#and he isn't a major chara like lys

[kyogre-blue]

Oh, huh. what bugged me abt that isn't that they couldn't - after all the alliance HAS been in constant conflict ever since they decided to hunt down the Abundance - it was that, out in the whole wide universe...how the hell is the xianzhou the ONLY ONES who care abt a planet being destroyed? like rlly? yes, maybe in a cosmic scale there's multiple planets dying, but he's asking people for help, not the universe! ugh. can't they set up an intergalactic donations box or something?

well, companion quests are like... genshin story quests/hangout events, except w at least two playable characters talking to each other, but idk what you consider relevant context to main missions if you're skipping dialogue. ik Yanqing has a bit of an arc abt learning moves from jingliu and he meets jingliu in the companion quest > adapts jingliu's moves in mq boss fight (in a blink and you'll miss it line that wasn't at all clear but there you go) > succesfully replicates her move in climax of Finest Duel (II), so it may seem to come out of nowhere if you don't do it. like it's definitely not one of the better companion quests, you could just watch the cutscenes and get the idea, but it's one of the most relevant ones. Do you count trailblaze continuance as main story, or...?

The animations Ichor of Two Dragons and A Flash are much cooler than what actually went down in the luofu so I can dream lmao. But for real, who wrote those? They should actually write in the game. They know how to set up a climax, for one.

Characterwise you won't care, but fandom liked to characterise yanqing as a brat and a punching bag until he finally got a W in recent quests and I'm sick and tired of it so...

intro in mq as fighting prodigy who hits his first major roadblock (aka loses badly three times in a row to legendary fighters, one in his cq and two in mq. he's unfortunately infamous for this) > gets his insecurities aired out against his will, we learn that he has lost all his confidence and is desperate to prove himself > trying to balance acceptance of his limits with knowledge that they don't define him, compare and contrast w a new child prodigy chara who IS actually immature so we can see his growth.

Anyways I don't want to start more live service games so between geshin and hsr I honestly like hsr more. gl w your sunday and aventurine pulls!

Hm, well...

There was one thing I noticed, and that is how the game says "no one helps others out of the goodness of their hearts" in almost the exact same words over and over again.

I think I saw it first in Wardance, where it seemed to be part of Topaz explaining her section away as just teaching Belobog an important life lesson, that they can't keep relying on the MC to solve their problems and/or support them. They have to stand up on their own because the universe is a big, scary place full of nasty, powerful organizations (like... the IPC, presumably).

But this is also repeated at least twice in Belobog, whenever we try to say that we're here to deal with the Stellaron. Everyone immediately goes "oh, just because you're nice?? sus, we don't believe you, you're obviously lying."

And then, it has also already been brought up again in Luofu (I'm still on the first act). "Oh, you're here to deal with the Stellaron? Like you always do on multiple worlds, as we've heard since we know about the Astral Express already? Sus, no one does things out of principles, you're lying."

So at the very least, the writers really love having the altruism of the main crew questioned.

But they probably also just generally believe that people are extremely selfish and will not do anything without benefit to them, so asking strangers for help is pointless and Igor was wasting his time. The correct answer was always just to go home and die fighting for his country.

(You can even tie in how the entire plot of Luofu is kicked off by Elio deciding that they need to make sure the Luofu owes the Express a huge favor, so that can be cashed in during a future battle for the sake of the universe. Because you see, the Luofu wouldn't do shit during this massive future conflict of galactic scale, where we are presumably on the side of all life and civilization, without first owing us a personal favor.)

Realistically, they're not that wrong, but I find it annoying to have this be treated as a legitimate point of distrust so often.

As for me, I..... probably still like Genshin way more. The writing is bad for both, both don't let you skip, but Genshin has way more to do.

[cavaliant]

Abandoned mask?

Send in ‘Abandoned Mask’ to meet a muse I’ve had in the past that I no longer roleplay.

“…Augustine, my friend. Will you not reconsider my proposal?”

Team Flare’s operations have been going quite smoothly as of late, and yet a part of him cannot help but imagine what more they could do with his friend by his side. Augustine Sycamore is (despite his surprisingly low self-esteem) a brilliant man, and Lysandre has no doubt that having him work for Lysandre Labs would benefit them both immensely. For one thing, Augustine is the foremost expert on Mega Evolution; for another, his opinions on Lysandre’s research and hypotheses are always fascinating, and having him close (well, closer) at hand would be very much welcomed. On Augustine’s end, having a steady, abundant source of funding to enable him to work on all the Mega Evolution projects his heart desires…well, what more could a scientist want?

Except it seems like he could want something else indeed, because still he will not relent. Lysandre has no interest in forcing the issue; some are chosen and some are not, and though it is regrettable that his friend will not be among the chosen (yet), perhaps one day…perhaps one day, he will join them and assist Lysandre in fulfilling his calling of working towards a more beautiful world. A world free of all the filth choking the life from it now, free of suffering, of waste, free of all the disgusting people taking and taking without regard for anyone but themselves…

“…Very well. I can see that you are quite firm in your choice. I can understand why you want to hold onto a position you’ve worked so hard for–a position you well deserve, never forget that. Still, if you ever reconsider, my doors will always be open to you.”

Augustine smiles and bobs his head as always, thanking Lysandre profusely even as he sways slightly where he stands. And now that Lysandre is looking more closely at him–those bags under his eyes are rather more pronounced than usual, aren’t they? He sighs, massaging his temple, and spins them both back around.

“And please, Augustine–remember to consume more than just coffee before you make your way back to work. I have told you countless times that caffeinated drinks do not constitute a meal…here, let me fetch you something from the café. No payment necessary–consider it my incentive for you to start looking towards a balanced diet.”

(Lysandre, Pokémon XY)