#attack on titan aoe

[viridescentelf]

okay aot is over

i am genuinely happy with the entire story of aot. what a show and what a wild ride this has been!

i had some hopes that the anime would clear up a few things that were either mistranslated or hastily written in the manga (i def think the scene with armin and dummy eren has been massively improved)

BUT

wtf did this scene mean

idk man i am still so confused why this was in both manga and anime bc i don‘t get it and maybe someone who‘s smarter than me can explain???

look i thought isayama was gonna pull a „ymir will be reborn and given a chance, a life where she is finally free“ type of thing bc historia kind of looks like her and eren has ymir like in him pff idk so they were gonna reincarnate ymir this way

hey eren can literally loop and manipulate time itself this is not super out of the scope of possibility alright?! if he can scare his dad to kill kids, he can find a way to reincarnate someone!

also i think it would’ve been more poetic, like a part of him still lives on and is free of this titan shit world.

and yes i also see that it would be kinda weird for ymir to be born again in the fritz fam bc they were shit and awful but historia is not like that at all and proves that there is good within the family line (which is also part of ymir)

i also get that isayama probably didn‘t want to ruin the eren/mikasa dynamic by having him be the baby daddy of historia lol

and maybe historia wouldn’t be too happy to have her baby daddy be a mass murderer… ok i get why he chose not to go that route

BUT WHAT DOES IT MEEEEEEEEAN why are they talking like this and what is the point someone free me

mikasa lol

[onigiri-dorkk]

Attack on Titan AOE vs. Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth Parallels

Alright fam. This is my ultimate multi-fandom post! This will go out to fellow AOT x FFVII fans -- especially those who have been looking into the AOT/ANR theories regarding AOE.

Obviously there will be heavy spoilers for both Attack on Titan as well as for Final Fantasy VII (OG and Remake).

Recently I've dived into the theory and lore to FFVII and a LOT of it lines up with what's been theorized for AOT regarding different medias being different timelines for one entire story:

For AOT, the manga is theorized to be a different timeline than the anime.

For FFVII, the original game (OG) is now officially implied to be a different parallel timeline than the current Remake.

In AOT, Eren and Paradis Island's fate from the Manga ending is death, that Paradis is still destroyed despite everything he does to prevent that. In the Manga, he reaches 80% Rumbling and then dies by Mikasa's hands; a sacrifice he was willing to make in order to allow Mikasa, Armin and friends to be heroes and live long lives (which they do) and for Paradis to survive -- however the cycle of hatred still continues on when Paradis is bombed, negating most of what he acted towards.

Before I get into this next part, let me also mention that the Cabin dream is implied to be a previous or parallel timeline -- in this, we see Eren die; his eyes slowly close, fading to black to his peaceful death as Mikasa says, "See you later, Eren..." which directly reflects the beginning pages of the manga of the moments and words he sees just before he wakes up underneath the tree. In other words, when Eren dies in Cabin timeline, he awakens to what we know to be the Manga timeline. It's a peaceful wakeup, sitting up against the tree as he had been sitting at the Cabin during death. He doesn't cry -- he only wonders why Mikasa's hair was long (because when he saw her last in Cabin timeline, her hair was short). Then the manga story ensues, leading up to his inevitable death by Mikasa beheading him -- a violent, gruesome death in the Manga...

...To which he wakes up in the Anime, in fright and shock, laying down on the ground with his head laying directly where Mikasa had laid his headstone in the Manga post-war, as if he'd just woken from his violent death in manga.

This is very similar to what is actually happening (not just theorizing) with FFVII right now.

In the original (OG) game, Aerith is killed by Sephiroth while trying to save Midgar/the world from Meteor destruction, then her soul is essentially absorbed into the Lifestream. In the end, Cloud defeats Sephiroth (who also goes into Lifestream), but in the process, Midgar is still completely destroyed by the Meteor as it was too late to completely save everything, even if the rest of the world was saved.

There are already some parallels here:

Rumbling = Meteor. The world is saved, but still experienced mass destruction. Lifestream = somewhat like Paths, allowing people to transcend time/space/etc.

However a big thing paralleling AOT theories is that the FFVII OG game ends with Aerith (remember, she was killed), surrounded by Lifestream energy, closing her eyes... Then the Remake game opening with Aerith, surrounded by Lifestream energy, opening her eyes as it leads to the new game unfolding.

Aerith woke up in a new timeline.

And there is plenty of evidence throughout the Part I that shows that she knows what is fated to happen based on the OG game/previous timeline:

She knows details about Cloud even though he didn't share/she acts like she already knows him well.

She gives him a flower because he's a 'special' customer, and says that the flower is a symbol for when lovers reunite.

She knew that the Plate would fall and destroy Sector 7, even though Tifa and Cloud were doubtful, but she couldn't tell them. (Tifa: "Aerith... What are you not telling me?")

She knew Tifa wanted her to save Marlene, even before Tifa even said it

In the special cut scene between Cloud and Aerith, she tells him with sadness that everyone dies eventually. And she advises Cloud to never fall in love with her (because she knows how that tragically ended in the original). She KNOWS she's fated to die.

And these are ALL differences from the OG game -- Aerith didn't have any of these reactions, dialogue, thoughts, sentiments before. She is implied to be operating in Remake with the knowledge of how things ended before: that she would be killed, that Midgar would still be destroyed, that Sephiroth would still be alive.

Except this time, with all that knowledge of OG fate, Aerith is now trying to actively veer things away from the tragic fate and destiny laid out before them. (Side note, Whispers are also game-original and are trying to reel things back to fate/destiny. Also, Sephiroth, being part of Lifestream from OG, is also operating with the knowledge that he failed in the OG. Like Aerith, Sephiroth is trying to change destiny.)

And if that isn't enough yet to convince you that it's a different FFVII timeline... ZACK IS ALIVE. They show him make it out of the battle that killed him before. It is an entirely new journey. (I will cry if/when Zack and Aerith reunite)

Now we circle around right back to AOT.

Like Aerith, Anime Eren is theorized to know how things ended in the Manga: his death, Paradis' destruction, etc. He gained this knowledge when he kissed Historia's hand (in both anime and manga), gaining access to memories of the future... and of the past. But not just memories of the Anime timeline. Founding Titan Eren is interconnected with Paths, the way Aerith is to Lifestream, both of which surpass time itself, as we've seen with Eren/Zeke traveling through his memories. (There's a lot of imagery alluding to Manga art intertwined with Anime, but that's a sub-sub-sub-theory)

There is also a side theory that Aerith transferred memories to Red XIII (as she pressed her hand to his forehead upon meeting) because he was already most attuned to the Lifestream itself, and he becomes her aid almost. Likewise, there is a fun theory regarding Eren using Falco as a messenger/Falco receives memories from Eren (which is why in Anime, Falco recalls memories of 'flying around with swords'... Which couldn't have come from Ymir Freckles. You can only see memories once you HAVE the Titan shifter; Falco at the beginning of S4E1 was still just Falco. Falco has also already been used as a messenger of Eren's letters. Falco is also one of the most neutral characters who shows empathy and understanding of both sides. He is a special character. If AOE happens as theorized, many think Falco will play an important role)

Now there is a certain tragic ending that we think Isayama has been alluding to for forever. I'm not gonna say it here because some of you will get triggered over attachment to certain characters/ships and whatnot. But the core of it is that we think Eren is going to do things very differently to change the fate and destiny -- that maybe, instead of choosing others over his freedom, instead of only committing 80% Rumbling (leaving enough people to lead to the demise of Paradis)... Maybe Eren will even choose his freedom this time via 100% rumbling, etc.

Honestly, who knows! There may be an entirely new ending that's the best of both worlds for every single fan. (...Sarcastic, though, because not everyone can or will be pleased. Even for FFVII, OG purists are frustrated by it veering off.)

I do not believe AOT Anime is going to end the same way the Manga did even if I have reasons for wanting it to stay the same (y'all know me and why I would NOT want it to end different; there are special scenes between my OTP I need to see, especially post-war) but it's because we've seen many consistent things throughout the anime -- through the story, dialogue, recurring imagery, etc. all for a separate detailed post -- that Isayama could have potentially been foreshadowing since 2013 towards a new ending.

"What's the lie? What's the truth?"

The fact that Tetsuya Nomura (maker of FFVII) is already doing this meta-narrative of having one media/game being an entirely different timeline than the original content is SO cool, and affirms that if Isayama is pulling this same stunt, it's not because of fans trying to riot and change an ending, but because that's... well, that's what could've been planned from the start, and because it's a really unique storytelling technique that would elevate a work by making many pieces come together as one, singular, consistent story in a brilliant way.

Obviously there's no IRL link between FFVII and AOT, but again, Nomura doing this makes it less crazy and more probably for another Japanese mastermind storyteller to do this, too. (And I won't even START on Muv Luv/Muv Luv Alternative! But it's the same thing, too!)

I'll stop there for now. Any AOT AOE x FFVII fans out there?! PLEASE tell me I'm not alone LOL

[kylermalloy]

I have many, many thoughts on the aot finale but the thing that sticks out to me the most is Armin’s gut-wrenching scream when he sees Eren

[aengelren]

Huge news from Isayama

[twinhood-2dot0]

Attack On Titan's Anime Original Ending

I have an unhealthy obsession with this animanga. There, I said it. No, but really, it’s more than just love. You know I parade it around like it’s a gift to humanity from god and it’s the perfect work of fiction, but it’s not (UNLESS you scrap everything past chapter 90 in which case yes it is perfect. I’d rather have a partial conclusion than an awkward one.), because we got Game Of Thronesed. With the release of the final chapter, the fanbase was extremely divisive, and with the 8 extra pages included later on because only god knows why, everyone just hated the whole thing. And that gave birth to AOE, Anime Original Ending, because you know, AoT, AoE, you get the point. When I caught up to the manga in 2021, it was at 137 and I read every chapter (2) since then in the few minutes since release, and I was pretty much okay with it. Like it was not the masterpiece I expected from Hajime Isayama (I also have a huge problem with idolisation. Like every single person I idolized has let me down terribly. Thank god I still have Toby Fox and Tatsuki Fujimoto.), but still, it was just fine. I just went two years pretending that never happened and Attack On Titan is still the same perfect manga that inspired me to pursue writing. 

That was until last Wednesday, when I went down the AOE rabbit hole and spent like 24 hours doing nothing but that. I slept like 2 hours in between I think. And now I have crippling anxiety about the last episode of the anime. As a redditor aptly put it

 “If it happens Yams will turn into one of the greatest creators of fiction in history

If it doesn't he will turn into one of the greatest clowns in fiction history”.

I’ve read every theory that people have written in the subreddit, and it’s pretty compelling. There are some subtle differences between the anime and the manga that could either be just because he forgor or foreshadowing, and knowing Isayama, it’s highly likely the latter. Seriously, the plot consistency and subtle symbolism and foreshadowing and the storytelling quality of everything up till chapter 90 is unparalleled, so as awkward as the rest of it was, I’m still holding out hope. If the last episode just turns out to be a straight adaptation I am going to be so pissed because with how much evidence there is it just feels like the dumbest freaking thing to do. I would agree that some parts are a bit of a reach but like, the rest? Impeccable. I kinda wish I didn’t read the theories like before when I thought this was just delusional because if this happens, this is going to be like the biggest thing to happen in anime history. It would be flipping game changing.

I know I shouldn’t care this much, it’s just a dumb anime, who cares, right? But as I alluded to before, I have sort of a personal connection to this, even when I joined at like the very end of it. I was born too late :(, I would have been 7 when the first season aired. It meant so much to me even when I joined this late, imagine how much more it would have been if I had been reading it as it aired (emphasis on read, because Season 2 came out a whopping 4 years after Season 1.) I really hated doing art as a child. Not because I had a distaste for it, but I was kind of a perfectionist. I didn’t want to make anything that wasn’t a masterpiece. It’s dumb, and I still have that feeling, but seeing Isayama make such a storytelling marvel at his first shot at a serialized manga, that was really inspiring (and caused me to set a nigh-unattainable goal :P). It is dumb, but I hope you see now why I want to see it become the best that it can be. There is just so much freaking potential in all the theories that I have read. I know I’m hoping for too much but I just can’t accept the fact that it has such a mediocre ending. \*sigh\* I really need to get a life don’t I?

[bea-sthetic]

went to watch attack on titan finale at the cinema last night and it was the best thing i have done so far this year... teenage me reawakened.

[oddlydrawnfairylights]

Bro, if Attack on Titan ends the same way the manga did, I will lose my shit.

[catboybiologist]

Y'all ready for a certified neurodivergent moment?

I had to sit through a thing I absolutely did not need any info from, and typed up a massive outline of the soulsborne pokemon game I just talked about. Massively cringe, yes, but hey it's not just living in my head anymore.

I've had this idea brewing in my head for a while now, pretty much ever since PLA came out (and I found it kinda disappointing tbh). Even though Hoenn has lots of love, it still feels like the most "grand" region in terms of the scale and themes of its lore, so I liked the idea of using it for a legends game that focused on the initial clash of Kyogre and Groudon. I had so many ideas brew in my head, and I guess now I sloppily typed them out.

Obviously this isn't actual game design. This is just me being cringey and detailing my dream pokemon game. At 26 years old. Anyways.

Pokemon Legends: Jirachi

In the times when Hoenn was young, the earth and seas shook. Titans roam the land- powerful individual pokemon that shape their environment to their liking. Humans and pokemon work together to keep them under control, but the earth and sea themselves shake, and Titans only grow more numerous. One day, a human wishes on a shooting star to become a hero and save their land, and something from up there answered.

In this game, Jirachi would be a kind of invisible "questmaster", giving an in-game reason for path markers, quest markers, and points of interest marked in stardust and sparkles. Once the main plot is completed, Jirachi would be able to join your party.

Core combat

The gameplay would be souls-like or Monster Hunter like, but with direct parallels to mainline pokemon mechanics. The six stats would be the same, and the four moves your pokemon can learn would be equivalent to the attack interface of a soulslike game- four trigger buttons. You would take direct control of one "primary" pokemon at a time, and use it as a souls-like character.

HP, Def, and SpDef would be largely the same, with the added benefit that less damage taken means more resistance to trips and staggers.

Atk and SpAtk are also pretty clear cut, scales your damage output per move.

Speed would be analogous to stamina or endurance. Dodging would work as in soulsborne games, and consume stamina. Most pokemon walking, running, attack speed, and dodging speed would be largely equivalent, but high speed pokemon would be able to sustain rapidfire attacking, frequent dodging, and continuous sprinting for longer.

Accuracy would be reworked into lock-on or charge up time- eg, a low accuracy move requires you to stay in one place for a longer amount of time before releasing, to charge up or lock on (imagine how swag ass this would look with focus blast).

PP would correspond to cooldown time. Each move would be infinite use, but have a cool-down after its used. So a move with high accuracy, but low PP, could be used instantly, but not spammed. High PP, weaker moves would then see an increased niche as a "default" light attack that can be spammed.

Attacks could also be ranged, up close, AoE, and have other features that would need to be tweaked and balanced in implementation. They wouldn't one to one map onto their in game counterparts, but this would at least provide a vague guide for how these moves work that builds on players assumed existing knowledge of pokemon games.

Special attributes, like never-miss moves and priority moves, would have features that play into this- eg, priority moves could be spammed with no cooldown, and never-miss moves would be immune to inhibiting effects.

Stat changes could be temporary effects applied to yourself when using the move, like a buffing spell in soulsborne games.

Nonvolatile status effects (paralysis, burn, sleep, etc) would work similar to monster hunter- invisibly accumulating triggers that occur as a side effect to to moves, or in the case of moves that directly trigger status like Spore or Thunder Wave, they would not do direct damage, but instead add massive amounts to the accumulated status trigger.

Field effects (weather, terrain, and special effects like wind, gravity, etc) could be set by regular pokemon moves in small areas, but would also be frequently encountered in the overworld.

Examples: the vibes of potential starter pokemon.

This is all just for the purpose of giving examples of how I envision some of this stuff working. Assume each pokemon would have regional variants that scaled their stats appropriately. This is just to show how different playstyles from the mainline games would translate to this format.

Lucario: example mixed offensive pokemon

Moves like aura sphere could be used with no lock on time, and little to no cooldown, forming the basis of a normal, light, ranged attack.

Moves like Close Combat would have no lock on, but give a temporary debuff and have a long cooldown time before they could be initiated again, making for a quick to use but infrequent heavy attack.

Swords dance and/or nasty plot could be used to provide a temporary buff for a period of time.

Focus blast would take a long time to charge and lock on, making you a sitting duck.

Reuniclus: example tanky pokemon

Light Screen and Barrier could lay down static areas on the ground. When an ally pokemon is located within them, they provide their corresponding defensive buffs. Cooldown for reusing them starts when these floor areas disappear.

Recover could be used to heal, but would have a long cooldown.

Liepard: example technical pokemon

Yawn would inflict direct sleep "buildup", but over time as opposed to instantly.

Fake out would instantly proc a stagger from the enemy, but could only be used in a certain time range upon being sent out.

Moves like taunt and torment function as usual.

The trainer and overworld traversal

Even though the player has direct control over pokemon, the MC is still a trainer, and pokemon are still capture in balls.

The trainer would be on the sidelines, with idle animations ordering the pokemon to do stuff.

Only one "controllable" pokemon could be outside of a pokeball at a time, or all of them could be stowed in pokeballs to directly control the trainer. The trainer can interact with NPCs, gather items, etc.

The trainer would also order "helper" pokemon. One or two "helpers" could be added independent of the party that would follow the trainer around constantly. Each pokemon has a list of field "helper" abilities they're capable of doing, independent of what moves they know. By targeting something that a helper pokemon can interact with in the world, the trainer would order that pokemon to zip out and interact with it. Think Republic commando. This takes the role of HMs and other field moves. For areas that require things like Surf of dive, the helper pokemon would exert a field of influence that essentially allowed the primary pokemon to act normally- eg, a surf helper would cause an area of surging upwards surface chop that lets the primary pokemon walk on water, or a dive helper would create small air bubbles centered around wherever the primary pokemon breathes from.

The trainer can also provide small support in the form of items, but this would be limited to encourage sensible use of stat boosting moves.

Pokemon would still be captured in pokeballs, but after they are fainted by the primary pokemon. Fainted pokemon could either be captured in a pokeball, or "relieved" of unique held items and resources before releasing them.

Pokemon would not gain experience by defeating opponents. Instead, each one would have material requirements to both level up and "customize" them. Like upgrading a weapon in Monster Hunter, every pokemon would have unique material requirements to level up, change nature, upgrade IVs, allocate EVs, or learn and relearn certain moves. This incentivizes a postgame loop, but could be curved to make the main game give you adequate materials to avoid excessive grinding.

The gameplay and story structure

The gameplay loop is basically monster hunter.

There would be a large number of normal-sized pokemon out in the world, that could be easily defeated and either captured and looted. But, frequently, a "Titan" would appear- a large, boss variant of a particular pokemon. Some pokemon can only be captured from their defeated titan forms, even if they appear in their regular forms.

These titan forms would appear semi-randomly, and requests to "quiet" them by defeating them would take the form of quests posted in the hub regions. These quests would then essentially be a monster hunter hunt- going out and fighting a particular titan.

Titan forms could be unique, or vaguely modeled after existing megas.

The world is divided into 8 main regions, and at least one "bonus" region. There would be 4 ocean regions, and 4 land regions. Each region would be seperate, but open to explore within that region (damn you can really see how much I've played MH:W)

Each region would have a drop table of pokemon that could potentially appear as titans.

Each region would also have one, single titan pokemon that gives the region its character. These 9 titans would be new, unique regional variants.

Each region, and by extension, each boss titan, would be directly associated with a different regional effect. So essentially, the boss titan and the field effect of a region would be reflective of its character.

The plot, like monster hunter, would be a gameplay loop of increasingly powerful titans within a region, building to the boss titans of each region. Once the 8 primary titans are defeated, it triggers the endgame main plotline.

The world

As mentioned previously, the bulk of the gameplay loop and storyline would be defeating increasingly more powerful "titan" pokemon, until you encounter a particular individual pokemon that is actively shaping that region and has ultimately caused the other titans along the way to be empowered.

Each region would have a dominant type, several field effects that come and go within certain parts of the area, and a unique boss titan. Each boss titan is about equivalent difficulty, and the player is encouraged to spread their efforts around to proceed through the "tiers" of titans evenly across the world before making it to the boss.

Hubs: Slateport, Lilycove.

Self explanatory, these would be the hub towns. Like in PLA, no other cities would be founded yet. Mt. Pyre would be integrated as part of Lilycove, and important characters and exposition could happen there. It would be an active cathedral. Kyogre and Groudon wouldn't be "known", but vague, amorphous titans of earth, sea, and sky would be referenced.

Land Regions

Meteor Cliffs and the Tranquil Plain

A gentle, grassy plain south of Mt. Chimney gives way to its southern slope. The slope, pockmarked with craters, has not been extensively explored, but is thought to hold deep caverns.

Regional effect: Pyschic Terrain

Regional Titan boss: Metagross (Steel/Pyschic)

Main game route equivalents: Meteor Falls, Rustboro City, Petalburg Woods, Petalburg City, Oldale Town, Littleroot town, 101, 102, 103, 104, 116, 115

Towering Forest

A deep, lush forest, sometimes so dense that you can't see the sky, fed by the crystal clear river cutting through it. The tangle of the canopy shudders under the weight of unseen pokemon above.

Regional effect: Grassy Terrain

Regional Titan boss: Tropius (Grass/Steel)

Main game route equivalents: Fortree city, Safari Zone, 119, 120, 121, 123

Jagged Stones

Deep, rugged canyons hide a basin-like desert, where a raging sandstorm elicits mirage-like visions.

Regional effect: sandstorm

Regional Titan boss: Tyranitar (Rock/Dragon)

Main game route equivalents: Verdanturf town, 117, 111, 112, all desert subregions

Volcanic Slopes

The peaks, caverns, and North slope of Mt. Chimney know no peace from the continuous onslaught of lava.

Regional effect: harsh sunlight

Regional Titan boss: Camerupt (Fire/Ground)

Main game route equivalents: Mt. Chimney, Jagged Pass, Fiery Path, Lavaridge, Fallarbor, 113, 114

Oceanic regions

Thunder Bay

An unrelenting, static haze hovers over the inlets of of Thunder Bay, impeding exploration of its deep subterranean caverns.

Regional effect: electric terrain

Regional Titan boss: Manectric (Electric/Dark)

Main game route equivalents: Mauville, New Mauville (replaced by a cave entrance), Cycling Road, 118, 110, 134, 133

Shifting Floes

A chill falls over the NorthEast seas of Hoenn, a climatic anomaly. Scattered islands and shifting ice platforms are continually coated with a snowstorm.

Regional effect: snowstorm

Regional Titan boss: Froslass (ice/ghost)

Main game region equivalents: Mossdeep, Shoal cave, 124, 125, parts of 126 and 127

Misted islands

A mysterious area of the ocean in which islands seem to shift locations as they phase in and out of sight.

Primary Area effect: Misty Terrain

Regional Titan Boss: Altaria (Dragon/fairy)

Main game route equivalents: Dewford Town, Granite Cave, Southern Island, Mirage Island (location changed), 105, 106, 107, 108, 109

Deep Blue

The open expanse of the ocean, and the islands within it, hold secrets beyond comprehension in their depths and constant storms. It is said that there is as much below as there is above.

Primary Area effect: rain/underwater (same effects as rain)

Regional Titan Boss: Wailord (water)

Main game route equivalents: Sootopolis city, Cave of Origin, Sky Pillar, Ever Grande City, Pacifidlog, Seafloor cavern, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, parts of 126 and 127

Special Area: the Delta Stream

Ripping across Hoenn's skies is an air current known as the Delta Stream, which powerful pokemon use as a causeway between regions and across the world.

Only accessible in the postgame, and with a "helper" pokemon that can fly. This entire region is above the clouds, and the only points that poke up are the peak of Mt. Chimney, Sky Pillar, and an updraft over Mt. Pyre.

Primary area effect: tailwind

Regional Titan Boss: Salamence (Flying/Dragon)

The Endgame Plot: after the titans are quieted

Once every boss has been defeated, the endgame storyline starts. Despite every titan being quieted, the land still quakes, and the seas still swell. The elders of Mt. Pyre urge you to investigate these at their source: the inner lava chamber of Mt. Chimney (subregion of Volcanic Slopes), and the depths of the seafloor (subregion of Deep Blue).

As you can probably guess, this is the introduction to Kyogre and Groudon.

The first fight with each of them uses your own pokemon, and gives you a "false" win- after you "faint" them in a suspiciously easy battle, they each revive into their primal forms, and head to the mountain island that would become Sootopolis. Hear, they battle on a kaiju-like scale. The MC watches the destruction from Mt. Pyre.

For the second time in the game's story, the MC makes a wish: this is beyond me. I wish a savior would come. Jirachi directly unveils itself for the first time to answer the call, touches the MC, and speeds off into the distance. A cutscene follows Jirachi to Sky Pillar (only a raw, uncarved spike of rock at this point), where Rayquaza is seen coiled around the top. Jirachi leads Rayquaza into the upper atmosphere, where it undergoes a primal/mega evolution. It pivots, shooting down towards earth, building speed.

The player takes control of M-Rayquaza as it slams down to earth, staggering Kyogre and Groudon away from each other, and engages in a special fight where they have to defeat both of them.

After this, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza may each be found at Seafloor cavern, Mt. Chimney, and sky pillar respectively, and may be defeated and captured. But its highly implied that they only go along with this willingly, and will freely resume their duties as the lords of the land once the MC passes on.

After the plot is completed, steps and murals start being carved into Sky Pillar, allowing access to the Delta Stream.

The post game would allow for infinitely generating Titans, rematches with previously captured Boss Titans as "enrichment" for them, and general gameplay loop grinding for items to train pokemon.

Yay, okay, no ones gonna read this far but uh. Yeah. That's the general idea I had. Hope it made at least some sense LOL

[glitter-stained]

A, S, Z for the fandom ask game

A-your favourite OTP : Mom help they're making me pick favourites again

Such a complicated question. I'm gonna have to go with Dinahbabs but Jayrena is extremely close behind right now and Stephcass and Jayroy are also very close fuck I need to go with my gut and my gut says dinahbabs but good god I love all of my ships why do I have to chooooose

S- show us an example of your personal headcanon: god there's so much stuff... Let's say my hc that Mia Dearden is into jazz dancing! But also I have an hc that Mia is great at shooting in the dark, like getting a great sense of her surroundings and then closing her eyes/being blindfolded and shooting from memory, something she does to avoid ever being taken down in a fight due a blackout or blinding light. So, I'm combining that to get: Mia practices jazz dancing with a blindfold on to increase her spatial memory/spatial awareness as practice for fighting without her eyes.

Z- ramble about something fandom related -that's a full time job hell yeah. Okay so everyone has a favourite trick arrow right? Like one of my favourite things about the arrowfam is when they use trick arrows these are so so cool one of my favourite gimmicks definitely my favourite gadgets (yes, even above jason's exploding helmet exploding katana and tit tazers and you guys know I love those). Anyway so you gotta love arrowfam trick arrows they are so fun and they make writing fight scenes so much more enjoyable I think my favourite fight scene that I ever wrote was Jason vs Ollie in the Protector and then I got to keep using Ollie's arrows for the other fights, I can't wait to write a Mia fight scene with trick arrows it's going to be amazing. Anyway so cool, badass trick arrows are great and make for fun fight scenes. BUT there's something that I love even more and it's those campy, absurd trick arrows we don't see much of these days -the wedding arrow the sun arrow the fountain pen arrow the jack-in-the-box arrow. They're so good. Collector. In an ideal world there's an arrowfam videogame where Ollie is presumed dead and has left collector campy trick arrows all over Star City for the arrowfam members to find. Anyway so my point is, I love campy trick arrow and I miss them and I think comics should reference them more. And I have to say my favourite is maybe the Sun Arrow, an illuminated balloon arrow resembling the sun. You guys know I have to share a picture:

As I was saying, modern comics need more references to those arrows - if they won't bring them back at least let them never be forgotten. So I thought -hey what if Roy made a modern version of a sun-powered arrow named "sun arrow" as a direct reference to this one (he says something about "the good old days")? My idea was an arrow with solar-panels or something that can somehow absorb store and release solar energy. And then I thought wait hold on a second that reminds me of someone!

So my proposal: Arsenal!Roy making a sun arrow (new version) and at some point (either in the Titans or my personal version of the Outlaws, not RHATO), Kory's powers aren't working because she's been kept underground for too long and she's being restrained on the other side of the battlefield and Roy and the others are surrounded from way too many enemies and the villain says something along the line of "surrender now, we have much more firepower than your pitiful team" and Roy says "I wouldn't count on that" and fires the sun arrow at Kory which releases a big burst of solar energy she absorbs and she unleashes a big AOE attack and joins the fight and is able to turn the tides like that, that's my pitch.

Anyway check out the trickster's quiver for maybe my favourite site to browse ever.

[boatemlag]

Ren build guide!

OK, confession. I picked up Ren on release in 3.3, and kind of fell off building him. But when I was pulling for Pix's signature on his release, I lost the 50/50 to Ren's weapon, and I've been building him. He is SO much fun to play. Ren is a 5* cryo catalyst DPS who takes Hermitopia materials, so make sure you have Hermitopia fully unlocked.

PROS: Does HUGE damage with the right team, lax rotations, is a catalyst (yes this is a pro ok)

CONS: Huge investment time to make him viable for endgame content, best team is basically all limited characters, is cryo

Here's my guide on how to build him and what an ideal rotation would look like on his best modern team!

✦✦✦ Explaining the kit ✦✦✦

◇ Basic Attack: Ancient Art

Shoots a ranged homing ice-bolt 4 times. I've found that the homing AI on this thing is pretty accurate, even for overworld puzzles. Charged attack does an AoE.

◇ (E) Skill: Telltale Heart

Does a small amount of AoE cryo DMG and buffs Ren's charged attack. The buff can stack up to 3 times, and the skill has a short cooldown.

◇ (Q) Burst: Winter is Coming

Big AoE cryo DMG, different effects depending on how many stacks of Creeping (his skill buff) he has.

One stack: Significantly decreases Ren's stamina consumption

Two stacks: Significantly increases charged ATK DMG

Three stacks: Decreases the CD for the burst by half and increases the effective time

◇ Passives

Color of Despair: When releasing a charged ATK, releases 4 homing shots that additionally hit nearby enemies.

Blood of Angry Men: When Ren's burst buff is active and the burst is activated again, triples the buffs instead of doubling them

Luck Be With Ye: Has a chance to double talent book production and reduces the cost of crafting them

✦✦✦ Constellations ✦✦✦

C1: Decreases Ren's general stamina consumption (running, climbing, gliding, swimming, etc) when skill buff is active

C2: Charged ATKs ignore a percentage of enemies DEF

C4: Increases the DMG of the homing shots in Ren's 1st ascension passive

C6: For every 1% of Ren's CDMG above 100%, buffs his overall DMG by 5%, capping at 750% (250 CDMG)

Obviously C6 is insane, but C2 is also a good value. C6 > C2 > C1 > C4

✦✦✦ Ascension & Talent Materials ✦✦✦

◇ Drops: Ghasts

These spawn all over the world, but can be found in large clusters in the northern parts of Ention, especially close to the Grumbot Containment Site. You will need:

Sad sliver x18

Smoldering droplets x30

Ghastly tears x36

◇ Deepfrost Fragment

Dropped by the Hermitopia boss Primordial Warden. You'll need x46.

◇ Glowberries

Exclusive to Hermitopia.

◇ Community Talent Books

Mon/Thurs/Sun talent domain in Hermitopia.

◇ Poppy of Remembrance from The Iron Titan weekly boss

If you haven't done Tango's story quest, you should be able to quick access from the handbook.

✦✦✦ Artifacts & Stats ✦✦✦

4pc Lorefinder is his signature set for a good reason. A good interim set if you have the pieces is 2pc Lorefinder, 2pc Moonbase. If you're running 4pc Lorefinder, go for a CDMG circlet instead of a CR one, since the Lorefinder stacks will more than compensate for about 6-7 good CR substat rolls.

Sands: ATK%

Goblet: Cryo DMG bonus

Circlet: CR=CDMG

Substat priority: CR=CDMG > ATK% >>> EM (if running on a reverse melt team) > everything else

ER goal: 150% (120% if running with another cryo that generates particles or with Divine Rights)

He's a pretty traditional crit DPS. The suck thing about getting his artifacts is that Lorefinder is in a domain with the Ambivalence set, which is incredibly useless unless you are specifically building a character like Stress or Joey.

✦✦✦ Weapons ✦✦✦

Ok, I'm biased, but Ren's signature weapon is by far his best option. Gives charged ATK bonus, has a CDMG main stat, gives a CR bonus, and increases his DMG significantly after using his burst. Other than that, there aren't a lot of really good cryo specific catalyst weapons. R5 Destroya (3* gacha) might actually be his best comparable weapon. A lot of the catalysts we have right now are really EM reliant, and Ren is not.

✦✦✦ Talent Priority ✦✦✦

Basic ATK > Burst > Skill

9/7/7 or 9/7/8 is a fine option since his skill scaling doesn't really matter at 8 or 9. It leaps a huge amount between 9 and 10, but if you're not planning on triple crowning him, 9/7/7 works just fine.

✦✦✦ Team Comps ✦✦✦

Ren Premium DPS - Ren as the on field DPS, Grian as the off field pyro applicator and support, Scott for the cryo battery and support, and Martyn as sub-dps/sustain/swirl. This is Ren's current best team

Ren f2p DPS - Ren, Katherine, Jimmy, and a flex sustain like Netty or Cryo False. Jimmy works well as a sub-dps here since he won't steal melts from Ren but still do good DMG and buffing, and the resonance make's Katherine better and buffs Ren's DMG. False doesn't do a lot of particle generation, but the resonance is nice for Ren and she does fine as a sustain.

Ren Superconduct/phys - OK this is a stupid team, but on the new catalyst Force of Personality, Ren can do some really funny physical dmg. Run him on 2 or 4pc Reactor, swap around his goblet, have Cleo or Xisuma (or both) to enable superconduct, bring a healer that can proc FoP's passive, and watch Ren do really funny phys numbers. I ran abyss with this recently and I died badly but it was so so funny to watch him bitchslap enemies.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

Hope you enjoyed the guide and give your puppy another chance! His story quest is coming soon so it's a great time to pick him up again. Thanks for reading and let me know if you try him with FoP!

[genyxie]

What shall I toss on Tumblr today?

TITAN! (Since it's a piece I finished this year)

Originally they were a MHA oc but I repurposed them sort of.

They're an antihero! Titan Demonica can access the 7 gates/circles of hell/deadly sins? (one at a time) they can either manifest abilities tied to whatever circle they're able to use.

Each circle is tied to one of the seven deadly sins and as they grow and train they're able to use deeper and deeper circles. They have 2 ways of using a circle, the aforementioned ability manifestation and demon summoning.

Considering it's a op sounding skill the caveat is they can only use one circle at a time and if they are summoning they cannot manifest and vice versa.

I don't know how I'm arranging the order of the gates, but wrath is the first (maybe I'll make it based on the sins they're most prone to? Idk.

The original concept was cute and I still love it

Wrath (arms) manifestation- both arms become enlarged into demonic fists (they get really strong) • summon- Belial (gigantuan red bull demon, focused on raw strength :berserker)

Pride (thigh) manifestation- cloven hoofed feet and legs (speed agility dexterity boost, allows for all terrain movement even on and in water powerful kicking attack) • summon- Mephistopheles (a tall butler looking cat headed demon, vanguard build. A swordsman)

Glutony (neck) manifestation- their mouth splits open to their ears and their teeth become fangs (they can consume an attack and turn the power into healing, the more they eat the more they heal) • summon- Beelzebub (a fly shaped demon that can consume an opponents skills or powers for a limited time and make use of it or temporarily bestow it unto Titan)

Sloth (nose) manifestation- idk •summon- Astaroth (a small sickly looking demon that is always tired. He creates an AOE field that applies debuffs like slow, lethargy and sleep in 1 minute intervals. Buffs stack)

Greed (eyes) manifestation- their second pair of eyes become green (they can 'See' trails of treasure. It's like an explorer or ranger skill) • summon- 10 imps (little annoying rascals that on the summoners orders will disperse and snatch/steal weapons, armour, voices... They require payment though)

Envy (forehead) manifestation- 3rd eye opens fully (clairvoyance of some kind🤷) • summon- leviathan* (idk yet)

Lust (hip) manifestation- succubus tail/forked tongue (charm, the ability to confuse and charm enemies to do their bidding. Temporary ) • summon- Lilith/a flock of succubi/incubi (idk yet)

Todoroki was cute here I was going for "grown up" at the time.

[xxcrystalinerose]

In celebration of me officially reaching 100 HOURS of fucking around in Hades 2, here's a couple of general gameplay tips from yours truly!

Preface

I am not the best Hades gamer out there, but I'd like to think I'm doing pretty good considering my still-standing 25+ win streak in the Underworld and 16 Fear clear on all weapon types, so this tip is meant for you guys who find Hades 2 weirdly difficult compared to the first game (I've been there!), or those who still haven't figured out good build and aspect combos. However, I will not be doing a deep dive of all the bosses except for the final bosses!

Obviously, spoilers abound under the cut, so tread with caution!!

Part 1: General Questions, Comments, Complaints, etc.

Q: Playing Melinoë is so difficult compared to Zagreus!

A: First of all, you are playing Melinoë, not Zagreus. Second of all, you are playing Lv. 1 Mel after being so used to Lv. 100 Zag (if you've spent an unreasonable amount of time playing Hades 1 like I did). These two have different playstyles! I myself am guilty of this mindset in my first 20 hours of gameplay.

Mel is all about using everything in your disposal to dispatch enemies. Additionally, the devs have designed the kit in such a way that none of your moves are an afterthought that you occasionally use every other room. The biggest example of this is Cast, which remains useful as a crowd control (CC) move even without a Boon attached to it. Use your Cast all the time!

Additionally, in case you haven't realized it, you can still move while charging your Omega Cast; however, the AoE will not follow you unless you have Local Climate (Demeter).

Don't forget that you can hold down Dash to Sprint. Lock enemies in place with Cast then sprint away if you need breathing room. However, do remember that you do not have i-frames while sprinting, only when dashing.

I have to concede that as of the current EA patch, dashing to dodge attacks still feels janky without the Swift Runner card, mostly because of the dash start-up animation being slightly but noticeably slower than Zag's dashes. However, after several runs with the Judgment card (where I can't activate Swift Runner, and that it might not activate further in the run), the rhythm of dashing with and without it is just muscle memory now. Keep practicing!

Q: Melinoë feels so squishy/slow/weak/etc.!

A: Hades 2 does feel much more Early Game Hellish™ than Hades 1, which imo is mostly because of the Arcana system's complexities.

You need various resources to unlock an Arcana, then you need sufficient Grasp to actually use the Arcana, THEN some Arcana have prerequisites for activation so you can't just use anything and everything you want. Very unlike H1, where you can just dump exactly one resource type into levelling the Mirror upgrades and the only true constraint is choosing one side of the Mirror over the other.

To mitigate the squishiness, Frinos with a fully upgraded Life Bond gives you a free 40 base HP. I prefer him over Toula because I fucking suck at bullet hells and Frinos eats up all those projectiles without flinching too much, and some enemies are really fucking annoying with their projectile attacks. Looking at you, hourglass thingies in Tartarus.

Another thing to note is that The Wayward Son card is a buffed version of Zag's health regen on room exit. At max level it heals 4 HP (8 if you're low), which also makes Chaos gate health drains trivial in Erebus and Oceanus, so go grab those Chaos boons.

If you think surviving against Chronos/Eris is difficult, try having at least 200-220 HP (adjust depending on Fear settings) before entering the fight. The Centaur and Titan cards are useful to achieve this. If you run a Hephaestus build, the Boon that adds HP based on Magick is also great!

Q: The Bosses in Hades 2 are more difficult... please help!

A: I see this observation often, but in my experience, the H2 bosses bar Chronos and Eris are actually significantly easier than the H1 bosses. Your experience gap between dealing with H1 and H2 bosses could also contribute. But anyways, here's some tips for each boss:

Hecate

The transformation Hex counts as a projectile and can be blocked by Frinos. If you haven't unlocked Frinos, simply dash back and forth into the hex (essentially abusing your dash i-frame) and it will eventually dissipate. Don't try to outrun it.

(Frinos ate the hex before I could fully demonstrate the dodging lol)

If you DO get transformed, dash and attack repeatedly to prevent Hecate's attacks from hitting you, because your attack in sheep form is a charge forward that helps add extra distance while waiting for the dash cooldown to end.

Scylla and the Sirens

They killed me an unreasonable amount of times early game because there's so damn much going on the screen, so my tip for that is kill the drummer first. The guitarist's arsenal is much less dangerous and her dash attack is heavily telegraphed. Even if the guitarist is the featured artist, I would still kill the drummer first. Additionally, the Night Bloom Hex* works in this fight. Have fun!

Infernal Beast

Mostly immobile boss that can't really turn around with heavily telegraphed attacks, so the easiest trick is to just stand behind it for free backstab damage and don't get hit. Paired with the massive hitbox, the boss becomes very vulnerable against Apollo/Zeus cast and Omega specials with Pan aspect on the Sister Blades.

Polyphemus

Sometimes he has sheep in the fight; if he eats them he gets healed. Gold sheep will block Omega moves in the radius indicated around them, while black sheep will charge at you. I find his most difficult attack is the boulder slam if he spots you. When he leaps, sprint away first for some distance, then dash into the shockwaves because they move FAST and staying near will guarantee you get hit.

Eris

All of her attacks count as projectiles, so Hestia's Soot Sprint turns the fight into a total joke. She also turns relatively slowly when firing; when she does the spread shots, stay directly behind her. The forward charge is also telegraphed by an animation where she rises a bit before charging, so dash towards Eris to avoid getting hit (because it also stuns you).

Chronos, in general

God I hate that bitch ass scythe throw attack SO MUCH. I find the most reliable way to dodge it is to dodge towards Chronos but in a counterclockwise direction because it always travels clockwise. DO NOT DODGE AWAY FROM HIM.

The thrown scythe counts as a projectile, so projectile slowing effects like Demeter's Cyclone debuff or Hard Target (Hermes) affect its move speed.

Additionally, Chronos himself is immune to any time-slowing effect, including from the Sorceress card, the Phase Shift Hex, and Hermes' legendary Boon. He can still damage you during the time stop in the Hex casting animation.

Lastly, the ring explosions that come after his slashing attacks are unblockable by any "Block" move e.g. Axe special.

Chronos, 2nd phase

He always begins the phase with a full screen attack that does 999 damage unless you stand in the highlighted safe spots... or if you have Coarse Grit (Demeter Infusion) that lets you take no more than 15 damage per hit (lol). The clock hands will also kill you this way, so stand well clear of its radius. When he does this attack he will stand in place, which if you're lucky lets you get a guaranteed Omega Cast or Total Eclipse strike, and even one or two fully charged Pan aspect specials if the "safe spot" is near him.

(* Night Bloom has an unintended interaction with the Judgment arcana that causes its effects to be triggered multiple times in the Scylla fight. I've reported this as a bug, but I guess you could abuse it until the next patch lol)

Q: What is your Arcana setup?

A: This! I find this to be the easiest setup for activating the Divinity card and also the "safest" build, with the drawback of being unable to change room rewards/Boon and Well of Charon offerings.

If I wanted more challenge, I would activate everything in the third row, and use the remaining 3 Grasp for either The Huntress or Death, depending on weapon:

When I do a Judgment arcana run, I only activate The Wayward Son, Eternity, and Excellence; the bonus with Judgment is that it also automatically activates The Queen, and keeps it active no matter how many more cards it activates later.

If you have yet to max out your Grasp and want to play it safe, the cards I recommend to prioritize are Eternity > Excellence > Origination > The Swift Runner/The Sorceress > The Titan > The Furies/The Moon/The Huntress/ > Night/The Unseen.

Extra tip: The Moon synergizes very well with pure damage Omega Casts e.g. Apollo, Zeus, Poseidon because it adds to the base damage. Naturally, this makes Apollo cast busted as hell.

Q: What are your recommended Keepsakes? How do I use them?

A: The ones from Hecate, Odysseus, Nemesis, Moros, and Narcissus. If you're good at not getting hit, Arachne's because it continuously stacks Armor per location as long as you stay above 1 Armor. Recently I've also been messing around with Chaos', which has been fun.

To elaborate:

Silver Wheel (Hecate) lets you regen Magick automatically, which was great for me in very early game until I got the hang of every Gain boon and evaluated which are the best ones. Essentially, it's a good crutch for learning how the game works. However, do note that the Keepsake regen is prioritized over any other Magick regeneration effects.

Knuckle Bones (Odysseus) is also a similarly useful early game crutch if you have difficulty against bosses or need to take a run to analyze their moves (very appropriate). It also gives you all-damage reduction against bosses. And fun fact: bring it to the Polyphemus fight multiple times for some unique interactions!

Evil Eye (Nemesis) is just a straightforward free ~30% universal damage bonus against the last enemy that killed you. Since mine was Chronos... well, let's just say I almost never spend a single DD in his fights ever since.

Engraved Pin (Moros) is functionally a better Stubborn Defiance. Triggering its effect will be prioritized over consuming a Death Defiance, and it works ONCE PER ROOM which is fucking amazing as a learning crutch and in high Fear runs. One of my favorite strategies if 1) my HP falls below the Pin's healing threshold, 2) its effect has not been triggered yet, and 3) I am 100% sure the encounter is about to end, I just die on purpose, kill everything that's left, and get a free heal.

Aromatic Phial (Narcissus) rarifies a random Common boon when you drink from a Fountain, which helps massively in no-Arcana runs or runs without Excellence/Divinity. It could also help if you grabbed Hera's Uncommon Grace but are unable to activate it because you have a Common boon. Lastly, the extra Fountain heal helps with survivability.

On the topic of Keepsakes, I encourage you to use the Olympian Keepsakes, because they now have the ability to increase the rarity of non-Infusion/Duo/Legendary Boons up to a certain rarity threshold and not just help you aim where your current build is going.

Rarification works especially well with Demeter's Rare Crop; one time Heroic Rare Crop managed to rarify my Attack, Special, and Cast somehow and I ended up blazing through Tartarus and Chronos like it was nothing.

End Notes (For Now)

I have some more tips prepared, but I'd like to know before I compile the next one:

Aand that's it for now. If I got something wrong or you know anything relevant to what I've shared above, do tell me in the replies so I can edit!

TL;DR: Don't forget to use Cast, get used to dodging with and without Swift Runner card, grab Chaos boons in early regions, be patient with grinding for upgrades, keep practicing, and have fun :)

[utilitycaster]

*kate bush voice* be guarding up that veil with some problems

After the remaining companion quests and conversation, ranging from epic (Harding embracing her anger in the heart of a titan) to sweet and funny (assisting Davrin in feeding halla for his adoptive uncle while Assan adorably helps and learning about baby Davrin - btw this scene hits WILDLY for me as Rook is a human dating Bellara and is trying so hard to be respectful of Dalish customs and Davrin is like they're mid but also I'm the most intense man in Thedas and take all obligation deathly seriously so get those fucking berries) to "kill a fucking dragon, and then also serve as the buffer for your friend coming out to their mom awkward dinner simulator, and frankly the dragon is more pleasant." Anyway things got wild out in Arlathan because I did a brief sidequest and then was like hmmm I should help the Veil Jumpers out, after all, and I must say the plot there FUCKS. Like, you find the hook (I took Bellara and Neve for obvious Arlathan Dalish + Venatori reasons) and IMMEDIATELY it's like "the Venatori will sacrifice the Dalish" but also four companion quests open up but I was like I HAVE TO HELP THE DALISH AND ARLATHAN THAT'S BELLARA'S PEOPLE so I went STRAIGHT into Blood of Arlathan.

Blood of Arlathan is REALLY good for the following reasons:

You have to take Neve, which you should have anyway, and I took Bellara again, and while I'm a fighter not a mage I have some VICIOUS ranged and AOE shit and my stuff is in the spirit realm so it was really like BY OUR POWERS (ice/fade/death) COMBINED. Again, I remain on story mode for combat because I only am just now kinda getting the hang of it beyond keysmashing, but I have some DEVASTATING necrotic attacks and also if I successfully block with my shield i send back more death energy. It's deeply sexy of me, frankly.

More importantly plotwise the infiltration is fun as shit, I love seeing Neve intimidate people and then Bellara breaking Elger'nan's control, and it manages to feel urgent and scary without having the overwhelming dread and Zombie Rush of The Cauldron.

Some of the puzzles annoy me. The maze is actually fine because Solas kicks in JUST when you're about to get upset in real life which is some good QA if I do say so but it is always annoying when you're like THE DALISH ARE TRAPPED! LET ME FIND A FUCKING HIDDEN POWER CRYSTAL. It wasn't even HARD it's just the principle of the thing. The Venatori crystals, also fine, though it's always hard to force myself to focus on protection crystals/blight boils mid-combat even though it's ultimately the point and my companions can't die in standard fights.

Obviously, the Solas of it all rules; it's kind of overwhelming having him and Elger'nan fighting in your mind as you fight for the final door...which it should be, that's what Rook's doing! Good synchronicity.

Lucanis being unable to unlock the gate is hilarious. I wonder what happens if you take him instead of Bellara as your second team member. This is either why Neve hasn't spoken to him since the gooseberry pie (*Neve voice* he's a sap who can't open a door.) or, alternatively, this is BECAUSE Neve hasn't spoken to him since the gooseberry pie (*Lucanis voice* was it too sweet? too tart? Is she not interested? Mierda. meanwhile Taash, Davrin, Emmrich, and Harding like FOCUS UP BITCH.) Literally though I've popped into the lighthouse for my usual eavesdropping and there's been some great ones (Emmrich and Bellara discussing how one might cite Solas's Regrets, Taash and Lucanis being like talking about your feelings is stupid, Neve moving from Bellara could you fucking stop being a silly child about serials to Bellara, you are a lovely person, but also stop being a silly child about serials, some wild stories about Manfred running around in a bedsheet, the reveal that Taash does dishes and chops fruit in the kitchen) but they haven't been seen together. Neve on the MAKER I'm taking you to the Dellamorte mansion because...

UNHINGED pack of sidequests I'll be doing this afternoon after work. It ranges from Bellara talking to her brother, a thing that has been eating her up inside since their first encounter; and Lucanis going to the Dellamorte estate to save his grandmother and deal with Illario (I told him to save Caterina, we're going the forgiveness route); and Neve being like oh it's just a little personal errand in Dock Town :) even though LAST TIME she was like oh we'll grab dinner and then she was like well Hal is off tonight so guess we'll die skip rocks and have a break in the case so I ASSUME it's her slowly opening up more (I sound irritated. I am not. I'm thrilled.) and Davrin is like hey girl wanna Assan and chill (I assume it is indeed just that.). I also have a shitload of location quests and I have been informed by an informant that if I talk to Solas it opens up like 20 more quests SO time to leave Mr. I Don't Know I'm Bald on read again even though he did save me in Arlathan.

This might be a post to make separately but I must admit it took a bit to like, settle into RP-ing (you're telling me I have to RP in an RPG) especially one where the vibe of the choices is stated for me, which I admit does make me more interested in a second runthrough at some point in the future. There's definitely some early game stuff I'd like to run through again as less of an idiot with games and also while not actively nauseated. (Thanks again people who told me to use the middle of the screen accessibility dot and increase the FOV; I think some of it was gaining sea legs generally but those were immediately a huge help in doing so) but now it really is like oh yeah I have really intense feelings about what they're doing in Arlathan specifically, let's play that out.

haven't been to the wetlands in a while and that might be why I'm in such a great mood.

[aengelren]

22 days left til we see this</3

[chess-blackmyre]

So, I've been mulling over @reginalusus absolutely amazing Gotham/Dark Souls AU Post over and over in my brain for a few months now and I’ve decided to try to make for something for it because it is so cool!

So, how about something for my girl, Duela Dent!

The broad strokes of her backstory is that she is a kind of sculpted, artificial creature brought to life by her 'mother' The Gilded One (name pending). Due to extensive damage, she doesn't remember her exact purpose, or even her name. As such, she will call herself 'Gotham's Daughter'.

--I picture her as a kind of Solaire figure. Unsure of whether or not you can trust her at first, but she turns out to be a rare ray of sunshine in the dark and grimy world.

--The player can summon her for different boss fights as GD attempts to find her family throughout the course of the story. (aka 'hey maybe THIS boss is my father?' 'No?' 'Okay, let's kill this guy!')

--After however many failures however, she gets dejected and loses hope that she'll ever find her family, and there will be a fork in the road where (depending on the player's actions) she will either decide to become the Joker's Daughter, clinging to a delusion that forces the player to fight and kill her. OR! The player can help her discover her real name: Duela. In that ending she still dies, but at least she dies as herself, at peace, with her best (and only) friend by her side.

Some notes about her design:

--This is heavily inspired by her 1970's 'Harlequin' look from when she was a member of the Teen Titans. As such her left arm has this black and white diamond patterned armor while her right arm has the pink sleeve.

--I imagine her body to be constructed pretty similarly to Ranni the Witch's from Elden Ring so the belts criss-crossing her torso aren't just for aesthetics, they're to keep her stuffing from spilling out.

--She once had a more complex/human like appearance, but repeated combat has chipped away the paint and ornaments, like her eyes and nose. Duela can still see, but it’s clear that whoever made her put a lot of care and effort into her design, into making her look human.

--Her hair is made of a copper metal that was once painted red. The 'green' of her hair is from that enamel painted and chipped away. that way, she can have both green AND red hair.

--The Joker 'smile' is a crack in her face plate. If asked about how it happened, she'll give about three different replies depending on when the player asks, each one contradicting the others.

--The reason she fights with a whip as a) I think those are fun weapons in Elden Ring and b) because she used one during her time as Catwoman's Daughter. Can use different elemental/status attacks on her whip that reference other 'daughters' she disguised herself as during that time. Ice for Penguin's Daughter, Lightning for Riddler's Daughter, Frenzy (or fear effect) for Scarecrow's Daughter, and a strong poison or bleed effect in her Joker's Daughter Boss Fight.

Fighting Style:

--I imagine that as an NPC summon, she's most effective at quick strikes that help to build up different status effects in the bosses.

--She would have a few basic spells her arsenal, mostly ones that allow her to keep her distance and get away quickly.

—Her Joker’s Daughter Boss Fight would involve a lot more AOE poison based spells so even if you try to move out of range of her whip, you’ll still be punished. Similar to Gideon Ofnir from Elden Ring, she’s learned different spells or abilities depending on what areas you’ve been to or bosses you’ve beaten.

[krawlernyannyan]

The Human Comedy in the DU is ending soon and they've mentioned the next iteration is going to be Amphoreus-focused and there's a part of me hoping that for the 3.0 version of the DU we swap from the Paths to the Titans and their respective concepts.

Like, throwing ideas out here:

Death - The Destruction stand-in with a focus on HP loss (getting "closer to death")

Ocean - Phagousa as a titan of revelry would make for a nice Elation stand-in with a focus on follow-up attacks (Aftertaste damage coming in like a flood)

Romance - The theme of interconnectedness, concern, and caring would make it a nice Abundance stand-in for healing and support

Worldbearing - Would replace the Trailblaze blessings at the start of every run, defining the worldstate each run operates under

Trickery - Nihility stand-in as far as being the DOT focus. DOT is a nonstandard form of damage so it fits the theme of subterfuge and out-of-the-box thinking. Maybe throw in multi-Type damage in there too.

Time - Turn mechanics (action advancing allies and action delaying enemies) and throw memosprites in there too.

Law - Maybe AOE? Spreading damage equally among enemies? I could see Sky being AOE too.

Strife - Maybe Break? It would fit Nikador's ability to instill fear and weakness in his enemies along with demonstrating sheer might.

Earth - Preservation stand-in, just with a shift to Fire damage over Physical. DEF and shielding to fit the hardy "forge" vibes Georios and their creations have.

Reason - No clue but since Cerces is a non-aggressive Titan I'm imagining an alternative method of attack like how SU Remembrance is Freeze-focused

Passage - No clue.

You'd still get to keep Path Resonances, just getting the favor of the Titans after you get enough of their Blessings. Like, imagine getting to hit enemies with Nikador's giant warsword! It'd be great!

Maybe add a bit of extra flavor to it and get simulated Heirs in there to aid in the journey. Like, they have a chance to show up randomly and can give out different buffs depending on who you run into. Could either be something functional (like, I dunno, Tribios offering you the chance to skip ahead a few domains or Mydei wiping out a room of enemies without having to fight them) or something battle-focused (like a resonance-style summon or them appearing as an NPC combatant)

I dunno if they'll actually take this route but I think there's some potential here. Either way I'm interested to see what the new DU is going to be like!