#when i do go back and cutscene dive this is going to hit me Just as hard and maybe even harder. aughhgghhh... amngelaaaaa....

[trainingdummyrabbit]

anyway the minute i figure out how to talk abt th floor of religions realization i swear. to god.

like. gripping your shoulders. how her dialogue starts off mournful and confused before slowly sliding into that sweeping whitenight dialogue. how her voice and phrasing completely changes, how She becomes that savior rather than the one who desires saving.

is that you? is this Him? is this some crude dance of the two, some odd reflection of a self you wish to have? she who wanted guidance becoming the one to guide them to some sort of freedom. some sort of Paradise.

and its second phase as her voice returns to her; slowly gaining clarity back; but that confusion and trepidation still stands. whitenights dialogue persists; but more stilted. seeing through like the sky through the canopy. like a mantra repeated over and over, but slowly its foundation crumbles.

and even before then, even in its setup cutscene, there was something so uniquely lucid about the way she spoke. something that felt less like a dam breaking and more like a slow haze. less of a challenge, and more of this sinking acceptance. this simple, honest, "I'm Afraid."

and the overarching theme of wanting someone to be there; wanting someone to tell her where to go in that blinding darkness-- hand in hand with whitenight and how Idealized it is; for lack of a better term. how its presence overwhelms her own; if just for a moment.

could it be a reflection of who she deeply wishes to be? or who she wishes she had? someone who Knew; someone who would Protect; Guide. how she wanted desperately to free those around her despite her guarding that desire deeply.

a hand to hold, someone to hold hers.

this perfect, discordant little tangle tied neatly end-to-end. to belong, to keep. to follow, to lead. the strings were always in her hands-- or maybe they were simply tied around her fingers from the beginning. a resounding echo circling back around to the same thought. So whose will is it, anyway? And which truth is scarier?

[mamamittens]

Major Tears of The Kingdom Spoilers while I act a sentimental fool and nerd with a "what if" scenario

Okay, so I was thinking (oh God not again) about the Divine Beasts and the Light Dragon.

If you don't know about the deal with the Light Dragon yet and don't want to be spoiled, scroll away sweet summer child! Same goes for the final battle in Tears of the Kingdom!

So it really does bother me that the divine Beasts and the champions (baring Mipha) are just??? Gone??? Like, everyone acts like they never existed?!? And it's unclear if Link in ToTK went through BoTW cause so much of the landscape is different?!? The shrine of awakening is straight up gone, the ancient towers missing, and you don't have any of your shit but the horses?!? Why?!?!?

Like, Tulin (my precious baby who has done no wrong, ever) is referred to as the first Rito to create his own wind but like.... RIVALI DID THAT?!? Like, he had to be squat so maybe they mean in midair but still?!? And Yonobu has a slightly different ability from the shield, like he lost it or something?!? Why?!?

And the divine Beasts are totally gone, no one mentions them and it's not like they were small?!?

Where did they go?!?

Naturally, I had a fun idea for a little... Fixy fix.

Imagine if, when Hyrule Castle went up (again) and all that shit started up, the Divine Beasts were still parked right where they were when you defeated Calamity Ganon (maybe his spirit self and defeating the calamity is why hydrated Ganon has to hide his ass away under the castle on top of being bent over by Rauru for thousands of years--yeah I said what I said and I know exactly how that sounds.

But they didn't activate. They were totally silent while their respective people suffered. And because of that, the races assumed they'd been abandoned by their protectors (baring Mipha, who the Zora assumed she'd simply fulfilled her duty with the end of the Calamity and moved on). And that's why they don't talk about the champions aside from maybe a few hushed comments, a bit bitter that they'd been left to fend for themselves.

And as you fight the area's bosses, there is like, a midway point where suddenly the Divine Beasts jolts and fires a single attack, triggering the second stage before powering down again. When you beat the boss, the Divine Beasts shudder back online and trample over to the nearest chasm, diving in. Maybe a stray voice line from the previous champion about it not being over yet--referring to the round two fight below in the Depths.

And the Divine Beasts are understandably fucked up from the fall, eventually you find them near the boss area.

I thought it'd be cool if Vah Medo was partially frozen over by Colgera with one of the weak spots now over the engine and inaccessible to be hit, so it's left for last. And when you do go to try and bust it open, a sudden updraft sends you flying as it explodes, Ghost Rivali mocking you for needing his help. Beast defeated once and for all (the respawn is a normal variant), you receive the Rivali's Gale again accessed the same way as in BoTW so it doesn't mess with Tulin's Vow.

Vah Naboris is grounded, legs broken (RIP) and the Gibdo Queen almost sneaks up on you but a bolt stops her. Halfway part is the Queen lurching to his inside Naboris' chest cavity while shooting out spawns perhaps? And going in to kick ass until the health is gone triggers a cutscenes of Naboris powering up and electrocuting the shit outta here. Urbosa giving you her lighting attack, letting Riju's be a long range attack and Urbosa being close range area of effect.

Vah Rudania perhaps triggering a spray of lazers or trapping the Gohma? Maybe it skitters up a wall out of reach until Rudania skuttles over and slams it back down for a finishing blow before you're given the improved shield ability? Sounds neat to me, honestly.

Vah Ruta probably starts spraying water, giving the mud spots a time limit and perhaps slamming down the trunk when the Mucktorok tries to go inside to take over the Divine Beast? Finally, you get Mipha's ability again, requiring no button prompt.

They all have their cheeky little lines before stating that it's time they rest and let the Sages handle things from here.

As for the Light Dragon, you absolutely should have been able to tell at least Purah and Impa about Zelda. They both have no idea how to help but set up a station to observe her move through the sky, maybe tooling up towers for extra height to reach for additional research?!? And they decide to craft a gift to show Zelda that they believe in her and maybe see if there's truly nothing left--thats right, you make her a flower crown of Silent Princess's. Maybe with Champion fabric woven in alongside mini flags of the kingdoms, idk. And they're naturally upset when it appears to do nothing but produce a single tear.

This builds up to the boss battle where a cut scene plays just as Ganon takes off with Link. Purah and Impa turn their gaze to where Zelda previously was flying peacefully only to see her gunning towards Ganon.

"I-Is that?!?"

Sages might limp into frame, Riju and Tulin carried by Yonobu and Sidon, all beaten to hell and back but alive.

"It's her!"

And maybe the addition of the flower crown means you slowly heal while riding her to get a good vantage to kick Ganon's ass, idk.

Maybe she has the flower crown still when she turns back for extra points. Her bob braided with flowers and beads representing the crown in the end cutscene, the flower crown displayed in her study.

The Champions turn into Poes at the end, either drifting off as they finally move on or to be collected by link and given to the bargainer statues. Maybe for minis of the Divine Beasts with their Champions that'll be displayed in your house?! Or flags or something idk, something sweet and commemorative.

Anyway! That's just my thought for something that'd be really cool and sorta poetic. Really burying the past and letting it move on, perhaps with a few speeches from the different regions about the champions trusting them to handle hardships on their own now, giving the task of defending the realm to a new generation.

Or maybe I'm full of shit, idk. But I do gotta go to bed, so there's that 🤭

[owlixx]

CoD Notes: MW2 Started

I had time this weekend to still knock out the first act of MW2 even after finishing BRO and doing MW1 start to finish! And wasting a bit of time on 3 and RoV.

I was expecting MW2 to feel or look a bit rough when played right after the MW1 Remaster (I’m saving WaW for coop) but I wasn’t accounting for the extreme power of nostalgia kicking in. I haven’t touched the campaign of this game in over a decade so playing it really unlocks some latent memories, like how much “stay frosty” from Foley stuck in my head.

I was very proud to get a recommended difficulty of hardened after running the training course, but I did still opt to go for regular difficulty just so I don’t get too bogged down in any one game here. The first real mission was kind of fun to just get all the nostalgia but the real kicker was doing Cliffhanger, the snowy mission. This really stuck with me as a kid even if I didn’t understand who “Captain MacTavish” was back then. I think I had only the loosest idea of the plot when I did this as a kid.

Anyways, this game is so bombastic and over the top that a lot of it still holds up, at least for me. Detonating the bombs in Cliffhanger to get a slowmo shootout and then the snowmobile escape sequence are both intensely thrilling.

Side note: I don’t remember the actual combat portions of No Russian being so hard. Shield guys are hard to take down! And of course the actual massacre portion hit me a lot harder as an adult than as a kid, although I think my parents made me skip this level as a kid, but I had already done it at a classmate’s house on his PS3.

Oh, and then the Favela mission is just…okay. It was kind of annoying to have to check the corners and roofs and windows so much. But the part later where the US get invaded also hits a lot harder as an adult, I think I just wasn’t paying attention to the cutscenes as a kid because I don’t remember being alarmed at all by the suburban war fighting.

Still currently in the middle of “Wolverines!”, that first mission of Act 2. Just hit the first major break in fighting on the burger town rooftop. Oh, speaking of, crazy that Keith David is in this so much! Especially since I played so much Halo 3 immediately before getting into this game as a kid and never noticed. Also wild that Bishop from Aliens is Shepherd! I never knew that and his voice is great. I mostly otherwise know him as Marcus’s owner in Detroit Become Human.

Definitely excited to keep plowing through this campaign, and this might be the first multiplayer I really wanna dive deep into since I don’t have my Xbox copy of WaW (I have the pc version which is fine but doesn’t have my old progress or the same classic feeling)

Oh, also I thought it was very funny to hear Keith David explain to me how to abuse the snap-to-target on ADS by repeatedly going in and out of ADS. Very indicative of the gameplay-first design of these games. Oh, and take a drink every time these games say “switching to a pistol is always faster than reloading”. You’ll only drink about once a game but that’s better than nothing.

[blu-wingz]

[TOTK]

I just finished TOTK...

I'm sobbing. This IS the legend of zelda

Its hers. Oh my god. I. I am floored.

Spoilers from here on out ofc

Also fuck any spelling errors or wrong terms I'm sleepy

Fuck man. Unable to summon the spirit sages down there spooked me. An oh shit moment. Glad they decided that. And the sages coming in to help out during the final fights. Love that!

I decided to beat the game today at 9pm. It's now nearing 2 am. Mostly bc I procrastinated. I prepped food and equipment. I didnt think the descent into the depths would take that long but it was neat and showed how fucking deep we were going.

Then when I got to the war bit i realized i didnt pack any food that could heal corrupted hearts. So I went back to an earlier save slot and made a bunch

Anyway. I got to Ganon and he. Wow. Rehydrated ganon oh my. The first phase was easy and lacked fun music but goodness the second phase made up for it.

The second phase was challenging and it felt. Dangerous. In BOTW the ganon fight was...lacking. this was supposed to be the thing that killed the best champions in the world and it was kinda lame. But this phase was so neat. I was going at it for a while bc I sucked at timings. And OH IT WAS SO COOL that when you fired arrows at him he would just CATH AND THROW IT ASIDE. I fully paused and went to the home screen. It was so cool!!

The fight again I cant stop reiterating it was hard. I like the difficulty. I was afraid it would do what it did in BOTW, cut the HP in half, basically handicapped the boss so it would easy for the player.

And oh my fuck. The final phase. He ate that stone and I was like :OOOO the forbidden snack! And I was so happy that it turned into a diving flying dragon fight. Where Zelda could help out AAAH. My heart. Dragons!! The demon dragons design is so fucking cool Icant wait to see fanart I CAN FINALLY SEE THE FANART IM FREEEEEEE

the phase was breathtaking. The whole shit happened in the sky. I was a bit disappointed at how simple it was to beat it (final phase) but oh well. For the final blow I changed into the Twilight Princess tunic and OH AOWBWUBDK it was so fitting I have so many screenshots. The final final stabby was even more fitting. In Twlight Princess, Ganon is defeated by Link stabbing his forehead and AAAAH it was so epic. So cool of me to think of changing outfits for the final sequence

And oh my the cutscene of the king and queen chanting zelda back to a hylian via Links new arm. It was good. But I already accepted that the transformation was permanent. But...I guess that heppend. Idk man the exhaustion is hitting now.

When Link had to dive to cathlch zelda midair I fumbled it a bit and didnt catch her properly the fist time. We didnt splat the game let me try again but it got a chuckle outta me.

The final cutscene where zelda wakes up and sees link and she sso so happy that he had the sword she worked so hard to replenish. And that the demon king was dead ofc. And oh god when she said link I'm home I started crying bc THIS PORR GIRL DID SO MUCH WENT THRU SO MUCH AAAAAAAAAH THIS GAME IS HERS AAAAAAAH

And I'm so ecstatic ah I loved it. I'll prob think of more to say later but what a wonderful sequel. Lovely :')

[citowon]

spring troupe and gender neutral s/o watch horror movies

about time i finally write for this blog... i was hit with the image of masumi watching a horror movie with his s/o, thought how lovely it would be if there was content of that, then realized i have that power now

word count: 1,935

tags: established relationship, non-detailed mentions of horror themes (gore, monsters, etc)

sakuya sakuma

🌸 when the topic of a horror movie date first comes up, he’s a bit scared. he’s only seen a couple, one of which was for mankai play research.

🌸 when it’s actually showing, though, he’s pretty calm! the anticipation was the worst part, and he somehow doesn’t get scared even during the most terrifying movie of the year. he’s great at reminding himself it’s just fictional in the end

🌸 vampires? not scary. aliens? he thinks they’re cute! gore? well, yeah, it’s unnerving at first but it’s all fake, and once he reminds himself of that he’s fine

🌸 he gets scared at the littlest things though. there might be a continuity error where a knife is in its holder on the counter in one shot and then removed the next, and no one in the movie acknowledges it nor is it supposed to mean anything but he can and will psych himself out thinking about just what moved it

🌸 king of predicting plot twists! he might be very good at spotting continuity errors, but he’s even better at picking out little bits of foreshadowing and putting together the mystery

🌸 gets spooked the most by jumpscares. every time he squeaks a bit (on really bad ones he might scream) and every time he always does the same embarrassed sigh afterwards and goes to squeeze your hand to calm himself

🌸 psychological horror is definitely the best pick for sakuya. he thinks a lot about what’ll happen next in the movie and loves to discuss about movies with you regardless of the genre, so with thought-provoking psychological films it fits him like a glove

🌸 and hey, if things ever get too intense he loves b-list horror movies! he thinks the bad acting is endearing and always finds something to compliment even with the trashiest, corniest flick

🌸 if you ever get uncomfortable, he might commentate in the movie and try to poke fun at it- i mean, the killer clown is kind of funny! look how bright and colorful it is compared to the rest of the set! he keeps his voice light and sunny so you have something comforting to concentrate on

masumi usui

🎧 he loves the idea of horror night. cuddling with you, holding you protectively as the suspense rises, stealing kisses to distract you from the monster and erase your fear...

🎧 he’s only seen a few horror movies in his life, less than the fingers he has on one hand, but whatever. it’s a movie. it’s not real. if he got too immersed he could just tell himself it’s fake and be done with it.

🎧 spoiler alert: he didn’t.

🎧 masumi did not, and i repeat, did NOT expect to get so invested??? even if you’re scared, he’s definitely the most terrified

🎧 that’s not to say he’ll show it. he’s doing everything to keep a neutral face, and you’ll probably assume he’s holding to you tighter during the scary parts like he’s protecting you.

🎧 (it’s actually because you’re the one [1] thing grounding him. you’re protecting him, not the other way around! in hindsight, he likes being cared for even when he thought he’d be the one spoiling you, not the other way around. he just wishes it didn’t have to be during such a scary movie, that’s all)

🎧 will take his fear to the grave... unless you ask him directly about it. please hold him and tell him the monsters aren’t real, even though he’s a heavy sleeper he will stay up until 3 am, his mind reminding him how creepy the movie was every time he’s about to drift off

🎧 so does not fuck with ghosts, if he didn’t believe in them before he certainly does now. the poor guy looks up how to ward away spirits and ends up carrying around a salt packet on him for the next two weeks

tsuzuru minagi

📖 tsuzuru’s not exactly a horror fan. he claims it’s brainless and pointless

📖 (admittedly he’s a little scared of them, but he still thinks they’re dependent on shock alone, and have zero rewatch value since the writing is more focused on in-the-moment spooks than actual plot.)

📖 he’ll roll his eyes and tease you a little but eventually he’ll go along with watching a horror movie

📖 to psych himself out of his fear tsuzuru decides to watch them critically and note what plot points to do (or more likely not to do) for future plays

📖 this works out for the beginning but by the middle of the movie he’s enraptured. he can’t tell if it’s actually good or if it’s a car wreck he can’t help but watch

📖 does the corny move where he yawns and wraps an arm around you, and you’d almost buy it from his earlier cynicism but then the killer shows their face and he tenses up like hell and you just know

📖 gets embarrassed every time he’s scared- he even turns pink, and gets even redder if you try to hold his hand or cuddle him closer (even though there’s nothing he’d want more after something that creepy)

📖 by the end he’s got a few new ideas that might go to autumn or winter troupe’s latest plays, and admits okay, fine, maybe horror isn’t so pointless after all

itaru chigasaki

🎮 screw movies, you’re playing horror games instead!

🎮 most of itaru’s horror games are single-player, so one of you takes the controller while the other sits next to the player, but itaru’ll drape his arms around you from behind in a back hug the entire time you play

🎮 he doesn’t really shut up. the entire time, he’s either cracking a joke or trying to freak you out more, if only so he doesn’t get in his head and overthink the creepy atmosphere

🎮 asshole only quiets down when the game gets tense, and then suddenly puts his hands around your shoulders or neck to scare you. regardless if you fall for it or not, he always laughs at himself and just-so-happens to break the tension as a scary cutscene plays

🎮 still commentates when he’s the player, but gasps or jumps even at small atmospheric scares

🎮 itaru definitely overthinks the game. he gets super cautious over tiny details and makes the missions way harder than they should be since he keeps overestimating the enemy line of sight and how noisy the avatar is

🎮 if you happen to be playing a co-op horror it’s a constant “no u” battle over who should do the scariest tasks

🎮 “reader, we need to cleanse the room next. you should do it” “no, you should do it. you have the quartz item remember” “i can give it to you since you have the ghost ward” “the ghost ward doesn’t apply to this quest, besides, you’re better at this ghost attack quick time event than me” “no it does, and you’re more optimized” “i can just give the items to you-“ “no you should do it” “no you” “no you” “no you” “no y-”

🎮 you both lose

citron

🍋 citron loves horror movies! he thinks they’re... comforting?

🍋 turns out he’s only seen movies about cursed dolls and b-horror, which explains a lot- he loves dolls too much to be scared by them and he thinks b-list horror is hilarious- but he’ll still proudly proclaim he’s unflappable and swear to protect you from the bad guys

🍋 when you’re actually watching the movie you can’t tell if he’s faking his reactions or not. he’s very noisy

🍋 he gets scared enough during the gruesome and horrific scenes to hold you close and tight like a teddy bear, and during the worst of it he might muffle a scream by diving into the crook of your neck, obscuring his vision until the scene changes

🍋 and yet, he laughs at the next scene’s unrealism, and manages to poke enough fun at the movie that you giggle and his terror disappears, he loves your laugh way more than he can be afraid of monsters

🍋 can’t do gore for the life of him, but when it comes to the actual plot, he’s rather critical of characters acting dumb. he catches on to nonsensical writing quick, but usually asks you to clarify the plot holes before realizing that he found a loophole in the writing

🍋 whenever you’re scared and not even his goofy reactions and commentary can help, he plants a sweet kiss on your cheek, strokes your hair, and holds you close to his chest until the fear goes away. he’s surprisingly good at protecting you from the movie

🍋 after the movie he’ll say his country has a similar legend to the movie monsters, but he claims the legends are true in zafra, and zafrans have a very specific tradition to prevent the monsters from attacking them

🍋 the movie also gave citron the idea of creepily standing behind you silently until you turn around and get startled, or occasionally chanting in a strange, cultish language and pretending he didn’t say a thing, or making a doll with the same markings as the clown puppet from the movie...

🍋 citron continues to be even scarier than the actual horror movie, but can’t wait until the next horror night! maybe watching it was a bad idea after all...

chikage utsuki

🌙 chikage just doesn’t get the appeal of horror. it’s just a fake movie, why do people get so creeped out by terrible sfx and unrealistic monsters?

🌙 he’s seen scarier things than any werewolf pack, zombie outbreak, or witch coven can throw at him. if you insist on watching a scary movie, fine, he’ll be happy to let you sit on his lap, just don’t expect to creep him out as well, or else you’ll be sorely disappointed.

🌙 he analyzes the movie more than he watches it, but doesn’t speak up even though the fight scenes look pitiful. if this were real life, he’d sweep the whole brood of shambling monstrosities in record time and be back home in time for izumi’s curry

🌙 chikage runs his hands under your shirt whenever the monster’s on screen to scare you. it’s actually really creepy- his fingers are light and quick and always makes you flinch, even if you know it’s just your boyfriend

🌙 he’ll listen to your thoughts about the movie, but doesn’t have strong opinions himself. he thinks the scares are mediocre at best, even without considering his background, but won’t mention how unrealistic it was unless you mention it first.

🌙 psychological horror, however, is a whole different story

🌙 maybe chikage can’t get scared by generic spirit halloween monsters but once you introduce thought-provoking plot, questions and dilemmas, now he’s hooked

🌙 he really likes wondering if the protagonist is actually the good guy and making theories about the origins of the monsters and why they’re so destructive, even if he forgets about them once the movie’s over.

🌙 love love looooves the “the monsters were harmless creatures before humans dished out the first blow” trope. he knows how common it is, but there’s a lot of ways to go about it, especially on a subtextual level, and he just can’t get enough

🌙 the deeper the plot is, expect a longer conversation about the ins and outs of it. they get surprisingly thoughtful and introspective, even if chikage throws in a few bullshit stories related to the movie just to watch you squirm

[1358456]

Zelda - LAD Part 4

It’s been a long while. And now... the man, the myth, the legend... Link... is still on vacation, so his cousin Lonk is here to continue the madness.

I totally forgot how to play and what the hell I was doing. So I spent some time wandering outside the dungeon, got lost, and then finally made my way back.

Sweet. I finally finished the Leg Enhancement upgrade from the Citadel. ... Er... the Charge upgrade from the Twilight Council.

... Is that a... er... I don’t even know the name of the thing. But another thing from Mario that just drops to hit the ground angrily whenever you’re near. Am I playing a Mario game, or a Zelda game? Hmm.

Eyeballs, huh? ... Sure? I spent a lot of time whaling at this thing before I realized I had to charge right through it afterwards.

... Bells are counted among instruments? Now that’s something I never considered before.

Of all the sticks in the entire forest, it’s this particular stick that interests Mario. ... Why? Lonk was going to shove it up someone’s ass...

... Stirring up the hornet’s nest, huh? Well, it’s probably a honey bee’s nest and not a hornet, but the phrase is hornet’s nest, so... And yep. Who would’ve thought. Mario gets chased by a pack of angry bees. What was the point of that?

Pretty sure that’s the whole nest, and not just the honeycomb... So did I trade down, or up? And how many bee larvae are still inside that thing? Ugh. Baby bugs... I did some gardening work at the store and found three spider egg clutches... and they freaked me the f*ck out...

You found an instrument! But you don’t know any songs! Go learn some, dumbass!

Finally, trading UP! A random bee’s nest in exchange for a pineapple! ... Although, peeling that is a gigantic pain in the ass...

Damn. It doesn’t work like it does with Snorlax. Hmm... why can’t I just charge forward with the charge boots and shove this blunt-ass sword...

... She’s not even looking at me. Poor Lonk gets ignored even while being talked to. ... But hey, a romantic cutscene!

... Lonk was lost in thought, thinking of all those brave fools who were sailing that vessel in the beginning of the game that is now lost with all other hands. Never follow Lonk into a journey.

Marin faintly blushes as she waits for Lonk’s decision. Lonk grins widely and hefts the girl up into the air proudly, as if celebrating an accomplishment or obtaining a rare item. He then neatly folds her and puts her in his pocket.

Okay, so she just follows me around. ... What if I dive into the well again? Is she going to follow me down there, or...

... She did. Lonk learns a painful lesson about gravity.

... We meet again, my nemesis. This time, I have a meat shie... er... companion.

Die, chicken! ... Stop? Never!

Oh. She’s into it now. All right, you heard the lady! Die!

Uh oh. Not again! Lonk 0 : 2 Chicken. Does anything work against these things? How about the useless ass powder?

Gasp! The chicken’s on fire! AND IT’S DEAD! We’re going to have dinner today! Ahahahaha! Victory is mine! ... Lonk 1 : 2 Chicken

So Marin is just following me around until I get back to that walrus, huh? ... So is this like a date until then? Heh. Hmm... According to games I’ve played, when on a date, you can go do... karaoke, darts, bowling, batting center, mahjong, shogi...

... Or the UFO catcher, I guess. ... Is our prize the manager? Lonk holds the arcade manager in his hands, wondering what his value would be. He folds the manager and stuffs him in his pocket, reminding himself to go to the first pawn shop he finds so that he can sell the manager for some rupees.

Marin woke up the walrus, and then... abandoned Lonk to go play with a rabbit. Lonk feels very dejected.

And... that’ll be it for this part.

[hrodvitnon]

After seeing your generally positive response to V.1 & your understandably less-than-pleased response to V.2....I have come to make a decision.

-The Halted Genocide Route V.1, the one where Heisei commits accidental (or can be self-defense...?) murder and has to live with the consequences of his actions a while after that, will become the AU I will focus on and consider my own 'canon' AU for the What-if? routes:

• I will expand upon the lore, the emotional & heavy fight between Heisei and MonsterVerse Goji during the latter's lowest point and nearing insanity, the state of MV!Goji's family post-passing of the former, the slow, tedious recovery of humanity after MV!Goji's attempted Genocide, the general state of the world in the short, & long-term, etc.

• I'll also expand upon the immediate ramifications of Heisei's action of killing MV!Goji....specifically, what was going on in his head at the time that drove him to become enraged enough to just...kill his opponent while he was already down and incapacitated.

• Hell, I'll even delve into world-spanning perspectives changes to Heisei's world, dive into how the humans react to Godzilla having disappeared as a result of using the dimensional cannon on him, what happened to Godzilla Jr after his father mysteriously dissappeared, how Miki deals with it all, etc.

-The other route....V.2....yeah, I might need to revise that one, make some changes and....you know what? No, I'll just overhaul the route entirely and rewrite it from the ground up to make more sense-and not only that, but even give some genuine sympathetic moments from FW!Goji when he starts to become homesick, everything else might change....and etc. If you can, can you give me some pointers on how to make the route more acceptable and more balanced in terms of power scaling?

I don't know about power scaling, all the Goji's are varying levels of OP to begin with. I'd recommend wikizilla for that. But what I can offer are the following:

Cutscene Incompetence (which is to say, standing around not doing anything while important stuff happens) is a big no-no. MV!Goji's family and friends had plenty of time to be passive before shit hit the fan, they have no excuse to hang back while he's getting microwaved by FW!Goji. They need to get involved, whether it's trying to break up a fight or yelling at everyone to shut up and use their brains for once because "MV!Goji is SICK! HE NEEDS HELP! AND YOU'RE ALL JUST MAKING THINGS WORSE!"

Some Goji's just want to go home and aren't interested in picking a fight because all that does is make them angry. Some Goji's (like GMK) actively seek a fight and will cause trouble just for fun; if anything, this gives the homesick/confused Goji's an opening to earn some good will by helping the Titans in stopping the asshole Goji's from making things exponentially worse. That way they can more easily form alliances through the understandable reasoning of "I'm worried about my boy and I just want to go home, shit's crazy here."

People actively trying to figure out where the hell all these different Goji's came from, how and why (when they're not trying to get killed, anyway). Maybe there's some kind of dimensional leakage or some such weirdness happening in the places where all the Goji's appeared? Best comparison I can make right now is the Gates in Chrono Trigger, which are basically portals to different time periods that are one-way unless you have a trinket allowing you to go in and out with no problem. Only, these Gates lead to alternate universes. This gives you something for scientific characters to geek out over, and a potential means of establishing multiverse communications. ("Hi, Earth! Other Earth here! *shows footage of extra-universe Godzilla* Would this be your giant radioactive dinosaur making a mess on my lawn?" "...oh shit..."

Speaking of which, if multiverse communications are established, the AbraxasVerse... well, they ain't happy with the results of the whole "zap our Godzilla out of our dimension so he stops being a problem" essentially becoming their problem. ("GREAT IDEA, YOU MORONS! YOU FOOLS! YOU ABSOLUTE BUFFOONS!" "OH MY GOD, I DIDN'T KNOW! HOW WERE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE COORDINATES LED TO YOU?!" "WELL, Y'ALL CAN PUT ON YOUR BIG BOY PANTS, STRAP ON YOUR THINKING CAPS, AND TAKE YOUR GODZILLAS BACK AND DEAL WITH YOUR OWN PROBLEMS!")

[having-a-hyperfixate]

The Final Day’‘

This is absolutely going to be long and rambley af so I’mma just put a cut here. This is just one massive post for the entire rest of the game.

Rindo is back in the RG somehow. Which makes less than no sense. What was that crazy beam. Shibuya is GONE there isn’t an RG to send him back to, even if someone did want to send him back?

That beam reminded me of the Jesus beams not gonna lie.

But… Fret. Presumably Nagi and Beat too. They’re. Gone. Poor Rindo… That’s the worst kind of gaslighting. Reality itself is gaslighting this poor kid. ‘Your best friend in the world is gone, so gone that no one remembers him. You don’t even get to mourn properly because there is no one TO mourn.’  I am also not okay.

I assume this random talking to us at Hachiko is the dude I saw a brief glimpse of in a screenshot from the final trailer. Hazuki Mikagi, okay. Everything about this is supremely weird. 

Leading this weirdo around and he asked how we feel about emotions? Um, what?

Was he responsible for that beam of light?

This whole thing is extremely unsettling, I don’t think I like it. The music is all… serene, this guy keeps asking existential questions, who even comes up to some kid clearly having a bad day and demands a tour of the city.

He knows Rindo’s name even though we never told him. Not sure if that was a slip or an intentional nudge that Something is going on but there we go.

‘I should take this chance to apologize for Kubo. He’s a real piece of work.’ WHAT. YOU SEND HIM TO SHINJUKU?!?! IS THIS KID GOD!? WHAT!??!

‘Exorcised’. Like a demon. Which is a psychic rank you can get in the first game, and probably this game, ergo, a thing that exists in this universe.

Okay. So this Hazuki guy is Something Else. I dunno if he’s an Angel or higher or WHAT. He’s something. And he “exorcised” what Fuckwad had Fallen to when he decided not to stop at Shinjuku and continue on to Shibuya. But he only did this after Rindo faught so hard to stop it. And then he gave Rindo what he thought Rindo wanted. And now he’s here trying to understand why Rindo is miserable. Which to us, as humans, is obvious: the people he loved, the connections and family he had made through the game are all gone and worse, no one remembers they ever existed.

And now he’s being offered the chance to try again. This feels like a double edged sword. And I don’t care.

Okay I actually kind of appreciate the thing Hazuki is pulling here. He knows what it is that Rindo wants, I’m pretty sure he’s listening to his thoughts, actually, and in order to make Rindo own up to it he’s arguing the ‘no’ position. Giving Rindo someone to argue against so he can convince himself.

WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAPPEN AT UDAGAWA.

Bruh some of these clips were in the announcement trailer.

(I can’t wait to read the secret reports. That’s gonna be a wild ride.)

Oooooh that’s what ‘exorcised’ means. That is hardcore. He definitely deserved it but that is uh. Slightly inconvenient.

Can we actually contact Rhyme this time PLEASE. Oooh Rindo worked out Kaie is waiting for Rhyme. :O I’M FINALLY GONNA GET MY MASSIVE COUNTER OFFENSIVE FUCK YES. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I’M PUMPED LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOO!!!!

Who’s gonna protect them. Beat. Really. Just give them the damn pins at this point. They both know their ways around a fight and Kaie might need the backup. If we lose, we’re all toast regardless, and if we win everyone gets put back where they belong.

AAAAAAAAAAAH SHE’S HERE!!! RHYME!!!! Aw… She can’t see Neku and Shoka cuz they’re actually dead. That’s really depressing. Makes sense but like. Oof. Especially for Neku.

I love that Rhyme still has a saying for everything.

This timeline is going to be a mess by the time I get everything positioned correctly lmao

Beat’s ‘How do you know about my sister?! Right, future.’ is never going to NOT be funny. It’s very refreshing to have a time travel plot where people just listen when he tells them shit needs to happen.

Is it acutaly Shiki time ohh my god. I might cry. Please tell me she has a face now. If her face is still illegal I will actually scream.

I’m offended. We didn’t get to go see Shiki. The betrayal. OH but now we might be? Stop playing with me, game. GIVE. ME. SHIKI.

Rindo was freaking out that we weren’t gonna be able to get rid of all the Noise around the café and I definitely threw my hands up and yelled when I saw the word ‘zeptogram’. And I read it before he said it, cuz I read v. fast. Nice to see you again, idiot. Please don’t go berserk again.

I am. Very impressed that Minamimoto managed to work out where the Dissonance Noise are coming from, down to the exact energy source that creates them. He nailed it. Well done sir.

I think… he’s proposing we awaken the city and use the energy generated by the thoughts and emotions of the living people to neutralize some of the Dissonance Noise that are waiting in the pin. Erode some of its power.

“How about this: I’ll talk, you type.” Lmao.

I got denied Shiki again. Part of me is annoyed. The other part of me is like ‘are they saving her entrance for when she can see Neku again properly because I can live with that’.

OH the Hishima cutscene is voiced now OKAY. Guess that means this is the one. Rhyme is voiced too. This is gonna be it.

And she speaks Minamioto. Coo.

Huh. Neku’s power is to sync with people. Which he learned to do in the first game. From Mr H, with the harmonizer pin. (Twister is playing and I have Emotions help) And now he’s gonna do it on an absolutely MASSIVE scale. This is insane. I am 1,000% here for it. Sync, Dive, Remind. And if I had to guess, we’re doing this atop 104.

Alright Shiba. ‘Mere. Tsugumi’s eyes aren’t all freaky anymore yay. Oh snap. He’s gonna unleash the Plague Noise against the Dissonance ones. Nice. Turnabout is fair play. I’m kinda sad Fuckwad isn’t here to witness that.

Alright. Change. Our. Fate.

SHIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I gave myself a headache ow.

“07734.” “Ew. Hey! Don’t just spout off numbers and walk away, you jerk!” That was amazing.

FUCK ME SIDEWAYS. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. NO. NO WAY. I DIDN’T THINK THERE WAS ANY WAY. OH. MY. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. This is the first time Neku’s seen him since Joshua failed to stop Coco from killing him. I’m. A puddle. Help. Neku looked so happy. My cat is slightly concerned haha.

Neku still holds his hands like he’s got the headphones. The same pose as in the first game when you scan. This gives me all the feels.

“They’re just mindless thoughts” Okay so I’m mentally exhausted at this point and I processed that as ‘thots’ and it was hilarious. BEGONE THOTS.

Okay this thing right here? This is a final boss. And it is cool as fuck. Too bad it’s trying to END ME. So cool. SO. COOL. Here comes phase 2 lol. I died and had to redo it. FML.

That. Was awesome. A worthy successor to the epic final strike of the first game. 999% eh?

I continue to not like Shinjuku rules. Once you’re a Reaper, leaving means you get erased once the game ends? Disrespectfully, fuck that. Oh don’t you dare, Shoka. Don’t. You. Dare.

Oh, Joshua is here. PLEASE. Lmao Shoka’s reaction. I’m sure he appreciates that, the drama queen.

*facepalms* Joshua strikes again. I’ve missed you, you little shit. You are terrible, but I missed you. Rindo, I’m pretty sure she’s fine. I think captain helpful over here reincarnated her for you. Since you saved him and his city. I guess I’ll see though.

Uzuki and Kariya continue to be adorable. I love them. And yeah, good luck calling in that debt from Minamimoto, Coco. Gooooood luck.

I’m having a lot of Joshua centered emotions right now there is too much Joshua all at once help. “I should have known I could trust you.” You are killing me dude. You really, really should have. I’m going to turn that line over in my head for way too long, I just know it, but let’s try to get through this before my brain turns off completely. “Let’s not keep her waiting.” OKAY THANKS I’M GONNA CRY AGAIN.

What Hazuki was saying about ‘purifying’ as opposed to ‘destroying’ Shinjuku makes me think that restarting it in some form was always part of the plan, so hopefully they’ll have luck with that. It’s still profoundly fucked up that any of that happened, and even more so that it was sanctioned. I’m. Going to be hung up on that for a while once it sinks in.

This poor idiot hitting on Rhyme is about to get got oh no XD

Shiki is breaking my heart. Aaaaaaaah!!! Reunioooooon.

Ooof it’s been a month since Rindo saw Shoka. Big oof. Joshuaaaaaa.

And then they almost got hit by a car lmao. OMG HE MISSED HER FRIEND REQUESTS AHAHAHAHAH YOU GOOBER. Neku really should have warned them that Joshua is Like That lol. Even when he’s being helpful it’s in the must backhanded way possible.

I would very much like to know why on earth Shinjuku needed to be obliterated though. Like. Does that… Happen often? Maybe the secret reports say.

Speaking of, time to get those, along with the rest of the trophies.

!!!! The title screen updated, NICE. Can’t let anyone who hasn’t beaten it see that but NICE.

There’s another Another Day. Oh boy. I am not ready for that madness yet.

Random thought as I was moving this from word, where I typed it: I’m really, really fucking glad they didn’t decide to deal with Mr H the way they dealt with sleezy mcfuckwad. That would have been… I don’t have a word.

[descendant-of-truth]

So, just recently, I found got into Kid Icarus and found your blog! It's given me some amazing Pit and Dark Pit content to think about. Anyway, my question for you is: Besides the opening, do you think Pit and Dark Pit interacted in World of Light? How did Pit react when he woke up without him or Palutena? Was he the one to save Dark Pit? I like to think so, regardless of what I've seen a few people say. Sorry if you don't take Kid Icarus asks anymore, but I just needed to know!

Okay so first I just wanna say that I'm glad you liked my Kid Icarus posts! And even though it's been a while since I've posted about it, I still love the game a bunch. So, anyone can always send me asks about stuff I haven't posted about in a while!

Now, moving on to your question - the World of Light was a huge missed opportunity for character interaction all across the board. I understand that there are a lot more characters to juggle than there were in Brawl, and a fully realized story mode would be a lot more linear than the free-form world map that we got, but it just seems weird to have such a dramatic starting cutscene and then just... not continue with it.

I'm not gonna sit here and write an entire story mode, because that would be getting wildly off-track, but the game gives us just enough content to let us extrapolate how our angels are doing.

Starting with that first cutscene: we can see from the blue glow on their wings that Palutena is actually directing both of their flight paths, implying that she's improved her power of flight since Uprising. Possibly for this very purpose?

As she flies them off to safety, you can clearly see Pit looking back towards her - he clearly doesn't want to leave her behind, but it's not his choice to make. Even Dark Pit looks like his head is angled slightly towards her, but of course he doesn't show his feelings as obviously as Pit.

We all know what happens next. Palutena's barrier fails, she vanishes, and with her gone, our angels fall.

Poetically enough, Pit and Palutena end up being controlled by Galeem while Dark Pit is taken over by Dharkon. How Dharkon got ahold of people that Galeem took out is beyond me, but I'm not here to fix plot holes.

Pit is the first of the three to be rescued, and wouldn't you know it, he's found in a ruined Skyworld.

For him to wake up to see that his home has been destroyed again, with Palutena and Dark Pit nowhere in sight, saying that he'd be distressed is an understatement. The main thing keeping him together would be that he isn't alone - he has Kirby and whoever else he's rescued at this point.

(I personally like to think that the cast eventually divides into groups so that they can cover more ground because that map is huge and it would make for better storytelling)

Without his usual support group, I'd imagine that Pit would spend a lot of this journey being antsier than usual. He of course wants to save everyone, and pursues that goal with the same determination as always, but getting Palutena and Dark Pit back is personal. The same most likely goes for Viridi, whose Spirit he probably equips at all times. Can Spirits talk?? Because if they can, that would definitely alleviate some stress.

By the time Dharkon shows up, our heroes have scoured what looks to be a whole continent and then some, and still no angel or goddess in sight. At this point, Pit's gotta be pretty frustrated with his lack of progress, so he practically dives into the portal that Dharkon opens up.

Fun fact: Dark Pit is an absolute pain to unlock because he's found in the trickiest sub-map in the game. Which happens to be Dracula's Castle.

He's specifically on one of the rooftops, which tells me that the fight where Pit saves him would look amazing and it's one more reason why we deserved a proper story mode but whatever.

After so many trials and tribulations, Dark Pit is finally saved! This isn't a proper fanfiction so I don't have time to go over how great their reunion would be, but ideally there'd be a hug in there somewhere, maybe some banter amidst all the feels.

But Dark Pit has more important feelings than fluff to deal with at this point, like rage. Ironically enough, he was the only one of Ultimate's Kid Icarus trio to not get possessed during Uprising, and he's not exactly fond of it now. He made such a big deal over how he didn't want to be anyone's puppet, and now look at what happened.

(Pit can relate because wow, becoming a mindless slave to a god of light sure does hit close to home, doesn't it)

With their combined determination to rescue Palutena and defeat yet another pair of gods, the two of them aggressively tag-team their way through the rest of the story mode until they reach Palutena. Which just so happens to be during the final act of the game.

This wonderfully chaotic place is the battleground for Galeem and Dharkon. And Palutena is placed pretty close to the starting point, which means we'll get to have her around for the whole level! It's what she deserves after being separated for so long.

Now, the game mode itself doesn't let you do multiplayer (as far as I'm aware), but I say to heck with that, it's more narratively satisfying to have both angels save her.

This time around, we might not get hugs unless Palutena initiates it. Pit's too respectful and Dark Pit's not very affectionate to begin with. But the point is that they're finally together again, which means they get to be a triple threat.

Another fun fact: both angels would have been entirely grounded this whole time. They simply can't fly without Palutena's magic, which makes me wonder how many fights you could win without using their recovery move. But now that they can fly again?? Pure chaos.

The banter is in full swing with Palutena back, the entire Smash Bros roster is here with them, and somehow this goes better than the last time. Was there ever a plot explanation as to why? Who cares! I just wrote several hundred words about Kid Icarus again and that's all that really matters anyway

So, to summarize: Pit didn't do so great when he woke up without the others, he absolutely saved Dark Pit and they had many interactions, and they then proceeded to free Palutena together because that's just what makes the most sense with what we were given.

[moodysnowflake]

Please mind the Spoiler slap that might come your way guys...

Let’ talk about Rufus Shinra.

Yes, he has been exploited better than the OG, and yes, once you get the hint the assesment is trying to throw at you, it’s easier to whack his butt.

He still beats the crap out of you. 

We have to realize that Rufus is a normal human being. He’s not a Turk either. Sure, he was a prodigy and has been trained by the military, and he might have trained with the Turks too during his “extended assignment oversea” (despite being him the boss, I bet Reno would still try to zap him in the crotch, if left unsupervised). Rude would gave him a sturdy run for his money (of course pun intended) and Tseng did probably manage to wipe the floor with his gorgeous platinum-blond ass at least once when they were younger. Rufus manages to stand his ground against Cloud, a final-stretch-game Cloud. Not an early-game Cloud. You have to run, dodge, parry and dive like hell, and when he hits you, it fluffing hurts. He’s the only human enemy in the Remake who actually manages to do some serious damage using a firearm. 

He’s been designed to do that, you might say. Well, yeah, duh, he’s still the only one, so that’s awesome.

Moreover, he doesn’t actually look exhausted, nor particularly beaten up when the battle ends; he just smirks his way out. We couldn’t appreciate it in the OG, but heck yes we can now. 

We might argue that’s all a façade, and I think that part of it could very well be true. Cloud did roughed him up after all. Plus, that’s his character, he would never show a speck of vulnerability (”nobody has ever see him bleed or cry” - can we seriously blame him for becoming an ice prince?).  And he’s not stupid; once he’s disarmed, he immediately opts for strategic retreat. He’s not a brainless goof, he recognized his huge disavantage: a true tactician indeed.

Him and Cloud's battle dialogue...is it just me, or did they sound like ex-boyfriends angrily snapping at each other?...

C: Think you got my number? [Cloud?]

R: Not at all. You’re making me sweat. Good thing I came prepared. [Rufus?]

C: That’s a new trick.

R: Like it? ‘Course you do.

[Did they actually meet in Before Crisis?!]

R: Let’s make it a night to remember.

Okay guys, seriously, tone it down a notch, would you? That’s too much gold for a single scene!

His outfit might not have us all agreeing, I can totally see why. That off-white contrast to Cloud’s pitch black tho...

Here’s the knot my brain is twisting itself over.

The question slammed my brain like a train, pretty much the same as Rufus’.

I don’t know, you tell me how the heck are you seeing the Whispers...

Tseng going:

Rufus looks at him like “Wait, what? You’re not seeing this shit? You kidding, right?” then proceeds to glare him into submission, either because he thinks Tseung might imply he’s not okay after the fight and he might be suffering some side-effects, or he’s mocking him.

[If it’s the last one, that would open another pit of thoughts, like: if he thinks Tseng is teasing him, that means that happened before. If that happened before, it means he’s not a utter cold-blooded bastard, and they interacted like functional(ish) human beings up to the point of joking. What is this? Solid character background? OG-wise, we know he’s not a saint, but we also know he’s not totally batshit cracker either. Because WRO and Avalanche. (Can’t wait for Barret’s reaction when that’ll happen. That’s gonna be spectacular XD)

Reno’s line ‘You’re sure you wanna do this by yourself, boss? (ENG)//That’s dangerous (JAP)’ could support this theory, even if we know he would talk back to Sephiroth himself.]

Untill now it’s evident that he being able to see them is “Because Plot“

But my spider senses are tingling, feeling something lurking below.

He didn’t seem to be able to see them on the platform while Cloud’s smacking his way through. That could be arguable, ‘cause spotting dark stuff in a dark background is not that easy. 

But after the Edge of Creation cutscene (and that’s another thing I’ll talk about later), he’s pretty well able to do that. And he’s the first character we see...

So what happened in between?

Well, there’s Wedge scene...but that’s the only thing we’re allowed to see. 

Based on what’s happening in the game, you’d be able to see the Whispers because of Aerith/Sephiroth’s intervention or because the Whispers need you to see them.

That create some interesting choices, which might combine, ‘cause they’re not mutually exclusive:

1. Rufus finds/saves Wedge, or the Whispers are bringing Wedge to him (very unlikely, but you know, overthinking is so fun). He was minding his own businnes, and Wedge suddenly appears. If this happens, I don’t think he’s gonna kill him...Because Avalanche (and because if you resist Wedge’s puppy eyes you don’t have a heart, nor a soul). Yes, he’s ruthless, I know, but there are times during the story in which he doesn’t behave like a complete dickhead. Very few times. But maybe the Whispers need for Rufus and Wedge to meet, and maybe that’s what happened in the hall.

Also, my useless rambling neuron got stuck over a very stupid, very impossible, but very cute idea why Rufus wouldn’t kill him: what if Wedge and Rufus know each other? Barret and the other knows his face, but what about Wedge? Maybe somehow they casually met in Junon, or (god forsake it, my heart) even before in Midgar he saved him from whatsoever situation and he never mention it? Chances are never really zero in FFVII, but I’m well aware that this is far-fetched...like, a lot. 

How cute would it be if Wedge woke up with Rufus crouched down there, skeptically looking at him.

‘What are you doing here?’

To which he would chirp “Hey Rufus, long time no see! How’re you doing? I thought you were still in Junon.”

‘I’m the boss here, I ask the questions. What are all these creepy things flying around.’

“Well, I don’t have that much of a clear idea...Also, you’re not my boss!“

‘That’s not helping. Also, technically, yes Wedge, I am.’

”Huh?”

‘I’m Rufus Shinra. (smug smirk)’

“I know that dummy (Rufus would scrunch up his face), what I don’t understand is how that would make you my boss. Blowing up one of your reactors using your explosive can’t make me pass as construction worker.” 

‘I am not your boss because of Shinra. I am your boss because I’m the boss of the boss of your boss.’

“WAIT, WHAT?!”

*Whispers taking him away*

2. Sephiroth has a brief chat with him during the moment he’s left on his own (while we’re fighting his true self in the singularity). In the OG, Rufus always had this incontrollable drive to find Sephiroth, an inespicable and obsessive draw to hunt him down, which only Cloud match (and he’s the one guarding Jenova’s remants in Advent Children...). And no, it’s not because he killed his father...we know how idyllic that relationship was. That spark could have been started here.

3. A combination of the two. Because why not.

4. Something else within him helped the trigger.

Speaking about this, I discovered some interesting info. The Remake has retconned his age from 25 to 30, flopping back his birthday from 1982 to 1977. Five years shouldn’t make that much of a difference. We can agree, artistic licence. 

Too bad 1977 is also the exact same year Jenova’s remnants have been discovered...As well as the very start of the machination for Project S and Project G.

Using Dirge of Cerberus as reference, 1982/1983 should approximatly be Sephiroth’s birthyear. Which leaves 5 years of preparation.

Is this a coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe the president let Hojo start to experiment on baby Rufus as he saw fit. Nobody would convince me that the president wouldn’t have done it, those two are just too fucked up. That could explain why he was so flipping good with a shotgun since he was 10, why he managed to face a SOLDIER without turning into minced meat (he didn’t show negative repercussions because he could have been resistant to mako poisoning, like Zack; plus he is the only human enemy with some resistance to Poison and Magic), why the president didn’t kill him when he sided with the Turk’s assassination attempt. That wasn’t paternal love; that was probably Hojo interceding to not have a succesfull test subject except Sephiroth eliminated, promising to have him brainwashed.

Like Cloud, despite Jenova’s cells, he wouldn’t be able to see the Whispers by his own. But Sephiroth, or Aerith, might have flipped the switch in some way. Or even Jenova’s or n#2′s bodies, to which we still have no idea what happened.

4.1. The annoyed/angry glare This could also be another reason for the angry/annoyed glare he shoots Tseng, like he’s saying “You know what I am” or “You know taking me down is not that easy”. The first one reminds me of Cloud’s line to Jessie...the look is pretty similar.

Another interpretation of this expression could be that he actually has, from time to time, some odd quirks or weird moments, residues of the mako treatment/cells' interaction. It is very likely that if that’s true, Tseng - and maybe even Rude and Reno - witnessed them.

That wouldn't surprise me: he’s sporting some serious dark circles under his eyes in this scene.

So, he could be also saying “What? Are we doing this again? You still think I’m frail and crazy? Do I have to beat that out of you like last time?”

5. He touched Jenova’s blood; it wouldn’t be that improbable, since it was smeared all over the floor. That might have done the trick by itself, or, if connected to point 4, he could have been drawn to it by the cells within him, which could have worked as catalyst. 

6. Any combination of two or more of the previous points. It’s Nomura Testuya we’re talking about, they could all be true for what we know. He’s a goddamn psycho: it’s easier to build a house with a sand-pail and a plastic shovel than understand Kingdom Hearts' series plot .

 Too many questions, but the revelation that Rufus can see the Whispers is very intriguing; the whispers needs him for something. Destiny needs him for something. That makes him an even more valuable character that he already was in the OG, and I’m glad they’re doing it. 

Nobody seems to be left behind (in character development sense) this time.

We can only wait and hope.

Wish you all the best, Rufie (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *

[danwhobrowses]

Ghost of Tsushima: Thoughts, Ideas and Hopes for DLC and Sequels

So I recently Platinum’d Ghost of Tsushima, I finished the story last week after 30 entries of livestreams which saw a whopping viewership of at most 2 people including one asshole that decided to spoil the end of Act II before I got there because I was playing stealthy and the way I wanted to play. But then wrapped up the Achievements on my own time. After a bit of stewing I’m ready to talk gush about it, including what I liked, a small bit of stuff I disliked and stuff I would suggest for future DLC and Sequel(s)

Spoilers for the Game, unlike that Commenter on my Stream I will not Spoil you on this, it is truly something you should experience for yourself

Because Good Lord, What A Game. Easily my Game of the Year, which compared to all the big hitter titles released is amazing, I mean Crash Bandicoot could still blow me away and Cyberpunk, Watch Dogs, Godfall, AC Valhalla and Miles Morales in waiting but probably not in this way. It is a magnificent game, one made with fantastic care and beauty, but before I go all out, let’s get the negatives out of the way 出る杭は打たれる。: A Flawed Masterpiece Ghost of Tsushima is brilliant but not without its faults. Most of these faults are admittedly minuscule and fixable, but until they are fixed they remain flaws. The biggest disappointment for me with the game was the lack of Japanese lip syncing. I loved the Japanese track, it also highly appealed to me to hear One Piece’s Roronoa Zoro voice Jin, but you have to kinda avoid looking at the mouths because it doesn’t match up, the models still speak in English and it’s a heavy shame that can kill some immersion. I guess they didn’t have the finances for it, because they could’ve done the lip syncs at the same time as they did the English ones if they had the Japanese track too. Combat for the most part was great, aiming could be wonky at times and Jin’s attacks didn’t carry on to a 1 foot ledge, but my main gripe with combat was the Camera getting in the way. It was adjustable most times, but other times it was not. Doing standoffs in the tall grass was night impossible at the later stages without the knees giving us a tell, one standoff I had was completely obstructed by a tree - I’m not making it up, a tree was literally all I saw for the Standoff. You lose so much health for failing a standoff too, bit harmful in later levels. The remaining issues are probably more personal, I didn’t quite like some of the sword kit designs - the ones with fluffy sleeves and I didn’t really like the armor dye you get for 100%ing the achievements, some weapons seemed to lose their luster in later parts of the game (particularly the half bow and Explosive Arrow, the former was only good for killing the angry doggos and the latter only killed Mongols if near another explosive to stack), that one Masako quest mission where you have to follow and pick off Straw Hats one by one without being seen, but will fail if you pull a triple assassination before the outpost where Masako’s lesbian lover was leading them all to so there’s more Straw Hats to blow my cover! (it wasn’t difficult it just annoyed me that it failed me for killing them all early) and the completionist in me hates that there are empty slots in the arrow and blowgun sections, but they can be worked in what I’ll talk about a bit later down the line, alongside some minor loose threads. Also you killed my horse man!

Your horse will accompany you on your entire journey - Ghost of Tsushima UI Message

Don’t you dare lie to me like that again Sucker Punch! Just because you’re named that doesn’t mean you can live up to it, we already lost one horse at the beach! Had to spend the final act with Not-Sora and Kaze with a hole in my heart never to be filled. But with that dealt with, let’s talk about some things I loved about the game

花は桜木人は武士 :  Living into a Legend With these games it is very easy to fall into the Elder Scrolls prototype of an array fun side quests and exploration and a so-so main story. Ghost of Tsushima though decided to have both the array of side quests and exploration and a great, complex and partly tragic story. There were many times I wanted to get back to the main story but held off because I wanted to be prepared. Long distances didn’t feel too bad to travel when the roads were uncharted either thanks to radiant battles, new settlements, vanity gear and side missions to ease you on the way. Additionally, the characters are for the most part fantastic, I cared for the safety of most of my allies and Jin himself, I wanted the Khan dead in a cerebral villain (albeit one whose final battle fell into cowardice) and I was open to the complexities of Ishikawa and Tomoe. I did feel that Shimura was being a tad ungrateful but I think it was intended for us to be frustrated to the edicts of the Samurai code - my frustration led me so much to deep dive to prove myself justified since the code was subjective and many agreed to aspects of ‘win no matter what’ and ‘do what protects the people the most’. Along with the main quest was paired with the character journeys of our allies as well as the Mythic tales which granted some extra strength and challenges to overcome in order to expand Jin’s arsenal. I particularly liked the observation and killing of leaders to learn new stances, as well as the widely acclaimed Stand-Off and the duels. The Arkhamverse fan in me did appreciate the focused hearing for stealth and that assassination speed could be upgraded. The idea of collecting vanity gear, armour dyes and equipment that are remains of the conflict showed that SP had completely immersed their plot into the world of Tsushima, with a great amount of exploration and nuances nodding to Japanese folklore And Tsushima is certainly stunning, it’s amazing that the PS4 can hold this much when we know how the PS5 is meant to be with ray tracing. The landscapes are beauteous which makes exploration and travel much more fulfilling, as well as the photo mode and the scenic builds to some of the major battles. What’s also wonderful is the calligraphy cutscenes for Mythic Tales and the loading screens, some wonderful artistry. Artistry which is added to by the brilliant uses of Haiku spots, Bamboo Strikes, Lighthouses, Shrines, Altars which you bow to, Fox dens where you can pet the Foxxos and even the Hot Springs for some ‘Man-Butt Action’, each positions that fit to Japanese media in soaking in a moment without killing any pace, especially added to the fact that each one contributes to a purpose. I will admit, I chose wrong at the end, I was thinking more of Shimura (said ungrateful uncle)’s honour rather than what Jin would what, feeling that Shimura would’ve done it himself had Jin not. But seeing the spare ending made me wish I chose that one and it’s something I’ll touch on later. But both endings are fitting and tragic for Jin’s journey from Samurai to the Ghost, being inspired by his allies and his connection to Yuna, there has been conflict throughout regarding the line of protection, honour and vengeance explored through other people’s tales that blend together perfectly with the main plot.  It is pretty political as well with the argument presented by Jin and Shimura’s conflict. Samurai while still romanticised were still shown to be bound to the blind loyalty towards the Shogun and Jito, you did not defy because it inspired others to think freely. Jin became a champion of a people by defending the people rather than listening to the jito - represented by the shogunate - and their stringent ideas that the Samurai who failed on the beach would be able to out-muster the force and brutality of the Mongol invasion regardless of the collateral and yet still call that honour. In the current climate in 2020, that hits a chord a little closer than expected. And the main story certainly has their stellar moments, the ups and downs really hit you - like killing my freaking horse! I had to lose Yuriko, Taka and Sora in a single playthrough. Losing Taka was inevitable, but still heartbreaking because of how much we struggled to save him and how much we want to still be Yuna’s friend, but then the highs just blow you away from the opening act, Ghost Stance, raiding Castle Kaneda and Shimura and the final raid at Port Izumi. Also did I mention that you can pet the Foxxos? Because that’s very important, also NPCs walk at your pace most of the time, which is a fantastic addition. I could probably go deeper but there’s other stuff I want to cover, but understand that the world and the story is wonderful and if you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed, Arkhamverse and just Japanese culture in general this should tick your boxes. And hopefully there’s more to come.

石の上にも三年 : Strait to DLC The sad thing that happens when a good game is over is the void. Even if its days, having nothing left of the game to play is still a shame, and I know that Legends DLC is announced, but multiplayer involving fighting Oni as mythic legends isn’t my pace, I’m still not done with Jin and I feel like there are things we could still do. There are still 3 conflicts Jin’s story never resolved that could still be resolved now, each as multi-layered quests. The first is this ‘Ghost Army’ mentioned by the wagon guy in Omi, we are not leading this so who is? We may not be able to stop them but we could reduce the amount of people thinking we’re leading them to fight. The second is Daizo, if you don’t know that name it’s because the guy is never seen in the game, you only read about him in the Records of ‘Conversations with the Khan’. This Japanese Monk clearly has a thing for the late Khotun and he feels that the Ghost is being a dishonorable monster, this Khan lover is still at large and a confidant of Khotun, we could link with Norio in a quest to ensure he doesn’t rally or try to spread his appreciation of the Khan to others to try and complete Khotun’s work. The final conflict is one that eats me up: How did the Mongols Know About the Poison? Yuriko died showing me how to make the poisons, made more potent from her own herbal poisons which were crushed down, if she didn’t tell and I didn’t tell, who told? Because the Mongols drank the evidence and we could make a story of an Omi village traitor or even someone from Shimura’s camp leaking the info to the Khan to try and preserve ‘honour’. On top of these loose ends I’d very much like to see our allies again, even if they’re just at their home doing their own thing, as well as some other minor side characters like the Tadayori descendant Kaede, Flame Swordsman Bettomaru (who would’ve both been mighty useful with this Mongol affair beyond their sole missions) and the Yarikawa Archer Daikoku, I also would like to see confirmation on Jin and Yuna - there is clearly something there but that could be just me. What is also just me would be the suggestion of a shrine that can let you redo the Shimura decision, it’s not a too ‘out-there’ thing to do either considering we fought a Tengu. The shrine could be for Omoikane, Kami of wisdom and intelligence or Ame-no-Koyane, the ‘First in Charge of Divine Affairs’ which’d subject the player to a gauntlet of bosses past; Ryuzo, Kotun and Shimura, if the player goes against their initial decision, they will trade their ghost armour dye for the other and get a Charm of Pondering, if they stick to their guns they get both ghost armour dyes and a Charm of Strengthened Stance. In similar vein we could have a master Mythic Tale that stacks the duels of those tales into one for another special attack, weapon or armour. It’s also possible that we could add more duels, some remnants trying to avenge Khotun or even some Samurai sent by the Shogun in promise of becoming Jito. Likewise we can use this to complete the weapons set; for the Half Bow, take the Mongols’ poison arrows (which can be a reward for finding who leaked the poison to them) which can just eat at lesser enemies’ health and take a chunk of stronger enemies’ health before resolving out of it, as well as a sticky arrow that could slow enemies or weaken their armour, or a perfume arrow that can mess with the falcons and angry doggo’s senses. For the Long Bow we could have...okay I’m drawing a blank here but I’m not meant to do all the work XD For the Blowgun at least you could have a Blinding Dart to aid in stealth and a Panic Dart to increase chances of Terrify. We could even have a few more upgrades to our ghost weapons and stance combats, even increase the amount of kills Ghost Stance can yield. In addition to more Fox Dens, Shrines, maybe new resources to bolster upgrades, Sword Kits, Haikus, Banners, Flute Songs, dyes and so on. But I know what you’re thinking, we can’t put that all in Tsushima? We’ve covered the entire island and it’s unlikely that SP would make a fictitious island. And to that I say, I have that covered. In the Tsushima Strait between the island and the mainland there is Iki Island, part of the same prefecture and equally ravaged by the Mongols during the invasion, it’s also the base of pirates which can offer a stop point for a Tomoe reunion or simply travel via Umugi Cove. A small bit of expansion wouldn’t hurt, as long as Iki isn’t planned for something else that is.

能ある鷹は爪を隠す : Hopes for a Sequel Now part of me would be content if this was a one and done, the game shines perfectly on its own. But I would not turn one down. Though many would feel that Jin’s journey is done (I even heard a suggestion of Tomoe, I could see that but not right now, maybe for a third) but not me, there’s still a few glaring issues at hand. For one, the Shogun now wants you dead, new clans are moving in on you and there will probably be a new Jito regardless of the ending choice because of Shimura’s failure, Adachi will also need to look at another clan taking its land. There’s also the vacuum left behind by the clans’ subsidiaries; Nagao particularly but also Adachi’s rival clan Kikuchi, there’s easily possibilities to use canon Sō, Abiru, Shōni and Imagawa, there’s also room for Kikuchi Takefusa, who survived both Mongol invasions  . A sequel could offer some clan territorial tensions in that regard as the people of Tsushima side with the Ghost over the mainland. That conflict is one we have touched on in the end of the first, Jin has fought for his country’s safety so how will he act when his country wants him dead? The first was a story of sacrifice perhaps the next can be a story of maintaining his legend, inspiring the mainland Samurai and even redeeming himself in the eyes of the non-Tsushima natives. It’s also worth remembering that Komoda was the beginning of the invasion, and there was a second invasion 6 years later where Tsushima was attacked once more, the death of non-canon Khotun could spark other higher ups of Kublai’s ranks to avenge or clean up for Khotun, Kublai also had counsel from different nations to understand his enemy so we could have an even more vicious and cerebral enemy be made, or even a group of enemies led by advisors like Liu Kan or Yao Shu, maybe even Marco Polo if we move the time after the first invasion. In terms of gameplay we could also see Jin expand from Tsushima to Iki and maybe some more naval warfare, growing in his equipment (like Caltrops, Kusari-Fundo and Suntetsu) and maybe even his weapon, an Ono, Jitte or a Naginata to rotate with his not-yet-made Katana to combat with Samurai or the army of a Mongol threat, maybe even use the Bo-Hiya for ranged fire archery learned from the Hwacha. And like the Mass Effect games (or Dragon Ball Xenoverse if you wanna pick a franchise that didn’t end in a bitter aftertaste) you could have the option to transfer over some data from the PS4 save to the next one, which’d inevitably be on PS5 at the least - also don’t be surprised if this gets a PS5 remaster too, especially if it does win Game of the Year. What I suggested for DLC could be used here too, if there is a sequel with Jin I really, really hope that SP don’t opt for the route of killing Jin (or Yuna) off for effect, I was nervous about the current game ending with Hara Kiri and I’d rather not have that or a downer of a death for the legendary Ghost (I am a happy endings guy after all). An alternative route to go (other than following Tomoe to the mainland to rip off the Ghost) is to work backwards, call it ‘Ghosts of Tsushima’ working towards a story of a more ancient time, where a thief could become a samurai clan. A clan Sakai or Shimura origin would sell in that way too and avoid the idea that we have to start again from zero but still have the more ‘dishonorable’ stealth tactics.

義は険しい山よりも重く、死は大鳥の羽よりも軽い : Conclusion In the end, this game was worth the wait, worth the delays and worth the price tag. I feel like this will be one of the games I’ll fondly remember when thinking of the PS4, which has truly had a stellar library of awesome games like Spider-Man, God of War, the Crash, Ratchet & Clank and Spyro Remasters, DMCV, Jedi: Fallen Order and more. This truly ticked the boxes for the anime nerd within me and the history buff, even the Haikus spurred the poet in me a little too. If anyone hasn’t played this game, they should, and I hope that Sucker Punch realises that people like me want to see more. If it stands alone so be it, but I’m not ready to leave Jin or Tsushima just yet. いってらっしゃい

[writingonjorvik]

Can We Discuss the Crafting System?

First of all, I want to give a big shoutout to @sorceressferaly on this system. We talked about in back in February for our interview how she wanted to make this system happen and I am so happy that she got this opportunity and how it turned out. I promise this won’t all be gushing, but I am so happy to got to have this project.

Second, it’s release week for the Jorvik Divined deck. Go follow @jorvegiancollective everywhere. The deck reveal is today. Go check it out!

Ok, let’s another disclaimer out of the way. After about my first 5-ish hours of playing the update, my game bugged out and I haven’t really been able to collect more materials for two-ish days now. This seems to be happening a number of folks. I have at least been chatting with Leila on feedback and bugs already, and I’m sure the team is otherwise aware, so I imagine it will be fixed by next Wednesday once they pinpoint the issue. But this means my experience with the crafting system is only from about a day or so of playing and relying on my stash of materials to get me through until the nodes’ spawn rates are fixed.

That out of the way, let’s dive into the positive. I love the simplicity of this system. It’s easy to get into and I think the tutorialization of the system was handled really well. I personally think the level requirement is a little high (even if level 10 isn’t too hard to get to), I think it would have been better to have this first onboarding crafting system open at level 5 if you’re a Star Rider after you do Farah’s quest so new crafting recipes and methods can be unlocked as level rewards at better intervals, but overall I think it’s fine. I also think that there should be material nodes in Moorland. I imagine it’s to limit free players from clogging up their inventories with supplies, but there are already nodes in Fort Pinta, so that’ll happen anyway. I think the same should be true for higher level areas, as a reward for unlocking more places, having more nodes (where it fits) so higher level players can gather supplies more effectively.

I had three nitpicks about interface though. One, is that I think a grid crafting list more like the shops would be better for recipes, particularly for the “items” crafting where the list is pretty long (and easy to expand on). The font can be kind small and having pictures would help with folks with reading impairments. Two, there needs to be a crafting in bulk option, particularly for the “items” crafting. I know Leila mentioned looking at AC:NH for inspiration on crafting for this, and the biggest complaint on that system is no crafting in bulk. Particularly as I’m unlocking higher level recipes and the number of cloths I need is going up (RIP my flax supply), I see this being a huge quality of life ask, particularly when you have to use separate benches for different recipes. I don’t have an issue with having separate crafting benches (this actually sets up the system for other “disciplines” of crafting really well) but it should streamline the process between those benches as much as possible. Which leads to three, the cutscene should only play the initial time you craft an item and it shouldn’t kick you out of the work bench. These really go into the streamlining note of have to wait and then reopen the menu each time you want to craft something instead of simplifying the process for the player.

That said, I do think this is a really strong system. I played for about 5 hours straight until I got hit with the spawn bugs and didn’t get bored until the latter end of it (which was mostly just from “I’ve been trying to grind flax for the past 3 hours”). It was a pretty chill relaxing time and I see this as a great addition to training loops and stream activities. I have concerns on the longevity of it, particularly when we start looking at people and their frustrations with Soul Riding three months out, so I hope this system gets continued support with new recipes, particularly over these next couple of months to avoid burnout like with Soul Riding. It really needs continuous support to make sure it remains a staple in the gameplay loop until there’s a wide enough catalog and that having new recipes tied with map unlocks would be a big deal.

It also has me waiting for my current ticket to clear with SSO so I can submit my Pi upgrade idea and the Hidden Star wishing well idea because this system makes those seem a little more possible. There’s a catalog now of my posts if you want to read those.

But I think the thing I’m most excited about is how this system could expand and how it could provide really good level rewards in unlocking other crafting “disciplines” when unlocking new areas or levels. Think of unlocking tailoring from Daxton in Silverglade to get classic riding equipment or blacksmithing from Conrad to learn metalworking or cooking from Olivia in New Hill. All of these could have their own recipes and ingredients that would probably need an inventory overhaul to avoid item clog, but it would add so much to do in every part of the map. Not to mention a huge variety of options for recipes and dailies.

And I don’t think it just needs to be directly crafting that this system can support. One of the big changes this system did was adding items you can collect and keep even when you log off. We’ve seen that before with the original Kalter quests and with archeology, which says to me that those systems could be seeing updates. But also, it could mean expansions to dailies. I’ve suggested before expanding the Rescue Ranch with tonics and medicines. Now you can go out and actually make those. What about going and repairing trail markers for the Rangers or bringing them supplies for the animals they’re nursing to return to the wild? My entire Pi idea is viable now without needing to pick up dailies directly.

The point is, this system is bigger than just crafting directly because of how it changes item collection. Now collections can be open-ended. It reminds me of Leila’s suggestions in our interview on how she would redo fishing, by setting up points where you can just fish and collect all kinds of things to turn in for certain rewards on certain days. With this kind of system in the game, dailies as a whole can be a lot more living world and a lot less “click the icon for money.” And I know there are bugs right now and it’s so early stage, but this is an amazing tool that I think will be the foundation of a much more immersive design philosophy with SSO.

And don’t get me starting on how this finally makes trading player viable, but we’ll get the SSO economist a break before we add that in.

[macgyvertape]

Final Cyperpunk2077 playthrough thoughts

Finished the game finally, general thoughts above spoilers, then a log of actions/reactions below cut

overall the game was #fine  Not even discussing the bugs I had and CDPR’s issues as a studio, the game felt shallow as a puddle outside the main quest and a few side quests. Driving is bad, combat quickly became boring, there isn’t much divergence as promised with your origin, so why replay it from the beginning? But the larger flaws are not just technical issues like how poorly cars handle, but design choices that make a lot of side quests “go here kill enemies loot documents“ boring. Comparing the yellow ! quests, with Witcher 3 monster contracts: they had a deeper story sometime, and you had a to fight enemies with different combat styles. A lot of the skills and perks shown in E3 material that would have made for more interesting builds were either removed from the game, or don’t work. 

I took a week off from playing this game, because I got to the point Of no return, and was finishing up side quests and hit a bug. Then i was thinking: is this it? For a game that I took the release week Friday off work to play because I wanted to experience the story with no spoilers; its just indicative of how somehow along the way I became apathetic with both gameplay and story.

the bit where Saul says Panam was right he was wrong, then gives her a hug. Just omaze. Wasn't expecting to pass out, but i love how all the aldacados greet you when you wake up and ask if you are ok.

really enjoy how Takemura hates all the awful food that is present in the future in Night City, and yet will still get pizza for the stake out. Seeing the cat, hearing about his backstory, who am i to just him for his corporate soldier backstory. "there are no clean hands but it is important how they become dirty"

apparently for Pisces quest you get a different ending if you do nonlethal to take down Maiko, so I reloaded a save and did that. Judy is a lot happier. She gave me a KISS, versus being shaken and upset.  I don't see Clouds being independent going well, they probably should join with the Mox

(had to relaunch the game here, since there was a bug that didn't let me hack anything)

After that I made sure to do nonlethal taking down Oda. Quickhacks and jumping away from attacks ftw.

I like how one of the reporters is there and you can repeatedly walk into her shot, and ruin it.

Of course I went back for Takemura in the apartment. I've played Deus Ex, and didn't save Paul the first time, so of course I had to go back for the rescue.

Johnny gave me his dog tags, and said that when the time comes it's his life for mine. I wonder if this dialogue would change any depending on the choice.

the scene where Johnny takes control drives home just how much an asshole he is. I just muted my headphones, and skipped through it b/c it wasn't exactly fun to sit through. I really like Rouge, her line of "I could never confuses the two of you", like I want her to like V for V

I drove out to the dump, because I knew you could find Dexter Deshawn's corpse. Also found the corpse of Bartmoss the guy who destroyed the net in a cooler nearby. It's neat that there are these things you can stumble upon in the world, but like the world is so big I needed to look up a guide to find where in the dump was Dexter's corpse. (update the bartmoss quest was kind of a let down, I just got some quickhacks not much story)

The dump through is good worldbuilding, is massive, and when i was there a dust storm blew in obscuring everything. Absolutely horrifying for their world, it's environmentally fucked.

I had decided to go with the Judy romance a while ago, and finally did that 3rd quest. It's sweet the build up to the date in the phone call and the different convo choices you have leading to sex; even though the 1st person sex cutscenes are still awkward af. Compared to the River one where there's a mood, here they just flash a lot of tit and vaguely suggest oral. Judy then invites you to move in with her, which you can then acknowledge it's literally playing the "lesbians move in with eachother quickly" trope, completely straight (pun intended). But I really like Judy's arc over the game as she gets to know V better, and you asking her to be with you is what stops her from leaving night city (I'm guessing friendship might stop it too, or just have a different ending).

The diving mechanic was cool, though I think this is literally the ONLY swimming mission in the game, so kind of a waste of a mechanic. I kept thinking, wow it sure would be bad if V passed out inside a building deep underwater: then "suprise pickachu face" guess what happens. Also not shocked to learn the tiger claws struck back at Clouds, without support from another gang it was bound to happen.

I like quests with Rogue, she's kind of a snarky ass just like V. I went ahead an executed Greyson I didn't trust him. Nice of Rogue to get me a jacket, but at the same time feels weird, accumulating more of a dead person's outfit piece by piece. Rogue is attractive, female silver fox way, but also i can't tell if its just to give gamers fanservice.

Wow after a few quests going "never again give Johnny control", he sounded so down talking at his non existent grave, and regretting that he was an asshole to everyone he knew, that I agreed to help him finish things with Rogue. (wonder if any choices you make change that dialogue)

Rogue: "is johnny asking me on a date or you" SURE WISH IT WAS BOTH ROGUE. I chose the kiss option but I get why Rogue says it wouldn't have been fair to her. AS V THOUGH, I TOTALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN DOWN.  Though Johnny did behave himself, glad to see trust wasn't betrayed.

Visiting Kerry, sure why not the visit with Rogue went well. It’s weird how friendly johnny is to you zig zags between side quests.

Going to find Nancy, I'm glad Dum Dum and Maelstrom showed up again. Was worried they would never follow up on that plot. Then i of course chose Denny, she had her house wrecked. But I do think its funny, I have all this Silverhand gear and no one but Rogue comments on it.

Here’s hoping male V’s get more from Kerry, you get the questline of reuniting the band, and then after talking at the bar you get repeatable dialogue prompts, and thats it for content.

Nice that you can go talk to Rogue and Judy and they will comment on the parade going poorly.

  NOTE:  I went to do a side quest Fortunate Son, and got a persistent bug where I thought quickhack was broken (turns out you just can't quickhack police) and the game wouldn't let me skip time. At this point I put down the game for a week and went to play something else, because it was the final straw. Also, that quest is poorly designed, it makes you fight a bunch of cops you can't just run away. So much for freedom of play.

Apparently I don't get the secret ending because my approval with Johnny is just 60%, and i didn't pick the specific dialogue choices required; so I went with the Rogue ending because feels like it completes her narrative more than attacking with the Aldacados

I looked up the Arasaka ending before I made changes, and wow that ending is depressing af (as to be expected)

Rogue is the best, but i was more tired of playing the game than sad she died, anyway thats what fix-it fanfic is for.

But for fucks sake, the first fight with Adam Smasher, he jumped to the upper platform, and the game bugged out so i couldn't even decide his fate. It's bugs all the way to the end. I think the ending choices were also bugged, V was attacking Johnny talking about the well, no matter what choice was prompted for bridge/well.

Then the ending. I chose for Johnny to go on with Alt.  I get why people have said they were disappointed with the endings. The Johnny ending has everyone wondering why V is now ghosting them, makes sense because this ending proves Johnny is an asshole.

Wow for saving Takemura in the hotel, he calls me and tells me “rot in hell kuso ama“ (rot in hell fucking bitch). So thats great /s. Can see that he’s obviously upset I didn’t take the arasaka offer and now the company is in turmoil. So much for thinking we were friends and guess saving Oda literally doesn’t matter for anything

But the return the body to V: V has presumably very short time left to live, the calls you from friends and acquaintances talk about how she doesn't call or visit them any more, your love interest talks about how you've been distant with them. I guess the delemain dialogue differs based on attack choice and how you resolved the Delemain quest, since it's different in a similar playthroughs on YT. As for endings for other characters it seems people are better off the more you help them, which makes sense.

But I still had this feeling not just that the ending was bittersweet, but that this didn’t in character for the V I had been playing. That Heck the Judy ending with attacking Arasaka alone/with Rogue, has her leaving Night City without you. Which fair, you knew that as you got into a relationship with her. But still feels like a downer. She's a lot happier in the Panam attack ending. I appreciate that you get different options, and options within those options, but I’m just like what narrative arc did V undergo? What personal journey was actually resolved?

[trashy-croud]

Home Sweet Home 🏠

So this is it, the final level. I adored this level as a child - well, watching my dad play it at least. It was always stuck in the back of my head that this level was a “bonus” level for getting all of the secrets, it was what I used to think constantly and I continued to think that to this day. So you can possibly guess my surprise when this level popped up all of a sudden because I knew for a fact I missed a few secrets. But this was a nice level, it truly added to the story.

We begin in Lara’s house with her admiring her newest addition to the collection. She’s sat on her bed by (what I suspect to be) a nice toasty fire and then the nice times are ruined. Even from beyond the grave, Bartoli seems to follow us everywhere as his men have broken onto the estate, their cars pulling up in the long driveway. I thought the instant this happened, I could perhaps use the dagger, I mean, it seems like a wild chance but a great opportunity, a bit sad we didn’t see a Croft Dragon, but nonetheless, we would try to get rid of the last few who continued to pursue to treasure.

Before we did so though, I went downstairs to the main hall, which was at one point the training room, and would press the button for some music. Oh, how I have missed this music. It was from the Venice levels, oh Venice Violins, it was absolutely perfect for taking down some people and drowning out the eerie silence. It did make the task of finding people more difficult, sure, because now I had to really listen for the footsteps, but I will not deny that I enjoyed the music. I don’t honestly understand how I found it, I was literally just running around the house to try and find some people as they had scattered absolutely everywhere when I came across the button. And I’m ever so happy that I did!

It was a pretty easy level overall, wasn’t too bad at all to deal with, though me using a shotgun? That had to be the worst part purely because I am useless with the shotgun in these games. My aim with them are shocking and it always will be. There was a lot of darkness, purely because it was night time and we managed to get some outdoors-time with this level. This was pretty much the only level where I had flares, or at least enough flares to survive. I kid you not, I was so happy when I picked them up in the weaponry cupboard. I managed to survive the darkness outside with the help of some flares and with the help of my mum pointing out the enemies that I couldn’t see. Then we were up against the last guy, the one whom we have met before in the opera house and he had unfinished business with us. Either that or it’s his twin brother. Either way, it was take two on the fight and I have never cheered so much when I have beaten an enemy. He wasn’t difficult to deal with, it just felt like the perfect wrap-up. The last grunt to finish the job that his boss had left him to do, and we foiled it yet again. Ah, the joys.

After it all, it was the final cutscene, or better yet, the famous cutscene. We all know this cutscene too well as it was one that broke the third wall. After you have been shot for being a nosy pervert, in roll the final credits and oh my god, I never fell in love more with a game. It had been a long journey and terribly long from the looks of the final stats. Oh, how @jaybird1306​ would be ashamed of me for not collecting them all! But I am happy with all of this, I wasn’t aiming for a full secrets run or anything, this was more of a trip down memory lane game for me and I have fallen in love with every minute of it.

Final Overview

This game is my childhood, and coming back to it was an absolute pleasure. It really sparked some memories for me of times when I would watch my dad play it in my childhood home. He would sit at the computer and I would watch in awe, sometimes running around and unable to sit still, sometimes even copying some of the moves Lara did in-game because I just adored her. This was the game which started my absolute adoration for such a video game icon and Queen. I have absolutely fallen in love again and I highly doubt it will stop any time soon. Now, for some of the features I loves the most.

The use of darkness. It was absolutely phenomenal, especially in the later levels such as the China levels and some of the underwater levels, as much as I don’t want to remember them ones specifically. But that draw distance truly made each level seem much bigger than it was, it also made you wary of what could be in front of you and to think before you act, something I rarely did to be honest. But as I mentioned before, the way they used it in levels such as China, more specifically the Floating Islands, was incredible. I was basically wary of every step and it made you fear the darkness all around you. It gave you a sense of the void and the unknown, a constant theme which I enjoyed greatly.

The use of sound. Oh god the sound and the music, I could honestly gush over it all day. Music truly makes the game and although all games have music, none have struck me as hard as this game did. Right from the menu screen alone, it struck a cord with me. It was beautiful and I almost found myself humming just the menu tune by itself just whilst I was at work or doing chores around the house. They have always impressed me with their timing for sounds or music. The use of silence was just as good as well as they keep you on end when there is utter silence. And then, all of a sudden, BAM, you are hit with some intense music and you have no idea why or what because whatever it is is still in that darkness! It’s just great, it even makes these games seem very thriller-esque with the jumpscares (at least in my eyes) that the music produces.

The graphics and colour palettes. Bring it all back in because I’m about to gush some more. I adore colour palettes and the contrasts they used in the levels, more specifically, as everyone may know, I adored the colours they used in the Temple of Xian, the Tibet levels and lastly, the underwater levels. Although I did not like the underwater levels, the colours used absolutely caught my heart, the contrasting colours made my heart leap a little. The bright colours of the Temple of Xian level was beautiful as well, they were so fancy and beautiful, much like the colours used in the Barkhang Monastery and they started to introduce to us in the Ice Palace and the Catacombs of the Talion. The snowy peaks of the Foothills though were just as nice, although bright on the eyes, they certainly used it as a way to hinder your view of particular enemies or even rolling boulders. Although the graphics, as some would say, are quite outdated, I enjoyed the blocky graphics. They helped to give me a better idea of what to do and where to go, to become more calculated with my jumps and actions to take. It may also just be me having a moment and being a bit biased, but I adore these graphics. They are perfect to me. Although I do enjoy a lot more realistic graphics for games, the ones for these games were just perfect to me. The graphics suited the game itself and I understand they will change over time the more I progress, but I believe I will still fall in love with these graphics time and time again.

Lastly is the story. As a child, I took not much notice to the story, but replaying it now, I have started to understand the story a bit more. It is beautifully written and is clear, so long as you pay attention to cutscenes or any sort of dialogue, which I made the mistake of missing during the diving area, but nonetheless, I watched back the scene and was able to catch up to understand properly what was happening and why we were collecting particular relics and items. The enemy himself, Marco Bartoli, was a formidable foe, continuously sending enemies to cover his tracks but sadly, he made it too obvious for us to follow after and foil his plans. He was a very interesting villain, and he got his wish in the end, to become the dragon of his dreams. Just bad timing on his part that we were also aiming for the dagger at the same time. But the story was fun to watch unfold and was, in all honesty, quite new to me, bearing in mind, I thought it all as just a “shoot-em-up”, adventure game. How naive I was as a child, but at least now, I properly understand it all.

This game has certainly left its mark on me and I’m glad it did. It got my mum more involved as she told me what she thought I'd need to do whenever I was stuck. My dad, on the other hand, would only chip in with comments such as "that's not how you do that" and then would quickly try to go back to his little cat nap afterwards. Two completely different types of help, one more so than the other. But overall, I have enjoyed this game and I hope you guys have enjoyed watching me play it as well, or at least have enjoyed hearing my thoughts, opinions and what I encountered. This has been Tomb Raider 2, and this ends the chapter on my favourite Tomb Raider game, whether that changes though is another story. But we’ll have to see. I will now begin playing the third instalment and boy, we are starting with a clean slate this time because I barely know anything on this game, save for the first level (which I never finished) and a couple of cutscenes. Otherwise, we are about to trek into new territory and I hope to write about the next game to come. Now I leave you all with a song and want to thank you all for joining me on this bumpy ride! See you all on the next one!

[bearpillowmonster]

KH: MOM Review (Gameplay)

Every Kingdom Hearts game feels different. It's always innovating and always adding new types of gameplay. This is no exception. Rhythm minigames are no stranger to the Kingdom Hearts series but a whole game based on it is new.

I don't play a lot of rhythm games but I have played the infamous Atlantica section in Kingdom Hearts 2 as well as the Symphony of Sorcery in Dream Drop Distance and the Ice Cream Beat of Birth By Sleep, Guitar Hero and I'll even throw in the Honeybee Inn rhythm game in FFVII Remake. Out of all of those, Atlantica has been my favorite, that's right, I actually didn't mind it.

Now this system is entirely different than any of those, at least to me. It's definitely the most complex though but just hold on because I know how the word 'complex' can be triggering for a game, I just mean in comparison to the others is all. It's not a DDR right, left, up or down. So without further ado...(Nonspoiler for this part, it’s just gameplay)

This game begins with a stage. You're thrown into it without any notice, there were things that I didn't grasp until near the end of the stage, luckily it doesn't count towards a score yet, and after it is the tutorial but that's just the opening so if you're clueless and want to be prepared, I would say to try out the demo, I didn't even realize how much it helped me until I played the actual game. 

I wanted to say at just how friendly this game is to newcomers, it's literally all laid out for you. Nomura came out with HD remasters and collections of the previous games then a recap of the franchise on YouTube then put it IN Kingdom Hearts 3 and people still complained because they don't know the story and are too lazy to play the other games. Now Nomura's packed it all into one whole game to sum it up, explained from the perspective of Kairi herself so that you're still entertained while catching up. If there was ever an easy path to get into Kingdom Hearts, this is the answer. If I hear complaining about it from this point forward, I will be pissed. Now, as you can see, I didn't make it to story yet but that's not entirely what I'm talking about. All the buttons and functions are the same as a regular game, you basically have it all but the different keyblades (well you can collect them but not use them because they're cards). You can play as casually as you want, a song here and there. There are even options for a shuffle and sort function if you want to just jump to track selection but you'll need to unlock them individually in World Tour first. This may sound complicated but that's where the clean and accessible the menu comes in, I have to give props for that.

You're on a set track, it runs on its own, does its own thing except when you're gliding which is just moving left and right to collect notes. You use the normal KH abilities to your advantage because some enemies will be high in the air so you need to jump and slash at the same time but you can't just button mash any more, there's timing involved now. Once you get used to the gameplay, it's quite enjoyable, you may even get a song that you hit every note, my first one was 'Another Side', the first try too, I didn't hit all excellent though.

How do party members work? Well let's say you have Sora, Donald, and Goofy in a party. You have 3 buttons you can press to attack, Sora's the only one that can jump and the only one that can use the reaction commands so you need to pay attention to all three because there could be enemies on the floor and in the sky at the same time. The one thing I will say is a little bit of a complaint and that's that it doesn't tell you which buttons to press except on specific stages, it just has the symbols, I guess that's what makes it more combat oriented but it's definitely different and a little bit harder. But I guess it gets to be muscle memory, after a while. If you already know the themes, it gets easier for you to manage because you focus more on what you hear and less on what you see, that's how I started getting better with timing. I experimented with pretty much everything I could think of so I tried it with low volume and found that I missed a whole lot more because I couldn't hear it, which might be obvious because it's a rhythm game, but it just goes to show how important sound is. I even tried using headphones, I suppose that's up to you, it definitely made the music clearer but my performance was about the same. 

What do songs net you other than progress? Well you get materials. Also similar to KHUX, you get crafting materials except these ones you can use for potions and stuff, I did a potionless run because I didn’t feel the need (but I also didn’t do it all proud either) but I used a few summons and item boosts just for fun. You can also craft cards, which are really just for looks to see in the Museum after you finish one of the memory dives (which I'll get into) but the way you get the cards, grinds my gears because it's gacha, you craft them and it's a surprise what you're going to get...so it's essentially a loot box that you don't pay money for?? What the-

(notice how it says KH2 or Days at the bottom, you don’t even know. Of course I have Writhing Shards rn but that’s because I beat the game and didn’t open a whole lot of keyblade cards but the memory and scene ones are the annoying ones for me)

You don't even have to "finish" the song, just get it most of the way before you die then you'll still get credit and still get a ranking, just no exp. Now, there are also stars, stars are from 'missions' for each stage, if you play KHUX, it’s kind of like how it says “get this amount of Lux” or “use this type of medal” or “don’t use continue” so most stars are just “get this many points” and you need to collect enough stars to get to the next area. With that, so long as you have enough stars, you don’t “have” to play every stage, just like regular Kingdom Hearts and skipping worlds, I did though, just for sport, except Let it Go, just for spite. I could see plenty of fans going after those A+++ Proud Performer 3-Star rankings, I can't wait to see the hype it generates, same with the co-op.  

They went all out when they didn't have to. The Museum is where everything is collected, so all the cards you collect and craft. You can also just play the song on its own without gameplay through the Museum, so if you want headphones to just chill, it's really nice. You can also play the cutscenes and memory dives on their own without the gameplay. There are "feats" or missions such as finishing a certain number of songs, like Nook Miles or the ones they had in Re:Mind. You can collect profile pictures for your co-op or versus account, mine is Simba (even though I don’t really use it). But the co-op can get pretty intense as you can “sabotage” each other, which seems similar to a Smash or Mario Kart match, adding that much more to the gameplay.

A few more complaints, one is that certain enemies from a stage, (say, the Wyverns) won't have the same attacks as the other stages, sometimes they'll have it so that you jump to hit them and sometimes they'll just have them take a normal hit without the jump so you can't memorize what each enemy requires (there are too many to really do that anyway). The other thing is more just opinion based, particular enemies such as Large Bodies tend to carry a weight so you need to hit them more than once even if its just one enemy. How it does this is that you hit it and then the enemy gets knocked back as your next note so you hit them again. There were definitely times where I struggled because I knew I was hitting the buttons but nothing was happening, I would guess timing was the problem in some of those cases but the indicators can be difficult to keep track of because it has to be “just right”. I think even just a line on the floor to tell when you’re supposed to hit would be a major help but in a way, I feel like that’s on purpose. Also, in the Museum, you can view all the cards EXCEPT the Keyblades which is pretty shotty if you ask me, what's the point in grinding to get my favorite Rumbling Rose, if I can't even look at it properly?

(also new names for some keyblades (this is a zoom-in))

There will be a lot of things happening at once which can be daunting, I do appreciate that they included the easy, standard, and proud modes though. Keep in mind, each of those are used for individual songs, not playthroughs so if you want to change, go ahead, at least as far as World Tour goes. On top of that, there are different modes that also gauge at how good you are (to use on the track selection). There's the basic mode which I already explained, then there's the one button mode which should be self explanatory, and then there's the performer mode which is quite a lot to put on your plate all at once because on top of normal gameplay, you're adding new buttons and things in the middle of your attacks, I would probably only recommend that after you've got a decent amount of experience because I tried it day 1 and it seems like you would need a good understanding of the game and to be on the same wavelength before even attempting it. You can view a playthrough of each stage called a "demo" which is the little play symbol button next to the "play" button, it shows you how you should be playing to get an A+++ rank and giving you a heads up of what's to come, all excellent all the time. On top of that, when I was playing Xenoblade, one thing I proposed was flicking the analog stick in a certain direction for each move, that’s present here in the form of bosses and memory dives but if you want it to, you can go into the menu to enable it for regular gameplay. You'll find out if you want it on the very first stage, again, I would only recommend it after a lot of experience.

Your characters level up but it mainly just has to do with HP so you don’t die so easily but at the same time, you have potions so I don’t see much of a point for normal gameplay. All three of the party members only have one health bar, so leveling does come in handy for the bosses. However, I don't understand how each party member has a different level, maybe it's just based on the amount of notes you hit with that character but it's kind of weird because I don't think it matters. Even on the team selection part of the play screen, it has one compilitive level so why would they be different on the menu?

For bosses, you only encounter a few. If it were me, I would've made one per game but it is what it is. You don't worry about jumping anymore, it's just holding the attack button down instead and the amount of "dodge" notes that you hit will work in your defense whenever the boss attacks. Once the dodge section is over, it actually tells you how you did with the dodging section. The first time I ever did it, it said "Oh No." it has a sense of humor, it took me a while to nail those ones you hold down which is odd because I rock the gliding sections most of the time. 

There's only one more type of gameplay type I can think of, memory dives. It's similar to a boss but you're flying and there's a scene playing in the background, also some of the directional notes will have doubles, so you need to point the analog stick in different directions which is as difficult as can be because you have to use BOTH analog sticks (took me forever just to figure that out). You 'mainly' gain the memory dives from crafting which is a bit odd but you unlock the recipes and items as you go through World Tour and then play them separately in Track Selection, until you get to KH3 at least. 

Keep in mind that I played the demo on both PS4 and Switch and compared the two, my performance was about the same, though I will say this. With Switch, you can take it on the go and just do a few levels here and there as well as remove the joy-cons. The thing about that is that I feel the need to shake the joy-cons but there's no function that uses that in the game, I really wish there was though. And those directional ‘slide’ notes have to be way easier on PlayStation because the analog sticks are right next to each other.

[rp-repliforce]

 {Get to Know my Muse in 8 Songs or Less}

Music is a great way to get a sense of a character’s personality, history, or general vibes. You might only have a handful of songs you associate your muse, or you could have a massive playlist that’s impossible to list. Songs make it for all kinds of reasons: the lyrics, the genre, or maybe you just found the song at random and it stuck. The purpose of this meme is to introduce your muse in the span of one album or less, share some of your musical inspiration, or even stuff you’re into right now while you write! You can explain as much or as little as you like (multimuses are welcome to do one track per character too!).

((I kind of broke the rules of this meme, and made a playlist for my main 3 muses. It’s a lot to go through, so its ok if you don’t want to listen to them all... ^^;))

General

1. [Stadler - Dreams of war] This was actually one of the first theme songs I chose for General, but I feel like it still manages to capture his personality prefectly. I think it kind of speaks for itself.

2. [A Cerulean State - If Only I Had Forever] When I listen to this song, I imagine General leaning against a balcony and staring at the stars... Maybe thinking about the things that could have been.

3. [Evening Star - Octavia] Here’s one that’s more upbeat. Even though this is an MLP song, it’s always reminded me of General. I don’t really know what this one makes me think of though...

4. [Two Steps From Hell - Submariner] Here’s a look at General’s more serious side. This one makes me think of General on the move. Most likely headed to a battle.

5. [David Edwards - Insurrection] I’ve been thinking about choosing this song as his new combat theme, because it captures how scrary it would actually be to fight him. His armor is nearly impenetrable, he’s strong enough to bash through the walls of fortresses, can easily crush a reploid in his hand, and It’s almost impossible to hide from his onslaught (if you’re a reploid) because his whiskers can detect electrical activity. I tend to assocoiate heavy sounding orchestral stuff with him anyways.

6. [Audiomachine  -  Last Plane Out] I chose this song to be the theme of General’s sacrifice. I remember that in my story, I actually drew the scene out a bit. Instead of moving himself into the path of the final weapon’s beam, he instead dives into the structures surrounding the core, and uses the last of his strength to cause as much destruction as he can. General eventually succumbs to his wounds, and has a surprisingly peaceful death before the inferno from the core’s implosion could take him. He died a true hero, giving up everything he had already sacrificed so much for to protect the innocent humans and reploids of earth.

7. [The Volga Boatmen (Paul Robeson cover)] I remember sharing this song to show how I imagined General’s singing voice to sound.

Colonel

1. [Two steps from hell - Never back down] This is the song I chose to be Colonel’s theme song. Beleive it or not, it has actual lyrics. I think they suit him really well.

2. [Kingdom Hearts II Soundtrack - Passion - KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version] If I could make this Colonel’s theme I would, but I have a personal rule against using songs from popular media for themes. I remember a time when I had almost lost muse for him, but listening to this song helped me remember his more noble and heroic side (mostly at 1:56 though).

3. [Thomas Bergersen - Immortal] This is actually one of the previous theme songs I had for him. I think it still does kind of fit

4. [Two Steps From Hell - Winterspell] Whenenver I listen to this one, it almost makes me picture a scene where Colonel goes on some kind of mission. Also so far it seems like most of these songs make me think of Colonel running. He’s pretty good at that after all, being able to reach a top speed of 30mph on foot.

5. [Charlene Soraia - Wherever You Will Go] Sometimes I imagine Colonel singing this song to Iris. It reminds me of an idea I had a while ago where Colonel and Iris would have a bit of a falling-out, and Iris would try to stay on Earth with Zero while Colonel would try to go space with General. Still, even though her descision had hurt him, he respected her choice. They had been close their whole life, and now... They would be truly separated for the first time. Even though she’s not there to listen, it’s like Colonel is silently calling for her to come back. It makes me feel a little choked up knowing that despite all the greif that Iris had caused him during the war, he never stopped loving her. (One of the lyrics doesen’t really work here, but... you know.)

6. [Manowar - Die with Honor] The lyrics of this song really makes me think of Colonel’s last stand against Zero at the spaceport. I remember imagining that He had actually decided to stay back and fight off the hunters so that General could escape. Maybe I’d change a couple words in the song though, since Colonel never had a son... ^^; It also makes me think of this card from Teppen, which says: “Pushing himself ever further for the sake of his comrades, this proud reploid's blade can cleave any enemy in to two.”

7. [Two steps from hell - Unforgiven] This is the battle theme I’d decided on for him. The ascending notes in the background are like rising winds, the snare is like rain hitting your face, and the big drum that comes every now and again is like a thunderclap. Near the end, I imagine that Colonel is wounded, but has one last surge of energy before he either wins or loses. I didn’t call him the “Silver Prince of storms” for nothing. I remember imagining that his final battle with Zero would get so stormy and rainy that they would both have reduced visibility and would be at risk of falling off of the bridge they’re fighting on.

8: [josielemmings - In a Dying Whisper] “...Never in my life did I expect you to be the one to strike me down... Our practice duels... At one time we bonded over them... But now... It seems that they were only the beginning..." -Colonel, when he realized he was dying I’d say that by the time the chorus starts, he’s completely gone.

Iris

1. [Lucas king - Smiles] This is the song I chose for Iris’s theme. I think it really fits the impression she tends to leave on people.

2. [Lucas King - Cat] In Iris’s bio, I used this song to describe the way she feels when she’s with Colonel. Warmth, happiness, security, familiarity... Those are the words that come to my mind. I like how the bass of the song almost makes me think of Colonel’s presence and/or voice.

3. [Yann Tiersen - Summer 78] I’m not quite sure why, but this song still reminds me of Iris. I guess it’s her more ‘serious‘ theme. I feel like this track and the one after it do kind of capture her hopefulness.

4. [Yann Tiersen - Mother's Journey] This one makes me picture Iris running through the rain as fast as she can, as well as how she did her best to endure the turmoil happening around her. It makes me think of her perserverance and her quiet desperation.

5. [SAMUEL BARBER - Adagio for Strings] I imagined this to play when Iris would go to Repliforce’s spaceport, but she would find that not only have all of the ships left, there’s also fallen Repliforce soldiers littering her path. Eventually, she finds Colonel laying there... Completely motionless. She was too late to say she was sorry...

6. [Really Slow Motion & Giant Apes - Swirling Dinosaurs] This one was a last-minute descision, since I was kind of dissatisfied with the battle theme that’s actually in her bio (for X4). When Iris fought Zero, she was pushed to her physical, emotional, and psychological limits... All for the sake of trying to finish Colonel’s fight for him.

7. [Lucas King - Hurt] I picked this song to play for Iris’s death scene. No joke, when I played this over the cutscene in X4 (redubbed), I felt like my eyes got slightly moist. It really reminds me of her body struggling to stay alive in that moment as she becomes weaker by the second.

BONUS TRACKS: Post a joke song, a song fitting a relationship, or anything else you couldn’t make room for) 

[Atherine Jenkins & Laszlo Maleczky - Amigos Para Siempre] I’ve kind of made this my song for Colonel and Iris. I oftem imagine them singing it as a duette.

[Two Steps From Hell - Dark Harbor] I think this song would be good for Jet Stignray’s grim mission... Cut off the Hunters’ supply lines by destroying its very source.

Tagged By: @radio-pirate​ (Sorry I took so long... ^^;)

Tagging: @keiko-sacaro @ask-navigator-layer