#also the final cutscene made me cry

[im-no-jedi]

GUYS

OMG

I brought out Ogerpon to battle Terapagos as an act of “motivation” to get Kieran to help me

he ended up joining the battle after Ogerpon was in the red zone (I healed her afterwards), and he even ended up getting the final blow on Terapagos!!

I didn’t plan this at all!! I had no idea what was gonna happen!! the poetic cinema of it all is making me crazy!!!!

[excess-thought-dump]

Finsh play dmc3 and woa what a ride that game was

It was sooooo goood and god I missed having the ability to lock on to targets this game is so fun and like aaaahhhhh

Like it improves everything about the first game in so many ways and like it is soooo good. The bosses were ranging from fun little gimmicks and patterns to I wanna decimate a building because of you, and still be fun

Like my favorite boss was the shadow boss because I like the little gimmick of lights and when I was fighting I was baiting him out in to one of the lights and just damaging him their but when that failed I tried lightning all the lights and it stunned him, I went through all the stages of grief and murder the living hell out of him.

But too get more side tracked I think Vergil might be my favorite character next like closely replacing Dante in because of the little silly undertones he has like, I love Dante eccentric personality and how he styles on everything but Vergil feels like he was like that but now hides it and that hilarious too he like he shows off his skill like Dante after killing beowolf that was so unexpectedly funny to me. He is just an edgelord trying to hide is former theatre kid personality and love that.

Minor head cannon so when both of them said jackpot I like to think that phrase was vergils first then Dante started to say it and with how you see a younger family member starts copying you you stop I love to think that what happened to Vergil (was this confirmed cannon or something I just came up with)

But with that out of the way I am gonna try the dmc4 wish me luck 

[lulu2992]

This post is long overdue, but because I promised exactly seven years ago today that I would talk about this “later”, I want to finally do it!

So, prior to annoying everyone here about the Far Cry series, mostly Far Cry 5, and complaining about its nightmarishly-inconsistent lore, I used to annoy everyone with Final Fantasy XV and its... surprinsingly-not-that-inconsistent story. It’s not perfect, of course, and I’m sure many people could tell you more about it and its flaws better than I can, but considering it was told in the span of at least three years across four versions of the main game (which was updated several times to add more cutscenes and information), four DLC episodes, two films, two books, one animated series, one multiplayer expansion, as well as a few more spin-off games, demos, and trailers (not all of them canon), I still think it’s impressively coherent and that things could have been way worse.

Despite having never played this game myself (I don’t even know if I’ve ever said that), I fell in love with it, and more specifically with a character named Ardyn Izunia, a charismatic antagonist with a tragic past. Yes, I have a type.

Anyway, one thing I loved to complain about at the time was the English localization of the game. Although it’s far from being terrible, it slightly differs from the original Japanese version, and while some changes are appropriate and make sense (a localization isn’t meant to be a literal translation, after all), others are... questionable. The English version also had the luxury of having its own facial animations, which means the team didn’t even have to worry about being 100% faithful to the character’s original lip movements and emotions. And they weren’t.

Some of the choices that were made regarding Ardyn in particular are still upsetting to me. The way he talks about his name is unclear? People get confused. A sentence he finishes in Japanese gets interrupted in English for no apparent reason? That creates a non-existent mystery. A frown is turned upside-down? That erases a rare and therefore important angry reaction. He doesn’t chuckle at a key moment? That changes the tone of the scene and his feelings on the whole situation…

So, on March 19th, 2018, I said I wanted to talk about “when he sounds mocking and unimpressed instead of surprised and offended in the Pocket Edition”, so this is what I’m going to do, at long last. The mobile version of FFXV is interesting because it contains a few lines that were not in the original game and never included in the other editions (unless that’s changed; it’s been a while since I’ve studied this game). Those lines are exchanged between Noctis and Ardyn during their final battle.

From what I’ve seen and tried to translate thanks to online tools (I still don’t speak Japanese), the English conversation is nearly identical to the original Japanese version, but there’s one thing Ardyn says, and especially how he says it, that is very different to me.

When Noctis asserts he will save him from the darkness, in English, Ardyn replies, “Will you?” in a rather derisive and dismissive tone. In Japanese, though, he replies, “何?” (“What?”), and it seems Noctis’ words actually affect him. You can hear both versions below. Focus on Ardyn’s tone:

Original videos: English - Japanese

To me, the way he replies in English suggests he doesn’t take Noctis seriously at all. It’s like he’s saying, “Aw, that’s cute; as if you could do that”. In Japanese, however, I think he sounds shocked, like he can’t believe someone would genuinely want to help him despite everything he’s done and the monster he has become.

His reaction reminds me of the moment Lunafreya softly tells him he will eventually know peace… and he just slaps her. I could never decide exactly why he did it. I don’t know if it’s because he feels insulted and belittled by her words or if, on the contrary, he can’t stand the fact she’s showing compassion, not to mention right after he’s just mortally stabbed her. Does her kindness hurt him because he believes he doesn’t deserve it? Does she remind him of the man he used to be, the selfless, naive healer she somehow managed to still see, deep inside of him, despite the many layers of darkness he’s spent ages burying himself under?

In any case, it seems Ardyn is supposed to react strongly and be thrown off balance when someone believes he can and deserves to be saved, so what I wanted to say in 2018 is that I thought, and still think, that it’s a shame the English version of his line in the Pocket Edition doesn’t reflect that.

[midoshinoteto]

I was sort of joking when I said 7.2 would be the patch of wuksphene but they really have given us so much to work with:

Real Sphene and Wuk Lamat's relationship is almost immediately more wholesome, fulfilling AI Sphene's own statement that if they had met when she was still alive, perhaps things would have been different. There's still a lot to overcome and for Real Sphene to come to terms with (and for Lamaty'i as well) but they're finally properly seeing eye-to-eye. Even Wuk Lamat points out that Real Sphene's behavior was exactly what she had hoped she could bring out from AI Sphene. Their relationship in this stage is so hopeful it almost makes me nervous for the future (crying).

AI Sphene and Wuk Lamat were doomed already in 7.0, but I feel like the additional content of real (and Simulant) Sphenes in patches add a lot to what we had seen in 7.0. Lamaty'i tries her best throughout 7.0 to reach a common ground with AI Sphene. She didn't just want to save the people of Alexandria, she wanted deeply to save Sphene as well. It was a hopeless endeavor, as AI Sphene acknowledges this herself in the end, but in her final moments AI Sphene was at least able to express her regrets and return a bit of the faith Wuk Lamat had been placing in her (through entrusting Alexandria's future to Lamaty'i). When Simulant Sphene shows up in 7.1, Lamaty'i is so quick to denounce her, that the *true* Sphene would never do this, when she honestly barely even knew the true "real" Sphene at the time. I think Wuk Lamat projects a lot of what she wants to see from Sphene onto AI Sphene throughout 7.0, and even in her memory of her. 7.2 makes it hit harder (for me at least) to know AI Sphene *was* actually a lot like Real Sphene at the start, twisted by years of trying hopelessly to save her near-doomed society and made to dance to the tune of Preservation's true interests (Simulant Sphene outright says that AI Sphene was given an impossible task with the full purpose of driving her to means she might not have gone to if it could be helped. Even if her personality, modeled after Real Sphene, would find the act distasteful, she's quite literally programmed to follow a path that would result in her inevitably giving in to the hopelessness).

This is just my own interpretations, but I think it to be very possible that if the Real Sphene had been put through the same experiences as AI Sphene, it would be very possible for her to have turned out similarly, and I feel like Real Sphene shows this in how she's been coming to terms with the current situation in Alexandria. Naturally she's in a fair bit of disbelief, having learned that the current state of affairs has been more or less her own fault despite not having made the choices herself (which, that's gotta fuck with your sense identity hard). But, at least in my reading, she always also seems a bit nervous, like she's been forced to come to terms with her own ability for harm. She says herself that what sets her apart from AI Sphene was their experiences had led them down different paths, and I feel like this also points out that the inverse is true: if Real Sphene had been the one left to manage a dying Alexandria, what would she have done? She holds that same conviction to save her people by any means, but it's because she recognizes her own potential for evil now that we see her consciously attempt to put that devotion towards good instead.

And to talk on Simulant Sphene, *man* is she fascinating. She's a husk of AI Sphene, all the personality that made the AI anything close to her human counterpart gone. An empty shell that makes it even more clear everything is being orchestrated by Preservation. Sphene evidently mattered little to Preservation (or at least those in control now) other than a means to their ends. I think the cutscene where Simulant Sphene confronts Wuk Lamat is probably my favorite in the whole patch. It's just so utterly disturbing to see the person you (Lamaty'i) had tried so hard to save act so overtly twisted, not even trying to hold up the image of being Sphene anymore. This isn't the idealized Sphene Wuk Lamat had imagined, and its not even the Sphene she had known. There's nothing left but a puppet, dangled in front of Wuk Lamat to quite literally remind her of the Sphene she hadn't quite saved (even with Real Sphene right next to her. It's evident Wuk Lamat sees them separately, and in a manner struggles to move on from AI Sphene). And again here, Wuk Lamat stands up for Sphene – not just the Real Sphene, but the memory of AI Sphene as well. Simulant Sphene (Preservation really) is so purposefully toying with Wuk Lamat in their interactions (both in 7.2 and 7.2). Simulant Sphene and Lamaty'i not only have their own interesting dynamic, but add a lot of depth to the other facets of Sphene and Wuk Lamat both together and as individuals.

Sphene in all her sides is such an intriguing character and god this patch has done so much for me.. Wuksphene is so full of interesting character analysis points I don't think I can ever move on from them.

[m-inntii]

ZZZ 1.7 SPOILERS! [TW: discussions of suicide, drugging, abuse and graphic harm]

mockingbird and suicidal freaks..

there was a lot of good voice acting moments in the story but I just gotta say tho BELLE’S VA?! Omg her voice when she was crying? amazing.

anyway more proper review?

Vivian arcs- I actually think it was really great! Made me love Vivian even more then i already did. It was unfortunate that it was smushed between a highly anticipated hugo arc, but i still loved it

Was nice to lean why Viv loves us so much. Always suspected that we had “saved” her somehow, but i didn’t expect it to be via us giving her hope to live… it’s a good story though. Such a small action to us meaning everything to her. It makes her love for us make a lot of sense

Also her attempting to sacrifice her own life just to save ours…it REALLY reminds me of Castorice. We are the only person they managed to/could save. We saved her and she in return tried to save us… I’m so glad managed to save her with our teacher’s freaky magic.

Although, i think they fould’ve extended the end cutscene a bit longer? or show her in her final moments? cause it felt a white rushed lol.

Her backstory though- sad. Got cursed by all those around her as “bringjng misfortune” just because she could see their fates, and when she finally found people who accepted her and her gift, it turns out that she was just being used and manipulated by one, and the other blamed her for her father’s actions. and even after leave g those people, she was still so regularly shamed that she believed it was HER Tthat brought misfortune and that she wanted to kill herself until we came in….

i wanna give her a hug :(.

Now onto the Hugo arc- BOY. man where do i begin…

“giving psychological therapy to himself” yeah that sums it up well. Basically Aventurine all over again LMAO. Turns out everythign was part of his plan (which I guessed, but I didn’t think about his Lycaon helping faking his death lol…). Smartass.

But boy is this man traumatised…Literally drugged himself willingly thinking he’d help find an antidote, but instead relived his trauma and inner thoughts. Genuinely insane how much trauma this guy has endured.

He was discriminated against for being an illegitimate child by effectively EVERYONE. His mom ONLY gave birth to him to have a chance of getting into the ravenlock family, and when that didn’t work out his mother started blaming and abusing him for it when he didn’t do ANYTHING but EXIST. She straight up told to KILL HIMSELF AND tried to GOUGE OUT HIS FUCKING EYE? WHAT?

and when that STILL didn’t work out, she sold him to the raven locke family to start a new life living in fortune (ignoring her child) while he continued to get abused and hated for existing.

And then the other kids HATED him for JUST being an illegitimate child that they ATTEMPTED TO KILL HIM?….MULTIPLE TIMES?…and the fact that Serena was the ONLY ONE to treat him like MORE then just a slave just for said kids to KILL HER BECAUSE THEY COULDNT KILL HUGO??? AND BLAME IT ON HUGO??? AND THEN HUGO STARTS BLAMING HIMSELF FOR HER DEATH EVEN THO HE WAS INNCOENT??

And then his “father” decides to manipulate the kids and hugo into thinking “this is what is necessary to make it in this world” and they need to do this to be the heir and punish those who he deemed “weak” becuase they weren’t willing to do the same as Hugo…

The dude runs away, finds Lycaon and Jack, and it seems to be going better and then my dude overhears his own mentor telling his partner that he’s gonna go down a dark part and he needs to be killed by his partners hands…like?…

fast forward, he tries to kill his father, fails to do se, which then allows his father to trap his siblings and himself in one room HAS TO WITNESS HIS OWN UNCLE FUCKING KILL HIS DAD AND SIVLINGS??…AND THEN BELIEVES HIS HESITANCE TO KILL HIS FATEHR WAS THE CAUSE OF THEIR DEATH?…

THEN HE GETS “BETRAYED” BY HIS OWN PARTNER RIGHR AFTER, AND GETS LEFT BEHIND TO BE ALONE AGAIN…

That drug trip tho like wtf. Man’s is LITERALLY fighting his inner demons and reliving his worst trauma, and has a near panic attack too (i think)??? and has to face his inner thoughts and can no longer deny/ignore the fact that he’s spangly and wants revenge on those who harmed him

he comes around and the end though and realises that he doesn’t want to be haunted by revenge and no longer cares for it

h and i’m also VERY skeptic al that he was AXTUALLY fine after the warehouse drug trip…like dude he looks half beaten up WDYM HE JSUT WALKS OUT?? Lycaon constantly going “What YOU need is a medical checkup” is me the whole time no way he just CASUALLY MOVES ON???

But on another hand, Lycaon beign the only one Hugo managed to figure out that was just a hallucination in the drug trip is everything to me. Out of all of them, Lycaon is the only one he knows well enough to figure out that that’s not him and he wouldn’t speak like that, but i think the ONLY one who he DOESNT want revenge on? I am going insane over this as a Lycahugo shipper

On another note- I like Yi Xuan! Her voice is really nice, and also has that Miyabi quirkiness. Although, it’s unfortunate her design is so funky, cause otherwise i’d like her even more…

and maybe hugo analysis? no promises and his character is explained a lot in the quest already but who knows

EDIT: I FUCKING FORGOT THE “Don’t die you stupid bastard” OMF IM A IDIOT I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM SO MUCH MY SAD SILLEIS

alsO hugo also blaming himself for Lycaon injuring his leg and eye just for Lycaon to tell him it wasn’t his fault…

[just-a-carrot]

Day 8

Are there any scenes in OW that made you cry? Or that affected you deeply?

Very much so yes LOL I mean there were many many scenes that affected me deeply, so it would be hard to list... so I'll just focus on scenes that actually made me cry.

The ending of Arc 1. It's weird because actually I didn't cry at all while working on this scene. But whenever I watch someone else play this scene, I start to tear up and get really affected. Maybe it's one of those things that has hit me harder once I worked on more of the game.

The bedroom scene in Arc 2, my first moment of ace catharsis. This scene is incredibly important to me and felt like the first part of game production where I was truly baring my heart and soul to the world and I felt very exposed hahaha. But in a good way I suppose.

Genzou's death in Arc 4. God. This one hurts. It probably doesn't help that some YouTubers have also started crying at this point which just makes it even harder for me as I tend to cry when other people cry or get emotional. Just a very hard scene for me.

The Genzou and Orlam cutscene in Arc 5. My god was this hard to work on. Even hearing the song can start to hurt my heart. It's just such an important scene to me and there's so much built into it and up to it and just gahhhhhh.

The Hunar and Bucks cutscene. It was weird because I felt less while actively working on it, but then like the first time I saw someone play through that scene I just started bawling LOL

The biggest one of all: the My Choice cutscene at the end of Arc 5. This one was so bad I would have to actively stop working on it because I'd start crying. I think it's because it's just such a personal moment for me as well, because so much of me went into the themes of the game, and into Iggy, and also like? This is the end of the game? This is the big moment? That I put 3 years of my life into? And it's all built up to this one moment, this one reveal, this one turning point. The whole rest of the final cutscene can also get me in places, but it's the moment Iggy's wish is revealed and the music starts playing that gets me literally every single time and the tears just start running down my face.

[megamog]

Welcome to part one of my fun project of making Pokemon teams for FFXII characters! We are going to start with Judge Ghis and Judge Bergan.

This is a link to the rules I made if anyone is interested. I hope that all you fans of the Judges enjoy. These were fun to make.

Judge Ghis' team is pretty well balanced but I wanted him to have types for a cunning thinker and a mix of both physical and special attackers since he seems to value strength in many different forms.

Judge Bergan largely has a team based on his own style of combat which is to attack and hit hard. (He would hate the fairy type and half his team is weak to it, just saying 😂)

I decided to put my reasoning for each choice under the read more to make the post a little easier to navigate. But please check it out! I spent a lot of time and effort on these and no choice was made without consideration. Without further ado please read on.

For Ghis' Team

Gyarados (Water/Flying):

While the traditional summons for the Final Fantasy series are absent and just names of airships in XII, those names still mean something and I wanted to have something that represented that. For the Dreadnaught Leviathan we have Gyarados. What is more angry sea serpent than Gyarados? Flying type works for the airship and water for Leviathan itself.

Has the Intimidate ability, which goes with the title of Judge.

I think it can be implied that Ghis seeks greater power from his "Blood alone does not an emperor make" line and Gyarados has power in spades.

Bisharp (Dark/Steel):

Bisharp has the same look as Ghis and shares his colours! Dark type for a man who schemes and likes to antagonize his opponents.

Steel type is complimentary to his own armour that he wears as a Judge. Bisharp is also known as the 'Sword Blade' Pokemon and Ghis fights with a sword himself, so they are a good pair.

Bisharp also leads groups of Pawniard much like the Judges lead their own fleets.

Glameow (Normal):

Fun choice number 1. Every evil arrogant mastermind surely should have a cat that can match his condescending nature, look no further than Glameow!

Glameow has so much attitude and I feel like its cry with that amusing laugh would match Ghis' own.

Described as a 'Catty Pokemon' and that it is 'an exceedingly tricky opponent if antagonized.'

Plus I can imagine him with a Glameow sitting in his lap.

Delphox (Fire/Psychic):

Ghis uses Flare in that one cutscene, the closest way in my mind to non elemental damage is the Psychic type.

Fire type is a nod to the Ifrit which is under the 8th fleet.

Foxes are usually represented as being cunning, intelligent and capable of trickery and that is very much like Ghis himself.

Shiny Pikipek (Normal/Flying):

This is his second fun choice. I wanted a flying type with proper feathers since Ghis has a feather motif in his armour. Pikipek also reminds me of his hair with the curly/wavy pattern with the different colours of feathers.

Ghis also casts Aero, a flying type is fitting for that.

Galar Slowking (Poison/Psychic):

Dex entries describe 'Shellder's intelligence increased to the point that it controls Slowking.' Which for me is descriptive of Ghis' interest in greater power and "only being interested in results" that he doesn't consider what putting the Dusk Shard in the Leviathan's engine might do other than prove its power.

Can learn Ice type moves to represent the Shiva.

Poison type is because Ghis casts Scorge which is basically a fancy stronger bio spell, thus Poison type.

Honourable mentions go to Alola Meowth, Magmorter (for the Ifrit) and Orbeetle. But ultimately I didn't think they worked as well as the other choices I made.

Next is Judge Bergan!

Tyrantrum (Rock/Dragon):

Rock types are sturdy of course but within the FFXII scope I also seen them as being loosely related to nethicite which is also referred to as stone. Dragons are the some of the strongest types in terms of stats and that would be something Bergan would value.

Known as the 'Despot Pokemon', which is line with Bergan's own belief that only the strong should rule with an iron fist.

'Can crush metal as if it were paper', we all known that Bergan has the best raw strength of all the Judges.

Pinsir (Bug)

Another heavy hitter, Pinsir has a very high attack like Bergan.

Capable of Mega Evolution, which is what Bergan did to himself by having nethicite put into his bones. The dex also explains that Mega Pinsir is capable of lifting opponents with ease, which is exactly what Bergan did to Drace.

Bergmite (Ice)

A fun choice, Bergan and Bergmite they have similar names.

Bergmite is described as being able to 'block opponents' attacks with the ice that shields its body', much like Bergan's own armour is capable of.

Druddigon (Dragon)

Known as a vicious and cunning Pokemon, words that could describe Bergan himself. Has the Battle Armour ability, a nod to Bergan's armour.

Aside from its great strength I also picked Druddigion because it 'treats stolen nests as their own liars' much like the goal of the 2nd Bureau that Bergan leads which is to invade and subjugate other countries.

Shiny Tauros Combat Breed (Fighting)

This is Bergan's other fun choice, but still practical for him. Paldean Tauros is 'distinguished by its thick, powerful muscles and fierce disposition.'

Bulls represent strength, power and determination.

Drapion (Poison/Dark)

A Pokemon that is 'sturdy in build' and takes 'pride in its strength', much like Bergan himself.

But mostly I picked Drapion because it 'prefers to use physical force' as Bergan mostly attacks.

Also reference to Drapion 'rampaging' like how Zargabaath can cast Berserk on Bergan to maximize his damage in Trial Mode.

Honourable mentions go to Rhyhorn, Kingambit, and Crawdaunt.

and lastly here is the link if you want to make your own trainer cards.

[ashen-sky]

The Natlan Archon quest makes me want to shove my head through a wall and scream. This is a positive statement.

I have no idea where to start, it was a wild ride in the best way. There was so much lore and it kept throwing twist and turns until the very end.

Spoilers under the cut for 5.3!

I don't think we've seen the end of Capitano. He's not dead, and his body is still on ochkanatlan (assuming it doesn't get moved), so like... he can? And I don't think bringing him back would undermine his sacrifice. The angels are supposed to function in humanity's interest, if it is in their best interest to bring back Capitano they have to. The Lord of the Night explicitly said she had to do what was best for humanity regardless of what the ruler of death wanted.

Also, I think there's rumors for him being playable and I doubt they're going to start making dead people playable now? But also it was just a rumor, i don't think anything got confirmed and it may have even been disproven.

As for the Harbinger I think will be sent to obtain the Gnosis, I feel like Fontain was teasing Sandrone with that one world quest.

Anyways, back to Capitano. Thrain. They just dropped that like it was nothing, but i digress, we better talk to Dain about him. I want to know Dain's thoughts on all of it. How Thrain found "death" and flipped the gods off as his last act, how he carried those souls, that there are others out there aiming for the same goal.

On a different note, all of those cutscenes were amazing and I hope to god they add in the missing voicelines. Like, I nearly had chills, and i think if we didn't have weird gaps when (especially) Traveler wasn't talking I think i would have actually shivered. All in all I think 5.3 and Fontain's final act are tied for best finales. I can't really put it into words.

Extra notes, loved Traveler leaving the crown. Took me a minute to realize when we activated the pillars it was their messages to us and then Paimon's nearly made me cry. Paimon and Travelers hug, Paimon not letting go and then wanting to be stronger so they didn't have to separate again. I like that Capitano is still on the throne, it's like being able to see Mikhail in Star Rail.

Please talk to me about Genshin lore and 5.3 I want to scream.

[kaeyachi]

I finished the 5.1 archon quest...

first off, its a long one, and you will be actively moving for over 2 hours (and I do mean active) so you might need to time yourselves before starting Natlan AQ4.

not gonna lie, i dont think i have the emotional capability to function much after finishing it. the fact that for 2 entire hours of the AQ 4, I was full on sobbing...

heavy spoilers for genshin 5.1 below:

himeko death flags are still here

seeing a monster and death counter was haunting. Both of those rising as i proceed was haunting

being given a choice where to go and knowing you not going to the other location could mean that group's death was also haunting

arriving too late to several locations and seeing all of those dead bodies scattered was haunting

chuychu's death was so damn painful, and chasca's reaction hurt too (im thinking of Kaeya and Diluc in that position so I hurt myself more

finding out vichama died was a slap to the face but hey, at least he and his friend are together again

the cutscenes were cool but my tears made them hard to see so i might need to watch them on youtube later

hearing a baby saurians cries as the lone survivor... hnghh...

but there are some good too

the will to fight, the kindness and compassion from everyone. it really motivated me to go crazy despite fighting the abyss for OVER AN HOUR

finally i have 1 more confirmation and that is the fact that Mavuika is a member of the Scions of the Canopy, but what surprised me is finding out Burkina is her childhood best friend (i guess that's where the Kinich favoritism came from)

Capitano is still open to being Anfortas Alberich, Perinheri, or any other member of the sinners list of Khaenri'ah

wait i got reminded, but yes mavuika punched the false sky so hard she opened us all up to HSR lmao

more edit coz some thoughts popped up

i genuinely figured that Chasca was our last chosen one coz she was our only option from the flower-feather clan, but the fact that it took the death of chuychu...AFTER THEY GAVE US A MINI PORTION WITH THEM WORKING TOGETHER?!?!?!?! foooooouuuulll

Paimon's reaction at seeing all the dead bodies... her being left to no other reaction but to gasp...she sounds like she wants to cry...and this is a repeated event of us seeing a group of dead bodies in several locations. Just arriving too late far too many times...yeah it left my heart heavy...

there was a long period of time where kinich is the only one left on the map, so honestly Ajaw asking how tf he survived is so effing real like BRO??? HUH??

for a moment, the death counter reached over 4k and i looked at it in horror until the number went back to 1k+ (which is still horrifying), and i never thanked the ode to resurrection as much as i did until that moment pls

I need a breather. the quest is lore and emotions heavy.

[rioviaa]

so I finally obtained the last memory for the captured memories quest. therefore I now have all 17 of them. complete. And I just want to jump in here for a second and just. Scream. Cry. Drop to my knees in the middle of a Walmart and die (like link hahaha too soon ueue) sooo..

his tattered clothing. the stains that are most likely mixed with wet dirt and dried blood. the clear exhaustion in his posture by holding on with the scarce amount of strength he has left. the way he forcefully lifts himself up with every last ounce of strength for the sake of protecting her. even if it costs his life. he stands before her. before the danger. becomes her shield. after months of standing behind her as her personal knight.

and just the guttural scream she let out here was just. wow. she refuses to stand behind. to stay behind. all her friends are gone. and in her mind she blames herself for it all. for being left behind from all the champions’ progress. from his progress. but no more. now she stands before him. shields him. she will not allow another one of her friends to fall due to her incompetence. no more.

listen. imagine seeing the stoic but kind knight who always protected you from harms way before thinking of his own safety. that has stayed by your side even during your worst tempers and sorrows. fallen. the rain falling on his battered clothing and soaking them beyond repair. the raindrops on his cheek and hair making the died blood and dirt smudging his features more, his hair damp and tangled. the master sword in an almost painful grip as if it were his lifeline. and it was.

gods this shot. this one right here. his grip never loosens. but his breaths stagger. his heart slows. the exhaustion of fighting for not only your life but most importantly her life from evening to midnight. a cruel way to loose oneself is by the fate of saving the lives of hundreds in exchange for your own demise while doing so. but he simply must make sure she is safe. must look into her eyes at least once before he feels his eyes give to the very darkness he gave his entire life to destroy. and my god i can’t imagine how Zelda must feel. to loose her last and only hope. but to also loose a friend she had learned to cherish along the way. Now left desperately searching for any ounce of life left inside his lithe body with her hands and sobs to his chest.

“princess are you alright?” except that’s the last thing on her mind at the moment. isn’t it? when she immediately redirects them to him and risking it all for the slim chance of the possibility of saving him.

her tone is so assertive here. He is her priority right now. Wow.

i just. have no words. her tone. was downright threatening. so powerful. the delivery of this line. impeccable. made shivers run down my spine just hearing it. she will have her swordsman saved. zero questions or doubts. an absolutely breathtaking cutscene.

Okay I’ll shut up now haha but god this scene racked my very core. Beautifully made and executed with the music and lighting. the tone and ambiance the voice acting the small details of their movements. yup this one has won my favorite memory.

little bonus of me trying not to burst into tears as Zelda’s horse nudges link with his snout after seeing the memory ugh im in absolute shambles over this game.

[faerghusfucker]

Hey how are you doing. If you don't mind repeating old ask memes then I'd like to 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 23 for Claude. Specifically Houses Claude not his fake counterpart Fraude from Hopes.

im doing alright! feeling significantly better now that i'm getting my shit together with school and also finally starting a project ive wanted to do for a long time. i love to repeat old ask games lets gooooo

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

claude has a special place in my heart bc verdant wind was the first route i played in 3H and. i wont lie to you, i exclusively chose the golden deer for my first run bc i thought claude was hot. and i was right he is hot. frankly in my mind golden wildfire is fake and never happened. as far as im concerned there is just not a golden deer route in hopes :3

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

his ARABNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!! ive been a jrpg fan since i was like 12-13ish and i got 3H as a gift for my 15th birthday. i had pretty much accepted the reality of not seeing anyone who looked like me (im egyptian) in the media that i like, and then claude graced my screen in the intro cutscene and i was like omg!!!! melanin!!!! and before i knew he was almyran i had already Claimed Him as arab bc i was like. i need something. AND THEN I LEARNED HE WAS ALMYRAN AND HIS NAME IS KHALID!!!!!!!!!!! i was like. i didnt know this could happen. wow. my mind was blown. regardless of the quality of the rest of the arab representation in this game (it's bad) im rlly happy to have claude just in general lol

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

keep in mind i havent played verdant wind in like 3 years so the nuances of his specific actions are a liiiiiittle murky. anyway this is so unserious but i cant get over the way he DEMANDED to see jeralt's diary after he died. and like RIGHT after he died lmao. byleth is crying in his office and this little shit just pulls up like "hey. whats that book. gimme that book. lemme read the book." IN A MINUTE CLAUDE MY DAD IS DEAD DAMN!!!!!! i dont even hold it against him i just cant rlly think of anything else lol sorry this isnt super nuanced

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

DRAW HIM WITH ETHNIC FEATURES!!!!!! this game suffers from severe same face syndrome and it especially shows when the poc just have the white facial structure and darker skin. i love seeing claude with curly hair and thick eyebrows and a roman nose i live for it!!!!!

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

whitewash him,,, this doesnt happen as often anymore in the circles i run in but an angel loses its wings every time claude is drawn pale. even IS is guilty of this (are we rlly surprised tho)

23. Favorite picture of this character?

sorry to acknowledge fraude's existence but a) i rlly like his design in hopes. purple is the perfect accent color for him and i rlly like how he looks without that nasty chinstrap. and b) im rlly amused by the fact that this support chain got???? art???? does this happen at literally any other point in this game lol i was so confused. this made me want art of other supports too. gimme felix carrying dimitri to bed. gimme rodrigue apologizing to felix. i seem to be wanting a lot of images of felix. anyway yeah i like this art lol

[wolfwarrior142]

I finally finished The Final Shape campaign. I was taking my sweet time to really savor it, and I'm glad I did.

It made me cry so much. The whole campaign was made with so much love, but especially those last cutscenes. They were just beautiful and so much love and adoration was put into them. A little bittersweet, but also so amazing and beautiful. The last mission was also very fun and kind of emotional too with a bunch of different well-loved characters joining in.

I've been playing Destiny for over 7 years, since end of March 2017. I've played through all of D1 and D2 with my same character I made all the way back then, with her design never changing from that day. Still remember that first day all those years ago.

And I was a fan of Destiny from the very beginning since I grew up with Halo starting at 11 years old. The Law of the Jungle has been my favorite poem since my early teens, and from the second I saw the Destiny trailer with that in it, and I knew I was hooked. That trailer still makes me feel so much. And the only reason I didn't play Destiny from the very start is because I didn't have my own console to play it on for a few years, but my brother played it from the beginning and I watched him a lot (but he didn't let me make my own character on my own account on his Xbox cuz he's an ass...he's the one that got me into videogames starting with Halo, at least let me try Destiny).

Can't find the right words to describe the kind of emotions I'm feeling rn, after playing the game this long. And after finishing the game with the same character I made from the start, design never changed, from all those years ago, Cerys-8. And with her ghost, Pepin, having the same shell and shader since the first D2 Dawning.

The whole campaign was emotional in the best way. And those last cutscenes....beautiful. Just beautiful. Amazing. All of them made me cry so much, even the artistic one that features all the characters just doing their thing now. And the New Vanguard and the Young Wolf, looking over the City they saved, filled with humans and eliksni and cabal allies, all in one. Protected for now, for the first time in ages. Safe. Happy.

Don't touch me right now I'm so emotional. The beginning of the Red War campaign also made me insanely emotional and is actually the reason why I thought to name Cerys and Pepin anyway, and this is making me even more emotional. I love this so, so much.

[aotopmha]

Spoilers for the entire Dawntrail MSQ!

Here's my post on the side characters.

Wuk Lamat's character isn't as bad to me as some people seem to think it is, but I think I did end up "liking" a lot of the side characters better.

This is actually also an opinion I have about Stormblood's story – eventhough I don't dislike Lyse, either, I take Gosetsu, Yugiri and the Azim Steppe cast above her (except Hien, I think he's really boring).

I just think a lot of the DT side cast is extremely effective in terms of screentime.

Koana's arc about being his honest self comes together when he gives up his position as a Dawnservant candidate to help Wuk, but the campfire scene with him and Thancred and Urianger is still one of my favourites in the expansion because it also ties together with their character arcs.

Aside from acting beyond his mask, he also gains nuance in terms of his absolute perspective regarding the value of technology.

It's a downright layered arc and I enjoy it very much.

I think people are really finger-waggy at Bakool Ja Ja's story because "it solves a bad system in 10 minutes", but I read it as more of a first step, especially in tandem with an aether current quest in the area, which had someone's whole world essentially crumble.

But I liked it for being an honest, earnest exchange between him and Wuk. He's the kind of minor villain trope that isn't the most graceful "redemption arc" because it is too close to a switch flip, but I also see him as pretty strongly in the side character bracket that doesn't really try to be a hyper-complex character.

He got a dark story, but to me it never felt like they wanted for you to cry super hard for him. Be shocked for sure, it is the first tone shift, but not really weeping your eyes out.

It reminds me a lot of the one-off Monster of the Week villain that might eventually become part of the main cast.

I ended up finding him super entertaining after he started supporting everyone in his own way, so I think he's actually not a misinformed redemption arc because he never goes back to being the same asshole, it's just not very gradual or "nuanced".

Next, I really liked Krile's journey.

The lalafell lore was neat.

But her getting to reunite with her parents was the highlight regarding her character and made me cry a bunch because it was both expected and unexpected; I was wondering where the story was going with her character the entire way through and it made so much sense to lean into her origin as an orphan.

On an emotional level, it was closure you would never expect.

I also really like the initial Echo cutscene with no dialog that first revealed her to be from another reflection. I love that kind of "show, don't tell" storytelling.

Otis is another favourite of mine. I love the contrast between his design and personality and just find his knightly behaviour super fun.

I know Zoraal Ja's child is another divisive character, but it's his relationship with Otis that sold his character to me. The campfire scene with them is super sweet. And doing the play with him was good closure. Not quite as tearful to me, but sweet nontheless.

Finally, there is Erenville. He was in a similar situation as Krile to me. The entire way through, I was wondering what they were going to do with him.

And it turns out, pain.

We learn about his mom early on and the entire way through Heritage Found and Solution 9, there is this feeling of unease when we meet her as "a robot".

In fact, I knew there is probably tragedy waiting in regards to her.

She's an absolutely wonderful character. Adore her teasing and "embarrassing mom" energy.

And Erenville is simply another example of how people face loss. And well, he simply couldn't face it.

Who could properly face everything he went through in the short time it is revealed in?

He went home the first time in years and was met with a completely different place he left with the person he probably cares about the most in the most morally horrendous situation you can think of.

His entire role in this expansion was suffering.

So when he finally honestly talked to her at the end, it was another really impactful scene to me.

I mentioned it in another post, but I know there is another pretty prominent complaint about some characters getting too little time in this expansion, but so many of them have just these really strong and meaningful scenes to me.

I'd rather take a character with 3 really meaningful scenes than 10 "simple" ones.

And I really, REALLY hope they don't walk back any of the deaths. Because this time around it really is intrinsic to making the story's point.

And these stories also left a lot of room for exploration for these characters.

Erenville has a newfound motivation for exploration I wholly believe.

Krile has an entire new civilisation to look into.

And I think Koana's interest and perspective on technology could still be explored.

And I actually think they really could do more with Bakool Ja Ja and Gulool Ja, too.

I'm a little worried about there not yet being setup for new true big picture 10-year stuff because all of this could be resolved in the patches, but I get the feeling that key might lead us to it.

I think a lot in the big picture perspective with this story and in that sense, I enjoy that DT left us with so many possible leads.

[oldxenomorph]

i finished act 3 last night and phhhwoah. oh my god. oh my god.

but first, thoughts about the end of act 2.

finally met lord inquisitor xavier calcazar.

being questioned by him was legit a terrifying experience. the most nervous i'd ever been playing a game. stop asking me questions, man. in fact, leave me alone.

(which is what the inquisition should feel like. sometimes i think it's hard to get across just how terrifying the inquisition is and this game does a really good job at that. heinrix's presence is already unsettling, but you can still influence him and even he is subject to being surveilled by his boss. me, my retinue, and everyone on my ship is being watched by the lord inquisitor.)

i don't trust this fool. not one bit.

act 3 happened so fast, i completed it in around two days and i don't think i'm ever getting over just how good/horrifying this experience was.

I WAS NOT AWARE THAT THE ENTIRETY OF ACT 3 TAKES PLACE IN COMMORAGH.

aesthetically, commoragh was made especially for me in a government lab.

the team i took: kibella, yrliet, abelard, pasqal, and argenta.

getting worm shoved into in my brain that made me violently sick and hallucinate being on trial by the inquisition? owlcat have you been looking into my brain?

there really was a point where the moment i was alone, without weapons, without armor, sick as all hell, i was like "oh my god i'm never getting out here. i and my retinue really are going to die here."

i was literally so close to actually crying listening to kibella in the anatomical opera and then talking to her again when we were safe in the shrieker's pit. my love was so traumatized and there was nothing i could do. last time i felt this helpless and distraught was during priority: thessia in me3.

(hearing her stumble over her prayers really made me put down my controller and put my head in my hands.)

however, i did chose the taint/distortion option when talking to her. i really want that heretic romance ending for her. please, she is the love of my life, i need her at my side forever.

tervanitas as also made for me in a government lab. traps him under a highball glass and studies him.

this was probably the most heretical i've been all game. i did the quest where you side with the chaos gods to sabotage commoragh. (which, the cutscene where you unleash chaos into the arena and throughout commoragh was so satisfying. every daemon from every one of the ruinous powers just floods the screen.)

which, i also summoned again to vaporize tervanitas and the haemonucli as a sacrifice. sorry, man. i still think you're neat and will find some use for you.

i recruited marazhai. i'm afraid he is growing on me.

especially since our first real interaction you can grab him by the throat and remind him of his place and he enjoys every second it. maybe i will enjoy having him in my retinue.

both argenta's reveal about theodora and achilleas's off-screen fate were. hm. i'll have to think about some more, but i don't necessarily like the writing for these two instances.

i'm glad ulfar and i also do not trust the lord inquisitor. (also, very cool to actually see a wh40k property do something interesting with omophagea.)

i know it's technically more lore accurate to not forgive yrliet because the majority of humans in wh40k have been indoctrinated into the imperial cult and thus believe that all xenos are bad. but i have mass effect brain and am trying to see things from yrliet's perspective. in the end, i forgave yrliet because her desperation to find out what happened to crudarach was also used against her. (also the reveal of crudarach's fate? insanely fucked up and horrifying. it only made me want to help her more.)

also, love that we got an actual harlequin and that they talk in poetry/riddles. oh nocturne of oblivion we’re really in it now. and thanks for helping me escape.

and then i started act 4 but stopped just after everyone talked to me.

my love kibellah is so strong for enduring commoragh with me, i immediately kissed her when we got back.

also, did not expect jae actually being a former guardsman. genuinely surprised to get some guardsman lore. (i really appreciate this game's take on the imperium, i think having it set on the fringes of the imperium allows for it to explore all these topics and issues.)

[basil-does-arttt]

DMC Questions Anon here!

As we all know today is the 23rd anniversary of the first Devil May Cry game, and the series as a whole. So I want to hear you talk about DMC 1, what you love about it, headcanons you have about it, alternate scenarios you want to share, anything DMC 1 you want to talk about.

Hello again! This is gonna be a long post i have a lot to say lol

DMC 1 was my introduction to the series way back when as a little kid, when i watched an older cousin play it and eventually tried it out myself. This was also the PS2 version, and i was gifted the disc + console as well at some point.

The Alastor cutscene stuck in my head for literal years after i first saw it as a kid, that and DMC 3's mission 20 arena. Every so often it'd pop into my head as a memory, untill recently when i decided to get back into DMC fully rather than just occasionally remembering it.

DMC 1 holds a very special place in my heart because of that, its a huge nostalgia thing for me and is my favourite game in the series.

I love the setting and tone of the game, its so unique compared to the others, of course all in thanks to DMC 1 starting out as RE4. That whole gothic castle, almost horror vibe is something you dont really expect from hack&slash games these days, and even though it made for some real clunky and annoying moments in game (cough cough Nelo 2 and Griffon 2 cough cough...) to me, the good far outweighs the bad.

Oh and the soundtrack! Its so good, every theme works so well in the scene it's used for, even the abient tracks. I will say however, the bg music got real messed up on the HD remaster which is very dissapointing. (it sounds flat and doesn't have any echoing anymore, specicially the divinity statue room and Phantom's church arena in the start of mission 3). It may not be noticable to some who have only played the HD release, but i noticed it immediately coming from the PS2 version oof. I guess i have to be greatful that a HD release exists in the first place though, and it is a very old game. Still.

The combat also, (and this might not be an opinion shared by everyone which is fine) i feel is the smoothest out of any Dante in any game. All the attacks are so responsive, and although you're limited, you can still style on enemies pretty easily.

Finally the bosses. Arguably the best lineup of any DMC game, every boss is fun in it's own way and brings something new to the table in terms of mechanics. Phantom is a lot of timing correctly, Nelo pushes your fighting style to be more agressive and direct, Griffon challenges your dodging skills, Nightmare is a puzzle solving boss, and Mundus is all three. The designs are also amazing, and most of the arenas are perfect. Griffon 2 and nelo 2 aren't so great arenas but their 3rd arenas more than make up for it.

Okay enough of me gushing about how much i love the mechanics, some HCs i have for it!!

1/ That motorcycle Trish bust the door down with (and then throws at Dante) wasn't hers, right? We see it in the into cutscene before it cuts to Dante at his desk. Well, its my HC that was Lady's bike (she was not happy).

2/ (aside from gameplay mechanic reasons) The reason Dante cant use DT at the start of the game, despite having awakened it in DMC 3, is because Dante wants to push away from embracing his demonic side even more so now after his brother has been "killed". He always disliked being part demon and preferred not to tap into his demonic abilities because of that, demons are evil creatures after all and Dante is far from that, but that hate is even further exemplified after Vergil fell into hell.

3/ When Trish split off to fly solo as a devil hunter, she kept the name "Devil Never Cry" for her business. People do often confuse her for Dante's "Devil May Cry" especially when the names are abbreviated. Dante finds it mildly annoying, Trish finds it hilarious. (Sometimes she'll direct clients to Dante out of pity too when they call her number asking for Devil May Cry rather than Devil Never Cry, instead of convincing them she's the right person. Dante however always sends them over to Trish if they've called the wrong number.)

4/ Dante probably knew Trish was trying to lure him to his death on Mallet island, but he went anyways to avenge his family's death. We know he'd been searching for Mundus ever since DMC 3 (it says so in DMC 5's "history of DMC" cutscene), and he knows that finding and killing Mundus wouldn't be nearly as easy as Trish made it seem. Wether he came back or not, he was going to kill Mundus, or at least try.

As for alternate scenarios, i dont have much in mind. Maybe it would be interesting to see a scenario where Trish never betrayed Dante, and instead she tried to help him during the nightmare fight. It still would've ended the same way for her, but maybe also Dante wouldn't have gotten so angry with her when he saved her.

Ugh i just love DMC 1 so much, like i said before it holds a special place in my heart. I hope that answers everything :> <3

[lulu2992]

Deleted dialog from Far Cry 3’s main story

I went through the Far Cry 3 oasisstrings file, which contains all the subtitles (among other in-game text), in search of unreleased lines of dialog from the main story.

I looked at what was available in the sound files, organized all of them in separate folders, checked several gameplay videos to refresh my memory on which lines were in the game, and ended up with a list of all the dialog that, for whatever reason, didn’t make it to the final version of Far Cry 3.

In this series of posts, I’m sharing all the unreleased content I found (minus a few duplicates), even when it wasn’t very interesting, so we have a comprehensive list of the lines that were cut in each story mission.

On a side note, the oasisstrings file never says which character is speaking, so every time you see names, it’s either because the corresponding audio files were available and I know who the speaker is, or because the context made it easy to guess their identity.

Part 1: Make a Break for It

The game opens with a video of Jason and his friends having fun on vacation, but it seems this scene was originally longer. A few of the lines below are still in the game, others were cut but are still available as audio files (and can be listened to here), and the rest is completely gone.

Here’s the dialog from the long version of the “parachute” sequence from the opening cutscene:

Woohoo! Yeah!

Yup.

Locked and loaded, bro.

ETA thirty seconds.

Time to bail.

Daisy, Daisy, check your rig.

I'm going commando.

Yeah, that's my girl. Go baby!

Go baby!

I could do that in my sleep!

Hey, good idea!

You ready to go?

Yeah!

Let's do this!

Hey bro!

Film this!

Awesome!

Hey Jason, try this!

Great! Now rock this!

Hey. Watch it!

[Joyful yell]Riley! I'm coming!

Liza!

You're it!

What?!

I'm catching you!

I'm right behind you!

Sorry![laughs]

Time to bail.

Pull up!

Why, you scared?

You win!

What're you doing?

Having fun! Wooo!

Deploy your chute!

You're crazy, J!

I learned from the best.

[yells] Nothing can stop us!

Nothing!

Woohoo! Yeah!

Awesome! [laughs]

Yeah!

Nice!

Yeah!

Go, Jason!

[cheers] Woo hoo, yeah baby! Let's go! Woo hoo, yeah!

Dude!

Awesome!

Jason! [Cheer]

Yeah!

Awesome!

Nice!

Hey Daisy, watch this! Whoo! Awesome!

Jason! Watch this!

Yeah baby!

This is awesome! Yeah, baby!

Yeah baby!

Woohoo! Yeah!

Daisy, check this out!

Holy shit! Oh my God!

J check this out!

Oh this is awesome! Holy shit!

Hi!

You can also find an early version of this cinematic (without most of the dialog) here.

After the scene with Vaas and Grant getting himself and Jason out of the cage, the two brothers try to snealiky escape the camp. There could have been more dialog between them:

Wait wait.

Slow down.

Jason, we need to get past this guy. Toss a rock over there.

These guys need to go down. I'll take one, you take the other. Follow my lead.

Shh, they're sleeping inside.

Fuck.

Wait here. We need that map.

Come on, J. Pick them up.

Through here, it's all clear.

Oh god.

We're gonna get out of here, okay.

J. Check that door out over there. I'll get this one.

Lunatic.

Got it. [Psst] Over here.

C'mon.

Yeah? [As in, it had to be done]

Shh. Keep low.

Oh shit! Shit! Left, left, Left! C'mon!

Come on, come on, come on, come on!

Climb down after.

Quick, Jason. Hand me the map.

Yeah, yeah. I'm okay.

This is insane.

Shut up! Shhh!

Oh my...

What are you doing? What are you doing? I'm coming, I'm coming.

Oh God. Oh God.

Okay, okay. I'm coming. Shh!

Oh shit! Grant!

You're such a badass, dude.

Okay.

Yeah, okay.

Oh fuck, stop it.

Oh shit!

What the fuck? Stop it, shh!

When they think they’re finally safe, Grant gets shot. There used to be a short exchange between Jason (whose line can be found here) and Vaas immediately after the gunshot:

Vaas: Oh God.[Laugh] This is so dramatic. Jason: You killed my brother, you fuck! Vaas: You killed my brother you motherfucker [Laugh]. Vaas is so mean, huh? Really. No no, Vaas is a meanie hoo hoo.

By the way, one of Vaas’ lines (“I'm gonna give you 30 seconds and if this jungle doesn't eat you up alive, I will.[whistle] Go, go”) always gets cut in the game, but you can listen to the full version here.

Finally, Jason runs away through the forest with Vaas’ pirates after him. There originally was going to be more dialog during this sequence too, mostly from Jason, it seems:

Fuck!

Fuck!

No, no, no! No, no!

Stay away from me.

What's that?

Stay back!

Grant. I'm sorry.

Gotta keep moving.

He went through that cave!

You're dead!

No...no...

Oh God.

Come on. Come on.

I gotta get to the other side. Fast.

Shit!

He falls into the river, and the adventure truly begins.