#this dlc has golden lines

[i-favor-rui]

did… did she just think we were Kieran’s ex???

[skyloftian-nutcase]

TotK DLC idea!

The screen is black. You don’t hear anything for a long time. Then, faintly, in the distance, you can hear it.

Link. Link. Open your eyes.

While the line echoes familiarity, the voice does not.

Or. Well. It does. Because while it isn’t Zelda, it’s a familiar man’s voice speaking gently, so gently you almost don’t recognize it because there’s no way he ever spoke like this in the main game.

But he is now. And instead of a golden light being the first image you see before the screen shows Link awakening… you see gloom floating in the air. The image cuts to a Hylian waking up who… doesn’t look like Link from TotK?? He’s different, still small in stature, with slightly tanner skin, platinum light blonde hair, and red eyes. But… something’s wrong with his forehead. There’s a weird line on it.

This new character you apparently are gonna be playing in the DLC blearily blinks his eyes open, clearly groggy and too weak to really move. But then that line on his forehead moves a hair, it splits apart, and you realize it’s a freaking eye, red and yellow and it’s like the ones on gloom hands and oh gosh what the hell is it doing on his forehead—

Link realizes something is off and his eyes blow wide, his hands reach for his forehead and he screams in agony and terror, only for someone to scoop him into a hug to soothe him.

And suddenly you realize why that voice was eerily familiar.

It’s Ganondorf. He resurrected you from the era of the Imprisoning War. You, who have a history with him and his family. You, who he wants to protect, who he views as his kid, who he calls a prince and says he’ll keep you safe by controlling your body with his dark magic if he has to.

Welcome to Tears of the Kingdom: Hero’s Shadow.

You have to play a long gone Hero who was resurrected. Ganondorf, who is still recovering his strength in preparation for killing the current Hero, tasks you with finding your betrothed, his daughter, as well as his wife. They’re buried somewhere in the Depths like you were. He wants you to find their burial sites so he can use his secret stone to resurrect them like he did you, and control them as well. Which is doubly bad when you realize his wife was the original Sage of Lightning. He gives you free reign to wander once you go through a tutorial (he tests you to see if you’ve recovered enough strength), because he knows you love wandering and collecting things. Your own personal objective, however, is trying to help Hyrule from the Depths, to break free from Ganondorf’s control, because Link would rather set himself on fire than let Ganondorf resurrect and control the love of his life and his mother-in-law. Your best hope is to find shards of the shattered Master Sword to try and stab the eye on Dark Link’s forehead and break the control Ganondorf has on you. Until you can, though, the monsters are your allies, you can teleport across the Depths by manifesting out of the gloom created by gloom hands (just like what Phantom Ganon does), and the world below is your oyster. If you get too close to sword shards when gloom hands are nearby, Ganondorf can see your attempt and immediately takes control of your body, and no matter what button you press Link just walks back to Ganondorf’s location and stays there until you get a chance to try again.

You start with three hearts, all empty looking like when gloom hurts you, and if you get injured they just shatter. Whenever they all shatter, you respawn at Ganondorf’s location because his gloom hands came and rescued you from dying. The only way you can get more hearts is by collecting poes and offering them to the statues in the Depths. You can communicate with the spirits of soldiers, who may give you combat tips or info about the area. If you gain enough of Ganondorf’s trust, he’ll let you command monsters, and he might even let you wander the Surface (under his supervision) during a blood moon.

You learn of Link’s and Ganondorf’s history through discovering ancient relics/texts that trigger memories. This connection between you and Ganondorf stems back to time before the war, well over ten thousand years ago. Link was engaged to Ganondorf’s daughter, but during the Imprisoning War the family fought against the demon king. Ganondorf did love his family, but he loved power more. Link sacrificed himself, letting himself get mortally wounded to save Rauru from a killing blow. Gan held him as he died, and it allowed Link to both beg him to stop and stab him in the heart with a light shard. The shard didn’t kill him, but it was what Rauru connected with when he hit him in the chest, allowing him to seal Ganondorf away. Ganondorf still wants the world, but his love for his family is still present, though now twisted, so he thinks he can control Link and everyone else with his dark magic in order to keep them safe and in line. Once the threat of the current Hero is eliminated, the world will be his, and his family will be safe. As such, he treats you, Link, the player, like a stubborn child, reeling you in, but does so in a horrific way, torturing Link by controlling him.

You have to break free of this and stop him, and the only hope you have is the distant call of a sword spirit…

[astronnova]

please tell us about deep sea expedition

yes.... finally......... i can SHILL..........

basically, deep sea expedition or WHATEVER it would be called would be the salmon run dlc. wave THREE of splatoon THREE's dlc waves. you feel me?

so i've done just two posts before about this idea, but it would star agent 4 as our player character. reasons why?

agent four and agent 8 both having dlcs in splat3 would be a great way to pay homage to splatoon 2, since both were the protagonists of that game

grizzco and salmon run were introduced to the series with splatoon 2, might as well have the protgaonist of that game be the one to end the salmon run story line since return of the mammalians focuses more on mr. grizz himself instead of the salmonids

the basic idea for gameplay i have for this DLC would be a mix of a more open world approach (think security breach: RUIN) alongside a the PVE horde gameplay from salmon run. agent 4 would have to fight through hordes of salmonids and other deep sea creatures to descend deeper to reach a sort of salmonid capital. think maybe like... sparta? since the salmonids are inspired by that. maybe a giant ass collesuem (i know thats in rome i do not care).

point is, you start near the surface and have to descend to defeat the bosses (ha get it. cus side order has an elevator where you go up? im clever i think sometimes)

actually this sounds a bit like doom. oh well

i'd like to think there's some sort of phenomena of like... underwater air pockets. like underwater caves? where a bunch of civilizations are maybe? would be pretty neat to see all the stuff where salmonids go when they arent doing the salmon run part, among other species that could live in these areas considered the deep sea metro

(the naming coincidences are not lost on me but i have no idea what else to call this hypothetical salmon run DLC)

story? agent 4 has been stranded in hostile, salmonid territory with no backup, a faulty pair of grizzco (tm) dualies, and her wits. 4 meets a goldie salmonid, named chrysos, who takes 4 under their fin (ha) to help them find a way home. 4 and chrysos must explore deeper into the heart of the sea to find enough super golden eggs (name and idea pending) to have enough power to send 4 home.

thats the working synopsis anyway, excluding major spoilers and all

apart of the open world sections of the DLC would have the player controlling 4 and chrysos in a kind of open world diving situation. four is equipped with a prototype pressurized underwater scuba gear that makes it safe for ink-based people to go underwater! its grizzco brand and needs many upgrades (that could be acquired thru out the story).

im thinking for these sections you'd be timed to find an air pocket or new treasure of sorts? and if you run out of time idk 4 runs out of air or something and gets splatted. dw they have a life preserver which chrysos would reactivate to save four, basically restarting the level from the beginning.

chrysos would be a very straightforward character with a dry sense of humor and a natural curiosity for all things from the surface. they're helping 4 out of the goodness of their heart and to satiate that curiosity of what inklings are like, among other reasons.

they pluck one of their scales at the beginning of the story to help power up the faulty grizzco dualies, which would also be a tutorial on how to like.... level up? get upgrades? not sure

this was long! if you have any more questions feel free to ask. i love the salmonids and i love agent 4. mwah

[lesvegas]

FNV Quest Mods That Don't Suck

I know I've made modlists before but talk of DLC-sized mods made me want to make another. Big, DLC-sized quest mods are nine times outta ten messy, poorly-made and poorly-written, feel like they should've been fo3 mods, or have numerous other qualities that are detestable to normal people with taste. I've played most of the popular ones and hate nearly all of them. Here are the ones I actually can recommend.

Note: I also highly recommend having a proper modding setup before installing any of these. Everyone and their mother has already recommended the Viva New Vegas guide before because it works and it's beginner-friendly.

Allow me to spare your dash by putting this list under a cut.

"DLC-sized" Quest Mods

Boom to the Moon - A quest where you go to the moon (yes, really) to find out what happened to a man's wife. I promise it's way better than I could possibly describe. Honestly I recommend almost all of Jokerine's mods for her attention to detail and all the cool shit she makes. This quest mod doesn't even end with the moon trip, you'll also get the best-written mod companion I've ever seen. Seriously please give this one a try if nothing else on this list.

Autumn Leaves - A murder mystery in an archival library vault inhabited by Protectrons. Story so good Bethesda stole it to make a fo4 DLC. No combat, no need for weapons or companions. WARNING: if you suck at navigating vaults like I do you may have a bad time finding stuff (there's a walkthrough in the files). Also some of the lines are a bit odd because the author's first language isn't English. Also one character is a bigot in every way possible because he's intentionally designed to be as punchable as possible. Despite all of this it's still easily one of the best quest mods I've ever experienced.

Unfortunately, making quest mods DLC-sized in general leaves ample opportunity for shit to get messy fast, so honestly your best bet for quest mods is smaller scale, vanilla-feeling mods. So while I highly recommend the above mods, I'd recommend the following ones even more for a more seamless experience.

"Vanilla-feeling" Quest Mods

The Collector - A quest given by a broker in which you collect debts from gamblers. Similar to the Atomic Wrangler quest Debt Collector.

Caravan Tournament - Do you suck at Caravan? Skill issue. Play this anyway and tell me how it feels to lose because I'm sure it's just as interesting as winning but I'm too good at Caravan to to see it for myself. If you get good you get to see a tiny Robobrain wearing a hat.

Working On The Chain Gang - A Powder Ganger Quest Mod - Okay, technically this makes a second faction of Powder Gangers that aren't affected by your reputation with the vanilla Powder Gangers (so yes, even if they hate you, you can experience this mod). These new Powder Gangers reorganize themselves into a legitimate faction that blends seamlessly into the Mojave NPC ecosystem.

The Moon Comes Over the Tower - This one is technically cut content, but that just means it's peak vanilla-feel. Restores the rest of the quest where Emily Ortal asks you to bug Mr. House's network in which you actually have to travel to places to do it.

Okay, these ones are silly, but trust me

Among Us But It's Fallout - It's a vault with a murder mystery you get to solve! Memes aside it's honestly really well done and you should try it.

The Hollander Hotel and Casino - For a quest involving a haunted hotel (no jumpscares, don't worry), this one feels a little goofy at times, especially with The Shining references and the guy outside selling nothing but 500 bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla. But you should give it a try anyway.

Legion Quests

Haven't done a Legion run not because you don't like being a bad guy, but because the Legion route feels lacking? Try some of these.

Legion Quests Expanded - Adds more Legion quests and expands several vanilla quests.

A Golden Opportunity - Legion El Dorado Quest - A quest where the Legion goes in and shuts down the NCR's El Dorado station.

Five Card Ante - A Legion Quest Mod - A quest parallel to Three Card Bounty in which you get to eliminate the NCR's First Recon.

Yes I Would Actually - A Legion Quest Mod - You know how Bitter Springs has three quests you can do for the NCR? Well, now you can do them for the Legion instead. You can even recruit help from the Great Khans to fuck the NCR's shit up.

[theslowesthnery]

random DLC story trailer thoughts

honestly happy we're getting more of marika and how the golden order came to be, especially since the origins seem to be pretty Fucked Up. the more fucked up marika is, the better, please just let her have done massively fucked up things without any "oh well it was for the greater good" handwringing, i would genuinely love that

i'm sorry but i can't take messmer seriously, he looks so fucking stupid to me. everything he wears from his helmet to his greaves look like they're too big for him, he looks like a kid playing dress-up

(also i'm sorry but i'm already fed up with seeing him everywhere)

marika crushing an omen/crucible-related civilization, locking everything that remains in a hidden realm? no wonder she wants omen gone and hidden, they're a reminder of what she did (and also proof that she can't just lock them away and be done with it, more will always be born - even through her own body)

reaching a bit, but i do wonder if hewg is originally from the "shadow realm" - it would explain why he fears marika so much, having perhaps witnessed what she did

my theory/prediction is that radagon did not exist yet back at the time shown in the story trailer, that marika was cursed by the giant wickermen (or whoever were controlling them) after she used them to crush the omen/crucible civilization and then abandoned them and imprisoned them in the shadow realm, and she then separated the cursed part of her self into a separate body, which became radagon

if the person in black, surrounded by flames, is the gloam-eyed queen like a lot of people theorize, it would explain why she went on her godslaying spree. i always theorized that the GEQ was marika's sister, an empyrean who also could've become a god, and i wonder now if marika destroying the city shown in the trailer was her crushing the competition

i similarly predicted (based on absolutely nothing) back when the gameplay trailer released that the old man seen in it (in the painting, and with the rune/sword through him) was marika's father, so maybe the city that is being destroyed by messmer and marika's forces is her former home that she's destroying so that they can't rise against her in the future

the official subtitles for the line "a purge without Grace or honor" has grace written with a capital G, and the japanese subtitles use the same word as for the erdtree/golden order's grace, and i think that's interesting. in the end marika herself was the most Graceless of them all?

miyazaki said that the name of the dlc (shadow of the erdtree) has another meaning besides referring to the literal shadow tree, and some people theorize it means that the empyreans' shadows will have something to with it, but i personally don't think so - i think it just refers to the hidden "dark side" of the golden order

i hope one of the miquella followers is rhico (or some version of him), just because it'd be nice that the character wasn't just completely tossed away

edit: oh yeah completely forgot, considering how the entire shadow realm seem to be very strongly connected to marika and her past, i'm very curious to see how the very carian-esque area and NPC will tie in to that

edit 2: considering that both fire and snake are seen as blasphemous by the golden order now, i think either messmer betrayed marika (unlikely, considering how he talks of her in the gameplay trailer), or she just fears his power and therefore made everything related to him a blasphemy after using him to win her victories

i don't know, i've just seen people go absolutely bonkers with the theorizing and trying to connect anything and everything not only in the trailers and screenshots but also in the base game to messmer and miquella and the shadow realm no matter how much they need to reach, and i just. find that really exhausting, so i don't want to do that

i can't remember if i had any other thoughts lol

[whitewitchqueen]

Hey, new VaatiVidya video just dropped all about the Omens, Formless Mother, and Miquella. At the time of writing this I haven't finished watching the video, but here are a few thoughts I had as a result of this video.

So something I've mentioned is Miquella's dreaming powers. But something I haven't mentioned in how Miquella, and St. Trina are the same people. Their flowers are the same, and their powers and dominion over sleep/dreams are the same.

Something I also didn't realize is that The Land of Shadow, the setting for the DLC, is Miquella's nightmare, not a dream. Vaati suggests that this is/ was the afterlife before the Erdtree, and that Marika veiled it in Shadow after removing death from the Lands. This is supported by the line "It was to this Land that Miquella departed, divesting himself of his flesh, his strength, his lineage, of all things Golden."

The video also brought up more of Miquella's manipulative tendencies. He imbues the Haligtree soldiers with a golden light that explodes in their final moments, but they still remain loyal to him. Malenia has said that he is the most fearsome empyrean. There's a line about St. Trina/ Miquella stating "Pure and Radiant, he wields love to shrive clean the hearts of men. There is nothing more terrifying."

This to me solidifies the idea that Miquella is the most terrifying yandere. Unlike others, it isn't greed or possession that strives him, but pure, unbridled love. Miquella knows more about the reader than anyone, and his connection to their dreams drives this obsession further. Miquella is smart, but I could see him disillusioning himself into believing that you're connected in some cosmic way, and even getting jealous when he realizes that you can enter the dreams of his siblings as well.

Either way, food for thought, feel free to give me any of your ideas.

[alfiely-art]

About that character inmpression, ship thingy you posted... Of course I'l ask you about Yomi (you can answer each questions for him if you want 👀👀)

Aaaand hmmm

What do you think about Yomi x Seth, Hellxander, Fake Zilch x Seth, and Yomi x Fake Zilch x Seth ?

That might be a lot in one go, so uh, take your time!

OURGHHH Yomi. Okay this is gonna be a lot but lets-a go yahoo

Alright first off, first impression of him.

His introduction was literally golden. From his and Martina's Akira reference to Yomi fake-sobbing before coldly ordering Seth to be executed. I was kicking my feet. He immediately shot to my top favorite (before being kicked down again by Yuma and Makoto) but I absolutely enjoyed what an evil little gremlin he was from the very beginning. Honestly, one of the best introductions of a villain I've ever seen.

Next, headcanons. I think he was a theatre kid in high school. I'm saying this from experience. Every theatre kid goes through a little phase where they're evil and flamboyant it comes with the title. Yomi's just went on a little too long, silly silly boy. OH and I think he has chew toys. Being evil is stressful he's gotta chew on smth or else he'll just take it out on an underling, yk?

As for complaints and praise... weeeell, I thought his takedown was a little... anti-climatic? Like on the one hand, I'm very happy for Martina to get to send him to jail. You go girl. But also, he just sorta... accepts being arrested? I wanted him to resist more. Kicking scratching and screaming, yk?? He did a little of that but not much. And I wish we'd seen him in the epilogue, maybe as a small little shot of him in jail being all pouty. As for praise, I really love how fun-to-hate he is. The game makes it very clear he's horrible and you can't really sympathize with him, but also, he's just so fun to watch. Like. What's wrong with him *twirls hair*

Favorite pairing, hmmmmmmmmmm. Initially it was Makoyomi, but rn it's a three-way tie between Makoyomi, Yomiakou, and Hellxander. These dynamics are all just... really fascinating in all honesty. I want to study them. I'm so glad this fandom enjoys toxic yaoi I think I would go insane if there wasn't a plethora of content for these weirdos.

And finally, my overall opinion. He's my wife. My evil scrunkly meow meow. I'm gonna put a collar on him and cook him a yummy dinner while he's chained to a chair. Also his English VA is amazing and did a wonderful job making Yomi iconic, I'm planning on playing Raincode again but with JP voices to compare. He's the silliest villain I've ever seen. They did a great job with his writing, I think. He just, immediately grabs you- and when you look deeper into him it's genuinely so interesting and fun.

OKAY NOW FOR SHIPS.

Yomi x Seth is definitely an interesting ship for me. I don't actively think about it but when I come across content of them, my brain goes "fuck yeah". Sadly their interactions don't give us much to go off of as much as other pairs, but it's always a joy to see.

Hellxander. My beloved. Finding Fake!Zilch in the factory and hearing him ramble about Yomi was eye opening. Kodaka did not need to have that in there but it's there and it's amazing. I wish Yomi had a line or something about Zilch, I want to know how he feels about the guy. Was it a parasocial type of thing??? Was Yomi leading him along??? Please Kodaka. Yomi DLC where we visit Kanai Ward and Yomi is doing community service and having flashbacks to his old gay lover Hitman and he cries in the rain "I hate that ugly bowl cut detective!!!!!!! Curse you Yuma the Kokohead!!!!!!!"

Fake!Zilch x Seth isn't something I've ever really thought about, but I can kinda see a dynamic there. Frail little guy x tough hitman? Yeah that's certainly a good dynamic. I just don't know if this particular case would really... grab me?

And Yomi x Fake!Zilch x Seth... yeah I think that's just torture for Seth. Which is fine I like torturing the guy. I can definitely see Yomi being like "lol that seth guy is soooo funny to torment" and zilch is like "do you want me to torment him director yomi. Anything for you director yomi" and Seth is like "can I please just do my job. Please. Please"

[langernameohnebedeutung]

Hey, I wanted to say I really love your takes on Borderlands, particularly with Nisha and her relationship with Jack. I wanted to get your thoughts on that particular line in the DLC where Jack said it's always me doing all the work and she goes I've said that before. I've noticed some fans tend to take that joke seriously and I thought of it as a light-hearted joke between those two. What are your thoughts?

hmm...I feel like there are several layers to this? Or at least, from what we know and don't know about their relationship, there are different possible interpretations of it.

(Like, I wrote one Nisha/Jack fic where this definitely was the case ...but in fairness that was also right after Jack got the vault-symbol punched in his face so-)

I think one very simple layer of this is that Nisha just very consistently likes to poke fun at Jack. We see a lot of that in Borderlands 2. Which is really an aspect of her personality - she likes to make jabs at other people. So yeah, obviously if he says something like that and she has a good comeback, she's not going to let that slide.

And on a deeper level of that: I think it's important to keep in mind that Jack and Nisha are both very dangerous people with extreme trust issues. Who somehow try to make a relationship work. And on the one hand, it makes sense that these two would get on like a house on fire. But on the other hand, it's kind of an undertaking that relies on a LOT of mutual understanding and trust. For that relationship to work, these two people, who are in the eyes of everyone else (except maybe Wilhelm who doesn't care) a duo of sadistic hypocrites, need to find a way to integrate each other into their very self-centred worldview. Their entire modus operandi is to apply rules to others that they don't apply to themselves - or to one another. And I think their banter is (on a subconscious level) one way of confirming "hey, things are good, we're having fun, I'm happy in this relationship, I still care about you" without ever being forced to be deep about this.

This is something that we also get a lot with Nisha: When Nisha says mean stuff about people, there is often a wide difference in quality. It makes a huge difference whether you are her friend that she wants to poke fun at, some idiot NPC that she considers below her notice, someone she just happens to dislike for her own reasons (like Moxxi in the beginning of TPS) or someone she has a sincere vendetta against (like Lilith and Moxxi at the end of TPS). What really sets all of these apart is the tone and the way in which she says those rude things. And whether she makes threats. That's why Nisha engaging in friendly banter with Jack is a pretty important aspect of their communication.

Another aspect I think is that Nisha and Jack are very performative people. Like, one of them puts up golden statues, and the other one larps as a western Sheriff. And while I think there are slightly different reasons for this (I think Jack buys more into his image or at least...depends more on it to feel good about his more monstrous side. While Nisha's more chill side seems a lot more authentic and more "two parts of the same coin" rather than "mask"), I also think that their relationship and especially THEIR ability to get along and THEIR ability to take criticism from one another and THEIR ability to understand each other's...pretty impenetrable moral code is something that they can have a lot of fun with. Because now they can project out at the world: "See how perfectly we reasonable we are? We are sure getting along. We don't understand why you all insist on not simply getting with the very evident and not-at-all-murderouly-hypocritical programme."

Now, I think the big question for a lot of people in the fandom is: How much (does it?) reflect on their actual sex life.

And ...without much contex about their actual relationship, I think there are several interpretations are possible:

Nisha literally just says it to be funny. As in, she just thought it was a funny moment to say that line. Like a "yo mama" joke.

The joke is that Nisha said it before in a different context that the Vault Hunters know about. e.g. the fact that Jack rarely accompanies them to their mission.

Or it is indeed a comment on their sex life. The thing is, I feel like the insinuation has always been that their sex life is pretty damn good. I think there is even a confirmation of that from Anthony Burch himself but I cannot be bothered to look for it - really, my reasoning is that Nisha is presented as a very sexual person and these two are often presented as very much on the same wavelength sexually. Quite frankly, I don't think Nisha would stay if she was genuinely unhappy with their sex life. A possible interpretation I do see is that they are both Nisha very canonically, Jack frequently implied, switches. So I think if we were to take the comment at face value and assume that a) she really "said that before and b) it was about sex - I would interpret it as "she has been playing the dominant part a lot lately"

[peculiarbluerose]

Tips I wish I knew for my first RE4R Hardcore playthrough (Original Campaign)

Notes:

-This can also be applied to lower difficulties to make it 10x easier

-This does not include tips for the Separate Ways DLC, but some of them can be applied, I suppose

-All of these are picked up from personal playthroughs as well as YouTube videos (Neon Slice influences the majority of these)

-I've also just played this game on the hardest difficulties too many times lol

1. FLASH GRENADES - They WILL be your best friend, I promise you. Why? They stun enemies for at least 5 to 10 seconds and you can melee them. Alternatively, you have a window to stab them (always a critical hit, perfect for mini bosses like the Brutes)

2. Keep at least one first aid spray on you at all times; this has saved me on several occasions, and not doing it has killed me

3. Ashley's armor is worth the hassle if you are trying to get the S+ rank on Professional (if it's your first run, professional will only be unlocked after you beat the game at least once)

4. If you are in a spot where you are overwhelmed, just RUN. Run if you can, especially if you're out of bullets and you're on your last knife. This is another situation where flash grenades are useful.

5. Speaking of flash grenades, if it is your first playthrough (or you just lack attention to detail), Plagas hate light and die when flashed by a flash grenade. If you have too many Plagas in the area, don't hesitate to throw a flash grenade. This is especially useful against the knights in Salazar's castle.

6. The only way you're gonna get infinite ammo is through an S+ rank on Professional, so don't even worry about that until later.

7. Yes, there are limits on saves and the number of hours it takes to complete the game in order to get certain ranks. If you don't know the rules to a rank, Google them. The game, if it does tell you, doesn't like to make those rules obvious.

8. Ashley is a pain in the rear end even with the armor. In areas like the Water Hall, she's immune to enemy attacks and Leon's bullets, yes, but she will still crouch down when surrounded, or get picked up (they can't carry her anywhere though since the armor makes her heavy, so she'll be in a constant cycle of screaming until you get rid of the zealots). Added this because I don't know how many people address this part of Ashley's armor.

9. On the flip side, the armor makes Ashley immune to attacks even during her segment of the game where you play as her, so you can walk through the knight room and be hit 45 times and be just fine. It makes that part of the game much easier.

10. One hit in Ashley's segment without armor, however, (yes, even just one) will result in a game over. Keep moving, know your paths before triggering things, and be quick about it.

11. Saddler is pathetic, even on hardcore mode. At the start of his battle, just shoot him with a rocket launcher and you'll be good to go, no time wasted

12. Two golden eggs thrown at Salazar (start of his battle, preferably. Much easier from there) will easily get his battle out of the way.

13. You know the room with the 4 Regeneradors in the test tube things? Yeah, those. Don't bother killing all of them, just get the wrench from the one and you'll be fine.

14. Speaking of Regeneradors, they're a pain. A big one. Keep your distance, they're slinky's. Keep your distance.

15. If the Regenerador is asleep (like the 4 test tube ones in the lab), line up two of the parasites (if you can, all three would be awesome, though) and shoot. It will make your job MUCH easier

16. Use the rocket launcher on Krauser when you're in the final battle with him. He's a tough one, and it's much easier to skip the fight. You also get his knife once he's dead, and it's better than Leon's. That's nice, I guess.

17. There's nothing you can do about Leon's slowness when approaching Luis's lab. That's meant to happen, and no, you can't skip it. On the bright side, you won't get hurt, either.

18. You may or may not have heard about the heavy grenade trick when Ashley is using the wrecking ball. Two heavy grenades will do the trick. If you don't have those, several normal grenades will suffice, but it will add a little extra time to your run.

19. Use flash grenade right as one of the two Giants (with Luis) are approaching the center of the room. It takes a second for the flash to go off, and it stops them just enough to open the trap door to incinerate one of them. Nice.

20. Take out the lamp guys ASAP. You know, the ones with the red lamps that make the zealots turn into Plagas? Those things. I hate 'em. Flash them with a flash grenade, then knife them. Best way to go, just like Brutes.

I hope this was of SOME use to you. I racked my memory for this info, it's a long game. If you want more, let me know. Should I do Separate Ways next?

[lightlessentwine]

[ELDEN RING GRAND THEORY REVISION 2.2- SUBJECT TO INQUIRIES AND FURTHER REVISION]

The Narrator in the first DLC trailer opens with the line, "Pure and Radiant, he wields love to shrive clean the hearts of men.. There is nothing more terrifying." and frankly every aspect of Miquella's role in the Golden Order is terrifying from his perspective. He had to pass judgement in blessing others, which alone can be enough to break someone. It is from here that we may see part of Miquella's original reason in creating the Haligtree. At some point, it's posed that Miquella became St. Trina to guide followers to the Haligtree. Following the trail that Miquella is St. Trina, it is possible to extrapolate on Messmer's identity when applying the concepts of Alchemy and how it translates to a classical understanding of Analytical Psychology via the Jungian model. a lot of this speculation also ties back to extensive study of the world in-game, as well as a bit of real-world religion, history, perspective, chemistry, biology, crest/art analysis, and more. I may use terms that i don't fully explain. i implore you simply look them up on wikipedia and apply that knowledge to what i am saying, or this will be even longer than it already is

We must first establish that literally anything not understood in a binary in Elden Ring actually confounds and terrifies followers of the Golden Order. It in fact worries Corhyn so deeply that he refuses to believe Goldmask as he grovels in the ashes of the Erdtree-- One of the biggest revelations in the entire game is premised around breaking a binary that was never proven to be a binary at all. In other words, the entire Golden Order is based in dichotomies and binaries and there is a fundamental flaw in that regard; it disregards the individual and non-binary aspects of the World to force them into a simpler mold that was going to fall with time, regardless.- Much like with Gwyn's plight in Dark Souls; it was never about the people of the land with him, it was about preventing a coming age and clinging onto whatever control found in preserving the current one forever.

At the basis, St. Trina may have been able to inhabit Miquella's body because of having been born of a single-bodied Rebis, or at least as the Golden Order sees Marika/Radagon, a God. this is an ability only demonstrated by Marika that Malenia seems incapable of. I believe her bestowment from the outer god of Rot is the reason for her lack of other personal identities; she does not have any others to project other than what she is, due to societal perception of her bestowment/affliction and her choice to let miquella ascend to the role she could be in. In the current age, all she has been doing is dreaming (note: trina) and awakens promptly when we arrive; likely to the only movement of air she's felt in ages

I think Miquella is an entity of purity while St. Trina is a Lunar Reflection; or an Animus in Jungian Psychology, which also has heavy ties to alchemy in reference to "Albedo". She's the hero and protector of the people that Miquella often envisioned within himself. Messmer, residing in the shadow realm, represents a deep seated truth within- a sort of cognitive "Rubedo," or a "Truth in Mind," if you will. he is a truth that Miquella hates as much as others fear, and that nobody wants found. Part of this truth must be Marika's fault, and it has left Miquella with a lingering guilt that he sees as a shadow that was torn from himself and trapped away.

Imagine it like this; if St. Trina is Miquella's image of theirself as a blessed, pure caretaker and a sort of christ-like figure, then Messmer is the part of him that represents "Sins of The Father/Mother" Marika's own rise to power and established order themselves are what created a young Miquella. I believe Marika took whatever purity was within Messmer and literally created Miquella from this. It was with time though, and his noted brilliance and ability to "compel affection," that he found a way to break free of his fated identity which meant breaking free of the Order itself.

Applying the Realm of Shadows to this; having been physically separated from the Lands Between by Marika's own mischievous deeds, it is likely that the shadow realm now acts as a cognitive realm of Marika's, of sorts, which could contain the perception or persona of another person within it. (think Mementos from Persona 5, lol)

So.. Without the current Elden Ring there would be no Order, but the current Order hides the image of a serpent at its center. This seems to represent Messmer. this is the same concept as how a pentagram represents a human in alchemy, while being inverted, it represents a goat, or in most cases, Baphomet.

Baphomet is labeled as half-human, half-animal, male and female, good and evil.. he is referred to as a man but is essentially every binary and every dichotomy that arises from them. He is even seen as both a deity and a demon. I believe Miquella and Radagon's work on discovering the Law of Causality is the main hint toward Messmer's presence, which ties into the rest of the alchemy involved. He is a pagan cult deity who represents balance and neutrality, and is almost always depicted doing a gesture signifying "as above; so below" which is a condensed version of the Law of Causality, already known to be associated with Miquella and Radagon, well before the Shattering; "Causality is an influence by which one event, process, state, or object contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object where the cause is partly responsible for the effect, and the effect is partly dependent on the cause."

For clarity's sake, because i figure i'll be asked if not addressed: It's not impossible for Messmer and Miquella+Malenia to have all been the first child of Radagon/Marika with this Theory. Malenia was a twin born at the same time as Miquella, so she would be a first child with Miquella. If Messmer is a diety representing neutrality or, as I expect, a product of the Law of Causality, then he would be a product of Miquella as much as Miquella is of him. this idea lends to the possibility of Miquella actually being the remainder that was left over from a splitting where Messmer's counterparts (possibly both Miquella and Malenia, given their twin nature) are representative of his own aspects.. it does is beg a sort of "chicken or egg" paradox, but before we had a realistic answer to that, many would reply- and almost sarcastically, if not for the fact that it was the best answer we had- that the first thing to appear was "the Universe." The modern answer is, in fact, that the egg came first. (whether any of this analogy alludes to the actual lore or not is something i think we'd just have to wait for the expansion to know)

Marika herself had this Shadow hidden away, and this presents rather well because we know that there was a long period of time after the Night of Black Knives that Marika was still active but becoming more distraught, preceding the Shattering. on top of this, more proof resides in that, within Jungian psychology, it is that one's Anima/Animus comes to them in dreams, much like St. Trina came to people in theirs (who, as an Animus herself, was probably motivated by helping malenia look for her Anima, which perhaps never existed). It is also true that a Shadow Persona is borne of conflict tearing at one's conscious until it becomes its own entity, which i've already presumed of Messmer above.

[jadeazora]

The Paldean Pals event has been announced, running from Sept5 to Sept10, and adds Paldean Pokemon, including the starters, to the game. (RIP Galar lmao)

The starters and the Lechonk line will be added to the game. (Also of note, after the event ends, Lechonk will hatch from 2km Eggs while the starters can hatch from 5km eggs.)

Ultra Unlock bonuses:

Unown A, D, E, L, and P in 1⭐ Raids, and Lechonk in Timed Research. (Can be shiny.)

Roaming Form Gimmighoul won’t appear at Golden PokéStops if a Golden Lure Module wasn’t used, but players may still find Gimmighoul Coins when the PokéStop is spun!

4× XP for catching Pokémon.

4× Stardust for catching Pokémon

PokeStop showcased featuring Lechonk

have higher odds of being shiny.

A new Special Research story with branching paths is available to Trainers! You’ll be able to adventure together and bond with your chosen partner Pokémon. You can claim this Special Research at no cost from Sept5 at 10am to Dec1 at 9:59am, local time.

Hoppip, Houndour, Buizel, Fletchling, the Paldean starter trio and Lechonk are appearing more commonly in the wild.

1⭐ Raids are already listed above, but 3⭐ Raids are Machamp, Turtonator, Metagross, and Camerupt, and 5⭐ feature Katana and Celesteela, which will alternate hemispheres (Katana appears in the northern hemisphere, while Celesteela appears in the south from Sept1-8, then vice-versa from Sept8-16. Mega Raids will feature Mega Manectric.

The Paldean starters and Lechonk will be featured in the 7km eggs and Field Research.

Complete the Paldea-themed Collection Challenge to receive Stardust and additional encounters with Lechonk!

A Kitakami outfit for the coming DLC will be available be available to all Trainers starting on Sept13!

[wxnheart]

In celebration of the dlc announcement and requests reopening, might I humbly request some yandere!Rarika/golden consort or Yandere!Renfrey/Bloodhound knight consort.

I hope you feel better soon!

𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞!𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐱 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭!𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭

Yandere!Renfrey latches on to their dearly devoted consort more than they reasonably should. Keyword is reasonably.

Their knight's loyalty is something to be commended, though it begs the question as to whether or not said loyalty has blinded them to Rennala's and Godfrey's... ways.

Yandere!Renfrey who, determined not to lose another cherished one to Marika's machinations and Radagon's apparent waywardness, would rather keep their Bloodhound Knight Consort sequestered in Raya Lucaria. And so they do.

And their lovely consort, devotion personified, doesn't think too much of this arrangement. Should they? They know all too well the heartbreak Rennala endured after Radagon left. They know too well the screams and cries of agony as she cried on their shoulder.

Admittedly, it took some time for them to warm up to Godfrey but at Rennala's insistence, tears in her eyes and a sad, broken smile, the Bloodhound Knight accepts them.

Yandere!Godfrey uses the BKC's loyalty to his advantage, keeping them in the dark about the true going-ons of the Lands Between; he tasks them with protecting Rennala for their own safety. And his sanity.

Yandere!Rennala who agrees with her loyal husband and unless absolutely necessary doesn't keep the BKC out of her sight. She also may or may not have fashioned seals to keep them within the confines of the Academy or the Manor if need be.

Yandere!Godfrey's desire to protect his consorts has... increased his bloodlust two-fold. And even Serosh may not be able to keep him in line for long.

Yandere!Renfrey whose desire to protect their loyal love means protecting them even from themselves. The BKC's loyalty knows no bounds and they will do everything in their power to take advantage of that and keep them close. Always.

Just Yandere!Renfrey things.

[not-poignant]

Is there something about video games as a medium that you enjoy for writing fic? Was just curious bcos I was going thru my bookmarks and the only video game fics were yours, books/tv shows seem to be more common? They're great and I love them btw <3 I just love ur explanations for things haha

Hi hi anon!

Yeah I've written rather a lot of video game fanfics now haven't I?

I didn't really set out to do that, but there is something I really like about video game characters:

They're just not characterised as well as most other characters, lmao, which gives a lot of empty spaces to kind of 'fill them up' with my own development, while they still get to be relatively canon compliant.

Like, I'd say the exception there is Dragon Age: Inquisition, where I played my first file for like 220 hours (without any DLC or killing the end boss) and mostly just was gathering information to build Cullen's and Bull's characters in ways that did keep them canon compliant, but there was still a fuckton of stuff that was missing, that could be completely invented and fabricated.

And I love doing that.

Stardew Valley are the 'thinnest' characters I've ever worked with. They can be summed up as 'he's a jock, but...' or 'he's a goth, but...' or 'he's an alcoholic, but...' and then you just add all 98% of the rest of the character in any direction that you want based off about 40 lines of dialogue.

Anon, I've never even played Detroit: Become Human, I just watched some Let's Plays.

And Hades has a lot of dialogue, but also a LOT of empty spaces in general character and world-building where you just get to make up whatever you like with or without a patchwork of whatever Greek mythology you want to draw from that day.

I have actually written quite a few book and movie fanfics, and a few television shows as well. My favourite fanfics are based off a book series and a movie respectively (that would be The Beast that Chose Its Own Bridle and The Golden Age that Never Was). The story Stuck on the Puzzle used to be my fave, but it's still top 3. :)

I think what I also enjoy is, more than anything, all my video game fanfics are the ones that people say 'you don't need to know anything about the game/story, you can just start reading' the most to. I find I generally don't have to do as much research to get started (I'm really lazy), but I guess you could count me having played Stardew Valley for 1600 hours as research, heh.

[midorisudachi]

"The Dreamer, Walker of the Fade"

Here is my second art piece for my "Countdown to Dragon Age Day" (which will be in December). Please visit my first DA Inquisiton piece (prior to this artwork) if you have not seen it yet. As mentioned in the first piece ("The Herald of Andraste"), I will be submitting a DAI character fan art every other Monday until DA Day.

Solas is quite the mysterious, intriguing character, isn't he? Especially at the end of the DLC Trespasser. I like his accent and his manner of speaking, and his views on the world. I also like his murals (in Skyhold) as the story progresses. My first DA character/Inquisitor actually wasn't Bryony (she is in my first/previous fan art)...it was an elven mage: Zephyra Lavellan, and I had made Solas her love interest. I also don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'll write more about Solas at the bottom of my description. Be warned!

I drew Solas in the outfit that I had him wearing [the 2nd time I played DAI]. He is wearing the "Overseer Cowl" schematic on his head, which gives him a totally different look rather than his well-known shiny bald head. Ha ha. His outfit was another mage schematic (I can't remember the name at the moment), and I had used Dales Loden Wool (the bluish-purple) and Royale Sea Silk (the silvery brocade). I drew him holding a "Magister Fire Staff".

I've never been good at backgrounds, but so far I am enjoying drawing the DAI characters with backgrounds inspired by their "tarot card" looks in the game. It's been interesting trying to figure out what kind of background & design to come up with, to suit the character.

Drawn with Sakura Pigma Micron pens, then coloured in with a mix of Copic Markers & Ohuhu Markers. White accents & lines were done with a gel pen. The gold is Golden Paint acrylics, but for some unknown reason, the scanner murders the spectacular shiny gold and it looks “flat”. Font & glowing effect around the orb was done in Photoshop Elements.

Fan artwork © Jacqueline E. McNeese

Dragon Age Inquisition/Solas © Bioware & Electronic Arts

All hearts/Likes are SO much appreciated!

***Spoiler Time!***

So...

...

...

The "end" of the game (before I had the Trespasser DLC) had me totally surprised the 1st time I played the game. Fen'Harel? Damn you, Solas! The whole time, he lied! He was very convincing. Especially when I had made my 1st character (Zephyra Lavellan, the elf) fall for him, and then he bloody breaks her heart! The first time I played, I didn't have the DLCs. The 2nd time I played the game (this past March through July), I made my character "Bryony Trevelyan" the human warrior, who fell for Cullen. Cullen & Bryony were so cute and I loved their relationship. Zephyra & Solas? Tragic! And the Trespasser DLC (2nd time I played the game) really tied everything together! I wish I had known about the DLC the first time, to see how Zephyra would have reacted to seeing Solas again. With Bryony, I just wanted to kick Solas/Fen'Harel's arse, but I made her calm and ask why he did what he did.

I so can't wait for Dragon Age 4!!!!! ***End of Spoiler***

[salty-dracon]

rain code halara dlc

halara is once again sitting in the chief's chair instead of their own golden cow throne

okay, dude was found drowned, kneeling on the ground with his face inside a tropical fish tank, with the rest of the fish tanks in the room destroyed and a lot of dead fish and water on the ground. peacekeepers say he was electrocuted, paralyzed, then fell into the fish tank and drowned.

i was like "yakou's gonna give halara the entire inheritance" no, he's gonna let them keep a cat in the office! that's even cuter!

what a fun room

the fiance is the murderer. i know this for a fact. they do maximum two unique models for a dlc and both the wife and husband are unique.

hmmm... i think the murderer sealed the room with tape on the door, then flooded it with water, before opening the veranda lock on the inside and letting it all flow out. or perhaps the victim himself flooded the room with water to play with his fish, but when the water level rose to touch an electric gadget, that shocked him and he drowned? or maybe someone left an electric wire hanging in the room, flooded it with water to kill him, then drained the water and dunked the guy in the fish tank to set the final scene?

OUPPY

OUPPY CAN ALWAYS SMELL A KILLER

yup, there's a fish outside. they drained the flooded room, and all its fish, using the veranda door.

i wasn't sure what "kneeling" meant, but that's what! yeah, so im not sure how the room was initially flooded in the first place, but i think my theory that someone flooded the room, drowned him, and then drained the water through the veranda door is correct. it's just that after the room was drained, he happened to land like that- facedown in a fish tank.

And there's the source of the blue line under the vent- a rubber hose. So that's how the murderer flooded the room- by sticking a rubber hose through the vent and connecting it to a hose outside. the fiance must have been the one to tie it up into a knot and give it to the dog, since he'd know that the dog loves playing with rubber toys.

Aaaaand that's how they got a huge amount of water in the first place. Attach a rubber hose to a rain gutter you conveniently fixed!

I love how they're slowly expounding on the method for the sole purpose of terrifying the crap out of one guy, who i just realized conveniently has a recolored version of Yuma's hair

"Rainwater killed the victim?!" Makoto, this is your fault somehow.

It just hit me- I thought "Tetra" was one of those weird Rain Code names (the detective in this case is literally named "Nightmare") but a tetra is also a kind of fish! The dad named his daughter after a fish!

yakou-getting-held-at-knifepoint-posing at my enemies

"do you need help, chief?" "i'm pretty bad at this sort of thing, please help-" HALARA ULTIMATE DROPKICK

oh my god they finally got their kitty cat that's so cute

the photorealistic animals look kind of ridiculous but it's part of the charm of raincode at this point, so i hope they keep it for rain code 2: gta san andreas

also sugar is best detective

also can we get more badass trans and nonbinary people going apeshit on their enemies please? i know caligula 2 has it but i need more

[randomnameless]

In regards to how much of the Church bad rhetoric is supported by the Fódlan games themselves, from what i've seen of Three Houses' JP script there isn't really that much support for those arguments there outside of heavily biased sources that the audience should take with massive doses of salt like Edelgard, Dorothea or Lysithea; i'd argue that it wasn't until IS and/or KT decided to, for whatever reason, take the lolcalized church-demonizing script and fandom reaction of EN 3H to heart when making Three Hopes that they really started believing they wrote Rhea and the Church as being the hidden villains of the verse, and that JP 3H is (mostly) free of the issue of making stupid arguments just to try and criticize the Church for things it can't be reasonably blamed for.

I agree with the things you say, but about the biased sources...

Well, the games of course hammer the player with biased sources, Supreme Leader and her court, Claude, the Abyss residents -

Which is doubly funny for the Abyss residents, because their "Church BaD" is completely bonkers, given how it's the Church who offers them a crappy, and yet existing shelter.

"The Church wants us gone" Dude, if they really wanted you gone, Rhea would have deployed the knights to evacuate the Abyss as fast as she organised her expedition to put the Bishop of the Western Church to the sword.

Doubly funny bcs the Big Boss of the Abyss, Yuri, is sekritly Rhea's agent!

Of course being a secret agent, he can't tell people to use their mind and think - if the Central Church wanted them gone, why are they sheltering you all here, under Garreg Mach the most important site to them, and giving you, albeit in measly quantities, food and water? Rhea is the one who named the class "Ashen Wolves" - it would be pointless to give a name to the class of abyss resident who are considered unofficial students of the officer's academy, if she really wanted to purge the Abyss, right?

I understand in CS this was used as a red herring for Aelfie, who is akshually the one who runs the Abyss and spreads the "Church BaD Rhea BaD" sentiment because of his own agenda and opinions, but with 3 (counting the DLC) routes having biased narrators against the CoS in FE16 (out of 5) you'd have to wonder what was the point -

Was it only to sell Hresvelg Grey? To sell Billy becoming God and the "new" head of Church being a necessity so the former has to suck?

IDK.

FWIW, Nopes gave us one (1) NPC who, from the start, says something positive about the Church rebuking the biased statement everyone is throwing around, Mark the NPC, who says accusations of corruption of the Central Church and wyvern poo, since Rhea and Seteth both punish people who take bribes or commit crimes...

And yet, for one Mark, we have many lines spoken with bias against the Church, and no one bothers to correct them (the church forces you to marry ? Uh, no, I've heard the story of a woman who left her land to marry a foreign king! - Church forces you to have responsabilities through crusts : no? Almyra and Brigid have royalty, and Brigid royals want to protect their people thinking it is both their duty and something they want, and yet the Brigid royal line has no crust? Ditto for Almyra? - crusts are the reasons why nobles act like asses : No, Kleimann offed Lambert not because he was jelly Lambert had a crust, but because he wanted more lands and opposed the King's reforms?)

KT wanted their golden route, but because Supreme Leader is the main thorn to any Golden Route (tfw the person who wants to conquer neighboring lands has to work with the people who don't want to be conquered and are fighting for survival in a war the previous person started :( ) everyone has to ally against a common enemy, and it fell on the CoS (with Dimitri getting the nonsensical Zahras scene) - is it it because Nopes follows an Agarthan narrative, as opposed to FE16 having Billy stand-in for a Nabatean centred narrative?

I still find it hilarious that the Nopes writers bent Dimitri, and, arguably Clout, in bonkers versions of themselves to justify Nopes, but couldn't find a way to, uh, have Supreme Leader realise the Mole People are the biggest threat to the world and the Lizards aren't that evil to begin with, provided you don't try to kill them ; that's why Supreme Bullshit started to be something interesting, Supreme Leader targets the Mole People first, but then it became a traditional Supreme Leader route, erasing the lizards took precedence over everything - even if she knows Uncle and pals are still slithering around since she never caught him - so the second she can become Emperor, she returns to her original plan, not giving a fig about Uncle and hunting Lizards to MAGA.

Compare this to Rhea, in the very same route, at the end, who has to fight against the Empire (who's out for her head) and the Mole People - and Rhea dgaf about the Empire anymore, the biggest threat to Fodlan are the Mole People - she doesn't target/aim/attack Supreme Leader and Barney in the ending cinematic, she flies over them, to defeat the "real" enemy, Thales.