthening stereotypes about LGBT people, women, etc., often slip into his books. I may be wrong, so I apologize in advance. I would like to hear your opinion. Thanks.

Finally. The scene I was talking about, maybe you need it. ‘What’s this all about then? Unanimity? Total agreement? Is that what you’re expecting?’‘You know very well what it’s about. But since you ask, I shall tell you. Yes, Geralt, that’s precisely what it’s about. And no, it’s no me that's expecting it.’ ‘Could you be clearer?’ ‘No, Dandelion,’ the vampire snapped. ‘I can’t be any clearer. Particularly since there is no need. Right, Geralt?’ ‘Right,’ the Witcher said...

p. s. From the same Anon with a 7-part question. English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes. I tried to ask questions as respectfully as possible, but I often confuse English pronouns/times/etc. Please note that it was completely unintentional if I made an offensive mistake, and I deeply apologize. I will correct myself if you point this out to me in your answer. Thanks again.

omg i love this and i’m gonna divide it into different segments to be easier to read. also don’t worry your english is great thank you!!

1) “I asked my friends who had read the books, and their opinions were divided. Some believe that Regis asks Geralt to dissuade Milva from having an abortion, while others, on the contrary, believe that Geralt should persuade her to do it.”

yes, this is a confusing scene. when i first read it i was TOTALLY relating to dandelion, completely confused on what the message was and what the in-universe conversation was about. i had just felt proud of myself for understanding everything regis said in the previous scenes, and now here he was saying something and i didn’t know how the fuck to decipher it. 

but after re-reading and also reading others’ analysis on r/wiedzmin, i found what i think to be the answer. in my opinion, the scene is not about actually either dissuading or persuading milva to have an abortion. rather, it’s about supporting her emotionally so that she can make the right choice for herself. 

regis, as a doctor, wants his patient to make choices with a level head and for her own self, not under pressure to make the strategic choice that would benefit the company the most. this is my interpretation but since regis mentions milva has been a little feisty in consultation (she wouldn’t give him the date of her last period... lol), i feel like he could sense that she was really stressed out about this and although she initially made the choice to have an abortion, she may not have been thinking for her own self, rather letting the priorities of the company come first before her own wants.

in this moment, geralt realizes exactly why she has come on the journey, he mentions how she was willing to sacrifice her own child for his, etc. so, geralt needs to talk to her in that moment to tell her that he doesn’t expect her to do anything just so she can be more of an “asset” to the company, to tell her that she is his friend first and comrade-in-arms second, because milva is very loyal and also headstrong and would have done anything for geralt and the company. milva in general also wants to be “useful” because she has internalized misogyny from how she was raised, she doesn’t want to be “useless” like she was taught women are ‘supposed’ to be, as is shown in their conversation.

so geralt talks to her and she makes the choice not to have an abortion after all, because after talking to geralt, she doesn’t feel like she has to prioritize geralt’s needs and the company’s needs over what she wants. 

2) “Maybe I'm the only one who noticed a lot of "c*nservative" ideas in books. We cannot ignore the fact that they were written quite a long time ago and many ideological and cultural aspects of Poland (see the law banning abortion in 2020) that could influence them. 

It was the 'poll' at the beginning of this scene that made me think of this. Why do men decide whether to give Milva medicament or not? 

Secondly, Geralt insistently refuses to call it "medicament" but prefers the word "agent."”

He also demands that Jaskier shut up when he supports Cahir that "only a woman decides." Pro-life vibes, or is it just me? 

We also can't ignore the fact that Geralt is very concerned about his infertility.

in my opinion i think the author-intention was to set up a conversation in which a rhetorical question is asked, which will 100% be answered with a resounding positive, a “yes” all around. regis asks the company, because he’s a character so he can be poised as the author wants to propose a question like, “what are your thoughts on abortion,” which allows the rest of the characters to respond “it’s a woman’s right to choose for herself!” in this way, i think that it is very pro-choice... i will agree later on about what you say in other parts of your message, about the conservatism and also centrism in the books, but when it comes to abortion sapkowski imo in the witcher series espoused some pretty pro-choice views. this scene, compounded with the fact that yennefer, the leading female character, performs abortions as part of her job, and also the scene in season of storms with coral and the king of kerack in which he makes a fool of himself in front of her because she assists women with abortions... it’s a topic that’s come up a few times, and all of the times it has been a pro-choice perspective. (again, this is not to say everything in the witcher series is progressive, haha)

in-universe, i suppose you could think of it as that regis was just being coy and asking a rhetorical question also in-universe... such that he was going to give milva the decoction no matter what the men of the company chose, but he just wanted to “ask their opinions” (i.e., tell them what is happening with milva, because it’s a serious subject that needs to be addressed by the company) before, so he could introduce the subject to them (sparing milva of the difficulty of telling them all) and gain their assistance in supporting milva during this time. (random sidenote, but i like how regis acts as a middleground between milva and the rest of the company in this. there are three genders: woman, man, and medical professional. lol). 

so yes, i don’t think that the men of the company actually “get to decide” if milva would have an abortion or not - their opinion’s don’t matter. out-of-universem sapkowski probably just wanted to set up a conversation between his characters where they could espouse explicitly pro-choice opinions (dandelion and cahir practically start arguing over if the northern kingdoms or nilfgaardian empire are more pro-choice). in-universe, this was probably more of a way to bring the subject up rather than actually asking for opinions. 

i think it may look like there are some pro-life opinions shown by geralt in this conversation at first glance, but there might be something deeper. when he tells dandelion to be quiet when he begins to hound him that “only a woman decides,” i think it’s not because he disagrees with that - rather, that he agrees, but that that isn’t the issue here that he needs to deal with. it IS milva’s decision, everyone is in agreement about that - and that’s precisely the problem, because milva is in a vulnerable emotional state and also a precarious physical environment, and these factors could influence her to go through with the abortion, while in “regular circumstance,” if everything were fine and everyone was safe and they weren’t on a quest to save ciri, she might go through with the pregnancy. so, geralt gets annoyed that dandelion tells him this, because he agrees, he already knows! it’s useless to tell him that, because he already agrees with him, what he really needs to do now is move forward with having an emotional talk with milva, which is difficult for him.

i think the “medicament” / “agent” thing is still a little confusing to me, because i don’t know which one has a negative connotation. to me, it’s a medicament, or a medicine, whic is something that cures an ailment, that has a negative connotation, because it kind of refers to the state of being pregnant as a sickness or illness that needs to be cured? an agent is more like a substance that causes a reaction, i think of that of enzymes that speed up chemical reactions in cells, it causes a certain result to happen - which seems more appropriate in my opinion. but yeah i’m not sure which is the “worse word” to use, or if either are “bad words” to use when it comes to this

3) In general, continuing the theme:

Very many sorceresses also lament the lack of ability to have children, and all of them, even if they had relationships with women, were always looking for the ONE AND ONLY man. 

I was too disappointed by the stereotypical representation of women: hatred because of the same outfits/jewelry, thin waists and small portions (remember how Yen and Fringilla eat), eternal gossip, and so on. I mean, women aren't like that, man. 

The toxicity of the presented heterosexual relationships has been said a thousand times before me. 

Moreover, the same-sex relationships in the book are only female/female shown, but never male/male (a quick and disdainful mention in "Season of Storms"). But even f / f relationships are presented as some not-serious-play; remember how Ciri called it all "fun," talking with Mistle. I see a toxic-masculine culture that sexualizes lesbians and completely denies gays. (This also reminds me of Poland's situation, where the majority of the population is very religious and homophobic.)

In general, I am always a little upset when I see that someone calls Sapkowski such a tolerant writer. According to my observations, toxic masculinity, "conservative" ideas, and strengthening stereotypes about LGBT people, women, etc., often slip into his books. I may be wrong, so I apologize in advance. I would like to hear your opinion. Thanks. 

very much agree with all of this. in some circumstances, i think the author-intention was to break stereotypes and tropes - such as fringilla and yennefer speaking about oysters in relation to their ‘diets’ ... but then, they are actually talking about oysters in the context of having to teleport from the castle, they are actually speaking about high-intrigue political alliances, not something as silly as diets... but the effect, to me, is lost, because they led into it acting vapid and speaking about diets anyways, and if they used sarcasm in their voices, it wasn’t strong enough coming through the text in my opinion.

similarly, i think he tried to do some of this trope-breaking with the sorceresses overall, how they are all vapid and obsessed with appearance, but actually are the political masterminds behind everything. although he achieved the latter, he did not manage to have the latter negate the former... the intelligent political talks did nothing to “cancel out” the previously-demonstrated vapidness and obsession with femininity, and the way he describes women overall is something to roll the eyes (and the stomach) at. (“triss’ waist measured ‘22′,” oh give me a break lmfao...)

i also agree that although there are technically gay and lesbian characters in the books, none of them are “good representation” - the only ones i can think of are philippa, mistle, and degerlund (season of storms, which you are right in describing as “disdainful”) - all of these characters are violent, none of them ever are shown having a healthy relationship, and their “love” either ‘corrupts others’ (i use that term semi-lightly) or is part of some political manuever. ciri’s time with mistle is that of a ‘youthful violence,’ it is part of her time with the rats, her time reaching into her worst most hateful depths as a person, and it’s presented as something to “heal from.” and we haven’t even mentioned how mistle assaults her in the beginning of it all. this is largely a post for another time, but it’s not a good situation by any means.

i also get super annoyed for this reason when i see people applauding sapkowski for being a “progressive writer.” in my mind, he is not progressive at all, although he has his character espouse some pro-choice views here and there, that is not nearly enough to make up for the fantasy racism/antisemitism, use of antisemitic caricatures to do trope-reversal on, misogyny to do trope-reversal on, and blatantly just Not Good gay and lesbian characters. 

in my mind, it’s inappropriate to label him as “progressive,” because he was not writing with diversity and representation in mind. i think a lot of people get confused, because they assume, “oh he included women, so he must have been wanting more representation for women!” ... when he was pretty much just writing for writing’s sake... of his own worldview and biases, nothing special when it comes to representation. and i agree that a lot of conservative ideas slip their way into the books, from my perspective he tries to make some centrist milquetoast statements at times (”don’t be neutral in the face of evil” for example) but wraps it up in literally a fantasy pogrom - which is not something imo for a goyische author to put into their stories. his inspirations at times are clear, and he uses them in manners which can come off as blunt and disrespectful.

[supportanimy]

Crucified & Keep In Touch - Family Pt 1

Synopsis: Keep in Touch's coach visits the ghosts and claim that they're related to one of them

Word count: 793

Notes: I have not written a full continuation, but the next one is related and should prpbably be read

P1 - Charlotte

P2 - Benson

P3 - Martha

P4 - Everett

Keep in Touch - Tommy (they/them)

"Why does this child insist on staying here, even after all our scares and traps?" Charlotte complains.

"Have you guys ever noticed how much our language has changed from when we were living?"

"Shut your mouth, Benny. I'm trying to be sad, but you ruined the vibe!"

"Yeesh, sorry."

"Maybe we can just try to ask them to leave," Martha suggested, before pausing. "The child mentioned their pronouns were they/them, yes?"

"Yes, Martha, they did say that," Everett confirmed. "Not sure why one would mention their pronouns while haunted, but okay."

"Would they really leave if we just ask them to?" Benson ponders.

"Found you guys!" A new voice joins them. "So, as I was planning to do when I first came here, I'm trying to find someone. Which one of you is Martha?" Said woman flinched when her name was mentioned.

She teleports directly in front of the only living person in the room. "How did you know my name?"

"Okay, personal space first," they try to push away the ghost, but their hand just phases through. "Never- mind. My name is Tommy, and you are my great-great-great-great-great grand aunt. Wait, was that four or five greats? Doesn't matter, the point is we're related and I wanted to meet you!" They put out their hand to shake before quickly pulling it back after remembering the ghosts' current state.

There was silence for a while, until Benson broke it. "We didn't catch any of that, you talk too fast."

"Oh. Well basically, you are my family. A very distant one, but family nonetheless. You're my ancestor's sister," Tommy explains slowly.

Martha had stopped listening from their first explanation. Her family? Those wretches can barely even be considered human. She was a noble, but those monsters refused to even acknowledge her existence and actively attempted to hide it from the public. She's a shame to their name, they would say. All because of two facts about her.

"Hey, are you listening?"

That snapped the woman out of her thoughts.

"Because you looked like you weren't listening, and you're the one who I want listening but you weren't, soo..."

"How could we possibly be related?" She interrupts their thought. "We...look nothing like each other," she hesitates to explain why.

"Oh," Tommy repeats. "Like I said, we're very distantly related. And times have changed since you were alive, what with it being two centuries and all."

"Huh, I was gonna ask about that," Charlotte thinks out loud before Everett elbows her stomach. "Hey, you can't do that to a lady!"

"It's the 21st century according to them, and I like to think times have changed enough for this."

"So you're my...brother's descendant? How did you even find that out?"

"Yes! Um," Tommy stuttered on a few words before continuing slowly. "Our family is not that rich anymore, but I heard from Gran Gran, that's my grandma's grandma, about our family history and how you died at a young age, even for the time. I was thinking that since I just moved out of my parents' house, I could find a place near here and visit."

"Uhh, this is a haunted house," Benson interjects. "One cannot simply visit."

"According to Wikipedia, no one has actually died after you guys. Some attempts to exorcise you all have been made, but experts say to just leave you alone since you're all bark and absolutely no bite," the teen shows their phone to the ghosts' offended expressions.

"E-excuse me? ExcUSE ME?!" Yells Everett. "I have spent 200 years successfully deterring anyone who dares enter-"

"No, you didn't."

"Goddammit."

"Now that I think about it..." Tommy takes a look around the mansion, "you guys don't mind if I stay here, right? Rent is way too expensive, and I'll contribute by cleaning up or something."

"You can't, even if we would let you," the only ghost wearing glasses states. "The water supply has been cut out for decades."

"Right...Wait, I almost forgot what I was here for!" Tommy takes out a book from the backpack they've been carrying, and opens it to reveal a picture album.

"So, Gran Martha, can I call you that? Gran Martha, I've been compiling copies of photographs and paintings of all of my family into this here dandy album. I was wondering if I could take a picture of you, and maybe copy the painting to paste it here too? And then we could-"

"No."

Tommy paused. "Say that again-"

"No. Get out. Now." A red energy begins forming around Martha.

"Wait, but-"

"Get out before I make you."

The last words terrified Tommy, even more than the scares, making them run away.

"Hey, what the hell, Martha?"

-

The two facts about Martha will be revealed in a part 2, and the physical differences from Martha and Tommy is implying that Tommy is biracial.

God i hate this

[daily-rayless]

favorite games of the 2010s

Games with an American release within the 2010s. Arranged roughly in the order I played them, because figuring out favoritism is hard. Spoiler-lite. Also, in case it needs to be said, saying a game is my favorite doesn’t mean I endorse everything the game endorses.

Also important: this is about favoritism, not quality. I’m not saying these are the best games.

Okay.

Persona 3: Portable (Atlus)

P3 was always secondary to P4 to me until Persona 3: Portable came along. This isn't everyone's experience, but being able to play games as a female character is a big deal to me. FeMC's positioning as a capable, respected leader who isn't temporary and isn’t just some guy’s love interest is so wonderful. And I love that the game allows her to social link the entire main cast. While Ken's romantic option was a terrible choice, many of the others benefit: her friendship with Junpei is rich, touching, and believable, even when it devolves into resentment; Akihiko's and Shinjiro's arcs are sweet, but also melancholy; Yukari, Mitsuru, and Fuuka are supportive best friends without all the baggage of the male MC's love routes; even Koromaru gets his spotlight. Ryoji's social link adds important depth to his character, reframing the later stages of the game. As wonderful as Elizabeth is, I find I like Theo even better. The battle system is vastly improved, and while the visuals suffer in the PSP transfer, the story's still told well. P3P remains one of my absolute favorite games and was a great start to the decade.

Nier: Gestalt (Cavia)

Something you’ll see repeated across this list is that I love strong, complex character bonds. The emotional core of a game is really important to me. In combination, this game has one of the most unique main casts, and, in their closeness, one of the most powerful. The jaggedness of Nier, Kainé, Emil, and Weiss fit together as an intense and sympathetic whole. You want so much to see them all safely escape the dark stories surrounding each of them. Nier's secondary strength is its New Game +, which is wrenching, but reminds the player that you never see the whole story in just your first glance.

Fate/Extra (Type Moon & Imageepoch)

For seven weeks, Hakuno fights her way through a blood tournament; the story never spares her from it. Most often, a repetitive story structure is a liability, but in Fate/Extra, it builds the drama. Knowing from week to week that most of the cast is going to die – understanding, increasingly, that Hakuno may not have a happy ending waiting for her – the repetition and inevitability adds to the experience. All three of her potential Servants are interesting, funny, lovable, and morally troubling, and each plays well off of Hakuno's personality. Which Hakuno, despite being a silent protag, has plenty of. The game falls short in a number of areas, but for me, intercharacter relationships are always a big deal, and Hakuno's bond with each Servant is detailed, compelling, and develops across the entire game.

Tales of Xillia 2 (Bandai Namco Studios)

The original ToX is the richer, more complete, more epic game, and definitely the place where you should first meet these characters and this world. But for me, ToX2 edges out its parent for the uniqueness of its premise, its endearing silent protagonist, and the shattering twists and turns of its later plot points. I don't usually like kid characters, but Elle is a useless sidekick worth fighting for, every inch of the way.

Resonance of Fate (tri-Ace)

Set in a broken post-apocalyptic city, this game feels like a combination of Wild Arms and Xenogears. The story is intense and cryptic with a carefully controlled delivery to the player. The three main characters hide their wounds as well as their strengths – until circumstances force them into the open. There's some regrettable juvenile humor, and the story remains too shadowy in places, but Vashyron's, Leanne's, and Zephyr's bond kept me wanting to know more about them and the punishing circumstances they've been left in.

Nier: Automata (PlatinumGames)

Nier: Gestalt taught me that not everything would be as it seemed, and Nier: Automata fulfills that warning a second time. But what makes me love it are the three protagonists, 2B, 9S, and A2. Throughout the different story paths, each one sees their role change from hero to antagonist or antagonist to hero relative to the others' positions. This is such a stand-out concept, and it's written very well. Even when a character shifts from hero to antagonist, they still keep your sympathy; perhaps you don't agree with them, but you still feel for them so much. Incredible music and rideable moose are also a plus.

Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerilla Games)

I can always find room for improvement, but, for me, there's just too much to love about this game. Traveling over the gorgeous environments is wonderful by itself. The gameplay is engrossing, allowing you to try so many different strategies across different fights. The npcs are intriguing. The setting is unique. The monster designs are fantastic. The game gives you reasons to want to fight the villains, yet doesn't leave them unrealistic or ludicrously unrelatable. The hero, Aloy, is no-nonsense but not invincible, practical but also tender, and it's so satisfying building her legend alongside her. The story ends satisfyingly, but leaves the world wide open, just waiting for a sequel. This is a horizon I want to cross again and again.

Transistor (Supergiant Games)

People complain about the story being too obscure, and that's justified at times. But the heart of the game isn't about plot – it's about emotions. Specifically, the emotions Red and Boxer have towards the city, and the emotions Red and Boxer have towards each other. The game organically builds both of these relationships across five hours of gameplay, latching right on to the player's heartstrings and making you worry and fight every step of the way. The gameplay is deeply customizable, the art direction is velvety and lush, and the music is not only gorgeous, but sometimes subtly intermixed with the narrative. The world is shrinking around these characters, and you want to see them through to safety – and you wish you had more time to know them better.

The Banner Saga (Stoic Studio) (all three games)

Its narrative overlaps different plot arcs. There's more than one hero. The story is mature and serious, often threatening you with despair, but still urging you to believe that somehow your brave characters can make it through safely. Your decisions directly influence who lives, who dies, and where the story turns. The music is haunting. The game evokes Lord of the Rings, from its art style to its Norse influences to its focus on the significant actions of humble people. But it still shoulders its way out of that shadow with its giants, centaurs, and multiple central female characters. A game you want to play repeatedly, if you can stand the responsibility of having so many characters’ lives in your hands.

Pyre (Supergiant Games)

Purgatory Basketball sounds like a nightmare premise for me, focusing on the kind of gameplay I'm terrible at. However, the game is accommodating enough that I not only won my rites, I enjoyed the process. Even when I was bad at it. But what makes me love the game is its cast. While not all characters can get equal focus on a single playthrough, each is interesting, some very outside the typical RPG character cast. The main villain is handled atypically, and the story avoids many of the tired plot beats I've gotten sick of over the years. The main character, the Reader, is given a surprising amount of flexibility, and they're just another one of Supergiant Games’ protagonists who are silent, but still make a definite impact on the game's story and playing experience.

In short, this was a good decade for me, game-wise, especially in the last two years. Hopefully there will be lots of stand-outs in the 2020s too.

[justformyself2]

P.S I Love You (p3)

Hi guys, how are you doing? I hope the quarentine life is treating you well, let’s be brave, save lifes and read some fanfics while we at it, right? Welcome to part three. I hope you all enjoy ♥

The Rom-Com Writing Challenge is brought to you by my dear creative friend @lullabieswrappedinlies​. As the title says, this is inspired by - the great at making me cry hard movie- ‘P.S. I Love You.’ if you haven’t seen it, go see it before you read this

BEFORE YOU JUMP IN BE ADVISED:

.This series contains spoilers from the movie P.S. I LOVE YOU.

. Pairing: Reader x John Krasinski.

. (Y/M/N) stands for ‘your mother’s name’

. Parts in italic means memories.

.It contains strong language.

.It contains angst and grieve.

. IF you want you can read this along with the amazing soundtrack from the movie CLICK HERE

NEW HERE? CLICK FOR PART TWO

.gif found by google search.

 JOHN'S POV.

Gerry pats my back as if he just told me I had to work an extra shift, but he is not (Y/M/N), and I can't react casually.

"John?"

He calls, devoid of ceremonies as if we already had this routine, and makes an invitation move for me to join him on the varnished red table, and I do, for the main reason of making him rewind the words.

I walk the walk and take a chair in front of him.

"Can you please repeat what you said?"

I go back to the kitchen, leaving her with the TV for a while. She asked for water, and somehow I can't find cups and can't stop walking in circles around this suffocating kitchen, murmuring the phrase 'Gerry was wrong, he was wrong.' under my breath like a lunatic.

"Are you okay?" 

I turn around, and she is leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, yes, yes."

I try to breathe between the repetitions, feeling like I've lost some of the control over myself, and I wasn't myself with her walking around this apartment, haunting me as Gerry did, what caused the expected concerned look on her face for a moment.

"Okay, triple confirmation."

I could feel the hotness in my hands, and with that, the unrequested wetness starting to form.

"I don't function very well in the heat."

She giggles and stupid weather talk saves me for now.

"I will get you the water. I just need to find the cups." I turn around spotting, the earlier invisible cups on the dish rack above the sink. "Right there."

I go to them, with the feeling of stupidity over my shoulders.

"John, can I ask you something?"

                                                                            (Y/N) POV.

He turns the cups up, placing them on the counter slowly, and nods at you before opening the small beige fridge under the dark wooden cabinets. He inclines the torso and grabs a glass jar that seemed too recently filled and not cold enough.

"You and Gerry got pretty close when he was...You know." You breathe in and continue. "Do you know anything about these letters?"

John is pouring the water in the cups, and besides that, he doesn't move a muscle.

"No, I really don't."

Putting the water jar back into the fridge, he then takes a bag of ice out. It makes a cracking sound against the sink, he rips the bag with the help of a knife, looking impatient.

"It is okay if you do. It is not Mark, that's for sure."

You laugh, but he is still quiet while putting the ice cubes on both cups. 

The most unusual feeling hits your core, hard, there was no way to miss it, and it is easily discernible.

John hands you the cup with a condescending smile. Your fingers touch slightly; the cold glass refreshes your palm.

"You know. I love Gerry. I'll always will. He was romantic, charming, but awful at poetry. I mean, he had this band back in Ireland, but his friend, Shawn, was to one who wrote all the songs. Writing about his feelings wasn't his thing, I have all the birthday and anniversaries cards to prove it."

You laugh to yourself and watch John start to gulp the water aggressively as you continue the thought.

"I know he told not to get stressed about how the letters were coming, but yesterday I was reading the letters before bed. I realized only some of them have PS: I love you on it, and only some of them have words I know Gerry wouldn't use, ever."

He finishes the liquid in less than a minute, using the back of his hand to wipe his lips while avoiding eye contact, which only made you annoyed.

"John." You called, his eyes shift for a second towards you, blinking twice.

"You can call me crazy, but did you wrote some of the letters?"

                                       JOHN’S POV.

"Listen. I know this is full of good intentions, but someday the letters will stop coming, and when they do, what will she do?"

Gerry reclines on the seat, and for a moment, I let myself get fooled by the idea of putting his mind on the right track.

"I know, but I'm only doing this because I have a reason to take a leap of faith here."

I sigh. My hands were unquiet. I untangle my hair back, feeling an enormous amount of overwhelming frustration.

"And what is that reason?"

"You."

Complete quietness resides between us, although I wanted to say some words back at him, mimicking the same lack of ceremony with which he approaches everything.

"Tell me you're joking."

Gerry smiles, but not at me.

"Good afternoon, guys. What can I get you?"

A John C. Reilly look-alike appears with a notepad on my right.

"Two beers, please." Is Gerry's order.

"I'm not drinking in the middle of the day, dude." I protest, and his eyes roll back.

"I'll have them. If there is a God, he knows how much I need it." 

"So, only two beers?" John C. Reilly asks. Gerry's eyes brighten up and squint towards him.

" You look like someone." The waiter heavy sighs and I breathe out, avoiding eye contact with both of them. It is when I noticed through the large windows heavy dark clouds spreading in the sky.

"I will get your order now."

He rushes out, and Gerry laughs, pointing his thumb at the poor man, who was probably disgracing both of us right now.

"I swear to god, can't get his name straight right now." He starts to snap his fingers towards me, like asking for a plus one on his guessing game, and for a moment, I envy how fast he could get adrift from things, that are just not only things but people, (y/n).

"Gerry, can we talk? Actually, talk about this, not get drunk, not get distracted. I know this is hard-."

"You don't, you really don't, unless you are on this seat; You just want to be nice about it, and that is okay. You are the good guy, and you do good things, but sorry if I need a couple of beers to get forward with it. This is not me taking out on the fact that I'm dying. I just need to drink."

He inclines over the table, spreading his hands under his chest. For some odd reason, my mind traces back to the day when (Y/N) appeared at the bar, hyperventilating, throwing the umbrella on the ground, with desperation written all over her face. 

It was raining heavily that day, and the news couldn't stop reporting about the flood on the subways stations. I turned the TV off immediately when she burst through the door, falling into (Y/M/N) arms like a child and sobbed aggressively while we tried to figure out what to do. That was the day I knew about Gerry's fate.

"Look. I know what I'm doing sounds in a way, bad for her, but what I'm counting on you to be there because I know-.'' He stops, closing his eyes for a second, suddenly I feel heavy, and still can't anticipate what could be coming from him.

"I know you and her, had a thing before we meet-."

"Oh no, no, no, no-." I cut him straight, wanting to leave, even with the dark clouds threatening to get me on the way, above.

"Shut up, okay, be a grown-up about it and let me finish."

He breaths out.

"I need your help with the letters because you are good at writing and being a poet or whatever you did in college. (Y/N) loves this stuff, and I want the letters to be special, and I want you to be involved in the process, help her to recover. When I'm gone, she is going to need... good people around her, who... loves her."

"Gerry, please."

He ignores me.

"It is going to be her choice in the end, okay? but I only trust you because if you love her enough to see her every day with me and not interfere, then you love her enough to do this. I know I'm twisting the knife, I'm sorry, but she will need you. Of course, she has her mom, who I don't know if it is happy or sad that I'm going to die, and her friends, who will eventually move on, while she is going to feel left behind, she will need someone new, but also someone who knows her, who was always there."

My stomach tosses and turns, and I don't want to trust my senses.

"I thought a long time about this. I can't be selfish; I literally don't have the time. I want (Y/N) to be happy; just see this as a blessing because I rather be you than anyone else, and I have a motive, believe me. Just promise me you will take care of her. Come on! are you denying a dying man his last wish?"

[phoebehalliwell]

so, amnesia trope....which charmed one would you do it with & how would you do it (if you want, i just like this trope)

hmmm that’s a really good question idk why but my gut really says to go with phoebe. she was first to the craft and the one that really pushed prue & piper to move forward in their destiny, so to have that all be wiped would be interesting to say the least. furthermore, with her psychic powers, i feel like that leaves a lot of room for “echos” like feelings of deja vu or the sense that you should be remembering something but you can’t remember what you’re remembering.

i feel like i would put this line after season 4 / beginning of season 5 in an au where cole doesn’t come back but phoebe is still haunted by his memory. i think her emotional stress and ptsd from that relationship would then cause a block in her powers bc as well all know your powers are tied to your emotions so phoebe might start looking into a way to fix that. personally, i feel like it’s never a good move to have the character move forward with these actions to the extent that they end up damaging themselves bc while i think it is a complex journey it very often comes across as unrelatable and leads to people holding grudges against said character bc it looks like they placed their own well being over the well being of their family and those they swore to protect. so what i would do is have phoebe go through multiple processes trying to cure herself: crystals, meditation, essential oils, talk therapy, etc. but she still has this block. shit really becomes an issue when a power of three spell almost doesn’t work. piper, phoebe, paige, & leo all have to sit down and discuss what’s happening bc phoebe’s troubles seem to only be getting worse and it’s now directly impacting the power of three. they need to find something fast bc it’s getting dangerous and phoebe starts crying bc she’s doing everything she can and she doesn’t know how to move forward so everyones looking at leo like okay whitelighter this has to have happened to some witch before phoebe what do we do and leo’s like well idk there’s one thing we could do but it’s incredibly dangerous and we should really only use it as a last resort and piper’s like well i think we’ve hit that last resort stage and leo’s like it’s a spirit journey and again it’s really dangerous and i’m not sure this rewards outweigh the risk and phoebe’s like leo my problems are more than just my problems now they’re stopping us from saving innocents whatever it is i’ll do it i have to do it. so leo’s like okay alright i guess were doing this

so they hole up phoebe in her room and phoebe calls elise saying she's going on a vacation for her mental health (which elise fully supports) bc they asked leo how much time this’ll take and leo has genuinely no idea bc it’s not a common practice and it really depends on phoebe so piper whips up the potion and paige lines phoebe’s room with protection spells and they offer all their love & support and phoebe goes under

the next couple episodes are split between piper & paige fighting their real world battles and phoebe’s adventures through the spirit world. piper & paige get more and more anxious bc phoebe’s been under for like three weeks and piper & paige are talking to leo like is it supposed to take this long can we pull her out what if she never wakes up and leos like i wish i had the answer to these questions but i deadass do not i don’t know what’s going on in there i don’t know how she’s doing meanwhile i feel like phoebe’s walking through memories changing her actions go through ripple effects walking through alternate universe maybe in an alternate universe she never met cole and prue’s still alive in an alternate universe she had telekinesis in an alternate universe she stay evil and killed her sisters and she keeps living out different scenarios and seeing different sides of herself and she’s exhausted and scared and

she wakes up in the middle of the night bolts upright in her bed lightly coated in sweat. she trods outside her her room and is just like confused so she goes down the hallway and knocks on the door and paige opens it like you’re awake!!! and pulls her into a big hug and phoebe starts squirming and yelling (but not judo flipping paige or anything like the pre amnesia phoebe would be able to) and she’s like who the fuck are you what are you doing in piper’s room!!!!! and the yelling alerts piper and leo and come running out of their room like you’re awake!! and phoebe immediate rushes to piper’s side like What Is Going On Who Are These People Where’s Prue? and piper’s like prue??? and phoebe’s like Yes Our Sister Prue Where Is She and piper’s like phoebe... whats the last thing you remember? and phoebe’s like New York... i came back and she looks at piper with like absolute sorrow in her eyes and is like grams... and piper’s lookin at piper and leo like holy fuckin shit the last thing she remembers is the pilot episode and she’s like phoebe sweetie i need you to sit down and just give me a second and phoebe’s like completely shell shocked so she does and piper’s like the last thing she remembers is coming back from new york; she doesn’t know who you are she doesn’t know who you are, she doesn’t know prue’s dead, i don’t even think she knows she’s a witch and paige is like okay what do we do and piper’s like i don’t know and they’re looking at leo like ?? and leo’s like i don’t know either i mean we have to tell her and by we i do mean piper as she’s the only one phoebe recognizes and piper’s like oh yeah sure hi sweetie you don’t remember this but you’re a witch your sister’s dead i’m married paige over there is our half sister mom had an affair while i’m at it dad’s back in our lives oh and also a couple months ago you were queen of hell! is there anything i’m missing?? and leo’s like just,, talk to her slowly,, treat it very gentle and piper’s like yeah Not My Forte but she goes to phoebe and holds her hands like i don’t know how to tell you this but your last memory is from 1998 and phoebe’s like ,,,, what year is it now? and piper’s like 2002 and phoebe’s lower lip starts trembling and she’s like how did this happen and piper’s like i promise i’ll explain everything but right now i think it’s best that you get some rest. i’ll see you in the morning and she kisses phoebe on the forehead and sends her back to bed and piper paige & leo all head up to the attic to try to draft up some game plan on how to get their phoebe back

so over the next couple of weeks they like try to really gently bring phoebe up to speed the first thing they really have to get out of the way is Phoebe You’re A Witch which is a shock y’know magic being real but phoebe rolls with it about as well as she did in the pilot. the next is prue’s gone, which phoebe has sorta pieced together but was still Not Ready to hear. i think this whole era would also be a really great opportunity to build up paige & phoebe’s relationship bc the show really dropped the ball on that one. i think they would both really lean on each other and grow bc a young phoebe was very much like a young paige and phoebe’s still quasi young phoebe but like paige is like this is advice you gave me a phoebe’s like me?? giving out advice??? and paige is like yeah believe it or not you’re actually an advice columnist i also think phoebe would spend a lot of times flipping through photo albums and reading her old columns and trying to understand who she was / is. i also think she would push piper to open her restaurant after seeing p3 bc she’s be like piper this is amazing but this isn’t your dream. you always wanted to be a chef. and piper admittedly had almost forgotten that she had put that dream on hold but phoebe bringing it back up would really stoke that fire again and make her want to open up her own restaurant.

i think phoebe’s first major relapse would be when she was flipping through the book and found her entry on cole’s human form which has pictures of her and this man and it’s all written in her handwriting and she gets this horrible know it her stomach and then a premonition containing the highlights reel of her and cole’s relationship and she breaks down. and piper paige & leo all find her an absolute mess and she’s like were you going to tell me??? were you going to tell me everything i did????? and she goes through this horrible era of feeling responsible for prue’s death and all the evil cole did and piper and paige really have to help pull her out of that at this point i think we also bring in coop who really helps her start to heal her heart and i think the whole journey to get Back To Phoebe wouldn’t be an easy one but the drama driven by this could very easily take up the space occupied by piper & leo’s relationship drama which i personally have never been too keen on. i think this could be the driving plot of s5 and then s6 could be piper’s pregnancy & wyatt s7 could be be chris and the future plotline which i think phoebe would be a lot more attune to as that could have been one of the realities she lived through on her spirit journey and then s8 would be the final season idk i wouldn’t want to use zankou or the avatars or billie & christy but y’know something good and have it stick the landing like it did in the og

[getaroomyouheck]

i made a post about it on my older blog a while back, but i didnt go into as much depth as i possibly could have. october 4th and shinjiros death is legitimately one of the most powerful story moments of any persona game in general, and it becomes the catalyst that leads to the story of p3 really gaining its stride

first off, from the outset, shinjiro was a character built to die. as much as i love this grungy battle axe boy, from the outset he wasn’t going to make it. they hint at it with dialogue prior and takaya outright says it here. he was going to die, whether it was at kens hand, takayas, or the suppression pills. this revelation is what kills ken completely, and renders him hollow

ken is another similar to shinjiro i feel, he was on a path hurtling towards death much like shinjiro was. takaya also outright states this, saying that ken was going to kill himself after killing shinjiro, having nothing left after snuffing out his life and losing that rage which knitted his body together for so long

ken and shinjiro were 2 sides of the same coin, both souls who were hurtling towards deaths cold embrace through the life they led and the mutual sin neither could forget, albeit for very different reasons

but, in shinjiros last moments, he saves ken from that fate towards death. he fully accepts his guilt and genuinely seeks death as an out of the guilt gnawing him whole, but he doesnt want that fate to be placed on ken. he doesnt want ken to be consumed by guilt and embroil himself in misery and sect himself off from the ones he loves

he doesn’t want ken to become like him

and takaya really flares himself as this false messiah who believes and enhances himself as this figure delivering karmic justice and ending the lives of those against his message. he doesn’t see himself as achieving something villainous, rather just enacting his will against a “murderer” when his whole deal was being a gun for hire online. yet, those kills were all necessary for him, in his eyes

to takaya, it doesnt matter if the stepping stones to his glory are paved in blood and bone, all that matters is that his eminence is established

now all of this is wonderfully executed and is delivered about as well as it could be delivered within the game i feel. yet, what always haunted me and stuck with me on october 4th was never the specific death of shinjiro, or takayas messianic deliverance of murder, or kens suicidal revenge complex

it was the final shot

ken on his knees, sobbing and screaming, while the rest of SEES stand their, aghast and completely in shock of the events that just unfolded in front of them

it’s beyond words what this does for the game, but that effect is better exemplified on the following day, october 5th, when we see akihiko obtain his ultimate persona and the following enacting resolution that burns brightly within his soul

ill be sure to make another post for that

[ciathyzareposts]

Asylum II: The Birds, Part 2

Written by Will Moczarski

At the beginning of my second session I make a list of all possible puzzles I will have to solve. There is, for one, the obvious fetch quest (a): the scientist needs a magnet, a battery and some copper wire. So far I haven’t found any of these items. There’s another minor fetch quest, apparently, as the surgeon tells me he needs some drugs. (not for himself, I suppose, but you never know?) (b) the circuit housing feels like something could (and should) be done there, possibly in order to tamper with the workings of the electro-shock therapy? (c) The rocket belt may be useful in connection with the very long corridor. (d) I haven’t found a use for neither the pay phone nor the receiver. (e) I will have to dress up as a doctor eventually but that may already be part of the endgame. I reckon that the stethoscope will be necessary for this. (f) I frequently encounter a bumbling hypochondriac. He always runs from me when I approach, screaming “GERMS! GERMS!” but there may be some way to interact with him. Obviously, this feels eerily familiar in these unsafe times of an approaching pandemic.

For now, I don’t include all of the items and rooms I haven’t found a use for. The stethoscope may come in handy when I will need to dress up as a doctor. The bird costume? The bean bag? I really have no idea. My theory is that I will likely retrieve the necessary items for the scientist from the circuit housing and the pay phone. I shall also try to wear the bird costume and enter the film set – maybe the mad producer will like me better that way?

First, I fiddle with the pay phone for a bit. In the end I resort to violence. Hacking away at the phone with the axe at least provokes a reaction but I’m picked up for violent behaviour so maybe it’s not what I was supposed to do. As usual, I end up in my own cell after having been treated with the electro-shock therapy.

Next, I try to do something in the room with the circuit housing. After a fair bit of guessing the right verb, I come up with a combination that works: “scramble circuit.” Shaddam’s and Vetinari’s suggestions (“trip circuit” and “detach circuits”) unfortunately don’t work. And boy, the NPCs keep ticking me off to no avail in this game! They are used for new kinds of puzzles but the way they are written into the game is downright repetitive and annoying. It takes a long time to listen to their dialogue and you bump into them quite frequently. After a while I resort to violence and decide to attack the hypochondriac. Although the game tells me it “wouldn’t advise it” I persist, and this time I try the axe. Just like before (when I let the poor pay phone feel the pain) I am picked up for violent behaviour but this time something different happens because I have successfully tampered with the circuits. A fuse blows in the electro-shock room and everything turns dark. Luckily, I have the candle and matches but after a while it’s burnt up and everything goes dark again. Did I just rig the system without any benefits? I can’t imagine that to be the case. I do it again and this time I notice that there’s a battery lying on the floor of the electro-shock room. I can pick it up and head straight to the circuit room but it doesn’t work there. Going over my notes I see that I don’t carry the fuse that I stole from the electrician after hacking him to bits. That must be the solution – the battery is probably the first item for the scientist! Several attempts later I manage to put the fuse in the circuit, and the lights come back on. I’ve glossed over for this blog post how painful this segment is as you really have to go to the circuit room right away or the game tells you “You hear a flame sputter out” at some point and leaves you in the dark for the rest of your days.

The hypochondriac still keeps haunting me, however, so I don’t consider that puzzle solved yet. I try talking to him but to no avail. Then I try to give him everything I own (or rather stole). To my surprise, the stethoscope prompts him to listen to his own heartbeat. When I attack him this time, I catch him off guard, but he only runs away screaming and keeps my stethoscope. Is this a dead end? At a second glance, however, he drops some pills so I count this as a success. I pick them up and examine them and apparently they “look like anesthesia drugs”. Maybe these are the drugs the surgeon is looking for?

It was difficult to get a screenshot of all this madness but you get the idea.

I take them to him and, wow, I did not expect any of this! The surgeon immediately offers to give me a new face now that he has drugs for anesthesia, although I’m not sure whether I even asked for that. There’s a mesmerizing sort-of “animation” with lots of little white dots filling the screen. The game tells me that I am “being operated on” (so much for free will) and finally I emerge looking like Alfred Hitchcock. This is more than surreal but at least I know where I need to go next: the film set, obviously. The mad movie producer is positively starstruck and hands me his camera (“movie cammera”, according to the game but not the parser which requires me to “get camera”). This time I have no idea what I should do next but the set piece with the plastic surgeon and the movie producer seems to have unlocked another of those NPC puzzles we’ve already seen some of: a guard approaches and asks me whether I’m making a movie. Only after a few of these encounters it occurs to me that I may be able to strike up a conversation. If I say “yes” he asks me if he can be in it, and if I say “yes” again he asks me what he should wear. Fair game, it’s probably the bird costume but I don’t have it with me right now. After some backtracking (and meeting the guard over and over – seriously, game!) I can hand him the costume and he runs of in glee, leaving behind his uniform. Seems like a very good trade!

  My next thirty minutes or so are dedicated to some more experimentation with the rocket belt. I try to use it in some different environments to get a feel for how it works. The first time, if you remember, it flew away, so now I figure out that I need to wear it first before pushing the button. I get the best results in the long corridor, as I had previously suspected. The rocket belt first accelerates, then decelerates but I still smash into the wall and die. Maybe I need something to break my fall? It takes me longer than I’d like to admit but after a while I decide to see what happens if I drop the bean bag at the other end of the corridor. Voilà: the bean bag cushions my impact and the rocket belt explodes but leaves behind a bit of copper wire. Cartoon logic, the second – but I’ve got another fetch quest item for the scientist!

Once more, I’ve hit a wall (pun intended). Posing as a guard doesn’t really help me out and I have no idea where I might find the final item for my fetch quest. After a while it occurs to me that I might be able to vandalize the pay phone as a guard rather than as a patient. And indeed: “As you look like a guard, the vandal alarm is ignored.” I vandalize the phone but only coins fall out. What am I supposed to do with those? After some fiddling I find out that I can also vandalize the receiver using the same syntax (“hack…with axe”). This time, magnets fall out. Strike three, and it’s off to the scientist!

He is more than happy that I bring him everything he needs to build his time stasis unit. Luckily, I can keep it. Let’s not think about it too hard, right? He warns me that I can only use it twice but I don’t even know what it’s for. As an inventory item, it’s called “statis generator”. By examining it, I only find out that it has indeed a button on it. My best guess is that this machine is able to stop the flow of time. I decide to save my progress before fiddling with it. It turns out to be some sort of fast-forward device as time begins passing around me “at an enormous rate.” Hmm, what would I be wanting to skip? A quick glance at the map makes it likely that it must be the psychiatry session. Let’s give it a try, shall we? It works! The psychiatrist leaves eventually and I can pick up his smock. Boy, these Bill Denman games have some weird items, don’t they?

The main question is: will this be enough to get me out of the “doctors only” exit? Have I already won the game? Am I getting really good at this after all? Well…sort of. I am confronted by a guard who gives me a lengthy villain speech about how “they” are surprised that I’ve gotten so far, I’m smarter than they thought yada yada yada. Then there’s a little plot twist: they need me to get rid of the “Master Mystic”. If I can provide some proof that I have indeed vanquished this greater evil, “they” will let me go free. Seems fair enough, right? See you next time, I guess.

Session time: 4 hours Total time: 6.5 hours

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: There’s a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no CAPs will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. As this is an introduction post, it’s an opportunity for readers to bet 10 CAPs (only if they already have them) that I won’t be able to solve a puzzle without putting in an official Request for Assistance: remember to use ROT13 for betting. If you get it right, you will be rewarded with 20 CAPs in return. It’s also your chance to predict what the final rating will be for the game. Voters can predict whatever score they want, regardless of whether someone else has already chosen it. All correct (or nearest) votes will go into a draw.

Med Systems Marathon Overview:

(a) 1980 Summary [P1] (b) Reality Ends (1980) [P1] [P2] (c) Rat’s Revenge [P1] / Deathmaze 5000 (1980) [P1] [P2] [P3] [P4] (d) Labyrinth (1980) [P1] [P2] [P3] (e) Asylum (1981) [P1] [P2] [P3] [P4] (f) Microworld (1981) [P1] [P2] (g) The Institute (1981) [P1] [P2]

Jyym & Robyn Pearson Mini-Marathon Overview:

(a) Curse of Crowley Manor (1981) [P1] [P2] (b) Escape from Traam (1981) [P1] [P2] (c) Earthquake – San Francisco 1906 (1981) [P1] [P2] (d) Saigon: The Final Days (1981) [P1] [P2]

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/asylum-ii-the-birds-part-2/