#and then doubled down on it in the dlc which is SO funny

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Ok so, before the indigo disk released I heard there was going to be people with competitive movesets, so before it released I literally made myself an entire competitive team. IM A CASUAL PLAYER 😭😭 and I just think it’d be really funny that carmine and kieran would probably think i’m just gonna stroll up with my usual team but nope swords dance + scale shot 💃 if you could write their reactions to the new squad I just think it’d be funny lmao

(If you want the team I made for reference, it was koraidon, ogerpon, chien-pao, blood moon ursaluna, armarouge, and a shiny slither wing because I felt like having a shiny so I hunted one lol)

- 🪑🥚

Bro I went into the Indigo Disk 100% blind so you can imagine my shock when I realized double battles were gonna be everywhere </3

I mostly had a "fuck it we ball" mentality going through it (which made some battles go on for WAY too long), but later I taught my Ceruledge Poltergeist when I realized almost every NPC in the dlc uses held items.

Funny enough Ogerpon (with Spiky Shield) and BM Ursaluna were on my team. He was an absolute TANK with the assault vest and he knocked out Hydrapple with a Moonblast

Anyways enough rambling and onto the request!

......

Kieran

He was expecting your usual team when you started challenging the BB Elite Four, rolling his eyes at the thought of you trying to use the same old tactics to defeat him.

But he's changed. He's gotten stronger and wanted you to be surprised by what he can do now.

Instead, though, when you arrive to the championship battle...not only did you bring out Ogerpon with her teal mask to (supposedly) insult him, but you also had Chien-Pao, which may spell trouble for his Dragonite.

He'll admit, you were clever to bring a Pokémon who could lower the defense of all the others and cut their HP in half with Ruination..but he doesn't give up yet.

Seeing a shiny that looked like a Volcarona but fluffier was certainly bewildering--as is the Bloodmoon Ursaluna you managed to tame back in Kitakami and the Armarouge who sets up a Psychic Terrain to boost its Expanding Force, allowing it to hit two of his Pokémon at once.

Oh, and apparently you have not one but TWO Koraidons, with the one you brought into battle being more brash and a fierce fighter in its Apex build.

You set that one up with a Swords Dance + Scale Shot combo that absolutely kicks ass, somehow striking your opponents 4-5 times whenever you command it.

Kieran's certainly gotten smarter about his team, but so have you, and he's livid about it.

It was like you enjoyed knocking him down over and over again...yet he can't hear the reluctance in your voice as you utter the final move that finishes off his Hydrapple.

You knew you had to win. He needed to be humbled.

But it didn't feel good at all as you watched him crumble and Drayton rub his loss in his face.

Carmine

When you battled her, she (like her brother) expected to see some familiar faces on your team.

Yet you surprised her (in a good way, very much unlike her brother) with Ogerpon, and she smiles and asks if she missed her, with the legendary responding with a small hop and a happy trill....

Followed by a devastating Ivy Cudgel that lands a critical hit on her Pokémon.

Yeah, she can definitely tell you've been training the Ogre a lot, but she's proud of how confident she's grown nevertheless.

Seeing you have both Chien-Pao and another Koraidon working in tandem is impressive, especially with that Ruination + Swords Dance + Scale Shot combo you pulled.

BM Ursaluna and Shiny Slither Wing are the only two that genuinely shock Carmine, as she's only seen one in myths and the other....she's never seen in her entire life.

But after the trip to Area Zero, she understands Slither Wings better (although she's amazed you managed to find a shiny down there).

Either way, those two are powerhouses.

She remembered you talking about a little lonely Charcadet you found during an outbreak, and to see it has grown up into a mighty Armarouge was such a sweet thing to see.

You clearly took the time to plan out your team before coming to the Blueberry Academy.

Carmine found your battle to be fun.

Although she can't exactly say Kieran will feel the same way..considering Ogerpon is with you and you have some new tricks up your sleeve.

But she figured he oughta find that out for himself.

[kiyrian]

Since we get several Alan's through the game my theory is this:

The "insane" Alan in AW1 DLC -> Scratch in AW2

Mr. Scratch in AW American Nightmare -> Zane in AW2

My rumbling why under the cut

In the Dlc to the first game we see Alan's split himself in two. One part of him wants to fight, to get back to Alice and Barry and everyone he loves. The other is done, he is fed up with himself, and any further tries at escaping. He is rumbling about the darkness. Only when the Alan we play as, the still hopeful one gets to him, pats him on the back they once again become a one person.

For me this version of Alan - one that is hopeless, overtaken by his own Darkness is a previous iteration of what we see in Scratch in AW2. This hopelessness and anger and guilt just manifesting as a 1. Living double in AW1 DLC 2. A dark force that can overtake Alan but can also overtake others. Maybe because is stronger now as a parautilitatian, maybe because it finally has someone else to posses. Although in the second case it still travels after Alan like a lost puppy ("see I made us happy, you're the best author ever now!" - which seems like a daydream someone who is done with reality would escape to). So it's rooted in Alan's insecurities and doubts about himself, just manifested outside.

On the other hand we have Mr. Scratch from American Nightmare. A more playful, outright sadistic version of Alan. He isn't as much grief as he is creativity without moral bounds mixed with 2015 villain vibes. (I love him but I also know "I can't decide" by heart so I'm not a good point of comparison). He is the personification of how public saw Alan - at least when it came to scandals. He has one more quiet moment but seems to give up on trying to work with Alan rather quickly. And of course the Happy Song about how much of a psycho he is. The song that only shows up in AW2 when Zane is there. Zane who offers drinks, goes around half naked, dances with a camera and acts out shooting Alan (with finger guns). Also Zane who seemed soo moved by Scratch'es writing. Zane who is a movie maker (Mr. Scratch in AN did make those movies for Alan...).

So what's happened to Thomas Zane the original? He is gone. The original has been gone for a long time, we have never met him. For what we can see if his photo in the first game he had a short, light hair. He went down with possesed Barbara but then escaped to that bubble world just for them. So we meet the Bright Presence inside his body that guides Alan in AW1. Mr. Scratch doesn't even kick out the Bright Presence from the body - he is simply convincing everyone that Zane always looked like that in AW2.

Also the poems Zane quotes are the same ones that have been delivered in the ARG through the shoeboxes. I think that our Zane is built up from those scraps left by the original Thomas Zane. Yet since the poet has scratched himself from existence there isn't much left and besides Mr. Scratch is too much fun to just be a poet. Nooo, he must be celebrated. He must be dramatic, stage being killed (making Alan sad over supposedly killing his friend) only to smile and spout poetry

The question then would be: where is the Light Presence?

Here I am less sure. Maybe it is still helping Alan but grew weaker as time went by? Maybe that's how the bullet of light got created - it was the Presence that helped Alice. Maybe Mr. Scratch/Zane just destroyed it (I don't think so, but it's a maybe).

Also isn't this funny how much Thomas Zane haunts the story? He's been dead since the '70s but his writing, his visage and his fight for the woman he's loved echo through the whole series

[moe-broey]

AUGH Pokemon Scar/Vio DLC spoilers below bc I'm NOT gonna have anyone to talk about this with for a little while LMFAOOO

God I wish when Kieran ran off with the mask, challenged you to a battle to get it back, and lost that battle. I DESPERATELY WISH he just ran off with the mask again anyway. LIKE. For one could you imagine how fucking funny that would have been LMFAO but also!!!!! I think something like that happening would have absolutely raised the stakes, AND would have given you a reason to be mad at him. I think, what Kieran needed MOST as a character and the development they're taking with him, is for him to have moments where he doubles down and is stubborn and bratty.

LIKE. This is going to get SO incoherent LMFAO but I'm thinking about Hortensia Fire Emblem's whole character arc, where you meet her and she's bratty right off the bat. But the thing that GETS me about her is that she doubles down. She's stubborn. And you see Why, you see her scared and hurt and traumatized as she's trying to figure out what to do next. And what REALLY makes her character to me, is when not even Ivy being on your side is enough for her to join you. She still needs time. And by "time", I mean needs to keep digging her grave deeper because she just can't stop yet. LIKE. She's acting out. Which isn't me invalidating anything, like, I'm struggling to find the words for it but she's just 14 about it you know. Something SO horrible has happened and you feel SO MUCH about it that not even your older sister can talk sense into you, at least not right now.

I THINK. The connection I want to make here is that I think Kieran has SO MUCH POTENTIAL as a blooming antagonistic character, he just NEEDED a moment like Hortensia has with Ivy. Where she doubles down on her path. And I think Kieran, maybe initially planning on keeping his word... when you defeat him, and everything just wells up inside and overtakes him. I think THAT would have been a fantastic and shocking moment, if you could see him make that decision to Make Things Worse in real time. And I can only IMAGINE the reaction that would have gotten out of Carmine too!!!

AND. CARMINE. CARMINE. I FIND HER SO FASCINATING. LIKE. Yeah yeah overheard a conversation/misunderstanding tropes are cliche and can be super annoying as a storytelling device. AUGH BUT I FEEL LIKE IT COULD ACTUALLY WORK FOR THEM..... with how both of them Are. I think Carmine and Kieran have SUCH incompatible personalities and there is SO much to explore there. Like. It's established as soon as you meet them, that they must be close and care for each other. You see it in how Carmine looks after Kieran, speaking up for him when he's struggling to, and you see how Kieran admires and looks up to her as he cheers her on in battle. But you ALSO see that Carmine has the emotional intelligence of a brick and she is naturally just. Abrasive and temperamental, with an ego. ALL. HORRIBLE TRAITS TO HAVE IN ONE REALLY HAHAH (I love her though). And you see that Kieran is EXTREMELY sensitive, shy and mopey.

BUT ALSO. WHAT GETS ME ABOUT KIERAN ACTUALLY. Is how you See those traits evolve and twist into more detrimental versions of themselves. AND you start seeing some Similarities he has with Carmine. He also is temperamental. He also has an ego. THIS. WAS SO COOL TO SEE TBH!!! Espppp seeing the uglier aspects of being "shy" and "sensitive". Traits that are really easy to make endearing and to woobify. It's easy to look over just how destructive these traits can get, when you take things too personally and then shut yourself off completely. AND. THE EGO. ADDED ONTO THIS. The fact that he IS a sore loser, the fact that he DOES get bratty about it. Like, I think another thing I really appreciate about Kieran is he acts his age. He quickly starts to feel like the entire world is against him AND he's 14 about it.

In turn, I think I really appreciate how Carmine is so much just an older sister. Like. Yeah, she has a temper and an ego. But also, I think you see that she's a pretty good sport actually. She's competitive, but she's not actually holding anything against you (beyond like, her frustrations about her home town feeling like a tourist spot -- which like! I think is reasonable actually, to dislike that). Like. She's abrasive, she's prideful, but ultimately she does have an air of maturity. She is Not 14 about it. On account of not being 14, unlike her little brother LMFAOOO (ALSO!!! I think it's clear how much she Does care too, how she does end up looking out for you, how she congratulates you and hypes you up... like!!! She's just a little bit of a jackass LMFAO but I love her for it)

And like ultimately maybe all this is just set up for a slow burn, as Kieran goes sicko mode LMFAO but I REALLY wish. There was at least ONE moment where he did something that's just a dick move. And REALLY digs his heels in. Makes it clear, compromise is NOT an option for him, not right now. That, for a while, no one is going to be able to reach him, not even his sister. He just needs to get it out of his system.

Plus, I think it would be incredibly useful for the player to have a reason to be mad at him, because GOD. I HATE. MORE THAN ANYTHING. When Pokemon gives you rivals you just feel bad for!!!!!! Like I just pity him!!!! I think he's right to feel the way he does and I think he has every right to act out. And like, I think I'd Still feel that way actually, if he did actively make bad choices that just makes everything worse and Isn't particularly palatable about it LMFAO. BUT. At VERY least, if he pulled a dick move, I can have something justifiable to want to fight him over. Lowkey Takumi feelings actually, where one of my favorite things about him is When he's an asshole, and it IS entirely on him, like... it's vindicating to see other characters push back. I, as the player, want the characters to get his ass for it. And it's rewarding, when he does come around (either immediately or after some time), and tries to make up for it. Like.... give me a reason to WANT to get Kieran's ass. Piss EVERYONE off in the process, ESPECIALLY your sister for the angst and drama of it all!! I just feel like I stomped on a little autistic boy's dream and stole away the object of his special interest HSKAHKSHA dude THIS SUCKS 😭😭😭😭😭

AUGH!!!!!!!!!! Anyway misc thoughts

The townspeople's turnaround about the ogre off screen was SO STUPID LMFAOOO LIKE. Like yeah yeah Pokemon game......... but you know what else was a Pokemon game. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky. LIKE AGSJHSJSJSJJ I FEEL LIKE SUUUUCH A CRAZY RAMBLY OLD MAN but Pokemon Scarlet/Violet HAD THE POTENTIAL. TO BE ON THAT LEVEL. I THINK. PERSONALLY. ON A STORYTELLING FRONT. And AGAIN I feel like there could have been potential here.

Like I think the main issue is the story even in the canon itself took place in too short of a time to develop in the way I think it deserved. But I'm thinking about the whole Process in PMD2 of returning from the Future, you, your partner, and Grovyle. How the three of you Can't just go back to the guild, especially Grovyle in tow, a wanted outlaw in this time period. How it takes days, of laying low, planning carefully, gathering intel, and hitting a wall, before finally deciding you really have no where else to turn BUT Wiggletuff's Guild. AND. AND. THE WHOLE PROCESS. THAT WHOLE THING CHATOT PUTS YOU THROUGH. AFTER TELLING YOUR STORY. Where Every Single Guild Member Individually has to decide, no, Chatot, I'm with Hero and Partner actually. Up against The Great Dusknoir's reputation, Grovyle's reputation, and your standing as the most recent additions to the guild versus Chatot's standing, Wiggletuff's right hand man, second in command, a respected authority figure.

LIKE........ I just think. With the folklore surrounding Ogrepon and the Loyal Three. Even if they didn't have That Much Time to build up to it exactly like that (speaking canonically, school trip constraints), I think. Even just a scene where You're part of trying to tell the town the truth about Ogrepon and the Loyal Three, AND you see the inital pushback, especially from an authority figure (maybe the Caretaker?) would have been enough. Especially would have been nice to see, instead of every NPC talking about how they got things wrong -- if there was divide and conflict, some believing you and feeling regretful towards how Ogrepon was treated, and others not believing you at all, ESPECIALLY as an outsider, who are you to tell us our history? AND even a few NPCs who are on your side, but are still in a state of disbelief or feeling betrayed. Like. Make us feel the weight of Why Carmine and Kieran's family kept this a secret for generations. (ALSO LITERALLY DIDN'T THEIR ANCESTOR TRY TO TELL THE TRUTH AND WAS HARSHLY DISMISSED AND CRITICIZED???? Why would Kieran be treated differently now for doing the same thing???????)

I guess last thoughts about Carmine and Kieran I didn't get to earlier but. I think you can See, as the story plays out, where there is this building frustration that turns to resentment from Kieran, towards how Carmine treats him. How, while she does speak up for him, she also speaks over him. What she sees as probably tough love or standard older-sibling teasing, HE takes it just. So personally. And it festers. It seems he feels ignored, dismissed and invalidated -- and his dialogues where he is mopey, and Carmine (almost on the right track), calls it for what it is -- her baby brother just being a baby. Like, I say "Almost on the right track", because in a way she Is Right. He's Very Loudly sulking and pouting, she sees this and sees he's being 14 about it. But she fails to consider just how much Kieran internalizes this treatment, of being teased and having others around you be told "He'll get over it". WHICH... even if he does. Even if he will. Something that JUMPS out to me IS how loudly he's moping and sulking, how dramatic it is. To me, it's like a cry for attention, for someone to listen to him and take his feelings seriously.

THIS. IS WHAT I MEANT BEFORE. When I talked about how the misunderstanding trope actually lends itself SO well to these two characters, as siblings who do love each other, but there IS this emotional distance. Where Carmine looks over Kieran's feelings, and doesn't know what to do with them, and Kieran is going to internalize all of this until he implodes. And when he DOES implode, when it feels like his entire world is crashing and burning around him (in a way, it IS his whole world!)... he doesn't trust her at all. Whether Carmine meant to or not (which, I don't think she has ever meant to hurt him, I do think it's the incompatibility), Kieran has been made to feel like he's an outcast, like his feelings don't matter, and no matter what he does, no one is going to listen to him or care about him. WHICH IS. AGAIN. WHY. I THINK HE NEEDS TO FUCK SHIT UP MORE. That is the GO TO thing to do when you're a kid and you feel this way LMFAOOO

Aughghhh........ Pokemon Scarlet and Violet you have so much potential I just wish you'd FOLLOW THROUGH and PUT YOUR WHOLE PUSSY INTO IT (AND MAYBE THEY WILL. IN THE FUTURE. THIS IS THE FIRST DLC. HOWEVER. I do think there are certain areas in general, like the ogre ordeal, where they just dropped the ball 😔)

[extraneousdominomask]

What I did on my summer vacation

As you've no doubt gathered by now, for the last two years I've been playing various old games with my wife. I often used to post about that adventure here, and then I kinda stopped. I feel bad about that, especially when it comes to the two excellent, free indie games I had fully intended to spotlight. So here's a quick rundown!

Celeste, OJONMRAG, Double Cross

Three great indies I got in the same bundle. Celeste needs no introduction, and I've spoken about it before. I don't know if I ever mentioned Oh Jeez Oh No My Rabbits Are Gone!!!, but it's a fun puzzle game with cute visuals and surprisingly catchy music. And speaking of those two things, Double Cross is a hidden gem of a game. We really enjoyed its eclectic cast, and still sometimes quote the zany catgirl in particular. ("All cats are tyrants, Zahra.")

Manic Miners

Lego Rock Raiders was a toy line in the 1990s, which earned its own video game tie-in. I remember it fondly... as did one absolute hero, who remastered the dang thing as a non-profit passion project. Manic Miners is available via Itch for free - because it's a fan game! He had to ask very nicely to do this at all! - and it completely revitalizes what was an engaging but flawed fuzzy memory from my childhood. As well as adding several quality of life improvements to make the game flow better, cut content is restored and entirely new features are added in, such as a character creator. If you want an accessible game that can provide the sweet, sweet satisfaction of collecting every scrap of resources from a initially messy environment, I highly recommend this.

inFamous 2: Festival of Blood

An important thing to know about me is that I hate vampires. I don't like 'em and I don't like looking at 'em, so I usually avoid and and all vampiric media, even if they're getting slaughtered. For that reason, despite loving inFamous 2, I never checked out its DLC side-adventure Festival of Blood... until now. (Making a new purchase on the PS3 digital store was hard, but not impossible. Thanks for complaining every time they try to shut it down, everybody!) It's a short experience, but a lot of fun, thanks to the wise decision to let Zeke narrate the whole bullshit stor- I mean, thrilling tale of true heroism. I found Bloody Mary to be an entertainingly nasty villain, despite my biases.

Psychonauts 2

Psychonauts is one of the video games ever, no question. Expectations were lofty for its much-delayed sequel. If anything, I think I prefer this one! The core (the gameplay, visuals, hilarious writing, and Peter McConnell's consistently excellent music) all remain unchanged, with new mechanics, some quality of life improvements, and an impressive voice cast all added on top. Jack Black and Elijah Wood are both in this game, and they're both great!

Pokémon White

this one kinda sucked ngl

Halo: Combat Evolved

Mostly, I'm showing my wife a game and not the other way around. There was one major franchise that I had almost entirely missed, however - aside from a few free-form skirmishes at parties - that she fondly remembers. This summer, we both experienced the first Halo together, and in short: yeah, I can see why this changed the course of the industry singlehandedly. It still feels great to play, even with my wife assuring me that the sequel is a big improvement from these already solid bones. I frankly don't relish slaughtering the fleeing, crying Grunts, since we as a society have moved on considerably when it comes to the rights of funny little guys. But it feels great to shoot aleins and Cortana is my friend. Exactly as advertised.

Jak II: Renegade

this one definitely sucked, holy shit. I remember this being a good game. I remembered incorrectly.

Shantae (2002)

I've played two of the more recent Shantae games, and I found them charming. But how does the original hold up? Pretty well, honestly! It's far from perfect - the day and night cycle really adds nothing beyond referencing Castlevania - but the music and visuals are truly impressive for the original GameBoy. I'm gonna be thinking about Shantae's cute little 8-bit dances for a while.

Undertale Yellow

Like anyone who listens to a lot of Toby Fox's music over YouTube, I've seen my fair share of dubious OCs and "epic fights" floating at the corner of my vision. With that in mind, I went into UY with managed expectations, despite the positive buzz. Could a fangame really match the unique energy and charm of one of the greatest independent games of our generation?

Uh... yeah! I'm as surprised as anyone else, but everything from the music to the gameplay to the writing was really bang-on. It's not a flawless experience - the El Bailador fight needed reworking, it was WAY harder than other, more impactful fights - but the eight years of passion very much shine through. If you're a fan of UT/DR and need something to tide you over as we all wait for Chapters 3+, I fully recommend this. It's free!!!!

Spyro the Dragon (1998)

Finished this just yesterday! I got the remaster when it came out, but - no offense - nothing beats the blocky low-poly charm of the original. This was my first time replaying it in several years, and for the first time, it felt small. Levels I remember struggling with posed no challenge any more. But I think that only speaks to how many times I replayed this lovely little adventure. Also, did you know that of the, like, four voice actors in this game, one of them is Clancy goddamn Brown? He plays like 30 of these polygonal dragons!

...I would normally try to end a post this long on a more climactic note, but, uh... yeah.

[solradguy]

Imagining that instead of going to the corporate controlled Google they traveled the mountains to ask the wise hermit SolRadGuy…

oh great SolRadGuy, knowledgeable in so many things…the winter cometh to my village and stay for far longer than we could bear. We have long run out of fire wood! In the chill of winter, what shall warm our breast and feed our children?? What DLC character do you predict??????

I'm laughing about it tbh but it was such a funny thing to open my ask box and see; like, when have I ever offered any kind of animal advice before haha Surely it would have been almost 10 minutes faster plugging it into a search engine.

Elphelt, Johnny, and Dizzy seem highly plausible for the next character, those 3 are incredibly popular. Though, the next character is supposed to come with a new stage. Dizzy already has two maps in the game that would fit the themes her past stages have had (the forest map and Illyria Castle) and Johnny has the Jellyfish Pirates map already. They could add another Illyria map or another Jellyfish map but it feels unlikely they'd double down on ideas so soon. Elphelt also has the bonus of this year being the year of the rabbit, which I think gives her good odds.

There's a chance it's an entirely new character too, and ASW are impossible to predict. It really could be anyone. They could bring back Kliff or HOS. It could be Crow or Ariels or Robo-Ky II. It's anyone's guess haha

[miloscat]

[Review] Darksiders III (PS4)

Great-siders.

After the development of Darksiders II, Vigil Games shut down, tied up in the bankruptcy of THQ. A successor studio emerged in the form of Gunfire Games, whose first task was the next-gen port/remaster of DS2. After a few original titles they then pitched THQ’s successor THQ Nordic on a true sequel. With a slight shift in both development staff and the game’s genre and inspirations, I reckon they finally nailed it.

While the first two games combined Zelda’s puzzling and dungeoneering with character action combat, this one sits firmly at the feet of From Software’s Soulsborne games. The combat is now deliberate and punishing with an increased importance on dodging and countering, albeit more fast-paced and flashy. The “soul retrieval” mechanic, the exploration/shortcut/checkpoint loop, and the upgrade economy are also familiar. Meanwhile puzzles and platforming are mixed in, in much the same way as Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order handled things, and with similar success (despite much less budget, I’m sure).

Fury is even lighter on her feet than Death, springing around with her signature whip and double-jumping by default. But the whip can transform, and the new elemental mode system enables both new weapon types and movement abilities to find new paths and hidden goodies in the sprawling, inter-connected game world. I favoured the Flame Hollow for its triple-jump and quick claws (each of the four modes, unlocked gradually over the game, has a default weapon type and a second one found in a DLC zone which expands on the modes’ puzzle potential).

The writing and story in these games has been so inconsistent that I had to look into the situation. Comics writers Joe Madureira and Joe Kelly were responsible for the undercooked first game, with THQ ringers Paul DeMeo and David Slagle brought in to script the second with positive results, while Madureira presumably oversaw things to some extent as studio creative director. With Madureira not in the picture anymore—although he has relatives credited on this game and Genesis—the story duties were outsourced to Man of Action (co-founded by the same Joe Kelly), the creators of Ben 10 and other children’s cartoons and comics. They are capable of stories pitched a little older though, as evidenced here.

Fury is a fun protagonist, a hotheaded and aloof firebrand who actually has an arc and becomes more reflective and purposeful by the end. She plays off a female equivalent to Mark Hamill’s Watcher character from the first game, who seemingly simps for Fury until her sudden but inevitable betrayal. Ulthane the ogre-man also returns from the first game as a protector of humanity, among other decently well-drawn side characters and series mainstay Vulgrim the mercantile demon, who acts as your bonfire proxy. The villainous faction are chaotic personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins, a trite concept but with some fun designs. However...

The story frustrated me in its scope, as AGAIN the whole plot has been set up as a prequel, which makes three entire games (including Genesis) which have refused to resolve a now thirteen-year cliffhanger! A successor studio returning to the property only to kick the can down the road yet further was underwhelming to say the least, and while I think the writing and even voice acting is the best it’s been, I can’t help but feel deflated that ultimately this game does little for the overall story other than establish what Fury (and Strife, shh) was doing during the same exact timeframe. The game even ends with almost the exact same post-credits scene that Darksiders II did. It’s actually kind of funny in retrospect, and the annoyance comes only from my own expectations, but I’m not too out of line here am I?

At least they do some cool things within that context, like giving humanity a role in the cosmology beyond hapless victims, letting Fury confront the Council, giving her some pathos with the death of her horse (which also neatly does away with that gameplay mechanic to suit the structure of the game world this time around). I appreciated the improvement on the series’ track record on female characters, with more prominent women this time. The setting of this brutalised Earth twisted by mystic forces is also done well, and looks great.

While I find certain story choices baffling, I like that DS3 is doing its own thing to some extent and that thing works. The only joy I got out of combat in the first game was knocking fools into pits, the second game was mostly swapping between light and heavy attacks for me, but here at last I found truly engaging dynamics. They’ve ditched what didn’t work from the last games, rethought things, and the product is all the better for it. Oh, and the Void DLC is a worthwhile addition but the combat arena one was boring and pointless.

[couldbebetterforsure]

Hey there guys, long time no post!!! But I finally had time to make a bit more progress in Engage (yay!!!!) so now I have a new update for you! Oh and I added my reaction to Tiki’s paralogue, which I forgot to mention last time!

Tiki’s Paralogue: I completely forgot to write down my thoughts on Tiki’s paralogue in my last update!!! I did it I think a short bit after I did Jean’s paralogue? Which is funny considering I’ve basically glued Jean and Tiki together for this playthrough! The paralogue itself was lots of fun despite the fact it took me FOREVER to finish it! I had poor Chloe slowly making her way around the perimeter to get that Silver Card from that random spot in the back (which bless because I am dirt poor in this playthrough so getting shit for half off is beautiful 🙏) And then there were those healers who are completely blocked off so I HAD to have Chloe take them out otherwise anyone else in my army would get trapped. The white dragons and Tiki herself were the most threatening ones of the enemies on this map. Especially Tiki, my sweet girl hit like a fucking TRUCK! Her conversation with Marth was super cute! I’m glad Alear now has a fellow divine dragon to speak to after Lumera’s death.

Chapter 10: Veyle honey thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction! Excuse me as I ignore that really unsettling moment you had before you disappeared. Yup I knew it ripperoni in pepperoni Morion 🫡 Jokes aside I did like the guy enough that his death was sad, especially with how upset poor Diamant and Alcryst were over it. The music for this map was SO good, especially the chanting that starts up once you break into the room in the center! Of COURSE I went and had Diamant and Alcryst take on Morion I need that juicy dialogue! And WOW that was depressing. Honestly that was some of the saddest battle dialogue I’ve seen to date. Diamant wondering if he was a good son and Alcryst telling his dad he loves him all while Morion can only growl and groan as a Corrupted. Alear’s own dialogue was also sad as well. Hyacinth was a pain in the ass between Lyn’s super fat reaching arrows and that cloning thing! But once I finally got to him POW he went down! Ha ha getting snacked on by the very evil demon snake dragon you summoned is a perfect end for you Hyacinth. Wow Veyle was the evil girl? I’m sooooo shocked…In all seriousness though, the VA does a good job of making Veyle sound distinct enough in both versions that by voice alone I wouldn’t say they were the same. And I get the feeling the nice Veyle is not so fake. WHAT? The fuck do you mean you’re taking my Emblems?????? Marth, Sigurd, Celica, Micaiah, Leif, Roy 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 Give me my babies back you piece of shit snake!!! WTF the time crystal too???? I can’t rewind turns anymore? Do you have ANY idea how shit my luck is?! Seriously what an interesting turn! Giving you several chapters of using the Emblems and then taking them away! How evil!

Chapter 11: Ooh right into the next map huh? With more really lovely map music! An escape chapter? That’s a new one! ……Hold it no time rewind and no Emblems with MY garbage luck??? AND random enemies will have the evil red versions of my Emblem buddies? Yeah long story short I had to restart this map A BUNCH. At least they didn’t take away the DLC Emblems so Jean (with Tiki) and Celine (with the 3H lords) weren’t nerfed. I’ve heard that some people ended up with some pretty shitty Alears who were only holding on thanks to the Emblems. I wasn’t one of those people but yeah my Alear still was not as good as she was when she had an Emblem attached! And wow I was so used to my Yunaka doubling as another healer since she and Micaiah had been glued together until now…..Oh Ivy? And Kagetsu and Zelkov as well? Zelkov my man!!!!! Yoinking back the time crystal I love you!!!!! And Ivy giving us two Emblems in Lyn and MY BABY GIRL LUCINA 🥳🥳🥳🥳 My sweetest daughter you’re safe at last!!!! And Ivy, Kagetsu and Zelkov join! Heck yeah more fire power, I can rewind time again AND I got a couple Emblems! The rest of the map was a lot more straightforward after that. Lucina was so fun to use especially with her “everyone dog pile on this sucker” ability! And Lyn was great with her long reaching arrows. And now I have Kagetsu that demon man on my side now! The after battle dialogue was pretty good too, from Alcryst being angry at Ivy to basically everyone blaming themselves for the disaster to Alear’s growth and determination to be better to both Lyn and Lucina giving their own advice and support. But my other Emblem babies 🥺🥺🥺 I’ll save you guys!!!!!

Chapter 12: I got to promote both my Alear and Alfred and I am so glad! Alfred’s flower crown got even more flowery~! And Alear can punch shit now HELL YEAH!!!! When do we get access to unlimited Master Seals because the few I have can only take me so far….Anyways, it’s on to Solm! Sun, sad, desert….I would die I am not good with heat. And welp we’ve all gotten our asses lost. Beautiful….Oh but here comes Fogado to save us from dying of heatstroke! A Sentinel huh? Sure buddy I’ll help you out if you lead us to the palace! I like Fogado he’s friendly and charming, even if he’s another now user I need to test my luck on. And what a duo he has with him! Bunet seems to talk in nothing but good metaphors. And Pandreo, a howling party priest I love that!!!! Oh fuck we gotta protect ally villagers? *sigh* Alright bring on the garbage…*sees the villagers are not in enemy range and don’t otherwise move themselves into danger* Oh fucking bless! A very easygoing mission even with the quicksand, probably as an apology for the last couple maps. I really love Solm’s battle music it’s so 💃💃💃💃💃 you know? Anyways battle is over and Fogado leads us to the palace and what!!!! He’s the prince!!!!! I’m shocked I tell you shocked! Not like preview info didn’t already tell us that!!!

Lucina’s Paralogue: After the last chapter the final DLC Emblems were released so I took a mini break to do a couple. I know the DLC Emblems have special conversations with some other Emblems so I only did the ones I have Emblems who comment on for. But that doesn’t have to do with Lucina’s paralogue I just decided to explain it here. Ahhh Arena Ferox my old friend! I think I mentioned it before but as I’m playing this game I’m also casually doing a Hard mode run of Awakening, my actual very first Hard mode playthrough of ANY Fire Emblem game I’ve played! With all the hundreds of hours I’ve devoted to Awakening already as well my nostalgia was cranked to the max especially with that great remix track! The map itself was incredibly straightforward, like I think I actually had a harder time during my Hard mode playthrough of this map in Awakening 😂 Luci baby c’mon I know you can be more challenging than that! But it’s done and heck yeah Lucina can now reach bond level 20!

Chrom and Robin’s Paralogue: Of course I had to do the wonder duo’s paralogue as well! And of course I brought Lucina along for the ride! Lady Robin is my girl so I’m sad she’s not here but I still love male Robin too! And Chrom!!!! My husband!!!!!! 😍😍😍😍 My original and forever top blueberry husband I am so happy to see you again! Their opening dialogue was both sweet and funny! The map itself was something alright! Especially once they brought out all those puddles. Also just from reading the descriptions Chrom and Robin’s skills seem super busted!!! But it was fun figuring out how to do things and I adored Lucina’s dialogue with both Chrom and Robin (she was so happy to see her dad again). But another map down and another Emblem bracelet obtained! Thank goodness because my squad needs some more Emblems, we only have the 3H lords, Tiki, Lucina, Lyn, and now the Chrom and Robin duo.

Hector’s Paralogue: I decided I would do one more Emblem Paralogue before I would head back to the main story and I decided to go for Hector since I heard he only has a convo with Lyn among the Emblems. I only know of Hector from FEH and watching other people’s lets plays of the Elibe games but I really enjoy his personality! This fucking map though…..Fucking poison hell….Every time I think I’m safe I realize I accidentally put one of my poor units in the direct line of fire from one of those poison sprays. And the number of times I had to use the time crystal because I brought Citrinne along for this map in order to level her up since I promoted her to a Sage but the girl’s made of tissue paper 😞 Citrinne, honey, please….Aw well I got that nice Hector-Lyn dialogue and Citrinne finally kept her ass alive long enough to KO Hector for me. That’s another Emblem bracelet for me!

And that’s where I’m currently at, just level grinding and bond grinding and otherwise preparing to continue the main story of the game! Still having tons of fun with Engage and can’t wait to see where things go from here! Also can’t wait to get back my original Emblems too, I miss them…

[aidanleary]

Blog #3 How Companies and You should Behave on Social Media and Why it is Important

Maintaining a good image online is key in today's world for a business to find success. A good online reputation can bring in customers by making a business seem friendly and trustworthy while a negative online reputation can subject a company to substantial backlash and negative press causing customers to lose faith in the company. Now it is especially important for companies to be careful with what they post online as businesses posting unethical content such as lies or insults tend to face severe backlash. This is due to so many people having access to social media and everyone spreading around the post making it well known if a company is being unethical. For companies to maintain a good online reputation they need to follow a code of ethics.

While the ethical codes surrounding social media will vary from company to company when it comes to customer interaction most of them boil down to not lying and treating others respectfully. Not much of a surprise that treating your customers with basic human decency leads them to like your business more. Along with rules that guide customer interaction businesses also have rules that regulate what employees can post on social media. Target for example has the following rules for its employees:

No disclosing confidential information 

No using Target logos or branding without permission 

No representing the company without permission 

No posts that would discriminate or harass any Target employee, supplier or customer 

When identifying as a target employee on social media communications must be lawful and comply with Targets policies and procedures. 

These rules exist to protect the company from possible leaks of information or  damage to their reputation based on what their employees post.

A great example of a business that uses social media ethically and effectively is Duolingo. Duolingo does not create any posts that insult customers, employees or other businesses or posts false information trying to mislead consumers. Many of Duolingo's social media posts are responding and interacting with others posts such as this post in which Duolingo responded to another user's post with a funny image. Not only are they interacting with others in a funny way but many of the replies under this post are issues people are having with the app and Duolingo has responded to them to help them solve their problem. With this one post Duolingo has shown that they are very interactive on social media but also value helping their users so they can have the best experience possible with their app. 

A great example of a business that uses social media unethically is Battlestate Games. Battlestate Games is the studio that created one of my favorite games, Escape From Tarkov. A few months back the company made a decision that was very anti consumer and that was releasing a $250 version of the game that had special content with it you couldn’t get in any other way as well and scamming those who purchased a previous supporter edition of the game as they were promised all future extra content for the game for free if they purchased this edition. This made the players furious and this issue blew up on every social media platform that Tarkov was present on. Instead of admitting that they were in the wrong and fixing the problem they had created, Battlestate doubled down and tried to mislead people and flat out lied about what DLC is in this post on reddit. Not only did they display their greed and lack of concern for their players, the owner of Battlestate Games also attacked another company that was releasing a game similar to theirs. These incidents made players lose faith in the company and made them question if they should keep supporting the company or playing their game at all. 

When creating posts on social media whether it be a personal or especially a professional post you should act like you’re talking to a group of strangers, because you are. When you make a post on social media whether it be text, an image or video you are communicating with those who see it so you must make sure you are following proper social media etiquette. When making posts it is best to be honest and respectful in your post and reply to other posts or comments. Being funny is also very effective at getting a positive response from people.  You should avoid behavior you would normally avoid when talking to someone like insulting them, lying, misleading, posting something offensive or anything that would bring about negative emotions towards you or your brand. You should also avoid negatively talking about others as it is seen as rude and will only damage your reputation. When making posts about your brand avoid making your posts sound like a company is making them and make them sound like a normal person wrote the post. People like it when they are talked to like people. 

 Look at Duolingo and Battlestate Games for example. People like Duolingo on social media because they make funny posts, interact positively with others and show that they care about their customers. Battlestate Games was disliked on social media because they were lying and treating their customers like idiots. If they just admitted that they were in the wrong and promised to fix what they had done their customers would have respected that they owned up to their mistake and were listening to their complaints. 

Concepts to follow as a social media professional:

Refrain from posting false information.

Treat others with respect.

Make humorous posts fairly often when appropriate.

Respond to customers' feedback and listen to complaints to show that the customers are valued.

Refrain from posting anything offensive. (anything racist, sexist, homophobic, ect) 

Refrain from defaming, insulting, or personally attacking any users. 

Admit when a person or entity has made a mistake instead of trying to cover it up. 

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Oh yeah, that opening for the Answer DLC? *chef's kiss*

You know, I kinda like the music direction for the Answer a lot more than they did for P3R....... Maybe it's because the new singer feels more like it's for Aigis?

I think I also just loooove the lyrics for both the OP and Don't. jkalsjflak

I do think it's funny it took them YEARS to finally put spider lily symbolism into P3 (I know it was in P3R's op first, and yeah....the point still stand sklfjklsaj). Glad to see they doubled down and made up for all the lost time in this OP fkljaslkfdjald

Music wise this might be my 2nd fav OP for P3 and it's ports/remakes. (not including the fandom's Moonlight Daydream, tbh that might just be tied for first tho so kalsfjda;). First place goes to FES.

Visually it might be my fav (with P3P and Moonlight daydream being right up there).

I kinda liked how different it was in vibe and all, but still had some nice references to the original FES "opening" (which is really just a cutscene trailer jakldfjs).

"So you gonna buy the DLC Silly" fjdklsajdfklajf No. I'll get it when it's on sale and dirt cheap (which is probs never klfjasklf TT0TT). Or when Altus decides to treats fans well again. Whichever comes first. >_> But it's nice to see they are more or less treating the Answer well, at least music wise that is.

[vergilboyfriend]

Borderlands 3 had the best game play and the most stunning visuals and it’s a shame the plot was so ass like it literally I didn’t finish the game I didn’t really play any of the dlc I just didn’t care I literally preordered it and waited at the GameStop which was actually a really fun experience just for the game to fall off half way through I think about the ending credits playing fucking this girl is on firreeeee I think about that at least once a month because it was so corny even for borderlands it was insanely lame and not even in a funny borderlands way it was lame I wish they would pretend that didn’t happen and make a new game with a better story and Lilith can stay dead idgaf and just like put all of those fun gameplay mechanics into a playable game and like don’t even get me started on the shit they’ve pumped out since they just keep doubling down on the cringe millennial humor where is your spirit where is your soul you make me so mad

[salad-sauce]

I'm going to explain why i head cannon all this stuff now i would have done it earlier but i had work and school and stuff so ill just do it now lol Yap sesh below

Xivilai : So the main thing about them is that i made them more "cat like" in a way, my reasoning behind that is a mix of things. It ranges from the book "kynes challenge : a hunters companion" part where the mc fights a Xivilai, to just how they sound in oblivion. In oblivion they sound a lot like lions, and with the book i linked referring to there hair as "a mane of black hair" i think its safe to assume there at least a little lion like. The fur thing was honestly just for fun but can be backed up slightly by the other points i mentioned. The claws and little tusks were actually apart of the Xivilai design in oblivion before they got made into "just larger dremora" in eso. The tusks weren't visible unless the mouth of the Xivilai was open, sadly i cant find any pictures, And i guess they still do technically have there claws in eso but that's not the point lol. Height isn't a big thing, Though its clear there very tall. In the book it describes the Xivilai battled as being "one and a half men tall". I'm pretty sure a typical human in tes is about 6ft tall, but 9ft tall seemed a bit much so i just dulled it down a pinch. Ether way they are taller than dremora in both oblivion and eso for the most part. Eso doesn't do a good job at showing this, and even has made some dremora like torvesard the same height of Xivilai The small things like the horn shape, ear size, and things like that are all based off of oblivion. Unlike dremora in oblivion Xivilai only have one horn shape, which is straight up. They also just have really big ears, which in a way is kinda funny. They have also only ever been seen with green or yellow eyes, which honestly looks better than other colors so i kept that

just a random head cannon im gunna thrown at the end of this is that i think if there from colder parts of oblivion they have longer fur. Dremora :

I like dremora, they have shown up in pretty much every game so far, which makes them cool. Though it is a bit sad there the only type of daedra in Skyrim besides atronachs and the princes, not counting the dragonborn dlc of course. Dremora have a few things that i actually liked in eso and have expanded upon myself, like how they can be other colors besides grey. Its been shown that dremora can be shades of blue, red, grey, and even a kinda purple color. Expanding on that i think they have different skin tones depending on the realm they formed from, like if there from the pits they might be a kinda greenish color. Dremora in oblivion have different hairstyles and colors, which is why i think they have mortal like hair. There hair has been seen as black, brown, grey, white, ginger, and blonde, So i think there hair can be really any color mortals have. Also seen in oblivion is dremora with different horn shapes. There horns seem to change shape pretty much every game but im pretty sure besides eso oblivion is the only game to have they have different horn types in the game itself. There's like two or three horn shapes, most notably the way valkynaz horns are shaped, since there completely different. Now horn colors shift between games from tan to black, but i think black horns is more fitting, though on occasion i have drawn dremora with the tan horns. this isn't really a big deal so i just threw it at the end of this paragraph. Last thing on horns is the double horn sets, that is stolen from Skyrim. why? because i like it and it looks cool.

Something i like on the eso dremora is that they can grown jaw spikes, though i hate the way it looks on Xivilai lol. I think they can have jaw spikes, the amount varies, as well as the placement. This was also seen with the dremora in Morrowind actually, which i think is a little cool. Dremora eyes i made basically the opposite of dunmer, where the sclera is actually the part that's darker compared to the pupil, this is mostly so you can tell them apart in my art lol. They have had claws in every game so far to my knowledge so im not too worried about that being explained, eye color is for the same reason as the hair, they have been seen with other eye colors so why the hell not lol. Now for the weird one which is apparently somewhat cannon? This one cough me off guard big time lol. Dremora are herbivores. I was shook when i read this note in eso about "the true nature of daedra". The third paragraph said they cant eat meat cus it puts em in so much pain they would rather just return to oblivion than deal with it . Why did i give them fang like teeth knowing this? because i wanted to.

Almost forgot the height thing, that was taken from Skyrim too, since they tend to be a little taller than altmer who i think are about 6'4" in the game

That's the end of my yapping, for now at least Its great that i realized i can just ramble endlessly on here lol

I also have no idea how tumblr formatting works if it looks like ass ignore that 💀

My personal hc for xivilai and dremora cus eso sapped the life out of them 💀

ft. my low quality doodles

90% of these i have reasons for

10% is for funzies

handwriteing is crap dont mind that lol

[thesunshinydays]

ooooo uh top 5 video games

OOOH MY GODDD

5. tie between inscryption (<- your fault) and undertale/deltarune. i just love metafiction so so much. metafiction is an instant nerdsnipe

4. breath of the wild, which walked so that genshin impact could run and also steal peoples wallets as it sprints past. botw is beautiful and also was the first open worldish game that i could make progress in without getting bored immediately. i love to just open the game and wander around and experience the world.

3. ghost trick. an utterly charming game about the ghost of a man trying to solve his own murder while uncovering a huge plot and saving and befriending strangers along the way. it was written by ace attorneys shu takumi and you can really tell because it has the same bonkers level of complexity and hard earned heart warming moments. i replay this one whenever i need a little more faith in humanity and also want to see a funny guy unmurder people. marn you should absolutely play this one it has hitmen AND time loops AND ghosts.

2. WITCHS HEART MY BELOVED. god where do i even start with this one. its a japanese rpgmaker horror game. its a reverse harem shoujo anime. its a psychologcal thriller. its got the prettiest colors ive ever seen. its an examination of the different ways trauma can affect people and of what happens when you trap those people in a house with demons for five days (the demons are also traumatized). the demons mostly look like monsters except for the most powerful ones filled with the most hatred for humanity, those ones look like girls wearing lolita fashion. the protagonist is a girl with a heart of gold, a head of empty, and legs of steel. shes so dumb but she never skips leg day the other characters need weapons to fight monsters she just kicks them. it also has time loops as well as my favorite poor little meow meow of all time. its going to have four endings but only one of them has been released so far but its so satisfying so i know at least one of the others is going to hurt me. its over 19 hours long according to how long to beat but that hasnt stopped me form playing through it two and a half times. its got so many unintended glitches. its about what people are willing to do in order to grant their deepest wish and how granting that wish doesnt necessarily heal the damage thats been done. there is a cooking minigame. the guy who owns the house makes you do chores. there is gratuitous violence. there is a fishing minigame. 

1. borderlands 2 i will never be over borderlands 2. borderlands is what happens happens when the AAA game studio doesnt realize that they hired queer dudes as the head writers on the first two titles in their big fps shoot em up game series. its so bright and colorful and silly and campy in the face of so many of the grizzled marine fps games of the era and i felt at home immediately, its where i learned to play fps games because it was the first fps i felt truly excited to play. every queer kid has one or two pieces of media that kept them company when they needed it and helped them figure things out, and this was one of mine. perhaps i am being a tad sappy but bl2 made such a difference in my life im not even joking. that being said, theres also a mission where you hunt down four rat guys in a sewer who are very blatantly the teenage mutant ninja turtles but as rats and theres another where you meet a guy named “Shooty McFace” and you have to shoot him in the face. it also briefly renames one of the common enemy types “Bonerfarts.” theres a shotgun that shoots swords that explode into smaller swords. so like. grain of salt and all that.

[animegenork]

Sorry to interrupt regularly scheduled ignoring my random, but I wanted to put these somewhere, so I figured I’d put him here on my blog!

Basically, I wrote these short drabbles for each LI from @andromeda-six some number of months ago (I have no idea what time is anymore, but I think this was in July), around the time when Episode 4 was still blowing my mind. I did it as a sort of comfort thing and to do something nice for some friends, but I actually kinda liked them? So I figured I’d share, if that’s okay... If not you can just unfollow me like a bunch of people have been doing LMAO

All below the cut! :D

For my fellow Damon stans

If Calderon Hadn’t Cockblocked in the DLC 

"Yeah..." he says. "Stunning." 

 I realize he's not talking about the fireflies anymore as I turn my head to see him staring at me. My body starts to hum with the attention he's giving me; of course, he's looked at me before, but something about this is... different. 

 "Traveler," he murmurs, his voice quieter than I've ever heard it. He's not one to be quiet, I realize. It's either silence or full volume with this one. 

 My breath stops in my throat as his hand lightly touches my chin, as he has many times before. As he leans closer, I feel the logical part of my brain trying to push me away. He's bad news, it says. You shouldn't get involved. 

Screw logic. 

 His lips touch mine, and I feel something inside me melt. It's like he's some sort of poison, tearing me apart from the inside out. But somehow, that's good in this case. I decide I like poisons named Damon. 

Briefly, he pulls away, searching my eyes for any signs of protest, though I can't imagine ANYONE'S ever protested a kiss from him. Except maybe Calderon. 

"Was that stunning?" I nearly choke out, and the smirk that creeps up his face makes the stupid joke worth it. 

 "In a way," he replies, leaning in to kiss me again. 

I should volunteer to do the laundry more often.

------

For the Bash-ers (wait no that sounded wrong WHAT I MEANT WAS--)

Stars

Bash is waiting for me outside my room. He's in the process of hanging up one of his outrageous doodles, but he smiles despite being caught in action. "Sleep well?" 

"Ehhh," I reply, though my nonchalance is definitely offset by the dark circles under my eyes. It's hard to sleep when you have the weight of a galaxy resting on your shoulders. 

He studies my face for a moment before grinning. "Alright, come on." 

Grabbing my hand, he drags me through the hallway to the loading bay, until I can see the stars out the window, like I did the first day I woke up on the Six. A smile lifts the corners of my lips. The stars, as always, bring some sense of comfort to me. Looking at them, it's like there's nothing that could bother me.

I smile up at Bash. "Thanks, Bash."

"Oh, come on." I look up at him quizzically, and he wraps his arms around me, lifts me off the ground, and spins me around. "SMILE WIDER!" he practically screams, and I laugh at how weird he's being about something as simple as a smile. But that's Bash, I suppose. That's just the way he is.

He stops spinning me and looks up at me with his gleaming green eye and glinting yellow one. This time, my smile is more genuine. "Thank you." 

Setting me down gently, he kisses me on the forehead, which surprises me and delights me all at once. "Anytime, Traveler."

It takes all my willpower not to melt to the floor in a puddle as I blush myself silly.

------

Now Juuuuuuune (baby boy)

Hold My Hand

At first, I was just determined to meet June's lizard. Then, I find him in one of the storage closets, frowning at the wall as if it had just insulted him. "June?"

He doesn't answer, not at first. Then, slowly, he turns, and from the haunted look in his eye, I can tell he was just in a dark place. That wasn't this closet, that is.

"Traveler," he says hoarsely. He steps out of the closet and closes the door behind him, leaning heavily against it. "What's up?"

I can't possibly ask him about his lizard right now. "I, uh... just wanted to say hi."

June manages a weak grin. "Hi."

"Hi." We're silent then, and I see that something is still weighing on him. So I do something a bit drastic.

I hold out my hand. "Hold my hand, June."

"What?" He shoots me a questioning look, but, seeing the look on my face, he obliges and gives me his hand. Unsurprisingly, it's a bit calloused and rough, and a part of me just wants to hold it there and pretend time isn't passing around us.

But no, this isn't about me. This is about June. He's hurting, and I want him to feel better. It's not right for such a sweet man to be hurting this much.

I lift his hand to my lips and kiss his palm gently. Then, I close his fingers over his own hand and look up at him. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here, June."

A light blush is spreading across his cheeks, but his weak smile softens as he murmurs, "Thanks, Traveler."

He wraps his arms around me in a hug, and I embrace him back. Sometimes, we all need to remember that we're not alone in this fucked-up universe.

------

For Cal-ers? (Was that funny? No? Okay I thought so)

Lynch the Cal-y Cat

Pushing Calderon's buttons shouldn't have been as amusing as it was, and yet, it continued to amuse me. Perhaps Damon and Aya were rubbing off on me too much, or perhaps a part of me had always been this mischievous.

I wasn't quite sure what possessed me to do it, but I acquired a pair of cat ears, yellow, like his hair, and I was trying to sneak them onto his head without his noticing. As I tiptoe up behind him, I realize with a sudden clarity that there is no one else around, and so, he is that much more likely to hear me coming. Dammit.

And indeed, he turns around before I succeed, a scowl upon his face. I have a split second lead on him, so I slip the cat ears on his head before he can protest. 

"What the hell?" he grumbles, rolling his eyes up, as if he can see the top of his head by doing so.

I start laughing uncontrollably, doubling over and practically not breathing anymore. He watches me enjoy his annoyance with a dark expression on his face. Even if he's pissed, the sight of him with kitty ears is priceless.

After a few moments, his face softens into a more neutral expression. I glance up at him, still shaking with the force of my laughter, and ask, "Cat got your tongue?" I bite my lip before I start rolling on the floor.

"You're smiling."

What? "Huh?"

Calderon looks away, as if saying something like this was a nuisance. "You're not moping around anymore. It's good to see you out and about."

Had he been WORRIED about me? Well, that was all sorts of embarrassing. "Uh, yeah, um, thanks, I guess...?"

He gives me a curt nod and continues down the hallway. "Oh, and Traveler?" I turn and raise my eyebrows at him. There's mischief gleaming in his eyes, and I'm not sure what to think about it.

"Be prepared for my payback." And then he leaves.

Oh, man. Why does that make me smile wider than I was about the cat ears?

------

Now for Aya <3

So About That Pole...

It's weird to consistently think of a sorta-sexy pole dance a friend of yours did just for fun, right? Right.

But I was undoubtedly thinking about that pole dance all the time, and I knew I wouldn't be able to look Aya in the eye until I'd had some semblance of a normal conversation with her again.

So when she surprises me at my room, I think perhaps karma or something is out to get me.

"Traveler! So Bash and I are planning this latest prank-" she begins, and then she sees that a blush is spreading over my face. "Are you sick? Should I take you to Ryona?" She puts her hand on my forehead, and I can't believe I haven't completely lost my shit yet.

That pole dance is on fucking repeat.

"You were saying?" I grit out, ignoring my clammy hands.

Aya cocks an eyebrow. "Oh no, you're not getting out that easily." She leans forward and rests her forehead against mine, and I stare, wide-eyed, into her eyes. Such proximity is really not good for my heart, considering how much I've been thinking about her.

Finally, she narrows her eyes. "Wait. What are you thinking about?" I don't answer, and she starts to grin. "Don't tell me after that dance, you've fallen for me?"

I blush.

She laughs, lacing her fingers with mine. "I'm flattered, Traveler. I'm sorry I didn't prepare you for that." With a kind smile, she winks at me. "But hey, lemme know if you want a repeat show."

Of course, my language skills return at that moment. "I just like that you were having so much fun."

Aya's eyes glitter with some emotion I can't read, and she leans in and whispers: 

"Good. Because I have fun when I'm with you." 

It's a miracle I don't drop dead on the spot.

------

Ryona, darling heart

Kiss to Make It Better?

I walk around the infirmary, marveling at all the plants Ryona has placed around the room. They really do give the room a homey touch, much better than I assume most infirmaries must look. At least, my perception of them has been anything but this.

Behind me, the door opens, and I turn to find Ryona, eyebrows raised. "Traveler? What's wrong?"

Now was my chance. I hold up my finger. "I got a bad cut."

Silence.

Ryona starts to chuckle, and I grin awkwardly as she comes over and inspects the cut. "How did this happen?"

"I was practicing with the knife Damon gave me--"

"Say no more."

Okay, good, cuz there was no way I'd admit to Ryona that I kinda-sorta did it on purpose.

But of course, she somehow knew anyway. "You didn't do this to yourself on purpose, did you?" She looks up from the cut to my face, raising a stern eyebrow and pursing her lips. I swallow. How is she so good at that?

So I tell the truth. "I wanted to see you." Wait, shit, I didn't mean to be so blunt about it--

Her chuckle returns as she begins wrapping a bandage around the cut. I watch her nimble fingers work, fascinated by how efficient they are when I can barely do any similar activity without messing up at least once. Which is why I thought it would be believable that I hadn't done this on purpose.

When she's done, Ryona smiles at me. "Need anything else?"

It's childish, but surely she won't mind...? "Maybe a kiss will make it better?"

Ryona's blue skin flickers a bit as a reddish tinge spreads across her cheeks. Nevertheless, she lightly kisses my bandaged finger, and I grin triumphantly. "Does it feel better now?" she asks tightly, as if she's trying not to melt in a puddle like my heart already has.

"Yes. Thanks, Ry," I whisper, leaning forward and resting my forehead against hers. We smile at each other. At my side, my finger tingles.

------

And now we have reached Vexx-point! (Was... was that a pun? I don’t know...)

Don’t Worry, I’ll Save You

It's hard to watch someone you love suffer, even if that someone broke your heart not too long ago.

Maybe it was pointless for me to keep my hopes up when it came to Vexx, but I knew, from the moment he told me he hadn't cared, that something was up. Even if it had been all an act, I knew that what we had was something, and it certainly wasn't nothing.

So as I sit here, watching him sleep fitfully in the room where we're keeping him prisoner, I can't help but wonder what that manic look in his eye is all about. What did Zovack do to him? How can I fix it?

Suddenly, Vexx's face crumples into a forlorn expression, and I can't just sit by him anymore. I scoot over to him and put his head in my lap, stroking his red hair. Then, a thought occurs to me, and I take out my music box and open it, letting its lullaby soothe Vexx, even in the midst of his nightmares.

I can't help myself; I lean down and gently kiss his forehead, knowing he won't remember it when he wakes up. "Don't worry, Vexx. I'll save you. I promise."

Though he can't hear me, his lips turn up slightly in a smile, and I have a feeling his bad dreams have shifted to something better.

It's up to me to make that a reality for him.

-------

Wow I forgot how short that last one was, I’m a bit embarrassed ;w;

But anyway, if you read these, thank you for the taking the time! <3

[bainhardt]

#RibbonQuest2.0 - Part 3: Master Ball Rank or Bust

It’s kind of poetic, in a way. My very first meeting with Jin, and the beginning of our travels together, was commemorated with the chucking of a Master Ball - a guaranteed capture. It’s a one-of-a-kind ball typically reserved only for one-of-a-kind Pokemon (like Jin). When it comes to capturing Pokemon, the Master Ball stands above the rest as the symbol of infallibility, the promise of success overcoming any and all odds.

Well, we’re gonna need to channel that spirit in our latest challenge, because our success is anything but guaranteed: we have to take on the Master Ball rank in online rated battles for Pokemon Sword and Shield! Among our countless trials and triumphs spanning generations, Jin and I have never actually battled online against other real players. The World Ability Ribbon back in Platinum would’ve been our first foray, but the DS Wi-Fi connection had long been shut down in the time before our quest began.

Keeping with the theme of RibbonQuest2.0, this comes as an unexpected surprise. Jin, like all transfer Pokemon, is ineligible for rated battles; the standardized rules only permit Pokemon born and raised in the gen 8 games. Back when our time in Galar first started, I had never even planned on mentioning the Master Rank Ribbon, simply because we weren’t allowed to try and earn it!

But all of that changed with the release of the Isle of Armor DLC and patch version 1.2. By accepting the reset of your Pokemon’s move pool to only moves compliant with its gen 8 iteration, you’re allowed to mark your transfer Pokemon eligible for rated battles online! The icing on the cake is that Jin’s XD-exclusive purification move, Baton Pass (which I bent over backwards to keep even through all the Pokemon Contests), is now a TR which Farfetch’d can learn anytime. All’s well that ends well, I suppose.

It’s like getting your hand stamped at a concert, but with a side of forced amnesia.

With that, preparations were complete. There was nothing left to do but hop to it and get battling! The Master Ball Rank doesn’t earn itself, and if I’ve learned anything from our past, I think that means we’re going to need some help...

However, in the interest of cutting down on superfluous Ribbon Gang members like (sorry to single you out) Speedrun the Talonflame, I’ll only be honoring the final 5 actual contenders accompanying Jin when the ribbon is earned. Numerous grueling battles will be fought on the path to Master Ball tier and those stories will be lost to time, for only the best of the best deserve to call themselves part of Ribbon Gang 2.0.

I got boxfuls of second-stringers here, for real.

When first beginning in earnest with the July season, I mainly played Double battles, my preferred format for fun. I had a couple different teams, but never climbed any higher than Great Ball. Some teams of note included:

self-proc Weakness Policy Stamina Mudsdale with Skill Link support and Psych Up Stored Power follow up

Entrainment Plus Dedenne alongside special attackers with spread moves (coined the “fuck redirects” team)

a strange combo Sandstorm and Round team that was kind of an excuse to see if Refrigerate Aurorus could amount to anything

I was too committed to gimmicks, and at this time still hoped to reach the necessary heights using something built for fun at its core. I convinced myself that whenever I got around to really trying, it’d come together easily enough. In the past I’d do anything and everything to increase my chances of success, and I needed to return to this mentality moving forward.

After burn out from facing VGC competitive teams, several months of distraction with other games, and the arrival of 2021, I changed gears to test out Singles beginning in March. Despite having essentially zero experience with the format, I drafted two main teams during my Singles stint:

a Focus Energy Baton Pass team designed so every other Pokemon is then guaranteed crits with every attack

a Shedinja team with Pokemon like Ditto and Zoroark designed to help determine whether Shedinja can survive the opponents

Still sounds gimmicky, I know. I can’t help it. But a funny thing happened as I continued to chip away at this challenge: the Focus Pass crit team actually kind of... worked. Once you’re critting every attack, you start to notice just how many game mechanics critical hits outright invalidate. Intimidate? Your negative offensive stages are ignored. Bulk stacking opponents? Their positive defensive stages are ignored. Grimmsnarl and Lapras walling you out? Screens don’t apply against crits (although a Shell Armor Lapras did shut me down quite handily once). Honestly, the boosted damage almost feels like an afterthought.

Every team I played required considerable reworking as I’d progress, honing in on specific threats often encountered and dropping low-participation Pokemon who weren’t pulling their weight. There was even a rule set which allowed the use of extremely powerful Legendary Pokemon for a time (a very bad time). But all digression aside, allow me to introduce the team that would eventually carry me higher than ever, swiftly through Ultra Ball tier and directly into Master Ball. They are the new and final members of Ribbon Gang 2.0.

The ones on the left, I mean. This box is just more second-stringers.

First is Gepigop the Togekiss, sporting Super Luck as a core member of the original crit team. Spamming STAB Life Orb boosted Max Airstream is the Singles meta, after all. And he’s from my Y version, same as Speedrun!

Second is PkmnConquest the Kartana, probably the most consistent and useful member I picked up along the way. Give it a Scope Lens and it’ll BEAST BOOST its way to easy sweeps - just pray your opponent isn’t hiding any Fire types in the back...

It goes it goes it goes it goes it goes it goes it goes it goes Guillotine... the Weavile at number three. YUH. She was included as a direct response to the unending hordes of Cinderace and Zapdos I faced. Focus Sash and Counter helped her turn around so many unfavorable matchups, I can’t recommend it enough!

Bringing up fourth is 8008 8008 the Rhyperior. Need an idea of how broken Dynamax Zapdos’ bulk is? Rhyperior is the only Pokemon I found who can one shot it from full HP without needing to Dynamax in return... and even then, only using Rock Wrecker. Seriously.

In our final slot is AZKi the Espeon, because Hololive kept me company through many of my battle sessions, lol. After one too many Focus Passes were blocked by Taunt, I put an end to it with Magic Bounce. You remember that scene in The Incredibles where Syndrome’s robots were revised as they faced off against more and more heroes? She’s basically that.

By the time I was barely breaking into Ultra Ball tier, I found much greater success if I didn’t try to force the crit gimmick every time, but still had it if I wanted it on AZKi, the fourth in the succession of Focus Passers. Yes, after months spent honing my skills in battle, I finally learned that just bringing three Pokemon that can beat your opponent’s is the simplest way to a win. Incredible, I know. And win we did!

The final needed victory in Master Ball tier was secured by PkmnConquest, Guillotine, and 8008 8008, a trio I found myself locking in very frequently.

It’s... it’s beautiful.

With this Master Ball ribbon attached to my Master Ball Farfetch’d, we’ve finally brought our lengthy Galarian story to its conclusion. Having managed to snag this online-exclusive ribbon before these games lost popularity or network support, Jin is once again a tried and true Ribbon Master, and I’ve no unfinished business to worry about any longer.

Until it is time to take up your sword once more,

Rest easy, Jin.

POKEMON SWSH: COMPLETE!

[multi-fandom-nutjob]

10(ish) Characters I want in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga! (and not as DLC)

So yeah. They’re remaking one of the greatest games I grew up with and it’s coming out in like a year. Well, not remaking, so much as going back to the drawing board and rebuilding it from scratch! Which is awesome!

But from what I’ve seen, there isn’t much buzz about this on Tumblr, so imma make a post and see if it gets any traction.

(((((No Legends characters will be mentioned, since I didn’t think they’d make it because of the Mouse.)))))

1. Ahsoka Tano (S1-3, S3-5, Rebels, Rebels Finale, S7)

Ahsoka is straight up tied with Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi for my favorite characters in the entire franchise! Not only that, but she was in LEGO Star Wars 3 as one of the major recurring playable characters and in LEGO Star Wars TFA as DLC, but only in the Rebels form.

Now, the definitively preferred outcome is for all five versions I mentioned to be unlockable, but from what I’ve heard, the Extended Universe isn’t getting much rep in the game, so she might get relegated to DLC. This would be pretty sad, especially since LEGO Star Wars 3 never went past Season 2 of the show, when it honestly got so much better.

Not only that, but each version of Ahsoka would bring something new to the Jedi gameplay. One of my biggest criticisms of the Complete Saga was that most of the Jedi played the same, so there wasn’t any incentive to play as them over the Sith. Ahsoka’s lightsaber style, however, could prove to diversify the combat greatly.

2. Asajj Ventress (2D, TCW, Bounty Hunter)

Asajj Ventress is an absolute queen! Among the Seperatists, she ends up being a scalpel amongst hammers. Because of Prequel Rep, we know Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and General Grievous will get their just dues, but Ventress’s fate is a lot more uncertain.

The biggest obstacle in her way might be whether it comes down to her or Savage Oppress, and ultimately, I would much rather have Ventress than Savage! Don’t get me wrong, Savage is great too, but with the inclusion of Maul, we already have a Double-Lightsaber wielding Nightbrother on the roster. They could certainly have different styles to it, with Maul’s acrobatics compared to Savage’s brute force, but I’m not certain TT Games will go that far. Ventress’s dual wielding would force some creativity to come through.

Ventress is also, frankly, a more fleshed out and entertaining character to add to the roster. Her inclusion could a lot of fun banter in all the action.

3. Wampa (Empire Strikes Back)

The Wampa was intended to be a playable character in both LEGO Star Wars 2 AND the Complete Saga. I’d say the big guy’s debut beyond a cutscene is long overdue!

Some might argue that he’s too big and too one-note to add anything to the gameplay. I’d argue, however, that the Wampa could play very similar to the big, beefy character in the LEGO Marvel and DC games, slamming into the ground and charging at opponents. In a game full of force-sensitives and bounty hunters, a wall of muscle would definitely be unique!

4. Yaddle (Prequels(I wanna say Phantom Menace?))

Do you know who’s cooler than Yoda? The mom of Baby Yoda, that’s who! Yaddle is one of those weird additions to the Star Wars Mythos that came back in a big way with the Mandalorian. While it isn’t exactly confirmed who Baby Yoda’s parents are.... c’mon, we all know.

Not to mention, Yaddle is one of the very, very, very few character in Legends and Canon to have an orange lightsaber, which would be really cool to see in gameplay. Sure, you can just make an orange lightsaber for your Custom Character, but isn’t it cooler to have a character on the regular roster with one?

5. Rey (Yellow Blade) (TRoS)

(((Sorry, that was the only pic I could find and it was too funny not to use)))

Speaking of oddly colored lightsabers, Rey finally made her own lightsaber in the last two minutes of RoS and it needs to be in the game! Honestly, I’ve been wanting Rey to make her own blade since she reached out to Luke at the end of TFA. She never got the chance to really develop her own style whenever she just used the “Legacy Blade” as I’ve called it. They desperately need to make this an unlockable in the game and not DLC.

(And was it just me, or did it really look like it was double-bladed from how the bottom looked?)

6. The Inquisitors (any of them) (Rebels, Fallen Order)

Okay, so, truth be told, I kind of hate these characters. Like, really hate these characters. The Grand Inquisitor and the Second Sister were the only ones that ever narratively struck a chord with me, and that was really only even in backstory. As actual antagonists, they’re all on par with Team Rocket in terms of threat and are far less endearing...

Hence why they’d be perfect in a LEGO game!! With a more comedic tone overall, the Inquisitors would fit right at home! Heck, mixing the lightsaber combat generally exclusive to Sith with characters only able to do Jedi Force Powers would make for an interesting dynamic.

Plus, the “helicopter-blades” as they tend to be called would honestly kinda work in a LEGO game? Sort of? Like, it’s stupid-looking, but we know it’s stupid looking, and it would help a lot with getting over huge pits and that sort of thing(like Artoo!). So there could be some precidence for them, so long as they were used right.

7. Ovissian Gunner (Battlefront 2... 2)

Just... just look at this doofus! He’s high as a kite and he’s packing a mini-gun! I don’t even play Battlefront 2 and I love him so much. I would take him home and introduce him to my parents. I would treat him right because he deserves the Galaxy. And he deserves to be in this game!

8. Kirak Infil’a (Darth Vader comics)

Ever wondered where Vader got the Kyber Crystal for his new lightsaber? He killed this guy and corrupted his Kyber Crystal to do it, and kept the same hilt for a long while before he rebuilt it to be what it was in the Original Trilogy.

As one of the few Disney Canon characters added to the Prequel Era, I’d say this guy has earned his stay in the new game, especially since I had to keep Legends characters off the list(((for unfortunate reasons))).

Not only that, but he kicked Vader’s ass for a good bit before dying, so having a badass grandpa who left the Jedi Order like Ahsoka on the roster would be fun!

9. Cal Kestis (Fallen Order)

I mentioned him before, but this guy and the Ovissian Gunner are the only two characters on the list with Video Game origins, which I think would be fun to explore in arguably the most famous video game series for the franchise!

Not only that, but he’s the only Jedi(besides this one jackass in the Clone Wars) that has a double-bladed lightsaber, which he can also detach into dual wielding blades! That alone brings merit to him being on the list, but the fact that the player can decide the color of the lightsaber in the game also poses an interesting concept I’d like to see them implement! That idea being, that every time you reignite his blades, it randomly slides between all the Custom Character options besides Red. Either that or it goes in a specific pattern, of course.

((And is it just me, or is his name very suspiciously close to that Kyle Katern guy from Jedi Knight II: Outcast?))

10. The Mandalorian (not gonna spoil his actual name)

You’ve gotta admit, Mando and Baby Yoda took the world by storm when they first premiered. One of their main creators was Dave Filoni, the same guy who directed The Clone Wars and Rebels! I think, from his help with the franchise to the overabundant success of the show, that Mando ought to be put in the base game as an unlockable(maybe as a sort of 100% completion reward?).

Not only would that just be great for the fans, but he’d be tons of fun to play as as well! His evaporating rifle and underhanded fighting style would be tons of fun to play as, and a character who passively deflects blaster fire would add a whole new dynamic to the roster, though he’d have to take damage to lightsabers to not be completely broken.

I can’t fucking believe I forgot Leia with her lightsaber!!!

Do i expect these characters to all make it into the game? Hardly. If even three make it in, you can call me impressed. But you can’t tell me that these ten wouldn’t be a ton of fun in a LEGO game!

[markoftheasphodel]

Unfulfilled Dream: An Introduction to Finn and House Leonster

This is intended to assist fans of Three Houses, and specifically Blue Lions fans, in understanding what the hell FE old-timers are talking about when the names “Quan,” “Finn,” and “Leif” come up with regard to Dimitri and his retainers (and Dimitri/Dedue in particular). You may have encountered these characters in FE Heroes, but there’s a lot more stuff out there and it’s not all in one place, or even readily available in translation. So here goes.

So, as a starting point, Azure Moon route of Three Houses is heavily influenced by Thracia 776 (aka FE5) and the more familiar you are with FE5, the more evident the parallels/echoes are. But going backward from Azure Moon to its inspiration, or to Genealogy of the Holy War (FE4) which served as an inspiration for Three Houses itself, can be really confusing.

We have the two games, FE4 and FE5, both of them for the SNES, neither of them ever given a worldwide release. Both have modern, very good patches so if you want to play them, it’s a much better user experience than it used to be. We have two artbooks, Treasure for FE4 and Illustrated Works for FE5, both of them only partially translated via websites and translation blogs. We have developer notes and interviews. We have the appearances of these characters as Einherjar in Awakening. We have their modern appearances in Fire Emblem Heroes.  We have the modern run of Cipher cards as well as much older TCG cards. And finally, we have various manga and light novels, many of which have been fan-translated of late but also rather... dubious as “game canon.”

So, to grasp Quan, or Finn, or Leif, it’s a bit like being told “read 100 support conversations plus some DLC that never got translated,” right?

Here are the basics that might be of interest to Three Houses fans!

Quan is the prince of Leonster, a small but wealthy kingdom on the Thracian Peninsula, which juts eastward from the continent of Jugdral. He carries the Major Holy Blood (so, kind of like a Major Crest) of Njörun, one of the Twelve Crusaders who liberated Jugdral from an evil cult several generations before. His holy weapon is Gae Bolg, aka The Lance of Love and Sorrow, reputed to be cursed. Quan generally at war with his neighbor to the south, King Travant of Thracia (a poor nation), who also has Major Holy Blood and is a descendant of Dáinn, Njörun’s brother. Each of them wants to unite the Thracian peninsula and rule over the whole thing; despite an Irish naming scheme, Leonster was inspired by Italy and is supposed to be an elegant, fashionable place with a thriving middle class. Quan attended a fancy military academy in the center of the continent (the direct inspiration for Garreg Mach!) and has two close friends from other nations, Eldigan and Sigurd, also heirs to holy bloodlines. The three of them swear an oath to always have each others’ backs and Quan marries Sigurd’s sister Ethlyn, who has minor holy blood (like a minor crest but with no holy weapon access). They have two children, Altena and Leif.

Finn starts off as Quan’s page. I say “starts off” because FE4 and FE5 follow him over the course of twenty years. He’s the child of a noble house in Leonster, and when he was orphaned he was sent to the castle to be raised/educated. He’s not skilled at making friends but he does become Quan’s page and grows to think of Ethlyn as a big sister of sorts. When Quan and Ethlyn go to war across the continent to assist Sigurd, Finn wants to come along and they take him, even though he’s maybe fifteen and barely old enough to fight. Quan mentors Finn (which is something we see in FE4 itself), building his confidence up, telling Finn he’s the most promising knight of his generation, bequeathing Finn a special lance of his own, and ultimately entrusting Finn with guardianship of Quan’s son and heir, Leif. Finn in turn becomes utterly devoted to Quan and to Quan’s ambition of ruling all of Thracia.

A word about devotion. This is not “devotion” in the sense we’ve seen from Frederick or Jakob in recent FE games, where it’s performative and kind of amusing, with complicated tea rituals and recruiting slogans and whatnot. This is straight-up utter acceptance of someone else’s dreams and ambition as one’s own purpose in life. Hold that thought.

Anyway, Quan and Ethlyn are ambushed and killed by Travant shortly after Leif is born; every knight in their party is massacred in the Yied Desert. The rest of the continent is falling under the sway of the Grannvale Empire (Eldigan’s already dead, Sigurd dies shortly after Quan&Ethlyn), and Leonster is able to hold out for a couple of years before it falls to a one/two attack by Travant’s Thracian army and the Grannvale Empire. Finn, who’s been caring for Leif as his guard, escapes from the burning castle with Leif in his arms (Leif’s grandmother Queen Alfiona dies in the blaze; his grandfather King Kalf died shortly before on the battlefield, betrayed by allies).

The Yied Massacre and the Fall of Leonster are the Jugdrali psychological horror-show that parallel the Tragedy of Duscur’s impact on House Blaiddyd. Finn is devastated by the fact that his duty to Leif kept him from Quan&Ethlyn’s side during the massacre because dying with them would’ve been preferable to surviving them. He hasn’t recovered from that when Leonster falls in an inferno that traumatizes him for, as far as we can tell, the rest of his life. As Leif tells it, Finn then shut down emotionally to the point where he neither cries nor laughs. Of course, Leif himself is scarred by the memory of the burning castle, and that and the loss of his parents fuels his own rage and desire for revenge. Leif is also bothered by the fact that he only has minor holy blood from his parents, which is much less impressive than having two minor Crests because he can’t use any holy weapons. On the other hand, two types of minor holy blood don’t kill you.

(I think at this point many of y’all can see how these events are echoed in Azure Moon. The atrocity, the survivor’s guilt, the fallout on both a child prince with a heavy burden and his retainer who’s struggling with his own issues.)

After this, Finn has nothing aside from his duty to Leif, and as he sees it his duty to Leif is ultimately to see Leif placed on the throne of a unified Thracian peninsula as its sole king. He raises Leif and Leif’s companion Nanna/Jeanne (Jugdral is complicated) under a variety of harsh & tragic circumstances for the next thirteen years. Sometimes he has to forego meals to feed the kids. The people who assist him usually end up dead. At least once he gets betrayed by the citizens of the town they’re hiding in. And so on. These are not circumstances that really allow one to recover from trauma, and by the time Leif himself is fifteen years old and the game plot of Thracia 776 begins, Finn still doesn’t give a damn as to whether he lives or dies as long as he can see Leif made King of Thracia. This is where the portrayal of Finn in Fire Emblem Heroes comes from-- by this point he’s about thirty-four and he really hasn’t had a good day in his life since he was about nineteen.

One of the Cipher cards probably says it the best: His fallen master protected him, saw him through to adulthood, and entrusted him with an unfulfilled dream, and now Finn leads the way to a new era in his motherland! That complete, utter, unswerving dedication to Quan and his unfulfilled dream is what brings Finn to mind when discussing Dedue (cutscene after Gronder in Verdant Wind, anyone?) It’s not funny. It’s tragic. It’s kind of disturbing. Thracia 776 offers a lot of commentary on knights and knighthood-- not as savage as the discussions Felix has with his Blue Lions comrades, but pointed nonetheless-- and with Finn as the Jugdrali exemplar of A Knight, that criticism rebounds, directly or indirectly, on him. Knighthood is kind of effed up and so is Finn. 

Finn does get the opportunity to get his revenge on Travant in FE4, as both he and Leif have boss-battle conversations with Travant making it 100% clear they’re after revenge (Leif even speaks of killing Travant with his bare hands!). Travant’s death helps clear the way for Leif to take the throne of Thracia after the war... and with the dream at last fulfilled, Finn disappears, apparently into the Yied Desert where Quan and Ethlyn died. (He does come back three years later.) He’s got nothing else in his life. He’s seemingly not equipped to take over the usual veteran-knight role as some kind of advisor or general... or, after all that, he just WANTS to disappear for a while.

(You say, this is pretty TL;DR for “the basics”; I say, “I left a lot of stuff out, especially wrt shipping” because Jugdrali shipping is complicated.)

Anyway, so that’s the outline of the plot stuff. Note again, this takes more than twenty years to play out-- more than double the time elapsed between the Tragedy of Duscur and Dimitri’s final victory in Azure Moon. Jugdral is a long, long, hard slog for the characters that survive it.

Now, here’s where we get to the interpretive part. Finn’s devotion to Quan (and thence to Leif) and his trauma and self-abnegation are not up for debate. Hell, FE Heroes provides a pretty fair encapsulation of it. What Heroes also conveys is the sheer depth of his grief for Quan after fifteen, seventeen, twenty years... a grief that leads a number of fans, including me, to see a romantic subtext there. Maybe Quan, as a happily married man with two kids, wasn’t ever thinking of his page-turned-protege like that, but in between some interesting bits of dialogue in FE5 about Finn being “cold to women” and his current portrayal in Heroes, it does create the impression that at the very least Finn’s feelings for Quan went outside the ordinary bounds of the lord/retainer relationship. As Jugdral by its nature doesn’t lead to the sorts of paired endings we see in Three Houses, that’s really something fans have to experience for themselves. 

If that interests you, hopefully this essay has provided some pointers on where to find material. Have fun!