#I am so weak for this cutscene

[topaz-carbuncle]

[egophiliac]

we were fucking ROBBED

[rauzagel]

She stared at the creature before her, this thing that looked human and sounded human but was not. There was a horrid shift in her consciousness; she saw this being like a great insect, a monstrous evil predator who had devoured a million human lives. And yet she loved this thing. She loved its skin, its great dark brown eyes. She loved it not because it looked like a handsome, thoughtful man, but because it was ghastly and awful and loathsome, and beautiful at the same time. She loved it the way people love evil, because it thrills them to the core of their souls.

Slightly adjusted Queen of the damned (Anne Rice) excerpt, because it just keeps popping up in my head when thinking about Raphael.

[heart-of-the-party]

deeply in love with estinien rn

[magstorrn]

shocking thing for someone with my icon and username to say but xenoblade chronicles (2010) really is the game of all time

[deathpressmonogatari]

I had this massive rant last night but I'm just so unhappy with Shadow of The Erdtree. You can feel so much got cut or butchered for the final product and it hurts. The dlc is beautiful, the journey and locations are magical, it's such a good experience. But the story is so flat, so weak.

The lore is interesting. Everything we learn about Marika gives us so much. We know about her, why she did the things they did. Her people. Why she reacted to her omen children the way we did. We learn about the fingers and the absence of the greater will and how that has led to our twisted world, with Metyr reaching out to the nothingness. And that's where it ends.

I've been very critical of Miquella's handling in the dlc, I don't like how someone so important is relegated to like 4 voice lines and zero reason as to why we want to oppose him and join his order; like in his cut ending. He deserves way more screentime and integration into our journey.

Messmer I love, but he doesn't get to do anything? He's a boss, he's the firstborn, and he unleashed his mother's fury on the hornsent. And you kill him and that's that. How does he feel about his siblings? He interacted with Miquella, because how else does Miquella get to Enir-Ilim? He needs Messmer to give him access. Why did they cut that dialouge. I assumed Miquella told him about the shattering. How does Messmer feel about his mother's choice? Her imprisonment? How does he feel about Radahn, clearly positive since he lets all that shit happen. But Messmer deserved more and to say more words

Romina not getting any dialouge in the final cut is bad enough. But no cutscene?? She's clearly very important and she doesn't give us anything. It's so annoying, she is the boss that stands between us and the sealing tree and she's treatrd like fodder and not someone who is clearly VERY important to the story and likely Malenia.

I love St. Trina but it felt like she was forgotten, her lines were so interesting but her quest doesn't progress anything? She talks to us and gives us her view on what Miquella's doing which is great but god I think she deserved more

I've put a shit ton of time into DLCs for DS1, DS3 & BB and I will die on the hill that they were all done better than SoTE. It felt like they wanted to be vague for the sake of being vague to the point of it being less of a mystery to solve and more of a "oh, okay. Guess that's that." If this is meant to be the final content drop for ER (I hope not) then I really don't know what it was meant to achieve. I suppose it did educate us on Marika and the GW and then that's it.

I've seen a lot of takes that we should accept the story they gave us and it's entitled to want something different, but I feel if you're someone, like myself, who puts hours and hours of time into these games and you're used to really good stories and lore being told only for the next big dlc to basically fumble that for our epic Radahn moment is not great. And I am within my right to criticise that, as is anyone else. And if you're a massive fan of the story good for you, I'm not telling you you're wrong. This is MY opinion.

Also we should've had a Messmer consort ending ;)

[mossy-green-aka-ferrythem]

Man I fucking ADORE how Messmer feels thematically but I won't say anything more because I have effectively on just started his fight, and I don't have the pieces in place. All I can say is that I didn't expect to find him where he was at all, like the cutscene was genuinely such a shock. I was expecting something "grand", in the same way the Royal Capital was grand, but honestly? There couldn't be a more thematically perfect spot for him, in the Shadow Keep, cursed to have his name, and all records of him, purged. I love how his boss cutscene really does drill in the idea that, technically speaking, you are not supposed to be there. It's perfect to make the Realm of Shadow the way it is for DLC, because it really does feel like you never were even supposed to know it exists, yet here you are.

God I can't get over how much of a shock that intro cutscene was. So fucking peak. From the first few bits of his fight alone, I am delighted to say that this can very well end up being one of my From Software faves.

God I fucking love this.

I love how the DLC makes all the lose ends and weak areas of the base game's narrative tied up in an EXTREMELY satisfying way!!!!

[cerastes]

I've seen people before saying that, in terms of presentation, NIKKE delivers it better than Arknights in telling what they want to tell. And I still see this occasionally whenever people start comparing stories in gacha games. Looking at your post, seems like that wasn't a lie at all.

Right, this is an interesting topic for me, so let me give my two cents on this.

I would say that statement is generally true. Nikke's main strengths are its presentation and knowing how to leverage its strengths in general, but let's focus on presentation: It's story is nothing to write home to (note that I am up to Chapter 18), neither are its events (on this regard, take me lightly, I've only read three), but what Nikke wants to say, you will very clearly understand. It's good at telling its story. Sometimes the localization will have Localization Moments (Chatterbox is described as female in the first cutscene he is mentioned, male every time afterwards; there's a lot of clearly literally translated little expressions that make no sense in the flow of the conversations), but overall, even though you're looking at a story that in a lot of ways you've seen a lot of times, its particularities stand out because Nikke tells them properly, concisely, and clearly. Characterization is consistent, and there's a good amount of care clearly put into both consistency and overarching important parts of the narrative; a favorite example of mine is how, in the tutorial, if you pay close attention, you can actually see Marian's eyes glow red during her reload animation, foreshadowing something pretty important that happens with her later.

So even if the story beats are not particularly good or intriguing -- and sometimes, outright terrible, like in Chapter 18 oh god I hate Chapter 18 -- you at least can tell with clarity what's going on and why it's going on.

Arknights has the yang to the yin here, somewhat: The stories on Arknights tend to range from okay to great, and AK events have a habit of going pretty damn hard, either as a whole or at least parts of them. Sometimes, however, they have a weakness, and this weakness is that the actual story telling can be dense. Density is often attributed to good writing, but the truth is, sometimes, the text isn't advanced, it's simply clumsy, and the prose in Arknights is decidedly clumsy. But when you actually untangle the spaghetti of clumsy prose, you find some strong story telling, strong characterization, and topics you don't often find discussed in video games, less so in gacha. You kinda have to work for it, basically.

Something Nikke does good is also that it keeps its relevant cast at any given story beat low, giving it more cohesion, or rather, making it easy to stay cohesive, because Arknights can handle larger casts pretty well sometimes, but I'll be frank, the current main story has so many literal whos to keep track of that I'm supposed to be invested in that I don't really bother. I'm sorry, but I can't really feel a damn thing about Outcast when she showed up for a few scenes and then got nuked off by a contrivance while fighting some faceless nobodies we are told we should fear.

But on the other hand, Nikke narrative, again, despite its strong delivery, is still built on a feeble base for the most part. I only think of a few characters I care about in Nikke, because a lot of the cast is just fluff and Obligatory Archetypes (bunny girls, school girls, maids, etc), whereas in Arknights, I care about a whole damn lot of them, even those without events, because their files and modules paint a very integral and intriguing picture of them. Even smaller scenes in Arknights sometimes can have a big emotional impact, due to its extensive and well crafted worldbuilding and its clever use of its elements in every event, something Nikke cannot claim, because worldbuilding in Nikke is almost non existent.

They both have their strengths, basically, and it's fascinating to me, a writer, to take a deeper look at them.

[utilitycaster]

I listened to the WBN Fireside on my way to work and there were two things Brennan said, one of which stood out to me as something I really agree with and one of which I really disagree with so I figured I'd make this post (the disagreement one) first and then the agreement one.

The latest episode of WBN had a scene that the characters were not present for nor viewing in any way. It was recorded without their knowledge, though they did listen to it when the episode came out, and on the Fireside Brennan said that such scenes should be used quite sparingly, given the nature of actual play, but (and I apologize, I haven't relistened and the transcripts aren't out) because the antagonists aren't present where the PCs are, it's useful at times to have a scene to keep them in the narrative for the audience.

I firmly disagree. I think that while it's true that actual play has a limited POV (if the characters don't see it, you don't see it), I have, in a lot of actual play fandom, never once seen a situation when it added to the story. Granted, WBN is ongoing, so I may eat my words here, but I am doubtful for a number of reasons.

Speaking as one small fraction of the audience, I am in possession of narrative object permanence. I do not in fact assume that when the PCs are in one part of the world, the rest of it grinds to a halt. In fact, something that skilled GMs do (including, frankly, Brennan himself most of the time) is quietly advance the plans of people who are offscreen. This is also not abnormal for the genre. Lord of the Rings has multiple POVs at different times, but never that of an antagonist; we learn of this through rumors, espionage, and Gandalf's retellings. Sprawling epics like A Song of Ice and Fire or the Stormlight Archives or the Wheel of Time make use of a wide range of third person limited viewpoints as well, not all aligned, but we don't see every move by every faction (and frankly, as a fan of that kind of book...I still think most of them could leave a bit more on the cutting room floor). Limited third person POV is not a weakness of Actual Play; I'd argue it is both a strength and a requirement. The story is driven by the player characters, and they cannot act on something they do not see.*

I'd also add that in this very specific situation, the audience saw the subject of the cutscene, The Man in Black, literally three episodes ago, which was a day ago in-game. He was brought up extensively in the discussion two episodes ago. If someone forgot? That's on them. We have not gone months and months without him making an appearance. I do think it's possible for villains to be poorly developed because they do not cross the paths of the characters enough (this is, as many of the people reading this likely know, a blog that loves to dunk on the cardboard-like nature of Otohan Thull's virtually nonexistent personality and motivations) but The Man in Black is sufficiently a banger of an antagonist as to not be so easily forgotten.

Finally, and this might just be me, but because I know how Actual Play and D&D work, I must admit the second I realized this was a no-PC cut scene I found it pretty hard to pay attention. In fact, it did the opposite of what was intended. Instead of eagerly awaiting news of how The Man in Black was waging war, filtered through whatever information Suvi, Eursulon, and Ame could obtain, I was zoning out while he talked. I think part of why I like Actual Play is that it usually leaves me, even with 4 hour episodes, wanting more. Cut scenes leave me wishing the cut scene hadn't happened.

*brief tangent: this doesn't, in my opinion, apply to the scenes in Downfall that the viewer sees but which weren't captured in the Occultus Thalamus. The story of Downfall is ultimately a story about the gods - they are the PCs - and the dramatic irony enhances the story-within-a-story aspect. It's important to the audience understanding of the gods to see the whole thing, and it's a valid choice that Bells Hells only see what occurred while the avatars were physically in Aeor. It does, however, apply to contemporaneous happenings in Worlds Beyond Number.

**This also doesn't apply to long DM monologues in the presence of players. The C3 solstice scene has been compared to a cut scene, but actually it's important that Bells Hells sees it. If one of the Wizard, Witch, or Wild One had managed to find a way to, even at a low level, scry or similarly learn of the Man in Black's doings? I wouldn't have minded it. I adore the Hakea vision scene. It's specifically that I'm in fact here to see what the characters see.

[multbasa]

The reason why I don't mind that Zelda doesn't wield a sword in Echoes of Wisdom is because I never cared for having a "female Link".

Some people in the past have told me "why play Princess Zelda when Nintendo could just make the main character customizable or have a female option", and honestly, I hate that idea. I think it devalues Link as a character to just make him like the Pokemon Trainer or Squid Kid, and I personally enjoy Link being a more androgynous character which Nintendo really leaned towards in BotW and TotK. If Link is divided into "boy Link" and "girl Link" then that androgyny gets discarded. Not to mention that BotW/TotK made him so bland in so many cutscenes where he barely emotes at all despite having a lot of personality in the rest of the game: making him a generic self insert will just make him more bland out of necessity so people can project onto him. I much prefer Link having his own personality like in Skyward Sword or Wind Waker etc.

I want to play Princess Zelda because she has her own cool powers throughout the series. I don't need to play a female character because it's a female character, I want to play Princess Zelda or other versions of her like Sheik or Tetra because they're unique.

Furthermore, I do enjoy having unique gameplay styles. I'm really interested in Echoes of Wisdom because it is different. The 2D Zelda games don't really have much going on in the sword fighting department compared to the 3D games: they're very straightforward. It would be interesting for them to expand 2D sword fighting in the future somehow but I don't really know what they would do besides "swing sword, block with shield, attack weak point". The ability to summon minions to fight for you and to spawn all sorts of things sounds very exciting to me personally because it's going to be a very different game than past 2D Zeldas.

I hope that in the future we see more and different Princess Zeldas to play, and personally I would love some co-op titles where I can play with someone else. (It was my hopes and dreams for both Link and Zelda to be playable in TotK when it was first teased. Running around Hyrule with someone else like my twin would have been an absolute joy especially if Zelda had her own unique moveset.)

I just prefer variety. I don't play each Zelda game because I can swing a sword, I play it for the Ocarina of Time or the Wind Waker or the Minish Cap or the masks in Majora's Mask or all the other unique aspects of each game. The sword—besides Skyward Sword—is a method to hit stuff with but it's not often the star of the show, and I am usually disappointed when other items are not useful outside of their respective dungeons. I like how Nintendo is trying to incorporate abilities into the broader gameplay rather than specific uses like in the past because it gives me more options that just "identify the specific item needed in this situation" or "hit the weak spots like this with that".

That isn't to say that there can't be criticisms. For instance I noticed that spawning something with the staff is done by pressing the Y button and there's the whole scroll through items thing. I worry that only having one button assigned to this ability means that there will be a lot of menuing. I am hopeful that Zelda will have more options for different items besides the staff because the other face buttons are free for other things. The D pad icon also leaves space for 3 different things on the left too, so I am interested to see what other abilities Zelda will have available to her. Nintendo is not a stranger to hiding things about upcoming games, so I think there is a good chance that there is some else besides the staff in this game.

Anyway, I just wanted to get this off my chest. I am a female tradesperson, so I don't appreciate anyone insinuating that liking the different playstyle is tied to sexism and the idea that Zelda can't wield a sword (she did in Twilight Princess). I just don't think that a sword and shield is something that every game needs especially in a 2D Zelda where the other abilities are generally more interesting to me.

[violetdawn001]

Random idea: IF the Dreamers are still alive in the real world, then you should SEE them in Godhome. AND get bonuses for keeping them alive.

Team Cherry could totally pull this off as it's still the Dream Realm AND the Godseekers are calling just about everyone there.

Now, I am not saying that we should get Dreamer Boss fights (though that would be cool even if impossible to pull off if you know the original concept of the Dreamers), but what about finding a secret room and BOOM! The Dreamers are there.

Now, finding the Dreamers would be cool and all, as you get extra dialogue with all three and get to see everyone's character (especially you Lurien). But what if they would give you boosts and insights into the Boss Fights you are about to do?

What if Lurien could analyze the Boss fight weaknesses, specifically the glitches and loopholes in them such as False Knight's/Failed Champion's cheat or White Defender's cheat? What if Monomon ran tests in the background to help you figure out how to get the Lifeblood seeds, not to mention help you get them? What if Herrah would randomly help you in battle? Though I would not be opposed to her taking care of Godseeker for me due to all the times Godseeker calls Little Knight a worm as in the earthworm.

And finally, when you reach the final bosses in Pantheon of Hallownest, the Dreamers actively help you during the final bosses fights, each one taking turns (depending on lore or character) until all three help you take on Absolute Radiance. Say goodby to Fall Damage! Also, the idea of Monomon launching an explosive at the Radiance's face looks so lovely.

And of course, the ending cutscene where all three Dreamers wake up and the Hollow Knight is freed to a world without an Infection...please?????? Canonically, the Godhome ending and cutscene STILL play if the Dreamers are alive, but we don't SEE the Dreamers waking up. So please can we see them? Can we see all the hugs?

Anyway-what do you all think?

Do you think Team Cherry or any community modders could pull this idea off? If so, would you play it?

[the-grey-hunt]

i have covid and must sit in my room all day. it's ghost trick posting hours and i am thinking about a gt major arcana set

These are purely based on my vibes from experience and the little pamphlet that came with my Rider-Waite-Smith deck, so feel free to argue with me, i could really use a conversation to get invested in rn

0 - THE FOOL. Obviously this one is going to be Sissel. The Fool represents setting out on a journey that's gonna take you through the rest of the cards, and it's the zero point, the beginning of the deck (sometimes the end, which is how my pamphlet organizes it). I'd draw him in the junkyard, maybe as the ghost flame.

I - THE MAGICIAN. This one gave me the most trouble. I eventually settled on Pigeon Man, partly because I couldn't figure out a 'scene' i liked for this more than a person. He fits the bill of a man hiding some secrets, but one who's a sort of 'magus' (pamphlet's word) or knowledgeable figure. No idea how i'd draw it.

II - THE HIGH PRIESTESS. I picked the park guardian/Dabira. HEAR ME OUT. The description I have says "tenacity", or if reversed, "passion" and "surface knowledge" (hate to say it but Dabira does not know the lore). Normally this would be a woman, but I ran out of female characters before assigning this one. This drawing would highlight the stars in his eyes.

III - THE EMPRESS & IV - THE EMPEROR. Alma and Jowd, respectively. The Empress is "the unknown, doubt" or reversed, "truth, the unraveling...of matters". More her role in the story than her actual personality, but the game devs didn't give her one, so. The emperor represents "conviction" (lol) and "protection", but also reversed can mean "confusion", "obstruction".

I'd draw Alma in a fake foil-card, where it looks like it's being tilted so some of her is visible through the "foil" but the "reflective" parts are her blacked-out flashback silhouette. Jowd would be at the foot of a ruined throne.

V - THE HIEROPHANT. This one's Kamila. "Captivity" is one of the potential meanings, but reversed it can also be "weakness", which I don't mean as an insult, but she's a little girl who gets physically overpowered. It would be Kamila on a thronelike seat in the red trunk, the hierophant's tools (maybe pieces from the contraption) on the floor before her.

VI - THE LOVERS. Yomiel and FianSissel. "Love" and "trials overcome", but reversed "failure" or "foolish designs". I think they as a pair represent the potential meanings pretty well; there's definitely love, but their love leads them to foolish plans down doomed paths. Drawn as each other's reverse, like a face card in a deck of playing cards.

VII - THE CHARIOT. "Triumph", but reversed, "defeat". I'd draw this as squished Jeego rolling away with the wrecking ball—both a triumph and a defeat!

VIII - STRENGTH. Lynne! "energy" and "action" both describe her. The reversed meanings don't really fit, so I'm ignoring them lol. I'd draw her in her determined pose, maybe from in the Yonoa with the pocket watch.

IX - THE HERMIT. Ray! "Prudence" (the other meanings I'm given don't fit as well), but reversed, "concealment", "disguise". I'm drawing that boy wigglin'.

X - WHEEL OF FORTUNE. "Destiny", "luck". No character fits this as well as the clock from the 'rewind time' cutscene.

XI -JUSTICE. Literally just gonna be the Justice Minister, in one of his slumped-on-the-desk poses. "Executive", but reversed, "law in all departments", "excessive severity".

XII - THE HANGED MAN. This one is Cabanela, and you know he's going in the hanged man pose. "Trials", "intuition" "discernment"— reversed, "selfishness", so the regular and reversed readings are the truth v. how he's percieved.

XIII - DEATH: I think this should be a drawing of a detective's pistol. There's the possibility of getting more metaphorical with this card, but here, I don't think you need to.

XIV - TEMPERANCE. I put Rindge for this one because i wanted to include all the people who get their lives saved by Sissel, and I do think it fits. "accomodation" (of lynne); reversed, "competing interests" (his assignment v. helping lynne). I'd draw him seated at the table in the restaurant.

XV - THE DEVIL. This isn't as much a person (I mean, it's Sith), but I want this card to show as its centerpiece the little grabby thing that takes Yomiel's Temsik fragment out. Both Yomiel and Sith would be visible, to either side, but the meaning of "violence" or, reversed, "fatality", "pettiness", seems best suited by this specific scene.

XVI - THE TOWER. It's already been done perfectly and is tbh the reason I'm making this post

XVII - THE STAR. What else? The Temsik meteorite. Carries a meaning of "loss", but alternately (not reversed, but alternately) "hope", "bright prospects for the future". Two very different scenes in that park...I'd draw it in the crater, where it could be showing either future.

XVIII - THE MOON. Beauty and Dandy for this one, idk how i'd draw them. "Hidden enemies", "danger", "deception", "error".

XIX - THE SUN. Missile! Means "material happiness", "contentment", even when reversed. It's what he is and what he brings to people around him! I'm giving that boy a halo effect.

XX - THE LAST JUDGEMENT. A scene of "the last desperate struggle" (to borrow the soundtrack title) in Temsik Park, the last moment of gameplay in the game. Could be either the fountain with the meteor coming down, or missile in the bullet right before it's swapped. could be a lot of moments!

XXI - THE WORLD. I would do a cool thing with the phone lines and traveling through them for this one. luckily no one can make me draw it, so you're just gonna have to picture the coolness yourself

[marina-the-witch]

MAJOR Shadow of the Erdtree Spoilers!!!

Alright I need to get this out, so here goes.

Promised Consort might be the single most conflicting boss in Fromsoft for me, and I need to talk about it. Firstly, I want to say in full honesty that I don't really mind it from a narrative standpoint. As much as I would have loved to see Godwyn get his time to shine, seeing Radahn in his prime, especially after he got beaten out quite hard by 4 other bosses in base game when he used to be my favorite after some consideration, is very cool and I don't personally think it assassinates either of the 2 characters involved, as it doesn't contradict or invalidate Miquella's previous actions nor does anything point strongly towards Radahn willingly being involved in this. However, one complaint I do have is that Mohg's involvement feels quite irrelevant and ignored by both the fanbase (aside from the dedicated Mohg club) and the game. Promised Consort has a couple horns slapped onto his arms and a SINGLE move that is reminiscent of Mohg, that's it. No shared weakness, no cool wings or scales or anything, hell, why not make Mohg's shackle work to make this difficult fight a little bit less over the top. On that note, I would like to address the fight. Aside from a wonky hitbox or two, I think, on paper, Promised Consort has a very solid and fair moveset in Phase 1 that's fun to learn and exploit, even if the openings do feel aggressively tight. Phase 2 on the other hand...Why? Why, instead of giving this conceptually sound and interesting boss an actually new moveset do you just slap frankly annoying AoEs and weird Dragon Ball bullshit ass afterimage attacks and the ability to fucking toast your CPU on what could have easily been the best final boss fight in Souls thus far if you had just TRIED. Many people have expressed they feel as though Promised Consort doesn't "try" narratively, that he's just a cheap, shoehorned attempt at fanservice like Soul of Cinder What who said that instead of providing an actual final boss to cap off the narrative, and I don't fully agree with this even if I did find the ending cutscene a bit underwhelming. But I do feel as though Promised Consort isn't trying to actually be challenging in a fair and fun way. Just kinda, overtuned. Aggressive. Unfair. I had my fun with the boss, no doubt, but I didn't feel good about beating it, especially not after the only way out I saw was summoning a tanky spirit who drew all the aggro while I tried to do literally anything in Phase 2, when no other boss in the DLC or in the game at all has ever made me that desperate (Note that i don't mind summons in general but don't personally enjoy using them as it takes the excitement and rewarding feeling out of a boss fight for me) (Also note that while i am fairly good at this game, I am extremely easily overwhelmed by too many bright visual stimuli as part of my ADHD/Autism, which is part of the reason I struggle with Fortissax and Bayle every now and then, now imagine that but tenfold for Promised Consort). This boss needs some sort of nerf. Not one that completely neuters it, Radahn has had enough of that already, it just needs to be towned down. The speed, the damage, I don't know, hell, toning down the visual clutter of phase 2 would probably be enough, so you could actually SEE what the boss is doing half the time, just do something to not make this fight as unfair as it is now. I don't know if I'll have the same experience I've had with this boss as I did Malenia, where after several attempts that ended in a mere , underwhelming, unrewarding "Glad that's over", to thinking its the worst thing ever to it being my favorite boss, I kinda hope it will, but for the time I can't say I'm excited to fight this boss again.

Stan Metyr and Romina instead everyone, we love weird nasty girlies <3

[skyloftian-nutcase]

I am replaying BOTW right now, and the... the secret cutscene in Champions' Ballad where Mipha carried Sidon up the waterfall...

Did... she somehow know??? Did she know she was going to die!?

The tone of her voice and a lot of what she said during that scene seemed to imply she was preparing Sidon for a world without her, so that he might be ready. When asked by Zelxa why she expected a Zora as young as Sidon to be able to scale one of the largest waterfalls in the zone, her exact quotes were, "One day, Princess... I must leave him. To face my fate with Ruta."

'To face my fate.' Not to fight alongside or to defeat the calamity. She said she was going to face her fate, which, in that context, strongly implies she expected to die in the conflict. She also directly tells baby Sidon she is counting on him to protect the domain should she be unable to do so. Effectively asking him to take her place as its leader and protector if she should fall in battle.

A lot of what she says in Vah Ruta and other cutscenes also seem to imply she wasn't surprised at all about her death, merely that she hadn't had time to react. In fact, if you follow the theory that the SOS you can hear in the Divine Beasts themes can tell the story of what the Champion's final moments were and how their battle against the Blights went before they died... the fact that Ruta's SOS comes in almost as soon as the song starts with arguably only Vah Rudania possibly coming in faster (I don't actually know Morse so it's harder for me to recognize if Rudania or Ruta had SOS come in first), it paints a story of someone who knew the moment she stepped into that mechanical elephant she wasn't coming out alive

Wow... that got dark real fast

Oof. What an observation. I did watch that DLC cut scene and noticed that too, you're not wrong, I don't think she was fully expecting to die but she was definitely making contingency plans.

What an interesting thought, especially when you remember the memory Mipha's Touch where she's talking to Link and she's like "We just don't really know what we're up against." Like... of all the Champions, she definitely seems the most wary of their enemy. It's really strange, interesting, and sad how she seemed to be planning to die - was it a reflection on her opinion of her own abilities to fight? Was it because she tends to assume the worst case scenario in general? Did she think she was unworthy to be a Champion, despite gladly stepping into the role because she wanted to help?

Mipha is such a protector, nurturing and gentle and always looking out for others. It's hard to get a feel for how she feels about herself. I half wonder if she just didn't expect to come out alive because she figured she'd be the weak link, or if she was just that willing to put her all into the fight and fully expected to sacrifice herself to ensure everyone else made it out alive.

Her SOS coming on so quickly could mean so many things. Mipha strikes me as someone who lacks confidence, she was probably terrified, but bless her she still fought. I really do admire her for that. Poor girl.

[goldenlol]

also this is sword anon again and honestly your cookie run art is partially why i wanna get back into it after a long time but i remember some drama circulating around that darkmilk has a significant age gap n stuff and in extension so does yammilk (ik your pinned post doesnt include them I just added that since that was part of the discussion) so whats your take on their age thing cuz idk what type of shipper you are lol

HII AGAIN LFMAOO BUT OKFG RLLYYY?? YAYYY

I don’t talk about milkyam cause I just don’t like the ship, or most of its shippers. I don’t like a lot of choco ships tbh..but all I will say, is milk would protect choco from yam BUT THATS IT. THATS ALL.

for me, I hc young prince as 15 and milk around the same age, idk maybe 13? I cant see how people think young prince choco was an adult...?? Yes she went out to find a sword by herself but I think she was only allowed that because she is a good fighter and can survive on her own, it’s obvious cacao had trust that choco will return safely.

She just looks tall or mature for her age ig?? I think it’s because how she was raised, never allowed to be a child and trained to be better but yea no, I fr can’t see her as an adult here

edit: I forgot to add but she still kind of had that “oblivious” mindset I guess? Believing she can save her kingdom and could change her fathers mind even tho he’s so stubborn and that mentality of being “a hero just like his father”, I’m sure thats associated w younger people because “ur just a child you don’t know any better”

after she comes back she sees what her father rlly is and basically calls him a coward. It’s fr someone maturing and seeing someone for what they rlly are, not blinded by the child mentality anymore and only seeing someone as perfect when they’re not at all (not saying cacao is a coward mb minty, but bro wasn’t the best father 🙏😔 I love cacao) but also choco is manipulated easily because of her weak mentality.. my girl.

I know a lot of people are iffy or just hate chocomilk and that’s alr ig but god pls enough w tagging the ship and making threads telling people to hate it.

I know someone whose too afraid to draw it because of what people say and I’m like !! I got you bro I’ll draw it for us!!

Also I don’t think devsis would even allow such a ship to exist if it was wrong?? (it’s funny cause they make art of it n even make captions like that one where choco and lico go to an amusement park together, w “don’t tell milk” )

also I just hate how mischaracterized milk is w choco... my god y’all are weird as fuck w him. Milk wouldn’t harass choco or stalk him pls stop that, it’s uncomfortable..

he respects his space and choco’s life. When he met choco in that cutscene, people took choco being “uncomfortable” around milk, he wasn’t? He was just shocked or just “?? Rlly??” Kind of reaction because this man hasn’t been told anything nice after he became “bad” or whatever, so having someone tell him that he was the reason they became stronger and “want to be just like him” is obviously shocking to her, she wouldn’t believe that she made someone life better because she thought she only hurt people and deserved to be hated and treated in any way.

Anyway yea, they def both met as teens, didn’t see eachother til adults and it’s obvious milk is in love w choco idc (me too bro)

this is long as fuck sorry but GOD I NEEDED TO SAY SHIT!!

Take the cute art tho I love them sm (I think choco just has the mentality that no one could love him after what he’s done so he doesn’t understand why milk faints all flustered n shit but the idea of her being oblivious is cute too 😭 fuck it shes both!!)

also what type of shipper I am?? Wym

[bluelizze]

To be or not to be, a sinner's invitation

tomura shigaraki x oc (oc-center)

*This arc takes place the same time when the U.A Traitor Arc took place. a week before the Final War Arc. however, this arc specifically took place right before the war arc began (right before ep 5)

*also yes, this is hugely inspired by Focalors’ Execution from 4.2 bc fun fact, this scene was one of the first scenes I developed when creating my oc and that cutscene really inspired me to write it

tw: dialog heavy, religions/cult talk, hints of child abuse, oc death (by suicide, mention of killing oneself), deaths, sexual harassment hinted, grammer errors maybe, manipulation (by the bastard afo)

Tomura woke up and saw Rochelle but she had an entirely different look. Her hair turned completely white like the moon, her outfit is now more simple but it’s white as well.

“Ah… you’re awake… thank goodness…”

She looked relieved and helped Tomura up. “Stay in the circle.” she ordered gently, and he listened. She was the only one who could tell him what to do.

“Rochelle…”

“Ah… she’s not here.” What does she mean?

“I’m not Rochelle. That was never my name.” She stood up and stepped back so that Tomura could get a full view of her.

He noticed that she was barefoot and had bandages around her right ankle. She looked like an angel.

“I am Yukina Mizumoto.” She began. “The goddess of the Mizumoto Estate. At least that’s what everyone says I am.”

“... what’s going on? Where are we?” Tomura has so many more questions but these were the ones that came out.

“Hahaha… I know it’s a bit confusing, which is understandable since you weren’t fully yourself back there. To answer your second question, don’t worry,  we are safe. I transported us to a safe location away from him.” She explained.

There was something in her tone that seemed different. Not only has she become less informal… no… she was speaking as if she was not human. 

“The glyph under you helps to keep his consciousness out of you. At least for the time being. I even did my best to ensure the protection will last for a bit in the aftermath.”

“What do you mean ‘for the time being’?” Tomura asked. Deep down, he knows something will go bad and he probably knows what it is. But he refuses to think what he thinks it is.

She chuckled. “Well… to put it simply… you are invited to my execution.” Right before then, a reaper appeared with a scythe ready to slice. 

Tomura's eyes widened. “Your… execution?” He doesn’t know if hearing it from her was better or worse.

“It’s simple really… It's because of All for One… because he is afraid that he will lose and that he will do anything to get his way. Seeing how he can control you… was the final nail on the coffin for “me”.”

“He knew about my real identity all along. But for his successor’s sake, he kept his mouth shut, thinking that it can build up hatred instead once you realized I was a liar.”

What does she mean by liar? No… She wasn’t a liar.

“However, it backfired him. He saw his successor experiencing something that he considered weak. Genuine love. Something that he realized too late. But as soon as he heard that his successor was going to inherit his power, he realized that he could use it to his advantage.”

“Wait.” Tomura interrupted. “What do you mean by real identity?”

“Oh.” She giggled. “I should’ve started with explaining my origins.”

She sighed and started. “It started the moment I was born. I had the most unnatural look anyone in the estate could lay eyes upon. White hair with shades of ocean blue, heterochromic eyes of blue and gray— everyone thought that I was a gift from the gods. But someone else thought otherwise and said maybe I am a goddess, reborn into a moral human.” Tomura stood agape

“I was given the most specialist treatment, but it was suffocating. They always gave me coins and food. But I was always concerned when someone would give me someone else’s belongings, especially if it’s someone or something dear to them. I came to find out later that it was because it was not a place of religious saints… but a cult.”

A cult…?

“Once I found out about it, I was mortified. I’ve done many attempts to escape that hellhole but every time I failed and would always get severely punished. It’s weird. Punishing their goddess? But I see it as if they were punishing an innocent child.”

She turned and looked down as she stepped away from Tomura.

“I never asked for this. I never asked for this role that I was thrusted into. “Life isn’t fair”, is what people always say. But why aren’t they doing anything to make it fair?”

She turned with a smile of hope. “But I did manage to escape once.”

She puts her hands where her heart is and holds it.

“I didn’t know where to go. I was never allowed to go outside of the room since the people at the estate said that it’s dangerous. But I managed to run into some kids my age. They were playing pretend. I was so intrigued that I just watched. But one kid noticed me.”

She looked up and smiled sweetly. Why was she looking at him like that?

“He asked, "Do you wanna play heroes with us?” I didn’t know what a hero was so I told him that I don’t know what he was talking about and he and his friends explained to me. It sounded fun so I joined. My role was to play the person being saved and the boy being a hero.”

She looked at him fondly, but it felt like she wasn’t looking at him.

“For the first time, I felt happiness. I never experienced something like that before… and I craved for more. I didn’t want to leave. Alas, someone had found me and took me the estate… and I got severely punished. It was probably the worst punishment I’ve ever received.” 

He was horrified, but he wasn’t prepared for what she asked him.

“Do you know about the boy I am talking about?”

He knows. And he wishes he doesn’t. He had always thought about the girl he invited to play. He thought that maybe she had shared the same looks as her or something. Maybe he knew it was her all along. He just didn’t want to face it.

“It… was you…?” His voice trembled.

She giggled. How can she giggle at a time like this?

“Yes. yes it is, Tenko-kun.”

“Ever since that day, I’ve been more and more disparate. To feel that feeling… that feeling and experience of being a normal human… because to me… it is to be part of the greatest performance.”

Her expression barely changed by Tomura can feel a shift in her tone of what she said next.

“It wasn’t after a couple years later I managed to run away permanently. I found an old opera house and was offered to live there. There I learnt how to play many different roles. But no matter how many roles I played, no matter how different which role was, I was favored for my looks. It takes me back to that hoffied time in my childhood and one day I snapped. But yet, it made me feel relieved. So night after I get chased for my looks, I lead them backstage and kill them. A bad habit I know but… how am I supposed to shake off the disgusting feeling of being known for only my outer beauty?”

Now he understands. The reason why she hates being complemented. It wasn’t because she hated them in general. She just hated their weak meanings behind it.

But Tomura never saw her outer beauty. Rather, he saw more of her inner beauty. Maybe it was because she saw his inner beauty that he was able to see her’s.

“It wasn’t long until I killed off the owner of the opera house, who only took me in for my looks. There, I created the persona. The “me” you see is that of a goddess. The “me” you have gotten to know was a human named “Rochelle de Leblanc.” Unlike “me”, she can feel anything a normal human would feel. Joy, rage, sadness. All the above and below. Despite the laws of a human, she was perfect. She was everything I wanted to be. So, I continued to play as “Rochelle” to fulfill my fantasy of being a “normal human being.”

Tomura’s voice waver. He doesn’t know what to say.

“My acting was almost perfect. I was even surprised that you guys didn’t notice. But the Meta Army created the crack in my perfect mask and it was All for One who finally broke it.”

“So… you’re going to kill yourself… because of Master…?

She turned to him and just smiled. It was sweet yet there was a sort of sinister hint in her eyes. Yet, her eyes had room to have the look of softness for Tomura.

The same softness given to him whenever he takes a break from fighting Machia all those months ago.

She walked towards him. Staying out of the glyph, and cooed, “Aw… getting a little teary-eyed? That’s a little unlike you.” 

“There… has to be another way… I'm back now…”

She looked at him with a small smile, “Unfortunately, this is temporary… I can’t keep this up for long even if I continue to live. Well, he couldn’t allow me anyways so it doesn’t even matter. And it’s taking on a toll for me so…” 

“Then rest… please…”

But he knows that if she does,  he might go back to being him again and neither wants that.

“I will soon. Don’t worry.”

Tomura starts to breathe heavily but he tries to keep it quiet. He doesn’t want to cry in front of her right now. 

She reaches out for him, but doesn’t touch him. “Shhh… it’s okay… it’s okay… you can let it out…”

He didn’t even realize tears were starting to pour down. 

“If it weren’t for him, I would’ve loved to destroy this cursed society along with you. Afterall, they should be the ones who should be guilty of their crimes since we are as equally as guilty. It’s just that society has such standards that one might question if they don’t look hard enough.”

“So Tomura-kun… what will you do now?”

Tomura still has so many questions. Not even half were answered. But he knew no matter how hard he tries, she will always dance her way through them to avoid answering. But she has no intentions of hiding.

So what is she really planning?

“I will still destroy. I can’t turn back to it now.”

He simply said. And that’s the truth.

She had a bit of shock but quickly changed her expression to a more sorrowful one, like she knew that was the answer she was expecting but wishes it was something different.

“Even so… I still want you… to live in a world where you can be who you really are… with me… I want to get to know you more. I want… I’m doing this for you. And yet, you are just giving yourself away like this…”

He’s not begging. He doesn’t want to. Because no matter how much he begged, she won’t change her mind. That just shows how stubborn he is. It’s probably because of him. 

“I love you Yuki-chan. And you’re taking my heart with you… please…” He told himself he wouldn’t beg. But he can’t help it.

“...I’m sorry… that heart belongs to Rochelle… not me… I can’t take it.”

“But Yuki-chan… you’ve always been there. From the first time we met as kids. From the moment you joined the League. When I treated you like a ghost. When taking care of me when I was fighting Machia. Hell, even when I was in surgery you watched me! You see? I don’t care where you came from or what you become after that. I care about you! All of you!”

There was a long silence. Yukina looked shocked. But she sadly smiled and that look alone, gave Tenko the answer.

“You really… are devious ones… but then again… that’s the one thing I love about you… Yuki-chan.”

Yukina smiled and looked up.

“Ah… My final hour is here… and now I must take my final bow. I must say… I’m a little scared of death. But I will welcome it with open arms…”

With a soft look, “Take care, Tenko-kun… I hope you will be able to live a life full of happiness… just like I wish I had… and I hope we meet again… in another life. I love you.”

Tenko held his breath as Yukina softly started dancing under the scythe that would soon drop. He wants to move, but his body refuses. All he could do was watch. Watch Yukina dancing away to her death.

There was a soft look on her face, like she had accepted that this was her end, yet she was happy. What is she happy about? Why is she happy?

What felt like forever, she finally took her final curtsy and waited, as the reaper raised the scythe.

As soon as Tenko reached his hand out for Yukina, the scythe went for her neck and the next thing he knew, he was back in the hellhole of a cave.

He was stunned. He couldn’t even get to at least see Yukina’s corpse. He fell to his knees, processing what just happened before he slowly started to scream.

Shuichi heard the pain scream and went over to the depths of the cave to check Tomura, holding the hand and blue flower that his dearest friend always wore in her hat.