#YoRHa 2P

[rwac96]

Ask

Original Male Stud Clone AU

How would 9S and 2B react to meeting her clone "sister" 2P? It seems like she might be interested in Nines like a certain someone.

"This is strange," 2B said, observing the ebony-skinned look-a-like from head to toe.

"I agree," 2P said, touching the Yorha Android's hand, noting that they share similarities, except for the color palette.

Meanwhile, 9S gulped, experiencing the sensation known as 'blushing' from the humans. He already had a hard time being around 2B, but now he felt more flustered with the discovery of 9S.

[dontaskchaosandco]

[acom-art]

Ms. 2P 🌷

Mask Variant

[nim-arts]

made some cute 2B+2P stickers last night and I love how they turned out

[melonsandcurves]

2P (YoRHa Type P No.2) - NieR Reincarnation

#fanart

#fanartfebruary

#melonsandcurves

#watercolorpainting

[final-yorha]

Clearly Nothing Redundant or Uninspired with This Team

[sketchfanda]

Chestnut Stud Across the Multiverse: The Glory of Mankind

Krillin wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to how his day would go, especially when you had a wife like his. Now don’t get him wrong, he loved 18 and the feeling was plenty mutual, that was for damn sure. It’s just that it so happened she was one very kinky sexual beast of a woman!! Their very first time together had left a very deep impression on her to a point that in their time together she developed a, shall we say, particular taste.  Or rather a kink she aimed to fulfil and play out whenever the opportunity presented itself, hell at one point she practically made money off of it. Not that he was complaining mind You, it only made him feel like the luckiest guy on the planet but damn it could be exhausting keeping up with her relentless thirst for her thrill. Small wonder as he followed 18 through the vast labyrinth of the Briefs family estate, their sweet little Marron left under the watchful eye and care of Bulma’s mother Panchy as the compact fighter walked behind his blonde bombshell cyborg wife. Eyes glued to her her swaying hips, her booty jiggling within the confinement of her tight denim jeans. Finally mustering up the effort to ask her. “So Uhm babe, any reason why we’re here today? What’s the ocassion?” He enquired as 18 glanced over her shoulder, those,cool blue eyes of hers twinkling with mischief.

“Oh don’t worry little man…you’ll find out soon enough…” she teased playfully, continuing to lead him to god only knows where. That enigmatic answer did little to reassure the former monk turned police officer as there was a part of him that knew one thing for certain. There was going to be sex involved and given they were at Bulma’s home, it was likely going to involve her, her mom, one of her Capsule Corp employees, or who or what knows. 18 just got a thrill out of seeing him sleep with and fucking other women together with him. In her mind,he was such a stud in bed that she couldn’t keep up with him, he’ll she had limitless stamina, what’s that tell you? The off duty officer knew he’d get s better answer and understanding soon as he and 18 came upon a room marked VIP. The deadly beauty pressing her palm on a scanner next to the wall, the doors sliding open as she looked at her man with a knowing grin. Krillin could only sigh and shrug as he decided to resign himself to his fate. He knew he could never say no to his wife especially with the lengths she went to get him sexual satisfaction and gratification.

“Alright alright. I’ll play your game…not like you wouldn’t be able to convince me to play it anyways…” He playfully quipped with a little tone of self deprecation. He was certain there was more than a fair share of guys who’d envy and hate him but who cared what they thought or had to say!! As he entered the VIP room with 18, the interior designed like some luxury hotel room suite. Complete with a nice view of south city outside and a luxurious queen sized bed. His wife gesturing for him to take a seat on the couch as she fished out a box of DynoCaps from her jeans pocket. Taking out s pair and pressing the buttons,throwing them across the room as a flash of coloured smoke came forth upon impact. Clearing to show two cryostasis containers that rather reminded him of the one 16 had been kept in before 18 and her brother woke him up. The Icy cool blonde looking over her shoulder at him with a catlike smile once more as she pushed a button on each container, a hiss and flow of steam as their doors opened, the occupants hidden by shadows and the pseudo dog as she looked at them.

“Wake uo you two, time for work…your guest of honour has arrived…” she quipped sensually,standing aside as she parked herself in a single seater chair,reclining nice and comfy,hesd resting on her palm as if she was getting ready to enjoy a show. Krillin finding his attention drawn to the enigmatic individuals in the pods as they soon emerged. The shortstack fighter dropping his jaw, blushjng redder than a traffic light as his eyes bugged out from beholding the sight as before him was what seemed to be Twins. There stood a pair of girls, identical to one another from head to toe, yet their respective colour palettes inverted from each other. One a fair olive skinned girl with Snow White hair,eyes covered by a sort of black blindfold with black thigh high high heeled boots and a white thing leotard with a stylish black outfit. Her sister on the other hand had onyx black hair rich milk chocolate dark skin which contrasted with her own Snow White blindfold boots and outfit save for the black leotard thong. But what stunned the compact z warrior was their bodies!! Good lord it was like some took a paI of toned fitness babes with the flexibility of swimmers and gymnasts and turned up a pornographic dial on them. Having more curves than a traffic freeway and a bodacious set of tits and ass that just screamed made for sex and down to fuck!! Hips that screamed made to bare children and thighs that could crush melons to pulp and juice!! His thoughts interrupted as he looked at 18 and said the first thing on his mind.

“Uhm,babe just what the actual hell?!” He all but yelled as the currently unarmed twins loomed their way at him. Feeling their eyes on him even through those blindfolds of theirs as if drinking in every detail about him. Making their way over to him, their lucious,juicy thigh high boots clad legs swaying and sashaying in ways thst made those bubble butts of theirs jiggle like jello, their tits bouncing hypnotically with every step before they parked themselves between him on the couch. Kneeling on the seat as tilted their heads inquisitively, hands caressing his face,their fingers and palms so silky thanks in part to the gloves they wore, making him shudder with the sudden assault of affection. Shocking him as they grabbed and pulled his shirt off of him, exposing his muscular torso as he gasped in shock. The twins humming as if they clearly liked what they saw,their hands now caressing and massaging his exposed form. Memorising every detail from his abs to his pecs and biceps. 18 looking on with devilish erotic delight as if she were looking at a high class work of art.

“Krillin meet 2B and 2P, little something left over from the Red Ribbon army back in the prototype phases for their android project. Bulma and 21 happened upon them by chance and asked me personally to oversee a little adjustment and modifications to them. Nothing much,just enhancing and customising them for your pleasure.” 18 spoke as she now provided him the names of his two mystery women. “2B is the pale skinned one,2P is the dark skinned one, and my little man,they’re made just for you. Their programming and their bodies are devoted to providing you the finest sexual relief and pleasure…consider it a well deserved gift for being such a stud…” licking her lips as she touched her tots with her free hand,idly pleasuring herself in anticipation of what she was about to witness. Secretly glancing at the mirror in the VIP room knowing it was a two way sort. 21 and Bulma on the other side in secret also eagerly awaiting the show with voyeuristic delight at seeing the fruits of their labour as out to play out and pay off. Hours to days and weeks of modifying 2B and 2P, enhancing their bodies, deleting all thst worthless data to make room for all the pair would need when it came to sex and pleasure. Making them the ideal comfort girls for the special little man in their lives.

“Sister 2P, sensors indicate an increase in pulse rate and body hest. Query,master Krillin, is this in response to us and our actions? Do sister and I please and excite you?” 2B catching his attention as she spoke for the first time. Her voice melodic yet so calm and composed. Acting as if she weren’t in the midsts of sensually massaging him together with her dusky skinned twin, their faces shifting between gazing at one another and him as their fingers and palms idly traced along his abs. As if they were examining a rare treasure,their lips so close to kissing him wherever they wanted if they so wanted to. Their big juicy tits rubbing and pressing against his chest as he coild feel their breath on him. Lord how many men had twin fantasies and would so envy him right now.

“Indeed Sister 2B the sentiment is echoed. Is that so master Krillin? Are you aroused? Do not hesitate to express your desires. Please sate your lusts and urges with our bodies.” 2P herself spoke as her voice unsurprisingly was indentical to 2B’s. Krillin unable to answer them properly,only shuddering and groaning from their soothing caress of his Adonis physique. The twins gynoids humming snd purring as if considering that a very acceptable answer, taking turns as they began to plant kisses along his neck and shoulders. His collarbone  caressed by their lips and tongues before he found them kissing him on his own. There was no doubt the databanks of their hard drives were loaded with thorough information regarding sex but for them, their first time kissing Krillin felt like a heavenly experience for the twin prototype red ribbon androids. Each locking lips with Krillin as they coaxed him to dance and press tongues together, air and spit swapped between them, at more than one point turning the make out into a three way kiss. Tongues dancing together ina sloppy game of tonsil hockey before the twins ceased their actions and pried themselves away from the fighting officer. The twins standing mere inches away from him as they glanced to 18, who simply grinned seductively as she nodded for them to continue.

Before Krillin could ask what she was signalling them for, his blush deepened, blood rushing to his loins as the crotch of his pants and boxers started to feel a little confining. Jaw dropping! Eyes hugging out as before him, 2B and 2P began to undress. Stripping off their outfits as they now stood naked before him save for their elbow length gloves and their sexy thigh high boots. Their contrasting complexions glistening with sensual perspiration, faces calm and stoic despised their currently nudity as they displayed themselves for him. Letting him drink in and admire their physical forms, made just for him and him alone. Before the twins pressed their fronts together,their tits rubbing against each other,hands caressing one another’s faces and their bubbly,juicy asses. “Sensors indicate master Krillin’s arousal. Our performance is adequate, our forms please him. Let us continue to further his arousal Sister…” 2B spoke Cool,calmly with a hint of increased sensuality. Massaging her chocolate skinned twin’s booty as she cupped and stroked her fsce. 2P mirroring her actions in kind as Krillin found himself unable to look away. His crotch bulging and swelling and it seemed they picked up on that as if knowing he was turned on motivated them.

“Yes sister…it pleases us to know our performance and actions bring him pleasure…” 2P spoke in turn,as they turned their blindfolded gazes towards him. ““Please master,continue to watch us. This is all for you. Indulge yourself in our bodies,enjoy us to your heart’s content…” with thst said,the twins lol,Ed at one another once more before they pressed their lips together. Skyrocketing his arousal with this combined lesbian and pseudo incest act as their tongues proved and explored each other’s mouths. Grinding their bodies against one another as deep throated moans filled the room. 18 getting up from her seat as she made her away around and behind the luxury couch, drao8ngnher arms around her husband’s shoulder as she hugged him, hands reaching down to cul and rub his groin. Purring seductively as she kissed along uo and don from his face to his neck and shoulders. Making him shudder and groan as her skilled hands began to unbuckle and undo his fly. Prying them apart to expose the pitched tent of his boxers. Getting the twins’ attention with the sound of his zipper as they looked and beheld his clothed erection. The deadly beauty widening her predatory smile as the twins got on their hands and knees, crawling towards their assigned master as 18 grabbed the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down. The twins gasping with shock and delight as hismcock sprung forth into the open air before them. Prominent in its length and girth as they panted with sensual awe, hands grasping and stroking it intimately as if caressing a sacred treasure, their breaths warm as they took in the scent radiating off it. Rubbing their meaty thighs together as their pussy lips quivered and quaked with arousal,nectar gushing ad flowing forth.

““I know, takes your breaths away doesn’t it? All those pictures and videos we gave you girls of this thing in Action. But seeing it in the full flesh and blood is a whole different story isn’t it? This girls isn’t any mere sort of dick…this is a Cock. Your Master’s cock and nothing short of draining him dry will suffice…now get to work. This is what you been waiting for…” 18 spoke with fact and not mere hyperbole, the second she stopped speaking 2B and 2P began to assault Krillin’s shaft with licks and kisses. Sucking snd blowing on his meat stick from base to tip, even giving his balls attention as they drowned his pole with saliva. Faces flushed with arousal and desire as indeed 18 was correct. During 21 and bulma’s reprogramming process, they’d been fed a steady upload of videos and pictures of Krillin in action with them and 18 as well as many others. Hours upon hours of hardcore action to practise sessions to train their sexual holes to handle his length and girth with the special warrior momk brand dildos. To watching as what was to be expected of them as the pair of horny scientists made them view a Warrior Monk Krillin sex doll clone in action. Seeing an example of the real’s virility and prowess behind a two way mirror as the WM rutted with Haydee.

A particularly special android created together by 21 and Bulma’s combined erotic genius made specifically for hands in test runs and performance quality tests with every Krillin clone that came off the production line. After all they had to ensure each and every Warrior Monk was meeting their standards. Hours of seeing that bootylicious,faceless dark skinned gynoid piece of sex on legs in the throes of passion and ectasy as she glistened with sweat,taking thst cock like a pro, her pussy grasping and massaging that shaft as heavy balls slapped with every impact of their loins. That reminded 18 thst Bulma owed her a persomal haydee to gift to Krillin. It’d be ideal for his birthday or Christmas or even an anniversary present. But she digressed as she looked upon the twins deepthrosting snd double teaming her man’s cock. Uncaring of any suffocation as they enticed him to unleash his primal beast within and facefuck him to his heart’s content. The taste of his pre. Dazzling the tastebuds of their tongues, upping the ante as they sandwiched his cock between their marshmallow plump and soft tits. Making him buck his hips as pre sprayed and flew onto their cleavage, their tongues working their lewd magic on the thrusting, exposed tip. It excited and stirred erotic pride within the twins, once forgotten science projects in some red ribbon army lab, repurposed as persomal sexual relief companions for their new master. His responses music to their ears as they further upped their efforts. Each sitting in half his lap now as they shifted position to hotdog his saliva soaked cock between their bubbly asses.

Within seconds of trapping his shaft between their meaty buns,they began to twerk and dance, giving him a massaging jerkoff with their booties, their arousal reachung orgasmic levels as they felt his gush onto the lucious skin of their backsides. Their objectives shifting between wanting to taste his seed in their mouths or to feel their bodies be showered with that cream giving way to the more direct desire to mate and dare they think, breed with this, in their minds,pinnacle of manhood. To them their master was an adonis,an ideal alpha….the glory of mankind. The twins unable to help themselves as before Krillin knew it,he was holding 2B’s waist,fully nude as the bombshell cybernetic beauty straddled his lap. Bouncing and riding on his cock as deepthroated moans escaped her lovely lips, cries of master in between gasps and howls of whorish desire mixed with the slaps of her jiggling ass as she felt the raw primal bliss. The overwhelming desire of fulfilling her purpose, as she felt her master’s cock inside her, stuffing her with his godly girth and length. Her womb welcoming every knock against it as she held onto his strong shoulders, making out with him in a sloppy thirst as her tits rubbed against his firm pecs. 2P and 18 sitting on either side of them,the latter naked save for a lacy thong as she shamelessly played with herself. One hand plunging down the front of her thing to caress her slit,fingers plunging as nectar gushed and her other hand juggled and played with her tits. 2P idly playing with herself,both hands working her oussy as she eagerly awaited her turn, feeling the connected feedback he shared with her sister unit as she felt the delicious phantom sensations of their master’s cock within 2B. Orgasms rocking her snow haired paler sister’s wondrously gifted frame, as Krillin bucked and thrust into her gyraing hips, hands often slapping and squeezing her lewd ass.

2P of course soon wasnt waiting long as she found herself bent over the couch taking it from behind soggy style,tits swaying like some lewd newton’s cradle as krillin’s pelvis smacked and pistoned against her ass. Making her meat buns jiggle with every impact as his balls slapped her clit,cock jakchammering away as 2B and 18 looked on,scissoring one another as they ground their slits together in an erotic kiss of their own. The twins changing up with each and every any which instance of their master cumming. Every eruption of his wonderful shaft as it rained and sprayed inside and out of their bodies, going from one on one to two on one or the occasional 3 on one when 18 decided to get involved. Thst is when the blonde wasn’t masturbating like the shameless voyeur she was or keeping the one waiting for a turn with some not lesbian action. Bulma and 21 were certainly enjoying the show,having a warrior monk each keep them company as they watched their own personal amateur porn montage play out. 2B and 2P exceeding expectations in their drive to satisfy and make a good first impression on their master. Their lover,their king…the f glory of mankind as they were coming to call him. One riding him cowgirl style as another sat in his face, smothering his head with her flowing juices and her meaty asscheeks as the twins made out with each other, hands grasped and linked. To eating the other out as Krillin fucked her sister doggy style, the short king slurred on by his primal urges an desire to reward these two for their slutty devotion. He wasn’t sure how and or why 18 was gifting him like this but damn if she sure as hell knew how to convince him to accept it with gracious lust. 18 certaimlt receiving some gratitude from the twins as they squeezed her tits and massaged her ass, kissing her as she rode Krillin cowgirl style,the foursome making the queen sized bed shake and creak. 21 and Bulma sat exhausted in the laps of their Warrior Monks tired yet smiling,faces flushed as their lovers held them in their laps, cocks connected to their slutty,sloppy pussies as they looked on the exhausted group. Who basked know their afterglow as Krillin slept,his relaxed cock inside the embrace of 18′s pussy as she laid atop her man. 2B and 2P hugging an arm each,spooning against him,cute smiles on their blushing faces as their pussies gushed with excess seed. Their digital minds keeping them warm with dreams of further pleasures with their master and the hopes that they would bare his children. For the glory of mankind….

( @sweetescapeartist​ @pugsbone​ this one is for you ;) )

[madmanwonder]

Ask

Who is more possessive of you, 9S? 2B or 2P? Or are they equal?

“Yes.” 9S replied in a scared, dry tone of voice as he looked at the two ladies holding his arms in a possessive manner and glancing at each other with a sharp glower in their blue eyes.

[canmom]

The themes of NieR Reincarnation

A post about the recurring elements of Drakenier and the use of branching timelines as a storytelling device. I'll be discussing spoilers for basically every DoD/NieR game.

Records

A somewhat understated recurring motif of the Drakengard/NieR series is the idea of stories or memories of humanity being stored in some massive archive.

It's an idea that first entered the series in NieR Gestalt/Replicant. Early drafts of the game focused on the idea of a world built out of stories and fairytale characters, and while most of this was cut, some remained in the Forest of Myth area.

Following NieR's obsessive love of hopping between different game genres, the story here is delivered through prose/text adventure segments. There is a sense that this area of the game exists as prose, with the characters slightly aware of narration - narration which absorbs the characters until you find a way to escape. Eventually you find out - it's rather cryptic in the actual game, but spelled out explicitly in Grimoire NieR - that it's a huge computer system storing records of the deceased humanity.

In your second visit to the area, the story focuses more on distant history, that all these stories are fragments of memory of the lost pre-apocalpytic world. You encounter a Gestalt (human soul extracted from body) that is eating the memories stored in the tree, and kill it, and for Nier and co., this is enough - but for the player, you really don't know half of what is going on.

In the story The Lost World, which was adapted for the additional Ending E added in the Replicant remake, Kainé returns to the Forest of Myth and finds the computer system expanding. She fights clones of herself before eventually speaking to a mysterious administrator and descending into a virtual world that seems like a corrupted version of her memories. But she's able to connect to her memories of NieR, Emil and Grimoire Weiss, and through that connection cause a kind of timeline collapse effect that allows her to resurrect Nier. Terms from DoD3 such as 'singularity' come back again.

In NieR Automata, the idea of the legacy of humanity becomes increasingly central. While the androids believe they are reclaiming Earth for humanity, the Machine Lifeforms' motivation is in large part driven by their efforts to pore over the records of humanity and learn how to evolve their condition, even by blind imitation. Many of the different Machine Lifeforms you encounter are shaped by their interpretations of human society. The motif of human buildings recreated in white blocks recurs at certain points.

In the final sequence of the game, you climb a tower, and inside it visit simulacra of locations from the Replicant/Gestalt. You learn that the machines have infiltrated the androids' network and downloaded basically all the information the androids have, including all their records of humanity. When the machines' 'Ark' is launched into space, it carries their memories and consciousness in data form.

The YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse raid series in FFXIV continues this idea of obsessive, blind reconstruction. The machines you fight here are now all the more explicitly connected to the apocalyptic shit in DoD; they have also been frantically creating duplicates of YoRHa android 2P, the Bunker and so on in corrupted form. Although the story here has mostly other interests, it's another recurrence of the idea of trying to recreate things that were lost.

Along with this idea of the archive comes the idea of preservation of that archive. Whether by accident or deliberate attack, the survival of the archive is not guaranteed.

This is all absolutely central to what Reincarnation is about.

Branches

The Drakenier series has played around with branching narratives pretty much from the start. It's somewhat infamous for it in fact - did you know that NieR is actually a spinoff of ending E of Drakengard, the one where you appear over Tokyo and have to do a rhythm game? Yeah, so...

Most games are fairly cagey (ha ha) about the mechanics of these branches. Indeed, although we speak of branches, the structure of these games is not really a branching one like a visual novel. The branches and 'endings' are usually unlocked sequentially.

Drakengard/Drag-on Dragoon (DoD1) is probably the closest you get to a traditional branching structure. You can unlock routes in certain missions by fulfilling certain conditions. The exact logic of these branches is not really explained - you can go back to a point before you recruit a party member and get a different branch where they're present for example. That said, it's not like a visual novel where you can be 'on' one branch or another - you can always jump to any level from any timeline.

This oddness of the branches is also lampshaded a little more in DoD3, the game that is most explicit about the nature of the branching timeline. DoD3 is, from the player perspective, a linear game. After you complete the first 'ending', you unlock new levels that appear at earlier points in the timeline, and diverging branches appear. In the later branches, the logic of the world is starting to break down. Party members who you'd recruit later in the story are in your party much earlier, in some cases suffering from amnesia, the implication being that it's an effect of the Flower's corruption.

The game is intermittently narrated by a character called Accord, an android 'Recorder' whose job is to document all the different versions of the story for an unknown party. Accord isn't supposed to intervene in the story, though she occasionally talks to protagonist Zero, and in the final D route, she decides to break the rules and save Zero. Otherwise, she's responsible for 'sealing' branches where it seems the world cannot be saved.

This is Accord:

The final cutscene of DoD3, available only after you beat the ludicrously difficult rhythm game that is the 'final song', shows a bunch of other Accords appearing and talking about what a mess this all is.

Accord's other role in the game is to sell weapons. Another series tradition running back to DoD1 is the 'Weapon Stories'. In each game, you can collect weapons, which can be upgraded through a series of four stages. Each stage unlocks another part of a story. These stories tend to be quite brief - each entry is at most a short paragraph. They also, particularly in the DoD games, tend to be comically grimdark.

DoD 3 came out after NieR Replicant/Gestalt, but in every game since then, there have been cryptic mentions of Accord. In Automata she's mentioned in a note as a weapons seller; in the updated version of Replicant she is mentioned as visiting Nier's village while the party is away on her adventures, and you see a documention that mentions the 'Accord Corporation' supplying magic weapons.

OK, so, put a pin in that, we'll come back to her later.

The side material commits further to the branching idea. The original Drakengard is established to follow from the DoD3 Story Side novel, while Branch A gives rise to the Shi ni Itaru Aka manga and the DoD 1.3 novel. The YoRHa stage plays spawned alternative versions, namely YoRHa version 1.3a and Shōjo YoRha version 1.1a, with the gender of the casts flipped. YoRHa 1.3a also has Accord in it. The anime NieR Automata ver. 1.1a also presents an increasingly diverging version of the events of the game - notably, Adam turns into a multi-armed monster.

DoD2, something of the black sheep of the franchise, was originally written to follow DoD1 ending A; later it was retconned to belong to its own branch. Just 'cause.

With me so far? ...no? Yeah, that's fair. You can read about all the details I've gathered so far here, but in short, there are lots of timeline branches, and multiple versions of several stories with small or large divergences.

Reincarnation

NieR Re[in]carnation is a gacha game that's been running for the last three years, and is going to be shut down at the end of April. At the time it came out, it was acknowledge for having unusually nice graphics for a mobile game, but rather desultory, grindy, repetitive gameplay. Which remained true throughout the game's life, so I can't exactly recommend playing Reincarnation, especially at this point.

But! I would definitely say it's worth your time to dig up the story on Youtube/Accord's Library if you're into NieR stuff. I won't be going into all the ins and outs of the story and how it all fits together in this post, but I am gonna talk about how it's structured.

NieR Reincarnation places you in a vast stone city called the Cage, calling to mind the environments in Ico. At the outset, you play as a young girl travelling with a weird ghost-like creature called Mama, tasked with restoring the memories stored in objects called 'dark scarecrows' which are being subverted and corrupted by black birds which form into various monsters.

Within each chapter of NieR Reincarnation, you get a short story in four parts, presented in a kind of cutout style, which are the four segments of a weapon story. You collect the weapon and the character.

The Cage is shaped by the content of the weapon stories somehow bleeding into the simulated setting. A character's memories can be used to restore the stories to their proper course. It is possible to interfere in small ways with the worlds of the stories.

The corruption of the stories tends to involve subverting characterisation to make them crueller, more prone to random violence etc. - or points when a character could be threatened in a narratively unsatisfying way. For example, a peace-loving runaway prince could be turned into a warlike king.

Over the course of the first arc, you discover that the girl you are playing is actually a monster who has taken the form of a human girl and, regretting it, wants to give her her embodiment back. The second half of the arc has you playing the girl trying to reunite with her monster friend; at the end, you get her own backstory as a victim of brutal prejudice. After all is said and done, both characters transform into weapons, which Mama picks up and hides away.

The second arc, The Sun and the Moon, deals with a brother and sister from present-day Tokyo. Both of them have been transported into the Cage by more of the weird ghost thingies, to participate in a strange ritual that is allegedly going to restore the Cage. The rules are highly mystical - a significant sacrifice is needed.

In the most recent arc, The People and The World, the characters all emerge from their stories as the Cage becomes increasingly corrupted. We finally get the long awaited point where these characters can interact with each other, and advance the stories from a series of tragic vignettes to something more. At the same time, we get a lot more allusions to other games in the series - from the Lunar Tear room where Emil memorialised Kainé and later 9S memorialises 2B, to a brief appearance Devola and Popola.

There's even a nod to Yoko Taro's other terminated gacha game, SINoALICE, which is going to be made into a movie oddly enough. There's a wry nod to the game being shut down.

And in the most recent chapters we find out that the Cage is actually a server on the moon containing records of humanity - 10H from A Much Too Silent Sea is one of the main characters. 'Mama' is actually the Pod tasked with overseeing the archive, and wiping 10H's memories whenever she learns too much - though it seems at some point 10H learned the truth and affirmed that she'd protect the archive anyway and they stopped wiping her memory.

Over the course of the chapter, 10H helps the gang make their escape from the moon through the androids network, to Earth. But when they get to Earth, they find themselves in a strange white city more resembling the Cage.

We'll finally get some answers, maybe, later this month. Anyway...

So, these records come from multiple diverging timelines, and they take the form of weapon stories. You have a unity of the ideas of character - weapon - memory - world. A record is simultaneously a tragic series of events, a person who can manifest inside the Cage itself, a simulated world which other people can visit, and a weapon.

In addition to the main storyline chapters and 'character stories', each character is associated with two additional 'EX' storylines, termed Dark Memories and Recollections of Dusk. Each one is a much more substantial narrative than most in the game.

Some of these EX stories clearly take place in different timelines to the first ones we encounter. Akeha's story, for example, takes place after her death in the original version. For the brother and sister from the Sun and the Moon arc, originally from present-day Tokyo, their Dark Memories take place in the backstory to NieR Gestalt/Replicant - the period where humanity is dying out to White Chlorination Syndrome and fighting monsters called the Legion. In this one, before the siblings could be torn apart by family drama and resentment, the apocalypse happens. Both of them end up coming into their own as heroic fighters. In the finale arc, the characters learn a bit about these alter egos, and it's made very explicit that this is a different timeline.

The monster Levania's Dark Memory is especially weird. It's the story of a salaryman who plays a monster called Levania in an MMORPG. His MMO character inspires him to live more bravely in the real world, and his life seems to be improving, but he is murdered by a jealous coworker. He wishes for reincarnation as he dies - classic isekai stuff. But the connection to the Levania you encounter in the main story is far from clear. Are all versions of Levania derived essentially from this man's tulpa?

The nature of the 'enemies' attacking the Cage is still not yet clear. They take the form of black birds. The birds are given a small amount of dialogue and characterisation, and they seem to not be malicious, just confused. The girl from the first arc in particular tends to interact with them sympathetically. However, they seem to be connected with the mysterious 'God' who was trying to destroy the world in DoD1, and the Angels and Flower of DoD3.

The birds are able to gathe together to manifest much larger monsters, the largest being giant elk and fish called Cursed Gods. During the finale arc, one of these becomes something that resembles the Mother Angel from DoD1 - and yes, there is a rhythm game - though mercifully a pretty easy one.

In the same arc, the character Yurie, an AI city overlord with grandiose ambitions and a loathing of imperfection attempts to download the entire history of humanity from the Cage and become a more perfect being. She succeeds, only to find the answers disappointing...

This is perhaps the closest thing we ever get to an explicit statement of what all these stories and histories add up to, but despite all this, the throughline is very strongly that these stories are essential to preserve. NieR characters exist in small groups, and it is their intense connections to these others, their treasured memories of travelling together, that motivate them to fight to preserve that thing, even if the results are destructive.

Similar themes emerge for example in Noelle's Recollection of Dusk story, which sees her travelling to preserve a place valued by her sister in crystal. And they also connect to the theme of sacrifice - the recurring ending device where the player must delete their save data in order to help someone (something echoed in Hina and Yuzuki at the altar of the sun and moon, or Levania and Fio). It's perhaps fair to say that nothing is more valued in the world of Nier than memories of a treasured person.

What about Accord? She has in fact made a brief cameo in Reincarnation already...

It seems incredibly likely that Accord originates from the Cage, and the accumulation of weapon stories is accomplished by androids like her. Definitely in the fandom there's a lot of excitement for the idea that Accord - something of a fan favourite - will show up at Reincarnation's ending.

So mystery solved, the Cage exists in the world of NieR Automata on the moon server? Not so fast - there are various discrepancies which seem to suggest that the world of the Cage exists in a separate branch than the one we see in Automata. For example, the androids are aware that the humans are dead and what remains on the moon is a huge archive of their memories; the humans seem to have survived much longer; 2B and 9S seem to have died in different circumstances. There are other oddities which fans have compiled.

And yet, despite being a divergent timeline with a much older point of divergence, some things seem to be fixed. There is still a YoRHa, still a 10H deceived about being on the moon, still a 2B and 9S.

One popular fan theory is that Reincarnation belongs to the NieR Automata anime (ver1.1a), since Adam turns into a monster there similar to the ones in Reincarnation. The black birds are reasoned to be the Machine Lifeforms, since we know they come from Earth. I'm not 100% sure of this, but maybe?

Anyway, that's basically the gist of it.

A story told through permutations

In many fictional series with a shared universe, there is an effort to maintain a consistent shared universe, so all the different events can fit into a timeline with understandable cause and effect and characters living out their lives. Even when this proves impossibly unwieldy, as in comic books or Star Wars, the attempt is made.

NieR does not really take this approach. The creators leave many details of the world, such as place names, incredibly vague - the focus is always on telling an emotional story with characters. There is, as we've seen, an almost gleeful willingness to declare another new timeline.

There is also a certain aspect of repetition, or more kindly reiteration - the same core character dynamic revisited and retold in various forms. (2B9S gets the worst of it). A character is something like a principle or ideal, and each story shines another light on that 'core'. In the earlier storylines of Reincarnation, it became quite frustrating because it seemed like e.g. the character event stories were just rehashing the same idea rather than advance the story.

However, the more accustomed I get to this style of storyline, the more I think this kinda works. It is of course quite similar to the ideas proposed towards the end of Homestuck, or to time loop stories - the idea of varying the contingent circumstances to try to better illustrate the core characterisations and dynamics.

Yoko Taro has talked about how he constructs stories from a very simple idea, typically a moment of high emotional impact at the climax, and then works backwards to figure out what sort of story could lead into that. In Reincarnation, each character gets fairly limited time to establish themselves, so they tend to be defined in terms of a pretty narrow high concept.

For example, Akeha is an assassin in a vague historical Japanese setting; her introductory story sees her decide for the first time to disobey her lord after she finds another person who has been treated as instrumentally as her. Most Akeha stories focus on her assassinations, her relationship to her retainer, and what she sacrifices to perform the duty. Only her Dark Memory lets us see an Akeha who has escaped that life - it's a simple story about preparing food, but that's given meaning by all the other Akeha stories.

Hina and Yuzuki are defined by the same traits in their flashy scifi Dark Memory stories as in the more mundane ones - Yuzuki the quiet outcast, Hina the self-sacrificing star. Fio is defined by kindness in the context of abjection, seeing the good in monsters. Levania stories are about the desire for escape and transformation. Argo is always a shitty dad who only feels alive while climbing mountains.

The staticness of these characters seems on some level to be the point - in that we are told in Hina and Yuzuki's story that the mechanism of the Cage is to sort characters into 'Light' and 'Dark' natures, and push them to inevitable conflict, even if they try to break free. In the final arc, the characters seem to finally approach some resolution as they leave their contexts behind. Given the themes of Automata in rejecting an inevitable tragic fate, similar movement may be at work. There's an ambiguity - the need to hold on to even tragic histories, vs the wish to not be confined to them. (Perhaps it's significant that it's called the Cage...)

With so many balls in the air and so many mysteries still unanswered, it's hard to figure out how Reincarnation can deliver a satisfying resolution in just one remaining chapter, but the final arc has been really cooking so who knows! But I'm also coming to appreciate it as a kind of broader lens to notice all these recurring elements and tie them together.

Stories about alternate timelines and branching narratives are very common nowadays, particularly as a tool for revisiting a nostalgic franchise. Something something effect of the fan wiki era. So I can't exactly say NieR is doing something completely unique, but I do think there is something to its fragmented, collage-like approach to putting together story elements. There's something quite honest about it - an ability to say 'these details aren't important'.

Yoko Taro always talks about himself as an entertainer rather than an artist. And probably it is true that a lot of this eemerged from an iterative design process rather than being the plan from the beginning (the first draft of NieR envisioned it as something closer to what SINoALICE ended up being, about a world of fairytale characters; NieR Automata began life as backstory for an idol project). There's definitely a strong sense that it's being improvised. And yet despite that, it does feel like it is cohering into some sort of picture, that there is an artistic throughline to all this.

Or perhaps that's just the effect of getting way too invested in something. I won't deny that NieR brings out the fan in me.

Anyway Accord had better show up next month. Guys. You've been teasing us for so long...

[freeusemuses]

Deluge stares at the woman adorned in a white dress, a blindfold contrasting with her brown mocha skin and black hair. A floating box with arms trailing behind her. "Samus... Did your organization call in reinforcements?" He calls out to the bounty hunter currently diagnosing her armor.

"I told you I work alone. Whoever that is, they aren't with me." Samus didn't even bother looking in the direction of the newcomer. Too busy running checks on her armor.

"Greetings. I am YorHa Unit 2P."

[rwac96]

With how much 9S' attention is on 2P, does 2B ever get jealous about it? If she does, how does she plan on getting it back?

"I do!" The white-haired Yorha Android said as she sat upon 9S's face, who was constantly smacking against her rear and thighs. "And this is my plan: Reminding him who has the better posterior!"

"2B," the dark-skinned android blinks at her twin with raised brows. "This seems unnecessary."

[astralartefact]

NieR:Reincarnation Concept Art Post A couple of fun things from the Artbook

I won't put everything in this post (mainly because they have concept art for pretty much everything in here except for divergent zero .-.) just certain things I found interesting

Most of these are from the Costume Concept Art Section of the book, which is not to be confused with the Costume Pose Concept Art Section (which is really cool, but... also kind of redundant in a book with pictures this teeny tiny)

Pictured above is the satisfaction of knowing that they chose the worst concepts for the YoRHa Stage Costumes, making a badly timed collab that should have been one with DOD1 just a little bit worse :) (I guess I have come to terms with Gayle's, I like both of hers, but the other two...? not so much)

The Divergent YoRHa costumes were seemingly supposed to be white at first (also pretty sure these are by Akihiko Yoshida)

I don't know if I'm mad we didn't get 2P-style 10H... I guess I'm still thinking about how little I care about 10H's garter belts - speaking of which:

These are the unreleased costumes that already had models made when the game was cancelled: Bloodless Rion, Bloody Fio and Guardian 10H (Event).

There was also concept art for Bloody Priyet.

For the rest you'll just have to find someone else or buy the art book yourself (pretty sure a digital version is available for purchase somewhere)

[rpking99]

Battler & Protector, 2x2

OPEN RP

"This appears to be a good area to set up camp." The every serious and focused 2B spoke as she and 2P set down their equipment

Recently YORhA had managed to do the impossible. Find a series of humans safe within a series of hibernation pod deep under ground. With them came new vigor within the Androids, and new strategies. The battle with the Machine Lifeforms had kept going for some time, but they had managed to come out victorious after some time.

Now Units's 2B, 2P and your muse had been tasked with seeking out other possible human hibernation pod clusters scattered across the planet while other units and humans where focusing on setting up new settlements and farm land

"Gotta say... This planet is really boring without any fighting. Hopefully with humanity returning it will liven up." 2P quipped as she sat down on a rock, the dark skinned android sensually crossing her legs as she looked at your muse. Her eye poking out from under her blindfold with hunger in her blue mechanical iris

[thefreelanceangel]

YoRHa No. 7, Model E -- 7E, the Abandoned Android

Listed as "Deceased" in the Command databases, 7E was retrieved by 2P with the intent of utilizing 7E as a weapon against other YoRHa androids. When 2P was defeated by 2B and the collected group of adventurers in Eorzea--and the portal opened promptly sealed--7E was abandoned in the remains of the dwarven dig site.

With the dwarves distracted by the presence of the dwarven automata, 7E went unnoticed when they escaped the dig site and left Kholusia. In wandering Norvrandt and learning more of the world's history, 7E discovered a tiny shard of orange crystal that seemed to hold tangible energy.

Imagine 7E's surprise when possession of this shard led to them being dragged to the very edge of the universe to confront the Endsinger when the Warrior of Light used Azem's summoning magic to pull allies to their side for the last battle.

With no connection to the Scions and no recognition when the battle ended, 7E was left to wander Ultima Thule. They connected with the remaining Omicrons, understanding their perspective perfectly, and were equally baffled by the efforts of the Warrior of Light and Jammingway to manipulate the present dynamis into something "hopeful."

However, the time spent with N-7000 at the Café at the End of the Universe helped 7E to develop a better perspective of the world they found themselves in. The only problem with this is a lack of direction which 7E consistently struggles with. Without a target to protect or a group to police, the programmed directives left by 2P cannot be fulfilled and 7E has begun to show dangerous bouts of psychopathic aggression.

[sinfully-divine]

Iris Heart....

Smash or pass YORhA Unit 2P?

"Hmm~ Definitely smash. She looks like the type I'd be easily to intimate into slaving over me~"

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: What's your stance on the character intros and outros in Guilty Gear StrIVe and GranBlue Fantasy Versus?

Even if you don't know the cast, can you get good impressions based on her animations and personality triats?

For example, Sol is very gruff and not extravagant as for his intro, he just calmly walks onto the stage while his outro just has him turn his back on the opponent and smirk at them while criticizing them.

With Bedman?, it features Delilah walking by herself until Bedman? appears behind and places a protective hand in front of her and in the outro, Bedman? raises Delilah up in a brother love like fashion with It's hand with Delilah smiling back at It.

In GranBlue Fantasy Versus, most of the unique interactions mostly occur from the 2P side as the 1P side is mostly them just walking in or standing in position as they get ready and even then, the 1P side has some good moments of characterization.

Like, for Djeeta, on the 2P side, she mainly talks about the opponent with Lyria and Vern, but on the 1P side, Lyria is clutching her dress in concern until Djeeta puts a reassuring hand on her hand before Vyrn and Lyria wish Djeeta luck. With their outro, it mostly features the three joining in a triumpht cheer and arm pump.

And even though 2B's dialogue is mostly reused, she has good animations that remain true to her series and express her character. Her Pod analysis' the opponent in both, but where her 1P side just has her walk in, her 2P side has her come out of her Black Box in an epic fashion to show you that a YorHa Android is not to be messed around with. Additionally, both Intros have her adress the fighters by their In-Game Titles, which is a good forth wall break without intending to be so, which a nice touch of detail. And while 2B's outro isn't too special, she checks in with her commanding officer, showing that 2B is a loyal and just soldier.

What do you think though? Got some characters that stick out in this department?

Give me a minute to read all this:

I'm gonna say that both Strive and Granblue (and well, MOST 2.5D animated fighting games come to think on it) suffer from "Talking head syndrome".

Phase 1: Character 1 walks on stage, does some dynamic thing by themselves.

Phase 2: Closeup of character talking.

Phase 3: Character 2 walks up and responds to Character 1.

Phase 4: Zoom out and fight starts.

It's been like this since Mortal Kombat 9, to be honest… and all it really does is illustrate the idea that fighting game characters in 3D have a very hard time in production to be animated in interactive dynamic ways.

I think Tekken 8 is literally the FIRST 3D fighting game to legitimately feature "clash intros" between rival characters ever since the days of Guilty Gear Accent Core and Street Fighter Alpha had their famous "2D clash sequences".

To give you some keen examples:

Here's the BlazBlue equivalent:

The overall structure of modern fighting game intros puts emphasis on Player 1 initiating the conversation while Player 2 reciprocates.

(For a Strive example, Baiken's Intro is very long and dramatic, but if you switch to Player 2 side, Baiken's intro is much shorter... )

But in older games there was more of a balanced back and forth between characters.

Characterization is often predicated on the way a character's body language introduces them, though many intros are "bombastic", they are mostly tied to the character being introduced... that character does "not" interact with the other character physically until the fight actually begins...

Compare/Contrast Sol's Intro and Outros from previous games:

(By the way, it's not shown, but Sol bites the bullet, lighting it up with his flames, then flips it in to his weapon's gun chamber, spins it, and swipes his sword outward, creating a shockwave in his Xrd intro. This was a dual nod to an older intro where Sol would throw his sword in to the air and catch it as it came down in front of him.)

That's what I mean by "talking head syndrome"... it's just two characters talking, they aren't actually making contact with one another.

Mortal Kombat 1 features both characters clashing ala Injustice 2 style clashes, but in terms of a gimmick, it's a universal clash mechanic (meaning it isn't very unique or special between two specific character rivals, even if the dialogue is original between them).

It's been a long time since Street Fighter Alpha 3:

That's not to say that current intros don't ideally express a character well... it's just not on the same level as 2D fighting games of long ago that carried that dynamism.

What is "outstanding" in terms of character expression ranges from exaggerated sweeping movements to subtle adjustments to a character's hair as it blows in the wind.

Your mileage of opinion may vary on this.

For example, Ramlethal's outro where the Dog climbs on her and licks her face... while that's a cute freeze-frame moment, it's not QUITE as heroic-looking as Nagoriyuki's outro which shows his jacket flowing in the wind as he sheathes his katana as his mask opens to reveal his face.

Another example is Bedman's intros and outros in Xrd:

You will literally see Bedman flying around the screen with a white backdrop like he's a ghost out of a horror film... Delilah's outro with the Bedframe evokes a completely different set of emotions.

In terms of Granblue intros, while there are some good ones out there (like Vaseraga and Beelzebub), they are still very limited by the basic rule that "Character 1 does something only Character 1 can do, while Character 2 reacts to it".

While there are some personal quotes between rivals/friends, and they range from highly amusing to world-immersing, I often find that the broader "character expression" in these games lies within the music:

Take this song for example:

At first glance you might not know, but this is Zeta versus Vaseraga's Rival Theme (the intro builds up a bit quicker in-game though).

Even Sol and Ky have had rival themes for many years, if that's not obvious enough.

I'd say, getting a "full impression" of a character nowadays is a LOT harder than it used to be... and not just because of animation differences.

It's also heavily expressed in the story-writing: intros alone won't tell you a character's full story... especially if they are a complex character.

Young players might make the mistake of relying heavily on first impressions to judge whether or not a character "looks cool", but in most cases, game developers pull out ALL THE STOPS in order to achieve great things with their designs.

By and large, it mostly means that character design in fighting games is always very LAYERED... there's lots of minute details you will probably miss if you don't study the game carefully.

Are there "outstanding designs" out there? Likely true, but from my perspective, I favor the whole tapestry to simply looking at one square of the quilt.

It isn't JUST the fact that character A is cool and character B is also cool and their rival... it's so much more complex than that.

Character A has several rivals, there's an SS-class bounty on their head, and everyone's out to kill them, so they have unique intros with everyone (for a famous example).

Does that always get expressed well? Not always, but I think the attempt more than makes up for it.

Nowadays even fans are making fan-made clash intros!

I'll leave this here for you to ponder: