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chanshoesunite · 2 years ago

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Chan is attracted to YN's capability

Content info: YN helps Chan to fix his music kit and he finds that very attractive.

Word count: 2.100-ish

Warnings: this is mostly domestic fluff with a smutty twist at the end, praise, kissing, from cute!Chan to rough!Chan in seconds, face sitting (fem receiving)

“Nooooo”, Chan wails softly at the table.

You nearly crack your neck looking up from your comfortable nest in the bean bag. He is fiddling with a cable, frowning.

“What? What happened? Did you delete something? Did someone beat you in your game? Have the kids called you old in the group chat again?”

Chan can barely crack a smile at your attempt at humour, still fiddling. That’s not a good sign, so you get up while he is talking.

“No, nothing deleted…this cable here is so fucked though. But I had tape around it and everything, I thought that would give me more of, like, a grace period to continue using it?”

“Can you switch it or…”, you look where it connects to his music equipment, “ah, it’s not removable. How annoying!”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Damn, I really don’t want to throw away the whole thing, feels like such a waste.”

You gently let your fingers travel from his bare shoulder down his nervous hands, taking the broken cable from him. Upon inspection, you can see the individual wires are now fully exposed and most of them are severed. It looks a mess, especially where Chan tried to strengthen the insulation with tape. But the wires are a decent size and not too tiny to work with.

“Hmmm”, you go, turning it round a few times, thinking.

Chan looks at you, his eyes large: “Hmmm?”

You meet his gaze, and after a moment of hesitation you say with a smile: “I can fix that!”

Chan’s face lights up, eyes crinkling, dimples on full display. Looking at him, a glowing ball of happiness grows inside you.

“You can?! That’s amazing!”

His voice is only slightly disbelieving, so you only slights shove against him playfully.

“Don’t sound so surprised! Sure I can! Soldering the wires back together should do the trick and I am pretty good at that.”

“You can solder?!”, he shouts, surprise making his voice grow louder. A beat, and then: “We own soldering stuff?!”

The happiness ball inside you bubbles up as a laugh and you give Chan a big kiss on the cheek.

“We do indeed! Wanna watch me fix this?”

“Uh, yeah?!”, he gets up to follow after you.

Quickly you collect your tools while he watches you, throwing loud questions at you: “When did you learn this? Where did you get your tools? What else have you soldered? What does this do?”

As you lay out your kit, you explain the basics and caution Chan not to touch the hot end of the soldering iron once you turn it on – better him pouting at you for thinking he’s a baby (“the cutest and also sexiest baby”, you coo while he grimaces but ultimately smiles) than having to nurse a burnt finger. You are by no means an expert, but your dad has explained this to you and supervised your soldering previously, so you are confident.

For every step, you explain what you are doing while demonstrating it. Chan watches you like a hawk. When you have stripped the first wire of its plastic casing, you have an idea: “Actually, do you want to help?”

His face morphs from a look of intense concentration to one of delight: “Can I? Yes, definitely!”

You hand him the equipment and caution him not to nick the wires. He works carefully, seriously. Soldering some wires isn’t that difficult if you know what you do, but for someone doing it for the first time he does a really nice job, so you praise his efforts profusely.

“Yes, good work, my love! Steady, just like that. That looks so neat!”

The mixture of shyness and pride your words evoke make you melt for him. At the same time, you feel slightly lightheaded from the adoring expression on his face. He is obviously impressed by your knowledge and when he is not using the tools, he cannot seem to stop himself from letting his hands roam very gently along your waist, your hip and the small of your back. He even helpfully tucks a strand of hair behind your ear when both your hands are occupied. In return, you pepper soft kisses on his shoulders when he is soldering.

Finally, you show Chan how to use the heat gun for the shrinking tube. He exclaims excitedly at the “actual flame! Wow!” and the sizzling noise it makes.

“This will protect the soldered area even more – but don’t set the tube on fire. Or the insulation. Keep it moving.”

With a flourish, you hold out the heat gun to him.

“Good sir, will you do the honours?”

Instead of taking the heat gun, he pulls you in and says: “You are incredibly sexy with all your knowledge and tools and tiny flame throwers, you know that?”

A small gasp escapes you when he bites your earlobe.

“I’m glad you think so”, you say a little breathlessly.

His eyebrow quirks up and his smile turns seductive. Chan leans in to kiss you and your eyes drift shut. The feeling of his soft lips against yours is heavenly. After a few moments, his mouth wanders down your neck, teasing your tingling skin. One of his hands wanders from your waist up to your breast. He remains there for a little tease and you press yourself against him. But he does not remain at your sensitive nipple. Instead, he continues stroking down your arm.

Then he takes the heat gun from you, just as he gives you a cheeky peck on the nose. He leans back and his sensuous smile has transformed into a maniacal grin. Holding up the heat gun – safely turned away from both of you, or anything that could catch fire – he switches it on.

“I have fiyaaa!”, he proclaims, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Bultaoreune”, you deadpan. You squeeze him to you once more to kiss his lips. Then you focus on the task at hand again.

Chan shrinks the tube along the soldered area while you lay your head against his shoulder. At one point, he briefly looks away from his work and kisses your hair.

“This is great”, he says, “you are great!”

“Ah, don’t praise me yet – also, you did half the work, so you are great too...don’t shake your head at me!”

After a few more seconds, you say: “I think that’s as much shrinkage as we’re gonna get.”

Chan lays down the heat gun and you inspect the now mended cable.

“Alright – well, it certainly looks good! Let’s give it a try.”

Chan taps his fingers on the table to make a little drumroll while you plug it in. You both wait – you a bit worried, him a hundred percent convinced of your capabilities. His device turns on.

“Fuck yeah! We did it!”, he exclaims and you let out a breath you definitely were not holding.

“Yay!”, you say, and then you laugh as he spins you around in celebration.

“That was such a good experience”, he says, slowly stopping his spinning. He gently takes your face between his warm hands and kisses your forehead, nose and lips.

“And all thanks to you. Thank you, princess.”

With a happy smile, you look at him: “I am so glad I could help.”

He strokes his thumb along your lower lip. His gaze is loving and you are captivated by it.

“I want to repay you”, he says quietly.

Instead of protesting as you might do another day, your thoughts zoom back to his earlier seductive mood.

“Oh yeah?”, you match his quiet tone, “I am open to suggestions.”

“Good”, Chan growls, turning from gentleness to ravishment.

First of all, he takes his shirt off, which is always the perfect start to any activity in your book. He continues by picking you up and walking to the couch. He plops down, you on top of him. Huh, you had expected it the other way around. Of course, you aren’t complaining. It feels good to have his strong body underneath you. Then, Chan doesn’t give you any more time to think about who is in what position as he attacks your lips with passion. His hands glide underneath your shirt, along your body. Up and down they go, kneading your flesh. His warmth seems to envelop you. Expertly, he unhooks your bra and immediately cups your breasts, teasing your nipples until the sensitive nerves send lightning into your stomach. Luxuriating in the feeling of his hands and mouth, you give yourself over to the moment. Little whimpers of pleasure escape you, and they spur him on.

“God, you are delicious”, he says, his accent thick.

As if to prove it, he puts one hand into your hair, dragging it aside. He runs his tongue over your neck, then starts sucking your soft skin. Your nerves light on fire and you start bucking into him, rolling your hips to get friction for your aching clit. With his free hand, he grasps your arse cheek and helps you rut against him. Shamelessly, you use his hard dick for your enjoyment. You could continue in this sinful bliss forever.

But Chan has other plans. He roughly pushes your leggings and underwear out of the way. Getting his meaning, you finish the job and take them off entirely. But before you can free his cock from his trousers to sit on it, he stops you.

“What are we doing?”, you ask breathlessly.

His hands caress your naked thighs, squeeze your waist. Fuck, you adore his arms so much. You momentarily forget what you just asked. Instead, you focus on his bulging biceps, his thick forearms, trailing your fingers down his prominent veins. Unconsciously, you grind into Chan’s dick some more, leaving a wet patch on his trousers. Chan groans and says something.

“What?”, you were so focused on his arms that you didn’t listen. You blink at him.

“I want you to sit on my face”, Chan says with a grin.

Well, that snaps you out of your obsessive haze real quick.

“Oh!”, you bite your lip. “Mhm!”

“Mhm”, he mimics back at you, his expression hungry.

Slowly you drag yourself forward, never lifting your cunt away from his torso. Only when you reach his sternum do you lift up further to hover over his face. You are on your knees, barely out of reach for his mouth. For a moment, you stay just where you are, teasing him a little, to heighten the anticipation. But Chan is having none of that. Impatiently, he lifts his head from the couch, nuzzling into you, flicking his tongue out to lick at your lips. A yelp leaves you, and all your ideas of teasing him fly straight out of your brain.

Chan groans into your pussy. His hands – his beautiful, strong hands – grab your buttocks and drag you down onto his waiting mouth. You brace yourself against the armrest of the couch. When you look down, you gaze upon Chan’s closed eyes, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, hair already a mess from where your thighs are mussing it up. You add your hand to his scalp, lightly scratching and pulling.

“Ah, fuck”, you whine, while his tongue draws patterns into you, his nose utter perfection against your clit.

Stifling your thrusts and grinds is not an option. And anyway, you know that Chan takes great pride in receiving all of your wanton movements and paving them into a road to an earth-shattering orgasm.

His hands never hold still, continually roaming your hot flesh, sometimes pressing you further into his face, sometimes dragging you away, always aiming for your best stimulation. His occasional moans vibrate your very core, making your pussy pulse with ever-mounting pleasure.

“More, more, more”, you beg breathlessly, and he gives it to you. He gives it to you until your legs shake and your abs are tight. You are so, so close to coming – and you finally, blissfully do when Chan’s tongue laps at your clit in just the right way while one of his hands caresses your nipple.

Your orgasm draws loud, hoarse groans out of you that eventually peter out into whimpers. Chan has not stopped licking you, he only slows down and is as gentle as your sensitive clit needs after his hungry attack. You feel ready to collapse, so you carefully shimmy back down his body, pressing your chest to his. You snuggle into him, trying to catch your breath, hearing his thundering heartbeat, feeling his hard cock against your arse.

“How was that, baby girl?”, he asks sincerely.

“Fucking unbelievable, of course”, you cannot help laughing, still totally wrecked, “thank you.”

“That’s good. I love you”, he gently strokes your back.

“I love you too”, you murmur against his neck, pressing soft kisses along Chan’s jugular. Then you take all your remaining energy together and pull him on top of you. You grin at him: “Please fuck me now.”

“Oh, baby girl, you do not have to ask twice.”

#Author Hare: MY BESTY IS SO TALENTED I FUCKING LOVE THIS #OF COURSE CHAN WOULD LOVE A CAPABLE WOMAN #bang chan scenario #bang chan imagine #skz smut #bang chan smut #bang chan face sitting #skz imagine #skz scenario #bang chan x yn #bang chan x reader #tortoise wrote this after soldering a broken cable for her bedside lamp and it made her feel really powerful so ... tadaaa #author tortoise

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runimanio · 11 months ago

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2024 Game Clear #4 Mega Man X: Command Mission

This is an interesting one, a tradition turn based Mega Man X RPG that has much to love, but also leaves me wanting in a lot of way. Perhaps because this is the final X series game I needed to play it also left me thinking about the storytelling & characterization of the X series so this will probably be a long one

The story here is that a maverick named Epsilon has formed a army aptly named the Rebellion Army to occupy Giga City and form a reploid supremist state and now the Maverick Hunters must intervene! If your familiar with the X series this will sound extremely in line with the general plotline the action games tended to have & it's clear that the developers really wanted to translate as much stuff and mechanics from those games into a RPG format (there's even a boss rush teleport room at the end!)

That thinking creates a pretty neat battle system but being so loyal to the plot structure of the main series X really does the story of a RPG & the new charters a disservice, you could very easily cut this 20 hour game into a standard X platformer & lose very little of the actual meat.

X and Zero are fully in their deadly serious mode that they've been in in for the late series X games, gone are Zero's days of confidently giving a thumbs up we're full broody edge lord & X is in cop mode at all time which is a shame since this could've been a great way to really explore these two in more depths then normally allowed.

I liked the new characters but they don't really get anything to do here, after their recruitment there character arc is pretty much done & i'm pretty sure Spider aside, the other 3 maybe talked to Zero & Axel maybe once throughout the entire game. I wish I could tell you anything about Marino or Cinnamon other then what written on the tin. Massimo is a brute struggling to live up to his mentor name, Marino is a thief who unexpectedly finds herself embroiled into the conflicted, Cinnamon is a living blacksmith forge i guess? And Spider is a bounty hunter who's later actions makes me question his early actions. They all have a lot of potential they're just unserved.

Let's move on to a lighter note for a bit, This battle system is pretty cool, it uses a turn system similar to the Digimon Story games (it's probably comes from something older but I'm blanking lol) where you can see the upcoming order of who moves first & even have your unit act multiple times before your enemy can under the right circumstances, two buttons can be equipped with special weapons that use Weapon Energy to fire and can be used before taking your action for the turn. Instead of healing items you have sub tanks you can collect and fill that you can pull from for healing.

Action Trigger are essentially limit breaks where you use all your weapon energy & play a little mini game for a big attack, its a little repetitive and i don't love doing a Mario Party style stick rotation for Cinnamon's heal trigger but it's fine & everyone has a hyper mode which is a temporary transformation that massively buffs the character or even in some cases change out their weapons and Action Triggers, X and Zero have secret unlockable Hyper modes that are super OP and fun to use.

It's a really fun and unique system & I do appreciate that I never really felt I need to grind but it can get pretty old when your binging through the game since enemy can feel pretty spongy and the encounter rate sometimes can a little aggressive where I'll get out of a battle and slightly adjust myself to get my barring again only to be thrown back into a battle immediately but sometimes i would go several rooms without any encounters so it probably varies.

And when you get lost the constant battles can be grating & getting lost can be easy as the entire game looks like this

All the stages feel like I'm exploring a bunker with almost entire game being made up of narrow hallways, even Giga City the city in the sky kinda just feels like another a bunker also slight tangent about the game's world it's funny that even in this RPG the X world is devoid onscreen humans, I don't know what Sigma and all the other Mavricks are complaining about, seems like the humans are doing a great job leaving reploids alone!

It probably sounds like I really didn't like the game but I did ultimately enjoy the game but I just see so much untapped potential in this game, these characters & this world, I can imagine a version of this game were Massimo has a longer character arc struggling with feeling like he's failing to honor the mantle, Maybe Marino learning to believe in the cause, More of Cinnamon learning what she wants to do beside just being a actual tool for people to use. My mind races with possibilities with this world & I only got a fraction of what I would've liked.

I truly wish it got a sequel because this is a very solid base to build on & really Mega Man has always been an iterative franchise but in hindsight of all the baggage the next generation would bring, the mega man recession of the late aughts, & Inafune gaining more power within Capcom & apparently hating the idea of a X RPG to begin with Command Mission was probably made at the last possible moment it could've been made.

Anyway here's some random thought to end off on

recontextualizing Axl's A Trans ability into summons is very cool

Everyone in the city getting new dialogue as the story progresses is neat

Cinnamon's design uses the red cross logo so this game is a violation of the Geneva Convention

I'm not really sure why they needed this to take place in 22XX causing it to have no place in the timeline due to the Zero games also taking place then other than maybe wanting to remove themselves from the earth is damaged after X5 continuity idk

This version of Ultimate Armor is crazy, X ain't playing around anymore no way Dr. Light signed off on this lol

After her chapter Marino never vocally speaks again for the rest of the game, she didn't deserve to be done like that.

Absolute Zero is very cool

Shout out to my friend Talion for gifting this to me for Christmas, thanks buddy!

#Runi's Gamelogs 2024 #mega man x command mission #megaman x #rockman #command mission #mega man x #mega man

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rabbiteclair · 2 years ago

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what are your fav (whatever reasoning) abnormalities?

in no particular order:

Queen of Hatred: I think basically everyone likes her though. however I am proposing a program to have agents pose as doing Saturday morning cartoon villain shit for her to beat up. When magical girls turn into giant dragon monsters it means they don't have enough enrichment in their enclosure. (Honorable mention to her sisters, especially Knight and her delicious buff.)

birds: birds.

Fragment of the Universe: is it an actual, legit space alien? okay, no. do I wanna hug it anyway? Yes.

Dream of a Black Swan: thematically/story-wise, this is whatever. mechanically though it is incredibly well-behaved for a Waw, safe to work with for anybody who isn't a near-newbie without white resist, and good for training three of the four work types. Even gives a really handy gift. a joy to have in class

Dimensional Refraction Variant: also a well-behaved Waw, but conceptually cool, its gift looks neat, and if you're gonna breach and kill a lot of clerks, leaving a trail of dismembered body parts hanging in the air is a fun way to do it.

Blue Star: looks cool as hell? check. cool-looking gift? check. cool equipment? check. cool story? check. incredibly easy to work with for an Aleph? check. ... if it breaches it's probably gonna RUIN YOUR GODDAMN DAY but I'll let that slide considering everything else

Backward Clock: I'm sorry I ever doubted you Backward Clock. thank you for my salvation Backward Clock. you were there for me when I needed you and you may call upon me in your hour of need

CENSORED: who doesn't love this wacky scamp. I laughed my ass off the first time I saw the roulette mechanic too. I know Nameless Fetus also has that mechanic, but this one is better because it's on literally anything that isn't Nameless Fetus

Funeral of Dead Butterflies: any inverse stat check critter is a pain to have around late-game but LOOK AT HOW SICK IT IS. that is a five-armed man in a suit with a giant butterfly for a head carrying a coffin, and he'll give you dual pistols. also: when your workplace is so fucked up that you manifest The Spirit Of Your Workplace's Fucked-Upness, and then you stuff it into a cell for profit, because your workplace is fucked up.

All-Around Helper: just a little fella. nice glasses. trains Justice.

#lobotomy corp

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vyrim · 1 year ago

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Im semi excited for the full Balders Gate 3 release in a month. I have no issue with the divinity style even if some aspects of it, such as the little amount of interesting stuff that comes from leveling up, arent the most exciting. My major concern is the performance side of things. First couple of hours I was fine, able to explore the beginning of the area with a constant 60 fps. Then it just kept dipping and dipping as I played, until I basically got to the end of the ea content barely able to keep a stable 30. With that teaser video they did of the actual Balders Gate city supposedly being massive and detailed, im worried that my computer wont be able to run it at all, let alone at a non eye straining frame rate. We'll see though I guess.

Minor complaints underneath

TLDR: Wish this game looked shittier but played better. I couldnt give two shits how realistic the models or environment if it was just really well tuned. Probably gonna be one of those "Devs bit off more than they could chew" situations that Ill end up getting angry at around the second half, finish, and never play again.

-Ive always hated the spellcasting system of most tabletops. Cast a spell and its gone, if it missed or failed then sucks to be you. Its not a fun idea, and I wish most of the spells were simply made weaker or placed on a cooldown rather than limited. That was what was cool about divinity, if you figured out some really cool combos then you wouldnt have to resort to resting every couple fights just to use them again. Sucks, especially since most stuff is subject to roll rng, so your big lv 3 spellslot ability means nothing cause dipshit beat the dc by chance. Even worse when alot of spells are channeled, so if your character gets hit even once and then proceeds to fail the concentration check the spell fizzles out. Lame shit.

-THE CAMERA. The camera is atrocious, and I dont know what they did differently compared to Divinity 2, but it is a nightmare to control. If you pan too far from your character theres this, like, invisible leash that sudden kills any further movement. It also hates and form of horizontal movement, which means if your character is really high up it wont go down, and if youre trying to look up a cliff it'll just rub the wall.

-The cast is underwhelming. You have a githyanki which is neat, but otherwise its literally two human guys, a half elf, and a vampire elf. Theres not a single dwarf, halfing, gnome, or even a tiefling in the party, which is super lame. They could have easily had a dwarf with the weird magical item hunger problem, or a tiefling vampire wouldve been funny as hell.

-While the variety of extra actions are cool (I cant count how many people Ive killed by shoving them off cliffs or into lava) but theyre really clunky. The environment has so much detail that shoving or shooting in a direction is at massive risk of being just caught on some stray rock or pillar.

-The AI for npcs is still as dumb as it used to be, had a slave get mad at me for shoving its captor into lava. Guys that have never pathed will suddenly turn around out of the blue, even had one person just t-pose and vanish.

-Most of the magical equipment I got wasnt very interesting. Even the adamantite stuff I got after the big fight in the forge was just a debuff on hit. I want silly shit, I want game breaking shit, I want more stuff like those weird tentacle grenades that pull people in.

-Very buggy, and with how big theyre saying the game is gonna be I dont think its any better on release, probably worse actually. I wouldnt have such issues with it if reloading the game didnt take thirty years to complete. Poor Shadowheart made a jump only to glitch out and plummet several stories mid way.

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oracleofsecrets · 18 days ago

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Final Fantasy I - Part of the Quest to Play All 16 FF Games

Hours logged: ~16

Full disclosure, the Pixel Remaster made these first six games a LOT more palatable with quality of life stuff, especially the first three. Random encounters can be toggled off, which is especially useful when navigating out of a dungeon (no teleport spell yet…) and the overworld if you were simply curious about some area. And quick save, of course. The first three games you can save Only when in the overworld, so if you die in a dungeon, sucks to be you I guess

Each room/area has a minimap you can check. I cannot imagine dealing with the floor hazards in the ice and fire “dungeons” if I didn’t know where to go. It was great seeing which spots had treasure chests, and the overworld map would also show a treasure count for Places you’ve been

And AUTO BATTLE my best friend. Pressing it makes everything in battle happen twice as fast, and your characters will automatically use the same command entered previously. You do have to turn it off obvi if you need them to do something else. But it’s a great way to get through grinding. Honestly I think it cut my play hours in half

Onto the actual 'review'

Firsts

Well. Everything! But some things I didn’t know were/would become series staples, like:

Airships

Fated heroes of legend

Seek the Crystals

Worsts

I’m aiming to be forgiving since it’s the first and it’s from the 1980s, so game design just wasn’t at a point where people knew what kinds of features were possible, let alone sought after

Acquiring spells by purchasing. A minor inconvenience, but they get expensive…

General Impressions

I was surprised at all the variety! Like setting wise, with environs and different types of people and inhabitants. Humans, elves, dwarves, dragons, Ancients, mermaids, wizards(?), pirates, a witch. And all the locations (the cities, dungeon designs [esp the sky one! Gorgeous]). And enemies!

At the beginning, you could make your characters any classes you wanted. You could’ve had a party of four warriors/fighters, if you wanted to do that for some reason. I don’t recall if you could change classes during the game

I could figure out some of the plot stuff or progression on my own fairly well (thanks to my handy dandy notebook haha), but a few things were baffling. Like maybe I missed the NPC that gave the hint for Where you resurrect the airship

I really wasn’t expecting a time travel aspect! That was kinda fun

I also was not expecting an airship in the first game, given the high fantasy setting. Very cool though, and basically required for later-game navigation progression. I wonder just how Much Final Fantasy has originated in the fantasy rpg genre...

Mechanics

The magic system was interesting, where you have an MP pool for each Level of spells, and you can buy/set three spells for each level. Casting any spell costs only one point. The system of recovering MP was a bit restrictive (idr if they had Ethers yet, but if they did they were hard to come by). And of course I’m used to the descendants, where you learn spells as you level up and stronger spells cost more MP

Equipment with special properties was cool. Wasn’t expecting that for such an early game

Wish I’d realized Before the final boss how to Use equipment items in battle (e.g., “casts Fire when used”, where “use” means to select the item from the item menu while in battle). I thought it would happen automatically when it was equipped. But no, it’s there in the item list past the consumables…

I also noticed late in the game that you can change equipment During battle? As long as someone else doesn’t have it equipped anyway, so that was neat

Rating: 3/16

A decent way to spend a weekend, and an interesting historical document, but probably not very exciting for the modern gamer

#final fantasy i #pepper plays Final Fantasy (all of them)

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dizzybelle · 2 years ago

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Fire Emblem Engage Thoughts

I’m getting close to the end of Fire Emblem: Engage and I have thoughts and feelings about it. I’m putting it under a read more so I don’t spoil things/clog up your timeline (its long)

I think this is probably the weakest Fire Emblem game in decades. It’s such a step backwards in so many ways compared to a lot of the previous games. Yes, including Fates. That game’s plot sucked, but the game at least had engaging (heh) mechanics and stuff. The Emblem system is a cute tool at first. Being able to equip different characters with boosted abilities and whatever feels like an expansion of the passive items in 3H and Echoes, and the super moves are a flashy toy that makes combat a little more “cinematic.” Unfortunately after you start unlocking more of them it becomes an Incredibles situation of “when everyone’s super, nobody is.” When everyone on your team has super powered abilities and whatever, it just becomes more management getting everyone equipped before combat, and the stat boosts stop mattering. What I don’t like most about the Emblem system is how stunted and drained it made basically everything else. All of the skills that normal people classes unlock are basic at best and useless at worst. The only advanced classes with traditionally good skills (Sol, Luna, Ignis, etc) are locked to the royal characters unique classes. So which class you pick for any given unit barely matters. And whats worse is that changing classes... does nothing! It resets your level, but you don’t keep any of the skills you unlock from your old class. “Oh Emblems let you unlock new proficiencies that unlock new classes! :)” but then changing classes at all does nothing. There’s no longer an incentive to exploring different options. All of the skill related flexability is shoved entirely into the Emblem system which is just frustrating to level up. Your options are: Level up 4 levels at a time in battle, then get your progress halted until you go can go back to base and watch a two sentence long cutscene between the character and the Emblem OR go to the arena and very slowly 5 levels at a time with unskippable intros and effects by dumping fragments into people which is arguably even slower. Only then you have the right to dump skill points (a vague and slowly generating resource) into a character so they can learn an Emblem’s skill permanently. Of which they can only equip two of. Some of these skills are actually useful, like Canter, Dual Assist and Resolve, while others are either useless or just minor stat boosts. I think the special moves are neat. Thats about the extent of my enjoying Emblems. Being able to attack multiple enemies at once, manipulate the terrain to give you an advantage, or just super kill one unit are all neat things that you can do! It gives a bit more impact to what you can do in a turn. Kinda wish it was a class skill thing rather than a fancy bauble with a fanservice FE face stapled two it though. There are so many chores between levels. They all feel unnecessary and just contrived ways of making numbers that normally go up in combat go up slightly more. The food items are pointless, why are they here, they’re only used for the cooking “minigame” that could just has easily functioned without them (because they’re not even necessary for it!!), and only serve to clog up the map with item drops. The animals system is basically nothing but just generating more resource drops. 99% of them drop food items which, as I said, are useless, and a handful drop very small amounts of metals for the “weapon crafting” system. The workout minigame sucks. “Hey after every mission come spend five minutes here mashing buttons so your character has a stat boost for the next mission!!” yeah no thanks. The wyvern riding minigame, while an actual minigame instead of just menu options, is entirely pointless and feels like its added on just as a ‘look at the fun minigames we have’ addition. Gift giving returns from 3H but is mostly just fluff and with how limited money is in the game, going and buying the specific gifts (which is the only way to get specific ones) is just a waster of money. The arena actually has a good payoff to it, but it takes so long every time sitting through each character’s intro dialogue for the four hundredth time before you can skip to results. And coming back to it every time after a map just feels like doing vacuuming or laundry. A necessary action thats time consuming and not fun for anybody. Not all of the Somnium bullshit is bad, though. The weapon upgrade system is somewhat nice. It’s a solid improvement to the old FE system of “dump all the gold you have into a single weapon, boosting all its stats to the maximum” and makes it more of an incremental improvement. I could do without the ‘needing materials’ thing, since all the materials are just an unnecessary addition entirely. “Oooh after a level you walk around the map and find 200x Iron Ingots in this bush! congrats!” I like the ‘post game patch’ addition of the friendship events. Not only does it give you an easy outlet to boost unit’s support levels that don’t involve you, it also just lets you skip straight to results. No sitting through unskippable cutscenes or dialogue, just straight results. Thats nice, now add that to the arena. Substories in this game suck. There’s like a total of two sidequests that are actual sidequests and the rest are just “hey remember this old level from fire emblem games that were good and also Fates? do them again!!” I feel like they backed themselves into a corner design wise of going ‘each emblem has to has its own side story’ and then having to do twelve of them. Didn’t leave a lot of room for other side missions without bloating out the game. It’s a shame, really. The plot is... The plot is. It’s pretty lackluster across the board. The characters are one dimensional, the twists are obvious and blatant, the entire plot just boils down to “we gotta gather the mcguffins to save the world” which is just as generic as JRPG plots go. Basically nothing that happened the whole way through has had me invested at all. It’s just going through the motions. The cutscene engine that they used in 3H returns, of characters just all standing in a blurry room doing the same generic animations over and over. The actually animated cutscenes are nice, but they’re few and far between and the game mostly takes place in those blurry rooms. The protagonist is a return to the Corrin style goody twoshoes white bread character archetype, which isn’t very interesting but it at least beats out the plank of wood that was Byleth. The world itself serves entirely as a backdrop to the ‘gather then mcguffins, stop the big evil dragon’ and the relationships between the various nations and stuff aren’t touched on much. They’re just different locales that exist to house the mcguffins and provide different map gimmicks for the gameplay. They don’t matter for more than the max three chapters you spend in each of them, then they fade into the background. God I wish Nintendo would cool it with the Expansion Pass bullshit. I’m sick of paying $45 on top of a regular full video game price of $80 just for some dregs of content before in like a year they actually add something vaguely worthwhile. And at that point, 99% of the time I’m so done with the game that I don’t even bother coming back to it. All of this stuff could have just as easily been optional content in the normal game!! Please!! You even released like 50% of the crumbs within like two weeks of the game coming out. C’mon man. I’m sorry for posting so much about this I just have strong feelings about this franchise and while they game is decent, so much of it is so bad and reminds me so much of how far the game series has fallen. It feels like the exact opposite problem to Pokemon, another series that’s going through rough shit but I’ve loved my whole life. FE’s production value is high, things are polished and flashy but they’re entirely soulless and devoid of sparks of joy. Pokemon’s production value is rough, buggy and unpolished, but its full of soul and has the heart at it’s core that makes it worth it. It sucks and it makes me sad that the state of two franchises I love are just crumbling to dust.

#dizzy shush #fire emblem #my brain is full of words #and feelings that i struggle to put into things succinctly #bweh

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anghraine · 6 months ago

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That weapons aren’t tied to jobs or skills threw me for a loop until I remembered vaguely how GW2 works - I remembered the lack of trinity job play but because my brain is FF, that series strongly ties RPG party members to a weapon-job type. (Many games, many job and magic systems, of course. But especially in XIV professions are tied to tool- which is why the 3 of 7 crafting jobs use hammers have to label if it’s a hammer for blacksmith versus armor or versus fine metalwork.) A lot of animation sharing for skills I guess?

GW2 weapons actually are tied to skills, contingent on profession (as in class, not crafting profession, which is completely separate). The weapon-locked skills of GW2 are a major point of difference from GW1 that my dad some people are still mad about, lol.

You have some "free" skills separate from your weapon, but half your skills are based entirely on your equipped weapon or weapons. However, weapons bestow different skills to different classes—so, say, any Guardian (paladin type) who wields a torch in their off-hand gets a skill that lets them immolate themself without damage (to themself) and another skill that lets them breathe fire. But a Mesmer (illusionist mage type) who wields a torch in their off-hand gets a smoke-themed invisibility skill, and a fire-themed phantasm, and the animations are completely different.

It looks like land spears will work similarly, except that every profession gets access to them (while something like torch is limited to specific professions). But the skills and animations will be based on the profession, I think, like any other weapon.

The official announcement says:

Some professions will employ the spear as a ranged projectile weapon, some will wield it as a melee weapon, and others will utilize it as a magical focus to cast powerful spells.

Seems like a lot of work for them, honestly—I'm surprised. I really hope it works out (and didn't take too much attention from housing, lol—I'm hoping for something roughly like your game's!).

City of Heroes, neat! Saw that was coming back.

It's been back on various pirate servers for years (I know because I used two of them, haha), but my preferred server finally, over years, negotiated an official license from the IP owner to run it legally. Getting the license was a big relief, honestly, and we were even able to resuscitate our characters from when the original game was live and import them into the server. Wild.

COH has always been an odd one for me because I have such a strong preference for classic SF/F settings in games and am not at all interested in superheroes (unless She-Ra counts), but there are so many options for flavor and costuming, and I like the interplay of mechanics so much that my family has been really fond of it regardless.

[total rambling tangent]

There's one very underpopulated region from the final live expansion that I specifically love and am sometimes the only person in, and a bunch of my characters basically live there because it's the most remote from superhero stuff. It's an alternate universe of the main superhero land where the AU versions of the heroes are now villains running a shiny dystopia that gets dirtier and more industrial the further you get from the glorious city center. Among many, many other problems, people who in the main dimension would have been superheroes but who are native to the Shiny Dystopia dimension (aka players who chose the dystopia origin) are forcibly enlisted into "Powers Division," an agency of superhumanly gifted people doing various tasks for the state.

At creation, you choose whether your true loyalties are with the state or with the underground revolution against them, which is already more interesting to me than just being a random superhero. And then you have chances throughout the story for you to switch allegiances. But also, there are internal factions within both the Loyalists and Resistance: as a Loyalist to the state, you can side with an obliviously well-intentioned faction trying to protect the citizenry without oppressing them, or with a ruthless and power-hungry faction. If you're a rebel, you can side with a faction that's trying to limit unnecessary casualties while still achieving revolution, or with terrorists bombing hospitals and such.

BUT ALSO you don't actually have to play the storyline for your preferred faction and some other factions' missions are also available for you to play (depending on how extreme you are, basically) as an undercover agent for your original faction. In that case, your changes in alignment can become cover stories as you work towards your true faction's goals and you'll periodically get the chance to report to your true boss and get orders from him.

The writing is sometimes shaky on multiple levels, but I love the sheer amount of character choices even though they don't ultimately change that much (I personally find "well-intentioned and oblivious Loyalist who genuinely switches sides to the Resistance in the end" the most rewarding storyline). But regardless, all storylines converge at level 20 with the dystopia's plan to invade the standard dimension of the original game and you have to travel to one of the main settings where you're naturally perceived as either a superhero or supervillain. Your different origins sometimes come up in dialogue referencing your choices, badges you can win, and stuff involving the war with the dystopia dimension, but by and large you're funnelled into the generic superhero narrative, so I often just stay in the dystopia and do low-stakes spying missions, lol.

In any case, a lot of the playerbase really didn't care for the more complicated and sometimes finicky mechanics or dystopic setting of that expansion and the setting essentially expiring at level 20 out of 80. So the dystopia zones are often largely neglected except me, specifically, running around shooting water blasts at the dystopia!Mafia as a principled Loyalist with an increasingly troubled conscience :D

[end ramble]

Anyway, thanks again on both gaming fronts <3

@anghraine saw the trailer for the new GW2 trailer, thought of you so congrats on your upcoming Pacific Northwest adventure

#honestly ncsoft sucks (they ultimately own gw2 and coh and this fact is viscerally painful) but at least things are aboveboard now #squirrelwrangler #respuestas #long post #anghraine's gaming #ascalonian grudgeblog #city of heroes #also kind of funny that the expansion in which you can be a spy operating within an authoritarian dystopia is called 'going rogue'#and i played it a lot when i was super active in rogue one fandom haha #even had a cassia i think

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missallsundaes · 3 years ago

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Z Y W for Marco? Tho honestly all the letters is also awesome <3 thanks

I know this is You, you owe me all of the Sanji's xx I will collect soon x NSFW Alphabet - Marco the Pineapple Phoenix

A - Aftercare

A Doctor with the best bedside manor, obviously. Though seriously he's so laid back that I think aftercare might not be his first thought. Is just as likely to throw you a towel and be like "alright good romp, see you later."

B = Body part

LEGS. This man loves legs. From hips to thighs, calves to ankles. This man loves to see your legs. Loves to hold them up in bed, or see them over his shoulders. Wants to be able to touch them and run his hands across your skin.

C = Cum

Obviously pineapple is like.. the key to sweet tasting cum so he's all set in that department. Seriously tho, he's a doctor and he probably has a good diet and drinks enough water so, he would have nice tasting cum. His cum is thick though, and if he comes on you it's likely to be short bursts instead of long shots.

D = Dirty Secret

I don't know if this is so much a dirty secret but he loves a threesome. Very often his go to is Ace so uh I hope you like him also. Probably won't ask you for one, Ace just shows up one day like "what up lets fuck" and Marco just lets him join.

E = Experience

Oh he definitely knows what he's doing. Anatomy classes are paying off in the bedroom for SURE. Plus he's had enough practice to know his timings, to know where and when to do things, and to make you scream just right.

F = Favourite Position

As previously mentioned, your legs over his shoulders. Either against a wall with you folded over him, or your back against the bed/table/ground and your knees over his shoulders, he just wants to be able to hit you deep and touch your legs.

G = Goofy

He's too laid back not to be a little bit sarcastic and joke with you, but if he's playing the part for you he could be serious.

H = Hair

Trimmed neat, also blonde. His body hair is pretty minimal other than his legs and pubes.

I = Intimacy

I think intimacy for Marco depends on if you are in a serious committed relationship or if this is a fling. He only puts in as much effort as he would get back, maybe less. But if you were long term, he would be intimate with you in the right ways to suit him.

J = Jack Off

Not above a little wank session, but he doesn't really need to often, he doesn't have a huge sex drive and when he does have urges he usually just saves them for when you're around.

K = Kink

Marco likes a bit of power play, though he's always the dominate player. He would do a bit of butt stuff if you wanted to try it on him, would teach you where his prostate was so that he actually enjoyed it. Doesn't mind being watched (read: enjoys being watched). As mentioned above, enjoys a threesome.

L = Location

His desk #1 turn on. Blow job under the desk while he's working? Yes. Throwing you over the desk? Yes. Sat in his chair with you riding him? Yes.

M = Motivation

Your reactions to his teasing touches, or your soft moans when he kisses your neck or ears.

N = NO

Doesn't care for high maintence s/o. He's too laid back and needs someone just as chill as he is. Also not into anything "unsanitary" or dangerous.

O = Oral

Honestly, foreplay is main event for Marco a lot of the time. He would spend time giving you oral, and since he knows his way around, god would you enjoy it. He loves receiving oral as well, especially if it's a cheeky risky blow job under his desk or in a closet.

P = Pace

Slow and steady. Knows where he's going and boy is he gonna get you there.

Q = Quickie

Quickies are fine. He doesn't have a high sex drive but he does enjoy a bit of a tumble in risky places sometimes, and those tend to be quickies.

R = Risk

He's definitely game to try things out. Will try risky positions or locations. As long as you're not at risk of being hurt.

S = Stamina

Marco's got low stamina, he pretty much has one orgasm in him and he's done, but he's VERY good at holding it until he's fully ready and done with the deed. Could tease you for hours and wear out your own stamina before he needs to cum himself.

T = Toy

Would let you peg him. Doesn't mind using toys on you if that's what you want. Sometimes gets off on using the cool metal of doctor equipment (like a stethoscope) to make you moan.

U = Unfair

OH he loooooves to tease you. Loves to edge you. Your desperate whines and begs are what he longs for.

V = Volume

He's not a very loud person in bed, in general maybe makes a few grunts or moans. However he does like to tease and talk to you during.

W = Wild Card

Fucking loves lingerie and sexy outfits. ESPECIALLY if they compliment your legs.

X = X-Ray

Marco is a tall man and you BET he's got equipment to match. Sturdy, good size, and very very nice girth.

Y = Yearning

As previously mentioned, he doesn't have a high sex drive, but when he gets going he's going for a while.

Z = ZZZ

Depends on if this is a romp or a full session. If you're going for hours, he will wrap you up in his arms and sleep with you, possibly not even giving you time to clean yourself up first.

#marco the phoenix #marco the phoenix x reader #marco x reader #one piece #one piece x reader #n/sfw alphabet #n/sfw

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steve0discusses · 4 years ago

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S5 Ep10: Kaiba Embarrasses Himself on International Television Again

We start off this duel by teasing us into believing that this is a part of a theme park:

The Kaiba theme park is a weird mix of actual horrorscapes and animal crossing cutesy stuff...you can really tell what parts were Mokuba and what parts were Seto in this park.

But Leon takes it well, just kinda standing there as he’s done this entire arc--being a general forgettable nice boy who just...doesn’t do anything. Like he gets up, he plays cards, he sits down. Having him on top of a rock with melodramatic Little Mermaid waves crashing at his feet is laughably the opposite of Leon’s whole vibe.

Leon just seems like the type that listens to coffee shop ambient Youtube videos when he wants to amp himself up. This kid appears to attend a private school...somewhere...I think, and just went to a dueling competition in his school outfit because he literally doesn’t have a style of his own hanging in his closet.

Like Yugi wears his school outfit, but he does that ironically, to off-set the amount of makeup and hair spray he has in his hair. Leon wears the school outfit maybe because he admires Yugi so much, but is like “time for my rogue bow I wear in my hair. That’ll scare my competition.” He completely missed the point of the 00′s alt school outfit scene.

I do way too much art to not see the imagery. I feel like this is half my job, and playing “where’s the hidden Freudian meaning?” is half the fun of going to any art museum.

(read more under the cut)

Anyway, Seto got tired of no one paying any attention to him, so he stepped out of his 14-monitor mancave, he very quickly pulled his Dragon outfit out of the (dirty) laundry, flicked a couple sea crabs out of his pockets, spritzed it with Febreeze and called it “good enough.”

Like, is it just me, or has dragon jacket greyed out a tad from last season? Like it’s starting to get a little...worn? Like what funk is coming off of Seto Kaiba right now?

Also notice that he brought his giant stash of cards to the duel. He’s going to put on this show as if he’s not going to pull out the giant stash of cards. But like...he’s going to pull out the giant stash of cards. Like Hell boring ass Leon is going to play his deck of Candyland characters again.

Leon is declared a winner on Technicality and it’s like.

Damn Seto, for reals?

So congrats, Leon, you did literally nothing, again, and yet you mystifyingly persist on this show. Clearly you aren‘t going to grow a second head out of that ponytail like professor Quirrel in the last act of this arc.

That’s when Yugi’s hazy memory recalls something from the Before Times of “that time period before I was possessed by a needy ghost that eats up 3/4 of my memories and time.”

So Schroeder is Atari. Neat.

Also, this makes Zigfrieds outfits a hell ton more endearing when you realize he’s this Willy Wonka game company owner making toys for children. Kinda makes you wonder why Seto’s such a stick up the ass in comparison when it’s like--dude Kaiba, maybe you could learn a thing or two about whimsy. It could really help out your inconsistent park.

Anyway, Kaiba quickly realized who hacked the park and so, understandably, he asked Zigried to leave, which...backfired?

Y’all card culture is a lot. Everyone in the audience covered their faces in shame because they were so embarrassed by Seto Kaiba and I’m like...not sure why? Because he didn’t do a duel? Against this guy who snuck into his tourney not unlike Rex and Weevil? This asshole?

Recall that the last time Seto played a guy who had a fake name it was Marik freakin Ishtar and he killed a LOT of people (actually, it was Alister, pretending to be Pegasus, but he also killed a lot of people so that still tracks). Card culture can’t seem to learn from their mistakes, although Seto clearly sees the problem with dueling a professional hacker in a digital card game on a hologram that may or may not be able to murder you. At least its not a magic.

And so, tired of being humiliated on television, Seto decides to bust out the dueling gloves (well, not those gloves. You know what I meant) and use the equipment he BROUGHT WITH HIM and clearly never intended not to use in the first place.

(I hope you enjoy this dutch angle that wasn’t quite dutch enough, so it just looks like they’re lounging)

Roland patiently walks over from...somewhere? I don’t know where Roland comes from whenever he pops up, but he waltzed over to hold onto this suitcase as if that’s a formal part of his job.

I say this so often but like...I don’t know what Roland’s job is. He’s like a valet/butler/duel referee/duel cheerleader/CEO/and I will spend the rest of this series trying to understand it. Part of me is like...could Roland be a temp worker at an agency who just gets rehired for a different Kaiba Corp job every couple of weeks?

That weird ass fourthKaiba, I will never understand Roland.

Just one letter away from being a Zigfriend, Kaiba. Just one letter away. I know this because I misspell friend a LOT.

Zigfreind? Zigfriend? Damn it, both of them look the freakin same to me, this sucks! Why can’t I spell friend without autocorrect!?

Just the amount these two fight when Seto clearly barely even remembers who this guy even is.

Leon shows up in the seats, pretending that he’s totally cool about winning on a technicality right after Zigfried went on a rant about how shameful, irredeemable, and mortally embarrassing winning on technicalities are.

He seems to take it pretty well, smiling, sitting next to Rebecca, and then dissolving right into the background because this kid’s whole deal is being way too nice to exist on this show.

Y’all we just had that art meme where people were redrawing that “How to draw manga face” and guys...that’s what our anime used to look like.

I mean look at that uncomfortable chin there, that tapers in for some reason. Those eyes melting off of her face. The lack of any 3d sense. This was an anime ideal for a very, very long time.

Anyway, the “how to draw manga face” is a perfect masterpiece and never needs to change. (But it is fun to make fun of it although I guess the person that drew it was actually a kid, which makes sense from a publishing perspective to have a kid make a book about how to draw stuff for kids.)

We see a little flashback of Schroeder and why he hates Seto Kaiba, and can I just say, I kind of love this little outfit. Kind of a shame that it’s stuffed into a flashback.

Which is when we found out that Zigfried thinks Seto Kaiba did a plagiarism.

Which is hilarious because it was Gozaburo Kaiba who was plagiarizing Seto, so like...who did it first?

OK guys. Lets talk about this.

APPARENTLY, there was some sort of contest to work with Pegasus...kind of like an architecture contest (which is a thing, when a city is doing a big project, they send out a call, and big firms will compete to see who builds it) and I GOTTA know what Pegasus’ theme was.

Like did he say to all the little rich kid geniuses “I would like something that makes my cards ALIVE, can you do that?” Then when Pegasus got a hell ton of holograms and was he like “But ALIVE--it makes it alive, right boy?” And when he was shaking the hands of each stupid kid was he like “So if I hypothetically put my dead wife on a card and slapped it into the machine--could she EXIST. Like...enough? I just need her to legally exist is all, and not like..literally of course...but enough literally to be a sin against God, can you do that?”

I just want to know if Willy Wonka Wonderkid Von Schroeder had any idea he was creating a resurrection chamber for a dark wizard. Like he has no idea that he dodged getting his business bought straight from under him and his soul shoved into a card. And it’s not like Schroeder was going to abduct Yugi’s Grandpa and ensure that Yugi would be there to save him down the road. Like I’m pretty sure Schroeder would have been sacrificed waaay before that whole island contest even went down.

Zigfried got so freakin lucky. I can’t believe he’s mad. But then again...

...the man swims in milk pools so like...maybe his logic center is busted? Maybe he wanted to die in a horrific murder island? I don't know what Zigfried is into, but I do know that because Zigfried doesn’t have millennium rod powers linking him to the millennium eye--so would it have mattered? There’s destiny reasons that Pegasus chose Kaiba.

Course...we never found out where the scales ended up, have we? We think it’s Shadi, but have we seen Shadi bust those out since Season Zero?

Man that would be a good plot twist that will absolutely not happen.

Yo, make horse guy into a dark wizard, show, I dare you!

Anyway, that’s all for now, but if you want to read from the beginning, here’s the link:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

#ygo #yugioh #yu gi oh #S5 #Ep10 #Seto Kaiba #Yugi muto #Duke Devlin #Tristan Taylor #Tea Gardner #Mokuba Kaiba #zigfried von schroeder #leon

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fluffy-critter · 2 years ago

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#crosspost #busybee

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freddiekluger · 4 years ago

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i love the "mike seeing the ghosts" idea SO much in general, so i've interspersed the main cap headcanon with some ones for the other ghosts- i love mike sm so thanks for requesting!!!

it started as a tickle in his throat, but come evening mike comes down with a serious chest infection. alison drives him to the doctor's in time to grab some antibiotics, but they've got a function at button house this week so for the most part alison has to keep her distance- can't afford for both of them to get sick, especially considering how many repairs, decorations, and vendor meetings still need to be sorted. mike pops a couple tablets before passing out.

the next morning, alison has to go out to run some errands, so mike finds himself stumbling to the kitchen for breakfast the next day. julian's already there, doing his trademark lunges while listening to the horse racing (it's become his ritual whenever the races are on- he's insufferable otherwise, so alison lets him keep the radio). they share a nod, and it's not until after mike sits down with his cereal that he realises he's just nodded at a dead politician with his balls out. between that and the phlegm in his chest, it was a rough start to the day to say the least.

after he gets over the whole "ohmygodicanseedeadpeopleholyshit" (and at least one reenactment of the hospital scene from the sixth sense), along with greeting the various ghosts he encounters on his way back to bed, via the loo (both him and mary got quite a shock when she "peeked on him at privy"), mike collapses onto the bed.

a pillow over his head, mike lets out a few substantial groans before hearing a cough that, surprisingly, doesn't come from him. he slides his head out from under the pillow and sits up to see a greying, slightly awkward figure in period military dress standing in the doorway. he assumes this must be the captain.

captain:

mike: hi?

captain: oh, hello. i was just on my way back from my morning run* and mary mentioned that you can, well, see us now.

mike: yep. [coughs] that's pretty much the deal. not sure why though

captain: oh that'll be the antibiotics you've got there. strong stuff, eh? anyways, i thought i'd stop by and say hello. hello

mike: hi. i would say nice to meet you, but [a coughing fit ensues]

captain: ahem, quite

[silence]

mike, holding up a video game casing: well, i was just gonna play this, if you don't mind?

*this is technically true. the captain is indeed, on the way back from his morning run, except his morning run finished half an hour ago, and he's been waiting for the right time to introduce himself to mike. unlike thomas, he doesn't expect anything to lead anywhere, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to be alone with the rather handsome buffoon.

mike's holding one of those war themed combat games, the kind with a vague plot but mostly battles and button mashing. the captain's temporarily distracted from staring at mikes arms, and starts quizzing him about the game itself. by the time the loading screen is done, mike's already gotten the impression that the captain doesn't want to leave for a few different reasons, and it's not like you have a WW2 army captain of hand to help you work out strategy every day, so they pretty quickly end up teaming up- long gone are mike's days of button mashing (or, mostly long gone. "sometimes it works!"). the only condition was that the captain had to stop calling mike 'michael'- mike said it reminded him of his grandad too much.

- the game has moments where your character can romance any of the other characters, regardless of gender- mike's a dirty player, the captain gets rather awkward when mike decided the best way to achieve his immediate goal is to seduce all relevant characters into giving up troop information, and mike would be lying if he didn't find it at least a little bit entertaining to watch

- in between levels, and when waiting for lives to replenish, mike asks cap about his time in the war, and the captain loves having someone to listen to all his stories (even if most of them are second hand). he keeps having to remind himself not to stare, because mike can actually notice his eyes wandering, but of course that just makes him even more aware of it and the cycle of awkward noises and obviously-not-looking continues. alison has let slip to mike that the captain is likely a bit of a bender, and is relatively flattered by the possibility of cap liking HIM (not to mention not wanting to accidentally send him into a toxic 40s shame spiral), so mike just keeps the friendly conversation going to keep cap feeling comfortable. the captain's crush migrates to the left, and by day four or five him and mike really are friends more than anything else- if there's one thing the captain couldn't stand, it would be turning into one thomas thorne, although he still gets a few butterflies when mike compliments his strategy after a tough level. (it's not every day you have the attention of a handsome man who thinks you're a genius- especially when you're dead)

- it warms alison's heart to see the captain having the closest thing to fun he's had since they arrived, and the whole ghost set up works well for her and mike- mike needs the company, and alison can't afford to get sick or fall behind on jobs

- kitty loves mike (not romantically, she just thinks he's neat!), and eventually joins him and cap for their video games. cap was dismissive of her at first (one part possessiveness over mike's time, one part disbelief that kitty could be a good player), but kitty ends up rivalling him when it comes to strategy. after one too many nights locked outside and having to break back in to her own home, she's become an expert at espionage (even if she won't admit her experience was anything other than a fun childhood game.) with cap and kitty helping him out, mike makes more progress in a single day than he had in a week of gameplay. not to mention, kitty could really use the confidence boost from mike's compliments which he gives to both of his gaming partners frequently, although he draws the line at kitty's georgian cough remedies

extras:

- fanny ignores him as overcompensation for Redding Weddy. well, i say ignore, but she's somehow always the first one to volunteer when alison asks one of the ghosts to check on him

- mike considers going down to the cellar to get a look at the plague ghosts. mike heads to the door. mike remembers the sheer amount of skeletons when they dug up the plague pit. mike pulls his blanket tighter around his shoulders and heads away from the door.

- obviously, thomas avoids mike wherever possible. mike barely even knows what thomas's voice sounds like by the time things go back to normal

- mike feels bad for humphrey, and keeps trying to pick his head up and place it amongst the action before remembering he can't actually touch him. he also feels bad for screaming everytime he sees humphrey's body stumbling around. it was in the bathroom one night, and let's just say it was lucky there was a toilet nearby.

- pat invites himself to watch mike, kitty, and the captain as they tackle the final levels together, on the proviso that he doesn't make a sound. pat's rubbish at tactical planning, even if he can plan a mean scouts activity, but he's just happy to watch. it's nice to see the cap really having some fun, and see kitty included. it'll be sad for everyone once mike finishes his course of antibiotics

- thing eventually do go back to normal, and the captain misses mike's company far more than he thought he would. mike's still around, but not being able to properly talk to him is tough, and the captain realised that he was maybe more fond of mike than he convinced himself (mike will still make a thomas thorne out of him yet). mike strangely misses the funny soldier, and the georgian 'battlemistress' (kitty chose the title herself), and alison finds herself constantly passing messages between them. they're currently testing out all the ghost-communication equipment under the sun (within a reasonable price range) to see if they can find a better solution

thanks sm for this one, and so sorry for the delay! i've been battling with hardcore brain fog, so it's been difficult to create totally new stuff with words- hope this was up to scratch

#bbc ghosts #bbc ghosts headcanon #mike ghosts #the captain #the captain ghosts #bbc ghosts ask #ben willbond #lolly adefope #kiell smith bynoe #six idiots

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inventors-fair · 3 years ago

Text

Epithet Commentary

So, this ended up being a fairly popular contest. I think the prompt was really open and creative, but limiting enough that it wasn’t overwhelming. You all did a pretty good job with it, and I’m happy with the turn out.

Some themes I noticed? One was board wipes. A lot of legendary creatures have some sense of power or finality to their epithets. They’re all the biggest, or the strongest, or the most powerful of whatever they are. It led to a lot of ways to kill things, and a lot of black cards. I was impressed with the non-creatures as well: I was expecting a lot of enchantments and auras effectively granting the epithet to something, but there were a decent amount of spells, and even a few artifacts. In general I was impressed with the cleverness this week. Some people had a lot of fun throwing curve-balls. Picking cleverest reinterpretation wasn’t easy.

Enough talk, on to the talking! BTW, if there’s two paragraphs for an entry, the first is an art direction submitted by the designer.

@bread-into-toast - Archive Keeper

mood: flightless aven librarian, suspended in a cavernous maze of shelves

I like what you’re going for here. That first ability sounds really cool, and I could see it being sort of a build-around theme. I don’t know about uncommon, though. There would have to be quite a few ways to put cards into a library in the format, maybe a keyword that does it, like if flashback tucked instead of exiled. The exact wording of this would make cascade particularly scary if it were in the same format. I also like the flavor, caring for a literal library, and the art is great. Now lets get to my big issue with this: the activated ability. I do really like that you gave the card a way to trigger its first ability, but I think you went a little too aggressive with it. First, unless the format is particularly bad it it, this keyword is going to always be active. It’s cheap and requires a very easy resource to get. The fact that it stacks with multiple of these guys is also scary, especially with it being uncommon. Second, it’s off-color. I know it’s your own graveyard, so it’s not like it’s graveyard hate, but blue has never done this. White does it a little. Also, even though they’re separate, it does sort of read U: This creature gets +1/+0 and gains flying until EOT. That really isn’t blue. That’s fire breathing. Blue doesn’t get fire-breathing, at least not for a very, verly long time. White gets it very, very rarely, but I think it might be fine here. I know the colors are an attempt to put this card in the colors of “putting things in libraries,” which I think is good, but the exact payoff for doing it isn’t quite right.

@chungus-supreme - Lich Queen

Interesting take on Lich. Almost like a mix of Lich and Recycle. The number of permanents you have when you play this will never change. Unless of course you’re playing reanimator or something. It’s especially scary if you’re playing non-permanent cards. These types of cards are rather hard to judge, since saying “this is very swingy and will either lose or win you the game with no inbetween” is kind of the point. Putting lich on a creature is especially awkward since it leaves her open to wraths or sweepers. I do like how she doesn’t technically kill you, so she works will in lich-tribal decks which are more common than you’d expect. Still, I don’t think these kinds of cards are healthy for the game, even if they are fun and silly. They just lead to very simple “do you have it or not?” scenarios which can lead to sour players. Still, as I said, a neat take on the archetype.

@corporalotherbear - Young Conqueror

Art direction: A haughty young man, surrounded by kicked and humbled servants, wearing a crown reminiscent of the horns of a certain elder dragon planeswalker.

What an brat. I get what this card is doing. I like how the “young” part denotes its small power toughness, but the high mana cost and splashy ability makes it feel powerful. I don’t know if I quite agree with “conquerer” specifically, since it takes away from your opponents but doesn’t give you anything. I think that’s kinda minor. I like the ability itself, and I think it's probably costed right. The lose 1 life is mostly trinket text, but the other two effects are pretty strong. ETB discard is at two mana, ETB one-sided sacrifice isn’t actually super common, but on spells its about 2 mana, so a combined four mana is probably okay once you factor in the three colors (and it being a rare, unlike the cards I’m using as an example). I’m going to ignore the personal part of me that dislikes blink decks and aggressive ETB effects and say that this is something wizards would think is okay. And at least this loses value as the game goes on or against specific decks. So in total, I like it. And it’s a good use of this week’s challenge!

@col-seaker-of-the-memiest-legion - Royal Scion

Well isn’t that a pretty boy. So I get the treasure part. But I don’t get the last ability. You can spend money to save things? I don’t quite get what story you’re trying to tell. Mechanically, the card is fine, but there’s a few tiny issues. First, the last ability I believe can target itself. As in, you can sacrifice an artifact to make itself indestructible. Not very intuitive, but I expect it will happen often. That will essentially make this guy a 2/2 that comes with a 1/1, with a little utility. I guess that’s okay. The second issue is I don’t know where this guy is going. Treasure decks and artifact decks have less in common than you might expect: the former are aggressive and usually base red, the latter are usually slow and base blue. They both occasionally show up in white or black, but neither probably want a small body that gets you a few chump blockers and protect some stuff. At uncommon I could see this in maybe an artifact heavy set or a set with treasure synergies, but I’m having some difficulty. I think this guy is fine, but I’m just not a big fan of it.

@demimonde-semigoddess - Heart of Fire

Love the art there, it’s very evocative and really seals the card. I’m also surprised to see cipher; I’ve always thought the mechanic was cool, but it’s hard to do well. I think you may have fallen into the trap as well. This card is very strong. Two damage will usually be able to get at least a single blocker out of the way, and then you get to cast this card again for free most of the time. Most cipher cards were costed as though you were going to get two free casts a turn. The “draw a card” one costs four mana, for example, because it usually comes out as a divination + a curiosity rather than a cantriping curiosity. So this card ends up being really close to a reckless rage that you can go face with and can be recast. Think about Direct Current, which was also a sorcery and also cost you another resource and was 3 mana but still saw lots of limited play. I do like the fact that the card deals damage to the creature it’s encoded on, but because of how cipher works it’s hard to make it feel necessary. Unless the creature has trample, the damage is pretty much going to be all or nothing. Dealing small amounts of damage to your own creature is most relevant before combat. Doing damage after doesn’t usually matter unless it kills it. But it still makes it a cost: you can get another copy of it, but it’ll cost you a small creature. Despite all of my issues, I still like the card. It’s creative and flavorful, it’s just the sort of card that could dominate games, and should not be at common.

@dimestoretajic - Torch of Defiance

I don’t know what to say. It’s a good card. It’s got a very basic pump with a slightly fancier extra ability, and it feels flavorful. The defiance part is a little weak, but I get it. I also think you maybe could have upped one of the costs, or made the equip not have red. As is, it’s stronger than a lot of menace-granting equipment, and it even lets you spread it around. But maybe that’s just me wanting to play it safe. Anyway, card is good! I’m very happy with this one.

@fractured-infinity - Shifting Flame

What an amusing little card. The name helps me picture something, but not an equipment. However, seeing it, I actually like that interpretation. The idea of “wielding” a flame is a cool idea. The effect is cool, though a little weird. It reminds me a lot of balefire dragon, a 7 mana mythic, but maybe the fact that it needs a body and time to set up helps bring it down. I do enjoy some of the safety valves, such as it being double red, meaning it's harder to put it on a deathtoucher, and how it’s all or nothing, so you can’t remove the absolute minimum and have an easily repeatable board wipe. I’m still unsure how much I like this card exactly. Outside of balefire and shockmaw dragon, this effect is pretty rare. At a minimum, it turns a creature into shockmaw. Getting a blazing volley every turn is stronger than it sounds. It makes it hard to build up a board or get your smaller creatures bigger. I do like that, the longer this sits out, the more likely it turns into “equipped creature must be blocked.” Even with all the setup required, I’m a little scared of a reusable one-sided board wipe that just sits out until it's necessary. Granted, I’m not as scared to print this as a lot of cards, but I’d just want to see how it plays first. I think you made a cool card with a unique ability that could end up being a little too hard to come back from without direct answers.

@gayagendaofficial - Heretical Healer

For the art, I imagine a human man pulling a corpse out of a grave. The corpse is not yet fully out of the grave, but the man is already measuring it and preparing to saw off a limb.

Wow, this card is nuts! It’s a repeatable reanimator with very little effort. First, let me address some templating. After the “mill three cards” text, you can have the next sentence be connected. As in, “mill three cards, then you may...” Also, you don’t need to say “under your control” because it’s already coming from your graveyard, so it’s kind of assumed. Okay the card. So, if you play this card, as long as you have two creatures i your graveyard, this reanimates a creature. If you’re playing four of these guys, it’s entirely possible to play this, mill another, then reanimate it, then mill a clone, then clone this guy and do it again. If you’ve ever played when Gyruda combo was a thing, I could see this doing something similar. However, the card itself is pretty cool, and I think it’s worth saving. One option you have is just increasing the cost: I would suggest up to seven mana. Another thing you could do is restrict what you can reanimate, sort of like Gyruda. Perhaps it can only exile or only reanimate the cards it just milled? Or maybe come up with some other restriction, like it having to be a creature with a certain mana value or something. In summary, I like this card’s design, but it’s a little too easy to just be way too powerful in a good enough deck.

@ghoulcalculator64 - Dungeon Warden

I love cards like this. O-ring effects that care about what you O-ringed. How very “imprint” like of you. However, the connect doesn’t quite feel right to me. The two effects feel like they’re pushing in completely different directions. Banisher Pirest effects are best in aggressive decks, where having a removal spell on a creature is super relevant, and you can hopefully kill them before they get their creature back. The card draw half of this feels really weird in that style of deck. It seems really strange to have a ticking time bomb like this that just sits there to draw you cards. The high mana cost doesn’t help with that, but I don’t think it could be any cheaper, either. There’s also the fact that it can target your own creature. That feels really antithetical to the design, and can lead to shenanigans that are really counterintuitive to new players. That also sort of ties to one of the first (yet less legitimate) complaints about the card, which is that I think the last ability needs better flavor. I remember in the Discord you mentioned it was supposed to represent interrogating a prisoner for information. But if that were the case, wouldn’t you be exiling your opponent’s graveyard? And if you are allowed to target your own stuff, would you be interrogating yourself? Like I said, this is a little more nit-picky-y, but it really makes that last ability feel disconnected. If I hadn’t seen the Discord message, I wouldn’t have known what it was representing at all. I’ll also say that referring to “the exiled card” even though the card exiles a lot of cards is confusing, but I don’t really know a way to fix that. With all that said, I still don’t think this is a bad card. It’s well designed, creative, and although I say it pushes in opposite directions, sometimes that makes it more viable as a “Plan B” sort of card.

@gollumni - Sun’s Nemesis

Boy, this guy sure does hate the Sun! A little direct on the interpretation here. The white mana symbol is literally a sun, and red mana is… hot. I do love it being a shade, that feels like such a great flavor choice. Mechanically, gotta say I don’t like this card. There’s nothing an opponent can really do once this card hits play. The only real “fun” I think you can have with this card is playing a blood moon, but I don’t know if blood moon leads to fun games anyway. It’s also strange to have a card that does literally nothing but be an overcosted flyer in a lot of matchups. I think the fact that this triggers on every mana is also a bit much. If it cared about the spells being cast, even if it cared about mana costs, that would feel more fair. But right now it’s just so all or nothing, and so easy to make a mistake on. It also will lead to some more annoying players saying “do you tap it for blue or for white?” when a player uses their hallowed fountain to cast a colorless artifact. I get the style here, and I think it’s a really fun way to make a nemesis of the sun, but I think this card leads to unfun games.

@helloijustreadyourpost - Torch of Defiance

I do like the flavor of this card, and the art really helps with that. I like the fact that it just keeps getting stronger and stronger as the game goes on. However, I think it needed to make them stronger. In order to get the first counter, you need to pay a total of 5 mana and have your creature die from damage, all before getting a single amount of value from it. After you do that, though, it can finally start to snowball. Unless they have a bounce spell. What I’m saying is that this card is really fragile. Compare it to Malefic Scythe, which is cheaper, lower rarity, starts with a counter, and works with sacrifice outlets. While I know the damage clause feels correct, I think it’s putting too many restrictions on this card. If you wanted to avoid combos, I think “and it wasn’t sacrificed” would have really helped with that. You could also let counters be put on it when any creature dies form damage, not just the equipped one. I also think you have some extra space to put text on the front of it, so it could grant something while it’s still empty. Menace would be the most obvious and on color, but about anything could work. I could also see it starting with a counter. I like the auto-attach, but it’s really all this card has going for it, and I think it’s hard to take advantage of this card enough to be worth putting it in a deck.

@hiygamer - Cursed Huntsman // Primal Hunter

Fun fact: I have signed foil copies of both of the cards you used for art here. I will not let that color my opinion of the card. Luckily the card is pretty good anyway! I love a good, simple, well-made vanilla. This isn’t technically vanilla, but it’s close (it’s also not french or virtual vanilla, for those wondering). A 3/3 for 3 is a little under curve, but a 5/5 for three is pretty good, exactly what you want from a werewolf. I’m not sure how I feel about the exact flip condition, I kind of feel like a simple “transform this when X dies” would work very well, but then you get some awkward state-based damage effects for the big guy. My biggest complaint with the trigger as it is is that you can play the huntsman post-combat and have it flip right away. The original werewolf clause specifically worked against that, so that it would actually feel like you were transforming a card that had been on the battlefield and not just going straight to the end. I’m also really impressed by the names, which feel like perfect mirrors, sort of like breakneck rider // neck breaker and daybreak ranger // nightfall predator. I don’t normally do judge picks, but I really feel like this is a card I want to see. I like it.

@hypexion - Hate Seed

Now that’s what I call a bad seed! Love the art, by the way, as does my fiance who walked into the room a minute ago. I like this as a card that sort of sits out here and “grows,” much like a seed. It’s pretty easy to grow this guy, especially in mono-black. Playing this one turn two, then playing any number of bobs, sign in bloods, or group pingers like Spawn of Mayhem can get this guy massive by the time you pop him on turn 5, not to mention actual damage! Most cards like this put some sort of restriction on the loss of life, such as paying life, only life you/your opponent loses, or once-per turn. I think it needed something like that, because even without building around this card you can often get it above 10 power by the time you hatch it, at instant speed no less! And with trample! Oofta! From a purely design perspective, I’m glad you put the counters on it, and at the right time, rather than just making an X/X, both because those are hard to remember and also because it helps this card double dip on counter synergies. However, I worry a lot about the memory issues of the first ability, since loss of life comes in many forms and could be confusing to many (i.e. is it more counters for more damage? Does multiple creatures in combat count? What if I gain life at the same time?). Also, and this is really a nitpick, but I think this either wants to tap to activate or be an enchantment. So in total, I think this card is better than it looks and more difficult to play correctly than it looks, which makes for a generally good card but one I’d be worried about printing.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes - Mirror-Breaker

Art direction: On the right, Mirror-Mad's "main" spirit (the one in the hallway) is exiting a mirror, who is being ruptured by this fact. On the left, with their back on the ground, someone is terrorized, a hand raised up as to defend themselves from the angry spirit.

This is a type of card we don’t see a lot of. At a minimum, it’s a big hastey one-hit-wonder. But you can hang onto it for a while if you’re smart! I like the literal interpretation of the name. It literally breaks mirrors. And if it doesn’t, then it gets angry and leaves. You can even use it as an artifact sac outlet if you somehow need that. I’m a little unsure about the deathtouch. It seems very unlikely that 5 power won’t kill, and with flying and 1 toughness it’s rare that they’ll double block and need you to spread damage. If anything, the deathtouch is more relevant for blocking. It’s actually kind of strange that this has a downside for attacking, despite having haste and flying and five power, but you can just have it sitting on the back line, read to trade for any creature they have. I don’t think people would do that, but it’s strange how much it kind of rewards you for not attacking. The strange mix of things happening on this card and the different directions this card is being pulled make it hard to put this in a deck.

@jund-berserker - Locus of Rage

I like what this card is trying to do, but it’s way, way too good. At a minimum, you can cast this, name a number of a card in your hand, then cast it. You get a three mana bolt (which is plenty playable, especially in limited at uncommon) and the inevitable ability to do it again. If you name 1 or zero, you can likely win the game with this the turn or two after you play it in almost every eternal format. Compare this card to Aria of Flame, Imminent Doom, or Eidolon of the Great Revel. All these cards are less consistent and harder to build around, or are symmetrical. This just lets you turn half the spells in your deck or more into free lightning bolts. Also, the fact that it triggers on your opponents’ spells just feels mean and oppressive. However, like I said, I like what ou were trying here. I just think that if this had said 1 damage, or maybe 2 damage but only going face, maybe this would be okay, but right now it’s just too good.

@loreholdlesbian - Slumbering Isle

I like the description of a volcano being a “slumbering isle.” That’s a really clever way to reinterpret that. However, I think the “isle” part was either taking too far or not far enough. Basically, I don’t know why this taps for blue beyond the name. It’s sacrifice effect is entirely red. I’d say add a scry or something, but we already have Surtland Frostpyre. This is especially a strange case because lands, as we all know, are colorless. So it’s not like it’s a break or anything, right? But Maro has said that activations costs follow the same rules as cards when it comes to colors. If this activation requires blue, it should do something blue. Alternatively, maybe drop the blue entirely from this card. Or, if you want to make it feel really flavorful, drop the blue from the cost but make it only tap for blue, to really sell the idea of a normal island turning into a scary volcano.

@maizenolo - Lunarch Marshal

That’s cute. Lunarch, moonfolk, that’s so clever. And it’s really cool that you gave it the moonfolk ability to bounce lands. However, that signature ability is… bad. It’s not particularly fun to keep bouncing lands. As with you card specifically, I have two issues with it. First, I don’t think blue gets +1/+0. The only cards that really do it usually have some other thing attached, usually unblockability, so just a flat buff seems weird. I don’t think it’s a color break, but it doesn’t feel blue. Second, this ability is so repeatable I’m worried players are going to overuse it and it will lead to frustrated players. If you just want to hit for three a turn, you’ll slowly be going down lands. Worse yet, imagine you attack your opponent late in the game and they’re at five life. You can bounce all your lands, and maybe they’ll die, but if you get hit with removal you’re going to lose the game, all because of this ability. Is it unfair to blame the designer for a player misplaying a card? Probably, but it’s our job as designers to encourage players to make the right decisions, because the better decisions they make, the better game they’ll have, and the more fun they’ll have. That's the end goal as a designer, isn’t it? I think a good way to get around this is to increase the mana cost, limit it to once per turn, or make it not as useful on repeat uses. For example, if it gave +1/+0 and unblockable, I think it would be less likely that a player would repeat it (though it would need to be costed differently). I think moonfolk are really hard to design. Still, I like the way you answered the prompt.

@misterstingyjack - River Guide

I like this card, but I also have a lot to say. First, the first ability is weird. In general, cards that get better based on your opponents lands have been phased out. There’s nothing your opponent can do about it for the most part, so it just feels mean. However, a single card ebing drawn isn’t that bad, and it’s especially interesting here because drawing a card is the one thing blue decks most want to avoid letting their opponents do. They want to one for one with counters. So this is more of just a strange hoser ability. The last ability has one obvious issue: you can exert something without tapping it. Currently, as written, after activating the ability, the island would still be untapped. But that’s a simple fix: just say “tap and exert an untapped island you control.” I kind of feel like you could have avoided the exert keyword, since it doesn’t really fit flavorfully and it’s not an evergreen keyword. I maybe would have just said that it doesn’t untap in the ability itself. But anyway, the card itself. I think it’s… fine? It’s sort of like a mix of key to the city and the first Thasa card. I think this is one of those cards where it either does nothing in the format or is a four of in a top tier deck. It really depends on the format. But I think independent of all that, I think it’s an okay designed card. And the flavor is spot on, very clever.

@naban-dean-of-irritation - Fractal Bloom

Oh no! Math! This card adds up quickly. It doesn’t quite double your counters each turn, but it gets pretty dang close. This is a really scary card in two ways. It’s very scary when it’s going off, but it’s also really scary to put in a deck. This card really needs to be uilt around to be useful. Yes, this means having cards that have counters, but it also needs a bit of a payoff, still. You can spread counters around, which is nice, but it’s slow enough that you aren’t going to be using it aggressively. At the same time, you don’t want cards that “spend” counters, like Fertilid, because the counters need to stick. So you’ll mostly want this for doubling the power of trampling hydras. I think this card is a little weaker than it looks. I wish this card had a better fail state. I wish it had some very minor but possible way to add counters. Perhaps an expensive activated ability, or that it puts a minimum of one on a card. As is, the card could very easily do nothing, especially considering it costs six mana, requires a board, and doesn’t do anything until your next turn, giving your opponents a lot of ways to interact with it. I think this could probably cost 5 mana, maybe even four if it has a more restrictive color cost. In general, “win more” cards like this are only really fun if they do win you the game quickly or if there’s something do with them when you aren’t using it to win.

@pocketvikings - Defiant Hero

Art Description: We're seeing our hero from the back, charging the Big Bad and facing whatever spells are being thrown at them.

I get it, it’s a hero! Like heroic! But the fact that it triggers on opponents makes it feel like it’s not just a hero, but a defiant one. One who fights through the trouble. I’m having trouble making up my mind on that last bit. Part of me thinks it’s useless. If it makes your creature indestructible, why would your opponent ever cast a removal spell on it? The indestructible will never be relevant because it will always be there. Which means it is relevant. But it also just sort of feels like hexproof from spells? But not if its exile or -X/-X effects. Though opponents are probably very often going to fall for “give your creature -2/-2 oh woops its too big now” which, while clearly on them is something that should probably be avoided. Basically, it’s an ability that is either never going to be used, feel like it isn’t relevant, or only be useful if your opponent misplays. That’s all kind of awkward. Lastly, and this is a big one, this card isn’t rare. This feels a lot worse than Tenth District Legionnaire, which is at uncommon

@rasputingold - Hunger Tide

So this one’s a bit wild. The insect token is a little closer to its origin card, Grist, than I would have liked for this contest, but I can look past that. The fact that you get one for every creature on the battlefield is crazy powerful, though at least they can’t block so you don’t immediately get chumpers forever. I kind of wish there were more of a limiter there, either non-insect, only opponents control, or only you control. As is, this barely needs anything to get nuts. The last ability is very hard to parse. More often than not, it will just be “each player sacrifices a creature,” since it takes 6 insects before they need to sacrifice anything more than 2 toughness, which I feel is about average. I also realize that it being symmetrical balances both the ability and the card as a whole, since you’ll eventually lose all your insects, but it all seems so weirdly roundabout. Lets say you have a creature and they have two when you play this. You add 3 creatures, pass, come back to you, you sacrifice two of your insects. Those insects have done nothing but make math hard. I’ll also say the fail state of this card is still amazing. It’s been a while, but The Abyss is still a four mana card, and this is very nearly strictly better than it. I will say, though, I really enjoy the execution of the story here. They come in slowly, but eat away at smaller creatures until they eat the big ones or die off. It’s a very, very good mechanical representation of a locust swarm. I just think its too complex for any normal magic set.

@real-aspen-hours - Monstrous Raider

NOTE: this is a render created by me. Originally submitted as text.

Vampire Barbarian is a terrifying thought, but a cool concept. I like the fact that this seems so willing to fight that it will stop trying to win the game in order to kill something. I worry that an on-board way to repeatedly deal with creatures is too strong, though. If your opponent ever has just one creature in play, it’s going to be really hard to deal with this guy. They NEED two creature in play, but the fact that this kills one every turn makes that hard. Also, I’ll say that the template is probably different than what you’ve got, looking at a card like Soltari Guerillas. Still, the two toughness at least makes it pretty easy to kill, so it’s a pretty high risk and a pretty high reward. So while it’s probably fine, I worry that this could lead to really frustrating board states.

@reaperfromtheabyss - Cradle of the Sun

This is cute. Love the feeling of a cradle here, and how different it feels from the original. I also have a soft spot for cards like this: Colfenor’s Urn, Cold Storage, Endless Sands. They all have such weird utility. I like that you kind of skip to the end with this card: rather than playing this, wrathing, then getting your creatures back, you play this, wait for a wrath, then wait for them to build their board, then wrath while un-wrathing. It’s such a weird concept and would probably make for some interesting games. Don’t get me wrong, I like it and I love the concept. I just have no idea how it would play. In general on-board wraths lead to long, drawn-out games because no one wants to dedicate to a board state. The fact that this lets you continue to do so is neat, but could be frustrating. At the same time, you’re leaving yourself to get blown out by artifact removal if you’re not careful. So yeah, as a whole, I like it, but would really want to playtest with it before I printed it.

@scavenger98 - Battle Seraph

So I’ll start off with the obvious, which you even admitted to, which is that this is very close to the card its based on, basandra. Same cost, same type, some power. But the rest is very different! The comparison to Omnath is pretty clear, and I’m glad that card exists to give us a clear idea of the templating. Other than the “is” needing to be “are” I think you got it right. As for the exact ability, I think it’s kind of messy. For omnath, the three abilities felt very linked, even if it was just because they all had the number four. Linking them helped you remember what they do: I get 4 of something, just gotta remember what. Here, the three abilities feel very disconnected. One gains life and is dependant on how much damage was dealt, the second makes a very specific token, and the last is a generically good effect. The triggering condition is also really weird. It doesn’t care which creatures, so you have to pay attention to exactly what happens on every turn to every creature. The fact that the first ability cares about how much damage is also really weird and hard to do. You have to count every damage done to everything every turn. But, if your opponent pings a creature in response, you don’t gain any of it, just the ping. The next two abilities I kind of like. A little token is nice, and I like how it makes it easier to trigger in the future by not having first strike. The last ability is almost definitely out-of-color, but considering how much work it takes (first strike, normal combat, and a spell/ability all dealing damage to creatures) maybe makes it worth it. I’m probably wrong, and it’s still probably not okay to let Boros draw cards, but you gotta try. So as a whole, I really want to like this card, and I really like the directions it's pushing, but I think it’s just really, really hard to keep track of what this card is doing while it's in play.

@shakeszx - Wielder of Mysteries

Love the flavor here, great use of an epithet. I’m wondering if this would finally be the card to make this ability work. For reference, Mind Reaver and Grimoire Thief have tried this sort of “use your own cards as counter fuel,” and neither have been all that playable outside of combos. This guy has no combo potential, but boy does he mill! Each end step and each opponent means milling four cards a turn, more in multiplayer (though this guy doesn’t do much else in EDH, the most popular multiplayer format). The fact that he doesn’t doesn’t sacrifice to counter really sets him apart. Putting the card in the graveyard so it isn’t a hard lock is something I appreciate, and I’ll say here that you probably could have said that as the cost to save some space (i.e. 1UU, put a face-down card exiled by ~ into its owner’s graveyard: counter target spell with the same name as that card). My guess as to what kind of deck would play this is some sort of flash deck that can leave up the mana or maybe a control deck that tries to leave this in play as a mill win-con. I don’t know how great it fits into either of those with it’s squishy wizard body, but at least it has a place. I wish there was a way to make this safer to play. Maybe give it ward or more toughness or even more power and flying so it has something to do rather than sit there and hope to be useful. I think this is better than other cards that do the same thing, but I don’t know if it's quite good enough to see play.

@snugz - The Hidden Realm

Very clever to put this on a land. Lands are almost never legendary, even if they feel like it or have “The” in the name. As for this card specifically, I don’t think you realize what this does. When you tap it for mana, it phases out. It will phase back in at the start of your untap step. That means that this is a five color land with no downside other than that it can’t be untapped and used again if you’re using it for colored mana. In fact, it’s a lot better, since your opponent will never be able to target it with removal, rare as that is. So yeah, this card is way too good. Five color land with upside.

@starch255 - Tower of Triumph

Gotta say, was not expecting this one, and not just because I did not know that path of mettle’s back half had an epithet. I love the towers. It was one of the first “whoops, we forgot to finish that cycle because we didn’t even think of it as a cycle” cycles. I’m a little unsure of the templating here. I feel like there needs to be an “each” or “all” in there somewhere to make it clear that you’re not just “activating abilities” but activating at least one per card. This is one of those funny cards where taking it as face value is hilarious. Requiring 48 mana and 6 overcosted cards in play to win the game is essentially impossible. However, having 6 bad cards in play, then playing Galazeth Prismari or Flame Fusillade and paying 8 mana may be more doable, if not “intended.” So this card has a casual, obvious, fun-but-not-viable way to sue it and another less difficult way to use it. I still wish it had some fail state. Maze’s End, for example, has a long and slow win condition tied into it, but it also fixes your mana slowly. Thassa’s Oracle can let you fix your draws. Win conditions tend to be more fun and more playable if there’s something you can do with them before winning, especially for a card like this where it will need to stand on the field a little while probably and therefore risk getting hit by removal.

@takemuse1 - Sengir Thrall

I cannot find any card that has the epithet “Sengir Thrall.” I think you may have either misread the prompt or submitted to the wrong contest. Either way, the card seems fine. I like what you’re trying to do here.

@teaxch - Celestial Wind

I remember the wind cycle, even had a few, for some reason. Here’s a card that hits a bunch of stuff. Get rid of up to three things, get back up to three things. It’s a little wordy. I think it’s possible to make this non-modal, but my suggestion would be “Choose one or both: -Exile target artifact, target enchantment, and/or target creature. - Return target artifact card, target enchantment card, and/or target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.” It still reads a little complicated, but at least you wouldn’t have the super weird blank space on the upper right of the card. The functionality of the card actually fits the rest of the cycle pretty well. It’s okay. It’s hard to make a nine mana card that feels worth it that doesn’t just win you the game. I think if you’re playing this you’re mostly going to be using it for the reanimation, since it will be pretty rare for your opponent to have all three permanent types, but there’s better ways to reanimate each of those types, and having a mix of types makes the deck harder to build. You really need at least four modes firing for this card to be even playable, and that’s not easy. Obviously multiplayer is where this card shines, especially EDH, but even there I don’t know if you want a nine mana card unless you can cast it for free, and again, there’s better cards to do that with. I think this card is trying to make up for its cost with its versatility, but there’s a difference between a card always having a use and a card always being useful. This will never be a dead card, but I don’t think it’ll ever be exactly what you need. Final note: compared to Blood on the Snow and Casualties of War, this could pretty easily be a rare.

@walker-of-the-yellow-path - Artful Provocateur

I read your submission comment before the text box and you got me excited for a card with provoke. Instead, it’s got goad, which is the opposite but also the better keyword, so yeah, that’s fine. I like the second ability, it’s got a lot of flavor to it and I could see it being a key card in some decks, like Marisi EDH. The last ability is fitting in a goad-style deck, and works well with the theme. The first ability I don’t think I’m a fan of. Spending a treasure to cast this guy feels weird, since you’d need the extra mana anyway to activate the ability. And if you’re not activating the ability, then you’re just attacking with a 2/1, which is not worth sacking a treasure most of the time. I’d say that it’s neat trinket text to encourage players to play this in a treasure deck, but the middle ability already does that. But I’ll stop focusing on that for now. I like the last two abilities and how well they play together and how nicely they fit in a deck. I like the creature types as well. I wonder a bit about the rarity. Repeatable goad only happened by attacking (which means it didn’t repeat often) or by having it permanently on a single creature, even at rare. The timing is also going to be strange, since you’ll be waiting until the declare attackers step 90% of the time, meaning your opponent’s must be constantly aware of you goading one of their creatures as soon as they move to combat. That’s going to make combat a nightmare. Limiting to sorcery speed would be great. If this is meant to be a conspiracy style set, I think this card is doing way too much at uncommon. If this is meant to be in a commander precon, I kind of understand it as attempting to combine multiple themes. In fact, this seems like it’s trying to combine the two commanders of the RB commander deck they just released: Prosper having a treasure theme and the Eye Tyrant having a goad theme. Still, that first ability seems really tacked on and will lead players to misplay. I like what the card is trying to do, but it needed a bit more restraint.

@whuh-oh - Eternal Pilgrim

Love the art here. This is another take on a pilgrim, our second, and a completely different interpretation. This guy mills you and gains you life, at a minimum one (unless he’s killed in response), then lets you reanimate something, even if it’s just a land. So, first things first, this definitely need to be a rare. It’s such a complex ability, and does a lot of things that shouldn’t happen regularly in limited. The way it snowballs, turning tapped creature into more creatures into bigger creature, or at a bare minimum ramping. I also reeeally wish this were green. I feel likeit’s pretty likely you’ll be reanimating lands most of the time, unless you’re built around these guys. Self mill and life gain are also both green. This is not to say this is out of color, I just think it fits better. I also kind of wish it restricted your reanimation to just cards milled. That would encourage you to really get X up there, instead of just laying back, activating two of these guys in response to each other and getting back the same two two-drops you just blocked with. I want there to be a little more going on here than just slow, repetitive value.

@wolkemesser - The Untouchable

I mean, I don’t want to touch him. A very direct interpretation of the epithet. He can’t be targeted, and if you touch him you die. I like the minion typeline, it’s a rare one, but it really fits the deathtouchiness of this guy. However, that’s about all I like. Deathtouch and trample don’t exist on the same card for a reason. It’s an incredibly niche and awkward interaction that confuses new players. Putting this at uncommon means it’s likely new players are going to have to interact with that. Plus, it having shroud means it will have to be blocked in order to kill it, meaning it will almost certainly come up. I do appreciate that the shroud makes it less likely you’d need to do it with more than two creatures. But trample also doesn’t fit the feel of the card. It doesn’t really make it less touchable. It also isn’t needed for power levels, it’s already strong without it. I think this card is a perfect encapsulation of the epithet, but I wish it wasn’t as unfun to have in play.

-Mod Mr. ShinyObject

#mtg #inventor's fair #commentary #magic the gathering #custom magic card #epithet

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why-this-kolaveri-machi · 3 years ago

Text

i’m an idiot. i screw everything up.

Titans 3.03

still here, still doing this. these reviews take a fair bit of time that i cobble together across days (like, ten minute chunks during breaks, etc) and i tend to struggle to keep up with episodes as they come out. this means that by the time i’m done with one, most of my stuff is jossed (or geoffed in this case? idk) or outdated and the post sinks like a stone into oblivion. so! i’m going to change things up a bit with this one and write as i see the episode rather than collecting my thoughts later. in my experience with spn, that was a faster way to get them done.

anyway. let’s see how it goes! *shadowboxes*

SPOILERS ahead.

1. an auspicious start with some grave-digging!

digging up a grave and breaking open a coffin is some serious, back-breaking work--that dick did it on his own, likely straight after that fight with red hood, is a testament to the sheer intensity, stamina and discipline that he’s capable of. like, we like to joke about dick cooking cauliflower crust pizzas and making gar and rachel spar and memorise sun tzu--and despair at the obvious consequences of some of bruce’s parenting skills--but imagine crime-fighting almost daily without any superpowers, performing some of the most intense parkour in bulky, uncomfortable armour, doing detective work, pushing through every last barrier of exhaustion and then getting up to repeat it all over again the next day. dick probably thought he was going extra-easy on rachel and gar.

1.5. then again, dick probably had a hundred different easier ways to confirm whether jason was still buried or not, from using equipment to merely asking connor to have a quick look with his x-ray vision. but, no, he’s too caught up in confusion and terror, not really having come to terms with jason’s death in the first place, leave alone the possibility that he could be alive after all. he can’t possibly let the others know until he’s confirmed it himself, even if it means digging all through the night until his arms are jelly, thinking over and over again about jason’s eyes, jason’s voice, from behind that red mask.

... besides, dick has good reason to believe that he could’ve been hallucinating. wouldn’t be his first psychotic episode, after all.

that just imbues this sweaty, desperate, fingers-scrabbling-in-gravedirt scene with that much more poignancy, and a fair bit of bone-chilling terror. dick is horrified to realise that jason’s grave is empty, but a part of him is also probably relieved.

1.75 (... also it’s curious that we’re never shown any of the team asking to see jason’s grave after they come to wayne manor. i guess it’s because the writers--and the audience--know that jason is actually alive, but these people don’t know that. i don’t know if it’s sad or infuriating or both that they’re barely shown mourning him.)

2. oh GOD the sheer TENSION in kory saying, “i don’t want to say it, but--” and dick quickly interrupting, “it was jason. i saw him,” and hank giving him this loaded sidelong glance. i love how dick’s precarious mental health from last season is still this big elephant in the room but at least nobody’s blowing up in his face and questioning his every decision yet

2.25. i love the relative matter-of-factness with which they’re discussing a possible resurrection. and, of course, ra’s al ghul is brought up and quickly dismissed

(still wouldn’t put it past this show to bring him up at the very last second as the real real mastermind)

2.5. “maybe they can bring donna back” OH KORY

2.75. didn’t they have this same conversation about killing/not killing rose last season? man, the og titans make me tired.

and i don’t know if it’s just hank, but there’s a definite in-group/out-group vibe going on with the og titans, where they’re not only ready to consider killing anybody who threatens the group but makes it difficult for new people to fit in. donna and kory got along well with each other, but the dynamics between hank/donna/dawn and gar/rachel/rose were somewhat strained, and with jason, they were really fucking terrible. it makes sense when you think about how the titans started and how they broke up the first time--both were fairly disruptive events, i’d imagine, in that they probably got together to break away from their mentors and strike out on their own, and when they split up, it was the first time they felt directly responsible for the loss of an innocent life.

but the titans that dick is leading now is explicitly about mentoring a young generation of heroes, about second chances and found family. dick definitely wants to reach out to him first, and i have a feeling he’s going to be forced to make some sort of terrible Choice later on in this episode.

2.8. (honestly tho, this also seems like hank struggling with his own guilt re: jason; if red hood is not the kid that he failed, it’d be easier to fight him.)

HANK NO

4. honestly this season is already ticking off so many things on my wishlist, but i really wish dick would sit down with the newer members of his team and trust them with important information the same time that he’s telling them to the other members. gar searching for help and reassurance from a man who just dumped all of his responsibilities on his son overnight and went AWOL is a sad sight

4.25. has it only been just 48 hours????? wow! jason’s definitely been planning the red hood gig for a long time now...

5. ezekiel, my man! shady looking guy gets into your cab without a destination in mind... no problem, get right in! said guy gets a call to go to the observatory when he’s barely even looked out of the window so far at gotham... yep, a damn tourist! i want more ezekiel in this show.

5.25. (of course jason has upturned table lamps all along the floor... we have to *gritted teeth* balance the TEAL with the ORANGE don’t we?)

5.5. “dick’s a fucking psycho--he could be following you right now.” hank... has no objection to that lol

5.25. hank, hank... this is bad-decision-palooza. i can’t imagine that hank actually thought that jason was reaching out to him for help, given that the last time hank and jason had any substantial interaction hank had been one of the people accusing jason of sabotaging the team. but for him to go seek out jason and go along with his demands without any backup, weapons or equipment? not the best idea he’s ever come up with.

(add to that getting into the swimming pool of a condemned gym... oh yuck.)

((yes, i have enough self-restraint to not cap his ass.))

(((cap his ass! HA!)))

5.5. do you think jason has bugs/monitoring equipment planted in wayne manor to monitor the titans, or remote access to the cave’s systems? wouldn’t put it past him.

6. oh man, hank came back before dick and the others could meet ezekiel! this is TRAGIC

6.25. i mean, it’s plot-convenient that connor was able to give so much information about the bomb from just looking at it once, but i also like to think it’s the luthor-side of him coming to the fore. it also reminds me of that (in)famous scene from the new52 run of Nightwing comics, where a bomb was attached to nightwing’s heart and luthor disabled it by killing nightwing (temporarily). it’s a neat little callback.

6.55. “where i come from, you go after family? there’s no mercy.” BUT THAT’S THE PROBLEM ISN’T IT

6.75. i mean, dick’s making sense: this is a game, and they need to get it off playing out on jason’s terms. but having a member of his team in his face, doubting his reasoning and every decision? a very familiar sight.

6.8. krypto with an a+ sense of humour? also a very familiar sight.

7. wayne enterprises... providing the military with... bombs that can be implanted in humans? a BIIIIG yikes. i guess it’s not too many steps above developing clandestine intra-dermal trackers and implanting them in your own sons, and bruce probably thought they could be used as part of negotiation tactics, but still... YIKES.

7.5. on the other hand, conner being asked to build a deactivation advice seems part of a growth arc that started from last season... he knows so much, but part of growing is learning, and part of learning is using what you know to create something new.

8. oh man, my heart broke at hank going “i’m an idiot... i screw everything up.” like. for him to go like this, after being brought down to such a low last season? struggling with pain and addiction and his relationship with the love of his life? it’s so sad.

9. oh, oh, oh! ronnie from schitt’s creek! i love her!

9.5. “one of jason’s minions” took his body out of the morgue... how deliciously morbid that he planned out his own death like this!

10. TALK TO HANK, DICK

honestly, tho, i’m quite impressed with dick here. trying to think beyond just the most alarming part of the crisis at hand, keeping his cool, delegating tasks, frequently touching base with different members of his team... well done.

10.25.... whoops, spoke too soon. i’m genuinely confused here, tho. where did the van full of gold bars come from? why did they stop there and get out? how did dawn even know about this?

on the other hand, it’s cool to know dove has bulletproof feathers!

10.5. eh... curran walters isn’t really selling red hood’s menace to me so far. but then again, if titans version of red hood is vulnerable-kid-with-father-issues-trying-to-overcompensate, then yeah! yeah, it makes sense.

11. “when bats have sex, they gotta have something to hang from” OH GOD HANK

... because i want smiley!gar on my blog :)

11.5. awww. i feel sorry for hank but NONE of these fuckers deserve gar except maybe kory

12. ohhh FUCK! look at jason being exactly one step ahead of the titans at every turn. nice.

no really, i love the building stakes and the building mystery - i feel like the deathstroke arc from last season should’ve been more like this. the flashbacks about jericho and rose came too late and after too much build up, which resulted in a very underwhelming and confusing season throughline.

13. HANK AND DIIIIIICCCKKK

“you’re doing your best by me. always have.” WAILING HERE

it also kills me to think that hank thinks that his imminent death is because of his failure to keep the team together (when he was clearly struggling with his own issues and was spiralling towards rock-bottom) and his fear that he will once again be the cause of the team falling apart.

also:

14. “i grew up... you can, too. you just have to face your fear.”

yep, got scarecrow’s grubby little fingerprints aaaaalllll over this.

14.25. nightwing’s got specialised batarangs! yay! (somehow i can’t see this universe’s dick calling them “wingdings”)

15. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

oh man, that was devastating. well done, show. fuck, well done, jason.

this is going to bring up all sorts of “if onlys” for the team. i can’t wait for some fucking aftermath.

#titans #titans spoilers #dick grayson #hank hall #dawn granger #garfield logan #conner kent #jason todd #a tragic jalebi #meta

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