#I'm a PC gamer so maybe it's console gamers who say that?

[obessivedork]

Absolutely SHOCKING to me to read that others think Inquistion has the best combat in the Dragon Age series. Origins and 2 were LEAGUES above Inquisition��s combat for me 💀💀💀

[mumms-the-word]

Hi! I found your blog through your post about new DA fans in the tags! So I played through Origins and DA 2 as a mage for the first time and absolutely loved the combat and the gameplay, but I'm really struggling in Inquisition. It feels so choppy and like I have no control over anything, and on PC, you can't even see what the spells do when you hover over them on your toolbar. Do you have any tips or advice or know of any good add-ons?

Yeah I don't think DAI won game of the year for combat reasons, let's be completely honest here.

I can give you some advice but warning it is HEAVILY colored by my personal preferences when playing the game, which I mostly did on console (I only got the PC version a few weeks ago and haven't had much time to tinker around with it because I've been replaying DAO).

I'll put random bits of advice under the cut!!

Controls

First bit of super biased advice: If you're using the tactical gameplay mode and you hate it--just don't use it. Just don't! Unless it's a skill you want to keep pouring into, I'd just abandon it for now. It's terribly configured and I hate it so much. It's moderately better on PC but on console it was super un-fun to me and I think the only time I used it was to move party members out of the way of AOE attacks because their AI is wacky sometimes.

(That said, if you are a micro-manager who is like "No I need absolute control over this team" then the tactical camera IS for you. I am just a lazy gamer who plays DA games on casual or easy most of the time because I dislike the combat and want to get to cutscenes and dialogues faster. From what I remember about using it, though, it's definitely more like a "set up your next attack and then press play, then pause and set up the next attack, then press play, etc" kind of thing, which sucks for big group fights but works for big dragon fights or whatever.)

To me the game plays much better in live combat mode, but that was on console, where all I had to do was hold down the right trigger for endless attacks and then use the shortcut buttons. This is not the case for keyboard and mouse, because holding down a right click or R is tedious and isn't fun after a while.

Having messed around a tiny bit with DAI PC controls (and being a staunch console player for decades) I can say that I hate the PC controls, but I always tend to hate keyboard and mouse controls. I guess my advice here is to either remap the keyboard to suit you, which you should always do anyway for any game where they make that possible, or try playing with a console controller (which is what I'm planning on doing).

Controls aside, my issue with the combat is that if it isn't choppy, due to controls, it's...boring? At least until you get more abilities and specializations. I definitely played on casual for most of my multiple playthroughs because I just couldn't be bothered to learn the combat system forwards and backwards. I was playing the game because I loved the story and the banter and the open world concept, which was new to DA at the time.

The combat DOES get more fun/better once you start unlocking more abilities to use, but that does take a small bit of time. I'm not sure about any mods at the moment to help with the ability descriptions but maybe someone in the replies will know! For me, I think I just got used to memorizing them...which, now that I think about it, is poor accessibility.

Battle Advice

I can come back later with some PC-specific advice but for now, I can say that if you switch to live-combat mode, then it's a matter of playing the game as a damage control strategy. You're going to get hit, because there are no robust evasion options and no blocking at all (from what I remember), so you have to adapt with that knowledge in mind.

Keep up your Barrier and Guard abilities, because the temporary HP they give you is essential to surviving a fight. Potions suck. There is no healing. So it's better to tack on as much temporary HP through Barrier and Guard before enemies start chipping away at your actual HP.

Focus your efforts on crowd control (freezing enemies, stunning them, etc) and taking down distance fighters (archers, mages) first, because like I said, you're going to get hit, and every distance fighter has a near-perfect homing beacon on you with their projectiles. The squishier mooks need to go down first so they don't pester the hell out of you when fighting bigger things. Bigger things are slower, they can wait.

Also, adjust your companion's tactics (this is worth doing in any DA game) so that they use the abilities and spells you want to see more often. Having Barrier set as a preferred spell so your mages use it more often is honestly an essential tactic choice, and I'd say the same for upper-level Guard abilities.

A balanced party can make or break a battle encounter. The AI isn't always great (I guess that's what tactical view is for) but in general you always want a warrior to be up front taking hits while at least one mage and one other distance fighter (another mage, or Varric/Sera as an archer) is staying out of direct damage but still dishing hits and status effects. Your fourth companion (or you) can make up any difference that needs filling after that.

If you're playing a mage, use Fade Step to get out of range quickly and then get used to being the battlefield controller--you can deal damage, but you can also more quickly apply status effects (freezing, burning, etc) than anyone else. Fade Step + Tactical Camera to readjust + see what's going on the battlefield + then make your next move = might end up being your best friend, if you're a tactical mage player lol

Status effects and elemental damage do way more than you think. Way more than you think.

Don't be afraid to use grenades. They're more effective than they seem, and Jar of Bees is just fun in general.

And lastly, keep up with your weapons and armor. Schematics will be your best friend because they allow you to craft and upgrade weapons and armor until they're almost OP for your level. Nothing you find as loot will top a Masterwork version of a high-tier weapon or armor you make yourself.

I don't know if ANY of that helped, but maybe!! Hopefully you'll hit your stride soon and enjoy various aspects of the game!! <3

[blazehedgehog]

Since they are 17 years old, are the Wii, PS3, and the 18 year old 360 now retro consoles?

If you're trying to make me feel old, I am slowly becoming immune to this feeling.

Actually, I find it comforting! There was a guy at work like five years ago who caught me emulating the SNES version of Final Fantasy 5 on my Android tablet. He was like, at least ten years younger than me, but he's like "Wow, you're a gamer???" and asked what games I was currently playing.

The list I gave him happened to be, at the time, mostly, like, SNES, Dreamcast, and maybe some PS2 games. I don't remember which. I may have even just rattled off a list of my favorite games of all time rather than simply saying what I was currently playing.

But he kind of smiled and went "Ah, so you're a retro gamer. That's pretty cool."

And there was a part of my brain SCREAMING like "No! I have a somewhat modern PC! I own new games from THIS YEAR! I play a little bit of everything!!!! I'm just playing a lot of older games right now!!!!!!"

But then another part of my brain was like "Dude shut up, what if this borderline-teenager like, wants to know your Steam account name so he can send you a friend request? That could get awkward."

So I just kind of nodded and went "yeah I guess"

Nothing anyone says to me about old games can make me feel more awkward than having to swallow that

The Xbox 360 being retro is cool because there were a lot of good games on the Xbox 360, imo.

[deiahapmoment]

I'd never played the quarry, until dawn, etc. any of those interactive games that are basically movies, until my friend called me and another friend over.

And let me tell you, it was so fun! We discussed the story, the characters and what to do as we were being given the choices. The only thing I have to say is, uh, we absolutely should not have divided the characters by who has the most playtime because certain people were never tutorialised about certain mechanics until we encountered them. NAMELY SHOOTING. Dear God, we were awful at shooting.

To begin with, our character division was the following:

P1 (host): Laura, Jacob and Max. She argued that Laura is her favourite character, that Jacob is her second favourite (it's her console, we didn't know the characters, we didn't know the game, we weren't going to argue), and that she'd also take Max because he has the least gameplay to balance out the fact that she had Laura.

P2 (me!): Ryan, Dylan and Nick (the boyz). I like games but I'm purely a pc gamer so literally anytime anything happened that required my input, both of them, thankfully, screamed that at me lol

P3: Emma, Kaitlyn, Abigail. I don't have a lot to add other than the fact that she was in a bloodthirsty and chaotic mood and that that shaped a lot of the game lol

We made it with all playable characters alive except Max (P1 had never tried making him swim across the lake so we told her to go for it) and Kaitlyn, which is where the tutorial thing comes in.

The first time anyone shot a gun (me with Nick in the shooting contest) we somehow had auto shoot on? And every other time after that that someone had to shoot like Nick with Abigail and Chris with Ryan, the target was right in front of you, you didn't have to aim. Kaitlyn was the first time that we had to aim and considering the break we took between sessions, P3, if she ever knew how to aim, didn't remember how, only how to shoot... so, uh, good for Travis, at least his nephew survived?

Actually, it was especially good for Travis because we killed the rest of his family! His awful mom? Check. His dad? Check. Both of his brothers? Well, they were collateral but still, check. And I don't think you can save Kaylee, so, RIP, I guess.

In our run we actually didn't have a lot of infections (even though we walked in saying that we were going to mess everything up lol), we had the obligatory Nick, Max and Laura, we also had Dylan at the SOS hut (P3 and I argued that cutting his hand off was stupid and definitely going to kill him through blood loss and, after we made the choice, P1 told us that he couldn't die of blood loss which is absolutely ridiculous since Ryan can from a stab wound???), Jacob (because P1 knew that'd guarantee his survival (literally cheating)) and Ryan by Laura.

Notable choices we made (or maybe not notable idk how the game is changed by my choices other than ppl dying):

Laura was nice to Travis in the prologue :)

Jacob pulled out the rotor arm

Abigail and Emma broke into the cabin

Dylan went down the trapdoor and broke one of the steps

We missed all tarot cards in chapter 1 and 2

Emma took the fireworks

Ryan kissed Dylan and Abi kissed Nick

Jacob didn't stupidly drown

Nick bit Bobby because I didn't remember how to shoot :)

P1 begged me to not shoot the bushes but I already wasn't going to because I didn't remember how to :)

We, I think, extended Emma's chase sequence as much as possible because we thought that trapping Emma in an attic of sorts, was stupid so we always did all we could to avoid the trapdoor.

Kaitlyn completely avoided Bobby

Abi avoided Bobby

Dylan got bitten but remained unamputated

P1 purposefully infected Jacob

Abi shot Nick which P3 happily did since Nick was pissing her off

Emma used the fireworks against a werewolf

Laura didn't shoot Travis in the flashback (if it was P3, she definitely would have though)

Ryan left Jacob in the cage (this is a stupid one because P1 insisted that we ignore the puzzle and leave him there since his survival was already guaranteed and she didn't understand how the puzzle worked)

Constance got her head blown off (woooo!)

Ryan avoided Bobby (Bobby isn't very good at this)

Jedediah died

Ryan stabbed Bobby and then my boy got bitten by Laura (which I'm pretty sure is what killed Bobby later)

I (Dylan) got lost in the junkyard for like 20 mins but when I finally got to the story bit Kaitlyn was fine and uninfected

Ryan shot Chris and he, Travis and Laura set off to find Silas

Max swam to shore and died :(

Kaitlyn is chased by Caleb, investigates the noise to pick up the silver shells and, well, fails to shoot Caleb :(

In the car, Laura took the wheel

Laura then shot Silas (wow I can't believe that to make the 3 of them survive, we have to kill a child of an ethnic minority???)

In the end, I don't think anyone cared much about Nick, Abigail or Travis. P1 loved Laura and Max. Ryan was cool in the beginning but as things progressed we cared less and less. Emma was our queen, Dylan was the one all of us were always excited to see since he acted like he knew he was in a horror story lol, and Kaitlyn was my dear, beloved, lawfully wedded wife

It was super fun though, and we were already lamenting that it was over until P1 said that she also had Until Dawn and we could play that too. Sooooo, guess what we're doing next? :D

[kimium]

You asked about Housewarden’s favourite video games…but what about Vice Housewardens? Ignoring the in-game canon video games, what do you think their favourites would be??

(My friend is referring to this post HERE.)

Thanks for the ask, friend! I'm super excited to write this! I hope you like my answers!! Also, do note that even though the game never outright says Ruggie or Ortho are "vice house wardens" they're treated as such in game.

As per my last rules: I'll only talk about video games I've had personal experiences with. If a game is part of a series and I think they're basically similar, I'll just list them all together. Also, I'm trying to avoid any mobile/gacha/MMOs just because 1) I'm super unfamiliar with most and 2) I want to pick mostly PC and console games.

The Vice House Warden's Favourite Video Games

Trey - Cooking Mama (1 and 2)

Is there any contest for me with this one? Now, I do admit, I never really played Cooking Mama myself. However, my neighbour, who I grew up with, played Cooking Mama 1. I remember watching him play it, so I think that counts towards personal experiences. Anyways, this game is perfect for Trey! It's all around cooking and perfecting the different recipes! I think he'd love that element to it! There are also many different techniques and ways to do the various recipes, so it presents a challenge for Trey. However, it's one of those games that people only complete if they're completionists, which I don't think Trey is. So, he can put it down whenever he wants because he's a casual gamer.

Ruggie - Mario Kart (any of the games)

For Ruggie I think Mario Kart is the perfect game! Do know in my heart it's Double Dash as that's the one I'm most familiar with, but I'm saying any because the core element of the game is the same: race and win. I think Ruggie loves the party element of this game as he can play it with the kids back home. He loves sabotage and being a bit of a little shit when he plays too and with items and evil courses, I think he'd have a blast. I also think he'd on purpose drive off the course for the fun of it.

Jade - Amnesia: The Dark Descent

"But you cannot do horror" you may be saying and you're right, I can't. However, I have played at least 50-60% of the first Amnesia game! It has a vibe and aesthetic I think Jade would love. He'd eat up any horror game without flinching and probably laugh at the monsters/Daniel's misfortune as he ventures downward to kill his evil ex, Alexander. He'd also be delighted at the water level where most rational people cringe and cry thinking about it. This is also a game that Floyd would love shouting "encouragement" while Azul winces at certain elements.

Jamil - Just Dance (any of the versions, really)

For Jamil I think a fun, casual game works best as I don't think he's a big gamer. I picked Just Dance because he can do two things at once: play a game and work out. This game also has some great songs and I think Jamil would love picking and choosing. This game, like Trey's, is one that can become a little "completionist" and maybe spark some "competitive" spirit inside of people, which I think suits Jamil. He'd be the kind to pretend he's casual about the game before utterly destroying someone's score because they pissed him off.

Rook - Shadow of the Colossus

Originally I was going to try and pick a game with shooting or hunting in it but I figured if Rook wants that he can, you know, go outside? No, that's too much of a blend of his other hobby, hunting. So, I picked Shadow of the Colossus which is on my top list of "Master Piece Story Telling Video Games of All Time". Look, this game has it all: breathtaking scenery, gorgeous music, a story that has to be pieced together as you progress, and some of the most creative, impressive boss fights. I think Rook would get very invested in the story and the cinematic master piece of this game. He'd definitely be praising it as he plays and enjoy the overall experience.

Ortho - Pokemon (any of the newer ones)

I know I put Pokemon in my last list, but I specifically said the older games. For Ortho, he's playing the newer ones like Scarlet/Violet or Arceus. He's also Very Into the Meta and knows all the best Pokemon to grab and train. He knows the best move set for them. He knows which Pokemon to make HM bots and which to avoid catching. Ortho is planning his optimal strategy with Idia as they banter back and forth as he creates his "perfect team". They probably have a three day argument over which starter for Ortho to pick LOL. I also think Ortho would love to try a Nuzlocke and ask Idia to help him set one up with many challenges and difficulties. Also, the games have a small companion piece as two people can buy the opposite games and trade with one another. So, Idia is right there with Ortho, playing the same game just the other version.

Lilia - Fire Emblem (any title)

Do know in my heart, if I had opened this list up to mobile/gacha, I'd say Honkai Star Rail for Lilia because I'm just imagining him having the best luck and rubbing it into everyone's faces. Also, space theme is top tier.

Anyways, I picked Fire Emblem not to be self-indulgent, but because I think Fire Emblem has many elements Lilia would love: fun story, even if some games have better or worse plots than others, fun characters, and strategy. I'm imagining Lilia loving the game play as he strategically plays through the maps. He'd play on classic mode for sure, though I do like to think he'd never let characters die. Just because I can't bear doing that. I also think Lilia would love the supports and romance elements some of the newer games have. I bet he'd have his ships and also try to get their paired ending. Finally, I think Lilia would also LOVE to play a game where he picks all the WORSE classes for his units. Like making Lysithea a melee unit or something equally ridiculous.

There you have it! My list of what I think are the vice house warden's favourite video games! I do hope you enjoyed this list! Let me know what you think and what your choices would be, friend!!! I'll be eager to read them!

[shepherds-of-haven]

lena i am now officially a Gamer! i bought dragon age origins and i am having fun so far though i am sure i am not doing optimally well or whatever jdjdjnsjs i have a dog!!!! and i probably should be taking my new companions in my party but who’s gonna take care of my dog? shale??? i was trying to romance morrigan but just found out she’s straight… huge L but i’m having a blast thank you again for your game recs and tips!! i want to buy mass effect too since it’s on sale but there are reviews on steam saying not to buy it on PC so i’m afraid ndjdjdjdjjdjd

Ooh I'm so glad you're playing Dragon Age, anon, congratulations on venturing into a new kind of gaming!! I played Mass Effect: Legendary Edition on PC and had absolutely 0 issues, but if you're apprehensive, do you maybe have a console you could try it on? If not, even a playthrough video is worth experiencing the story, though of course being able to play it yourself is always the most fun! You can also always return and get a full refund of a game on Steam if you've played it for less than two hours and request the refund within two weeks of purchase!

[asakiyumemishiii]

!!!WARNING!!! - TLOU spoilers 4 both part 1 n 2 - i also get a bit NSFW when i talk about Joel at times (MINORS DNI THOSE 2 PARA!! THERE’S A WARNING WHEN I START <3) - nothing i'm saying is new. i have no original thoughts!! literally just a post about everything i felt while watching the game ~(>_<。)

the whole reason i got in2 TLOU was ‘cus that one, 'Remember, when you're lost in the darkness, look for the light,' audio on TikTok was trending n everyone was like, 'omg TLOU audio!!' n i was like ??? what is TLOU ??? n then it just all went downhill from there. TLOU has consumed my life in its entirety since the start of July. what a cute coincidence that i get in2 TLOU on the game’s 10th anniversary ヾ(≧▽≦*)o anyway TLOU talk time :3333

DISCLAIMER: i didn't play the game myself ‘cus i don't have any type of console (n i don't play video games) so i watched MKIcenFire's gameplay of the TLOU Remake on PS5 n it was like 12 hours long i think n i watched it twice. then i watched the HBO show, then i watched the same guy play TLOU2. okay anyway i know the game well enough (I HOPE!! I THINK!!) also i read Reddit posts about the game's ending in p2 ‘cus i think other people’s take on it is soooo fun 2 read. if anything i say here is straight up just the wrong take like just ‘cus i'm stupid or missed the point of something, do NOT tell me ‘cus i will start crying immediately but tbh i will probably also not care sorry.

okay so,,,the whole game??? is a masterpiece??? plot-wise n visuals n MUSIC n characters???????????? EVERYTHING IS SO WELL WRITTEN ARGDHFHSHS i loved it. i'm not a gamer btw like the only 'games' i play are Taiko no Tatsujin (PC) n i watched people play undertale but that's it i guess so i don’t have anything 2 compare TLOU 2 but omg it's so good 2 me just as it is AHHHHH.

i'm so bad at being coherent. <///3

anyway everything i'm about 2 say is not going 2 be anything that hasn't already been said but i need an OUTLET!!! i think the game is so fun n maybe it's my own insane raging daddy issues but watching the Ellie (cargo) 2 Ellie (babygirl) pipeline was SO healing 2 me (n also absolutely devastating) like HOLY SHIT HE'S JUST A FATHER 4 READ!1!1!

okay gonna talk right now about how i feel about Joel n Abby ‘cus i have the most opinions about them `(*>﹏<*)′

i know TLOU1 is like Moral Dilemma the game but like i just think it's so simple really. Joel did what he did ‘cus Ellie became someone he really cares about. IMO he never really stopped being a father so Ellie just becomes his youngest daughter n a father's love knows no bounds, doesn't it? he quite literally did everything in his power 2 make sure no one would hurt his own n i think that's so... insane,,, (i wish dads were real)

i don't understand people who hate on Joel like actually *hate* him with their whole life. if they hate him ‘cus of what he used 2 do (being a hunter, etc…) then like,, that's stupid ‘cus he had 2 do what he had 2 do 2 survive. n maybe at the time that was the only way he knew how 2. he's a bad guy ‘cus he did bad guy things (like henry said) but that doesn't necessarily mean he's not a good guy or that he can't redeem himself i don’t know it just seems weird 2 not like him ‘cus of what he used 2 do that we didn't even explicitly see, n was only stated. also i get that people hate him ‘cus of what he did ‘cus like, yeah, i get it, he DID take away Ellie's right 2 'save' the world n he took her out of there without her consent BUT she's also a minor (yes i know laws don't matter but you know,, it's the principle of it i don’t know) n he decided 2 make the choice 4 her ‘cus she obviously couldn't do it herself n i think it was the right choice. also the fireflies didn't give her an option either like damn they couldn't at least ask her if she wanted 2 like say goodbye 2 Joel i don’t know like yeah ik in p2 she said she would have wanted 2 die 4 the cure but like she wasn't even told that making it would entail her dying ‘cus she explicitly stated that she wants 2 follow Joel after everything was over, so like,, yeah Joel took her choice away 2 save her life but the fireflies were going 2 force her 2 die 4 a cure that they themselves weren't even 100% sure would work. n 4 what??? she's the only immune person alive as far as they know n they won't even do SOME kind of tests first ON ELLIE 2 find shit out like i don’t know it seems kinda pointless 2 just kill her like that just 4 a chance of a vaccine. i know Dr Anderson did SOME testing b4 n a lot of research like we can see all the scans when he was talking 2 Marlene in p2 but did he do any testing on Ellie herself? i don’t know. ik all this what-ifs don't even matter n i'm just trying 2 justify Joel's actions but it's the thoughts i have hhhh like let's say the vaccine does get made... who is going 2 ensure that everyone gets a fair chance 2 have it? you're telling me FEDRA or the fireflies are gonna distribute it or something like that?? like it's not possible. also how would they get the vaccine 2 everyone in the world?? n like you think the raiders or hunters are gonna care that they're vaccinated n suddenly be good again? they're just gonna be better at murdering n like also what about all the infected. there's way 2 many of them. sure with a vaccine, lives would have been better but they're still living in a post-apocalyptic world, n more people are going 2 die than be saved n i like 2 imagine that Joel knew all this (maybe) n he chose Ellie anyway.

actually i don’t care i like 2 think he immediately stopped thinking when Marlene said they have 2 kill Ellie 2 make a 'cure' n he just didn't care about anything else anymore. yeah that fits better in my head !!

this text post is all over the place anyway uhmm Abby time.

i'm gonna put it out there right now: i do NOT fuck with her at all. also let's normalise understanding a character, all their motifs n everything n still being able 2 dislike them. i hate people who are like 'oh if you dislike/hate Abby then you obviously don't understand her character' LIKE???? yes, i understand her??? her character is literally a parallel 2 Ellie's. Abby's redemption mirrors Ellie's damnation. 'you can't get mad at Abby 4 killing Joel when he killed her father.' like shut up yes i can?? in fact here i am getting mad right now. it's a cycle that never ends. Joel kills Jerry, Abby kills Joel, Ellie kills Abby's friends while searching 4 her 2 get revenge, Abby kills Ellie's friends ‘cus Ellie killed hers, n it just continues. they're both doing 2 each other the exact same thing each of them are doing 2 the other. their motivations behind all their actions are literally the same. i get it. if one side starts, the other doesn't stop. they're literally 2 sides of the same coin, i get it. i totally understand why Abby did what she did. but that DOESN'T mean i have 2 like her??? Abby dick riders getting mad n pissy when ppl don't like her as if she's not the literal antagonist of TLOU2 when you play as Ellie. she's the other playable protagonist when you play as her obviously but when it's Ellie's pov, she's obviously the villain ?? just like how Ellie is the antagonist when you play as Abby??? or at least they're both the anti-hero,, maybe,, in each other's storyline. anyway i don't care 4 Abby. i understand her character but i still dislike her. 'you only hate her ‘cus she killed Joel!' yeah… exactly. i also am aware that as someone who is insane about Joel, i am being hypocritical right now ‘cus the people who hate Joel are probably the same people who like Abby n vice versa. anyway moving on. i also don't particularly understand why people say hating Abby = hating Ellie. like yeah they're extremely similar but like,, we played around 15 hours of TLOU1 like obviously i have a stronger emotional connection with Ellie n Joel??? is that a superficial reason 2 dislike Abby?? yes but i don’t care!!! i do not fuck with her at all!!! yes i understand that Abby has gone through things that deserve sympathy/empathy 2, but like... i'm still inclined 2 be more biased about Ellie n Joel though... also like Abby told her dad that she would want him 2 do the surgery on her but i think it's easy 2 say that when you're not the one actually doing it. like we all would probably say we don't mind dying 4 a good ‘cus until we actually have 2 die n it's like,,, I DON’T KNOW like it just seems so simple 4 her 2 say she would die 4 the vaccine but she's only saying it 2 make her dad feel better n ‘cus she's not the one actually going through with it you know???? rhfjdjfjjdhh i don’t know i hope so far i'm making sense. also Dr Anderson never answered Marlene when she asked if he would do the surgery on Abby, which is an answer in itself, n that's soooo hypocritical of him 4 real sigh

okay i think that's all the character opinions i have (probably i don’t know) now i'm gonna talk about the scenes that drive me CRAZY

UHMMM THE 'you're not my daughter, and i sure as hell ain't your dad.' OH MY GOD??? the first time i saw it i paused n almost threw up ‘cus if someone i thought was a father figure, or just like the first adult that didn't disappoint me in my life since i came out of the womb, said that 2 me when i am quite literally begging them not 2 abandon me, i would simply just drop dead n die n you would never hear from me again. THE UP N DOWN GLANCE HE GIVES ELLIE LIKE HE'S SIZING HER UP 2 B4 HE SAYS IT????? Ellie is better than me 4 real ‘cus i would never forgive him 4 that (lying, i would forgive him if he stabbed me 4 fun) like holy shit he hit her where it HURT. yes i know he did it ‘cus he was scared that he already got so attached 2 her but JEEZ MAN that's BRUTAL. the way her eyes LITERALLY drop n you can see every miniscule detail on her face detailing how HURT she felt when he said that... graphics were INSANE

GOING FROM THAT 2 THE 'oh babygirl...' SCENE??????????? WHIPLASH IS REAL BYE. ofc not 2 push aside everything that happens in between ‘cus Ellie fought like hell 2 keep Joel alive. ARGHHHH she never left him even when he asked her 2 n even when he wanted 2 leave her first, she never gave up on him :((( they care about each other SO MUCH i'm going 2 be SICK. right okay, the babygirl scene??? it felt like my heart was being healed from all the angst 4 real. the way his face is SO soft when he's trying 2 get her back 2 him like OH MY GOD also the fact that there's dialogue but no subtitles or voiceover so it's up 2 the audience's intepretation 2 tell us what Joel says 2 her when he's CRADLING her face is so fucked up. ‘cus i know some people think he's saying 'i'll promise i'll never leave you again' n some think he's saying 'i promise i'll never let anyone hurt you again' n TBH EITHER WAY, MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT 4 REAL LIKE TBH I'M GLAD LOWKEY THERE WASN'T ANY VOICEOVER ‘CUS I WOULD NEVER STOP REPLAYING IT. BUT I WISH THERE WAS A CONFIRMATION OF WHAT HE SAID. THE WAY ELLIE'S EYES GLAZED OVER N JOEL JUST KEEPS HOLDING ON 2 HER N MAKES SURE SHE'S LOOKING DIRECTLY AT HIM WHEN HE'S COMFORTING HER??? i cannot fathom being loved that much, like it's actually UNREAL 2 me.

okay here's where it gets NSFW a bit so MINORS DNI this paragraph PLEASE thanks!! anyway i have a woman hard on 4 Joel the second he was introduced. yes i have daddy issues, next question. anyway he's SO fucking fine n he's a good father so double smash. everytime he came on2 screen, so did i. uhm the scene where Joel is torturing david's men, i replayed it 8347345 times n tbh with one hand 2 (/hj) n LIKE.. Joel beating a bloater with JUST a MACHETE like yes the bloater alrdy took some damage b4 but HOLY SHIT that scene was hot. Joel was always constantly hot n the creators KNEW what they were doing when they designed him... like that,, n gave him THOSE voice lines,, search Joel Miller voice lines on YT n just close your eyes bro that shit is straight up P*RN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i genuinely think he's so attractive. i would let him do the most atrocious heinous filthy things 2 me. you CANNOT leave me alone with him ‘cus i would not let him out. i would find a way 2 mesh our bodies tgt (☆▽☆) he's genuinely so handsome n fine!! i literally want 2 stick a straw in his tip n suck his milk. i am so sorry 4 making anyone read that but i mean it unfortunately. if i was in TLOU i couldnt be trusted 2 patrol with Joel ‘cus he would probably kill something or someone 4 my sake n brush it off as nothing n then i would tackle him n start sucking n fucking him so good like we would not make it back 2 base. we're going twenty rounds with no breaks. the only break he'll be doing is breaking my back n splitting my pu$$y in half with his massive cock.

OKAY ENOUGH

Ellie's 15th birthday :( i'm a space kid so it just hits SO hard,, like everything he did 4 her. the dinosaurs n the planets. the way this part was only like.. i don’t know less than one hour of the whole game n it was the happiest part of the game imo (uhm Dina n Ellie n JJ are bittersweet 2 me OKAY!!) THE WAY THEY TEASE N BANTER N LIKE ARE GENUINELY SO ADORING WITH EACH OTHER. Joel pushing her in2 the water n jumping in 4 her when she asks. JOEL FINDING HER THE COUNTDOWN TAPE. HOW FUCKING HARD DO YOU THINK THAT WAS HUH? ASKING IF HE DID OKAY??? HE'S LITERALLY SO FUCKING SWEET!!!! HE'S JUST A FATHER WHO LOVES HIS DAUGHTER BRO PLEASE GOD LEAVE ME ALONE!!!! THE WAY HE WAS SMILING SO SOFTLY AT HER IN THE SPACESHIP??? HE WAS WATCHING EVERY LITTLE DETAIL 2MAKE SURE SHE WAS REALLY HAPPY.. THE WAY HE BARELY EVEN SMILES IN THE GAME N DURING THIS SCENE HE WAS FUCKING GRINNING BRO OH MY GOD. he literally gave her the moon, stars, n the planets :( they deserved 2 be happy man i fucking HATE TLOU2 HHH they could have had so much together HNGDHFHH Joel didn't even get 2 meet JJ :(

please b4 you come at me with the 'Abby deserved happiness with her father too!' just save it man. i don't care n i don't wanna hear about it like DNI with this post if thats all you wanna say <;3

Joel's death. i knew he was going 2 die but like when i was watching p2 i didn't think it was going 2 happen THAT fast. never cried so hard (lying) 4 real he didn't deserve all that. okay he did (i guess, whatever...) but that shit was cruel n 2 do it in front of Ellie 2... man,, Ashley Johnson needs every award 4 the voice acting in that scene,,, holy shit was it so painful 2 watch 4 FUCKING READ. n the aftermath like when i saw Ellie taking Joel's jacket, my mind immediately went 2 Harry Styles' Cherry where he said, 'i noticed that // there's a piece of you in how i dress,' :( THE WAY SHE BURIES HER FACE IN HIS FABRIC LIKE SHE'S BREATHING HIM IN 4 THE LAST TIME... THE FLOWERS IN FRONT OF HIS HOUSE, THE BLUE HYDRANGEAS SHE LEAVES AT HIS GRAVE SYMBOLISING FORGIVENESS n REGRET ,, THE PIC OF SARAH N  ELLIE ON HIS TABLE :( THE BROCHURE FROM THE DINOSAUR EXHIBITION THAT HE KEPT :( THE WOLF (WLF) N THE MOOSE (JOEL -> PROTECTOR) MOTIF :((( GOD THIS GAME IS SO FUCKING TRAGIC I HATE IT SM literally crying so hard right now. the way Joel’s death was so trauma inducing 4 Ellie that during her breakdown, in her flashback, she recalls what happened n it was so much worse than what actually happened. the stairway being longer n the way she falsely remembers Joel calling out her name n begging 4 help n the way she kept pleading 2 stop??????? i literally hate everything. THE FACT THAT SHE WAS HOLDING JJ ALL THE WHILE 2??? PLEASE MAN,,, WE 4 REAL CAN’T HAVE SHIT!!! ALSO the way the game just literally lost it’s colour after Joel dies like the colours got all muted/ desaturated n all the nature/wonderment we used 2 see in TLOU1 just like disappeared after Joel dies,, mirroring Ellie’s emotions/ state of being BYE that’s so genius i don’t care if it’s obvious HHH it’s such a neat little detail 2 notice.

the scene right before they find the hospital n Joel is holding Ellie’s limp body n he’s frantically, desperately trying 2 see if she’s breathing n he realises she isn’t n the fucking ice cold water i KNOW he feels running down his spine ‘cus the scene is becoming 2 familiar again,, he knows he could never live with himself if he fails another one of his girls… the way he’s just giving her chest compressions even when he could have been shot at any moment n it’s just a perfect bittersweet parallel 2 Sarah’s death GOD he loves his daughters SO fucking much. a father’s love is something i’ll never comprehend or experience ever GOD.

'if somehow, the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment, i would do it all over again.' if someone said that 2 me i would literally start throwing up (but /pos). the fact that Ellie JUST decided 2 try n forgive him n then he just dies... ND kys why would you do that 2 me. Joel could have said something like 'i regret doing what i did,' or 'i'm sorry,' but instead he says he would do it all over again, not knowing how Ellie would react like she's already so angry at him n he doesn't even hesitate 2 say all that even though he knows it could set her off. he stands firm that what he did was right ‘cus 2 him, he would rather have Ellie alive n hating his guts 4 the rest of his life no matter how much that hurts rather than her being killed 4 a world that was beyond saving anyway n that is so insane 2 me 4 real. 2 be loved that deeply that he would damn the whole world just 4 his daughter. please don't talk 2 me. he does not care if she hates him 4 real he just wants her alive n that's SO!!! he's just a dad who loves his little girl :(( n in TLOU2 Ellie, at the heart of it all, is just a little girl who misses her dad :((( i hate this game. ALSO the detail in this scene is CRAZY, you can literally see Joel's lip quivering minisculely n his eyebrow is twitching n he's literally holding back tears BRO GOD he loves Ellie sm n ARGHFJDHS the way after that scene Ellie gets woken up by Jesse the next day n she tells him she overslept but every other time b4 or after the INCIDENT she never has a good night of sleep. DIE.

i don’t really know how i feel about the ending of TLOU2. it’s angsty n all but the boat image being no longer in the dark means that there’s hope 4 Ellie 2 like become better or something like that right? yeah i don’t know i just wish there were more scenes of her with Joel, n Dina (i can never get enough okay) but in all seriousness, despite how many times i’ve said i hate TLOU2 i do think it was a good story. imo tlou1 was great n didn’t necessarily NEED a sequel (stfu let Ellie stay 14 4ever HHHH) but i liked it anyway. i wanna know what happens with Tommy n Maria though, like are they separated separated or does Tommy find a way past his hatred n back 2 her??? n what happens 2 Dina n JJ?? are they okay? does Dina tell him about Ellie n Jesse? oh man i miss Jesse :( he would have made such a good n cool co-parent. ARGHHHDDJ low-key wish i could break in2 the creators’ home n demand these answers {{{(>_<)}}}

hmm some miscellaneous thoughts:

ELLIE IS SOOOOO WOULD’VE, COULD’VE, SHOULD’VE CODED BRO YOU CAN’T TELL ME OTHERWISE.  ‘AND IF I WAS A CHILD, DID IT MATTER? IF YOU GOT TO WASH YOUR HANDS’ n ‘IF YOU NEVER TOUCHED ME, I WOULD’VE GONE ALONG WITH THE RIGHTEOUS’ HELLO???????? literally her entire arc w/ D*vid LIKE that scene where was hunting her was SO scary,, it was scarier than having 2 watch Abby make out with Owen.  [All I used to do was pray // Would've, could've, should've // If you'd never looked my way] how many times do you think Ellie regretted the moment she decided 2 follow D*vid n his friend 4 the medicine. wait- no like not that she regretted trading 4 the meds ‘cus i feel like she would’ve done it again 4 Joel but like she probably would do it safer n less trusting I DON’T KNOW like i bet she feels INSANE thinking about all the ‘what-ifs’ if she never followed D*vid sigh i’m so bad at voicing my thoughts jesus how did i ever score an A 4 my lit analysis when i was in secondary school,, the brain is 4 real crazy. ANYWAY. 

THE BRIDGE??? ‘If clarity's in death, then why won't this die?’ despite already killing D*vid brutally, she’s forever haunted by the trauma it caused n i know she feels like she should just get over it already but she literally can’t ‘cus that was the moment she really killed killed n he tried 2 ruin her n i bet she would do it again but she hates that she probably liked killing him but she’s so right,, Ellie i would do it again n again 2 bae dw. ‘Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts // GIVE ME BACK MY GIRLHOOD IT WAS MINE FIRST’ oh my God… bro,, give her back her girlhood it was hers first 4 fucking real. she never really had girlhood 2 begin with,, FEDRA definitely was shit 2 her, she lost Riley when she disappeared then she lost Riley again when she died then D*vid happens n it’s like,, give her a fucking break jfc bro she never really got 2 be just a girl, or even a child, i don’t know where i’m going with this but that one line is SO her 4 real she just,, every bad thing that happened 2 her was never her fault or deserved like everything that was taken away from her… give it back GIVE IT BACK return everything n everyone that was taken from her bro that’s so fucked. okay the chorus n outro uhm,, ‘And the God's honest truth is that the pain was heaven’ the satisfaction of killing D*vid is definitely this line, n maybe also everyone she killed while avenging Joel (maybe, but probably not ‘cus i don’t think she liked how violent she became) maybe the pain of her survivor’s guilt was heaven 2 ‘cus it meant she got 2 meet Dina n Jesse n spend more time with Joel 2. ‘And now that I'm grown, I'm scared of ghosts // Memories feel like weapons // And now that I know, I wish you'd left me wondering’ LAST LINE IS HER TALKING ABOUT KNOWING THE TRUTH 4 REAL. ‘MEMORIES FEEL LIKE WEAPONS’ Ellie’s PTSD is strong in this one 3:

‘God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be’ Ellie when she had 2 kill her inner child n went on a rampage 2 avenge Joel. Ellie when she learnt the truth n had 2 live with her survivor’s guilt. Ellie when her relationship with Joel got strained n tense not like it used 2 be. Ellie when she lost herself 4 real.  ‘The tomb won't close, stained glass windows in my mind // I regret you all the time // I can't let this go, I fight with you in my sleep // The wound won't close, I keep on waiting for a sign // I regret you all the time’ literally her relationship with Joel isn’t it?? she lowkey regrets that she met him (IN A WAY) ‘cus he took her choice away 4 her life 2 have meant something n like i know she tries 2 forgive him (n eventually does) but like i don’t know i feel like those lines are so her n Joel. ‘I fight with you in my sleep,’ ‘cus she doesn’t really talk 2 Joel right but she definitely can’t fucking sleep right knowing what he did. i think it hurt 2 much 2 look at him so the only time she actually got mad at him was when she wasn’t awake. (hope that made sense `(*>﹏<*)′ i feel like the regret line isn’t so much talking about her relationship with Joel but rather herself, i feel like it resonates more with how she treated Joel, i just know she wished she could have said that she wanted 2 try 2 forgive him MUCH earlier if she knew she wouldn’t have that much time with him left. also Dina, she probably wishes she could find her again at the end. SIGH

ELLIE IS MY TEARS RICOCHET CODED 2!!!!!!!!!!! ‘AND I CAN GO ANYWHERE I WANT // ANYWHERE I WANT // JUST NOT HOME’ LITERALLY HER AT THE END OF THE GAME ‘CUS SHE’S ‘FREE’ NOW BUT WHERE DOES SHE GO? WHERE WILL SHE GO? WHO WILL SHE TURN 2? BYE FUCK OFF WHERE/WHO IS HER HOME ANYMORE. I HATE IT HERE. ‘You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same’ ELLIE WHEN A PART OF HERSELF DIED WHEN JOEL DIED OR LIKE WHEN SHE KILLED A PART OF HERSELF 2 AVENGE JOEL N LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND ARHGDSFGDFSJH ‘You turned into your worst fears // And you're tossing out blame, drunk on this pain // Crossing out the good years’ Ellie when she literally became someone she never wanted 2 be n drowned in her need 2 get revenge. ‘And you're cursing my name, wishing I stayed’ Ellie n Joel. literally it’s just her missing Joel. i hate bitches 4 real.

Dina deserved better. she straight up deserved SO much better than what Ellie gave her. the way Ellie left her alone in the theatre?? the way Dina was up all night helping with the map n i don't even remember if Ellie said thank you or not?? Dina IMMEDIATELY giving her mask 2 Ellie when hers broke??? Dina being with Ellie every step of the way n Ellie leaving when all Dina wanted was 4 her 2 stay??? ‘prove it, stay,’ DINA WAS BEGGING BRO N ELLIE LEFT N MY FUCKING HEART,,, Dina you deserved so much better ily you are so so so hot 2 me.

i don't want 2 think about Yara n Lev :( they loved each other so much n thinking about them makes me so sad. i also don’t want 2 think about how Abby n Lev parallels Joel n Ellie or anything like that, please leave me alone ＞︿＜

Ellie's descent in2 becoming someone so violent was so devastating 2 witness. she literally had 2 sit down n was nauseous the first time she shot someone in p1 n we see her become this mindless (not really ‘cus she gets ptsd) killing machine in p2 is so crazy (she looked so fucking hot doing it though). she literally loses her mind 2 the violence in order 1 avenge Joel ‘cus she loves him that much, its so twisted. ALSO her saying 2 sam that her biggest fear is ending up alone n THEN IN PART 2 SHE ENDS UP ALONE????? ND KYS THAT'S SO FUCKING HEARTBREAKING

THIS SONG?????? THE SONG JOEL SANG 2 ELLIE,,,  TROY BAKER’S VOICE SINGING IT??? THE GMV?????? the song is literally about Ellie n Joel (TヘT) ‘If I ever were to lose you // I'd surely lose myself’ WHAT THE FUCK someone pulling my heart out while i was conscious would hurt less. ‘All of my stolen missing parts // I've no need for anymore’ Joel when he found Ellie n recovered the part of him he thought he buried when Sarah Died n how he learns how 2 love again MAN. ‘Back when I was feeling broken // I focused on a prayer // You came deep as the ocean’ both Ellie n Joel were looking (if indirectly maybe) 4 something 2 save them from the darkness, internally or not, n they saved each other. THEY SAVED EACH OTHER- Joel found someone 2 love n cherish, n Ellie found someone who loved n cherished her n didn’t just want her 4 her immunity PLEASE they love each other SO MUCH. ‘All the promises at sundown // I meant them like the rest’ Joel talking about caring 4 Ellie, Ellie talking about how she’ll try 2 forgive joel.  ‘Hey angel, I am here to stay // No resistance, no alarms // Please, this is just too good to be gone’ ANGEL???? kys. Joel really did try 2 stay. he tried so hard 2 fight. the last line being some type of foreshadowing towards his death ‘cus i guess good things really do never last. HE JUST WANTED TIME WITH HIS DAUGHTER OKAY. 

HBO Show time :3

i think the show was really good,, holy shit episode 6 when Joel is sniping n he's making sure Ellie gets out of the place as unscathed as possible?? i was like captivated bro i was watching with my eyes wide open n barely breathing ,,, their performance was so good. loved episode 8 obv the babygirl scene was so healing AGAIN. i don’t know i don't really have that much 2 say about the show after watching the game ‘cus like essentially it's all the same except the show cut out some parts n added others. Bill n Frank episode was so tender :( n Joel's monologue 2 Tommy saying all he does is fail Ellie... my God pedro pascal recited his lines PERFECTLY,, director yelled cut but he heard CUNT instead n delivered.

YOU KNOW WHAT sorry 2 get NSFW 4 a bit AGAIN but i sat there clenching my thighs SO TIGHTLY when he gunned down the entire hospital. literally had heart eyes n everything watching that shit.

‘so time heals all wounds, i guess. // it wasn’t time that did it.’ WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. THE WAY HE PURPOSEFULLY MAKES EYE CONTACT WITH ELLIE WHEN HE SAYS IT, LIKE HE FULLY TURNS HIS HEAD 2 MAKE SURE HE MEETS HER EYES SO SHE KNOWS WHAT HE’S GETTING AT N THEN THE EYE CONTACT THEY HOLD AFTER HE SAYS IT N THEY WAY HER EYES WIDEN N IT’S LIKE GOD CAN YOU EMOTIONAL CONSTIPATED BITCHES JUST SAY I LOVE YOU PLEASE ANYWAY THE WAY HE WIPES HIS EYES 2 AFTERWARDS??????? THIS SCENE WAS SO SOFT GOD FUCK

WHY DID THEY CUT OUT THE PART WHERE ELLIE JUMPS IN2 THE WATER WITH HENRY N SAM N HE KEEPS HER AFLOAT LIKE THAT SCENE WAS SOOO IMPORTANT IMO 2 SHOW THAT JOEL THINKING OF HER AS 'CARGO' WAS SLOWLY DETERIORATING I DON’T KNOWJDSSDH BUT THE WAY SHE KNOWS SHE CAN'T SWIM BUT SHE KNOWS JOEL WON'T LET HER DROWN LIKE THE WAY JOEL GOES 'i got you, i got you,' LIKE OMG????? HNHGDHFGDH

WHY DID THEY ALSO TAKE OUT THE SCENE WHERE JOEL LIKE GETS CAUGHT UPSIDE DOWN IN BILL'S TRAP N ELLIE HAS 2 SAVE HIM LIKE THAT SCENE WAS SO FUCKING COOL JDHSDJSDF JOEL WAS SO COOL THERE SIGHHHH

PEDRO PASCAL N BELLA RAMSEY DID SUCH A GOOD JOB OMFG BELLA RAMSEY DESERVES ALL THE AWARDS BRO HOLY SHIT she's such a good actress. their relationship n their chemisty on n off screen is so precious ahhhh they did so good!!!

here r some tiktoks that have me sobbing immediately n gives me immeasurable amounts of grief:

https://www.tiktok.com/@iostlegacy/video/7213479467690249480

this is the edit that got me curious about TLOU in the first place. i was BAMBOOZLED thinking i would get a cute father-daughter duo game (i did but it didn't last) FUCK i love TLOU

https://www.tiktok.com/@cast1ebyerss/video/7242296022716697858

it's the way she becomes this person she obviously doesn't want 2 become,,, which you can tell from the way she gets literal PTSD after the first time she tortures one of Abby's friends 4 information,, like actually tortures,, but she continues doing all that fucked up shit in the name of revenge 4 Joel ‘cus like she loves him SO MUCH!!! ‘when i get home, i’m gonna bury you,’ SHE HAD 2 KILL HER INNER CHILD KYS FUCK anyway the transition from her being all alone n violent 2 her 14 yo self AUGHDHSVSHHSHSHS the way she was she was literally fighting 4 survival during that time (not saying she isnt now like TLOU2) like she was like on 'roadtrip' with  Joel fighting infected almost everyday but she was still so much happier n innocent-er AUGHHHHH the pipeline is 2 real omfg i freaking love Ellie hfhdhdjdbd I love Ellie Williams in my head she is Ellie Miller anyway,,

https://www.tiktok.com/@lcvesrobin/video/7199341136308210950

THE FUCKING TRANSITION FROM TAYLOR'S YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN KID 2 THE 19*5'S ABOUT YOU IN WHICH THE LYRICS ARE 'do you think i have forgotten about you?" KILL YOURSELF,,, ALSO THE FUCKING CAPTION?? ‘CUS SHE WAS ALWAYS ON HER OWN BUT THEN JOEL SHOWED UP N WAS THE FIRST PERSON 2 PROPERLY LOVE HER ENOUGH 2 QUITE LITERALLY OR WTV DAMN THE WHOLE WORLD N HE JUST FUCKING DIES N SHE ENDS UP ALL ALONE AGAIN FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU LONELINESS REALLY IS THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD I JUST WANTED THEM 2 BE HAPPY MAN her only fear was 2 not end up alone n thats all she was in the end (choking on tears)

https://www.tiktok.com/@ramsyvsp/video/7246107689821015338

‘YOU GO HALFWAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH SOMEONE’ // ‘I SAVED HER’ please i can’t take it anymore i literally have work, i work at a job n these bitches got me on life support ,, trying not 2 cry ,, abt 2 talk 2 my supervisor with tears in my eyes thanks. Ellie wanted 2 save the world n Joel wanted 2 save his n that’s exactly what he did.

https://www.tiktok.com/@qshleyvsp/video/7249372913017588999

please don't even talk 2 me.

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLssF7ah/

self-explanatory. what if i actually started throwing up like /srs.

uhm okay here's like just me talking about Joel n Ellie ‘cus i have daddy issues n the thought of being loved that dearly makes me physically ill. 

i love Joel’s character SO much. the way he’s always been some kind of father/protector 2 EVERYONE around him is so,, he loved Sarah n when he lost her, he lost himself n he dedicated his life 2 protecting the only family he had left ie Tommy n even when that went 2 hell, he was then protective of Tess (let’s be honest she was a milf who could fight like a bitch mwah gone 2 soon) n then Ellie. he was always being someone else’s ,, defender. the way he obviously closed himself off after he thought he failed Sarah n the way he got attached 2 Ellie n ultimately let her in n just seamlessly fell in2 the role of a father again like he was just shrugging on an old jacket. SARAH TAUGHT HIM HOW 2 LOVE N ELLIE REMINDED HIM HOW SIGHHH,, Ellie n Sarah could’ve been the best sisters UGH also the way Ellie was always by herself n she really only had Riley n then she lost her 2 n then she met Joel n he was the first person in her life that didn’t let her get hurt (ish) n actually gave a shit about her so she let him in (SIGH) even though she was probably so scared of ending up alone again (SIGHHHH) n they just. THEY’RE THE ONLY DAD/DAUGHTER DUO EVER MANNNNN

i love their relationship. i love them 2 death. they are so insanely lovely 2 me like how they go from barely tolerating one another 2 risking their lives 2 save each other. being loved by Joel means he doesn't care how violent he has 2 get 2 keep Ellie safe n that's exactly what he did n i can't even imagine anyone loving me that much n it makes me ache 4 someone older who would stop at nothing 2 keep me safe. omfg i'm getting off track. anyway, Ellie loves Joel so much that she's doing everything 2 forgive him, knowing she thinks she's worthless without her immunity meaning something n that is so deep. i love their relationship so dearly. they are so somft 2 me. ignoring the murder n all. i don’t know i just. i never had a connection like Ellie has with Joel. ever. n just like thinking about how if i were in Ellie's shoes, i would just be constantly in awe that someone has the capacity 2 love n care 4 me as much as Joel does n how is he not bursting at the seams. i love Joel. i wish dads were real. sigh okay i think that's all.

yes, that's it. thanks 4 reading. love you xx 

[xadnem]

Talk about the P.S.3 Supercomputer.

Absolutely, but I'm doing it from memory so if you want to actually know more about this you should probably do your own research.

Around 2010, the navy bought 1760 PS3s and hooked them into a series they dubbed the Condor Cluster. This was not because of some deal with Sony or because they wanted to finally build a gaming rig to put PC gamers to shame, but because the processors in PS3s were extremely good for pattern recognition software, cost substantially less than actual supercomputers, and ran on considerably less power. When all 1760 were linked together, the Condor Cluster was using about 1/3 the power of supercomputers of comparable strength, which is saying a lot because it was at one point in the top 50 active supercomputers.

I'm pretty sure the project ultimately fell through because when the next console generation came out, the PS3 was no longer in production, making it unreliable to replace parts that got broken, so they dismantled the Condor Cluster and either sold or gave away all those PS3s. As I understand it they never did this sort of thing again, but who knows? Maybe the real reason for PS5 scarcity is not because scalpers buy them up and sell them at massive markups online, but because the military keeps snatching them as soon as they hit shelves so they can calculate the most efficient way to terrorize the citizens of other nations.

[alch3mic]

I'd like to request a matchup ^^ (I have to say, while I read the others you do, I sometimes try to guess them before I see your answer, it's very fun. And their drawings are so cute aaaaaaa-- I love them-)

When I start to meet someone, I'm very anxious and laid back, but if you get closer and closer, you'll see a more talkative, funny and sentimental being; my humor is purely made of many puns and sarcasm, there's even times I can't help but think about a pun during a serious moment as I'm trying my best not to tell it; I'm a very emotional and impulsive person, so this makes me very attached to fictional characters and inanimate objects and I might give a bad impression for someone about a thing that isn't much of a big deal after all; I can get very excited while talking about something I like, especially if I never found someone who also likes that thing, but this makes me think I'm being a little inconvenient, because I don't have other topics to talk about since I don't know how to change it aaaaaa; my love language is physical touch, since I'm not so good with putting some emotions and words into... words (I'm very touchy with many things, actually); night owl; I'm a huge procrastinator, but when I start a project, I normally dedicate myself till the end, even if I take a lot of time on it (purple soul, maybe?); I like to just stop and daydream for a couple of minutes; my memory definetly isn't the best, but it's not the worst either, like, I can forget a bag of school materials in the middle of the mall (personal experience??? What???), while I can remember almost 50 songs of a musical

My hobbies are: drawing, playing games (cards, board, PC, console...), listening to music (almost any kind, from lo-fi to metal, but I listen to videogames soundtracks more often), singing (but I'm not comfortable with someone near me), reading, writing, watching videos, series or movies and playing piano

Likes: the stars, I get to see more than 3 or 4 in the sky only when I travel with my family at night, and it's so beautiful... I might cry a little-; lasagna and ice cream, the best foods ever; buzzfeed quizzes; having a time alone, although I like to spend a night with friends and family playing games, chatting and eating snacks

As for dislikes: disrespectful people in general; whistles, I can't focus on literally nothing if I hear one and I might freak out a bit, but it's totally on impulse; I get very anxious with needles; Physics lol

Hope this isn't too long. But, hey, the more information, the better, right?

Oh yes it’s true, I think CHESHIRE is going to be just right for you!

🤍 Dedication is a huge attractant for Cheshire! He likes people who can really put themselves forward on to a task and see it through, because it will inspire him to do the same. He needs a good partner in crime who will procrastinate with him from time to time so the two of you can sit back and daydream, but also encourage him to get up and see a project through. With just a bit of time he’ll be encouraging you too!

🤍 A sense of humor is also very important for this cat boy! He tends to joke around a lot, sometimes unintentionally even in stressful situations (literally all he’ll do is spew out cat puns when he’s feeling cornered), so having someone who will also be down to joke whenever is great for him. Plus he’s always a sucker for a good pun, and he falls quickly for those who can actually make him laugh!

🤍 Physical affection is a huge love language for Cheshire because he also has a hard time properly expressing himself, though he tends to be a little reserved with who he dishes it out to. Once he begins to form a bond with you though, he becomes a very touchy person, wanting to hold hands (so he.. won’t lose you of course!), play with your hair (you.. uh.. had a tangle!), and overall just be close with you (because you’re.. warm..). These ‘friendly’ touches will become a part of your everyday!

🤍 Seems like the two of you share a lot of interests too! He’s a huge gamer, and loves everything from indie games to horror, shooters and of course puzzle games. He’s also really into watching fellow content creators through online videos and binging a good drama series! He also has quite a sweet tooth and has a big weakness for donuts, but ice cream comes as a pretty close second!

[yuvon-writes-letters]

Yuvon (and Jake),

I'm actually glad you understand my suspicions and still, I think you convinced me to trust you for now. Maybe that goes both ways.

So, helping each other with those weird situations over letters, hm?

I never would've dreamed of my life becoming this...messed up? Weird? Crazy? But hey, at least it is not boring.

Yes, I was saying the stuff with the chinese food (which I really cooked btw) because of the motel room :)

So, four hours only...But that's something we could have expected: Different universes (as far as we know), different 'time zones' if you wanna call it like that.

Jake didn't I still was not able to reach my Jake, but I took a closer look on the picture. Sadly I didn't find anything. In the moment I'll stay where I am, I don't want to leave my home, but I hope I'll find a way to contact the Crow-Crew soon. Or maybe what (or who) ever is responsible for the stasis desides to 'help' me a bit. The thought of the MWAF (at least that's what I think) being out of the stasis with me is not really calming. I am also thinking about calling other people I know from Duskwood, or had contact with. Maybe Alan, Darkness or even Phil in prison. I have to figure out with whom I can stay in contact.

To help you, maybe you can figure out a bit more of where you are and maybe why you're there? You said something of a library and game room, also a comfy room. Is there something, anything that could give you hints?

Or is there something you haven't talked about yet that you know which could give more hints on your situation? Everything could help you now (even though going or plotting against an entity would be rather difficult) [a little figure that seems to think really hard is sketched next to the sentence]

So yeah, I think that's it for now. Maybe Rai will answer again soon, then we'd be three people :)

Stay safe Yuron, and Jake too!

[Jakes red eye is drawn here]

Liska🐾🔥

Liska,

I'm inclined to at least give SOME trust to anyone who gets these letters, since I'm 99% sure everyone who gets these is an alternate amateur investigator in the exact same position as I was in before being drawn here. You saw me talking about the parallel universe theory with Rai, right? My opinion there still stands. Maybe it's a bit naive, but the shared circumstances make me trust y'all more off the bat.

Yep, we might be trapped in cosmic horror stories, but no one could ever say this is boring XD

I was hoping not to deal with time bullshit. I was so happy when I learned that Rai and I's universes ran on the same time. Guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up XD Still, yeah, I really should've expected it.

Calling them would be an interesting idea. However, calling Phil might be difficult, and calling Alan may or may not cause issues; hard to tell with what we know so far. Sounds like Darkness is your best shot, at least in my opinion. (The writing here grows a little shaky.) I think that

Sorry, I started laughing and my lines started going crazy. I can’t ever NOT find Darkness hilarious, he reminds me of me when I was in my edgy phase. Anyhow, you’re probably going to need some type of pretext for talking to him, unless you want to frame it as just striking up a conversation. Maybe send him that picture of the MWAF’s mask you just got and ask him if it’s the one from the legend? You’ve come to him for info on the MWAF before, it probably won’t come off as an odd question.

I mean, odd for reasons other than you being sent a photo of the MWAF’s mask. Whatever, you get what I mean.

As for the rooms: there’s been something I’ve been obsessing over for a while, now, but I haven’t been able to get anywhere with it. I don’t know how much you know about video games, but for purposes of what I’m talking about, there’s basically three types: Singleplayer games are self-explanatory, and I have more than a few in the game room. Multiplayer games, on the other hand, come in two variants. There are ONLINE multiplayer games, where you play with random people on the internet. I have none of those, which is probably not surprising given all my other restrictions.

What I DO have are what are called LOCAL multiplayer games. These games are basically meant to be played by someone in the same room as you, on the same console (I’m usually a PC gamer but local multiplayer is generally a console thing.) There are also board games (multiplayer!) and even some DnD handbooks!

What’s most interesting to me, though, is that almost everything so far has been tailored to my interests. Books are all genres I enjoy, games are all genres I enjoy, etc etc. But buried under some other stuff is a chessboard. I’m AWFUL at chess and generally avoid playing it to avoid humiliating myself.

So something’s definitely up with that, though I’m not entirely sure what.

(Blacked out) (Blacked out harshly) (Blacked out) fe No, nothing of particular note I haven’t said yet. There’s those three rooms to the “south”, “east”, and “west”. There’s infinite paper. Whenever I get out of here I’m gonna get hit with a fine for littering XD   I have a pen that doesn’t run out of ink, a pencil that doesn’t seem to get dull, a paper clip with all the letters I’ve gotten or sent so far, and my malfunctioning phone which doesn’t run out of charge.

For a rehash of the rules I’ve learned of this place: I don’t need to eat or drink. I don’t get injuries. Nothing can pass through the invisible barrier. The trees are pass-through-able if there’s a room on the other side. I am not allowed to contact anybody not somehow related to the Duskwood case. Unless I take action to spur them on first, the Crow Crew remains in stasis except for on landmark days like Father’s Day. (Jake is no longer in stasis, exactly, but he can’t get anything new on the case either. He considers it a variation on the stasis.)

:) Yeah, hope Rai’s doing okay. They probably just had something come up in their life, and that’s why they haven’t written for a little bit. Or maybe they moved and the entity keeping me here didn’t update the address XD

Jake wants to try to figure out if there’s a “conversion rate” for time between our universes. I suspect there isn’t a conversion rate, but it’d be good to figure out one way or the other. We’re taking notes on the approximate times we get your letters and send ours back to you. Your letter was received about 12 hours after I sent the last letter, and I’m sending this one somewhere about about 2 hours after I got yours.

Jake highly recommends you don’t call Alan. And while he personally doesn’t mind if you call Phil, he says that based on his own previous behavior, your Jake might not be too happy about it XD

He also suggests that maybe the reason my letters sent so oddly in the first place (introductory, then all the others at once,) had something to do with the time bullshit. Seems possible, I guess, but that might imply your stasis doesn’t have anything to do with my stasis; I figure if my entity was the one doing your stasis it could bypass the stasis to deliver the letters.

Speaking of stasis: I know it’s dangerous, and I know you’d be breaking your promise... but what would happen if you physically went to Duskwood? Probably too bad of an idea to actually try unless you get really desperate, but it’s something to think about.

You be safe too, Lis :)

—Yuvon and Jake

(The letter tucks itself into the paper clip with the others.)

[mintyobscurity]

Ok, so I'm curious and I saw that you're bored. Plus that ask Anon thing you posted. Figured I'd ask: tell me anything you want about Kihyun. What about him makes you smile, makes you laugh, makes you daydream about him, etc. Yes, I expect a long essay. ;)

Heh you were getting an essay nonetheless! I’m adding a break cause this’ll be long and I don’t want bother people who just want to scroll. This way people can read it if they want!

There are so many things I like about Kihyun, so much I notice aside from his vocals. Kihyun has one of the most stable set of pipes on a man I have ever heard, he sweeps you off your feet with his silky and soft voice. Being able to move around, basically workout and keep those notes on point… talent. I could never. His range is astounding, high tones that flow with effortless precision and he belts out perfect notes every time. To be that talented took hours of practice. Monumental efforts to make sure everything is perfect, and I’m proud of him. His skills come second to none. Such a strong, powerful, voice and I wish more people would recognize or see how beautiful it is, he deserves so much more recognition. If heaven had a sound, it would be Kihyun’s voice. Lisp and all! Also, this man is LOUD! His lisp is precious and I know he gets teased about it, but it’s part of who he is. I could listen to him talk all day and night. As well as dance! He works so hard for us and the group, and though the members say his dances smell, he is really a good dancer! I would love to see a dance duet with Hyungwon and Wonho!~ even Shownu! Kihyun’s dancing is so hypnotic and it enraptures you.

Kihyun readily takes care of everyone and I love that . He’ll play around and laugh along but then just as naturally, he make sure everything is cleaned up or no one is hurt and worries like the caring man he is. He may get frustrated taking on more than his fair share sometimes (and understandably) but for the most part he loves his members and looks after them. It’s heartwarming how caring he is and how hard he tries for us, like all the little messages he posts on fancafe telling us not to worry or saying good luck for exams or not to stress and trying to write some of them in english or a different language just to be closer to international Monbebe’s. He really the most caring and kindhearted man. Kihyun loves us so much and he is always giving great advice to Monbebes. I can feel his love through his words. I love him so much.

Cooks… Cleans… (clam chowder enthusiast, famed chicken lover and dipping his fries in milkshakes.) Kihyun breaks the (toxic) male masculinity that only women cook and clean. Again, he gets teased for having that type of domesticity, but that’s who he is. It’s a part of his personality. He revealed on the last episode of Monsta X Ray season one that if things aren’t done by his standards, he gets stressed about it and Minhyuk proceeded to call him a pervert. The stereotype of females having to do all the housework is broken by Kihyun’s actions and words. A truly inspiring man. Kihyun’s a gentleman! He is so kindhearted, thoughtful. He opens doors for people, well mannered man who helps carry strollers up stairs. He really is the best.

Finger flick master. As one of the top 3 Kpop idols with powerful finger flicking abilities, it always surprises me just how much power his finger harbours. It’s scary, especially after watching his victims reactions to the sudden pain. Not only does the abused area turn red, but Kihyun’s finger swells and turns red as well. I want to experience this once in my life. As much as it seems to hurt, many have said it’s refreshing and it’s something I need.

Kihyun, my gamer! It’s fascinating to wonder what games he plays other than GTA online, what consoles he uses. PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC for sure. It’s cringy to think he plays F*rtnight. And his skills on Overwatch are better than I expected when they went up against VIXX! As a gamer myself, I would love to nerd out with him over video games. This man has such a diverse range of talents! Amazing.

Oh and the freckle on his finger is the most precious thing I have ever seen! Never before had I seen a freckle on the inside of someone’s finger before until Kihyun. His neck freckles are just as precious and his high dimples are just as unique as he is. His ethereal visage has me swooning, a handsome man who has my heart. There’s a gesture he makes with his lips, a half smile in which the corner of his lip lifts. And the members tease him about keeping his lips parted when doing a photoshoot. Listen. This man knows what makes fans feel things! He’s sexy! (A shameless flirt) With or without a toned body or abs, Yoo Kihyun is perfect in his own way! He’s mentioned a few times about getting tattoos and lord help me when that happens.

When he is embarrassed he hides (mostly behind the members) and he easily becomes embarrassed when he’s the center of attention. He secretly likes it, but Kihyun himself feels second hands embarrassment even from himself. To take his shyness out, he will direct physical contact towards his members by pushing him or lightly punching if he doesn’t hide. Recently he does a weird move where he bobs torso back and forth and his head sways with it. Along with this, he likes to show off anything he can other than his skills. Adding to this, he likes a challenge. Kihyun likes the attention but again, gets embarrassed once his task is finished. His ears turn red and gosh he’s precious. Upon becoming nervous, a little habit is he will play with his lips by biting them or using his fingers. A possible oral fixation? Maybe~ I would need to fins a way to channel my embarrassment if I had to act cute on TV too! Ah when he does the cringiest shit and acts all confident, but when the others do even something slightly cringey he dies of embarrassment.Duality.

This man has skills in Photography and has his own exhibit, displaying pictures he’s taken. I know I’m repeating myself but is there nothing this man can’t do? His pictures a breathtaking, just as he is. Kihyun has an eye for details, for finding the beauty in things some people might miss. Even the pictures he takes of his group mates are beautiful! He is only capable of carrying out one task at a time, pitting all his focus on one thing at a time and ignoring any distractions that may happen. He said he takes pictures because he can keep the moments, thus he takes a picture. For the moments. Every mood and moment. Capturing the moments he can keep.

English skills! His English has improved so much over the years and I’m so impressed and proud. He speaks with confidence, any way just to communicate. He’s studied and learned so much that he’s practically fluent and can probably hold a conversation in English with someone. A diligent man.

I think his smile is probably the one thing that gets me. I cannot look at any picture of him where he’s smiling, from a tiny smile to the laughing smile, without finding myself smiling along with him. Big Smiles that you can feel with your whole heart when he’s really happy. That eye smile makes me weak.

Kihyun gives everything he does his best efforts and that’s admirable. He radiates dedication; to his skill, to his fans and to his members. I’m very thankful that I get to live in the same life as all of Monsta X of course. I’m grateful for being able to hear Kihyun’s voice, to see his handsome face, to be a part of this world with him even from across the world.

So, there’s no exact thing I can daydream about without thinking about another part of him. He makes me smile in many ways, makes me laugh at so many things and I daydream about his mere existence. There’s nothing I can’t focus on without letting my thoughts wander. I’ll always support him, always love him. The world is a better place with him in it.

I wanna thank a few anons and @stellarkyun for their takes on some of the things I have listed above. I am probably missing people and I apologize. 

[klimp42]

Final Fantasy 8: An Amazing Story Hidden Behind Weird Mechanics

So it should be said that there is one thing that I love and that is some good narrative in gaming. I love it, give me a game with a good narrative and at least decent gameplay and I am in there, and a good narrative doesn't mean oscar level writing because I love Deadly Premonition, a notoriously weird game, but a golden game in my heart. Its story is weird and unique and at times outright strange, but it's endearing and I love how wild the story gets as it goes on. Now why am I talking about this? Why it's because of my lovely new bad gameplay good narrative obsession, Final Fantasy 8. That's right, gamer boys and girls we are going back to another old game, and that's because I just played it, and the remastered just got announced at E3 this year.

Alright so if you know nothing about the Final Fantasy series, let alone the 8th installment, let me help you out. Final Fantasy is an old franchise, it started in 1987 and got its name because the original name Fighting Fantasy was taken by a board game in the states, the myth of it being called Final Fantasy because it was a last ditch effort to make a successful game is just that, a myth. The game is prolific, being one of the granddaddy's of the JRPG genre and helping bring that good ol fashion turn based combat system popular in tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons (D&D)  to videogames. Final Fantasy 1 is a classic of gaming and also is kind of like D&D, you have classes similar to the previously mentioned board game; Warrior, Monk, Thief, Paladin; with a few of its own unique classes; Red mage, Black mage and White mage. The games story was very simple, worlds ending, killing these fiends and go back in time and stop Chaos from doing this over again, also at some point the game explains that you are from another universe and that's why you just start outside the beginning kingdom, Final Fantasy stories like to be a little wild at times.

Like D&D you gained levels in this game by fighting monsters, getting stronger with each fight and eventually being strong enough to be able to face the final boss on even grounds, or maybe a little above them if you grind out yourself to max level. This system, if you are into the RPG genre, is incredibly rewarding as you get to see your team of lowly nothings evolve into masters of combat who can slay gods. The best part, to me at least, is going back to the starting area or an area that gave you trouble and stomping on those monsters who thought they were so cool 20 levels ago. Now in Final Fantasy series this system is in most of them, fight monsters, get exp, level up and your stats go up with it, the special cases are Final Fantasy 2,6,8 and 10, and of these the worst offenders of weird leveling are 2, 6 and 8. That's right, I said it, 6 has a weird leveling system with level not raising stats and needing summons equipped to level stats, I personally don't believe that it deserves its spot as one of the best Final Fantasys but that is an article for another time. I could explain why each is weird and 10 is fun and different in a good way, but forget all that and let's get into the focus of this piece, Final Fantasy 8.

Now even though it is my new obsession in good story bad gameplay, my fascination for this game goes way back to when I was a 3 year old with a pizza hut demo disc. Yeah you bet that was a thing, you would order a large pizza and it would come with a playstation demo disc that had a couple of games, but the only one that mattered to little old me was the demo for Final Fantasy 8, or that game with the guy with the cool sword and big water snake, as I was 3 and couldn't read that well. Seriously, if you have played a Final Fantasy game before you would know that you can use summons by clicking the tab they are in and then selecting the one you want, well ol kid me thought it was random as I was just picking things at random. So what I am saying is, I have always had a special place for this game in my heart, so there might be a bit of bias.

So I spent some time flip flopping over what I wanted to discuss and explain first, story or gameplay, on the one hand I wanted you to know what FF8 had to offer narratively, but on the other hand I feel I should let you guys know what you're getting into when you play this. So I decided to compliment sandwich this one, but like a subway compliment sandwich where the teenager who doesn't really want to work there barely tries to cut your bread so the top part is like really thin. So thin that what I am going to give you is this, FF8 is a great story of a young man learning to overcome his own weaknesses to understand that strength can be found in companions, listen I know that sounds cliche but I need more space to talk about the amazing character development and got to tell you about this bad gameplay.

So remember when I said that old Final Fantasy's had a nice leveling system based on fighting enemies, getting exp and raising stats? Throw it all out the window, because like I told you earlier FF8 is one of the weird ones. So for some reason FF8 has a whole system based around equipping "Guardian Forces" (summons) and then through this unlocking the ability to junction (equip) magic to your stats; like strength, magic, hp and the other classics; while also being able to junction magic to element and status attack and defense, allowing you to be able to either protect or do damage based on said elements and statuses. Now you might be thinking how does this work, because magic is usually used based on magic points (mp) well there is no mp in FF8. This is due to the narrative stating that it is very rare for people to do raw magic instead they need to draw magic from nature and creatures/people and use it that way. This means that in FF8 magic is a finite resource and instead of regaining mp you have to spend time drawing magic that is randomized to be either 2 or 12 magic, so it can take awhile. If this sounds a bit weird and confusing, don't worry it kind of is, there are tutorials to explain it, but man is it a weird system. So why is this all necessary? Well unlike other Final Fantasy's, in FF8 leveling raises your stats by the littlest amount, so to be able to do decent damage and also defend against it you need to junction magic. Also to make things even worse, leveling can be a problem as monsters level with you, so if an enemy is tough for you at level 20, raising your level to 30 won't help you as they will be doing more damage and have more health. The game does try to offset this by making it so if an enemy had fire to be drawn at lvl 10, at lvl 30 they would have fira to be drawn, which would make it so that you can junction a more powerful magic and do more damage. FF8 also gives you the option to just cast magic instead of drawing it from enemies, and can be useful since most bosses have healing magic to draw from them meaning you can go in without a huge stock of cure's.

Alright so we have a confusing system with a bad mechanic of monsters getting stronger with you as you level, is that all that is weird? Nope. So remember the guardian forces I mentioned earlier? Well they are necessary to be able to junction spells to stats and make your party stronger, but there are a limited number of them and that usually means only three of the six party members will have guardian forces so you can make a decent party for fighting. The problem is that the game likes to switch around who is playable a lot, and while it is fun and interesting in the narrative, it sucks gameplay wise. The game does make it easy by letting you be able to switch who has what guardian forces in a menu, but it gets tedious after the 15th time you have to do it and especially when the game switches between two perspectives like 4 times in 30 minutes. Also sometimes you have dream sequences where you play as another team and when you come back to your main party everyone but Squall, the main character, has everything unequipped, so you have to go back and re-junction everything and it's just a waste of time. Listen I could keep going on the weird aspects of this game, but I don't want it to take up this whole article and we got cool card games to talk about.

FF8 does a lot of things in a weird and bad way, but that doesn't mean it doesn't do things really really right, and thats with Triple Triad baby! Triple Triad is the super fun card game that exist within FF8, a game so good that you can also play it in FF14. The game is easy to get into and can get pretty hard with each area of the game map have unique rules, yet you can game the system by going to areas and abolishing rules and bring rules from other regions to new regions. Well except for one region, it is the king of rules, no exceptions! The fun of this game is not just showing the npc's of FF8 why you are the Yugi Muto of Triple Triad, you see you can learn an ability to turn cards you win from Triple Triad into items, which in turn can be turned into spells, powerful spells, I'm talking spells you are not meant to gain until like lvl 45 or 50. This means that if you want to you can spend time in the starting area at lvl 7 and leave a powerhouse that level thanks to Triple Triad. But there is a problem, this method is not quick, it takes hours to do this and also to even be able to get the ability to do this you will need to get AP for your Guardian Forces, which means either fighting fights normally or carding enemies which kills them but doesn' give exp, it can only be done at low health so be careful not to accidentally kill them.

So I have given a decent way to have fun but let me give you guys, in my opinion, the best way to enjoy FF8's gameplay, cheats. That's right a game that's so weird that the PC port has cheats that you can add to your save. I'm not talking about the normal ones we saw when FF7 and FF9 were ported to modern consoles, like the ability to turn off encounters and have it so you don't lose health in combat and do max 9999 damage. I am talking about the ability to modify a save file so you start with most low and mid level magic at full stock on all characters, and let me tell you it is a blessing. On PC it also allows you to at anytime raise all magic stocks to 100 and max level Guardian Forces, and let me tell you guys if you don't have the patience for the grind or want to try and just enjoy the story I highly suggest using these cheats, it makes things so much easier and I hope that the FF8 port coming to console has these cheats too. Also I should let you guys know I didn't immediately use these cheats, I tried to play it legit about three different times and every time the grind burnt me out, honestly if it wasn't for these cheats I would never had enjoyed FF8's amazing story. Speaking of amazing stories, let's finish off this subway compliment sandwich and talk about the good stuff.

So let me give you guys the easy lore of this world, on this planet, there are two types of people, normal people and sorceress, sorceresses can use magic naturally and a lot of them use this power for world domination especially the last sorceress, Adel, who was in charge of the country of Esthar and almost succeeded, due to this the Gardens were created by a man named Cid with the sole purpose to be able to kill sorceress should one like Adel show up again. The thing is one will show up and I don't mean because of plots need for a main antagonist, I mean because a sorceress can not die until she passes her powers to another female. Our story follows the character of Squall Lionheart, a quiet and distant youth who wants nothing more than to be able to prove that he is strong enough to be on his own, so badly that he actively shuts out other people who try to get close to him. Our boy here is a SeeD candidate in Balamb Garden, which means he is close to graduating and being basically a mercenary for the Garden until the need to fight a Sorceress arrives. And from there that's how the story grows, you have a cast of characters that join over time each interesting in their own right, helping as you deal with a looming sorceresses threat. Sounds pretty standard right? Well let's be real even something standard can be handled masterfully and that is exactly what FF8 does. Before I get into that there are two more characters I need to talk about. Laguna Loire, a soldier of the Galbadian army, who Squall keeps having vivid dreams about, through these dreams you see piece by piece of what he went through and how these events shaped him and the world around him and also how he is connected to Squall. There is also Rinoa Heartilly, a young girl who wishes to free the city of Timber from Galabadian control and in the process acts as the catalyst to what motivates Squall to change, all do to a chance meeting. When you look at the plot of FF8 it is abit generic what with stopping a Sorceress from creating her perfect utopia and most characters, outside of the ones mentioned above, get little depth to them, but what makes this story so engaging and interesting is Squall.

You see Squall starts off as a character who I can say I was disappointed in and didn't really like, a character I had adored since I was a kid due to my memories with that demo. He is angsty, off putting and really annoying, hell it feels like half of Squalls Dialogue is "...", but the thing is, that's the point. Squall is like that because he is afraid of trusting people again, fearing that if he does he will get hurt again and abandoned like he was as a child, so he puts on this cold front to make it easier for him, he doesn't have to worry if people like and rely on him if he is cold and indifferent, they would all just hate him. It is through this premise and his chance meeting with Rinoa that we see how Squall grows and changes, a man who I started off hating and grew to love and it's because it feels natural. Squall isn't cold because he thinks its cool or because he knows he is better than everyone else, he is a kid, a sad kid who went through heartbreak way to young and is afraid to love someone again. He is thrust into a dangerous world and has to come to terms that his lifestyle will not work for him, that he needs and wants to rely on others and he can't just keep ignoring a part of himself. Through the course of FF8 you see a quiet kid with a broken heart, overcome himself and become a real hero and use his new strength to make sure he can protect those close to him as well as himself.

And now we reach a bit of a problem, I would love to explain more, I want to explain why certain scenes moved me so much and why Squall's journey brought me to tears, but then I would need to spoil parts of the story, and that is the last thing I want to do. This is a Final Fantasy story that has incredible character development and I want people to be able to experience it themselves, to see what makes it great. I should also at least mention that the story is not without faults and tropes with Rinoa starting off being your typical manic pixie dream girl and if Squall really wanted to be alone he would have left SeeD after completing his training, and of course the other characters are not given as much screen time as Squall and Rinoa. However, tropes are not always bad and can still have depth, and by the end of the story I would say that Rinoa sheds the trope but it is on the nose in the beginning.

I left a lot of stuff out and with the HD remaster coming out sometime this year I think that if this article intrigued you, pick up a copy and experience it yourself. Experience a masterpiece of character growth that I believe is held back by clunky gameplay choices. I sincerely hope if you do decide to pick up this title that you enjoy Squall's story as much as I did.

[topconfessions]

I agree with anon! Those e-gamer stans are so fucking weird. But the e-gamers themselves aren't any better. I can count so many white streamers who yelled slurs while gaming on "accident". I don't know if you know him but there's a twitch streamer called Sykkuno and he just irks me so bad. Not that he's problematic as far as I know but he's so fucking strange. That grown ass man is 30 years old and complains that his love life is shit. Nothing wrong with that, but he always says "Girls aren't interested in me". At his big age it's a major red flag to call women girls. And he has that fake soft boy image, that he's such a shy, innocent bub so can't do no wrong and doesn't even know what curse words are, soft bby🥺 He caters with that spiel to young teenage girls, idk it's fucking strange. I've seen pics of him from 2015 so he was in his mid twenties and Lord... there's a reason his twitch cam is always blurry and he wears tons of makeup lmao.

Gaming is toxic to me. I feel like a fucking grandma and outsider to say I remember the days when Wi-Fi didn't really exist and internet connection was plane old land line, you "game" on consoles, hand helds, or maybe PC and it was mostly 1 person intimate gaming or multiplayer with friends. Now we got naked hoes using simps for $$$ on twitch and people being snobs on streams. IDK. I just really really miss the old days of what the video game industry used to be. I don't even mention playing video games to anyone cause I see it as pure past time now unless I'm grinding at games like Yakuza. If I were to say I game then I'm gonna get asked for PSN or XBOX name / add them or what streaming game I'm playing. Smh.

Being a 94 liner is hard..

[cacophonouscatharsis]

The female demographic is shown to play mobile games a lot more as opposed to male gamers, except when it came to Gen Z it seems. So big triple A developers, the ones who make games for consoles and PC that have these character creators, do seem to have a predominantly male audience. They're not looking at who plays Candy Crush or any other mobile game, they're looking at the kinds of people who play the kinds of games they're making.

I know this is only anecdotal but I've been playing online games for over a decade now and I can tell you of the other players I've heard talk maybe like 3% of them were women, probably lower than that honestly. I've heard thousands of guys talking but very very few girls. You could probably ask any other person who's been gaming on consoles and PC and they'd say the same thing. Again this is only anecdotal, and maybe I've played with more women than I think who were just nervous about talking because they'd get some kind of backlash from men. Regardless of this anecdotal evidence I think the statistics from the survey also speak to what I'm saying.

Could you imagine if there was a video game where you can create your character and the default character was female?

Like imagine if in, say, Skyrim

They’re like “Who are you?” and it turns the camera around and loads up character creation and it’s defaulted, from the get-go, to female Nord instead of male Nord

Could you fucking imagine the outrage that would cause?

Could you imagine how many people would get irrationally pissed off and write angry articles on Kotaku n shit about how the game “forces feminist agendas on its players” if for once, just once, the default was female instead of male

And no, random doesn’t count. If it’s a game where the character creation screen defaults to a randomly generated character every time, or one of multiple presets, that doesn’t count

And neither does any game where there’s multiple races and one of the races is primarily or only female

I mean:

>Start the game >Create character >A female character shows up >In order to be male, you have to click the Male checkbox >Female’s pre-selected >Every time

Every game I have literally ever played that has a female option always has male selected by default, literally every time

Even Pokemon! “Are you a boy or a girl?” has the cursor on Boy by default

I have never, literally ever, played a game where it’s defaulted to female, and I guarantee if it ever happens, there will be an obnoxious amount of delicious, delicious outrage from people who don’t want to admit they hate women

[lazuliblade]

I'm surprised ppl haven't brought up Yuuri's gaming hobby. Imagine him and Yurio playing Smash Bros with Yuuri coming out super savage on cat son. Also imagine the trio doing a let's play of Resident Evil 7 with Yuuri playing with stone, cold eyes while Yurio and Victor are scared out of their wits. Lastly, imagine Phichit and Yuuri doing LPs in off seasons during their Detroit days

(Referring to Yuuri’s Japanese Skating Federation online bio. I added the arrow and box to point where it says ゲーム“game” - gaming/video gaming)

Thinking about it…I’ve only seen maybe one or two fanfiction/Tumblr drabbles early EARLY in the season that touched on Yuuri with gaming and I think I’ve seen a couple of fanart here and there. There might be more now, but I don’t watch AO3 every hour, so I do miss some stories (if anyone knows some good fics on this, please rec them!).

I may not be as avid a player as I used to be, but that doesn’t mean I can’t talk a decent amount about video games~ I’m putting a majority of this post behind a cut because it got a bit long with musing on what game genre and platforms he might play, along with some headcanons.

I’m pretty sure Yuuri’s athlete+student lifestyle would mean the depth of his gaming hobby is going to be similar to Yuzuru’s gaming hobby - perhaps a little more since gaming is Yuuri’s only major hobby, or perhaps a little less now that Victor is spending time with him. Regarding Yuzu, he trains hard on and off the ice, balances university work, is a serious audiophile, and has other obligations (advertisements, ice shows, publicity, etc.). But when he plays games, he’s a completionist. His beloved series is Monster Hunter (check out those links for the commercials). When Yuzu has his foot in a cast, or gets out from surgery and is on bed rest, he says that he catches up on schoolwork and plays videogames.

So I imagine that Yuuri also has little time to be a hardcore gamer, but if that’s his single notable hobby, he’ll probably sink time into games that can be done on the go, or games that don’t require lots of planning and forethought (unlike, say Fire Emblem or 9 hours 9 persons 9 doors). Basically, the ideal games would be the kind that he can drop back into, see what the next quest/next dungeon is, and can get back on track. Games that feature lots of grinding, such as RPGs/MMORPGs, are good because they’re pretty straightforward, have repetitive actions/tasks, and offer a range of options and sideplots to keep them interesting for a long time.

Some games/series I headcanon him playing are Pokemon, Elder Scrolls, some of the classic Nintendo series (Mario, Zelda, and Metroid), some Square Enix RPGs (Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest), maybe the Tales of series, Monster Hunter (super popular in Japan) and he would likely play some phone app games because of their mobility.For those unfamiliar with phone gaming, there are some great developers that are capitalizing on the iOS and Android market, so it’s not like Yuuri would be limited to simpler games like fruit ninja or candy crush – after all, in real life we’re seeing a YOI x Shingeki no Bahamut collaboration.Smash Bros. and Mario Kart would be classic series I definitely see him playing with Phichit too. (I wonder which character he would pick?)Perhaps he would also have FPS (First Person Shooters) on his computer that he could play in short bursts. He doesn’t seem to have a gamer’s laptop, so I doubt he’s serious about PC gaming, but logging in every now and then and doing a few quick rounds in Left4Dead or TF2? I could see that. He doesn’t need to actively chat, and could still enjoy playing with teams - he could be the silent player who makes all the kill shots.On that note–“imagine the trio doing a let’s play of Resident Evil 7 with Yuuri playing with stone, cold eyes while Yurio and Victor are scared out of their wits.”When I read “stone, cold eyes” I immediately thought of this:

He’s got the dead-eye stare thing down.

LOL(League of Legends) and WOW (World of Warcraft) are super popular and have servers in different countries, so they could be contenders as well. He could polish his English here, too. So imagine Yuuri being super good with online slang and chatting. Even though Phichit spends a lot of time on various social media platforms and likely absorbs all sorts of English phrases, Yuuri has no trouble keeping up with any of his abbreviations and random text speak.I’m not ruling out console gaming, but he would need to have a TV to connect to and I didn’t see one in his room - unless he keeps it tucked away in the closet for some reason. Maybe on some nights when he was younger and the onsen wasn’t busy, he would pull out the GameCube or Wii and play with Mari in the living room.I can imagine him living with Victor in his apartment. While some people would share the movies they’ve liked over the years and watch them together on the couch, Yuuri would bring up that he watched much less movies than he played video games. And when Yurio comes over, he learns this and challenges him to battles – where he promptly gets destroyed (just like at the banquet). Yuuri doesn’t mean to make him feel that inferior in skill, but… he has a reputation to keep, he’s not losing to some rookie, and he knows if he went easy on Yurio then Yurio would only get even more angry.Imagine Yuuri telling Victor during breakfast about his progress in a game recently:

“So I was playing this RPG and the ice magic mod that I installed was glitching so that it drained my mana faster than my pots could replenish it even when spamming–”“Yuuri, love, I don’t have a clue what any of those terms mean. Take pity on me and explain them?”

Personally, I’m curious what character archetype he would play as. Berserker? “I just want to smash and cut things up because in real life I get so tied up in details and insecurities - this is a release.” Archer? “I don’t like being in the thick of things, and it’s super satisfying to do a kill-shot from a distance.” Mage? “I love that I get to use something that doesn’t exist in this world. But in a way, it’s like every time I skate I cast magic on the ice, so I kind of like that I can cast magic for real.”Swordsman? “I want to be the type of classic brave protagonist I could never be in real life.”Considering that now we have a collaboration for the phone app of Shingeki no Bahamut (Rage of Bahamut), I’d like to think he prefers playing as a swordsman of some sort…

I’m ending here because I could make headcanons for ages about what Yuuri would do with a game if he played it. Point is, there’s a variety of options Yuuri has if he wants to play games while travelling or training anywhere in the world, and there are certain genre he’s more likely to play because of his lifestyle’s time constraints. Gamer!Yuuri is such a fun aspect to think about.