#this quest has my favourite cutscenes

[ghostprinceiii]

"You're going to need a compelling reason to gain entry to Inazuma..."

My compelling reason is I need wood from there to make a purple bed for my teapot house.

[noonblight]

Arven, And The Habits Built By Parental Neglect

So I was going to make this big song and dance post about Arven’s entire arc and character psychology but I think other people have picked that one apart better than me. However I DO still want to talk about something I haven’t seen addressed too much.

As much as I think the phrase ‘love language’ is a gross over-simplification of psychology (and also not real, go look it up, the guy who made it was awful) it’s actually a really fitting term for the thing I want to talk about, which is how Arven has built up a habit of caring for others despite the neglect his parents showed him, and made it a core part of his personality. In essence, he’s deemed himself the ‘mom friend’ because he never had that kind of support growing up.

You can see this throughout multiple parts of the game, but here’s my list of favourites:

• If you pick the dialog option and say that you’ll go along with Arven’s quest-line before he explains what you’ll be doing, he exclaims that you have no sense of caution for your own safety. That you shouldn’t just go brazenly dashing into agreements like that.

• He is always looking after Mabosstiff so tenderly, and while a lot of this is due to them growing up together, I think it’s the way he shows his care for Mabosstiff that communicates my point.

• After noticing Miraidon eat your sandwich, he begins to make extra ones so that you don’t go without one. He even splits his own sandwich with you after Miraidon steals the first one you ever make together.

• He mentions that he cleans his dorm every day he’s there because Maboschiff sheds fur a lot.

• Post-Game, he admits that he would like to be a chef who can make good food for others.

Basically, I adore the tiny writing detail that even Arven’s positive traits are still shaped by the parental neglect that he went through, because it’s surprisingly realistic for the writing of a kid’s game.

He’s messy, he’s allowed to grieve and be confused about his feelings openly, he’s allowed to be irritable and strange in the eyes of others. But the game also never lets you forget how much he truely cares for others, even those he doesn’t know very well.

This can also be subtly inferred from just how amazingly fast Arven manages to raise a team that is arguably the only bordering-on-difficult fight in the game. Arven claims to not be a good trainer and claims Mabosstiff was his only pokémon before the events of the game (we can infer this from how he mentions after your first battle with him that he only just caught that Skwovet)

But just look at how fast he manages to make a team! Your trainer is always complimented for their rapid success, but man, they should look at Arven who doesn’t even have that much skill at the start of the game. I like to think this improvement is a direct result of his care for his Pokémon, and his desire to help and protect others. It’s no wonder why he claims in the post-game tournament that he’s been working super hard to build a team that can protect his loved ones, he really means it.

Arven also has a terrible habit of attempting to do most things by himself until the absolute last minute. He refuses to ask Nemona for help with the titans despite knowing she has the skills for it. He only asks you when he’s at his wit’s end starting to lose hope in Mabosstiff, and notices that you had the skill to work with Miraidon.

Even more than all that stuff I mentioned before however, I adore the end cutscene of the game for taking Arven, this character who displays all these little quirks, and then turns around and says ‘it’s your turn to be cared for by people who care about you, you don’t need to do this alone’

Nemona tells the group to take the scenic route home.

Penny suggests snacks.

Miraidon gently pushes Arven toward the group.

And the last scene in the game is so important for that reason, Arven is finally having others care for him. After everything that has happened, he has at least a few people who will support him and show him that care his parents lacked.

So anyway happy holidays, have that shoddy analysis <3

[eluxcastar]

Number 13 and 14 with Arlecchino

Arlecchino being comforted by her s/o

── ୨୧：arlecchino x reader

୨୧﹑synopsis :: arlecchino comfort drabbles yesyes

୨୧﹑genre :: sort of fluff

୨୧﹑content :: gn reader, possibly ooc because it was written pre fontaine quest, not very proofread, arlecchino is implied to have issues with self-image/perception

୨୧﹑words :: 2.2k

"I could see the worst parts of you and still think you are the most beautiful person I've met." "I'm going to ask you how you are and I would like you to answer me honestly."

IT'S HERE you guys always spoil me 13 is my favourite prompt and you are the first of two to request it. completely unrelated but this is so familiar to what Kae said a few days ago (months now omg 😭) when we were talking about One of Repetition and it fits those two so well 😭❤️

to the anon who requested furina it'll take me a minute to figure out how to write her because I haven't played the archon quest but I'll watch some cutscenes and do my best for you

I'll also be using this because I got it in the middle of writing this and thought it fit the idea I had going super well 🙏 that makes three Arlecchino requests with prompt 13 😭 also second anon you're fine dw you guys are free to do with your requests with these prompts as you like, mix them together, add extra descriptions and rambles it makes it more fun 👍 thank you btw 😭❤ feel free to give yourself a name for future requests if you want ❤️ I love having new anons

prompt list

It is not often that Arlecchino shows her doubt, maintaining that half-pleasant façade to hide it all. If all people see is a ruthless woman with no regard for loyalty, then the details don't matter. There's no need to question, no need to dwell. She is one thing and nothing more, and she much prefers for nobody to notice the hesitancy in her drastic decisions, the thin-veiled regret as she watches the children she witnessed grow up go on to become valiant children of the Tsaritsa.

If there is anything more, it is disregarded as her unpredictability. She is a roach in the eyes of others, and perhaps she's ok with that…mostly.

To hear someone say "I love you" is strange to her, though it shouldn't be by now.

It shouldn't be unusual to wake up tangled in the sheets with you by her side or the struggle it ends up being to leave that mess as you try to convince her to spend five more minutes with you. It shouldn't be odd to discover that you've gone ahead and made her tea in anticipation of the time she will wake up or to have you remind her every morning that you hung her coat up to dry after she dumped it over the back of a chair the night before or to see you wandering around going about your own job.

But those events all feel surreal to her, even though she has watched you walk your patrol path a thousand times now, and she has seen you slack off where she sits by the window of Zapolyarny when you think nobody is looking.

You are very real, there's no doubt about that.

The things you do never click with her, however.

Perhaps you are real, but she made up these fantasies after watching you loiter by that one spot in the garden a little too long.

Yet every evening, you meet her in her office after you're officially let off for the day, and you usually bring snacks. You are most definitely there, then, as she watches you struggle to get through the door without damaging whatever you found for her to try, usually only small, a pastry you managed to get that you absolutely mustn't knock from your hands.

"I tried to get something that wouldn't make a big mess all over your stuff," you usually say, sometimes hacking on a 6guilty little "But~ these just looked so good…" to try and excuse you for bringing something that would cover her desk in crumbs.

Arlecchino doesn't mind because you went to the trouble of getting her something.

She got you a special chair to pull up and everything, and anyone else who uses it can deal with the death glare they get or find a different one.

But perhaps she made that up too, conjuring the image of someone fumbling their way through her office door to greet her with a smile, sometimes with jam on your mouth from taste-testing the gifts that she'll point out to you that you hurriedly wipe on your sleeve and pretend it was never there.

Maybe she put that chair there for nothing, and it never really moves, and each time she thinks this, she is sure this fantasy will all disappear.

However, every evening, without fail, as the sun begins to set out the window and the room is dyed an orange hue, the door opens, and there you are again. Delusions can't possibly be that persistent, and you would've scowled at her when she approached you in the hallways if you weren't aware of this relationship.

So it must be real, which she's well and truly aware of. There must be a person out there who sees what she cannot, someone who, by some miracle, manages to see past the things that block out all of the good. How can a person see anything but someone unworthy of their love?

What else is there to see? 

The idea of a person who deserves to be loved beneath bloodshed has become unthinkable.

For a person who has been exposed to Arlecchino's worst sins, who has seen everything, and whose worst offence in life is a little laziness on the job, how is it possible to look at her and smile?

Arlecchino often wonders as she watches you. She how you go through your routine of placing your things down, whether on the desk or beside them, then all too happily mosey on off to get your chair and drag it over to sit across from her. She doesn't know why it's this particular day that she asks. Perhaps the fact it was weighing on her mind after a recent mission had her list of redeeming qualities shrinking further and further. It is in her job description, and there are plenty of worse people in this world.

But do you deserve to be stuck with one of them?

"Did you ever feel pressured into accepting my feelings for you?" Arlecchino asks the question so suddenly as you're halfway through walking back with your chair that she sees the exact point you register what she said, freezing in place from the shock. "Whether through status or power," she adds.

You blink a few times before all the motion in your world resumes to greet you with the image of her staring you down from the other side of her desk, patient and waiting for your response. "Sorry?" You let the chair go to return alone to her, standing in the place where you always put it. "I don't, uh…follow? I'm sorry, I just— I'm not sure what you mean?"

She hesitates, momentarily glancing down before her age returns to you and your uncharacteristic expression riddled with worry. She must've made you upset again.

"You want to be in this relationship? With me, that is…" Arlecchino struggles to think of the words, saying them as soon as they appear in her mind. "Even though you know the kind of person I am, you still want that?" 

She studies your face as carefully as she can, watching the way you react as you absorb everything you just heard and assumedly try to put a response together in your head. Arlecchino has noticed before how you take longer to speak than her sometimes, but it tends to make everything you say more thought out, though you may end it like you're unsure.

"Well, I mean…if I didn't, wouldn't I just—" you pause for only a second— "break up with you?" There's silence after you finish. She doesn't say or do anything. To Arlecchino, that strangely almost makes sense, but you must be far too bold to admit that to a Harbinger. "It's not that I want to! I'm a little--…well, I think I'm just a little bit confused where that's coming from."

"I was thinking about it." You frown when she admits that. "Some of the things you have seen of me are…" Is there even a word to encompass that? "unbecoming of a lover."

Is that the right way to phrase it?

Again, you pause, and the telltale signs of consideration cross your face. An intense focus that barely lasts, and Arlecchino waits through it all to allow you your chance to answer, intent on allowing you that much. A few seconds more, and your features relax, looking back at Arlecchino with a tender gaze. "There's not really one 'right way', is there?" Your question, though rhetorical, strikes a chord with the many impulsive responses that flood her mind, all of which she keeps to herself. "You just kind of...try your best. Things might work out, or maybe they don't— the point is that you mean well and put in the work."

"That's not enough," she argues, "you deserve better."

"I deserve what I want." Your rebuttal makes sense in theory, but what do you want? She struggles to make sense of that part, the answer muddled by all of her thoughts and lost in her doubts. 

You could ask anything of her, and she would do it. Any material possession, every feeling, more love than you know what to do with in any form you desire—physical, emotional, intimate—and yet you never do. You accept her awkward hugs, that it takes her time to relax when you lay your head on her chest, the fact she sometimes snores, that her clothes may very well be covered in bloodstains when she comes home depending on uncontrollable circumstances.

You never ask for the things she has plenty of power to give you in return for those flaws.

She shakes her head, "but surely you want more."

"I don't."

"There is a lot wrong that you deserve compensation for." 

Arlecchino clenches the pen in her hand tightly, feeling the slight distress of pressure around it. She can't articulate what, not in the way she understands it; flaws is too broad of a term to use. You would instantly know and understand what she meant in a perfect world, but the world is not so generous.

"Like what?" you question. You feel that it’s obvious that nothing Arlecchino will struggle to say will shake you. She opens her mouth, prepared to refute it, headstrong and frankly stubborn as ever, but nothing comes out.

There is silence for a moment, and no one rebuts what you say. Nobody can. The only other person in the room fights with herself to yield and give in to your unwavering loyalty. In your mind, she is everything you want. There is nothing else you can ask of her than to simply accept that you wish to remain with her if only she will allow you to through her own emotional turmoil.

"Are you listening to what I’m saying?" you ask, frown creeping back onto your face as it tugs the corner of your lips down, seemingly against your will, "I could see the worst parts of you and still think you are the most beautiful person I’ve met."

Another chord is struck, her heart beating so loud it thrums in her ears like suddenly becoming aware it’s been threatening to beat out of her chest the entire conversation. She breathes, shaky and caught up in her own surprise. Somehow, she didn’t expect you to be so sweet in your words or throw her off guard so abruptly. She finds it hard to believe them. Arlecchino’s worries haven’t disappeared, only dwindled. It helps, if not completely. There is a reprieve in listening to you.

You have seen the worst of her, every crease she hasn’t ironed out, her sometimes rotten personality, her stained clothes, the weapons she cleans in your home. You have seen her walk to greet you covered in blood and gore from a savage fight, kneel before you and hold your hand with the same hands she uses to kill vagrants and petty criminals, kiss your skin with those lips that spill the vilest of curses against her enemies.

Before she realises what she’s saying, she blurts out a question, "Do you really believe that?" 

It is quiet, reminiscent of how gently you looked at her earlier as her voice barely breaks a whisper, and she can’t bring herself to break eye contact with you once she finds the courage to make it.

"I do." 

You smile at her, hoping she will smile back. A faint smile graces Arlecchino’s lips, ever the handsome picture. Her sincerity is comforting after such a scare. You still worry, and perhaps you will never stop with the way her mind likes to trick her. How long had she thought you secretly looked at her with disgust this time? You fear you won’t have an answer again, though you desperately wish for one. As much as you notice her awkwardness, dismissing some of it and observing other parts with more scrutiny, it is hard to make her talk to you at times.

"Thank you." It is all Arlecchino can think to say in response as she forgets what else she was going to challenge you on. It will return eventually, and she will face it again, but for now, it settles. Arlecchino can reasonably bury her doubt for a time.

"Can we keep talking?" you ask. 

"About anything," she confirms with a nod.

You turn away, walking across the room in pursuit of retrieving your chair from its designated spot by the wall. You pull it along, dragging it over the floor, and set it down across from her on the other side of the desk you’ve been talking across. Your seat welcomes you as it always does as you settle into place, now comfortably at eye level with her.

"In that case," you begin, taking the pen she holds and wriggling it from her hands. She relinquishes it without much of a fight, allowing you to place it off to the side out of the way. "I’m going to ask you how you are, and I would like you to answer me honestly."

"Anything for you, my love."

[nix-xin-art]

//SPOILERS FOR HSR 2.2 STORY

It’s 1AM and I’ve finished the latest update for HSR

So let’s talk about it, and by talk I mean let’s write out a few paragraphs about my wildly running thoughts and feelings about my husbands

FIRST OF ALL, let’s talk about Gallagher. The man that you are, I never stopped being a Gallagher apologist and I’m so happy I didn’t. The fact he’s so laid back and nonchalant about having dormancy as a pet is actually such a serve on his part.

I think Gallagher in particular had a cool little story here, with the introduction of his actual connection to Mikhail being so fucking sad man, I need to give this guy a cwtch because Oml. The scene where he showed his frustrations towards Mikhail were some of my favourites, he gets a little bitter about Mikhails unwavering faith in the express. And in my brain I’ve interpreted that bitterness as a regret that maybe he could’ve done more for him, maybe been something else to have faith in dispite Gallagher not having a faith for himself.

A tasty tidbit that I enjoy from Gallagher is also the fact he calls Sunday ‘Mr Wings’ as a snarky nickname. As a Gallgher enjoyer and a Sunday slapper I enjoy that.

As for why I have ended my friendship with Sunday: Welt.

This is all I have to say, my man wholly trapped welts consciousness in his own to take him as a bargaining chip for the express, eventually hoping to trap the rest of the crew too. I don’t like that.

Im all seriousness though I do like the way all of that was handled. Welt was on his self sacrificial bullshit again and ended up getting himself into possibly detrimental trouble AGAIN. When will this man learn? It’s been 80 something years mr yang, reflect, I beg of you.

Another side tangent. The fact welt immediately understood something was up with Sunday? The fact welt immediately understood there was something wrong with gopherwood. This man never misses and I love it. I’m convinced that the reason he had to be split from the main group in 2.1 was because he would’ve seen through Gallaghers lies in an instant.

Especially since he brought up Gallaghers suspicious history lesson detour as soon as he heard about it.

Im so normal right now oh my god I need to go bounce around the walls for a bit

Also, side side tangent. The scene with the trailblazers and Mica? (Was that his name? The grave keeper in the dreamfulx reef) When welt is mumbling and he just says “huh? Were you talking to me?” I know for a fact that hoyo doesn’t skimp out on the tiny details and even himeko made a noise of confusion in that scene (if I remember correctly of course) but I might be looking too deeply into that.

Also. What is with penacony and having such plot relevant 4* characters. First it was Gallagher, now it’s Misha??? Hello??? I’m loving this 4* love.

NOW ONTO BOOTHILL. I love that guy he’s such a dumbass in all the best ways. I’ve read through the leaks of his story and… oh boy… knowing what k know… ‘I wouldn’t want to interrupt such a long awaited reunion’… currently kaying my ess.

Then there’s Acheron. Acheron has played a huge part in all the story quests of penacony so far and I’m actually starting to really warm up to her, it might’ve been mostly because abuse of her cutscene with Tiernan. That shit pulled at my heartstrings in all the most painful ways. Also the art in these cutscenes???? Hello??? Hoyo are really popping off with these. I was looking at all the little rendering details like a goddamn owl.

Lastly I wanna talk a little bit about the boss battle for this update… specifically the design of that thing… oh my god it’s gorgeous… this massive robot angel that’s also a conductor, it’s such a gorgeous design I just start kicking my feet and rolling around the floor, the boss design in this game is goddamn beautiful. First Phantilia now this.

[lesbiansforboromir]

I am sorry, but LOTRO is...like a LOTR game? The plot is good? It has which characters?

HAH you know that's such a good question, didn't even think to explain it properly.

LOTRO is an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game), think World of Warcraft-esque. It's about 15 years old so it's a little on the dated side graphics wise and it's gameplay is essentially landscape exploration and combat, with group content that goes from three-person dungeons to full 12-person raids.

BEING a 15 year old game the plot is... enormous. Like its hard to even talk about a 'plot' at this point, since there are about 30 different individual storylines for each zone strewn throughout a multitude of quests that see you talking to every character imaginable. Like 'which characters does it have'? all of them, LOTRO has all characters from lotr in it. LOTRO has characters you don't even remember in it. In LOTRO you get major questlines from Denethor's two unnamed elder sisters. In LOTRO they make you care about the men named amongst the dead in the song of lament after the pelennor fields, people you never speak too in the books.

You create a character and choose your race and begin to journey from the furthest west (Ered Luin, the Shire, Bree or Cardolan depending on choices) to the furthest east and act as a side character to the main plot of lotr. You cross paths with the fellowship at various points and develop relationships with all of them, up to and past the death of sauron (currently the game has expanded into Umbar, months after Sauron's defeat in game canon.) All of the game's story is told through quest dialogue, which you have to read, it's a hell of a lot of reading, whether thats reading what people are saying to you when you accept a quest or reading what NPC's are saying to you within quest instances and 'cutscenes'.

So there is an overarching plot, called 'epic book quests', which will take you on this journey, but it is dwarfed by the sheer number of surrounding tales going within each area you visit. Dunland is an excellent example, you have to travel through it to get to Rohan but what you're doing whilst you're there is investing yourself in the struggles, politics, dangers and cultures of the people who live in Dunland. And that is true for every area you visit, which inevitably makes LOTRO a massive worldbuilding and expanding project for middle earth. Like it's really hard to put into words quite how much 'plot' there is in this game. Some of it is good, some of it is not so good, some of it is so good it makes me want to bite the game, some of it is so bad it makes me want to bite the game, you will find 30 favourite plots and 30 hated plots and 100+ more in the middle.

Of course, this means LOTRO also creates it's own characters to fit into the world and get attached too, many of whom I now love and care for just as much as original canon characters. Like fucking Ayorzen. Oh my god. I love Ayorzen. You only meet him at level 110 in mordor and it takes you real life months of questing to reach that point. Not anything repetetive either, you do not grind exp in this game unless you actually want too, there are just that many quests and storylines between you and mordor that it takes you months to finish them all. Are some of the epic book quests kinda superfluous and make you run around way too much? Yes. I don't care about them, the point of lotro is in the smaller stories you find along the way. The game is about being able to walk, by yourself, no loading screens, from the Shire to Mordor and beyond and experience the minutae of middle-earth living whilst you do it. Hope that somehow answers your questions!

Oh it's also a dress up game, forgot to mention that, the lotro devs will disagree but this is a dress up game except you're dressing up TO journey through middle earth and you can unlock multiple outfit slots to customise that you can change your character into whenever you like, no restrictions on what you can put on your outfits regardless of levels or classes so long as you have wardrobe space. Unfortunately the game's armours are ugly as sin until level 50, though happily that's a shorter trip than it sounds, early game goes by much faster than the post-50 stuff.

[subastian-swallows]

HLC ROMANCE — WHAT WE DESERVED

Sebastian Sallow — Head Empty, Thoughts

Hello, my fine friends. I had a thought and I desperately wish to relay it. SIMPLY because — adding romance into this game, would have been so freaking easy and I am mad. So here it is, my interpretation of Hogwarts Legacy if they had the BALLS to add romance. I have a great stand on this, because my two favourite games in the world are Dragon Age and Mass Effect and BOY DO THEY UNDERSTAND ROMANCE. ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)

So let us begin at the very beginning:

If you decide to be in Slytherin, you meet Sebastian in the Common Room. Already he shows clear indication that he is interested in you, albeit, because of your entrance into Hogwarts. Surviving a Dragon? Hello? Points already. If not, you meet him in DADA (officially), if you decide to do Charms first, well no interactions — apart from glances and amusement. WITH THIS: I will go from the DADA stand point, it's already pretty perfect. Sets up Sebastian, at first glance as a cocky, flirty guy. Easy. Having added conversational dialogue here, to tease him or flirt back, would have been easy to add. Such as: teasing his title of being a great duellist etc.

Now you have Hogsmeade. You choose Sebastian, obviously. Now I also believe this was pretty well done — it terms of setting up a friendship and more with Sebastian. HOWEVER, needed more. This is where we needed to see more from the cutscenes, the moment with the troll, flirty banter, PERFECT MOMENT FOR SEBASTIAN TO FLIRT HIS BUTT OFF. "So, you're not just a pretty face." Then with the Three Broomsticks and with Rookwood, it's already pretty good, I wish that the little moments of him looking at you were more obvious. He could have said more, which is the whole point of this post, SEBASTIAN COULD HAVE EASILY SAID MORE.

Pause of the quests to bring up gifts. It has been shown, that it was coded to have been a thing. SAD, that they got rid of it. This is a big thing in Dragon Age, especially in Origins. I think this would have been such a fun thing to do, to have, not only raise friendships — thus making friendships seem more real, rather than just, "hey we are besties now." Example: for Sebastian, it could be gifts you find on your journeys around the outskirts of Hogwarts. Books being a main factor, especially those that you find in Ashwinder camps.

Normal books: x10 romance points

Curse books: x30 romance points

Other small things could be used too. I also think shrivel figs could be something you could often give him, to slightly gain points. It being important to his quest with Anne.

Restricted Section. Hello, I hated how this couldn't have been more flirty LMAO. But I do think it did enough. Especially the ending, with him taking the fall for you. I would have loved to see more moments of him supporting you. Say a cutscene when you enter the restricted section and he holds you back from walking around the corner, before a ghost appears. Other than more flirty dialogue, this quest was pretty good. I still think that although Sebastian is flirty, it's not like he's head over heels for you....yet.

Undercroft, was also good, but like everything it could have been better. I like the idea of him telling you and risking Ominis being pissed, but I think it would have been better IF Ominis caught you both inside. More intense and fun. Before that, I think flirty dialogue could have fitted in so easily here, Sebastian complimenting your quick ability to learn spells, etc. He could also step in and take the heat for you from Ominis.

Meeting the family. Already a big step for a stranger, thus the gifting thing could have really come into play. Perhaps, you couldn't get this until he had a high enough romance level, would also make it seem more "real." This would have been a great place to add more dialogue to support Sebastian, if you wished. Stepping in or not being a complete observer. I understand it's the first time meeting his family, but I think being able to at least step in, would add points to Sebastian's romance. Talking to Anne also, getting insight on Sebastian, bringing it up later in other moments.

Scriptorium. HELLO, this whole quest screamed perfect opportunity for flirty banter. It had some and did well enough, but I would have loved to see more, seeing as at the point, your romance should have improved, point wise. More dialogue. When it's time to curse you, MORE EMOTION. This would have been interesting, if you could manage to get enough relationship points, I like the idea of making it a thing, that you could miss. If you have enough points, he would be more worried, support you to your feet, check you over. If you didn't, it would be like it is now in the game. The ending would be interesting too, if you had the points and maybe he could say something to you, or hug you.

Relic moment. Now I would love to say that having enough romance points would support this not happening, but it needed to happen for the plot, so we shall keep it. I would like to think the lead up to this was already pretty neat, flirty and such. BUT, we needed more, like literally everything else LMAO. When you get to the relic, I'd like to believe, with enough relationship points, you could make him hesitate, and although he takes it. HE, hesitated, meaning he considered what you thought. Being able to get Ominis to let you leave without using a spell, would give you huge relationship points. THIS I THINK WOULD HAVE BEEN NEAT, if you had to make sure at this point, Ominis and your relationship points were high enough, if not....RIP, and you lose points with Sebastian.

The Mine. RIP. I think it was pretty good. Should have been more intense, especially if your relationship was huge by this point. More relationship style dialogue. Making the moment he calls you ignorant, hurt more.

A BETTER APOLOGY BITCH WTF. I think the way he apologised was dumb, I hated it LMAO. If your relationship points were high enough, I think he should have apologised to you in person and more nicer than he did. BUT I do like the angsty, the relic is affecting him thing. The mountain quest was pretty neat, I like that he was a grumpy boy. This could have worked better with romance dialogue, and showing that you were hurt.

Solomon LOL. This would have been SO GREAT IF YOU COULD HAVE ROMANCE POINTS BECAUSE WHAT IF YOU COULD STOP HIM BEFORE IT ALL. Like look, I get killing Solomon, I get that it had to happen. But I like the idea of having romance points high enough to change people minds. In Dragon Age, if you have high enough points you can persuade people, THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THIS GAME UGH. I would have loved to be able to see Sebastian first and persuading him against this. THUS, not killing anyone and Sebastian not becoming a killer.

THE ENDING BITCH: Regardless of everything, when you meet Sebastian in the Undercroft, IT WAS THE PERFECT MOMENT AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A KISS OR HUG MOMENT. LIKE IT WAS THERE, I WAS WAITING FOR IT LMAO. SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDED.

Bonus: A winter ball scene for shits and gigs, if you had enough romance points, you could ask him. If not he goes with someone else. RIP LMAO.

Alright my guys, this was random and I might have missed stuff, but overall, WE NEEDED ROMANCE AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASY.

[urpersonalpublicgalaxy]

in-progress fnaf theory!!! now that ive established fnaf has a space on my blog... :3

prototype freddy.

thats some weird shit right??? well actually no he very well could be perfectly explainable and heres how (in other words i see a lot of confusion over him anddd my brain connected some dots i would like to share!!)

(at the very bottom is tl;dr!!!)

gonna explain the some base info first, but i am assuming some level of understanding of sb and ruin during this however so if ur new to either this might not make sense, sorry :( im gonna ramble a bit so get comfy

princess quest is the canon ending, based on evidence from ruin. this theory is reliant on that

ok so!!!! lets talk about the Vanny option (at the doors, 6am) as choosing this option is mandatory to reach both the vanny ending and the pq ending

when the option is selected everyones least favourite Freddy Gets Trashed cutscene plays, regardless of doing pq or not

yknow...

so!! the damage to him, which is from this scene, happens regardless of vanny ending or pq ending, we just only get to really see it in the vanny ending

heres a good look at that

and now i want you to take a good stare at prototype freddy (especially the arm and torso!!)

the damage is, while a little more extreme (which could easily just be from how much time has passed between sb and ruin) near identical

and his head is missing, which circles back around to the pq ending, in which gregory takes freddys head with him!! small issue- the damage

which is rather clearly completely missing from him in the pq ending. well luckily i can explain this too :3

there are very obviously time gaps in the pq ending cutscene. what we are shown is not *everything* thats happening there. link to a video of the cutscene,,

he leans out the window, takes a look at the staff bots deactivating- and then it cuts to him, standing near the exit, vanessa waiting for him at the door, freddy already in a bag. shit has CLEARLY gone down off screen in that time jump because 1. shes waiting for him and not freaking out, 2. gregory isnt scared shitless of her and freddy trusts her (you cannot convince me freddy would trust her automatically, even if he did at the start of the night. he KNEW that she was vanny,

or at the very least that she was connected with it,

and he still literally instructs gregory on killing her. this is a screenshot from a pq ending playthrough.)

so!! they fixed freddys head

what better way for gregory to trust vanessa than her helping to fix the one consistent friend & safety hes had in that whole place?? besides, at this points its mandatory that hes done the power upgrade plus roxys eyes and either montys or chicas parts, so hes got SOME experience at least, not to mention that repairs seem to be intentionally incredibly simple in design (probably so they dont have to get employees with actual qualifications... lets be honest, makes sense considering the company we're talking about.)

however-- the damage done is something considerably different than before, and doesn't have a built-in routine, which does pose some entirely new challenges, and before he atleast had some direction from hand unit.

so of course, vanessa who is an **actual employee** probably comes in handy here!! especially considering the fact freddy himself would be 'dead' for most of it-- since thats what happens at the end of the vanny ending cutscene, he shuts down

anyways its entirely believable that this kid would want to get his new father figure fixed first and foremost (hes gone out of his way just for freddy before, and vice versa) and that she would want to help him in any way possible after yk, being murderous.. and entirely believable that this would be possible to do. and, it explains the level of trust shown in the cutscene :)

and the course of action with 'ok take his head off', it makes sense the rest of his body wouldn't be salvagable, with it beyond either of their qualifications (since vanessa is a security guard and not a technician) and most importantly, probably impossible for either of them to actually move. and vanessa was literally talking shit to him headless earlier, not to mention gregory having to reattach it- theyre both familar to some degree with the idea of him working without his body connected

tl;dr: prototype freddy isnt another model or some weird shit, its just his leftover corpse lmao couldnt be me

PLEASE please join in the discussion; this theory is NOT foolproof and while i could explain how the prototype mark and present in his chest wouldve gotten there, ive got many reasons why and nothing concrete to say which one of them is accurate!!! (if anyones interested, i can reblog with my current ideas on that ^_^)

[poko-no-spoko]

I love how crunchy tou draw kazuha

Hehe thanks!! >:D

This will be a long answer cause I think I'll use the opportunity to write few words about my thoughts on drawing Kazu:

It's actually funny because I somehow always remembered him being such a soft and positive character from the very start, but then someone streamed to me playing through the Inazuma Prologue (where he and the region are introduced) and HE WAS SO DIFFERENT then i remembered, pretty sarcastic and really rough at times (he literally threatens the Shogun like it's nothing?? 😭 and that thief guy--) and did not have the same warmth he had in later quests (especially the latest encounters have been SO WHOLESOME) until the last scene of that quest, with the backstory animation with Tomo which opens him up a lottt

I absolutely love drawing that guy, but it was pretty funny to see my first impression was somehow so different from what it should have been? And how different he is written at the moment in general (I absolutely adore how wholesome he is :'D) But I guess I sometimes also keep the original encounter in mind when I draw him haha

In the end he feels to me like this, hmm mystical poetic character that is actually just a normal guy trying to live a happy life haha, complaining like everyone else and with really strong sense of reason, and under all these sophisticated words and metaphors he resonates to me as very very human

Well, I really really like where his arc has been going and how they handled the character in general! Can't wait to see him hopefully soon and you can expect many more drawings then >:D

Just adding a random sketch from a year ago, since I have tons of these :p If i remember correctly, it's just referenced from the GAA cutscene last summer

And as you probably know he is my absolute favourite hehe

[aotopmha]

I have finished Dawntrail!

I will have a spoiler-free post (this one) and a spoiler-y post (probably one of my following ones) of my very general thoughts.

If there's a wish to avoid even this kind of post, then the warning is here.

For spoiler-free impressions, I will say that I did notice a bigger inconsistency in terms of the voice work.

The final boss had straight-up flat delivery that didn't exist in most cutscenes for ALL voice actors.

Everyone is also mostly fine when talking normally, but when yelling or stronger feelings are needed, especially the newest actors feel strangely off.

Wuk sounded absolutely fine and consistent in 6.55, but there were points where she just sounded really flat in the actual expansion.

I'm also in the camp that the credits theme sounded off. The chorus was fine (and the same track was completely fine when used in a couple of other cutscenes), but the main vocalist sounded really off. It took me out of what was otherwise a very solid final stretch of story. And the singer has done some great stuff before!

It's all really odd and I didn't think I would have these complaints ever again after A Realm Reborn because the voice work since then has ranged from good to amazing.

I'm really curious about what's going on behind the scenes.

FF14's vocal tracks have been weak at points to me, but not once have I felt a vocalist sounded absolutely awful.

Otherwise this expansion is up there in terms of the soundtrack, might be my favourite so far. Incredibly strong all the way through aside from the vocalist in this single track.

The graphics update has done wonders to endear me to the world and this will be the first expansion I will absolutely max out the FATEs for perhaps even just this reason alone. It's a miracle how much more strongly you can sell a world with better lighting and just a little bit more object density.

The content itself is also absolutely fantastic - if the story really bores you, I at least recommend skipping through it to do the dungeons and trials and maybe go back for the story via New Game+. The encounter design is refreshing, from a whole bunch of new mechanics to more interesting fodder enemy usage.

The class changes, while feeling relatively minor have felt like really good smoothing out of awkward elements.

I especially feel this with Dragoon, and as much as I miss Plunge, Dark Knight's new ability animations alone go a long way to add to that smoother feel, as well.

i also adore Viper, which I think is my favourite melee out of the ones I've played. Simple, but speedy and satisfying to play.

I will absolutely still remain a DRK main in a general sense, though.

Will be running dungeons to get everyone along all of the game.

Finally, I think the story came together really nicely by the end, with some interesting threads left behind.

It is much more simple than Shadowbringers and Endwalker, but I think it was still effective. As I've said in previous posts, it's just really thematically strong and followed that strength right to the end, even if I have varied opinions on all of the characters.

In terms of immediate impressions, content-wise (dungeons and trials in particular), as far as base expansions go, I'd place it above ARR, Heavensward and probably Endwalker (Endwalker's solo duties rocked and narrative and gameplay integration is still unmatched, but the encounter design itself isn't as distinct).

Story-wise I'd probably place it above A Realm Reborn and Stormblood because it has a similar spirit of exploration with much better pacing within its individual areas. Every time I felt the story started dragging in its own ecosystem, it moved on and the answers by the end were satisfying and made sense while ARR and StB actually didn't have that many mysteries to even think about, so had much less impetus to at least seek those out.

It had no Labyrinthos, Ruby Sea, Moogle quest or Mt. Gulg setup. But it wasn't as complex in terms of character writing as Endwalker, Shadowbringers and to some extent even Heavensward and Stormblood.

Though, as said, this is only speaking in terms of the base expansions, the only comparison I can make. Because the patch content did amazing narrative things for both Heavensward and Stormblood in particular in my eyes.

(I actually have no idea what to expect from the Dawntrail patches. Which is, once more, both super exciting and scary because the threads left behind are pretty much a complete mystery.)

So in a general sense, I'm an early Dawntrail defender. I enjoyed it a lot. It truly felt special as my very first on-content expansion, too.

Now on to the optional dungeons!

(Have heard some great impressons on them!)

[lindleland]

And just like that, I'm done with Moon.

I was worried that I'd end up disliking this on a replay but it was much better than I'd remembered. Honestly one of my favourite games in the series.

These are still some of the best characters in the series, it has one of the best batches of new Pokemon they ever introduced, and you have a great set of team options throughout the game without it ever feeling like they're giving you too many options. I feel like the last couple entries have been maybe a bit too generous with the Pokemon you can get early on plus giving you enough XP to easily raise multiple teams, making each playthrough seem kind of indistinct. This one hits the perfect balance.

The region looks goddamn gorgeous and I love the aesthetic of these 3D models, there's a good balance between detail in the models and pixellated textures that have a real low-poly charm to them.

And this is still probably the best plot in the series, barring maybe Scarlet and Violet's.

I do have one big criticism though, and that's that this game is overwhelmingly handholdy. I think a lot of the changes to the formula were a good idea, but incorproating a strict linear plot with exactly one quest marker at a time makes this really feel like you aren't on your own journey, you're being guided through a series of preset objectives. So many roadblocks in this feel aggressively guiding, like the game is saying "this is NOT the way to progress the story, go follow your quest marker NOW", and there are very few opportunities to go off the beaten path. Additionally, while I do like the cutscenes, there are way too many of them. You can hardly enter anywhere new in this game without a cutscene happening.

With that being said, I still had a fantastic time here. And in fairness, Sword and Shield had similar problems outside of the Wild Areas despite barely even having a plot.

Glad I'm putting some good distance between this and Ultra Moon, though. Probably the worst pair of games to play through back to back given how little freedom there is in the experience. I'll be playing through the Violet DLC whenever I can afford it, but the other games in my immediate replay lineup are physical copies on old hardware that I can't screenshot on. Once we get back to the 3DS era though I'll probably liveblog Alpha Sapphire and Ultra Moon as well.

...Though I'm not really done with this liveblog yet, since Moon has (holy shit) an actual substantial postgame! Stay tuned.

[lopsicle]

I’m going to rant about this because I need someone to rant about this too.

The Fnaf movie did Cassidy so dirty.

First of all, they decided to turn her into a boy for seemingly no reason other then it’s easier to understand who possesses who, but I think it would still be clear to have a girl possessing a male animatronic, audiences are gonna get that. It also helps prove that Fnaf really cannot write female characters, Charlie was fucked over in the book series, Vanessa’s entire character revolves around breaking free from Glitchtrap which is a plot point we were somehow still on in Help Wanted 2, and Cassidy is criminally underutilised. Elizabeth and Baby are the only solid written characters, and even then Baby is fucked over by the books. They do have some okay characters, like Cassie, Abby and Movie Vanessa but even then, they’re either under-utilised and we don’t know much about them, or their stories aren’t finished yet so it’s hard to comment on them.

Second of all, adding onto the point of characters being under-utilised, where was Cassidy for the whole film? She is the one of the most important spirits of the entire franchise and in the film, he is the one to communicate with Mike but he’s never part of the group. Same with Fritz honestly, those two are excluded for seemingly no reason but Cassidy wasn’t even there for William’s death. Sure, he stood in the doorway in the movie but in the games, she was directly responsible for springlocking him and they couldn’t even let her have that, they gave it to the cupcake.

And third of all, why the fuck did she try to kill Abby? I get that the movie had the whole plot point of the spirits not knowing William had killed them but even then, Cassidy is an incredibly vengeful spirit. She knows what’s it like to have her life ripped away from her so carelessly and cruelly and she’s yet a-fucking-okay with trying to springlock Abby. Just comparing movie Cassidy to game Cassidy shows just how awful movie Cassidy’s character writing is.

Cassidy shows up, he talks with Mike and says he’s going to kill his sister, shows up at Abby’s house, kills her aunt, lures her to the restaurant, attempts to springlock her which is just an agonising death, isn’t there for killing William and just stares at him.

Now if we compare this to the Cassidy in the games, she was most likely killed via springlock failure caused by William, yet still tried to help his family. She actively spoke with the Crying Child and Michael, showing she’s not just blinded by revenge, she was a genuinely kind person. Her being the one to springlock William makes so much sense narratively because it was the same way he killed her, and makes the moment so much more impactful. From then, she helps to put the Crying Child to rest and presumably the rest of the Missing Children, in some theories about the lore, she even communicated with Henry and helped him. And of course, she is the one who sets up UCN to torture her killer, making him live through every mistake of his life. But this doesn’t allow her to rest, or anyone else and we can interpret that she let him go due to the story, ‘The Man in Room 1280,’ where William’s corpse explodes, implying he was set free and the cutscene where Cassidy faded into the dark. AND EVEN THEN, the Princess from Princess Quest is called ‘Cassidy’ in the files, showing that she is still here and trying to help Vanessa because she is a good person.

Movie Cassidy is none of these things and only served to make Cassidy even more unknown as a character. She is so misused by the games, by the franchise and deserves better because she is my favourite and deserves a proper character after everything she has done.

Also obviously, don’t send hate to the actor of movie Cassidy, he’s like nine

[sometipsygnostalgic]

World vs Rise - Multiplayer focused breakdown

This is a crosspost from Reddit. I played some World this morning and had some monster hunter brainrot.

Hi all! So I have about 750 hours on my main characters in both games, and I've been playing them for 2 years now. I have some thoughts on the multiplayer components - what Rise improved on, and what World does better.

I have played base Rise on the Switch and PC, and I played Sunbreak on PC. Meanwhile I played World WITH Iceborne on PC. I played base World on Xbox One in the distant past, no memory of that experience so it shouldn't quality much.

I played both games with a group of friends, and played many many hours doing SOS, lobby, or solo, so I have a good idea of how the multiplayer works.

Anyway let's get down to it.

Story

World has... much more of a story. I refuse to say that it's "better" but I think the story presentation is much better than Rise's. Iceborne's story progression is more interesting, but I do appreciate how Sunbreak tried to write this story with all the Qurio and Malzeno. I do like Rise's final fight with Malzeno significantly more than Velkhana or Fatalis, but I think I like Shara Ishvalda and Nergigante more than any monster from Rise. As for the characters, they suck ass in both games, Rise has a lot more personality on the surface level but less depth overall and feels less like a large living world. That makes sense from an arcadey, nostalgic experience? I guess I prefer World's story... but I don't prefer playing it.

Multiplayer Story Progression

Rise DRASTICALLY improved this. In World I often would be forced to start a quest in "expedition mode", then have to leave and reopen the quest my friend could join, which was especially annoying when we were both starting the quest the first time and we'd have to wait for each other. I don't understand why it doesn't allow you to start quests or join them freely. In Rise you can join each other's quests at any point, no matter if there are story cutscenes or what. IMO this is an example of World's immersion getting in the way of a cohesive multiplayer experience.

Additionally, I need to say World has more "annoying" Key Quests. There are a number of quests where nobody will join SOS because you're fighting a Nightshade Paolumu, or a Brachydios, or one of the crappy Zorah Magdaros quests, and that one Velkhana artillery mission.

I believe that this is because the quests have one of these two factors:

You need to change your set for them. Nobody wants to fight Nightshade Paolumu or Brachydios with their normal set because it's too painful. But why would you have a specific set just to join these not very interesting SOS quests? Well, I made a set for Nightshade just because I find it so frustrating that my SOS feed is full of 'em! I should set up for Brachydios as well but honestly I find him annoying to fight even with the right tools, not my favourite.

Time spent on the quest. Velkhana artillery is like 30 seconds with three people, and Zorah Magdaros is about one minute of fighting to ten minutes of downtime so nobody ever wants to join it.

With Rise, there's less of these annoying quests, but you can't CONTROL what quest you are joining on an SOS, which has its pros and cons. I'll go more into that shortly.

Normal Multiplayer Pacing

I think that Rise is a much, much faster game than World. In base Rise on Switch, you had to run into a match and attack the monster as fast as possible or it'd be dead before your palamute got there. This is mitigated when you're playing with friends, you can take your time and collect as many spiribugs as you want. It's also somewhat mitigated in Sunbreak because the monsters are such heavy hitters that if you DON'T get all the bugs, you're going to faint anyway. I feel like the game is constructed to accomodate for this. That's why monsters in Sunbreak are so tanky and hard hitting, they expect you to go at them with your full arsenal ASAP.

The pacing in World is much slower, which originally drove me insane, but over time I've grown to like it. I think base Rise was great for how arcadey it was, and World is a nice slower paced game. Sunbreak feels... too intense. Like, I'm fighting for my life in every Anomaly quest and even when I rush the match takes a long time.

Joining World SOS quests is nice and easy, you can take your time collecting potions and stuff before hopping in, you can prepare for the specific monster. In Sunbreak if you're playing in a lobby or with friends it's nice and slow there too. If you're SOSing in sunbreak, good fucking luck, more on that now.

SOS Request Changes

In World, you see all available SOS quests and choose what one you want to do. The pros of this are YOU get to decide if you want to fight Rathalos in the Ancient Forest again. The cons are that it takes longer to join a quest, and the person SOSing may not get any help if they're fighting an annoying monster - see Multiplayer Story Progression section.

In Rise, you don't see what you're joining anymore.

Pros: Faster join time for player, less faffing around in menus, and you can get people joining your quests no matter what they are. People get rewards no matter how late they join. Great especially for Switch players with the higher playercount.

Cons: You can't choose what you're doing. You can't see what quests are active, how long they've been going, or how many players are in them. Often I find that I join a quest and it's OVER already and I'm booted back to the village. Often I choose a category and there are no quests at all.

Uber Mega Con: You have to INDIVIDUALLY SEARCH Event quests??? Hello???? Why can't I join a random event quest? Why can't I see what event quests are open?? I want to do the golden Rajang quest with other people!! I have to pray that either someone is running it when I search for it, or that someone will search for it when I'm running it! Why is the event quest SOS designed this way in Sunbreak?! It's not like that for High Rank and Master Rank!

I feel this worked best when the game first launched. It doesn't work great on PC or Xbox which has a lower playercount than Switch, and therefore you will have a lot of quests with four people and a lot of quests with nobody joining at all. I think matchmaking is also designed so that it waits til it has 3 joiners before letting you in all at the same time, which is infuriating.

Combat

Base World was designed for the immersive, technical multiplayer experience that the PS4 wanted to sell. It wanted the world to feel alive. Your character is quite slow and clunky and less elaborate than in Generations Ultimate, but smoother as well. Combat is updated but everything is more muted and toned down.

Monsters feel alive, and you need to track them down with research. They run around with quick small movements and "limp" away to their dens. This can be annoying if you're chasing a Tobi Kadachi for ten minutes before it reaches its next stopping point. There are a lot of monsters with fast, unchoreographed attacks that you have to fight in enclosed spaces. I think the game is a bit more claustrophobic than what came before, and your stamina meter is outrageously small, and you take a long time to drink potions. Let's not forget how annoying World and Iceborne can be before you've completed them and got that sexy double HP double stamina Fatalis armor with Speed Eater and Evade Extender.

Attacks from the player in World are faster than in prior games, but hard hitting and deliberate. I feel a lot of satisfaction playing Longsword in this game. Every single weapon is fun to use because of how good the impact is. Not all weapons are equal though, and it's clear the Longsword is very powerful.

People complain about the Clutch Claw. In World, this tool was an unreliable piece of trash. In Iceborne, it's... almost necessary, to tenderize and knock monsters down. But personally I feel that even a non clutch clawed monster in World falls down more quickly than any Anomaly monster in Sunbreak.

Rise was designed for the fast paced, agile, arcadey experience that the Nintendo Switch is famous for. It's PERFECT for the console. You can ninja-hop to whatever direction you wish, you have so many more options for every single weapon. You can hop on your dog and the monster is already on your map. You can change what style you're using every moment of the match! It's almost limitless and you can tell because of how crazy speedruns have gotten in Sunbreak.

As a result of these arcadey changes, however, monsters feel... less alive. Closer to Generations but without the paintball tracking stuff that makes it so fun (in MY opinion). In Sunbreak especially, you'll find you're wailing on some monsters for 25 minutes before they go down. I don't enjoy Anomaly Quests and it's very difficult to get people joining them at certain level areas. You'll be spending a lot of time alone, especially if your friends have been playing more or less than you and are in completely different levels, therefore being unable to fight the same monsters. I don't think there's many areas in other games that have the same problem of, if you spend too much or little time in a certain mode, you can no longer play together.

Buffs and Nerfs in Rise

Some weapons got do-overs. The Hunting Horn is now far more simple and aggressive, with less powerful but still useful buffs. The Longsword started off as ridiculously powerful in Base Rise, to the extent it was by far the best weapon. Thankfully it got nerfed, but I think they overdid it - instead of making the weapon more slow and deliberate like in World, they simply HALVED the damage output of all its base game special attacks and gave it a bunch of new powers so you'd have a whole new playstyle. I think the new Longsword playstyle is too risky, with too little gain. It looks stylish in youtube videos but is no longer optimal for most players.

Other weapons are buffed or nerfed because of how Sunbreak plays. The Hammer is a dogshit weapon, sorry, because monsters no longer keep their heads in one place long enough for you to get some good stun damage. Stun in general has been hard nerfed in Sunbreak. In Rise, Sticky Light Bowgun was a beast, so they made sure to keep the stun values for ALL weapons low in Sunbreak and you'd be lucky to get two stuns in a match, even with how much time is spent in combat now.

The Greatsword got some fun skills, but because monsters are more mobile, I feel that it doesn't keep up. You're likely to hit something with a TCS in World, but in Sunbreak most monsters will already be 20 metres away by the time you finish charging, even with the cool new switch skill that lets you instantly charge.

The Gunlance... it's way more mobile but I feel like you need to put in a great deal of work to keep up with other weapons. The blast damage doesn't do it in sunbreak. My partner became a Gunlance Pro but she was barely keeping up with my Switch Axe output even though frankly she's way better at the game than me and she spent dozens of hours perfecting her set.

The Switch Axe, my main weapon, is ASTRONOMICALLY buffed. I already thought it was good in World and Base Rise, and in Sunbreak it's just... *chefs kiss*... Swing that thing around and everything in the area dies.

It's certainly way less effort than Longsword or Hammer is now, RIP.

Monsters

Sunbreak has perhaps the BEST list of monsters in any game. You have Astalos, Mizutsune, Almudron, Chamelos, Velkhana, Amatsu, Azuros, PRIMORDIAL MALZENO, basically everything you could want. World had a problem where a lot of monsters were just... quadripedic dogs or dragons, dragons, dragons. It didn't have anything like Azuros or Astalos. It had Jyuratados though... Great....

I think that Rise's NEW monsters tend to be annoying. I just mentioned Almudron but fucking hell, that monster is a NIGHTMARE if you're playing Greatsword or any slow weapon. It leaves mud everywhere, which is meant to encourage wirebug use, but what if you don't like using wirebugs all the time? Magnamalo is another one that hops around everywhere but I do enjoy fighting him.

Of the monsters that didn't make the crossover, I think Nergigante is my favourite from World. I love the CRUNCH of hitting his spikes with my Switch Axe or Greatsword, or my Gunlance. I feel nostalgic for the raid bosses like Safi or Alatreon but it's not like I rush to go back to them whenever I load up World.

I also think due to the more arcadey, less immersive style of Rise, most monsters that are in both games are more interesting in World. With exception to Zinogre. Fuck World Zinogre. And fuck Teostra. Again the monsters in World have more fast annoying movements.

So yeah this is a win for Sunbreak!

Endgame combat and set building

I feel the non-anomaly Sunbreak monsters are less annoying than lategame normal Iceborne. I think tempered monsters in Iceborne are about the same level as anomaly monsters, but they go down much more quickly.

I think World had a LOT more going for it in endgame, because Sunbreak ONLY has anomaly quests.

Let me put it this way:

I completed Iceborne about 200 hours into World. Then I spent the next 500 hours doing a combination of Tempered Quests for my decorations, Safijiva, Fatalis, Alatreon, and of course the Guiding Lands. In the Guiding Lands I trained my land to fight every monster at least a few times at level 6. Was it grindy? A... little bit? It didn't feel that grindy. I had fun doing it because almost every step was done with my friend, and there was only a brief time where he was too high level and I couldn't go to his land.

Fatalis, I don't like. I couldn't beat it twice. Thankfully there was an exploit that allowed me to collect fatalis eyes with my cats, so I was able to build a few sets just from that. I used various methods to get the parts I needed.

I was able to build a set for every single weapon shortly after unlocking Fatalis. Yes, the decoration farming was a bit of a grind. However, I think that it was nothing close to what awaited me in Sunbreak...

I compled Sunbreak about 120 hours into the game? I really didn't spend much time in High Rank. Anyway, I spent the NEXT 600 HOURS doing NOTHING except for Anomaly Investigations, and I AM STILL NOT AT RANK 300.

Please send help. I never hit level cap. It's just... a combination of failed quests, the amount of time it took to gain a couple of levels, the time it takes to complete each quest... Save me!!

I also spent a lot of time trying to "perfect" my sets.

FYI - I have about 20 sets in World and they are all for different weapons. I have about 20 sets in rise and they are all for THE SAME WEAPON. That is how complex set building is in Rise, there's no "perfect" set.

This has some... pros? I guess? You are encouraged to try out different things. But honestly... I don't like the RNG involved in rolling for parts, and how you have to go hunt the monster again to get a new version of that part, then spend resources upgrading it for a different set. It's... too overwhelming. Too complicated.

Maybe I should've hacked in parts, to make this part of the game more enjoyable, but I was doing it with my partner, and she is very competitive so I didn't want to cheat. I also didn't want to be banned or anything for using hacked rolls.

When I completed BASE Rise on Switch, I immediately made a set for every weapon! It was fun. I was able to quickly join matches and try them out, and I'd always have the parts ready because of how simple it was to join matches when the game was at its most popular.

I think the biggest problem with Rise's endgame is that they didn't have enough development budget to make something as meaningful and deep as World's Guiding Lands, so instead they artificially padded it out with all these Anomaly Investigations.

Overall

My opinions on the two games shifted as I became more experienced. At first, it felt like Rise was smoother at everything, but when I put more hours into World, I got used to all the annoying parts and became fully immersed. Then when I put more hours into rise and Sunbreak, the cracks started to show, reaching a breaking point where I put down the game and haven't played it in months since the final monster released.

I think Rise is a better casual, arcadey, fun game to play with your friends, making it perfect for the Nintendo Switch. Sunbreak tries to be something more. It succeeds in some ways, like more complicated combat, but trying to be as hardcore in Sunbreak as you are in World will result in a pretty miserable experience.

World is the worse casual game, by a biiiig margin, but the much better game to sink 700 hours into with your friends beating all the endgame content. It's perfect for hardcore gamers once you get past the annoyances of the Base World story missions.

My more casual friends preferred Rise, it was more digestible for them, but once I got properly into the game, me and my hardcore MH friend much prefer World. It's more fun for us to go back to. It's nice and slow so we can take our time to enjoy it, rather than racing to complete objectives so we can continue grinding AR or whatever the fuck.

[milktian]

WuWa spoilers under the cut!! I just finished I think the first act? I just need to get this off my chest. There's still a lil more but ill probs edit this when i finish that yippee

EDIT: so there wasn't a lil more they just stick your character in a chair and when you get out quest over. Lil weird but alright.

So. The story itself is intriguing - the exposition dumps really weren't great tho like my eyes kept glazing over but i think I got the general gist. It isn't the strongest start, but I can only hope it gets better from here cause i still really really enjoyed myself.

I'm not sure if I was meant to do Lingyang's quest earlier + meet Yuanwu earlier cause they just kinda,,, showed up in the final stretches and like i've never met them in the story before. It was a lil jarring

Also.

Havoc Rover.

One-winged Angel Rover..... i want to wait until enough time has come out but you know i'm drawing that. I do need to get a handle on his playstyle though im so used to spectro rover jfdnjkhdilk

The Threnodian (?) Puppet (??) boss was literally so cool i can already see WuWa's enemy designs being in my top top favourite of enemies designs and I am not even kidding. It was so like,,,,, cool and freaky and oufjdjsglfk gushing about them. I wish there was a way to see that model somewhere like in an archive but im begging i wanna look at it when im not fighting for my life.

Also side note: the fighting in general, combined with enemy designs weirdly reminds me of the dark souls games??? Like to me it feels like it smooshed genshin + dark souls together and y'know what, i needed that. Ik it's stupid to compare it to dark souls just cause it has a dodge + parry mechanic and the enemies, but i don't know how my brain works dude. it just does that

Also the domain was sick as shit im so ill rn. You can't use cameras in the domains i think (rip) so this was the only one i got. I also hope they have the cutscene on yt or something cause there's like one frame which is gonna replace my argenti wallpaper (sorry bb)

The new area - Norfolk Barrens - also looked super cool. I adore wuwa's environmental design. I've only been through it during the story, but I'm excited to explore. Once I'm free of story and quest stuff, I'm gonna go on my 100% everything spree like in genshin lmao

I'm tempted to pull for Jiyan but I kinda wanna save? he is super fun but I'm trying to be more like,,,, ig reserved when it comes to pulling in case there's someone who I prefer later on. I wanna focus on building lingyang + Havoc Rover for now. I don't care too much about the meta but i still wanna survive in combat yknow

despite the bugs and stuff i've encountered, im having a super fun time and can't wait to see where it goes!!

[wetcatspellcaster]

Same BG3-> dragon age anon: you said you liked to talk about it last time so please give me your full opinion if you are passionate🫶🏽 many thanks

hello anon!

this is a very open-ended, and dangerous question! to be honest, there is a lot to dismantle and unpick about Dragon Age until there's nothing left to enjoy (I actually love critiquing it though, jokes on them I love to be a hater). But! If I'm focusing on the positives!

What Dragon Age is to me, is 'what I wanted skyrim to be when I played it'. This is no shade on Skyrim, it's just that that was the first fantasy rpg I ever tried, and I'm just not a sandbox girlie. I got increasingly frustrated with Skyrim, claiming I wanted to feel like I'd impacted the world and that my decisions had consequences. What I wanted, in hindsight, was D&D, but my friend turned to me and said 'have you played dragon age?' and thus a mental illness was born.

I honestly think BG3 knowingly borrowed many of the things Dragon Age is still loved by its fandom for. I also think it did a lot of them better, simply through the grace of being 10 years newer than Inquisition (and not being owned by EA!) But for me, the split between 'adventuring' and 'home space cutscenes', the focus on companion quests, relationships based in approval, and romances are all things that are done in a clear understanding of what made Dragon Age so popular. BG3's endings for each companion are more starkly contrasted and nuanced, but I liked playing Dragon Age and seeing my games altered depending on my choices. Again, here I'm not saying Dragon Age is perfect! I think the BG3 romances are more solid across the board compared to Dragon Age, and the only game that I think has a comparative '100% hot' rate is Dragon Age Origins. But the reason there's such a huge crossover in the fan bases is bc Dragon Age did a lot of it first! Bioware as a developer is heralded in academic video game criticism for being one of the first studios to encourage parasocial relationships with its fictional characters, and to use affective relationships with these figures as a way of deepening your immersion and the perceived 'realism' of a videogame world.

My other favourite thing about Dragon Age is it's buckwild wizard politics! Mages (in the first three games) are placed in 'circles', which are essentially magic school prisons bc mages are too dangerous to be out in society. The tensions surrounding 'mage rights' are the subject to many memes in the fandom, but I think it's genuinely one of the most interesting parts of the world that runs through all 3 games. The concept of the Circles really appeals to the part of me that occasionally falls prey to Dark Academia (and one of my fave authors NK Jemisin agrees with me, she used them as one of her inspirations for her award winning series The Broken Earth!)

I think the reason I write fanfic primarily for videogames is because the nature of gaming code and the way videogames work as texts means there is always gaps left by the slightly utilitarian approach to storytelling (dialogue options you wish you could change, choices you wish you could make, parts of the world you wish you could explore more directly). My first fic ever (!) was a Dragon Age fic about the Rite of Tranquility, an aspect of the world that is often quite plot relevant but then never really dug into bc of who the protagonists of each game are, where mages are cut off from the dream realm that gives them their magic forcibly, like a cauterised wound. I really loved this element of the story as a fantasy device, and I daydreamed about how that experience would impact an individual... 3 years later, covid hit, and a fic was born!

so yeah! I just think dragon age is neat! and in typical-me fashion, I like the way its wizards work :)

[lurkdragonstuff]

It is 2022, and there is time for Potion Permit.

Maybe not, like. A lot of time. But enough.

In this twist on the farming sim genre, you are a chemist (read: alchemist) from the capital of a vaguely steampunk country, sent to the remote island of Moonbury as an olive branch to the community. Many years ago, chemists wreaked havoc on the island's flora, and the bad blood still lingers.

As the new local chemist, you spend your days gathering ingredients from the local flora and fauna for your potions so you can treat the townsfolk when they fall ill. The townspeople are pretty standard vaguely-steampunk folks, though out in the boonies and so more reliant on traditional trades than it's implied the big city folk are. Like any good farming sim, there's a dating sim element, too: some of the townsfolk are romancable.

It's all very cozy and reminiscent of the early days of a Stardew Valley game, where gathering wild resources provides a supplement to your farm as you get your feet under you.

Except...

Well, that really is all the game is built around. To explain, it's a very shallow experience compared to your Stardew Valley or your Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons. In particular, it really suffers from the lack of any real in-game calendar.

One of the big draws of these kinds of games - farming sims and close relatives - is the wish fulfillment of getting out into nature and feeling its rhythms. And on the nuts-and-bolts gameplay side of things, these kinds of games rely on the feeling of time passing and natural cycles to break up the monotony of the gameplay loop. For example: sure you might still be farming the same nine squares you tilled in spring, but it's autumn now and the harvest festival is around the corner, and after that will be winter so if you don't have a greenhouse you'd better be ready for mining.

Potion Permit does have an in-game week and the characters have schedules based on it, but there's no real sense of time passing. It doesn't have to be a four-seasons temperate climate or anything (the development team is the Indonesian MassHive Media, so a wet/dry season system would've been pretty cool) but without it, the game becomes an unending samey drone after a while. There are no festivals or birthdays to look forward to. Potion ingredients don't cycle. Hell, diseases don't cycle: characters just come down with random ailments that usually don't have anything to do with each other.

As for the townsfolk themselves, eh, they're fine. There were, I think, a few baffling decisions about who's romancable and who isn't (whyyyy is the farmer not romancable, his mother is even trying to get him hooked up with somebody), and I sense some amount of 'swing and a miss' with their handling of sensitive topics and mental health concerns. Still, it's a small indie team, and for me at least I can forgive it as a sincere effort with some rough edges.

That said, the relationship system is pared down compared to other games in the genre. No one has any favourites: everyone gets the same gift of the local tea, which you earn for treating patients and for completing relationship quests. The romances never advance past dating, either. And the event flags for the main quest and for relationships are completely decoupled: I dated my former rival and got his relationship to that point before doing a few endgame things, and this wasn't acknowledged At All. It does let you romance whoever you want regardless of gender, at least, and perhaps because of the shallow system you can date multiple characters without issue.

Speaking of the endgame, the game just kind of... peters out, storywise. Oh, there's a party when you Become The Local Hero, but it doesn't take any ingame time and you don't even rest after it. There isn't even a credits roll. You're just booted out of the party cutscene to outside of the tavern with the same ingame time as when you started.

For all my misgivings, though, I enjoyed most of my time with Potion Permit. I don't think I'll be buying it (I borrowed it from the library for my Switch), but it occupied the time and felt nice while it lasted. Not really recommended, but not really not recommended, either.

[osterby]

Baldur's Gate 3, via Osmosis

So I think I played the first Baldur's Gate game for like an hour at a friend's house back in college, and all I remember about it was how delighted I was by the miniature giant hamster. I didn't even know there was a second game until I started hearing people get excited about the third one. That's about the sum of my knowledge of this franchise.

So without more ado, here's what my tumblr dash has taught me about these blorbos (I got @malaloba to huck the screenshots at me, so I didn't spoil myself on the names)

I want to say this one is Shadowheart, but that's too on the nose. She's probably .... Mythrin... Mithras... Mithotyn... Nope, I haven't got it.

She looks grouchy, and like she has a very good reason to be grouchy, and I would assume she's a combat class from her armour, but that's all I've got.

Gale (or Halsin) I know this one! He's the one who turns into a bear in The Cutscene that broke the internet for a few days. That means he'd be a Druid, right? I think he cross classes or something, though.

I hope the furries are having a great time drawing him as an anthro bear with a very large weenie.

Astarion! This vampire twink was all over my dash long before the game was released. Apparently he has a tragic backstory and is a jerk about it in a way that is either annoying or endearing, depending on the player's opinion of vampire twinks. His main role in the game, however, seems to be comically failing to pick locks. This means he's a Thief. Apparently the thing with the bear just had Astarion as the player character, and he isn't canonically dating the bear guy. Oh well.

Halsin (or Gale) The Other One who is Not a Bear. I would have said Bard for his class, but he's glowing a bit much for that here, so maybe a caster? I feel like he's more popular in areas of Tumblr that don't cross my dash.

Karlach or Karlak or something (not Karkat, that's a Homestuck thing).

Lesbians love her! She is large and angry and apparently really easy to romance just by approving of her chopping things with her axe. I think she was a child soldier? I see a lot of jokes about her crappy ex. I think her ex is actually her god and not her ex, though. Anyway, she seems like a prototypical Barbarian, good for her.

EDIT: I just remembered that she has PLAGUE, and is on a quest to Stop Having Plague. This is apparently her ex's fault

Laz'el. Lae'zel. La'zael. Something along those lines. I've seen treatises on her backstory and characterization, and she sounds like a really interesting character. Grew up in a cult of some kind, got dead or something, got abandoned by a crappy god (who might have also gotten dead or something), and is now wandering around trying to figure out how to exist in a world that isn't a cult. Apparently Other Players don't like her and dont't get what's up with her, which is a sore point for her fans (It's very possible that I'm mixing up portions of her backstory and fan reception with Karlach's) Her nose weirds me out (some uncanny valley thing between a skeleton lack-of-nose and a nose-nose), but I think she's pretty neat.

Ok, so if the blue lady at the top of this post isn't Shadowheart, then this one is Shadowheart. When I first saw the name Shadowheart, I thought it was someone's OC, and then I thought it was a generic name for the player character. From what I can gather, she's Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way with the stupid scraped off. She seems to be younger than most the other characters; she and the red tiefling are the kiddos of the group (Astarion doesn't count, because vampire). I think she grew up all sheltered in a weird little cult, too. Did ALL these characters grow up in weird cults? Is that a theme? Did I hear one backstory and apply it to a dozen different characters?

I happen to know for sure that this guy's name is Wyll. Good for me.

I don't know beans about him but I suspect he might be my favourite character when I do finally get around to playing, just from how his peronality is conveyed in fanart.

I get the impression he's the Only Sane Man to all these characters who grew up in cults and divorced dead gods and got vampire'd and whatnot, but he also has horns in like half the fanart and screenshots and is clearly Haunted (metaphorically, figuratively, literally, probably all of the above), so who knows.

As for the second figure here, I know the premise of the game is you've all got brainworms, who are in leage with a mindflayer con man who you can bone but who is also running some sleezy marketing scam, so maybe that's the brainworm made manifest?

I also see a lot of talk about character called Dark Urge, and the fan art doesn't look like that, but if Dark Urge is a manifested brainworm, then it could take various forms.