#This post is about Triangle Strategy

[roaldseth]

all of my followers are very lucky that this site does not have the same "release nonsensical thoughts rapid fire into the void" vibe as elsewhere because you all would've been fed up with me playing dolls with Wolffort clan history 3 days ago.

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Decimal Concept Art

Decimal's concept art (a whole 4 pages)! Translation notes and image ids under the cut.

Translation notes:

The Japanese word for "doll" that's used for Decimal could also be translated as "puppet" (which is the same word that was often used to describe the Hierophant). I went with doll because Decimal's a little less puppet-looking, but "puppet" or even "automaton" would probably have also worked.

The name "Gwilym" was a little bit of a guess. "Appling" is one I'm more sure about because I found someone who had online translated the name from Japanese to English, but I couldn't find any direct translation for ゴアメル (Goameru/Goamelu), so I just looked for a similar name that belonged to a dragon. If someone who's played the Bravely series has more accurate info, feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

"This is what we privately call 'playing fast and loose with the design framework'" was a weird one. The first part was something along the lines of "So-called" or "this is called", and the second part was "secret" or "hidden" or "concealed", the third part was "amusement" or "play" or "game", and the fourth part was like "frame(work)" or "zone" or "slot" (generally referring to an area within a set of boundaries). There were a lot of different ways to interpret this, like maybe he was referring to Decimal itself as a "secret playerbox/toybox" or possibly referring to the creative process for Decimal as "a place to secretly play around with the rules". In the end I just tried to put in something that made sense contextually to me.

"Metal bands" was literally something more like "metal chocks" or "metal wedges". I changed it to "bands" for clarity.

The text didn't initially have the explanation for the different types of clay figurines, I added those in for context. The initial translation looked like "I like clay figurines, clay figurines, and golems," so I felt like being more specific was necessary.

The word I translated as "analytical/analyzing" is literally 見極め, which means ascertainment, or as a verb, "to ascertain; to make sure of; to determine; to probe; to get to the bottom (of something)". I went with "analyzing" because "ascertaining" sounded a little awkward, though it admittedly loses out on some of the original meaning.

"Haywire" from "Haywire Mode" is a word that primarily seems to mean something along the lines of "reckless" or "rampage", but it also had another meaning of "runaway" as in a "runaway rocket" (i.e. an engineering project that becomes out of control). I went with "haywire" which leans more toward the second meaning, but (I hope) still retains the "reckless" vibes.

"Gotta love cost-effective manufacturing" was literally something more like "Love keeping costs low".

"Wind-up toy" was literally "self-propelled toy".

"External calculator bag" could have also been translated as "external computer bag".

Image ids:

[id: Four pages of concept art from the Triangle Strategy artbook centered around Decimal. The first page has a colored and uncolored version of its canon portrait, as well as a designer's note that reads, "The barrel robot Decimal is a character that we were aiming to make into a mascot, like 'Appling' from Bravely Second or 'Gwilym the Dragon' from Bravely Default II. I hope it becomes a character that everyone will love! (Ikushima Naoki)" and another that reads, "This is what we privately call 'playing fast and loose with the design framework'. Although it was difficult for Mr. Ikushima, he tackled it with great enthusiasm. (Asano Tomoya)".

On the second page there's another uncolored portrait of Decimal with different parts labeled, notably that the clockwork key on top of its head is made of aged brass (with the caption "Does the barrel turn it on its own!?"), the majority of its body is made of wood, and the metal joints and accents are made of "black-ish metal". There's a note that specifically asks the game artists to make sure the black metal bands around the barrel have high-contrast white highlights. Another small drawing shows a tankard merch design based off of Decimal. Some close ups of its hands show that the majority of them are wood, but the fingertips are metal. The bottom of Decimal's barrel is shown, and it's shown that its feet retract into its body during "standby mode", and the soles become part of the bottom of the barrel. Another diagram shows that the back of Decimal's hands cover the hole left behind by the shoulders when the arms are retracted. An illustrator's note at the bottom reads, "Now that I think about it, ever since I was a child I've liked dogū (clay figurines from the late Jōmon period), haniwa (hollow unglazed terracotta figures from the Kofun period), and golems, all of which have a simple, vacant 'huh, I wonder what they're thinking' kind of look. That might have unconsciously been reflected in my work…… it feels that way, at least. (Naoki Ikushima)".

On the third page, there are different iterations on Decimal's design, titled, "Analytical Doll (with Haywire Mode) Rough Draft". Some bullet points read, "Doll" and "Explore appropriate shapes that convey the ability to analyze". There's a collection of robots with large lens "eyes" that are labeled "Analyzing". The next collection of sketches are labeled "Adding charm while pondering the meaning of existence" and "Toy Knight". The sketches show a small nutcracker-esque doll with a wind-up key on the top. There are captions that read, "Originally a wind-up toy" and "Knight Automaton (Mechanical Puppet)". In one of the sketches the knight toy has a spyglass, labeled, "Analyzing Mode", and in another sketch it has a sword, labeled "Haywire Mode." The next collection of sketches feature a robot that resembles a maid, labeled, "Considering the role it plays and why it was made as a self-propelled system" and "Mechanical Serving Doll (Maid Robot)". Like the knight toy, it has a drawing where it's using a pair of binoculars, labeled, "Analyzing Mode", and another where it has red eyes and claws, labeled, "Haywire Mode." Next to the haywire drawing is the note, "As a waiter or maid, the ability to analyze was necessary to support and serve the master. The "haywire" function was an intensification of some of the functions for emergencies." The bottom portion of the page has many different sketches of vaguely computer-looking devices, labeled, "Collection of rough sketches for an arithmetic doll". At the bottom there are two illustrator's notes. One reads, "Initially I was given the theme of 'a doll that can analyze', and from that point on I was excited and started drawing. I also liked the 'Toy Knight' type on the top left of the page! (Naoki Ikushima)". The second reads, "This was us trying to find out how far we can deviate from the norm. (Tomoya Asano)".

On the fourth page, there are drawings that are more finalized rough drafts of Decimal's design. It's titled, "Analytical Arithmetic Doll - Design Proposal". At the top there's a note that reads, "A barrel-shaped doll that would fit in with a traveling merchant's wares". There are several drawings grouped together labeled "Basic Form", including a drawing of Decimal with a typewriter that folds out of its body which is labeled, "Keys on body for arithmetic". There are many sound effects to the effect of "click clack" around it. Another drawing of Decimal using a spyglass that folds out of its head is labeled "Analyzing" and has a slide whistle and "PLONK" sound effect, as well as a note that reads, "Uses scanner on head for analyzing". A drawing of Decimal with an arrow pointed to its foot reads, "The bottom of the barrel is a foot" (as opposed to a wheel which is used further down on the page). A cartoony drawing of Decimal going going berserk with flaming eyes and its body extended is labeled, "Haywire." Next to it is a drawing of Decimal with its arms and legs retracted, labeled "Standby Mode". There is also a short man who's placing a hat on Decimal's head, labeled "With the old man..." and "Receiving a hat". A section titled "Basic Ability Proposal" shows another earlier prototype Decimal with a pair of telescopic goggles than can be pulled down over its eyes, as well as a drawing of Decimal performing with a guitar in front of a crowd, with a peddler behind it laughing and saying "Bring customers to the market!" Another section titled "Barrel Idea Brainstorming" has a version of Decimal called "Crowd-Puller Costume Version" where it has a wheel instead of feet, the key is placed on the back, and in some drawings it has a calculator bag, a waistcoat, and a hat. There is a closeup of the wheel that shows that the wheel housing is a horseshoe. Another small drawing shows that Decimal's different segments should slide in the direction of whatever way it's headed. The last section shows a "Low-cost version" of Decimal which looks similar to its canon form. There are notes that read, "Gotta love cost-effective manufacturing!"; "Since the parts are separate, you can move them just by sliding"; "If you're going to rotate a turning key, it's more cost-effective to put it on top."; and "Equipped with built-in electronics". At the bottom are two more illustrator's notes. The first reads, "And here you can see, the barrel-shaped robot was the one where I went "yes, this is it!" In terms of the setting, it was a prototype of a movable doll, so it was supposed to represent the stage of experimentation when it finally moved after repeated tests using the various materials that were available. The appearance based on barrels, which are easily available in medieval cities, was an attempt to express "developing technology" that was not yet complete, but was charming. (Ikushima Naoki)" and "You know, I think it's appropriate that design and function be considered two of a set. (Asano Tomoya)" /end id]

[three3two22]

Some thoughts about Elegy of Battle

(there are spoilers)

So it took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize Elegy of Battle is the game over theme. I thought it was just for cutscenes. I wasn't sure about it at first but I really like that tristrat uses its tracks flexibly because even realizing things like this feels like finding a hidden secret. I also noticed that the track plays several times during ch7-9 in scenes where Symon is shown ill, and that in hindsight feels like such an evident foreshadowing. It also plays right when Symon is about to die in ch15 so... I mean, I think it's not a surprise that Symon eventually passes, but the fact that the song of death played as early as chapter 7 hurts. Symon's death always felt impactful in the way the war finally took someone closest to Serenoa and this just makes it even more painful.

Another fun thing about Elegy of Battle is that it also plays in Morality final chapter when Frederica and others are searching for Serenoa. Or more exactly when she finds her pendant. So... like father, like son, I guess....

Addendum: I was going to post this but I just remembered that the track also plays in the scene after the Morality duel when Benedict is leaving. In this scene I feel like it could both be a reference to Symon's death or a foreshadowing of Serenoa's. I think that's neat. Man I love this game.

[somethingwittyandweird]

It's that time again! What's your favorite game you played this year?

Hope you're ready for a response to rival last year's post. There are so many good games that I have so much yapping to do about. And, if I may say so, this year was an accomplished one: I made some notable progress putting long-standing backlog titles to rest, as well as some new games that won me instantly. So, let's dive in...

We started off VERY strong with converting one of last year's “I watched this game and it was cool” to “I played this game and it was cool”: Hi-Fi Rush. It absolutely captivated me throughout. It has everything- charm, style, writing and characters that are heartfelt, hilarious, and over the top all at once- and most of all it has an incredibly natural evolution of the high-style high-precision action genre into a rhythm-based brawler where the world moves to the beat. Do I even need to mention it has, not one, but two banger soundtracks? It's a game I look forward to replaying (a rare praise from me), and one I know I'll be in love with for a long time.

Around the same time I was working my way through Sea of Stars- I've talked more about that here but it also really had me engaged as a modern love letter back to the SNES JRPG era. Visually stunning, musically lovely, satisfying gameplay, and a story that I felt gave its well written characters the space they deserved.

Once those were out of the way, I had my mission for the rest of the year: get this backlog CLEARED. Throughout the year, I knocked out:

Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia: a game beloved by many growing up that had passed me by. Experiencing it for myself years later, I could tell that I would have poured endless hours into this DS title as a kid, and even today I loved it enough to 100% its quests and Pokedex. Absolutely killer writing and fun gameplay that still holds up today. I am glad I played it as an older adult though for one reason: at this age I know how not to harm my DS’ screen when drawing endless loops.

NEO TWEWY: A sequel to a cult classic I never thought I'd see but I was so, so happy to see it come back. The new game massively shook up the gameplay (it had to, TWEWY for DS is very literally inimitable) but fully kept the spirit and updated it. As the OG wore its 2000s teen culture loud, this game carried the torch forward and gave us the same charm with modern Internet culture. It brought back old characters in excellent ways, added great new ones, had some of my favorite kind of time travel writing moments, and did it all with style, flair, and a rocking OST. In every way a worthy successor to the OG.

Indivisible: Another game I wrote about elsewhere, Lab Zero's sadly ill-fated entry into action platforming. As I said there, I'm glad I could give myself closure on it and I was glad to appreciate the parts of it that did clearly shine- the delicious visuals and combat gameplay. Hopeful to see where those devs end up and what they'll contribute their talent to now.

Triangle Strategy: In terms of strategy games this was a foray outside my usual Fire Emblem interest zone, but it is my friend’s favorite game of all time, so I had to give it a go. The differences took some adjusting, but I ended up enjoying my time with the game. Combat was engaging, visuals had me oohing and ahhing in places, I liked the characters (Julio and Jens my MVPs). But the standout was the story- as deep and politically thrilling as I was promised it would be. The narrative voting/negotiation system offered me some cool moments of choosing my path (or one time having it chosen for me) which culminated in a really really well set up three-way ending split; it wasn't just choosing a side but choosing an ideology, and the characters who wouldn't abide that choice felt completely justified in their refusal to follow you. I didn't get the golden route, but I may go back someday. Without a doubt my best narrative game of the year. (Plus, the final boss of the route I chose was really really tactically engaging and I loved it as much as i feared it.)

Along the way, a few non-backlog titles did sneak their way onto the list…

Case of the Golden Idol: a visually quirky detective narrative puzzle game that scratched the same deductive itch as Obra Dinn, I had a lot of fun deciphering its ersatz mystery. Each chapter is a death tableau and you use clues and logic to piece together who is who, what is what, and what has happened, with each scene leading to a bizarre overarching narrative that makes you want to keep going just to see how wild it gets.

Death’s Door: A little soulslite adventure title about a reaper crow working for Death and trying to straighten up some loose ends. The environments are really well modeled (though a map wouldn't have gone amiss) and the combat system had a satisfying loop with some unique twists. Its final boss impressed me by being a spectacle fight through multiple zones that showed off the boss’ powers thematically, let you learn what the boss was doing in each phase, and wasn't a drag to retry (the usual danger with set piece fights that keep shifting areas). 

Blasphemous: One of those “classics” of the modern indie metroidvania space, and one of the first to get overtly Soulsy with it, I finally got the chance to try it and it showed me just why it deserves its "classic" status. The writing was very Souls and the platforming very vania, both excelling in their own way. I really loved the sheer variety of collectibles, that's a strong point in my heart for any metroidvania. I absolutely adored the music, a masterwork of Spanish guitar tracks I still listen to. And visually the game’s strong Spanish Roman Catholic aesthetic absolutely oozed artistic passion, and it was clear that so much work went into its visuals… including the surprising amount of (well-animated) gore. Which leads me to…

Nine Sols: if I had a nickel for every soulslike metroidvania I played this year that turned out to be quite unexpectedly graphic, these would be my two nickels. But content warning aside, I can't sing Nine Sols’ praise enough. Its gameplay was thoroughly polished and at every turn designed to help you feel like a kickbutt martial artist warrior, running up walls and surviving lethal enemies with perfect parrying and a unique attack to give that iconic ‘dash past enemy, beat, they explode’ rhythm to the fights. Then it sells that mastery by making enemies increasingly lethal, requiring more and more skill, but the floor never ramped hard enough that I was frustrated (though the last two bosses had me baffled for a while). Exploration felt rewarding with a lot of cool and useful items to find, and seeing this game’s beautiful blend of "Taopunk" futuristic + traditional Oriental environmental designs was a treat unto itself. And lastly, there's a gripping story that unfolds as you get to know its characters- Yi, your mysterious protagonist, the friends he makes, and the enemies he ruthlessly cuts down.

Are we done yet? Almost, I promise. 

As of writing I'm in the middle of Echoes of Wisdom and Ghost Trick, so those, while both great titles, will I think be their own posts. All that's left then is to acknowledge the games I played that I didn't, or couldn't, “beat:” the multiplayer ones.

I played a bunch of MtG with my friends, and I played a lot of Civilization VI with other friends, and those both took up many happy hours. If this wasn't too long already I'd tell you about unstoppable bunnies and definitely not werewolves, or my friends and I allying to conquer the world. But I knew when I got my switch recap today that there's a clear standout in hour count alone: It's not a surprise to you or to me, it's Splatoon freshwater-freaking 3. 

How could I not give it the most love for this year where I fell harder into it than ever before? Where my elite Salmon Runner friend helped me climb to dizzying new heights of EVP rank 999? Where I appeared on so many friend’s multiplayer streams for Splatfests and Big Runs? Where I took it upon myself to fill out my weapon collection 100%? Where I did Side Order runs until I knew every floor by name? Every one of those things has given me a cherished memory… but none more cherished than attending an honest-to-goodness music festival in this game, with my friends, reminiscing on past triumphs, on the importance of living in the present, and with the thrill of looking to the future. I loved Splatoon 3, and with the Grand Festival, it felt like the game, the devs, and the community gave me that love right back. 

That, among all of these games’ memories and experiences, is the one I think I'll treasure longest.

Video games are cool. I'm so, so glad they're real.

[kelbunny]

Okay, so partially brought on bc I've been playing tactics ogre reborn, but in TriStrat, there really should've been more Cordelia during the Liberty ending. There's the small scene with Roland if you stayed in the capital chapter 15, but that's about it.

Mostly with what her reaction would be to Serenoa, since he's just as much her brother as he is Roland's. But she wasn't as close to Serenoa as Roland was, and as far as she knows, it like she lost Roland due to the Wolffort's betrayal, just like as Frani warned Roland early on, that the Wolfforts weren't to be trusted.

And the thing is, Cordelia had already lost Roland once before, back when he faked his death between chapter 9 and 10. And just like with the Liberty ending, it appeared to be at the hands of the Wolffort's.

As a side note, that scene always felt so much more painful on the surrender Roland route. Cordelia put herself at risk to free Roland, only for some time later be delivered what appeared to be his corpse, making her risk be for naught.

I doubt during the period between 10 and 13-14 Cordelia was trusting of the Wolffort's and its a reason why she turned to Avlora, as she was the only person Cordelia had left to potentially rely on. So to have that doubt return full force after Wolffort takes Roland away from her once again seems like it would drive a rift between any potential relationship between her and Serenoa.

Benedict probably wouldn't try to get rid of Cordelia like he did Roland, as just like she was during Aesfrost's occupation, she'd almost certainly be a pawn to him.

I wish there was a scene between her and Serenoa, where Cordelia denies him as her brother, because although it was Aesfrost who stole Frani and her father away from her, it was Serenoa and house Wolffort who stole Roland away from her.

[space-spring]

Okay I made a Bluesky a day or two back because I'm very susceptible to FOMO and peer pressure and my report is that it's fun! It's really basically just a twitter clone except a little smaller and quieter (for now), so whatever your opinions are on the original site, you'll probably feel the same about bluesky. For instance I have a lot of the same problems I have with twitter, namely:

why can't I write an essay I want to write an essay

there aren't tags that I can add my extra bonus thoughts into

everything feels very fast and impermanent

no essays.............

your likes/follows/follower count/etc. are all public (on Twitter I believe you can turn some of this off, but bluesky doesn't seem to have that feature)

NO ESSAYS I CAN'T WRITE ESSAYS??????

no I'm kidding honestly the worst part is the whole "not having tags" thing. leaving actual replies seems like too much a lot of times but I do like to add quick thoughts to posts as I reblog them, so it's something I really miss on both twitter and bluesky

so anyways definitely not leaving tumblr for it but it's not bad for the purpose of looking at art and that sort of thing

[loregoddess]

1, 13, and 16 for the TriStrat ask meme?

1. Favorite Playable Character/Unit? Oh, definitely Corentin. Love that guy. I'm also super fond of Anna, as she was one of my favorites in the main storyline and also my MVP in battle. I basically like all the playable characters though, everyone was super unique in battle and offered a lot of different ways to form strategies, but also the range of characters was really fun and I enjoyed their story stuff a whole lot as well.

13. Were there any npcs you wish were recruitable? It would literally make no sense, not a single bit of sense, negative sense in fact, for the overall story, but damn do I wish we got Dragan as a playable character. He was just so, so interesting for the few scenes he got and I would have loved to see more of him. Unfortunately the entire story could not work at all as it does without him dying, so...

That said I wouldn't have turned my nose up at a playable Svarog either. I think he would have been really fun to play with that big warhammer he has, but it also would have been interesting to see how his character was explored further in the character stories.

16. Any headcanons you enjoy? Oh boy, if you feel up to it I've actually written out quite a few headcanons (here, here, and here), but of these my favorite is the silly "Corentin invents refrigeration".

For new headcanons though, I've been turning Clarus's characterization over in my head for a few months now, and like, he's such a weird character. Because I played the morality and golden route endings first, (and also never discovered the secret fight club in either of those runs), I got to see the best side of Clarus first, and was therefore very confused by the fact that he looks like a villain in his official art. When I checked out the other two endings (as well as the fight club route option earlier in the game), I figured out why he was probably designed to look like the greediest most scheming merchant who ever schemed. That all said, I still think it's really strange that he was so willing to help Serenoa and Frederica in the morality/golden routes with breaking the Roselle out of the Source, so much so that he endured what is heavily implied to be torture at Kamsell's hands (in the golden route at least).

Now, Clarus does side with Hyzante in the liberty route, but only after Benedict makes it impossible for Clarus to side with Serenoa--so I'm still sort of "wild mass speculation, waving hands at a corkboard with pins and strings on it" here, and this is half theory half wild headcanon, but like. I think Clarus might have had some connection to the Roselle, in some way, that makes him so sympathetic to Frederica's cause, and so willing to go to extreme lengths to help them escape the Source. Like he is very much the sort of character who looks out for himself first and foremost, who's only interested in profit, except when it comes to trying to free the Roselle, and the only thing I can imagine is that maybe he knew a Rosellen person, maybe even loved them, and then lost them.

So uh, yeah, that's my wild theory/headcanon for the day. I still haven't finished letting it stew, so sorry for being a bit scattered there, but uh, *finger snaps* yeah.

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Delayed announcement but I made another text bot for Avlora quotes specifically! I put it together because every time I saw a quote come up on @triangle-strategy-text-bot and it wasn't Avlora I was a little disappointed lol.

Avlora: After I was orphaned in the war‚ Lord Svarog took me in. I clawed my way up the hierarchy and rose to my current position. There were times when life looked so bleak I thought I would die. But every time I reached my limits‚ I pushed right through them. Then this war broke out‚ and as things happened‚ I came to meet Her Majesty. Seeing her unwavering strength in the face of losing her family‚ her kingdom… I couldn’t help but be reminded of who I once was…

[millenianthemums]

chapter 3 of my fic is up! i actually posted it a week ago, but was too tired to finish the art until now… i might not actually be able to draw for every single chapter, but i still wanna try. we’ll see.

Previous chapter

Next chapter

Chapter index

Mabel had become best friends with Tate McGucket’s new dog in under a week. She knew she would eventually, but still, that was record time. And with all the old friends she’d been tirelessly catching up with in her first few days back in Gravity Falls, she was both proud and preemptively exhausted to have added a new friend to the list already.

It helped that Scout Cottonball McGucket was the absolute sweetest puppy she’d ever met (a puppy that was taller than her on two legs was a puppy nonetheless). She was one of those huge fluffy white dogs– a Great Pyranese, Dipper had said– and her heart was just as soft and sweet and cuddly as the rest of her. Hence “Cottonball”, the unauthorized middle name Mabel had secretly given her. The plan was to get it to stick so well that by the time Tate found out about it, it would be impossible to get rid of it.

So when she cycled by the lake and saw Tate out in the rain that afternoon, and managed to wrangle out of him that Scout was missing , of course she was going to help look. Total no-brainer. Her search-and-rescue strategy of biking along the treeline at a snail pace while whistling and calling Scout’s name wasn’t exactly sophisticated, but before long she caught a lucky break. She started hearing a weird noise through the rain, a distant but piercing screech. At first she assumed it was a red fox or maybe a mountain lion screaming its head off somewhere in the woods, and tried to steer clear of it. But then a series of powerful barks joined it– Scout’s beautiful voice!-- and Mabel’s self-preservation fled. No way was some wailing overgrown house cat gonna hurt her new friend on her watch!

She swerved toward the noise, yelling for Scout, and soon a shape barrelled toward her out of the darkness. She was only terrified for a split second, but then she saw its wagging tail and leapt off her bike to give the dog a massive hug. Scout jumped and wagged and danced around joyfully as Mabel scrubbed her hands all through her thick coat. “You’re okay!” she cheered as Scout nuzzled her face. “We were all so worried, young lady… aww, I can’t stay mad at you! Maybe just– oof–” she shoved Scout’s massive paws off her shoulders and tried to wipe the muddy pawprints off her sweater before they soaked into the wool. “Maybe just settle down a little– whoa! Hey! Oh, you’re such a silly–”

“YOU.”

She recognized the voice right away. Part of her brain had never stopped hearing it. Her head turned toward it against her will, and standing there in the woods, staring her down, was exactly what she was most afraid to see.

Bill Cipher. The triangle guy who almost killed the entire world last time she’d been here. The monster who tricked her into helping him almost tear her family apart. The thing that had almost scared her into not coming back this year, into abandoning this place and the people she loved so much, out of fear that she’d somehow mess it all up again. The single worst thing that had ever happened to her. He was standing right in front of her. The streaks of mud and bruising, bloody gashes all over his face (body? surface?) made him look like he’d just clawed his way straight out of Hell, and the look in his eye seemed to say that he’d done it just to tear her apart with his bare hands.

She was dreaming. She had to be dreaming. Please, please let her be dreaming. Let her wake up…

Then he started talking, and she realized something was off.

“YYYOUUU DIDTHIISSSS,” was all she could really make out. He was saying lots more stuff, but the words were blurring together, so clumsy and slurred that it didn’t even sound like language. He started trying to walk toward her– walk , like on the ground , which she’d never seen him do in his triangle form. And he was barely managing it. Every raindrop that hit him seemed to be weighing him down as he approached, oozing blood— weird silver blood with an eye-melting rainbow sheen— from countless gashes on his arms and legs, and even between the brick things on his body/face. The finger gun he was holding out seemed like it was supposed to be aiming at her, but his whole arm was shaking more than the leaves in the summer storm. He trailed off speaking— the only other thing she’d caught was “I WON’T”— and his eye locked on her face. His eye was bloodshot, pink, shiny and sticky, like a wad of chewed gum. It looked horribly painful. Everything about him looked painful.

As she stared, his pupil shrank to a tiny point. His eye turned bright red, and the redness spread out into his bricks— scales?— like a fire burning behind drywall. For a second she thought he was about to turn into that giant crimson nightmare pyramid he’d shapeshifted into last year, and she almost turned and ran as he let out a scream and started to run at her…

…and fell on his face.

Mabel and Scout stood there, staring in silence, as Bill Cipher laid face-down and motionless in the mud. The woods were still filled with the low roar of rain, but somehow Mabel felt a heavy silence crushing her lungs.

Once her heart had stopped beating so fast, she risked a step toward him. Scout made a soft rumble of warning, but let her approach. Bill gave absolutely no sign that he knew she was there as she drew closer, until she was standing right beside him, close enough to see the gold scales on his back heaving rhythmically up and down. Slow, labored breathing. Had she ever seen him breathe before? She didn’t think he even did that. At least not normally. But from the looks of it, this was hardly a normal day for him. He really did look awful. One of his arms was a bloody mess, leather skin all ragged and torn. He probably had Scout to thank for that. She gave the dog an affectionate scratch behind her ear.

But the torn-up arm was far from his only injury. And she didn’t know how to tell health from illness in… whatever he was… but she was pretty sure he was usually a much brighter shade of yellow than this. He looked drained of color.

After several seconds of nothing happening, she noticed a big, durable-looking stick lying at the base of a nearby tree. She retrieved it, and after a few deep breaths and a bit of hyping herself up– “if he was gonna jump up and grab you he could have done it by now” -- she held out the stick and gave him a slight but purposeful nudge.

Nothing. He just barely twitched enough to show he was still alive. He was totally out cold.

She was getting concerned. That was a new experience, feeling concern for Bill. He’d done so much terrible stuff, but still… was she watching a man die? Or a triangle, rather? Was she about to see a triangle die?

A voice in the distance cut through the rain. Mabel jumped back and held the stick like a baseball bat on reflex. Then she recognized it, just as Scout’s tail started wagging. It was Tate McGucket’s voice. “Mabel? Scout? Is that you out there?”

“It’s us! Hi!” Mabel chirped, then realized her mistake. Leading Tate toward Bill would almost definitely end with somebody dying. And whoever it ended up being, she just really didn’t want to see that. With a few more quick, anxious nudges, she managed to shove Bill most of the way under a nearby bush just as Tate’s flashlight beam swept through the trees to find them. Scout took off running toward it and Mabel quickly followed, snagging the handlebars of her bike along the way. She arrived in time to see Tate grinning and ruffling Scout’s furry face as she stood with her paws on his chest. He looked up to see Mabel and quickly shoved the dog off him. “I keep tellin’ you not to jump like that, girl!” he said sternly.

“She must’ve run off chasing something,” Mabel offered as casually as possible. “But she ran up as soon as she heard me! She’s a good puppy!”

“Wish she minded me half that well,” he grumbled, patting Scout on the head. “Good on you for findin’ her, Mabel. I really can’t thank you enough–”

“You don’t have to thank me!” Mabel said, shooing the thought away with her hands. “I’m always happy to help out a friend!” Scout gave a quiet, appreciative “boof” as she scratched her ear.

“Let me drive you back home, then,” Tate said. “You shouldn’t be biking in this rain anyway. ‘Specially once it gets dark.”

Mabel shot an involuntary glance at the bushes behind her. If she left now, she might not find this same spot again. And if she lost track of Bill, if she went home not knowing if he was still out there somewhere, or if he might follow her…

“...Well, the others aren’t expecting me back ‘til eight,” she said slowly. That was true; she’d been out cycling well past sunset most nights since she and Dipper arrived. Ever since she’d gotten really into biking in the fall, she’d been eager to try out the trails in Gravity Falls, and now she was getting as much use out of them as she could. The Grunkles were cool with it. They both figured a girl who’d helped fight off a paranormal apocalypse could handle herself in the dark woods for an hour or two. And they were right, she thought proudly. She’d gotten really fast on her bike in the past few months. She could probably outspeed a grizzly bear with ease. Those guys were way too big and bulky to pedal well.

“Plus, I think the rain’s supposed to let up soon,” she continued. “Would it be okay if I just hung around the bait shop for a little bit, and then biked home after?”

“Sure thing,” Tate said, looking grateful for something to offer. “I’ll tell the missus to put some tea on. Scout, heel.” He clicked his fingers, and Scout followed close beside him as he headed back to the house.

Mabel waited until his back was turned. Then she picked up the stick again and drove it hard into the ground, at the base of the bush that hid Bill. Backing up a bit, making sure it would stay upright, she nodded to herself. It would work well enough as a landmark.

“I’ll come back later,” she whispered under her breath as she trailed behind Tate and Scout. “If he’s gone, I’ll run home and tell Dipper and the Grunkles. And if he’s dead, then… problem solved. I think.”

And if this is all a trick? Some cynical part of her brain piped up. If he’s luring you back into some kind of trap, then what? You gonna fall for it like last time?

“No,” she whispered back through gritted teeth. “Not again.”

One hand wandered to the cupholder on her bike that held her grappling hook. Fingers resting on its handle, she followed the others out of the woods.

The sun had fully hidden behind the horizon by the time Mabel left. The rain had lightened to a gentle mist, barely noticeable really, and she hadn’t wanted to stay out too late. So once she’d finished her tea (augmented with all the spare sugar packets Mrs. McGucket had claimed to own), she’d said goodbye to Scout and her humans and set out for home. She sent a quick text to Dipper on the way out, letting him know she’d be a little bit late getting back. Just got sidetracked, sorry, nothing to worry about.

But there was something to worry about. She saw the stick loom out of the darkness as she cycled up. The rain had almost washed it out of the ground, leaving it standing crooked. The sharp, jutting angle reminded her of that picture Dipper showed her once of a nuclear waste dump or something, where they’d put some scary black spikes in a desert to try and scare people away. “This place is best shunned and left uninhabited”.

She shouldn’t be doing this. This was so stupid. It didn’t make any sense to get closer.

But she was already standing over the bush. She wrenched the stick out of the ground and gripped it like a sword. She held it at arm’s length and pushed aside the foliage, reaching back for the grappling hook in her pocket with her other hand.

The dim light glinted off something shiny and yellow. She drew back a step, instinctive, but the shape didn’t jump at her. It didn’t move at all. Bill Cipher was still exactly where she’d left him.

Did he actually die? She felt her chest tighten, which was stupid. It was good if he was dead. He was already supposed to be dead. She should be thrilled to think he might have died under that bush, all his threats left unfulfilled.

Did I just walk away while he was dying?

Her hand was shaking. She tried to draw the stick back, but it bumped against one of his arms as it went.

It twitched. The fist clenched and drew back in toward the body. Mabel almost bit through her tongue from flinching too hard, but there was no further movement.

He was alive. Barely.

Mabel’s chest was so tight, it felt like she couldn’t breathe. This was the worst case scenario. He wasn’t gone somewhere. He didn’t jump up and scare her and at least provide some clue about what was going on. And he wasn’t dead. But he probably would be in a few hours. And there was nobody in the world who would ever possibly help. Nobody who even could, except her.

This was so STUPID. You already helped him once, Mabel. Remember? You helped him almost kill your whole family. You really wanna go another round?

But thinking about just walking away made her feel sick. She’d never just walked away from something that was dying before. How many wasps had she fished out of pools in her life? How many times had her parents scolded her for bringing wounded squirrels and raccoons inside? Those were bad ideas too. “Trash the house and get stung” ideas. But the wasps and squirrels and raccoons all lived. If she hadn’t done that stupid thing, they would have died. Not helping had never even felt like an option.

“He already died once before,” she whispered to the angry voice in her head. “He might come back again, someplace else, and cause a bunch more problems we don’t even know about until it’s too late.” She popped open the little wicker trunk on the back of her bike and pulled out her emergency picnic blanket. “Maybe if I, like, put him somewhere secure. And keep a good close eye on him. And then when he wakes up, I can get some answers here.”

The angry voice wasn’t convinced by her rationalizations. It kept yelling about how stupid she was as she draped the blanket over Bill, then gingerly lifted him, using the blanket like gloves, too scared to touch him directly. He weighed practically nothing; about the same as a large picture frame. The voice kept berating her as she shoved him into the bike’s front basket– no way was she putting him in the trunk and pedaling all the way home with her back to him. The front basket was just big enough that, with the blanket over him, he looked like a misshapen, mostly unsuspicious lump. She biked along the side of the road, eyes flickering back and forth between the basket and the pavement ahead, for the whole ride home. The voice was still at it by the time she leaned her bike against the wall of the Mystery Shack, but the louder and meaner it got, the less inclined she felt to listen to its advice. She knew this was a dumb idea. But she’d come this far, and there were no other good options.

They’d discovered, like, six new secret rooms since Grunkle Ford first made it back home. Some of them even he had forgotten about. There was one in the basement that she and Dipper had taken to calling “Gay Baby Jail”, because they’d started a habit of banishing defeated board game opponents down there. Also because it was small, cramped, almost empty, and only had one tiny, high window into the backyard, which for some reason had bars on it.

For all these reasons, it was the perfect habitat for Bill. There was a bathroom in the back, and they’d spruced the room up with a beanbag chair and one of those empty wooden chests from the gift shop, just to tie the room together. He’d be fine in there. Probably.

It was easy to sneak in the back door and down to the basement. Dipper, Stan and Ford were all chatting in the kitchen, working on dinner. It smelled like something was on fire, but she still really wished she was in there with them. This was to keep them safe, she reminded herself as she eased open the door to Gay Baby Jail.

She turned the blanket bundle upside down and dumped Bill out onto the beanbag chair. He was still out cold, lying there in a pile of noodly limbs, but at least he was still breathing. She dropped the blanket on top of him and backed away.

Looking him over, she frowned. A small bite wound on his arm was still oozing silver blood. It would ruin the beanbag chair pretty soon. She sighed and started digging through her pockets.

Gingerly, with as few fingers as possible, she pressed a sky blue band-aid over the wound. “You didn’t earn that,” she whispered. “That’s for practical reasons only.”

With one last look around the room, she jabbed a finger at him. “I’ll be back,” she said, practicing her Interrogation Voice. “And when you wake up, I want answers, Geometry Boy.”

Bill stayed asleep. Mabel shut the door, locked it, tested the lock. It held strong.

She took a deep breath and straightened up, switching from Serious Mode back to Mabel Mode. Then she snuck back outside, knocked on the front door, and joined her family for dinner.

[hrrtshape]

matchmakers ✶ anon : a guide to the inner workings of hogwarts’ premier gossip rag.

　" love in the air? or just a well-placed confundus charm? we’ll never tell. but WE'LL ALWAYS KNOW. "

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  ּ  　 *　 ˖ 　 ་

　　　the concept . . ୨୧⠀⠀

MATCHMAKERS ANON isn’t just your average gossip parchment; it’s a romantic, intellectual institution. the goal is simple: uncover hogwarts’ deepest secrets, the juiciest flirtations, and the most unlikely couplings while throwing in a bit of matchmaking wizardry (and a good dose of snark).

( ib heartreggie on tik tok because 2 ish years ago she posted this. and. it stuck? )

— mission statement : “uniting star-crossed lovers and exposing fools. one enchanted quill stroke at a time.”

　　　frequency . . ୨୧⠀⠀

⋆  bi-weekly publications (because drama never sleeps).

⋆  special valentine’s and yule ball editions. we also produce the hogwarts graduation books.

　　　structures && roles . . ୨୧⠀⠀

— yours truly. the creative visionary.

known for cheeky commentary, cutting-edge headlines, and bold predictions. (“who knew the slytherin's stairs reached their attics?”)

adds the drama. the one pushing boundaries and stirring the cauldron. also abusing my head girl and pure-blood privileges otherwise this would've been SHUT DOWN.

— lily evans. the editor-in-chief.

keeps me grounded (sometimes). polishes the chaos into something legible and occasionally witty.

handles the matchmaking logistics with a diplomatic wand wave.

　　now reading ┊ anonymous contributors.

anonymous submissions are left in a bewitched box near the great hall (rumoured to scream insults at bad handwriting).

most intel comes from students who like to spill tea for fun.

rumours about “secret columnists” (like remus lupin writing under a pseudonym? HMM. we say we investigate: we don't. we're like the parliament).

　　now reading ┊ delivery system.

hand-delivered by enchanted paper cranes during breakfast. they peck the recipient until opened.

undetectable by teachers, thanks to lily’s nifty anti-snooping charms (it saves us. like, literally).

　　　　　　　　　　　　　  ּ  　　　 *　　　 ˖ 　　　 ་

　　　featured columns . . ୨୧⠀⠀

　　now reading ┊ HOT UNDER THE ROBES.

hogwarts’ weekly ranking of the TOP FLIRTATIONS, HOOK-UPS, and DATING DISASTERS.

— example headline :  “ two students seen in the astronomy tower canoodling?! the weasels prevail. ”

a “ how swoony is this pairing? ” scale: 1–10 cauldrons of amortentia.

　　now reading ┊ who's hexxxing who?

speculative drama: enemies-to-lovers, secret rivalries, or weirdly specific love triangles (emma's and coriolanus' one NEVER gets mentioned, although it gets submitted at least 17 times, mostly from &^#*%&$ COUSIN JAMES POTTER).

— EXAMPLE HEADLINE : “ a lot of crackle in the air about the slytherin's top dog's crushes. we harassed him to find out! ”

　　now reading ┊ the yule ball death match.

who asked who? who wore it best? who made a fool of themselves in front of the whole school?

　　now reading ┊ lovers lost &&& found.

a light-hearted personals section where students can submit anonymous “missed connections.”

EXAMPLE : “ to the hufflepuff who dropped their quill in herbology—i’m the gryffindor who handed it back. owl me if you’d like to share tea sometime. ”

　　now reading ┊ match of the month.

the couple of the month, nominated by readers and voted on in secret ballots.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　  ּ  　　　 *　　　 ˖ 　　　 ་

　　　magic assisted matchmaking . . ୨୧⠀⠀

the MATCHMAKERS ANON newsletter doesn’t just observe romance; it creates it. me and lily take matchmaking VERY seriously, employing enchanted quills, potions, and subtle intervention. let's talk strategies.

⋆ enchanted survey. distributed to students via charmed parchment, gauging compatibility via bizarre questions.

⋆ secret correspondence. we send anonymous love notes on behalf of the shy students who can’t muster the courage.

⋆ controlled "accidental" meetings. a little mischief goes a long way in scheduling two people to “coincidentally” meet in the library at the same time.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　  ּ  　　　 *　　　 ˖ 　　　 ་

　　　aestheticians assisted . . ୨୧⠀⠀

⋆ headlines written with dramatic flair (think witch weekly meets the daily prophet).

⋆ elegant sketches in the margins of couples walking hand-in-hand or someone sneaking out of the common room.

⋆ everything looks handwritten (but with a bewitching precision that feels almost too perfect).

　　　how we deal with fallout . . ୨୧⠀⠀

of course, a gossip rag isn’t without controversy.

⋆ angry students. “ what do you MEAN ‘james potter spends too much time fixing his hair’?! that’s not your business! ”

⋆ responses. snarky rebuttals in the next issue. “ we don’t make the news; we just record it. ”

⋆ protective charms. only the founders know who writes it (and mcgonagall, in her defence, she kind of did have to know who wrote it). even veritaserum can’t pry the secret out.

　　　beyond love letters . . ୨୧⠀⠀

while romance is the newsletter’s bread and butter, the students of hogwarts are more than their crushes (barely). enter the drama and general chaos section, where nothing is sacred, and everything is up for discussion.

　　now reading ┊ cauldron bubble : hogwarts hot topic.

your weekly dose of school-wide gossip and non-romantic anarchy.

snippets, rumours, and sneaky observations that don’t necessarily involve snogging (but might still ruin someone’s day).

— example headline :

⋆ “ professor slughorn spotted at the three broomsticks—ordering butterbeer, or plotting? ”

⋆ “ why was remus lupin carrying six books on werewolves? asking for a friend. ”

⋆ “ slytherin’s dungeon party ends in disaster after peeves ‘adds’ something to the pumpkin juice. ”

　　now reading ┊ detention diaries..

an exposé on who got caught doing what (and where). bonus points if the transgressions are ridiculous.

— example entires :

⋆ “ sirius black and james potter: for flying enchanted broomsticks through the great hall during dinner (again). ”

⋆ “ marlene mckinnon: for attempting to hex her charms partner into silence after he wouldn’t shut up about quidditch. ”

⋆ “ severus snape: for attempting to brew amortentia and claiming it was ‘an accident.’ ”

　　now reading ┊ hogwarts hierarchy : power rankings.

a constantly updated scoreboard of who’s winning the hogwarts popularity game (and who’s decidedly not). readers vote anonymously via enchanted ballots.

— categories include :

⋆ most influential gryffindor of the week.

⋆ biggest scandal magnet.

⋆ class clown with the best comebacks.

⋆ most likely to rule the wizarding world someday.

⋆ most likely to trip over their own robes.

　　now reading ┊ weird &&& wacky hogwarts.

highlighting the absolute absurdities of magical school life that MATCHMAKERS ANON readers report. think of it as a hogwarts-specific “ripley’s believe it or not.”

— examples include :

⋆ “ someone charmed all the suits of armour to sing celestina warbeck’s greatest hits. ”

⋆ “ who keeps enchanting the portraits to blink out of sync? ”

⋆ “ a fifth-year insists they saw the squid eating toast. who’s feeding it? ”

　　now reading ┊ classroom chaos.

hilarious, shocking, or just plain absurd moments from classes.

— examples include :

⋆ “ professor flitwick caught a hufflepuff attempting to enchant their parchment to write their homework for them. ”

⋆ “ transfiguration disaster: someone tried to turn their quill into a kitten. it’s now... both. ”

　　　　　　　　　　　　　  ּ  　　　 *　　　 ˖ 　　　 ་

　　　expanded delivery system . . ୨୧⠀⠀

to accommodate the all-news newsletter vibe, enchanted paper cranes are upgraded to customised magical deliveries:

⋆ ROMANTIC CONTENT. delivered by red origami cranes, obviously.

⋆ GENERAL DRAMA. delivered by enchanted howlers that whisper the tea in a snarky tone before disintegrating.

⋆ POWER RANKINGS. magically projects into the common room, causing mass chaos, anarchy, riots and lawlessness.

　　　our future plans . . ୨୧⠀⠀

⋆ expand into hogsmeade's editions. include gossip from the three broomsticks and madam puddifoot’s.

⋆ potential partnerships with zonko’s to promote matchmaking-themed pranks.

⋆ a valentine's special where students can pay to send magical roses or enchanted chocolates.

our MATCHMAKERS ANON legacy will probably be banned once the ministry of magic finds out. but by then, our quill will already be the stuff of legend.

with the expanded sections, MATCHMAKERS ANON doesn’t just own the love scene; it OWNS the hogwarts narrative (period). if there’s chaos, scandal, or a funny whisper of nonsense, me and lily are the first to hear it, spin it, and make everyone care. this is the read investigative journalism that the world needs.

[roaldseth]

Is triangle strategy good cause I've heard mixed opinions

My biased opinion: absolutely yes.

My unbiased opinion: absolutely yes.

But, just so you don't just jaunt about your day saying "well that wasn't helpful at all!" This is a more thorough breakdown below to why I like and recommend Triangle Strategy, as well as going into some common reasons as to why people say it's bad or have mixed feelings.

First and foremost as a disclaimer: I am not an SRPG enthusiast. I don't Fire Emblem or Tactics Ogre or what have you. However, I will address things in a broad sense and not things specifically for the genre.

>>STORY: The game opens you into a rather standard medieval-esque fictional setting; its land divided into 3 major powers: the Kingdom of Glenbrook, the Grand Duchy of Aesfrost, and the Holy State of Hyzante, each conveniently color coded for easy recognition and also have their own purposes and ideals. The farther you travers through the paths, for multiple routes await, and its history, the political and martial machinations quickly unfold from easy-going times to one absolutely engulfed in harrowing accounts stemming from no right answers. Despite any preset allegiances, the player, as a young newly appointed lord of the most acclaimed High House of Glenbrook, sits in-between the 3 forces and becomes the epicenter of the continent's, Norzelia's, fate.

Triangle Strategy is a game about harsh wartimes, the impossible decisions needed to make and end them, and the many results that you have directly and indirectly caused. Recently, I had made a post on other social media in which I noted that this game took me a very long time to complete because I had, at point, become physically unable to play from choice aversion and the dangers of outcomes. This is not a flaw of Triangle Strategy. This is its purpose. In those times, the game had done exactly what it was meant to do, so that aspect or level of anxiety while playing a first run-through is not appealing, then it might be something to reconsider with entertaining. However, I will say that eventually you can get accustomed and it can become easier to make those less than desirable choices. The common consensus that I also agree with is to play through your first run as blindly as possible, moving forward with your instincts and gut and even emotions rather than a guide or walkthrough. This is greatly reinforced with the Convictions mechanic, and baby virtually everything counts towards conviction. Pet that cat. You will feel better about it, trust me.

Throughout your path(s) you are presented with a variety of situations. Thought the main story is dire after the first handful of chapters, there is reprieve with character stories that range from silly to heartwarming to melancholic and just an all around fun way of knowing a little bit more on who certain characters are and how they interact with others and the world around them. The script itself isn't difficult, not written in an unintelligible old english, but in just enough way to get the feel of antiquity without being completely lost, making things seem more colorful. There's even a differentiation between characters who'll say "aye" as opposed to a more modern "yes," which is just delightful in my opinion.

The world-building however is understood enough to serve its purpose, but the exact details of many things are left up in the air for question if you look slightly below the surface. Though I personally am left wanting more because I fancy lore, it's very "a piece of a fiction novel" about it. It owns a lot of things it doesn't explain and that's what any writer would do if they were to create a fantasy novel with complex systems and history. It knows what's important to make it move.

As a close off, I would like to note one thing that I think was very bold of Triangle Strategy and that was its endings. Though there is a coveted ending that many strive for, even then the options you are ultimately given are all the results of the ones you hold closest giving in to their lowest selves, and because they are at their worst, the endings reflect that. That one specific, coveted ending is often remarked as "ill planned" and not necessarily thought out well from attempting to neatly tie everything back up into a happy present in contrast to the others, but as someone who's delved through the trenches of the MegaTen (Shin Megami Tensei) franchise and fandom, there is something to be said about "keeping the status quo" and it is that its delaying an ultimate inevitability. "Neutral" isn't always best or superior or a "happy ending."

>>CAST: Triangle Strategy truly is a game that has a character for everyone. It is large, but it is not skimping for quality. You will see literally any flavor of war veteran old man to pretty young adult boys that could've been a boyband in a different time to strong and independent battle women, many good and bad strong battle women, to peepaw who is probably in his 80s but is everyone's grandpa and a sniper. Each character feels like there was a level of care given into them, and even some all the more revealed after they are no longer able to. The world interacts, it breaths, and so does Norzelia's inhabitants.

For playable characters, there are 30 playable units to acquaint one's self with, each with their own unique class, weapons, and aptitudes. No one unit's development tree is interchangeable, which falls more into the category below (Gameplay), but it's also important in a way to see them as individuals. You will remember everyone's names, even with units that aren't your favorites or play style.

Outside of playable units, there still is a hefty list of important NPCs that are not any less composed, orchestrated, or of variation than our playable characters. Sometimes you will be in an instance struggling to remember what the fuck Clarus had done or who Patriette is or that Tenebris is still one of the Saintly Seven, but... the magic is in the fact that Triangle Strategy is designed to be experienced more than once to get the full effect. They too have their needs and reasons.

If you as a player want to do one run-through and call it quits, you will certainly still have an impressionable experience, but it will only grow the more invested. I didn't find it that hard because I had fallen in love with everything Triangle Strategy has to offer, so I had my own compulsion to keep moving with it, but if it doesn't ultimately strike you in that way, it is a part you will miss. But that is still okay though.

>>GAMEPLAY: Triangle Strategy is accessible for any level of strategist to stumble through with its difficulty settings. There is an Easy, Normal, and Hard mode. It's common for players to even try their hands at Hard, Deathless runs (I don't know if this is a trophy on Steam. I played on Switch). Battles have a staggering variation of difficulties and difficulty spikes, but there are ways to mediate trouble battles you can't seem to get right. Besides difficulty settings, the game also offers a Quietus mechanic which act as a one-time, additional maneuver without taking a units turn up. Quietus has limits but there's many different actions that you can always implement to save your ass. Personally, 99% of the time I forgot Quietus existed and really only used them on mock battles and final battles mostly to see what they did or save me from having to do another 1+ hour of battle or whatever. But, most battles, you can absolutely pull off without Quietus. You can pull off a number of things a first run-through that many people struggle with and/or guides will tell you to use [character or ability you don't have] or certain strategy you can't get right or whatever.

I will touch upon this again below because it is a common comment, but Triangle Strategy's main course is narrative. To experience it, you need to be ready and understand that it has a story to tell. It has multiple stories to tell, and for that you will have long sections that are mainly dialogue, meaty dialogue too. The type of player that just wants to experience battle and "raw crunch gameplay" is not going to have a favorable opinion on the game format because not all mechanics are tied profitably into battle (if anything it's the other way around). You will have battles, and you can mock battle all you want at the tavern, but story battles are sparse to keep point and potency. That being said though, voting and persuasion is a major, at the heart concept of Triangle Strategy which ties into the aforementioned Convictions mechanic because we love democracy in this House until we don't and is not convenient! Play Triangle Strategy as a story and experience, the gameplay is mainly there to support and accentuate it.

If I tried to point out every little thing about Triangle Strategy this post would be miles long. The game explains and leans into everything very well so enjoy the stuff that isn't mentioned as much in their natural habitat in a relevant way for your own interests.

There is a great "divide" amongst players on wether or not Triangle Strategy is a "good" or "bad" game, and ultimately it boils down to understand who you are as a player, as a gamer. Note your interests and what you enjoy in a game and then gauge, because despite "oh it was bad," "oh it didn't do this," "oh it didn't do X thing that's better," "oh let me romance the blorbos together" the game pulled off a lot of executional aspects really well in its own ways to be its own identity. But, to comment about the common comments:

>>"The game doesn't have enough battles"

The game has an amount of battles actually. There's one battle a chapter, which is probably the hubbub on why people might think there "aren't enough." But most routes are 20 chapters, so that's 20 battles. It's just that chapters also vary in length and some can be long. Then, there's 35 mental mock battles available in the tavern of the encampment, realistically likely only seeing ~21 of them on a first play through though.

But, battling as a mechanic I consider a secondary mechanic to its main purpose: Conviction. Because there also is a certain thing that happens also in chapters, sometimes before battles, sometimes before votes, and that's exploration. This is a way to 1) gain a sense of a map that will likely be used as a battle map somewhen in your run, but also to 2) gain more conviction. Exploration is just as much of a thing in Triangle Strategy as combat.

So, in the end, I don't think the problem here is the battles, but rather the pacing the game presents. The player will be met with an interesting experience of feeling everything is dire and needs to be handled right away, while simultaneously moving rather slow and leisurely with no way to course correct because it's not side quests holding you down but the actual main event.

>>"The demo was slow and boring"

Unfortunately, I did not play early demos, because if memory serves me correct there were multiple versions. From friends, they have said that the early demos and final products are two separate games. Do not trust.

Then, the final demo which you can probably still download on the store (I haven't checked), is its final form, but much like Octopath Traveler, the demo presented is the beginning, it's the opening. If I remember correctly the demo goes to Chapter 3, which is ironic because after then is when things start spiraling downhill really, really fast. So by then you are introduced to the major components of Triangle Strategy. You experience the dialogue storytelling, you get through exploration, there's battles, there is a voting point in which you are introduced to the infamous Scales of Conviction, so it really touches upon all of the moving bits that make the game move. You get brief understanding of the state of Norzelia, its last major conflict, and the future prospects and direction it is moving in; none of which goes in any manner on how anyone wants it to move.

>>"The story is just Game of Thrones"

There's a special secret: any medieval fantasy setting is just "Game of Thrones" because Game of Thrones is the most recent rendition that is popular among the masses. Besides general, not-at-all-surprising political maneuvering and scheming, there really isn't one point in which it's overtly cumbersome as "ripping off" the award winning novel series, because a lot also stands to fact that history is just like that too. "There's powerful Houses that everyone has to watch out for and [other thing that I won't disclose because I think you'll get a better experience not knowing]" yeah and so did regular Europe back in the day, but now it's fictional and maximized to make an interesting story. Actually, Houses and clans are still a thing, I'd imagine, but have mainly been reduced to icons (but don't quote me on that).

Conquest, wars of successions, religious wars, whatever the Boston Tea Party is, power hungry individuals, people abusing power, puppet states/nations, and a lot of other things are historical events and writing tropes to be used as narrative devices. Whatever media you have consumed beforehand effecting your vision and enjoyment is unique to each individual and only influenced by that individual.

>>"The game has terrible voice acting."

Well, first off, show some pity on the voice actors. I don't know their full conditions but also note that the artbook lists that Triangle Strategy's art production was from 2018-2022, and well, a certain pandemic happened in early 2019. It was likely by at least September 2021 that they had finalized voiced lines because teasers were going out with used tracks and lines. I don't remember when the first teaser went out, I was only alerted by several people when Benedict happened because of my character brand, and that's the moment it was over for me to be honest.

But, disregarding that, I'm no expert, but I love how some voices were done. I can still distinctly hear what Erador sounds like, like Mr. Wingert's voice greatly helped define Erador. Sure, I do recall originally opening Triangle Strategy for the first time and listening to Benedict speak and he was very.... flat, but in a very specific way. However, now in hindsight, I have a great appreciation for that because now knowing Benedict, what else was he supposed to sound like? It has a different interpretation and understanding when seeing what's attached to who and how, and in early game with a lot of characters to keep track of that doesn't always click. But, damn, if I do not mimic Lionel every time I say "yes, ha ha, yes" like that's voice acting, it sticks like a tv commercial.

Even though I have thoroughly went off in a lot of directions, I just cannot cover everything. I am absolutely open for engagement if anyone would like further discussion about anything I didn't cover or did cover. Thank you for the ask, and I hope this helped in some manner.

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Do you know which way the Norzelia River flows? I need to go back and re-review sometime but the ships in the game looked to be only sail powered and I swear they were still going between all the cities.

Yeah!!! There's actually a really funny amount of in-game literature for the Norzelia River including The Eternal Norzelia River and Norzelia River Ships, as well as shorter mentions in a few others like Winds of Norzelia and a fair amount of the Marvels of Norzelia volumes.

The rivers flow like this:

So there's definitely a lot of upstream stuff going on. But upstream travel is still feasible in some cases! According to all the war chronicle notes, the slope of the eastern/Hyzantian branch is pretty gradual, and there's often wind that helps people who are sailing upstream due to some temperature difference stuff going on in the air between Aesfrost and Hyzante. They also mention people using oars, as well as horses on the side of the river to pull the boat along.

The battle in "For You, My Heart" is a neat example of getting to see some boats in action when Serenoa + co. chase Avlora up the eastern/Aesfrosti tributary. It looks like Aesfrosti ships might have holes for people to use oars below deck, and Glenbrook ships look like they're designed to have people sit above deck and row from there (but neither boats are using them at the time of battle, just sails). It's worth noting that it starts raining during the after-battle cutscene, so it's possible the wind was especially strong preceding that oncoming storm, which might have allowed them to move as quickly as they did.

[fraudulent-cheese]

Actually no, i want to expand on my relative dislike of WT. Because when people talk about this season's faults, i BARELY see people mentionning the complete flattening of like half it's cast!

Oh sure, people are super willing to throw shit at TDA and especially TDAS for it's flanderisation of characters, but outside of some rogue posts by mutuals, i don't see ANY OF YOU pointing the finger at World Tour when i'd argue it's especially eggregious.

Owen's the easiest example of this, and while it didn't start this season it got so much during it. Nearly all of his lines revolve around food, his aerophobia, or Izzy for a single episode. His relationship with Alejandro is also super indicative of this; im willing to accept the HC that he was aware of Alejandro's dislike of him and just wanted to win him over, but that's absolutely not what the writters intended, no way in hell. He's just completely oblivious to his shitty behavior when he seemed at least somewhat aware of Heather's shifty behavior back on Island, or at least able to stand up for himself (shoutouts to that one Action episode). It's not fun to watch, either.

Bridgette too had her personality reduced to one or two traits, for either comedy reasons (because apparently people making out 24/7 is funny) or story reasons (establishing Alejandro as a threat who uses flirting and his general attractiveness to advance his strategy) and it suckssssss because she was! an actual character! and World Tour especially benefits from having a 'straight man' type character that can look at the other's weirdness and react to it like a normal-ish person! That and she could be an interesting presence to have on Team Victory, with her friendships with Leshawna and Courtney for instance.

DJ too is a BIG victim of the flanderisation thing; his personality is dumbed down to just being a huge scaredy cat, and his character is just The Curse. That's all he does and that's all he is, all he talks about. And that sucks because he too, was an actual person in Island and even Action! Sure, he was sometimes a pushover and had an accident-prone bunny, but he was also kind and could actually go out of his way to play pranks on people! But all of that is just gone in WT.

There's also the characters that weren't flanderised, and more just. Written entirely out of character. Outside of the entire Love Triangle (which i will get to) the biggest example of this is Leshawna to me. The writters straight forget the episode in Action where she's entirely dsitrustful of the Pizza they were offered (which did turn out to be tampered with) due to Chef being uncharasterically nice to them. Guess what Alejandro was doing. Being overly nice to her out of nowhere. Frankly she fell victim to the same thing Bridgette did; needing to be sacked for Alejandro's villany to be better established.

Ok fuck i need to mention the Love Triangle too because while people complain about it alot i don't think they complain about the correct stuff. i'll go rapid fire because it's been talked to death however; Gwen's liking of Duncan is a retcon, her acting like this is out of character for her frankly, Duncan's out of character by trying to emotionally manipulate his ex and the lore established to justify it makes it worse (remember the "At least im straight with people" line?), Courtney is villanised from even before this point which while her anger might've been targetted at the wrong person she was justified in being upset imo, Courtney's entire character is thrown out of a window in general this season, blah blah blah.

I'll end on the whole "the writters forgetting entire character traits/arcs" Cody still hitting on Gwen this season makes no goddamn sense and is super uncomfortable to watch. He's really such a nothing character man. Sierra deserved better than being a manic pixie stalker girl.

[triassictriserratops]

31 whole years of age and your actually writing about 17 year old clits wild couldnt be me

In response to this post.

Do...do you know how old Suzanne Collins was when she wrote the series? The series that has children killing each other, a romance strategy, a "love triangle", etc? Do you know the ages of the creators of literally all the media you consume? (DO YOU KNOW THE AGES OF THE PEOPLE THAT WRITE A MAJORITY OF THE FANFIC YOU READ?! Because I PROMISE you most of those are written by 40-year-olds with children of their own.) People don't just...stop writing or reading about the ages they grow out of. I was 17 when I started the series. Was I just supposed to put it down at 18 like I aged out of the reaping or something? Like??? ELI5 If human sexuality was only allowed to be written by, or explored in art by, the appropriately aged people you'd lose out on every coming of age story. Every young, queer experience novel. Every exploration of self, identity, sexuality, etc. All gone. Because most of them are written by, get this, PREVIOUSLY TEENAGED PEOPLE. Expecting adults to stay away from these stories is a dangerous thing to intimate and a dangerous path to go down. I can understand where you're coming from but i don't recommend it and I think it would be a good idea to maybe listen to other ideas about these kinds of topics, even if you don't end up agreeing. It's good for you!

And, anon, at the end of the day? I'm here to enjoy myself and have fun with others over a piece of media we all love and find meaningful in different ways. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable in any way but you're also completely welcome to choose to block me and not interract with me. And I don't say that facetiously. I truly mean it. I wouldn't be upset about it! You get to cultivate your fandom experence just as much as I get to! (As everyone gets to.)

[dumb-but-happy-trist]

The rules are : No accessories, never take less units than I can, Golden Route, normal mode.

Tag list : @angelicassassinations @pennyroyald @sleepdeprived-idiotlol @demonicallyslaying @inertial-reel @eldritch-bean @your-average-sentient-suit and anyone who falls upon this post

Please reblog, if no one votes, I’ll do it. I count the votes in about nine and a half hours.

[space-spring]

Trying to motivate myself to work on the next chapter of my fic, so here we are with an Avlora/Maxwell ship chart!

And for fun, a non-comprehensive list of plot parallels that I've been putting together:

They both serve as the leaders of their respective militaries.

They both act as mentor to one of the Glenbrooks and have a really close relationship with their respective royal (to the point that they're willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure that royal's safety and success).

They both independently do that thing where they hold back during the tourney and THEN dramatically reveal the fact that they held back during their later duel. They do this by unleashing devastating, flashy moves that they presumably developed and practiced in secret specifically just in case they found themselves in this exact situation. Related point: they're both insane

They both have doubts concerning their respective ruler's honor (Gustadolph and Regna respectively). Despite that, they both spend a considerable amount of time serving those rulers and consequentially develop complex feelings around it. Those thoughts generally revolve around thinking that their respective Glenbrook royal (Cordelia or Roland) would do a better job.

They both end up washed down the Norzelia River following an invasion, but manage to miraculously survive regardless and come back to help finish the war.

I am looking with incredible respect at both of their character designs.

So, in conclusion, they should fall in love about it! QED, thanks for coming to my TED talk, until next time