#Small Aragami

[starbriar]

We're back with more Aragami. Me and my friend are ready to continue our sneaky onslaught. Come join in! https://www.twitch.tv/starbriar

[deusvervewrites]

How about a crossover AU between MHA and Code Vein/Godeater?

Listen to my songs, boy

Not long after the emergence of Quirks, scientists discover a strange new species of single-celled organism, dubbed Oracle Cells, with incredible medicinal potential. They do, however, have the small issue of symbiotically joining together into giant ravenous monsters that devour conventional weaponry used on them. You know how it is.

These monsters, dubbed Aragami, quickly devastate most of the world--except for New York City, which is covered in a storm of blood red mist, but that's probably fine. Since Oracle Cells seem to pretty much just fucking eat weapons used against them, Quirks quickly become the most effective deterrent against the Aragami threat. These efforts are organized by the multinational research and military organization, Fenrir.

The effectiveness of Quirks against Aragami means that the situation is somewhat less dire than canon God Eater by the time that Bias Factor technology is properly developed and civilization starts taking back territory from the Aragami. It's even possible that the Ash Storms never happen. In fact, most of the research into supersoldier programs would be Quirk based instead of Oracle Cell based.

Without a Quirk, Midoriya cannot enlist in anti-Aragami missions. However, some Fenrir scientists approach him as a potential candidate for a special unit they're putting together using some experimental biotech enhancements. Midoriya agrees.

The first sign that he may be in over his head is when Midoriya stumbles across a girl with white skin, white hair, red eyes, and a horn. Despite calling herself Eri, she is labelled as a 'Humanoid Aragami Specimen.'

[devilofthehounds]

God Eater 3 Character Novel | Beginning of a Vow: Chapter 4

[image id: A novel cover. Hugo Pennywort from God Eater 3 is leaning against the bars of a prison cell. He is holding up his hand and looking at one of his armlets as if reminiscing. On the other side of the bars is a faded image of a young Hugo looking off into the distance. The text, when translated into English, reads “God Eater 3 Character Novel | Chapter 1: Hugo Edition | Beginning of a Vow”. /end id]

This is a fan translation. Original text here.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

On their first mission, they disobeyed all orders, rushed head-on into a horde of nearly a hundred Aragami, then returned alive in triumph, having completely contained the Aragami.

Luca and I accomplished something that would astound any God Eater. Before we knew it, the guards had started calling us the "Mad Dogs".

I wasn't sure if I'd ever forgive the guards, but it was also true that they had saved my life, and that I had no choice but to rely on them to survive.

I would continue to use them until, one day, I regained my freedom.

That was my tentative conclusion.

Influenced by our example, more and more of the other kids in the prison refused to give in to the guards. Before we knew it, a strong sense of solidarity and an atmosphere full of laughter were born in the prison.

Several months passed following that first battle...

We were training one day. During a break, someone approached me and Luca.

"Yo, Hugo, Luca! Hero coming through, make some room!"

He plopped himself down between me and Luca, tousling his shaggy blonde hair.

"...Hey, Din. Punch a guard and get thrown in the detention cell again?"

Din Pennywort—an AGE from a different block who was a little older than the rest of us.

He was known for being a maverick, always getting into fights with the guards.

"Heroes are supposed to send the bad guys flying, right, Luca?"

"...It was to protect your friends, right? I think that's pretty cool."

"Ahahaha! I knew you'd get it!"

Din smiled heartily as he put his arms around our shoulders. Training was one of the few times when AGEs were unrestrained.

"What do you want, Din? We don't have anything to talk to you about."

"Easy there, I'm not looking for trouble. Just hear me out, little Hugo."

"Yeah, right!"

I shook off Din's hand as he pinched my cheek teasingly. Then—

"Come on, Din, slow down! Hugo, Luca, mind letting me explain?"

A shorter boy came running after Din, his long black hair swaying behind him.

Oulu Pennywort—Din's shadow. The two were always joined at the hip.

Despite his unreliable atmosphere, he seemed to be a skilled fighter, teaming up with Din to defeat Aragami plenty of times.

In contrast to Din, Oulu wore a small but wry smile as he approached us.

"I'm just going to ask you straight up, alright? ...How would you feel about joining up with us and starting a rebellion?"

I couldn't believe my ears.

It was surreal to hear someone as mild-mannered as Oulu say something like that with a smile on his face.

"What?! A rebellion...?!"

"Shhh! Shhh! We don't have a lot of time, so just listen."

Oulu kept his voice low as he listened for the guards monitoring our training.

"During a mission recently, we found some small radio units."

"There's a trio of brothers in our block, and the youngest one is a whiz with machines. He's really young, but he was able to fix them just like that."

"The guards haven't found out yet. This way, we can secretly intercept their transmissions, as well as communicate with AGEs in other blocks."

I felt my heart pound slightly.

If it were true, it would be possible to strategize amongst only the AGEs of the Port.

"One of them is hidden in our block. We'll discreetly give you another one so we can communicate in secret and gather materials for negotiations."

"Negotiations? With who?"

"We heard that there are some people looking to open up a new route around here soon. Once it's safe, people from other Ports might start passing through on a regular basis."

"If we get the chance, we might be able to contact those people and sell them confidential information, or even our own talents. If they find out we're being treated badly, they might be able to help us."

I couldn't help but look over at Luca.

There was a possibility. At the very least, it seemed like a realistic plan with a realistic chance of success.

"We're still working out the kinks, but in order to pull this off, we'll need a force bull-headed enough to go toe to toe with the guards."

"That's why we decided to first consult the prison's rising stars: the Mad Dogs! What do you think? You on board?"

Din and Oulu were smiling happily, like children playing a prank.

It was an expression I hadn't seen in the prison in a long time. There was a certain hope in their eyes.

"...Sounds exciting. Sure, I'm on board. How about you, Luca?"

"Yeah. I want to help, too."

"Alrighty, let's get started! Hugo, I'll get right to it—Hrrah!"

The next moment, I was sent tumbling by Din's headbutt.

"Ow, that hurt! What the heck, Din...?!"

Oulu hurriedly intervened.

"Wait, Din, let me explain first! Sorry, the radio's hidden in the detention cell. We couldn't bring it to training, so it's the only way to get it to AGEs in other blocks..."

"That's the gist of it. I'm going in with you, so don't hesitate to hit me back, Hugo!"

"Tch, so that's what's going on... Alright, then. I'm gonna send you flying!"

The training area began to buzz with excitement as a loud fight broke out.

"H-Hey, you can just pretend! L-Luca, say something!"

"Hugo, get a running start, then hit him."

"Why are you encouraging them?!"

Soon after that, Din and I were quickly seized by the guards and thrown in the detention cell as planned.

"Tch... I'll remember that, Din..."

"Heheh, even if you don't, I'll remember that dopey look on your face when I first hit you."

With that, Din laughed and threw himself back on the hard bed.

Sighing as Din casually pointed under the bed, I laid down on the cold floor.

Indeed, there was a small, black box down there.

This could lead us into the future.

A place where you could do what you want, how you want... with your own will.

A rebellion conducted by children. For the first time in a while, I started to feel excited.

I closed my eyes and waited until nightfall, when the guards would be gone. Time passed.

"...Hey, whatever happened with all that talk about selling one of our AGEs?"

"Ah, right. There's a Port that comes knocking whenever they hear about a Grade-A AGE. A wealthy Port called Baran."

"That sounds good. If we sell his partner, maybe the Mad Dog will quiet down a bit."

I felt a sudden stir in my chest as I heard the exchange coming from outside.

Din sat up, too, and looked at me for a moment. We rushed to the bars together.

"Hey... Hey! What were you saying just now?!"

"Hm? ...Geez, you're in detention again?"

The guards turned around, smiling menacingly.

"I feel kind of bad for you. If you hadn't been such a stupid dog and got yourself put in there, you and your little friend could've spent one last night together."

I felt a chill go down my spine.

"No... No way... You're lying..."

As the guards walked away cackling, the hatred I once felt flared up again.

Luca was going to be sold? For the convenience of selfish guards? To make a quick buck?

It was too sudden. It didn't feel real.

But I knew this empty feeling was a sign of despair.

"Hey, wait... I said wait, damn you! You... You're going to take everything from me again?!"

I yelled frantically towards the outside of the detention cell.

But to the incoming guards, it probably only sounded like the baying of a wounded dog.

Din clicked his tongue and kicked the bed in anger.

"Those guys are just nasty... This is bad. If we rebel and he gets sold, it'll break everyone's hearts. If that happens, then our plan... Dammit!"

I sat shoulder to shoulder with Din, staring into nothing as my thoughts started moving faster and faster in my head.

Not again—I didn't want to lose another friend.

He was the hope I'd finally found in the darkness.

I didn't care what it was; I grasped for anything—anything—that could turn this situation around.

I clenched my fists so tight that my fingernails dug into my palms.

Suddenly, an alarm rang out through the Port.

"...What?! There's a Vajra on the route?!"

Raising their voices, the guards all ran at once.

"Vajra..."

Taking advantage of the commotion, Din took out the radio and connected to Oulu, who was waiting on the other end.

"Hey, Oulu, can you hear me? What's going on?!"

"It's really bad. A large Aragami—a Vajra—showed up where they're planning to put the new supply route! It's been blocked off, and the guards are in an uproar because the whole plan might fall through."

It seemed the route that was supposed to be profitable had now become unusable.

Amid the rapidly changing situation, my mind quietly connected possibilities one by one.

Profit. Route. Value. Large Aragami. And AGE—

"Tch, the guards are coming back... I've gotta cut you off, Oulu."

A pair of guards walked by while discussing countermeasures against the large Aragami.

I turned to them and called out.

"Hey, that Vajra... We just need to get rid of that Aragami, right?"

The guards stopped and looked at me blankly.

"Once that Aragami's gone, you'll be able to open the route and make a profit, right? Your money... I'll earn it."

It was a gamble, but it was the only way to make the most of the situation.

"I'll defeat it. Whatever Aragami come, I'll defeat them all. In exchange... there won't be any more talk about selling Luca!"

"Idiot... Don't make it sound so easy, brat! It's a Vajra. All you'll do is die a dog's death."

At that moment, Din stepped forward next to me.

"Then shut up and eat the loss, asshole. Hugo and I will take that Vajra down. Maybe sending a couple of dumb kids will get the job done, right? Take the bet."

"Din, you..."

"Two of your strongest AGEs take down a large Aragami! And you get a new route to boot! It'd be way more profitable than going to the trouble of selling one lousy Grade A!"

Din and I seemed to be on the same page.

The tension grew as the guards remained silent.

There was almost no chance of success. But if you didn't do anything, you wouldn't get anything. You wouldn't protect anything.

That was a truth deeply engraved in our hearts as AGEs.

In the suffocating atmosphere, suddenly—

"...Hugo, are you going to fight?"

Somehow, Luca wandered up and approached me.

"Luca?! What are you doing here?!"

"...Since you and Din are here in the detention cell, I figured it'd be easier to talk if I joined you, so I took a swing at one of the guards."

Beside Luca, a guard stood abjectly, holding the back of their head.

Next to me, Din doubled over with laughter. I faced Luca across the bars.

Had he already heard? That he was going to be sold?

Luca would probably try to stop me, say there was no need to do something so reckless for his sake.

But even if he said something like that, I—

"Hugo. Are we... going to be separated?"

I gripped the iron bars and squeezed tightly, steadying my voice as I answered.

"...If we're not strong enough, we might be..."

"Alright. Then, let's fight."

Luca smiled gently at me like he always did, to the point where I started to wonder if he really understood the position he was in.

"If it's just you, I'm sure you'll be reckless again. So, I'll be reckless with you. That works, right?"

He usually had a habit of being absent-minded, but once he started talking, he would never give in.

That was why. His words... they always gave me courage, even when the anxiety in my heart threatened to crush me.

Din, who seemed to be wholeheartedly enjoying himself, lined up next to us. Together, we turned to the guards, our eyes hungry like dogs.

"We'll win, even if it kills us! So put us to use!"

Translator's Note

[dazzlerazz]

I MAY have bitten off more than I can chew.... I'm taking on four medium sized aragami at once in the same small place.... oopsie poopsie

[radellama]

Games I played in 2020 (Reupload)

This post somehow got deleted when I removed it from my pinned, which is strange, cause all my other ex-pinned still exist... Anyway, good thing I kept a personal archive, so here it is again, unedited!

Excluding games like mario kart/just dance/jackbox games ect that are kinda just.. You play them, thats it; this is a (hopefully) comprehensive list of the games I played in this shitty year. Its a bunch of my thoughts and rambles, with somewhat of a rundown of what the games actually are. These are vaguely in the order I played them in this year, and I have another whole post on just the Resident Evil games I played that I’ll keep seperate, cause this got out of hand lmao.

Under the cut so I don’t clog you all up.

---

Owlboy

Owlboy… This game is so fantastic, I got it twice. Literally, I have the digital version on switch and bought physical for ps4. What can I say? I really love this game. The soundtrack, visuals and story are just incredible, and it feels right at home alongside other games I hold close to my heart.

You play as Otus, a shy and mute owl who tries to help out but often gets the short end of the stick. Things start to get serious when the threat of a pirate attack looms over his small and unassuming town, as he tries to help figure out how to help and stop the pirates. With the help of friends he makes along the way, Otus and pals start to discover that there’s something more sinister beneath everything going wrong.

Playing this handheld on switch feels just as nice playing console on ps4 (yes i know i can put my switch in the dock, but at the start of the year playing this i had no internet and my tv was packed in a box ready to move :P) I think I have a pretty strong resonance with this game due to the fact that I played it at a strange time in my life. Bushfires were burning up the country, the smoke from them was thickly hanging over my town as I tried to pack up all my belongings and move to the city, and no one could come help me due to the severity of the smoke. The stress of trying to move and start up at university all within a few days was getting to me and reflected in slightly more insomnia than usual, so this game kept me good company. There are a lot of really good emotional beats within the game, and it was well worth being a thorough player and dicking around to exhaust all npc dialogue; I believe some of the best emotional scenes are optional and could be missed if you don’t go searching for them. That said, even if you may miss one or two of the hard hitting feely stuff, there’s plenty of really nice moments in the main story that you can’t miss. I especially liked the way it touched on how to approach and deal with your friends when grieving through tragedies, and that there are moments where the characters tell each other how much they mean to each other. Overall its just such a gorgeous story about a young owl trying to help, and how far of a journey that takes him. I’ve played it probably 5-6 times this year across both platforms, I feel like I can’t get enough of it. While a shorter game, it doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything, and has a fairly satisfying end, even though it is rather open ended. 

Love this game, and would encourage you to play/watch a playthrough if you get the chance. (Also big fat win for this game being set on a bunch of floating islands!! Fuck yesssss)

Some songs I really liked were: 

Strato https://youtu.be/_JHq-jJZUlw

Such Perfect Peace https://youtu.be/aW1vcLi6IOI

Tropos By Night https://youtu.be/LUY7_Q600LM

~~~

Aragami

Oh boy, how do I start. I really liked playing this game, it was the first time I’ve really delved into stealth games, and I had a great time. It took me a while to get used to the controls, I feel like this is probably better to play on ps4 or pc, but it was still great on switch. While I do enjoy games set in Japan, that wasn’t the main draw for me to play this game. The idea of being a shadow assassin infiltrating the light clans during the night, it was so interesting and beautifully executed!

You play as an undead, malevolent spirit of the shadows, summoned by the young girl Yamiko to help break her free from the imprisonment of the light clan. While the story isn’t particularly deep or enthralling, it is enough to keep an interesting motive to continue playing. As you collect Yamiko’s belongings that are guarded, you slowly release the shackles of her imprisonment and share her memories that are attached. One thing of note here, not only do you have the option to choose which style of play you want, its actually encouraged to shake up how you go about each level! I plan on replaying soon and challenging myself to play differently, I tried to simply not be spotted by any enemies, and killed whoever was a nuisance. There are achievements to be had for complete stealth and never being spotted by an enemy, or killing every enemy in the map; every time you do well and receive points for excelling at a certain play style, you can buy weapon and attack upgrades. These were very fun to save up and collect, from adding more ways to attack and distract enemies for a much more thought out attack strategy, or sending out decoy shadows and having shadowy hands consume enemies in an insta-death. 

Not only did I thoroughly enjoy my time playing this game, I also felt like it was just well designed. I honestly can’t remember a time playing where I felt I was unfairly frustrated at a death, it usually felt like my own error and something that I could figure out myself. Perhaps a few of the boss fights were a bit mediocre in that aspect, but I can remember most the boss fights clearly enough to say I thought they were clever and creative ways for light and shadow to clash. It has been a while since I have played, and looking nostalgically to a game I played in Feb/March needs to be taken into consideration. However, if you wanna give stealth games a go, this is a great action-adventure stealth to play, and has a gorgeous aesthetic with a soundtrack to match! Well worth playing if this sounds interesting to you.

Notable songs for me were:

House of the Raven https://youtu.be/AAd9cm1nFfE

Trapped! https://youtu.be/vH7ehpPUIwI 

Main Theme https://youtu.be/m09et2hlLMk

~~~

Stardew Valley

Ahh Stardew. Honestly I played it more last year, it was a great way for me to relax AND rest my back to play this on my switch in bed after work. I still played it enough this year that it warrants being on my list, and I’ll say it’ll be on next years as well since the new update will be coming to consoles early next year, and I’ll bet this will be what I inevitably come back to playing to give my brain a break once uni starts up again.

Fairly simple game, you’re a newly appointed farmer taking over your grandpa’s old estate, you can farm… thats about it. Just kidding, there’s actually quite a lot to do so I always come back to this (also the ease of repetitive rituals make the autism go wheeeee!) It’s really nice getting to know the townsfolk, even date ones that catch your fancy. I’ve got like 3 or 4 files on the go, one of which is me playing as Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Enterprise Farm, just trying to grow a massive vineyard with a few animals and other plants just for fun. What can I say? The brainrot goes deep.

I’m very excited to see what the updates will hold, I had a lot of fun with the previous update that lets you befriend the sewer monster and move into your house. And also that you can get a movie theatre if you go the right path. This game has so much love poured into it, and it is genuinely one of, if not the best farming sims out there.

Not much more to really say except I love this game a lot, so here are some songs I really like. 

Fall (Raven’s Descent) https://youtu.be/idOmc35hlhU

Spirit’s Eve Festival https://youtu.be/gI3c4_K3smY

Winter (Ancient) https://youtu.be/Zr-PHm_qLgg

~~~

Cave Story+

I love Cave Story, it hits a certain sweet spot of nostalgia as I had it on wiiware growing up. It fascinated me as a kid but I think most of it kinda went over my head, so it was really nice to see it put on Switch! I played this a lot at the start of the year, but I also did a playthrough with my friend to show her what its all about. You can ask Nika, I did final cave (hidden) with joycon drift and somehow made it! /after like 20 tries lmao

You wake as a robot soldier with amnesia, and come across the mimigma village where you find that a girl mimigma named Sue has gone missing. As you try to search for her, you come in contact with her brother, and find out more about why they went missing. The further you investigate, the more dangerous it becomes, as it is made apparent that you are in fact meddling with a plan The Doctor has to take over the world or something, so you gotta fight a big toaster and a cute witch a bunch. Its a very charming and charismatic game, the wit of the old translations has pretty much been carried over, and this game is a pretty important part of the history of indie games. Well worth looking into how this game was created as its very interesting!

Definitely recommend playing, I love this game cause holy shit cute robot protags (and a floating island!!) I believe the original version of the game is still free to play on pc, otherwise cs+ is probably the best and definitive version to play, the main reason being you can stack a bunch of dogs on your head :P

Good songs:

Balrog’s Theme https://youtu.be/pcxw5QuqwZw

Plantation (Main Theme) https://youtu.be/td-evNdOvts

Safety https://youtu.be/l9Fk1e41_aA

~~~

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

What an interesting game in the series. Honestly I feel a bit conflicted with this one.

While I did enjoy the early days, and can see that its got some of the best gameplay/mechanics in the series yet, it feels a little soulless. 

I’m really not a fan of the way they were drip feeding updates out to us, the content should all be there from the beginning. Special events like holidays, I can understand them being free updates that are patched in, but things like Redd and the art section of the gallery? What the hell, why wasn’t that there from the beginning? I remember being very disappointed at the lack of art gallery, and not feeling all that satisfied when we eventually got it, because it should’ve been there? I know that I’m sounding a bit like a broken record with it, but while there is so many new things, like being able to terraform and having the most control over your town, I mean island, we’ve ever seen in an ac game - even the fact that we can put furniture outside now; that stuff is awesome. I won’t change my mind on that. But the taste is soured by the fact that theres so much stuff that feels like it’s missing. Brewster wasn’t a part of any museum update as far as I’m aware, it’d be awesome to set up his cafe on the island somewhere! There isn’t much expansion in the way of Nook’s store, and THE LACK OF FURNITURE SERIES. Collecting furniture series was one of my favourite things about ac, and I was so excited going from wild world to new leaf, finding that there were even more fancy furniture sets to collect. To have them all taken away.. I think there’s the cabana set still, but bruh I want to collect the sets I loved collecting as a kid, seeing what new additions to the sets will be added, seeing if Gracie will have any more expensive shit to buy. Gracie isn’t here :( There are a lot of the older npcs that just aren’t here and it feels pretty empty without them tbh. I know that the idea is that this is literally the next gen of ac as a series, and some of the npcs are the children/grandchildren of the old npcs we know and love, but I dunno it’d be nice to see them sometimes too. 

The text is also pretty bland tbh. I remember enjoying chatting for hours with villagers in wild world, I got tired out quicker with new leaf but it was still pretty fun chatting with everyone; but here they all have like 4 things to say and its a bit sad. It doesn’t feel like there's extra dialogue for when you get close with a villager, there aren’t as many games to play with them, even at festivals they’ve been pretty bland. It just sucks because I was so looking forward to it, and the intro to the game really hit home cause it really played into the whole ‘starting a new life in a new land’ kind of deal, and I got the keys to my apartment on the same day, so it was a pretty cool moment. 

I dunno, this is mostly complaining, there are things I like about the game, but theres a lot thats just pretty shit tbh. I expected better, especially because they pushed back the release from 2019 to 2020. Also oh my god fuck the flower breeding, I don’t want to spend hours crawling through various strategy guides trying to figure out the exact genetic makeup of my flowers just because I want a blue rose. I have put this game down and not played for quite a while cause of all my grievances, I also had a lot of trouble getting to my friend’s villages online so I only really did local play with my sister lol. I’m probably going to pick it up again soon, I plan on gifting a copy to my youngest sister so we can play online together when she gets her switch, so I’ll see all the updates that have happened over the second half of the year in one go and hopefully have a bit more fun than my first impression. 

To try tl;dr this; I’m not a fan of the way this feels like the mobile game, with drip fed content and kinda bare minimum stuff to do when previous games feel way more fun. I’ve felt more nostalgic to play ww or nl on my ds instead of picking up nh on switch, so I feel like something’s gone a bit wrong here lol. Still a pretty decent game and looks nice, but unless you’re really into these kinds of boring games, and maybe if you don’t care as much as I clearly do, it’s still worth playing. 

Some of the songs are pretty nice too, though wild world soundtrack will always and forever be the best one :P

12 PM https://youtu.be/xs4FJOvLPC8

5 PM https://youtu.be/uLtJIPu-Cns

Phase 6 (Rain) https://youtu.be/9JzOGqWbpmE

~~~

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Let me preface this by saying, I knew it was this shitty one when I bought it. It was on sale and I was cautious about Origami King coming out, so I thought, fuck it, I’ll play the shitty one and then I’ll at least be pleasantly surprised at worst when I play the new one. 

It’s a pretty bland setup; bowser bad, stole something, use stickers, toads are everywhere. I really felt the lack of storyline, it was a little sad but honestly I expected it so I wasn’t that disappointed. There was still a few really fun and witty dialogues from the toads, so I’m glad that’s an important enough staple to still carry that humour. I only cleared like two or three worlds I think, before origami king came out and I played it instead. I might go back and continue playing cause I’ll admit, I’m curious as to how it pans out, but I’m also honestly not that invested.

Oh, I should also mention in the Egyptian level there are like. Human toads and human koopas. As enemies and murals on the wall. They were deeply unsettling and the cause of a lot of yelling at friends and forcing them to see that shit. Like, look at this. What the fuck

Overall, just a lame spin off feeling game, I wouldn’t really class it as a main entry cause it is so lackluster, but tbh it wasn’t as miserable as I thought it’d be to play. It just feels a bit empty, but it is also on ds lol. So.. it’s fine. I also enjoyed the soundtrack, it has moments where it sounds clearly inspired by pm64 and superpm. It’s not so bad, so if anything I’d be interested to hear the rest of the soundtrack in context too. 4/10 would not recommend, just read a wiki on it if you’re genuinely interested. I’m taking this bullet for all of us.

Decalburg https://youtu.be/tUpbaJePhLo

Intermission https://youtu.be/c9HJTxl15VQ

A Thousand Miles Away https://youtu.be/q4hC7X-fu4g

~~~

Paper Mario: Origami King

I preordered this game and got a cute origami set to actually fold myself. I like folding origami, so it was really fun to fold the characters while I finished up my last online uni class of the day before I was able to boot up and play for myself. I wanted to go in playing with an open mind, and feeling ready to appreciate anything that even vaguely resembled what I wanted (esp after playing sticker star lmao) 

Honestly? Not disappointed at all! This was a genuinely enjoyable game to play, had quite a few nice emotional beats and it was a gorgeous world to explore. It definitely feels more action-adventure than rpg, but I think that’s just the style paper mario is going in whether I like it or not. The turn based battle system (haha get it, cause its turn based, and you base your attacks on how you turn the staghea heahaa funnyyyy) it was a fun lil gimmick but it made me yearn for the battle stages of the first two games (haheheeee cauhsse yureee on a stagggheee) Honestly I think this battle system shines with the boss battles the most, having to turn the stage around to navigate it more akin to a snakes and ladders setup in order to land an attack on the boss was actually really fun once I got the hang of it. There is a training stage to get good at both regular and boss battles, but tbh trying to figure out the best methods to hit enemies in normal battles just became a brain-tired and I didn’t feel like solving the puzzle. I always gave it a genuine shot for the first few times encountering enemies, but honestly in late game I just paid the toads to kick their asses for me lol. 

Speaking of the toads, you have to rescue like, a fuck tonne of them. They’re literally everywhere. Its great tbh. They all had something to say and it often made me chuckle, so it was always well worth saving them to return them to their homes. 

Like most the pm games, theres a big baddie that get a big cool thing/powers that control everything, and you go through various worlds to undo the damage done until you confront the baddie at the end. One thing I really liked about this was that, with Boswer not being the enemy, you get to interact with the normal mario enemies we know and love, and get to love them more. It was really nice finding the hidden cafes and ordering a drink to chat with the minions, as every good pm game should be, it was just delightful chatting with all the npcs. I love that the classic dry wit and often sarcastic humour bled through into this game so thoroughly, it really gives life to the whole thing and eased my worries about being a cranky old gamer with a nostalgia boner for the classics. It feels like a pm game despite being a very different and unique game in the series, and despite it not really retaining as much of the rpg elements as I would’ve liked, it was a really nice game to play.

There are actually characters that join your party in this game! I was in such shock and delight that they’d brought that back; albeit not fully. Without spoiling too much, the party members are kinda limited to their chapters/sections, so while it would’ve been awesome to have permanent party members to swap out depending on how you want to navigate, it was nice that they added them at all when they’d been steadily phased out of the series. The only thing I will be a bit cranky about is that they’re pretty much useless in battle, they seem to have what feels like a 75% chance of fumbling their attack and missing, so its not worth relying on them to help out really. Other than that, the party members added some great depth to the game and helped really add character. They’re not as iconic as some of the party members in the first two games, but they’re still very loveable and I enjoyed having them join me on this journey.

Have I mentioned that the game is gorgeous? Cause it really is. While its not really the pop-up-storybook aesthetic the early games had, and really focuses on the whole paper thing, this game feels as though it utilised the origami aspect and the sets feel like paper mache dioramas, so it still has a strong visual charm which is lovely! The places you go to as well… I really loved the autumn mountain and shogun studios, and the desert+sniff city at night were really pretty. The music is awesome too, I enjoyed the full effect of my nice tv speakers I saved up for to get when I got my tv, everything sounds fantastic! Well worth getting your favourite headphones and listening to them. 

Before I go on and ramble on and on about how pleasantly surprised I was at this game, I’ll just leave it at that. I was pleasantly surprised, and will definitely replay at least a few times when I have that paper mario itch. 

Here’s some bangers:

Toad Town in Trouble https://youtu.be/kGv-4THIwjg

Autumn Mountain https://youtu.be/h-xnSuonaZw

Sniff City https://youtu.be/BZxhlRLjlOY

~~~

Everbody’s Golf (PS2)

I’m not a sporty person in general, I don’t even really enjoy playing sporty video games. But this? This was an iconic part of my childhood. And I’ve been playing it a lot recently. As I kid I didn’t understand how to unlock more characters and courses to play, but now that I’m not a stupid kid anymore, I’ve been steadily playing to unlock all the characters and shit cause I genuienly adore this game. Apart from farming sims like stardew and harvest moon, THIS is my go-to game for relaxing. 

The early stages, soundtracks and characters are so ingrained into my memory, that even when I found a second hand copy online last year and bought it, I still remembered everything, and it’s just as fun as it was back then. My roommate knows that I’m not sporty at all, and she told me she was thinking ‘Wow, Rads playing a sporting golf game? That feels a bit out of character, but it he likes it…” - and then she saw what it was, and described it perfectly. It’s a dumb anime golf game. And it’s the best.

I put this here because it’s awesome and I have been playing it a lot recently while in lockdown, and because I actually found someone on youtube that had the soundtrack. They’re all the extended versions, but here are some of the themes that I could probably hum by memory if prompted.

Mt Sakura C.C. https://youtu.be/izbThUSB8W8

Mini Golf 1 https://youtu.be/BwcCGW2rSvA

Character Select https://youtu.be/Gk90vCnuWJc

~~~

Everybody’s Golf (PS4)

Well, it’s the newest iteration of the game I loved as a kid, and it was really cheap if I bought the disc only online since it wasn’t the VR version, so ofc I got it. 

I was literally speechless when I boot up the game and hear Owl City first thing, I fucking love Owl City and I know I don’t really check up on the music as much as I should but I didn’t know this was a thing lmao?? https://youtu.be/TEfCCPEX8oY

/for context, this is the ps2 intro… really makes you wanna play anime golf mmmm https://youtu.be/MUPhWQ3fe38

Tbh this was a bit of a lame golf game… I mean its a golf game they’re all kinda lame, but I dunno, on PS2 it had a certain charm with all the characters you could select and play as, along with the courses all having some kind of uniqueness. Also, PS2 had not one but two mini golf courses, and a nice lil par3 course of fun and short holes. This one? Nothing of the sort.

It just kinda.. Is that you play really long courses and rack up points lol. It feels a bit sad without minigolf and shit, it is fun making your own character to play as, but I dunno I feel like it’d be better to have that create-a-characer ALONGSIDE the classic golf characters we know and love. 

Also, honestly the soundtrack is nothing special. It’s nice enough, but I would mute it and put on podcasts or albums I wanted to listen to instead. Just listen to Owl City

Eagle City G.C. https://youtu.be/OkSwUweo7cM

~~~

Flower

Another game played out of nostalgia. My dad got a PS3 when our DVD player died, and really we only used it as DVD/Netflix on the TV, but one of the games he did get on there was the Journey Collectors Edition, which had Flower. 

It’s a very simple game, you are a single flower petal flowing in the wind, blowing over other flowers in the hope that they bloom. Its very relaxing and simple, and I played it when I was really not doing well with the pandemic and living alone during the worst of the lockdowns. Doing creative works that require some form of portfolio work when I can’t even leave my apartment to see my family, that really sucked ass. But, as much as I wanted to play Resident Evil, I held off to have it as a congratulatory game when I finished Uni for the year. Which is why I played the shit out of flower while I got to the final assessments of the year.

I don’t really have much more to say about this, other than its a very nice and relaxing game, and it was nice and relaxing during a time when I felt incredibly shitty and stressed. 

Life as a Flower https://youtu.be/uL1zvhZzxeM 

Sailing on the Wind https://youtu.be/4n-UpQJ6gRI

Peaceful Repose https://youtu.be/WN5jRb2ADto

~~~

Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes

...I should’ve just played normal trigger. This rom hack is a nightmare. Ok it’s not that bad, there have been a lot of things that I genuinely (want to) enjoy. 

I don’t really know where to begin with this one. I started playing in my discord just to see the extent of what this is, with the sole goal of getting further than where I got as a kid. I got further, I’m almost done in fact, but I have to do so much grinding cause there is no way to beat the boss without seemingly maxing out everyone because the battles are so ridiculously unbalanced. 

Tbh, I have a whole lot to say about this rom hack, and although I didn’t really like it, I still liked it? I have a whole essay of incoherent thoughts stored in my brain, and one day I’ll talk about this more in depth. Without being too disrespectful, don’t play this game. I took the bullet for you all again, and I will continue shooting myself in the foot as I plan on recording footage of it again to make a video essay on it eventually, please wish me luck, I’ll genuinely need it lmao.

For songs… just go listen to the entire chrono trigger soundtrack, yasunori mitsuda will always and forever be a personal hero of mine and he did an amazing job on this soundtrack. You can hear the passion and hard work he put into it, which surprisingly is something this rom hack has in common. As much as I dislike a lot of the decisions made in this game, I have the utmost respect for the team that just sat down and made what they wanted to. There are some genuinely cool things that really show the passion these guys had, like making entire new animated sprites to put in the game. I will grumble and moan and try to be respectful in the same breath about this another time, so just go play normal chrono trigger. 

~~~

Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns

Well. You saw my Stardew review. This is another farming game I like to play because it’s cute and I don’t have to use my brain. I’ve been playing this on my DS during summer cause I’m exhausted from moving house for the third time this year, and just wanna marry pretty boy Cam again. He likes flowers and cats and wears a purple hat and I fucking LOVE him. 

That is all I care to say, this is a really cute hm game so fuck yeah. 

Bluebell Town https://youtu.be/Zm0skaRnpeA

Konohana Town https://youtu.be/bDjOTuveJ8U

Music Festival https://youtu.be/QLAfmB7T-jE

[syrupspinner]

i completed both Party Hards

tycoon. what tycoon. i dont know what youre talking about

i have... little first-hand experience with the stealth genre. there's a level of Katana Zero with a stealth section, i played a little Aragami a while ago, and uh... i played some skyrim as a tween? wow there arent a lot of stealth games huh. well anyway, its my understanding that for most games, things are structured around infiltration. sneak around guards without getting spotted. this game is pretty unique in that you need to stay in one spot instead of traversing to new locations. the closest i can think is hitman, but there youre heavily discouraged from killing most people, but here youre expected to clear out the whole level.

if you have experience in the stealth genre, you may have some apprehensive questions. like, what do you do with the bodies? how does the crowd react to being thinned out? what can you even do to stay hidden? the answer is: not much. the gameplay loop is the you set some of the traps, and then wait in the bathroom. kill someone, hide their body in the stall, continue waiting. you could leave to another hiding spot off the sidelines, but that risks the bodies being discovered. in a game where you have to restart the 30min~ level if youre caught, you are not encouraged to make mistakes. and if a body is found, the cops are called, and i dont need to explain why thats bad. sure, they leave after a while, but not without searching the place for the weirdo in the hockey mask. so just camp the body pile and get some anime on your second monitor. this is how i watched a lot of hunter x hunter, and i made it through heaven's arena and most of yorknew before the last achievement popped

the sequel doesnt expand on the core gameplay too much, but it adds some quality of life improvements. it gives you the instinct mode from hitman, active items, and a move where you kill everyone in a little circle around you. thats a *huge* bonus, because its just a really good way of dealing with the small crowds that were so annoying in the first game. the plot is an improvement as well; the original was a little surface-level, just a means of getting from point a to point b, but the sequel has like... boss fights and stuff. they really had to stretch to make em work, and theyre my least favorite part of the game, but theyre there. anyway, yeah, the plot was alright, totally serviceable. its not something that sticks out in my brain or anything, but it wasnt bad

so yeah, this game isnt good for people who are impatient of people who are new to the stealth genre. but if you want to give it a try, its not a bad game, it just isnt the best. i wouldnt get all the achievements in a game i disliked, let alone two of them. if you dont mind passive and defensive gameplay, it can even be kinda fun to wait for the perfect moment to strike. between you and me though, you can go straight to the sequel, its a pretty direct improvement unless you have a weird bias against voxel graphics (like i do)

[sailorwink]

HOLOSTARS STARCOLLE EPISODE REVIEW

Episode 8 - Punchlines For Dummies

This episode features six mini-skits featuring Miyabi, Roberu and Oga.

The first skit has Miyabi staring at Oga's eyepatch and says that eyepatches are cool. And Oga ends up with two eyepatches after Roberu decides to add another (LOL).

The second skit has Oga and Roberu trying (and failing) to wake Miyabi up.

The third skit has Oga doing push-ups with Miyabi sitting on his back (and Miyabi almost about to throw up).

The fourth skit has Miyabi imaging himself as a giant like Oga (the imagine spots has him breaking a stool after sitting on it, eating a small fridge and kneeling down to face his viewers)

The fifth skit has Oga developing a new videogame and Miyabi and Roberu coming up with ideas for it...But those ideas turn out to be quite boring.

And the sixth and final skit has Roberu trying to figure out which of the five skits from earlier on is best for him to use in a comedy performance, only for both Miyabi and Oga to respond with "The "Don't Enter" skit!".

I love all the six skits in this episode because they're simply funny and cute.😊

❤️🌺🧡🍷💚🐃

#holostars

#stars collection

#hanasaki miyabi

#yukoku roberu

#aragami oga

[biasfactor]

god eaters have sharpened teeth and slightly longer / harder nails than the average human; it’s very hard to notice generally, and fairly subtle, but there are small signs that they’re not fully humans any longer.  accordingly, even the most mild - mannered god eater will, on some level, desire to devour things — if not given an outlet hunting aragami, the hunger can become overwhelming and even painful.  eating a lot of normal food helps, and their metabolisms are all insane enough to run it off fairly easily, but it’s not substitution for eating oracle cells.

on AGEs, the effects are more obvious; their teeth are sharper and their claws are longer, and they can go less time between battling aragami / devouring aragami before the desire to eat becomes more overwhelming.  eating normal food helps less, and they need to eat actual food less at a baseline.  the fact that they’re more obviously ‘monstrous’ contributed to both human and other god eater’s ease with mistreating them.

[tonkipics]

Aragami 2 kakurega village collectibles

#ARAGAMI 2 KAKUREGA VILLAGE COLLECTIBLES PATCH#

#ARAGAMI 2 KAKUREGA VILLAGE COLLECTIBLES UPGRADE#

On top of the tower on the largest building in the middle of the level, very easy to spot.ģ. At the start of the level, jump to the platform across the water on the right then to the other side where you can see the grass, look up to the right where you can jump dash to a fence, follow this path upward to find a golden statue.Ģ. Mission: Help The Militia I (3 Collectibles)ġ. Region: Distant Countryside (3 Collectibles) Follow the path after the previous collectible, when you come to this bridge look underneath it, make your way down there to collect the blueprints in plain sight. Proceeding towards the objective, at the start of the level just the left path through the new area, as soon as you enter here turn right and look up to see a ledge you can jump up to, here you will find a golden statue.Ģ. Mission: Sumire’s Old Master (2 Collectibles)ġ. At the top of the fortress where the assassination target is, enter a room to his left that 2 guards are standing just outside of, just above there are some wooden beams that you can jump up to, the statue is in the corner up here. Mission: Sending A Message (1 Collectible)ġ.

#ARAGAMI 2 KAKUREGA VILLAGE COLLECTIBLES PATCH#

Further up the mountain, ignoring the objective to acquire the shadow scroll, go across the bridge mentioned in collectible #2 and a bit further on, on the left side past a patch of long grass you will see a golded statue on the cliff just ahead, you can jump and dash to reach it. Just beyond them is a small hut with a bridge above it, the golden statue is located behind this.ģ. This is on the west side of the area from the last collectible, up a small slope you will find a log fire surrounded by several red tents. On the east side of the docks, close to where you can eavesdrop on a conversation, you can jump from the end of a dock with a lantern onto a green platform, the golden statue is just around the corner from here.Ģ. Mission: The Elder’s Scroll (3 Collectibles)ġ. The collectible itself is located at the top of the large building where Leader Katashi usually is, to reach it go around the back of the building, you can scale the cliff which has numerous tombstones laying around, climb upwards all the way to the upper right where you will be facing the building as in the first image, double jump and dash to reach the 2nd highest rooftop, go around the corner and you can climb through an open window containing the blueprints. This collectible is only accessible after completing the mission ‘Mysterious Assigment’, earlier in the game it is blocked off by wooden boards. As part of the story you will be given a house and be instructed to go inside, the blueprints will be right on the ground in plain sight, impossible to miss.ģ. Down by the pool of water near the mission board, there is a small cave entrance on the far side near the waterfall, you can jump down to here from the right side of the area and dash across to find the blueprints.Ģ. No missions here, they can be found around the village.ġ. Region: Kakurega Village (3 Collectibles) It’s highly recommended to acquire this as soon as possible (bought from skill tree, costs 2 Skill Points which are obtained from leveling up by gaining XP).

#ARAGAMI 2 KAKUREGA VILLAGE COLLECTIBLES UPGRADE#

There is an upgrade to the passive ability that shows collectibles via your Shadow Sense called Enhanced Senses, this will highlight nearby collectibles that are within range in green, making it significantly faster to find collectibles.

[starbriar]

We're playing Aragami with a friend today! Come join in the fun at https://www.twitch.tv/starbriar

[zombiichris]

All day variety stream today! Twitch.tv/ZombiiChris - playing Fallout, Aragami, Goose, Minecraft Dungeons, and Little Nightmares. Come say hello to me and my cats 💚💚💚

[devilofthehounds]

God Eater 3 Character Novel | Beginning of a Vow: Chapter 2

[image id: A novel cover. Hugo Pennywort from God Eater 3 is leaning against the bars of a prison cell. He is holding up his hand and looking at one of his armlets as if reminiscing. On the other side of the bars is a faded image of a young Hugo looking off into the distance. The text, when translated into English, reads “God Eater 3 Character Novel | Chapter 1: Hugo Edition | Beginning of a Vow”. /end id]

This is a fan translation. Original text here.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

After losing my parents in the Calamity, I wandered through the wilderness as a refugee until I arrived at a satellite base.

The base was small, with only a few dozen residents, but the people living there were all those who had lost their families and homes in the Calamity. The bonds between those who knew the same pain were incredibly strong.

When I arrived at the base, I was at my limit, both physically and mentally.

But everyone there shared what little supplies they had, and thanks to that, I somehow managed to recover. I was welcomed as a member of the base and gained a new family.

More than anything, I wanted to repay everyone's kindness. And so, alongside some other kids who felt the same way, we formed the five-member "Self-Proclaimed Satellite Base Defense Team".

As we spent our days helping everyone at the base, we'd sometimes look up at the narrow sky surrounded by the anti-Aragami armored wall and talk about our shared dream.

"Hey, Hugo, did you hear? There's gonna be a new base near here called a Port. It's gonna be a place that's safe from the Ashlands. They're gathering up lots of God Eaters there!"

My friend's eyes shone with anticipation as they shared the news with me.

"Huh... I wonder if we'll be able to live there."

"Sure we will! So, if we do... Why don't we all take the God Eater aptitude test?"

Their words took everyone by surprise, including me. It wasn't because they were saying something unreasonable.

I hadn't though the chance to make our dream come true would come so soon.

To be able to truly protect this place, as well as those precious to us.

That wish was the dream we shared as the defense team.

God Eaters. The protectors of mankind who devoured the raging gods. Our dream was beginning to take shape.

In the past, only a select few could become God Eaters, but now I'd heard they were actively recruiting new ones.

"But wouldn't that mean... we'd have to fight Aragami?"

We all looked at each other. Soon, our dream could become reality.

When I had that thought, the first thing I felt was... fear.

During my journey to the satellite base, I'd seen lots of adults killed by Aragami.

To those without power, they were death itself.

Even if I did become a God Eater, would I really be able to stand up to them with only the strength of a child? I was filled with worry and indecision. No doubt the others felt the same way.

But.

"...Let's take the test."

As I spoke, I locked eyes with my friends.

"It does sound kinda scary, but... together, there's no way we'll lose! Right?"

I smiled, trying to push down my fear.

The dream we held in our hearts wasn't so weak that it'd succumb to the fear of Aragami.

With them by my side, I truly believed I could overcome anything.

"Hugo... Yeah, you're right! Our team's unbeatable! Let's do it!"

"Alright! The five of us will be the satellite base defense team for real!"

"Yeah!"

As our voices rang out, we raised our fists high in the sky.

That was when it happened.

The ground shook as the armored wall opened, and three black trucks entered the base.

Adults in uniforms wearing red armlets stepped out of the truck.

"We are God Eaters from Port Pennywort! In order to confront the looming threat of the Ashlands, we will now select candidates for the AGE aptitude test. We expect your full cooperation!"

Immediately after he said that, adults with guns poured into the base.

"Whoa... God Eaters from a Port! Let's go!"

Right as we were talking about Ports and God Eaters, this happened. We rushed out to the adults' trucks with anticipation.

But then—

"Five brats... Right, then. You're coming with us."

"Huh...? Ow, that hurts! W-What are you doing?!"

Suddenly, my arm was grabbed, and I was torn away from the others.

"H-Hey! Didn't you come to take everyone?!"

No one answered. Without giving me a second glance, the man shoved me into the truck and immediately locked it.

It was hard to tell from the outside, but the inside of the truck was dark with no source of light, reinforced by a cage-like lattice.

Sunlight barely filtering in through the gap in the doors revealed a faint glimpse of the inside of the truck.

Amongst miscellaneous pieces of luggage, kids around my age were sitting on the ground, holding their knees and looking down.

I could hear the adults in the base protesting outside.

But the doors didn't open again. The sound of the truck starting drowned out everyone's voices.

"Hey, wait a minute... Hey! Open the door!"

No matter how much I yelled, there was no response.

I heard the armored wall open and close, and I knew we were outside the base.

In a matter of minutes, my world had completely changed.

"Huh...? What is this...? What the heck is this...?"

The dark cage was filled with stagnant air, as if in the depths of despair.

None of the other kids looked up. Only their sobbing echoed in the darkness.

"...H-Hey, are you okay?"

I looked over and called out to the kid next to me, but they didn't say a word.

"Were you guys thrown in here, too? Where did you come from?"

I called out so that everyone in the truck could hear me. But still, no response.

I was struck with an indescribable anxiety, as if I was the only one unaware of our fate.

Even so, I still wanted to get through to someone. I crouched down beside another kid and tried to look them in the eye.

"Hey—"

But the words died in my mouth.

Their face was freshly bruised, as if they'd been beaten.

Their eyes, murky and devoid of light, silently turned towards me.

"Did... Did they do that to you?"

They cast their eyes down in affirmation. A chill went down my spine.

To go so far as to hurt a kid like this? And for what?

Those adults said something about confronting the looming threat of the Ashlands.

No way... Were we being taken to the Ashlands now?

Using violence to keep us from resisting—because we were kids who were going to die anyway?

My breathing became ragged as the images of despair in my head slowly became reality.

It was awful. Even though my eyes had been shining with dreams just minutes earlier, the moment I felt the presence of loneliness and death, I couldn't stop my body from shaking.

"My... My name is Hugo! Where did you guys come from?"

I had to say something, and fast. I couldn't stand being alone. All I had were these awful feelings washing over me.

I wouldn't care if it was a flimsy bond. I wanted a friend I could lean on, right here, right now.

"Don't worry! You're not alone! There's nothing to be afraid of! Hey!"

Name. Family. Where are you from? What do you like? What is your dream?

Anything. I wanted a response. I wanted a connection.

I wanted to be reminded that I wasn't alone.

But even though I called out to everyone there, in the end, no one responded.

"Hey... Please... Someone, please say something..."

Even my own voice seemed to fade into the darkness. Wrapped in heavy silence, I was unable to resist the feelings of vertigo and weakness in my body. I slumped to the floor, my back against the wall.

Were the other members of the defense team put on a different truck?

Or were they still at the base, worrying about me being taken away?

Could it be... I'd never see them again?

No matter how much I thought, I couldn't find any hope. Feeling my heart slowly grow colder, my eyes drifted, following the light that was coming in so thinly, as if it would disappear at any moment.

Just then—

In the corner of the truck, I noticed there was someone behind the loaded luggage.

Someone I hadn't called out to yet. It was possible they wouldn't listen, just like the others.

Even with that in mind, I staggered to my feet and headed in the direction of the thin light.

Leaving someone behind is no good. If we don't help each other, we can't survive in this world.

That's why we start by reaching out to each other. The people at the base had taught me that.

The kid seemed so scared crouched behind the luggage, his hood pulled so far over his head that I couldn't even see his face.

"...What are you doing back here?"

I moved the luggage out of the way and tried to get closer to him.

But he stiffened and jumped back further into the corner like a scared mouse, his wary gaze silently warning me.

"Heheh... I won't hurt you. I'm Hugo. And you?"

Sitting in the thin light, I let my voice echo once more in the dusty void.

He probably wouldn't respond anyway.

But even so, I decided to stay with him.

One kid sobbing in fear. Another so immersed in emptiness they couldn't even respond.

In this place full of people waiting to die, there was only one person.

Only this one person showed me the will to live.

"...Luca."

For a moment, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"...Huh?"

The kid was looking at me from behind his hood. He looked me in the eye and answered my call.

"Nice to meet you... Hugo."

I felt like I had found hope.

For sure, there was someone here, calling my name in the darkness.

The moment I felt that, an unbelievable warmth spread through my frozen heart.

"...Ah... R-Right! Nice to meet you, Luca!"

I wiped away my tears—from relief, perhaps—before they could spill over. I took Luca's hand.

"Luca, how did you get here? Do you know anything about those adults?"

"...My family died in the Calamity... I was the only one who survived. I was alone, running from an Aragami, when I got picked up by this truck."

"I see... You, too..."

"They're probably going to take us out to the Ashlands now. Are we... going to die there...?"

Anxiously, he squeezed my hand. I immediately squeezed it back tighter.

He, too, had been in cold despair.

Unlike me, he'd been alone for a long time, unable to find a place to call home.

Then I had to protect him. Just as everyone at the base had done for me.

This time, I...

"It'll be okay. No matter what happens, I won't die. I won't let you die, either."

It was a vow akin to a wish. I didn't want to lose any more connections.

"...Really?"

"Yeah. We're not gonna die, I promise you that."

Staring back into my eyes, Luca finally gave me a small smile.

Eventually, the truck pulled over. A flurry of activity began outside.

The doors opened, and several adults started yelling at us.

The other kids must have felt as though the gates of hell had opened.

But the two of us stood up, holding hands.

From the darkness, we headed out into a world full of light.

With our own feet and our own will, we took our first steps.

Translator's Note

[pseudomonacarriea]

"Daddy?"

Phym tilts her head innocently to the side upon realizing that the leader of the Hounds was home early from his mission. Wasn't Zeke supposed to be showing him around Chrysanthemum to keep him busy? That was what Mommy had said he was supposed to do. Though upon seeing where he was headed--The small Aragami picked up the pace with a small yelp. Today is his birthday, is what mommy had said! So it has to be surprise!

"Wait! Daddy can't go in there!"

Shaking her head and trying to block the way, she brought a finger to her lips.

"Mommy--Mommy told Phym she's making a surprise for Daddy, so he can't go in!"

Happy Belated Birthday Hugo! -- Not Accepting! -- @pseudomonarkaerenea

Pt. 1

He knew what today was, but didn't give much attention to it. Not because he didn't care, but due to the workload everyone had amassed during their time away from Pennywort, he had to put more things on the back burner. Throughout the day, when there was a break and he let his mind wander for those few moments, he could recall the times they would try and hold a birthday celebration for their birthdays when they came around. 'Sleeping' in their beds until the guard got off duty, trying to be as sneaky as possible getting out of the bed, and even going as far as to quietly sing to the birthday boy or girl while sharing some rations for the day. While it wasn't the best, it was what they came up with -- especially with the youngers so adamant on celebrating their own, and each other's birthdays.

While walking down the hall, Hugo was torn out of his thoughts when the sound of his name caught his attention. Head turning towards the one who called him, knowing just who it was by sound alone. No one else would call him that besides Phym, and so sweetly too. As she blocks his way, a curious brow raises as she answers the question already forming in his head. There's no why Phym would block him because of a simple whim--.

"Mommy's working on a surprise for you! But you can't tell anyone!"

Ah, that's why. He should've known she would try to do something for him now that they're in a better place.

"Phym,"

Yet, there's a gentle smile on his face as he kneels down to the young Aragami's level.

The girl looks at him with bright red eyes. About to open her mouth to tell him more, she remembers what Mommy said and shakes her head a lot.

"Let's go see if Mommy's done, hmm? I wouldn't want anyone else to show me the way."

Red hues widen as she takes hold of her father's hand and begins to lead him towards the kitchen. A bright smile curls upon her lips as she tugs him along as he's standing, almost causing him to fumble. Catching himself in time, he lets his daughter take full charge.

--- Maybe they should go over secrets, and keeping them better.

When she's a bit older. For now, he wasn't going to stop her attempts and let her just be a kid.

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/17/2021: 2LDK

I hate JENNIFER'S BODY.

There, I said it.

I mean, actually I've said it elsewhere too, and at greater length, but its seemingly universal embrace by the horror community at large makes me want to say it again and again. I think the appeal is supposed to be the "subversion of expectations" ostensibly represented by antihero Jennifer being sexually rapacious instead of weak and submissive, even though this quality also marks her as an evil, disgusting freak who needs to be destroyed. And, as far as such expectations go, I find that JENNIFER'S BODY doubles down on tired sexist stereotypes about female relationships, describing them as inherently competitive—revolving around jealous, catty fights over boys—and inherently erotic, where the price of passing the Bechdel test is the insistence that women who like each other secretly hate each other, and their hatred is inflamed by how badly they secretly want to fuck each other. I don't find any of that liberating, and I doubt I would even if I didn't find the characters so obnoxious and unlikeable. But, when I catch myself assuming that a film is trying to tell me what real life is like, or how it should be, I have to stop and question myself. Is it really useful to see every movie as a manifesto that either describes or prescribes who we are and how we live? If that were the case, I should be a lot more concerned about the alleged messaging of movies that I really deeply love, including 2LDK.

I do not understand why this film hasn't grown more famous with time. As far as I can tell, the 2003 festival darling hasn't even had a proper blu-ray release yet. It was conceived as part of a diptych called The Duel Project, the result of a drunken wager between directors Yukihiko Tsutsumi and Ryuhei Kitamura regarding who could make the best fight film. Kitamura offered up ARAGAMI, a 78 minute samurai battle as slick as it is dull. Tsutsumi's counter was 2LDK, a savage black comedy about two actresses competing for a major film role, and winning the "that escalated quickly" sweepstakes. I've seen it a hundred times, and I'll see it a hundred more.

Ambitious bumpkin Nozomi (Eiko Koike) and sleazy softcore star Lana (Maho Nonami) book into a 2LDK apartment—that's 2 bedroom/living room/dining room/kitchen—while awaiting word of which of them scored the female lead in a movie called YAKUZA WIVES. The apartment itself is usually reserved for the mistress of the boss at their shared talent agency, a fact that sets the stage for this tale of feminine competition. Despite her sexed up bravado, Lana is haunted by past crimes against other women, while Nozomi is privately nagged by the fear that she may have been a big fish in the small pond of her rural home, but small fry in Tokyo. As these two opposing personalities clash, egged on by their insecurities, an inevitable romantic rivalry adds fuel to a growing fire that eventually explodes into shocking violence.

At only 70 minutes, 2LDK is sleek and efficient, swiftly building out two convincingly complex characters that help elevate the story above the level of a snide joke about womanly vanity. The script from Tsutsumi and Yuiko Miura crackles with cruel humor, and costars Koike and Nonami know exactly what to do with it. The results are as clever as they are viscerally exciting—and misogynist enough to give Erich Von Stroheim a boner, but who cares when the characters are so compelling, and the carnage so satisfying? In less capable hands, a story about two women killing each other over fame, fortune, and a boyfriend might be more of a drag, but 2LDK is pure entertainment from tip to tail. It may not have garnered the grrrl power clout of JENNIFER'S BODY, but it beats that movie to death with its superior performances and sadomasochistic thrills. Not all movies have to match up with our politics; they just have to make us feel something, preferably something good. And if 2LDK is any indication, nothing feels better than beating someone's ass into the ground.

[eternadyne]

[hello] a hug after a long time apart. | @lunaetis​

In a sense, there was beauty in it ——— the way his heart could start racing by virtue of being in her presence; of holding her in his arms and never letting go. Though not as easy to do this time as it was in the past, he was still able to drape an arm around her shoulders and make room for himself on the bed hours after everything was said and done ——— sitting close enough so that she could rest her (weary) head against his chest; exhaustion clear, evident, and hard to hide.

Using his heartbeat as a (rhythmic) compass, however, it didn’t take long before her breaths fell back in sync with his———a blissful quiet hanging in the air as she could feel his arm curve ‘round her own, as if encasing her in a cocoon; effectively supporting the extra weight she now carried so proudly in her arms. 

For so very long, he believed that his family’s (accursed) bloodline would end with himself ——— he, the supposed ‘beacon’ of hope, corrupted with the ichor of divine monstrosities. Murderer of his own kind, from the very moment he’d been brought into the world.

you remember the old stories, don’t you? how all four walls of that room were covered in the guts of your (non-existent) mother ——— and how you cried, wailing mindlessly in the darkness, surrounded by motionless bodies and pools of blood. monster, they called you, again and again. if only you had never been born. 

For so very long, he believed———no, he’d known———that his only purpose was to be a weapon. A mindless tool, whose only job was to kill. Beyond that, there was nothing more. Just as tools were meant to be used till they were no longer worth the trouble, his life only mattered in his father’s eyes when Aragami were being slain by his hand; left to rot and live to die, birthing scars that were nearly irreversible. 

Even when he had inevitably found the light at the end of the tunnel in the years since———forging lifelong friendships, and a single, timeless vow———the phantom that was his own father’s memory never failed to follow him everywhere he went. Every time they called him Doctor. After every compliment, and meaningless flattery. Every time they mentioned his seemingly undying corpse in passing. 

         But no longer. No more. I’m nothing like you. I never will be.

Johannes Schicksal was dead, and had been for decades. Soma worked tirelessly, day and night, to improve the lives of others in this (wretched) world in his own way. Not for that accursed man’s sake, but for his own. For his mother’s. For his friends, for his wife...

…And now, for the little girl that slept so soundly in his beloved’s arms - the one whose (small, delicate) hand barely held onto his finger. She had her father’s skin, and the color of her mother’s hair; eyes certainly likely to reveal the color of ocean waves crashing against the shoreline, should she ever feel so inclined to open them sometime. 

Such a fragile thing she was, born into a world so cruel and willing to snatch her away at any moment ——— born with the blood of a man who had shaped history by virtue of existing, and a woman who had once lost everything, long ago. 

and i will love you, as my father should have loved me. i will protect you, as my father should have protected me. i will always be with you, as my father should have been there for me. you will not live to despise your name, but to cherish it, and be proud. this, i swear. 

He didn’t realize he'd started crying until he felt a thumb brush his cheek out of nowhere, followed by a look of worry; her eyes gazing up into his as she’d asked him if he was alright. Quick to dispel the concern with a slow shake of his head, Soma held the both of them closer and let out a soft laugh. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he murmured, honest as ever (even if his body language seemed to say otherwise). “Couldn’t be happier, in fact; so no need to worry about me.”

[yuusa]

-ˋˏ𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐭 ˎˊ-

         -ˋˏ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒕 ˎˊ-

                 ✧ 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝑬𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝟑 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕

·  ·  ·  · ✦ 𝑺/𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝑯𝒖𝒈𝒐 𝑷𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕'𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑷𝒐𝒓𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒚𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒖𝒎.

𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚: 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒖𝒈𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆.

You fumbled around the large boxes within the room, searching for the lost bracelet that you thought you placed in the girl’s cabin. You nervously bit your lips in frustration as you tried to sort through all of the nearly ripped clothing that was patched up with tape, most of which were clothes Hugo bought for you as a gift when the time came. However, the bracelet was a special case that was irreplaceable to you.

It had been given to you when you were much younger, perhaps around the age of twelve when Hugo went on a mission and found scraps around the area. He had been scrounging through different broken ruins to find pieces he could use to make a bond or “promise” bracelet as he referred to it as, something to reward you with when he got back from his mission. 

He was able to find enough materials to make two black bracelets that were long enough to wrap around your wrist multiple times, they were identical in appearance but had small noticeable differences. For one, Hugo’s was a bit scratched up due to his habit of wearing it wherever he went, while yours was more intact as you left it behind at the caravan before a mission. 

“Here, I made this for you to say thanks for always being by my side,” Hugo said, asking for you to extend your arm out, “it took me a couple of weeks to find the right materials but I finally did it.”

You extended your wrist towards him, allowing him to delicately wrap the bracelet around you with his smaller, childish hands. Although the armlets around his wrists were bonded to your body like handcuffs, he was still able to put yours on. Your eyes grew wider as he held up his own arm, he had placed his on the opposite side of yours and he gave you a wide, goofy smile. 

Your fingers dragged across the smooth material of the bracelet, admiring the amount of effort Hugo had put into such a gift. There were smaller patches of tape lining the edges of the bracelet but it held itself quite well together. You could feel an overwhelming rush of emotion flood the edges of your eyes as you wiped them away with the back of your hand. Hugo’s eyes softened as you threw your arms around his neck, burying your face into the crook of it. 

“Thank you, Hugo, I love it,” you said, his neck being tickled by the smile which touched his skin. 

Now that you had lost the bracelet somewhere on the caravan, you were beginning to sort through your entire box of clothes just to find it. You sore that you had left it on your bed or table before you left, but once you came back from the mission, it wasn’t there anymore. You were beginning to doubt whether or not you had even placed it in your room, perhaps you might have accidentally left it on your arm while fighting the Aragami, it must have broken off or had been sliced and left behind to rot at the mission area. 

You felt your sore shoulders and legs ache desperately, your mind drawing back to the earlier mission which left several bruises around your skin when you were dragged across the ground. You hadn’t checked in the mirror but you could feel your neck feeling funny, it was as if someone or something had bitten you the other night. In addition, some areas were simply sore, as if you had done some sort of intense work out before the start of the mission, however, you were starting to forget what exactly happened.

You tugged on the tips of your hair as you groaned. Cursing to yourself for your foolishness, you rummaged through your clothes for what seems like the fourth time already, growing increasingly desperate to find the sentimental gift. The doors slid open, Claire, Phym, and Lulu walking in together to see the floors of the girls' cabin covered in your clothes. 

“What’s going on? Is everything alright?” Claire asked, coming to your side as you dropped your clothes onto the floor with a dejected sigh. 

Perhaps it might be better to tell them after all, you thought, closing your eyes and sighing. 

“I lost the bracelet that was important to me, I can’t find it anywhere in the cabin and I think it might be outside in the Ashlands,” you replied.

“The bracelet you wore around the caravan?” Lulu added, to which you nodded in response. She and Claire hummed while Phym ran up to you to give you a comforting hug.

“Don’t worry mommy! I’ll help you find it!” She said, “we can look around!” 

You smiled and patted the top of her head, “thanks Phym.” 

“We’ll help too, it might be in the lobby or the Medical Ward,” Claire said, putting a hand on your shoulder, “what does it look like?”

You looked down at your empty wrist, “well. . . It should look like Hugo’s. . .” It was hard to describe your bracelet due to how simple it was that it might get mixed up with other products on the caravan, comparing it to Hugo’s was possibly the best option as he wore his around his wrist for the entire time. 

Lulu pressed her lips together as she placed her hand underneath her chin, “maybe it’s in the guy’s cabin? Hugo might have taken it by accident if they look the same.” 

You scratched the back of your head, your mind still fuzzy regarding the events of last night. You were unsure about whether or not you had left it in the guy’s cabin, you vaguely remembered going there when Hugo asked you to come during dinner but couldn’t remember anything after that. Perhaps checking the guy’s cabin would be a good idea, it might even be there if you looked around but you didn’t know if it was an invasion of privacy to do so. 

You released a sigh and nodded, leaving to open the doors of the cabin and stepping out with the rest of the girls following suit. You turned towards the male cabin and knocked on their door, hearing the sound of shuffling and mumbled voices as Zeke opened the door. 

“Oh hey guys, what are you doing here?” He asked, letting the crew come inside the extremely messy cabin. 

You scanned your surroundings, seeing a variety of playing cards left on the table and ground with records and disks scattered across the room. Some of the beds were extremely messy except for the top bunk, which you assumed was Hugo’s based on how straight-faced he could be at times, it reminded you of when Hugo would tell the other kids to make their beds properly before they left the room. It didn’t seem like his advice really aged with Zeke considering how battered and messy his bed was. 

“We were looking for her bracelet, it looks like Hugo’s, have you seen it?” Claire asked. Lulu looked around the room while Phym danced around to try and find the accessory. 

“Oh you mean the gift Hugo got for her? I haven’t seen it here, and if it’s here it must be buried in the sheets somewhere,” Zeke replied, putting his hands on his hips, “you could search around if you want but stay away from the laundry basket, that's pretty awkward just saying.” 

“We aren’t gonna dig through your laundry,” Lulu playfully rolled her eyes and came to Phym’s side, her hands searching through the boxes for any sort of bracelet that matched the description of ‘Hugo’s bracelet’. 

You nodded and began searching through the boxes, most of them consisted of playing cards or secret stashes of food, you assumed that Ricardo gave them to Zeke for him to share with Phym whenever she did a great job on her studying. Everyone searched through the boxes and eventually came to the realization that it wasn’t in the boxes at all. You began to feel even more stressed by the idea that perhaps you truly had lost the gift and it might be in the Ashlands somewhere. 

“Where is Hugo anyway?” Claire asked, closing the box and setting it back on top of the shelf.

“He’s with Hilda and Keith right now, they’re talking about the Acceleration Trigger and how it could rack in some money,” Zeke replied, shuffling through a deck of cards, “maybe you could ask him about it? Better yet, let’s check his bed!”

“What? Why?” Lulu asked.

“The man sleeps on the top bunk, he must be hiding something dude! Look how clean his bed is! There is something going on there,” he said, “I swear sometimes when we adjust the bed, his bunk is a bit loose at times.” 

“Huh, that sounds pretty strange,” Claire said, brushing Phym’s hair as she held onto her in a hug, “maybe he’s just planning something or writing his reports in bed, he is a pretty serious worker.”

“Maybe you should check, you’re his closest friend after all,” Zeke awkwardly coughed. 

You gave Zeke a nod as you climbed the ladder to Hugo’s bunk, fumbling with the sheets until you touched something. You pulled it out from under the sheets and dropped back down to the floor, opening your hand to reveal a black bracelet that was exactly like Hugo’s. 

“That's great! You found it in Hugo’s bed, I wonder how it got there in the first place,” Claire said, Phym clapping her hands in happiness. 

“Mommy you found it!”

You pressed your lips together as you examined it, there were a few scratch marks on the sides and it was much bigger than you remembered it to be. You examined the bracelet closer and realized that while it looked exactly like Hugo’s, it was because it was his.

“Hold on, it’s not the same one,” you replied, keeping the bracelet in your hands whole the group raised their eyebrows in confusion.

“What do you mean? It looks just like Hugo’s doesn’t it?” Lulu asked. 

You shook your head, “not to be picky or anything, but this one is a lot bigger than my wrist, and there's a few marks on it. It means it’s a bit more worn out than it should be.” 

Zeke scratched the back of his neck, “oh man, I thought we actually found it but I guess it wasn’t the case.”

“Where else would it be then?” Lulu added.

The metal doors of the cabin opened up to reveal Hugo, standing there with a shocked expression, in his hand was a black bracelet and his wrist was completely bare from accessories, aside from his twin armlets. 

“Woah what are you guys doing here? I was just looking for you,” Hugo quickly came to your side with a nervous smile, “I think I took yours by accident.”

“Wait so you guys swapped bracelets?” Zeke asked, Hugo nodding in response.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m sure you were worried about it, weren’t you?” Hugo casually brought your wrist up to help tie the bracelet together, “my bad, our’s just looked the same you know?”

Phym smiled, “mystery solved! Mommy got her bracelet back!” She ran up to you and you brought her into your arms, picking her up and bringing her closer. 

Claire sighed in relief, “that’s great news, may I ask where you both got your bracelets?”

Hugo turned to you and took his bracelet back, wrapping it around his wrist, “we both got them as kids, I usually went around to salvage some abandoned parts for something to give to the other kids. I just happened to find these two.”

You knew that he dumbed down the story a bit, in reality, you knew he had spent many days looking for parts to make a sturdy bracelet that would last years. Hugo smiled at you while you gave one back to him, the rest of the group chatting amongst each other as he brought himself closer to your ear, speaking in a low voice to avoid Phym hearing. 

“You left it here after last night, how are you doing? You were limping a bit at the start of the mission,” Hugo whispered, you slowly turned to him with a blank expression before turning a flush red color. 

You had completely forgotten what you had done last night with Hugo but it was slowly coming back to you. He had invited you to the guy’s cabin to check over some documents but it ended up getting a bit. . . Frisky. You pressed your lips together in embarrassment while Phym tilted her head in confusion to what Hugo said. 

“Haha, don’t worry about it, I thought you would remember it with. . . You know,” he tapped on the sore part of your neck, causing you to flinch and have shivers run down your spine. 

“I-It’s fine,” you replied, seeing Hugo give you a familiar goofy grin while Phym held onto you tighter, “just. . . Remind me next time okay?”

“Alright, I’ll remind you more often,” he gave you a teasing wink to which you responded with an eye roll.