#by the way i hated that minigame actually

[thekingbiscuit]

Very important legend headcannon,

I see him as the physically weakest link as a baseline, he's relied on power bracelets and titan mitts his whole life, in some of his earlier games he can't even push a pot around. That and a bad diet his whole life.

That being said! How does he gain the respect of the macho gorons? He dances! Everyone's aware that the gorons have a movement culture but it's really in the oracle games you get to join in on their sessions.

Picture this, twilight and legend have to get through some goron sacred ground and they have to achieve "brother" status to get through. Twilight tosses their biggest guy no problem, but he's worried. Legend's so small, they're gonna crush him! And they made him take off all his gear waist up! He starts to try talking his way through it but legend shuts him up.

Legend gets up in the ring with the goron he's supposed to face, and proceeds to execute the most acrobatic breakdance routine twilight has ever seen in his damn life. The gorons go insane, egging him on. At the end of it they cheer and recognize him as a brother immediately. Legend puts his clothes back on and smirks back at twilight, still dumbfounded.

"They're never gonna believe you"

[localplaguenurse]

Playing a game with Pantalone but everytime one of you loses you have to remove one article of clothing and suffice to say you lost all your clothes rather quickly and now he's smirking on how shall he indulge in you this time

I thought this was a predator/prey situation at first, which would have been pretty pog, but then I remembered the dumb strip poker joke I made the other day and realized that’s probably what you were talking about-

So that’s what I’m gonna write

CONTENT WARNING: Playing strip poker, no full blown smut but still suggestive. I might circle back to this in the future because I have ideas, but I’m not in a super smutty mood. Honestly it’s more silly than anything, but 18+ please. Also I have only played the Luigi poker minigame so shhh.

You hate this game, you don’t know why you keep agreeing to play it, and you hate that it was all your idea to begin with. It sounded like a fun way for you and your husband to spice things up a little, and in general seemed like a fun way to bond. Sure, you figured he’d win the first few times you played, but you weren’t complaining at the time. Surely, he wouldn’t win every time, right?

… Right?

You glare at your hand because you don’t want to glare at Pantalone. It’ll mean you have to look at his stupid smug grin over his winning streak. You see it every time he suggests you two play a few rounds of strip poker. Tonight is no different, and though you love his face so much, you cannot stand looking at him right now.

You don’t question if you’re losing because you have terrible luck or if you’re just bad at poker anyways. You know it’s both. It also can’t help that your husband is very good at taking chances and placing bets. He never makes a decision until he’s certain of the outcome and that it will work in his favour. You find this trait very admirable, except for right now.

“Darling, are you alright?” Pantalone asks, faux concern lacing his words. “You’re shivering a little.”

You’re currently hugging a pillow to your bare chest, both to give yourself some dignity, and because you’re nearly nude. “I’m fine.”

He chuckles. “Well, if that’s the case, have you decided what your next move is?”

“I-I’m still thinking,” you grumble, body cold but face burning hot. Truth be told, your hand is shit. The only thing you have going for you are two fives, and that’s it. That may as well be nothing with how your game has been going. Pantalone’s only lost the shirt, and you’re pretty sure it’s because he felt bad for you and threw that round. You don’t know what’s worse, him pitying you, or that he still decimated you.

You take two cards out of your hand and discard them, leaving only the two fives and an ace. You’re already certain you’re losing the round anyways, so you might as well see if you can get another ace, or maybe a five. Just something to make your hand better than being just above trash.

“Interesting…”

“Shush.”

You pick up two new cards and place them in your deck. Let’s see, you had a five of hearts, five of diamonds, and an ace of spades. You’ve picked up–

No way.

You blink, trying not to let your shock show (your poker face isn’t that great, either). Those two new cards consist of an ace of diamonds, and a five of clubs. Holy shit. Holy shit. That’s a full house! The only way Pantalone can beat that is if he gets 4 of a kind, a straight flush or a royal flush. You actually have a chance! Not a chance of winning the game, Archons no, but you’ll be keeping your underwear on for a round longer.

You smile, and present your hand. “Full house.”

Pantalone’s eyebrows widen, and he smiles. “Oh, goodness! Look at you! You’re starting to get the hang of this now. That is very impressive, my darling.”

You cross your arms, giving him the smug grin he’s been giving you all evening.

He sighs. “That… makes this all the more painful, I’m afraid.”

You watch as Pantalone lays his cards down in front of you. Your eyes widen, and your jaw drops.

“... Absolutely not.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Are you kidding me!?” you ask. “A royal flush?! No, no I refuse… You did not just get that!”

“I assure you, darling,” he purrs, “I got it fair and square.”

You glare at him and his cards. An ace, a queen, a king, a jack, and a ten of hearts. Of course it has to be hearts, too.

“Now then, I think you know the rules.”

“Fine, fine, you win.” You move the pillow from your chest and toss it at his head. It makes contact, which makes him laugh. “I know the drill.”

“My my, you make it sound like such a horrible fate,” he teases. “Sure, I may have won again, but I think we both know this will be… equally rewarding for us, no?”

You roll your eyes. “Easy for you to say, champion strip poker king…”

“Oh, my little darling,” he coos in such a patronizingly sweet voice, “where’s the fun in being such a spoilsport? Don’t you enjoy playing with me?”

“I do, but it’s just frustrating that you’ve won every game we play.”

Pantalone laughs. “Then I suppose you’ll have to get good, as people say. Now, about my prize...”

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 12/24/2024

pair of portentous tuesdayposts: this one is christmas eve and the next one is new year's eve

trying something new with the reading section, where i list off a bunch of books i bounced off and briefly explain why. let me know if this is interesting, or if it's more interesting when i finish a book i sort of enjoyed and really dissect what didn't work for me like with that annoying evil wizard book a couple weeks ago.

listening

the true champ of the past few weeks has been friends at the table's (an actual play podcast about critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends) horror/weird west season Sangfielle, and i know i have listened to about sixty hours of it bc i have played about sixty hours of stardew valley. i am currently on ep 49, one before the last finale episode, and it feels like it is wrapping up in a very rushed and weird way? maybe i will feel differently after listening to the six coda episodes wrapping up everyones' characters?

the song of the week is fleet foxes’ white winter hymnal, which is morbidly festive without being strictly christmas-y and is not salting the open emotional wound within my chest that is The Holiday Season. album released 2008. christ im old

-

reading

the concept of this gag award is EXTREMELY funny to me. i wish the EFF sent them a little physical trophy. perhaps a challenge coin.

bounced off a lot of stuff. the six larger books and the far top right are all from my absolute favorite thrift store with the worst vibes, who regularly has a 8/$1 media sale bc they actually want to be more of a kitchen goods and home decor thrift store and don't really want to constantly be overflowing with records no one buys. yet here they are.

i really do need to find a good indie used bookstore around here that will take books and give me back slightly more in store credit than in cash. bc i would like to fill some missing chunks of trilogies/fill out the star wars shelves a little more. but every time i have gone to half price books i have had an unpleasant time.

lumberjanes/bravest warrior/adventure time were not making me feel nostalgic and in fact made me quite sad instead (more in a memento mori way than in subject matter) so they're going to a friend's kid

glad i looked up Heartthrob (despite the really good premise of woman haunted by her heart donor) on my library's comic app bc the third one seems to mostly take place in a mental hospital which is really never a vibe i want

GRIFTER has art i don't love and a bland storyline about an ex-marine who is the saddest boy in the world and can also detect literal space aliens living among us. no thank you

tangle's game has a close-call near-sexual assault in the first chapter. no thank you! cool dystopic social credit score premise but no thanks!

gil's all fright diner is about the king of vampires and the duke of werewolves but they're hicks. the narrator hates that they're dumb hicks. did not jive with the authorial voice on this one

i bought Two Tickets to Tangiers in high school bc it looked cool and have only cracked it open now, almost fifteen years later. fifteen year old kay did not yet have the context clues from the cover that it would be a very racist travelogue

i need to stop trying agatha christie. i am never going to like agatha christie

-

watching

somehow i have seen the first tinker bell fairies movie three times this week bc that's all my bestie's toddlers want to watch. a really stupidly stacked cast??? how did all these people have free time in 2008???

-

playing

finished the community center in summer 2 of stardew valley (wildly popular and very intense farming sim) and would have finished it in winter 1 if not for the FUCKING pufferfish. i hate fishing minigames and i especially hate the fishing minigame in stardew so i am excited to leave it the fuck alone for a while.

my cauliflower got stupid mchugelarge?? i do not know why they did that. also a meteor fell on my farm and gave me a bunch of really valuable ore, just like real life meteors.

i do kind of regret picking the beach farm bc so much of my day is spent watering, but i am trying to lean harder into animal products and being more of a fun silly flower farm instead of the intense agriculture i find myself doing. i have the greenhouse, i have a small patch of sprinklerable land, i will simply make sure to buy some of every seed each season and if i really need something i will toss it in the greenhouse.

-

making

people are being very gracious about their mediocre colored pencil portraits. most of my gift budget this year was two flat rate boxes to my siblings. silly little pet portraits are very cost effective if you already have art supplies, nice paper, gumption, and very cheap small frames.

[regretevator-confessions]

I actually really love the storytelling in Regretevator from a sort of multimedia standpoint! Its unconventional, but it's not a bad way to tell a story. Folks need to stop approaching the lore like its functionally identical to their comics and shows.

I think it's helpful to think of regretevator as a hangout minigame collection first and a Story as a secondary. Dont forget, we as the players are just overhearing conversations! I think that is so fucking novel and I've never seen it done that way!

My one actual gripe is I wish all the twitter fun facts were added to be read in the game. But we're on the internet and can click over to the wiki, fine...

Actually it'd be cool if regretevator just had it's own website also? Because I hate fandom wiki plus itd be a great Bonus Info repository and fit with the nonstandard storytelling. Yuecc and co. make a neocities full of secrets. Now!

.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Dangancember 2024 - Danganronpa Top 24 Class Trials: Number 23 Danganronpa V3 Case 6

//Oh Jesus...

//Now, let me just make one thing clear with this one. I actually don't dislike V3's ending with a burning passion. I definitely don't LIKE like it, but after sitting on it for a while, some of the twists and events of the trial are...pretty good actually, and really show what Danganronpa V3 is all about.

//So I don't tend to agree with the lavish hate that this trial gets.

//HOWEVER, with all that being said, I DO agree that this is by far the worst ending in the entire franchise. And yes, that includes both the Another games, Ultra Despair Girls, AND DR3.

//Which...Actually, to their credit, despite having a very iffy runtime for me, all of those examples had actually pretty killer endings that I really enjoyed.

//But yeah, I mean...V3's final trial and the whole thing that happens in it is just so fucking infamous. And for all very valid reasons. So...without further ado, let's talk about it for the umpteenth time.

//In case I already didn't make it clear, describing Danganronpa V3's final trial and ending as "controversial" among its audience...honestly doesn't do the full scope of the situation justice.

//It's very hard to come by someone who has played V3 and is a fan of Danganronpa who probably doesn't have more mixed feelings about a single segment of a video game.

//And honestly, I'm not sure if I should talk about the good things, or the bad things first; because again, divisive implies that it kind of balances out.

//I think I'll focus on the stuff I don't like, because that's the main crux of the argument that explains this trial's placement.

//Something I've always noticed is that when you look at the ending trials for all three mainline Danganronpa games, you notice that all three of them suffer from very similar issues. Those issues being the ridiculousness of the events, the sheer length, and the fact that they are just incredibly blatant plot dumps that try to scramble every bit of the established lore together in one uncomfortable package. And the reason why DRV3 is the worst of the endings is because it does all three of these at MAXIMAM VELOCIPY.

//(I spelt that wrong on purpose by the way.)

//In the Danganronpa series, it has become widely recognized that the trials progressively increase in length with each installment. I kinda see this as a good thing, as it contributes to the franchise’s appeal, because longer trials mean more intricate mysteries, additional plot points, and unexpected twists.

//The final trial in Danganronpa V3, however, takes this idea to the extreme, likely in recognition of its status as the series' concluding chapter. It goes all out, lasting, at minimum, 4 to 5 hours.

//And unlike the ending trials of 1 and 2, that ridiculous length of time is filled up by basically random bullshit. Some sections are highly innovative, like the segments where players must intentionally fail certain minigames to progress as a means of rejecting hope in confrontations with Tsumugi. However, other parts can be frustrating, and just...packed with pointless dialogue.

//For example, the whole segment where they kind of bring up the fact that Kaede had a twin sister as a red herring? Pointless.

//I mean, I take advantage of that fact later, but generally why was this even a plot point to begin with? It's so weird, and nothing comes of it.

//There's also the strangely unfomfortable spike in difficulty, and the fact that fluctuates VERY often.

//The trial features a mix of straightforward puzzles and extremely challenging minigames, some of which rival the difficulty of Danganronpa 2’s notoriously tough (and ridiculously fucking stupid) "Improved Hangman’s Gambit." These difficulty spikes, combined with long stretches of dialogue between minigames,don't do anything for this trial other than cause a pacing imbalance.

//How about the actual culprits though? Well, they are equally as divisive.

//This is, unfortunately, the only moment in Danganronpa V3 where Monokuma gets to show himself off to be the same bad bitch bear he was in the original game, and the Monokubs don't stick around long enough to be an issue to him. And unlike the first two games, he sticks around for the entire trial.

//But then he's coupled...with Tsumugi...

//And all my homies HATE...TSUMUGI...

//Okay, to be fair, Tsumugi is one of the most fun characters to write for Survivor, but I feel the need to point out that a large part of her character arc is that it involves her desperately trying to take up the mantle of the Ultimate Despair, and be on the same level as a criminal and terrorist Mastermind as Junko.

//And the reason I even have leeway for this type of character building for her is because there isn't just room for character development and improvement with her. There's FAR TOO MUCH of it.

//Tsumugi isn't just the least compelling masterminds in the series, but one of the least compelling characters IN GENERAL. And even after she IS revealed to be the big bad, she somehow remains the incredibly blank and boring character that she was for most of V3's run time.

//Junko, Monaca, and even Nagito as something of a pseudo-Mastermind were all batshit crazy and demonic to the core, but it's important to point out that they all have REASONS driving their evil acts, as psychopathic and evil some of them were. But Tsumugi lacks any sort of personal motive, and relies on her role as an avatar for the audience’s desires. The general passivity compared to other masterminds makes her insanely underwhelming.

//Speaking of which, if I may be allowed to go on a bit of a tangent here; the way that Tsumugi is outed as the Mastermind is kind of controversial in and of itself for me.

//By which I mean it's discovered that what actually happened at the beginning of the game is that Kaede's trap to kill the mastermind failed to kill Rantaro. But because of the first blood perk that meant the students would all die if no one was murdered, it meant that time was running short, and in the heat of the moment, Tsumugi got a second shotput ball, killed Rantaro with it, and used her authority as the Mastermind to frame Kaede for the crime anyway.

//Which all feels like unnecessary bullshit if I'm being honest.

//Case 1 and the twist that Kaede was the actual killer was great; and her subsequent execution is one of the most emotionally impactful moments in V3, because it it sends her off as a tragic, morally gray protagonist who was willing to kill for the greater good. Hence the reason why she's my favourite character in the series.

//However, the revelation here retroactively strips her of agency, making her a victim of Tsumugi's manipulation rather than someone who took a flawed, bold step to save her friends.

//This twist also diminishes Kaede's character arc. Her determination and selflessness, even if her actions were misguided, is largely the reason why she manages to be such a spectacular character despite her short runtime. By revealing that she was framed, the story shifts her role from an active participant to a passive victim, which feels like a betrayal of her established personality and the unique premise of her narrative.

//Additionally, the reveal is poorly foreshadowed, and feels like a contrived attempt to shock the audience, and a desperate attempt to redeem Kaede, rather than a natural development. The explanation relies heavily on Tsumugi’s ability to perfectly execute a plan without leaving meaningful clues for the detectives, which feels inconsistent with the game's emphasis on logical deduction, and inconsistent with her being an absolute dumbass every other time, even AFTER her Mastermind reveal. As a result, the twist feels less like a clever subversion and more like an unfair rewrite of the story's emotional stakes.

//All in all, Tsumugi's character feels less developed than those who came before her, and it feels like the emphasis on her being a "cosplayer of fiction" was little more than a bad excuse to avoid giving her any type of depth or a unique personality.

//She's just plain. And she stays plain even when she's revealed to be the main villain.

//Also, this is a comment that's gonna get me smited by everybody, but fuck it, I refuse to hide how I truly feel: Keebo is equally as dogshit.

//Keebo is such a NOTHING character, and I don't understand why he has such a massive fanbase. This is supposed to be him at his best, and his whole point is that he's the one who has to stick it to Tsumugi, but he fails to do even that.

//There's a tiny segment of this trial where we get to play as Himiko and Maki, and a large segment where we get to play as Keebo, and BOTH are UTTERLY POINTLESS, even though they are kind of cool.

//Keebo's actions during this trial when you play as him are a clear homage and cliche to the series' origins, where he is constantly encouraging everyone that they should never give up since the game isn't over yet. But this is effortlessly shut down when Tsumugi abruptly informs him that she WROTE his character that way, and it's exactly what she wanted him to say, as well as the fact that he unknowingly served as the audiences eyes and ears for the game. Thus Keebo's one single moment to shine in this entire game is ultimately futile.

//What was the fucking point of even that?

//So between the dogshit gameplay, and the dogshit Mastermind behind everything, this case is already bad enough. But sad as it is to say, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. Something that I believe is always a make-or-break for the final trials, and that's the Ultimate plot twist that it entails. Usually a big reveal of some sort.

Game 1: The world outside the academy has been basically destroyed.

Game 2: Jabberwock Island is a virtual simulation, and the students in Class 77 are the brainwashed Ultimate Despair terrorists who aided Junko in the Tragedy. Hajime is also Izuru Kamukura, a talentless boy who was experimented on by Hope's Peak Academy against his knowledge.

Another 1: Similar to Game 2. Yuki is revealed to be the true Mastermind behind the Killing Game, and his real identity is Utsuro, the boy with the power of Divine Luck that reshapes reality in his favor.

Another 2: Sora isn't real, is actually an AI based on Akane Taira, is the one who really has the Divine Luck Mikado seeks, and she is left behind as the virtual world is erased.

//I'm not gonna dance about it any longer than I have to, we all know the twist of V3, and we all know it's kind of bullshit.

//The case reveals that the events of Danganronpa V3 are part of a fictional reality show within the game’s universe. The students' lives and personalities were fabricated, their memories manipulated, and the killing game broadcasted for entertainment.

//V3 is actually the 53rd entry of the Danganronpa franchise, with the V in V3 actually being the roman numeral for 5. And Tsumugi directly references the previous Danganronpa games, framing them as part of the same fictional reality show franchise.

//This retroactively positions Danganronpa V3 as a reboot rather than a continuation, suggesting that the events of earlier games may not matter either.

//And the final trial frequently breaks the fourth wall, addressing the player directly and critiquing their role as consumers of violent, despair-filled entertainment. Tsumugi frames the killing game as something the audience demands, effectively blaming players for perpetuating the cycle.

//So yeah...

//EVERYTHING here just SUCKS!

//In the Meta sense, I will say that the twist is interesting, kind of humerous to an extent, and shouldn't be taken seriously in any sort of degree. Not to mention, to a certain extent, it's innovative and quite thought-provoking, as it rightfully critiques fan obsession with sensationalized entertainment.

//But it's done in a way that, in the attempt to portray their games audience, makes me wonder if Danganronpa understands its audience at all.

//The way it's handled here is a betrayal of the narrative, dismissing the emotional weight of the characters' struggles and reducing them to fictional constructs.

//If you're someone, like me, who is/was deeply invested in the original cast and continuity, this just feels insulting. It's like the series we love has been seemingly reduced to a meaningless cycle of fabricated tragedies. Some even see it as an attempt to erase the legacy of Danganronpa's 1 and 2, and it generally makes V3 feel disconnected from the rest of the series.

//I think what upsets me the most is that Tsumugi's claim that the game is made "for the fans, by the fans," is done as a way to make the player complicit in the killing game, suggesting that their desire for entertainment is what perpetuates the franchise’s cycles of despair.

//In other words, this game is basically telling you that you are a terrible person for playing and enjoying it. And I don't vibe with that AT ALL.

//This meta-narrative comes across as kind of self-indulgent and dismissive, overshadowing the characters and plot in favor of philosophical commentary. And not even the good kind.

//But this is why I specifically use words like "controversial" and "divisive" to describe this twist. The events of V3 single-handedly created a divide in the fanbase, with some appreciating the meta-commentary and others feeling disrespected.

//But besides the twist itself, what makes me personally lean towards the latter side of the argument is that all these twists, turns, and concepts are brought up, and despite the trial almost physically forcing the ideas into your throat, what baffles me is how strangely and concerningly ambiguous everything remains by the end of it.

//When you think about it, there are no grounds upon which Tsumugi makes her claims, so everything she says and states in this trial is questionable at best, and a blatant lie at worst. Shuichi even makes note of this at the very end of the game.

//It’s unclear whether the events of Danganronpa V3 were "real" in the context of the game world or entirely fictional within its universe, which many at this point in time have accepted as its own alternate timeline; hence why I make it so in Danganronpa Survivor. This ambiguity extends to whether the surviving characters have truly escaped the cycle of the killing game or are trapped in another layer of fiction.

//The surviving characters (Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko) are left in an uncertain state. Their escape from the game is metaphorical rather than literal, and their identities, forged through fabricated memories, remain unresolved.

//It's up for debate whether this can be called clever storytelling or unnecessarily confusing bullshit. For some, it feels like a cop-out that avoids resolving the story definitively, while others appreciate the open-ended nature, which allows for personal interpretation.

//The lack of clear rules or boundaries for what is real made the ending feel nonsensical or overly convoluted, and it's hard to get invested in a story that defies traditional narrative logic in this way. Even for something like Danganronpa.

//The ambiguity about the trio's futures and identities felt hollow, and that's why a lot of people want more closure.

//Speaking of which, yet another huge issue with this trial is something that V3 shares with 3. Despite the fact that the purpose of the game is to tie the knot on the franchise, there is SUCH a lack of CLOSURE, for FUCKS SAKE!

//Ultimately, it doesn't matter at all whether we can say that V3 was truly real, or fictional. It doesn't matter, because either way, people still want a satisfying conclusion for the characters they’ve followed, but V3 provides NONE of that. The ending’s open-ended nature, while probably done with good intent, makes it difficult to discern any definitive meaning or takeaway from the story.

//So god tell me, what did I just waste four hours of my life on!?

//Trial 6 of V3 is the worst ending in the series because it is generally a waste of time, spends so long trying to meticulously explain a very stupidly handled twist, and ultimately has NO CONCLUSION.

//Which is why it's so low, and yet, it still manages to avoid not only the honorable mentions, but the bottom spot (although it's really fucking close, trust me.)

//My opinion of this trial is overly negative, and it's not one I enjoy revisiting in any sense, but there are things about it I like.

//For starters, the characterization. I kind of already rambled on about this before when I went on that tangent about Tsumugi being a stupid as fuck villain.

//But while Tsumugi is incredibly poor...SHUICHI is BRILLIANT!

//I like all the Danganronpa protagonists about the same, and though I generally prefer Kaede, I ADORE Shuichi too, and THIS is why. He is EASILY the best-developed protagonist in the main series, and the way that growth that happens throughout all of V3 culminates here is near FLAWLESS.

//He's been through so much pain for this whole game, and it crushes him tenfold when he finds out what little enjoyment and fulfillment he DID have wasn't even reality, and just part of a fictional series. That, and the fact that people will never empathize with him, because in their eyes, he's just a character behind a screen.

//But he goes on to assert himself as a protagonist and chooses to challenge the killing game’s rules. His defiance is a moment of growth festered in him by the emotionally REAL relationships he had with Kaede and Kaito, showing that he can stand up for his beliefs, even in the face of overwhelming odds. His journey from self-doubt to confidence is deeply satisfying, well-handled, and emotional for fans who connected with his struggles. His choice to reject both hope and despair in favor of forging his own path is empowering, just as much, if not more, than even Hajime's from Game 2.

//There were a few characters, namely Kaede, Kaito, and Kokichi, who did massive gambits in an attempt to break the killing game and ruin it, but they all failed. It feels good to know that Shuichi was the one who succeeded.

//Despite its kind of unholy subversion, the trial also acts as a tribute to the Danganronpa series and how far it's come, incorporating callbacks, references, and homages to earlier games; most notably when Tsumugi transforms herself into characters from the series before this.

//It's not quite closure, but it's the closest we get.

//As far as the twist goes, while I generally think it was handled poorly, the idea behind it comes from a very important place. The meta-narrative of this trial turns the game into a commentary on the nature of fiction and the role of creators, characters, and audiences. It’s a fresh and daring approach that sets this game apart from its predecessors, making it memorable and thought-provoking in regards to people's relationship with the series and the medium of storytelling as a whole.

//And while I generally dislike the open-ended conclusion, it does invite the idea of interpretation, allowing players to draw their own meanings and decide what is real within the story.

//I mean, I did that. You're reading that very blog now.

//The worst part about this trial for me is the fact that it feels like the twist is designed to attack the hardcore fans; something that I can't really forgive. But the way the trial critiques fandom culture, exploring the implications of endlessly consuming horrible concepts for entertainment, is kind of a valid statement to make at the current state of the world. It asks the audience to consider their role in perpetuating the killing games and questions the morality of reveling in such dark content.

//I just wish it had done so more kindly.

//But yeah, overall while I do appreciate V3's final trial for its boldness and willingness to subvert expectations, I generally dislike it for its perceived disrespect to the series' characters, themes, and fanbase. Case 6 is somehow both a brilliant deconstruction of the series’ tropes and a reflection on the nature of storytelling, fandom, and media consumption, as well as a betrayal of the series’ core themes. The ending’s ambiguity, meta-commentary, and radical deconstruction of the franchise leave it as one of the most polarizing conclusions in gaming history, and I doubt there are many that come close.

[my-current-obsession]

I have officially beaten 7 Rebirth! I mostly enjoyed it - loved the story and characters, though personally my feelings on the ending are up in the air until I see how the final game follows it up. There was TOO MUCH exploration and minigames for my taste (I have completionist tendencies so I WANT to do everything but GOD I hated some of it and eventually did give up on some stuff), making me possibly the ONLY person to prefer Remake to Rebirth, but I understand that's a personal hangup.

I know most aspects of the GS dates have been talked into oblivion at this point, but there are two little tidbits I haven't seen mentioned in Clerith's favor - first is that even OUTSIDE of the play and the skywheel scenes, Aerith's version flows the best narratively, and 2nd is the ending of the play might be a callback to their scene in Kingdom Hearts 2.

The game reveals that whoever your "date" was is locked into your battle party when facing Corneo the next day. Prior to the date, Aerith is always the one at the battle square who led us to Dio to fight in the first place AND she straight up SAYS she wants to fight. She also comments on fighting together AFTER the date - "Wall Market Warriors, you and me!" Even before the game actually reveals you're FORCED to fight alongside your date, Aerith sets the expectation that she's fighting too. Of the other dates, only Barrett implies he's fighting too ("tomorrow we'll go to town on them") while no one else says anything about the impending fight.

As for the play, the ending is the same for each love interest but the dialogue made me immediately remember Aerith and Cloud's scene together in KH2. He has to leave, but promises to return and knows she'll be waiting for him. Honestly the line about her not NEEDING to promise to wait felt like a subtle acknowledgment of when Aerith DID say she'd "stay here and cheer for you" in KH2. It just gives an added layer of depth to Aerith's version of the play that the other ladies don't have.

Between these two things and Aerith definitely fitting the role of Rosa (magic/staff user) the best, PLUS Cloud ALWAYS getting a close-up where he looks enamored while she's singing (similar to him reacting to her in the red dress in Remake) and briefly taking her hand when everyone bows (again, regardless of if Rosa was Tifa/Yuffie), Aerith's date DEFINITELY feels the most narratively satisfying and canon. Everything flows together so well even before and after the date where it doesn't flow that way with anyone else.

[4-the-l0ve-0f-art]

I keep on getting burnout from love and deepspace so here are my thoughts on why I dislike the gacha mechanics in this game so much!!

Now, I KNOW what I signed up for. It's gacha. It's literally a pay 2 play concept but that doesn't stop me from complaining 😔✊

Most of the games ive played long-term are gacha (granted most have been hoyo games which are known to be more f2p friendly compared to other gacha games) but i genuinely dislike LADS in particular for varying reasons

Don't get me wrong, the game is absolutely amazing. The storytelling, graphics, gameplay itself whether it's combat or playing through memories is literal art and they've made their characters come to life unlike any other game. But i hate how quickly infold releases their banners and cycles through events

That in itself wouldn't be a problem if:

There were more ways to get gems. There's literally no way to get gems aside from abyssal chaos (which has limited gems which you get through quickly if you play daily) and daily/weekly commissions. Even the events barely give you anything unless it's a free 4 star log-in event which is great! But there's not much of a game to play there aside from playing through the audio story once you get the card. There's also the gems you get from completing orbits but we'll get to the issue with that later

The amount of time spent grinding for gems or even paying to get the card doesn't seem worth it at all. (I'm f2p so i can't exactly speak for players who spend money on the game but I'm sure there's complaints there too from their own perspective)

Let's say you spent an hour daily on the game, doing daily quests and weekly minigames to get gems/chocolates, or spend lots of money to get a card, for what? A 10-15 minute story with sped up audio and movement in EN? And barely any lore or voiced mc? (What was the voice customization option for if you're not gonna use it?) Varying/inaccurate translations between languages?

The issue with getting gems from the orbit trials:

You need to level up your cards as you get to higher levels in the trials. But there is way less resources available and no way to farm them (locked behind stamina) to actually be able to level up your cards especially once you reach around 60-70 levels

It takes weeks, and i repeat WEEKS to get enough of those bottle thingies to level up your card once you reach level 80. For a single card. Forget about leveling up your cards for all the LIs, you can't even do it for one.

No resources to level up = no way to earn gems. No way to earn gems = no way to pull for cards in a card based game (do you see the problem?)

My 3rd issue with the banners being cycled through too quickly is:

There is no gameplay if you're not able to pull for cards. There is literally nothing to do except wait for the main storyline to update, which took half a year to start expanding into the LI branches since the game released

Even when it did started releasing, the quality of it was just.. Unexpectedly low. It wasn't horrible by any means, but the sped up audio and movement (again? In the main storyline this time?) And no voiced mc (where did that go? Wasn't she voiced in the starting?) And did I mention the quad and solo banners completely unrelated to the main storyline being released at the same time?

So much of their lore is locked behind myth cards. The issue with myth cards is there is no way to get the limited myth pairs once the banners have ended because it's almost been an year and they haven't introduced any rerun mechanism yet. Not to mention you need to upgrade your cards to play through the myth episodes which you can't do if there aren't enough ways to get resources.

That's literally it. The problems are repetitive and interconnected and i love the characters so much but i get burn out easily because of the issues faced which I personally don't think are worth experiencing to literally just play the game 😞

Real footage of me yapping to a wall LMAO

I just like to be greedy with my games atp

[no-wings-no-angel]

Obsessed with how Cellbit’s position on, idk, the youtube-twitch-over-all-internet-and-popular-imaginary has changed through time.

He started as a teenager from the deep brazilian south with undiagnosed mental illness screaming at the his computer, playing portal and minecraft. Played Hunger Games minigames. Was a cannibal convict in Fuga Impossível. Then he got fangirls and fanclubs and fanfiction written by the fangirls because he was oh so pretty and oh so funny (couldnt even grow a beard back then) (langer era was insane he was just weird blonde kid with blue eyes) Then he got astronomously famous, foi expluso da bgs, got in a movie and ads on tv (not just recarrego trinta reais theres others. does anyone remember the gvt one?), was a national phenomenon at this point. Then this man had a mental breakdown in real time, got his anxiety meds and went: hey that wasnt me. that was anxiety. im so mentally ill. im getting better. i watched a bo burnham special. from this day on im changed man. please stop thinking of me as that child. then he came back as some half-joking-half-serious enigma-puzzle-storyteller, his twitch presence became bigger than his youtube one, made an arg with time travel that no one remembers, do not believe his lies, cicada 3301, full simulacra era cellbit. had another breakdown. lost his sense of identity again, watched another bo burnham special, glorified his past persona only to realise his stuff was kinda mid and did this all in real time on his youtube channel in a way so real i think about to this day when im unsured about my art. got serious For Real This Time. Rpg era, got legitimized by the rpg nerd bros for like 2 seconds, didnt want ‘fans’ just ‘rapazeada’, everyone fucking hated him for a year because he called someone ‘pleb with prime’ and in some mind boggling way got trolls to call him pretty on his twitch chat at 3 in the morning because they caught wind that ‘he did not like people commenting on his appearance’. Ordem got really big. Nerd rpg bros got mad at him again because bc now people care just about ordem not rpg in general. [REDACTED INFO: THAT ONE SHIT SHOW THAT TILL THIS DAY IM NOT SURE ANYONE KNOWS WHAT REALLY HAPPENED I TRUST NOBODY ABOUT THIS]. Qsmp, got back with pac and mike, bringing joy to all the graduated tazer-cell-craft children. got gay married on minecraft, got gay divorced in minecraft did LOTS of stuff in minecraft. (i was not there for qsmp believe it or not i have a life and cant watch 8 hour streams everyday). [REDACTED INFO: ANOTHER FUCKING SHIT SHOW] Became some sort of queer-icon-but-actually-hes-straight-oh-wait-hes-asexual-i-didnt-know-that-makes-a-lot-of-sense-remember-that-discord-screenshot-‘if-you-need-to-have-sex-for-something-then-it’s-not-worth-it’-yeah-i-do-funny-how-these-things-happen. Openly/jokingly flirts with men but has girlfriend hes very happy with. Went on what i can only call a world tour to see all his new buddies. Now people call him hot and babygirl and say they want to do unspeakable things to this man on tumblr.com. People are using cellbit profile pictures again. It has become a full circle. The snake eats its own tail. We can never escape samsara. Story repeats itself again and again and again. History is a circle.

What a career. Wtf just happened Rafael my guy.

[the-sonic-crew]

(Quoting something I found. I want to see what the others reactions would be to Tails just shouting the F word in actual anger.)

*Minigame is Handcar Havoc on Mario party 1, Amy was in the room with Cream.*

Metal I know you’re literally programmed to hate my guts but we’re the fastest guys here, I say we use that to our advantage.

*Metal Nods reluctantly as Sonic and Metal’s Cart speed ahead, ensuing chaos from Tails and Eggman until Tails loses it*

EGGMAN STOP YAPPING AND MASH YOU GIANT FU—ING JELLY DONUT!!!

Okay Okay! I’m mashing! Look at me mash! I am the king of mashing-

Wait wait Don’t forget to turn!-

*Eggman and Tails’ Cart flies off into the lava and Tails goes silent on the mic.*

… huh. Well GG Metal.

*Metal makes a gesture that clearly meant “Kill yourself”*

Right back at ya buddy.

WHAT DID TAILS JUST SAY?!-

Uhhh....

Tails! Young man! You are way too young to be saying those things! even though I say it all of the time

[corvid-gae]

I believe i can make a better Minecraft movie than the garbage that is being produced rn. This isn't even "oh i'm totally a better writer than these professionals" this is because they seem to be ignoring the 'themes' of Minecraft in favor of corporate sanitation, and I can do better than a corporation.

So where to start? Well, by analyzing the 'themes' of Minecraft I mentioned. And what are those? Well, 3 major things imo.

Number 1; Creativity; Minecraft itself is a sandbox game, naturally one of the major themes it carries is creativity. You can create anything you want, the worlds your oyster in Minecraft.

Number 2; Community; While Minecraft can be a single-player game, the whole of the game has become about a community of people. SMPs, Minigame servers, even outside the game Minecraft is about community. As much as people may not like the mob vote, we come together as a community to decide things that we want to come to the game!

Number 3; Love; Now you might look at me weird for this one, but Minecraft is full of love. Love by Minecraft content creators who LOVE the game for all its worth, mod makers who love to create new content for the game, even the Minecraft End Poem. "And the universe said I love you, because you are love-" the game is full of love.

Now are these things the end all be all of 'themes' in Minecraft? No, of course not. It's a sandbox game which means themes can be all over the place, but these are the themes I personally would use in a Minecraft movie since without these themes a movie would fall flat. And if we're all honest with ourselves, just from that newest trailer the Minecraft Movie has NONE of these.

There's no creativity (just another jumanji isekai ripoff) no community (aka no one in the community seems to be liking it) and no love (it's a corporate cash-grab through and through)

But how would i fix that? Well, I have a few ideas.

First and foremost; who are the protagonists and antagonists? Well OBVIOUSLY Steve and Alex are our protagonists. Steve has lost his memories and must find out what happened to them, and Alex? Well she is related to his missing memories (also NO, no romance between them. No "oh she's a STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER" in the Hollywood way) And the antagonists? Well, one would first assume Herobrine- but i think that's too easy. What about the Piglins like the actual live action? Also no. So who the hell is the antagonist? Well that depends, an antagonist would be in opposition to all of the themes that I listed- Creativity, Community, and Love. What in Minecraft fits this? A destructive force that acts alone and out of hate (or at least some kind of hate.)

The Wither.

But hasn't Minecraft Story Mode used the Wither for its story? Yes, yes they did. But why fix whats not broken? The Wither is a GREAT antagonist if the themes of Minecraft are as I listed above. Not to mention you can do a LOT with the Wither. It doesn't just have to be a large monster, it can be many things. For this movie the Wither is akin to a blight spreading across the land, killing anything in its path, reducing it to a greyed out violent form of its past self.

Next; What would the general plot be? Well, the general idea is that Steve wakes up without his memories. All he has is a journal with his name on it and a few entries (how to craft, certain creatures and what they drop, etc. The basics of Minecraft) but there's also a map that leads him to a village, which is when the plot truly kicks off when he defends the villagers from some Pillagers (Villagers who have been affected by the Wither blight.) The story follows Steve as he finds Alex (who is related to his unknown history. She admits she also has very little memory. All she knows is that she knows HIM and they need to stick together) and then they travel to find what caused the Wither blight; what happened to their memories; and how the hell are they going to stop the blight/get their memories back. The climatic point of the story reveals that THEY are the reason the Wither blight is spreading, both had accidentally unleashed it while exploring a Stronghold that held the Wither, which also explains their lost memories (somehow, i don't have the specifics its OKAY- this is a concept for a reason)

At the climax itself Steve is dying. There's a reference to the End Poem, he comes back to life (because obviously it's Minecraft. You revive) and him & Alex manage to stop the Wither blight as well as reverse it, obviously saving the day.

Now there's a lot of holes in the idea, but as I said it's a CONCEPT i'm toying around with because I do believe this basic structure would provide a much more fulfilling movie than game isekai with popular actors #12. I'd love to see people add on to this since as I said, COMMUNITY is one of the largest parts of Minecraft, and personally i love building on others ideas.

[mr-aftons-rotting-pussy]

hey sorry it's me again (<- girl who needs to go to sleep) urrhm ok walks into ur office with a stack of papers it's me secretary over apologizer

anywah rum um um th hey hi so uh looks around can weeee talk about the really big theme of nowhere to hide in the book and the game interchangeably like um. um. hi. okay so I'm literally laying in bed right now complete darkness like oh wow the characters oh wow oh wow smacks into a wall face first. and um um

okay like I just feel like god this thing with like.. yeagh.. there really is nowhere to hide from your parents ❤ that's literally the ultimate thing being a child like you can't just LEAVE and that's actually such a scary ass theme and the way the house keeps getting put on more and more lockdown in the game is like This is so alarming ❤ BUT that doesn't happen (or isnt stated) in the book, the difference in the book since u havent read it is just that oz doesn't leave for a few days because he's scared and can hear the. the thing standing outside his door all the time and it's like (steps up to microphone) WOW I LOVE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LITERALLY NOT BEINF ABLE TO JUST LEAVE AND THE MENTAL STATE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO Just Leave um and the way you run out of places to go in the game is so like ohhfmygodd sorry it's just really good like the game feels like it's suffocating that boy like u gotta get out of here because soon there will physically be no exit !! and the way the hiding minigames work ooogg ooohhh hi hey um hi sorry this game is written so beautifully it makes me physically nauseous only good fnaf game ever. uh but the hiding games not being designed like traditional hiding mechanics in games like holding a door shut or something, but stuff like oh keep the spiders away because it feels more like SORRY KID THERE'S NOTHING THAT YOU CAN DO OTHER THAN SIT THERE AND PRAY havr fun!!! ob my god head in hands like You can try to stop the toys or not breathe so scared but you can't physically hold a door shut because you're too little 🙁🙁😞😞😞😢 this game is so alarming I hate it not really but it's like ohntmmgdos and and and and hi hey okay so more with nowhere to hide like

I said this in my insane tags on that one post but the way that every single adult is like Oh you're so fucking strange weird little kid causing trouble . like it's not only like he can't tell anyone because he'd sound crazy but the universe being predisposed to everyone not listening to children about anything ever is like I feel like I've been punched in the face thanks like directly in the jaw my teeth r on the floorrr

like ugh I h h RATTLES BARS

um and and and looks around :c I can say more things but I just yeagh..

YEAAAAAAAA ARGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEFUCMING. AHHHHHH !!!!!!! thats smth i REALLY REALLY like abt into the pit like you REALLY feel like ur put into the shoes of a kid here you can only do so much while trying and experiencing shit wayyyy bigger than yourself, n it just elevates the horror bc like, obv ur oarent/someone you love being replaced by an imperfect impostir is already a scary notion. n being a CHILD TOO????? like fuckkkkk man your options r dwindling. n the way kuds r treated in society n shit as well as eveything else, oswalds just a kid, hes in sixth grade like?????? how do you deal w this???????? theres a fucking EVIL ANIMAL in your house. the world is already si scary as achild w/o all this but yhis maies it ten yimes worse, AND your home isnt even safe either. the amount if stress n trauma this kid experiences in a work week is fuxking insane hashtag justice for ozwald gotdamn.

AD AND i still xant stop thinking about the fat like. oswald is forced to relive the trauma of the events n shit that transpired a freddys, from the child victims at the pizzeria, to Michaels and the crying childs in his own home. smth smth themes of generational trauma n whatever its insane my brian explodes into ten million bloody chunks.

n what u said abt the book..... man........ imagine being holed up in ur room for days in end bc of The Thing on the other end of the door. like LITERALLY FNAF 4 SHIT GODDD. oswald reliving the trauma of the entire fnaf franchise in five nights like: INSANEEE. CRAZYYYYY.

[croxot]

Here I'll ramble about my favorite games this year.

This sure was a good year, and I have better opinions than the game awards do so I'm just gonna talk into the ether for a bit here.

Once upon a time I liked D&D 5e quite a bit, just like everyone else on this god forsaken internet. In recent years I've been more interested in Pathfinder 2e and Lancer. After so many years rolling with 5e, it became a bit more refreshing to try systems with more specific and rigid rules for certain things. However, a videogame requires specific adherence to rules to function, and in this respect, Baldur's Gate 3 is an incredible adaptation of the system. There's just so much stupid bullshit you're allowed to get away with in game that most devs would not even consider. I may have played thru act 1 like 7 times now and it's still entertaining. Also I went from hating Lae'zel to loving her. Congrats Larian, you made me like perhaps the most annoying person I've ever met in a videogame.

As my bones start to deteriorate I find myself seeking smaller, more intimate games that give a sort of feeling. Lunacid is "like" Kingsfield in the way that it's a first-person dungeon crawler. That's where the buck stops for that comparison gameplay wise. However, Lunacid offers an extremely specific feeling I find is rare in games. It's the same sort of "you're lost and alone but also it's also groovy" feel as Metroid Prime 1 & 2. And if you can capture the same sort of feeling that some of my favorite games ever gave me as a teenager, you're just automatically on my games of the year list.

I saw a gameplay video in passing on twitter, got slightly horny because caked-up goat lady, went to the steam page and saw OVERWHEMINGLY POSITIVE. I don't think my experience with Pseudoregalia is unique. It just feels great to jump around and the music slaps.

Cross the feeling of the open-sea adventure of Wind Waker, with the chase and collection of fishing minigames of countless other titles, and the dread of exploring the uncaring unknown. It scratches a seldom-scratched itch of exploratory joy within an indifferent universe. Dredge's systems can be distilled to the simple loop of growing beyond your own fears to discover more and more. None of these fears is particularly intense, but it's enough. Dredge isn't going to find itself on game of the year lists because it's doing any one thing particularly well. It's also not doing anything specifically or wholly NEW. It is however, more than the sum of it's parts, and it is beautiful.

Remnant 2 is the best co-op souls-style game that exists, tied with Nioh 2. That's it, that's what I had to say. It just real good and it deserves to be on game of the year lists.

So like, late this year, 2 Souls successors came out. Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen. And goddamn did Lords inspire division.

I think these releases really showed that people who are "Souls Fans" really cover a LOT of different specific interests, and not all of these interests are well-represented in every souls-like. Lords, perhaps amazingly, seems to cater to what I particularly want out of a Souls game, whereas Lies of P did not. I like these games for their challenge, sure, but more importantly, I like the character building. The ability to create a unique playstyle that I can take on the game with. This slowly grated on me in Lies of P because the game really only wants you to play it (and succeed at it) a certain way. Because the perfect parry was the truest answer to everything a boss could throw at you, and the dodge sucks ass, I felt more exhausted by the end of the game than anything. I also wanted to try a strength build, but the heaviest weapons cannot manage to fully wind up and land a hit on any bosses past the halfway point. Without any hyper-armor or poise, the "big weapon" playstyle felt completely trash, even outside of bosses. Lords lets me dodge, block, perfect parry, and hey they ALL feel useful. I can actually wind up big weapon hits too! Yeah it feels a bit floaty, and yeah enemy density can be rather crazy at times, but I'm the weirdo who's favorite Dark Souls is DS2. Lords also does ranged combat better than any of it's contemporaries. I think a lot of people also never played the original Lords of the Fallen. Now that game SUCKED. I played the whole thing, my god.

GAME OF THE YEAR BAYBEE

I've already talked about AC6, but again, you can't just get me to complete a game. I see an achievement list and I say "fuck that, I hate that!" I saw AC6's Achievement list and I was rubbing my hands together like a cartoon villain. Like Pseudoregalia, AC6 just feels good to play. It feels so tight, and after a few hours you can feel the minute changes in the way your mech handles even after small part swaps. Anyways it needs DLC with more Rusty content. 12/10.

[shadowmaat]

Palia woes

I've been playing a free, open-world game (I think that's the right term) called Palia. Very chill atmosphere, especially for someone like me, who hates fighting. There IS a hunting aspect, but nothing you hunt fights back.

The scenery is lovely. The characters are mostly fun. The backstories are all tragic, but ah well. The goals are, for the most part, easy to achieve with enough dedication.

The mainline quest, however, includes a lot of "epic" creatures that are very fucking difficult to get. Which I can sort of understand. Grinding is a time-honored game mechanic and all, but it's starting to cross the line from challenging to demoralizing.

Part of it is, of course, RNG. Epic items rarely crop up. Another part is that, for the fishing minigame, you need a special kind of bait. And getting that bait can be difficult. You can cultivate your own, but with 1 hour= one glow worm it can be a slog. I don't have the guild coins to buy more. And it has taken me hundreds of glow worms to get as far as I have. I still have two fish left. I've hooked each one ONCE, only for them to get away.

The butterfly is a near-mythical level of rare and I've only ever heard of people seeing them. Usually by expending bunches of expensive-to-craft lures and bug bombs.

Again, I understand grinding is part of the game, but the rarity levels and complexity are killing me. lol!

TBH it wouldn't matter too much since the quest line is paused once you complete all the tasks (and has been since the game launched last year). But I think the next chapter drops in tomorrow's update and there's just no goddamn way I'll be able to continue that storyline for at least another week or two, depending on how many glow worms I can get and how long it takes me to actually catch something. And the butterfly may never happen at all. LOL!

Ah well. I know the story will still be waiting whenever (if ever) I finally check the last three ticky boxes. I can probably keep muting the servers to avoid hearing people hype about it. I just. Was disappointed enough in my lack of progress when I thought I had til next year's Big Update to complete it. Now it's just... give up for a while and concentrate on leveling up my friendships with the NPCs instead.

[bonebabbles]

re: the tags on the post you just reblogged; would genuinely Love to hear your take on the themes of homestuck. because so many of its themes are at odds with each other and the reader that it truly does become an ouroboros by the end. and that’s fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time

I really can't phrase it better than "eats itself alive by the end," honestly. Once the Beta Kids scratch their session, you can feel how tired and frustrated the author is. It's like he starts hating his own work and how massively it blew up, when he never planned for it to be a project that lasted so long.

And thus it feels like he starts turning on his work's own themes.

Sburb (the game) was abusive and traumatic, but seemed to be trying to make the kids ""grow"" by some unknown philosophy. Figuring out what Sburb (or its creators) were trying to accomplish was a theme.

Only for the author to get frustrated at the idea of there BEING such a motive, seeming to suddenly pivot to Sburb just being a universe-generating mechanism

The theme about motives, being "pawns" in a greater game and uncovering the mystery, thinking critically about authority figures including the GAME ITSELF is unceremoniously discarded for a "Nothing matters actually" conclusion

Another theme was change and growing up, dealing with your mistakes as you make them. How even in a world with time travel, trying to use metaphysical shennanigans to avoid your fuckups just backfires. Eventually you have to face the music, and you'll be better off for it.

But then the author becomes brutishly cynical. The main casts' worst traits eat them alive on the trip to the new session, we learn the Beta trolls ruined their own playthrough and now painfully slog through their afterlives, the Alpha kids are aimless and trapped in a doomed session.

The theme about growth and facing your own mistakes becomes about stagnation and inevitability.

But honestly I think the most telling change in the author's mindset comes from looking at the Alpha Trolls vs the Beta Trolls.

Like, the way that the Alpha Trolls ALL got a full personality, several interactions with the main cast, and through fan input started evolving into characters that had little traits of the fandom at the time

Homestuck was always a story with a crass tone (and it's kind of incredible how quickly the lingo changed, making early HS look a lot edgier in hindsight than it was at the time) but it felt like there was a lot of love for how these characters had kinda been forged together.

Then you get to the Beta Trolls in a dream bubble, basically all tossed into a high-production walkaround minigame. Several of them just direct, joyless jabs at the audience, less of them relevant.

For me it's really the turning point on the themes, the later acts have always felt super dissonant from the early acts because of that

So in my mind I see it as two big "parts" and examine them together as what I feel was a weak synthesis.

[charlie-pippin-faraday]

V3 TRIAL 2 UPDATE

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I WAS RIGHT I WAS RIGHT I WAS COMPLETELY FUCKING RIGHT!!!!!!!! SHE DID IT KIRUMI DID IT I WAS 100% RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! god i'm so smart i'm so fucking smart i caught onto it immediately i knew it and it feels so good to be right about it. and i was like mostly right about how it went down!! i KNEW she handcuffed him and drowned him in the big fucking sink!!! and i knew she moved him window to window into the gym!!! i knew she used the cable and the rope! i didn't predict the rope slide on the inner tube and tbh i thought she would've knocked him out by putting something in his food rather than clocking him on the head, but overall i was still right!!!! AND i was right about him being in the piranha tank!!!!!!!! i totally forgot about the pane of glass so that makes sense why they didn't eat them but i TOTALLY called him being in the piranha tank. i didn't predict the right timing, but i don't think that's my fault, they kind of threw a curveball on me mid-trial with maki revealing she'd talked to ryoma after nighttime had started

the motive/why she did it i was a little less on the mark on. i DID predict it had something to do with her getting her kubs pad, though was not correct on the manner, i really thought kokichi would've given it to her, i did not expect the sheer luck of her getting her own (luck? makoto naegi haunting the narrative once again). and no one requested her to kill him like i'd predicted - though ryoma kind of gave himself up to be killed, which was kind of in the general vein of one of my theories. she didn't do it while everyone was in the bug room like i'd thought, but i'm pretty sure she was running around preparing at that time, and her having access to the stuff she'd helped prep in the gym helped her with the murder, so i'm counting my lines of reasoning here to be right as well.

additional commentary throughout the trial:

lmao kokichi was taking NO fucking prisoners with all those absolutely scathing insults to miu

"my goatee makes me look like a glamorous celebrity" lol

"that's our kaito, right?" aw shuichi

lmao everyone be calling kaito an idiot

"that hopeless idiot may have encouraged me a bit" lol is that just maki and kaito's relationship in a nutshell?

"she's not lying! can't you tell just by looking at her?" i think i'm watching a man actively becoming down bad in real time. during a TRIAL

i relied on the walkthrough much less this time! being razor-focused on what i thought went down and who i thought did it (and also being right about it) certainly helped. multiple choice questions were no problem, and i can do the mass debates pretty well - didn't need help with that part! the shooting is actually alright, i can do that (i also got the laser beam perk or whatever it's called to make it shoot faster which was a HUGE help). now, the other minigames in the trial? uhhhh now those i needed help with lol

was i, shuichi saihara, hitting hookers with my car in that minigame? was that what was happening???

i REALLY hate the lying mechanic. i hate hate hate it. it's difficult, it doesn't make sense, and i'm fundamentally opposed to it. this is a TRIAL, it's about finding the TRUTH, why in the world are you fucking forcing me to LIE?! developers there HAD to be a better way than that

okay i've come to the conclusion that the stuff on the kubs pads is utter fucking bullshit and completely made up. because you CANNOT convince me that kirumi was running the nation, that simply is not possible. like i simply refuse to believe it. and also, i know the lore of these games, the world has already fallen into despair, is there even a government to run? if the dumpling that looks like makoto naegi is "someone i'm pretty sure i've seen before" then this doesn't take place in the past, and this is already a despair-filled world! and i might not remember correctly, weren't the motive videos in the first game fabricated as well? to a point, at least, 'cause didn't it show sayaka's idol group dead, but in reality they were just abducted? idk, i might not be remembering that right. idk, something about this just doesn't pass the smell test. there's no way her kubs pad is real. and i don't care that upon seeing it she "remembered" the memory, they have erased and tampered with the memories of the kids in every single one of these games. it would be easy to implant false memories, especially ones that preyed upon her internal need to serve and help people and even amplified it so that there were millions of people needing her help. like giving her a false memory like that is such an obvious way to potentially make her go off the deep end. there's no way it's real, it's just a manipulation

another reason i do not believe it is real: there is NO FUCKING CHANCE ryoma had NO ONE who cared for him, like i also fucking refuse to believe that. THAT is ALSO a deliberate manipulation of ryoma, a man who was already hanging by a thread searching for something to latch onto and to fight for. like that's nothing but a manipulation into making him give up. there probably IS someone, but of course monokuma wouldn't tell him that, it's just a lie to make him give up and die in the game. and that's absolutely cruel

man kirumi really fucking lost it right at the end there, huh? there's something so fascinating to watch about the most dignified, composed person here losing their composure and rapidly unraveling, fighting to reach an outside world that is probably a complete fabrication. man, what a tragedy.

the maki reveal is...not unexpected, tbh. there was so much shady stuff about her. and like toko in the first game, there is not a CHANCE she is killing a single person in this game lol

keebo watching maki strangling kokichi by the throat like "man, why didn't i think of that?"

and thus concludes my trial commentary! man i almost hit the bullseye on this one, i feel so fucking smart. and i think that's about as high as i'm gonna feel, i don't anticipate i'll be as right on the money with any of the rest of these murders lol

on to chapter 3!

[mistfallengw2]

Done with the story, and boy howdy am I happy with this expansion~

So, let's get the easy ones out of the way: map design and music are just top notch, even more than usual. Lost count of the amount of times I got lost exploring, it's all just damn neat, and I'm not even done. Likewise, I got so many goosebumps due to the music, and now that I'm past spoilers, I'm due to sit down and properly listen to the full soundtrack. Also, sound design has always been awesome as well, and each time they move up a level.

Story was pretty damn good and DENSE with stuff for lore nerds to chew on. GW2 is back to doing what it does best, and the worldbuilding through dialogue and books has been a blessing this time around. So many of the interesting things "forgotten by the story" got addressed or aknowledged, and I kinda like that we've been out of the loop for a while even before the SotO stuff (we can't be everywhere, and that's a good thing) so that it can be done organically. The Tyrian Alliance have some of my fave dialogue (oh Dougal, hang in there buddy) and books, and MAN the hints at potential future expansions have me running up walls. Also all my homies hate Isgarren's floaty ass and I'm here for it (and for poor Frode who has to wrangle him). The investigative parts are such a pearl of writing, piecing together what happened in Gavril through texts found around the map before the bloodstone story step was SO satisfying, and in general I loved each build-up. I expected things from Waiting Sorrow, and while what I got wasn't what I expected, I love her already (you can whoop Isgarren's supposed ass, don't hold back dear). I've seen people complain about Poky being Braham 2.0, which is fair, but honestly I'm here for it and I really want the two of them to meet and be friend (even Alder thinks the same, come on!). Can't wait to dwelve in all the other collections and achievements I haven't done yet, what I got done so far has been quite fun.

Gameplay? Sure the spears are awesome, the warclaw is fun (gosh the chain-race mechanic in those story fights? Perfection.), but the events and hearts are the kind of small scale stuff that makes me adore GW2, because I like being useful to people in mundane yet meaningful ways and it makes every part of the world feel lived in. I love that they reused a ton of older minigames and event structure for the new maps, and I haven't been so "at home" in maps since Grothmar.

Speaking of homes, the Homestead... Haven't touched it much because I wanted to focus on finishing story before going away for a few days + F2 being bugged for me. Given what I've seen, I'm glad I stocked up on mats, but I'll keep doing that and leave the actual decorating to when I have a nebulous "enough". With the story done, I will not respond of the emotional damage I will soon suffer. Expect posts uncomprehensible keysmashes under screenshots, I can't promise more (might survive since emotes don't seem possible for the alts, and while sad I do know that could have slain me).

My only sore points have been mostly resolved or are known bugs, and I'm trying to make my peace with the warclaw's animation speed ruining an otherwise perfect mount.

Could ramble a lot more, but all in all? If this is what we get after the teething pains of SotO, I'm sold on all future expansions and more. (And I should probably get started with GW1, huh)

Now to think about my OCs... For sure this is a expansion all about Aurelia and Ellara with a side of Zehmik, but gotta see about the rest...