#compared to other games I don't release as fast as them

[aurelim]

Ooh, looks like Kai(a) won the poll! Be sure to be on the lookout for it sometime soon :)

I am itching to write parts of Chapter 2 now but I have so much work to do 😭😭😭 why do I always get inspired to write at the worst times possible???

And then when I have the free time to sit down and write I don't do it, instead choosing to procrastinate🫠

Honestly this is me when it comes to writing:

also yeah I drew this for the cursed memes

[moonsunmermaid]

Pick a Card General Advice from Spirit

Disclaimer: Please remember, this is just a general reading from the collective, apply how it might resonate and take in consideration that tarot readings are not 100% real, you have the power to change your life anytime. Also please, regarding any kind of health issues this is no game, go to a doctor, I or spirit will never give you any advice regarding you health in this blog.

Piles: 1 - 2 -3

Pile 1 - Hello Darling,

Spirit says you can achive your dreams, I feel you have at least one thing you want to achieve so much you have anxiety sometimes. Sometimes you even lie to yourself and decieve yourself by listening to those who say you can't do it, maybe you even might have tendecy to procastinate or sabotage your own desires. Spirit says you got this, you can do it! Fast enough you can leave all that behind and connect to your inner self. Meditate, take time to be by yourself, listen to your body, listen to your intuition. Your dreams are attaniable, you have the power of the empress in you, you deserve achieving your dreams.

Remeber you don't recieve what you want, you always recieve what you believe you can recieve. With this I don't say if you don't believe the universe won't give you opportunity, with this I say you won't believe your chances when they arrive and maybe you can leave them behind because you don't believe in yourself. Please believe in yourself, you got this, you can do it!

Pile 2 - Fairies

Pile 2, you've been working hard for a long time, and it seems the work seems to never end! take time to release all burdens and accept there's fight you cannot win and work you don't have to do. DELEGATE ON OTHERS PLEASE! Although there is things in the oven getting ready for you, finding some peace is the best. Please take time to rest.

I have the feeling there's people who don't have the best intentions near, try to not obserburden yourself just because they're there. The right time will come, there will be a trial, and you know how hard you've been working. Let go of what no longer serves, let go of these people and embrace what you learn. Set boundaries with them if you need to! don't let others take advantage of you!

Good things are comming, don't worry about that. Be present and find peace first, else you won't be able to enjoy the beautiful presents the universe has in store for you. You deserve all the good things in the world just because you breathe, there's no need to overload yourself with the work of others!

Pile 3- YingYang Kittens

Pile three balance is the key! it seems you have a lot on your plate and you struggled a lot. Spirit says you've done too much but justice will be served and you will receive your presents for your hard work,

Spirit suggests there's a lot more in accepting things as they are, you are light, you are magic and you don't need to be so hard on yourself. Where you see a little bit, spirit can tell how far you've come!

Sometimes we look at the final goal and we can't appreciate how much we changed since we started. Look back, some years ago, and compare to where you are, you will see victory and a great story of success. This is the proof you need to keep you going, release al burden and appreciate every small achievement.

Celebrate every minute, every small step, you derseve it!

[makkir0ll]

setting the past (part two)

ukai x reader

wc: 1.8k

synopsis: you coach a volleyball team, one of the best in the country known for having mostly recruited players. you take pride in the fact that you have led your team to win a national championship title. And with the news of the rising team karasuno, your interest is piqued, mainly because that was your old school. you had known that they were nicknamed the "fallen crows" and such, so hearing about their fast improvement you decide you want to see it for yourself. you call up the school and takeda picks up. you organize a practice match for later that week.

but what you don't realize is that their coach is your highschool ex.

a/n: me when i post a part two after a month. sorry guys i was battling depression, school, and writers block but we survived and now i give you this. shoutout to @cottonlemonade for listening to me rant about this fic for hours.

part one. masterlist

the aura in the gym is awkard. everyone can feel it. and they sure don't miss the way you and ukai keep sneaking glances at each other while the teams warm up. ears turning red when you guys make eye contact.

he's just observing your coaching style he says to himself. but he can't help but notice how pretty you are. your hair tied up so your neck can remain cool in the hot and humid gym. the sweat beads that drip down ur neck and onto your chest. he's starting to sweat a little and not because of the heat anymore.

and you surely think he's changed a lot too. the blonde hair definitely suits him, compared to his buzzed hair in high school (that you helped him with in the bathroom of the sakonishta store). and you for sure don't miss the two silver piercings on his left ear.

but your thoughts are interrupted when your team captain comes up to you "we're receiving first." you nod your head in acknowledgment, pulling out the whiteboard and giving the team the game plan.

"we're going to start out with haru, yoshi and kyo in the back line, for the best defense. and we'll have our tallest in the front." you point to the whiteboard. "remember that no matter what keep-"

"keep the ball in play" they all cut you off. you're surprised with that. do i really say that everytime you think to yourself.

"well since you already know the drill then. go and have fun. don't worry too much since this is just a practice match." you say smiling sitting back down on the chair as you watch them line up.

as the game starts nothing too interesting has happened yet. until you see a ball getting slammed to the ground out of nowhere and you look to see a jumpy first year land back from his spike. your team is frozen in their spots, they turn their heads to you and you turn your's to ukai. he just gives you a smug smile and shrugs his shoulders. clearly he likes to show off.

"don't mind it, get the point back!" you yell at them, as karasuno goes to serve. what the fuck have they been working on?

the game continues as your team slowly becomes accustomed to the first year's insane quick attack. you end up winning two straight sets but the points were really close throughout.

as you pack up your things you see a man with glasses approach you. you assume he's the one you talked to on the phone to plan out this match. you turn your body to face him and he holds his hand out to shake.

"thank you so much for coming all the way here, it must've been a long drive." he starts, still shaking your hand.

"oh it's no problem, thank you for having us. i know it was very last minute so thank you for being able to accommodate us." you reply, releasing your hand from his and bowing down slightly. "i think our bus driver is here, so we'll head out. i hope you see you again."

you hoped to see everyone but your ex, you lied to yourself. but deep down you couldn't help the butterflies in your stomach that would erupt whenever you would catch him glancing at you.

you and your team are walking back to the bus, they are eager to get home and you can see it on their faces how exhausted they are. you told them that you'll stop for food on the way back home and you're going to keep your promise.

once you counted fourteen players on the bus, you reach into your pocket for your phone, except you couldn't find it. with a sigh you turn to the bus driver, " i'm so sorry, but i think i left my phone back in the gym. i'll just go grab it really quick." you explain with an apologetic look on your face. he tells you it's no problem and to take your time. meanwhile he'll turn on the air conditioning because it's hot.

you turn around to walk back to the school, the smile on your face turns irritated. you really didn't want to run into ukai again. how emabrassing would it be to walk back in the gym. he would proabbly say some bullshit like "oh back so soon", with that stupid smirk on his face you thought to yourself. you really liked his stupid smirk.

your thoughts are interrupted when you hear your name being called out. you look up to see the fake blonde running towards you, your phone in his hand. you roll your eyes. of course this would happen to me of all people, this somehow seems worse.

he stands in front of you now. you take notice of how he's grown a couple of inches since you last saw him in highschool. "is this yours?" he asks, holding your phone out.

"yes, thanks." your tone is still sharp, you're really annoyed now. you would've rather just slipped into the gym quietly to grab your phone, not be face to face with your ex.

you grab your phone out of his hand, but your fingers ever so slightly graze each other and you feel his calloused hands from the years of volleyball. i wonder if they- NO NO NO STOP THINKING THAT.

once the device is in your hands, you begin to walk away, pulling up your friend's contact so you can update her on the absolute shit show that happened today.

"i saw they used your little trick back there," ukai says. it makes you stop in your tracks and you slowly turn around.

"what?"

"in the game, your team, they used that trick of yours from high school, right? the one where you would hit the block on purpose to get a rebound?" he explains to you, crossing his arms with that stupid smirk on his face gracing his features.

"so? it's a good technique. and since when were you this observant?" you question. ukai had never really been the one to know techniques, let alone remember yours. it might have made your stomach erupt with butterflies at the comment but you tell yourself its the anger bubbling up. with your frustration growing and all you wanted to do was go home, you turn around. "i'm going now, bye."

"you haven't changed a bit, y'know" he makes you stop, yet again. ukai couldn't help but admire how your passion for the sport never left. the way your eyes lit up everytime your team got a point was the same look that you had when you were in highschool. the way you spoke with so much thought and intent during time outs made him smile.

though you didn't think he meant it in that way. you thought he still thinks your the same dumb girl from highschool. you have changed a lot. you've grown as a person. you are NOT the same person from highschool.

"whatever ukai." you emphasize the use of his last name, walking away back to the bus as you ring up your friend. she picks up asking what happened.

"you will not believe the shit i just went through."

------

"and then get this, as im about to leave he goes 'you haven't changed a bit y'know' like what the hell is that supposed to mean?" you say to your friend who's on the other end of the phone. for the past twenty or so minutes you've been debriefing the utter chaos that happened today, what you don't realize is your team in the background quietly eavesdropping on your conversation trying to put the pieces together.

"i dunno y/n? but anyways why does this matter he is your ex from highschool," she emphasized the last word, "it shouldn't matter now, unless, y'know, he's a good fuck? is he?"

your voice goes to a whisper "i dont see how him being good in bed is related to this?" you know your team is listening to the conversation, they’re not slick about it and you can't have them hear you talk about things like this.

"because! maybe you'll meet again and have some hot makeup sex, and trust me it sounds like you need it." she explains, you cringe at her words trying to not imagine the scenario (you do later that night)

"anyways, i wouldn't know either way. we never got that far in highschool." you explain. you did all the other stuff though, just not the main act.

"what a shame, he sounds like he'd be good too."

"can you please not imagine my highschool ex in bed." you bring your fingers to smooth out your furrowed brows. you don't want to have wrinkles before you hit thirty. "anyways i have to go now we're back at the highschool, i'll talk to you tommorow." the bus comes to a stop and the team stands up to walk out of the vehicle. when they all step off the bus they thank the driver in unison before turning to you to hear any last minute annoucements.

"good work today," you start off. "i know it must've been a long drive but thank you for cooperating. i hope you enjoyed the game." they all nodded their head yes, too tired to express any other emotions. you could tell that they just wanted to go home and sleep. "alright then! go home and rest a lot, make sure you're eating enough and staying hydrated, because next week we're going to the summer training camp. that's all i have to say for today, i'll see you tommorow, goodnight!" they all reply with a tired goodnight mumbled under their breath as they make their way back home while you go towards your car.

once your in the tiny vehicle you immediately crank up the ac because although it is night your car still feels somwhat warm from the summer heat. as you're waiting for the car to cool down you're checking your email, and you see one from coach nekomata, the coach from nekoma highschool who invited you to the tokyo training camp. his email is answering your question that you asked a while ago about the teams that are going to be there.

Hi Y/n! Sorry I got back to you so late. I am still figuring out how to use this phone. But here are the list of teams that are attending the training camp:

Fukurōdani Academy

Nekoma High

Shinzen High

Ubugawa High

Karausuno High

Kozue High

you re-read the list of highschools again, making sure that you read them all right. karasuno high. you read the two words over and over again, rubbing your eyes to make sure you weren't hallcuinating. with a groan you slump into your car seat.

"of course this could only happen to me"

[emblemxeno]

"So tell me... How was it, being alive...?

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Replay Overall Thoughts!

I blazed through the last 3 chapters in about a week cuz I've been on a crazy high with this game lmaoooo, so here's a last post about my replay of this game and how much I like it overall. Spoilers ahead just in case!

-Gameplay! XC2 is a definitive example of having a high learning curve, but being so exceptionally rewarding.

While I'm less aggro over the game's tutorials than some are, I still agree that the game doesn't go into as much detail as needed to fully exlore the mechanics. A double edged sword of the game as a whole is just the amount of stuff that's involved in just its battle system. Arts, Specials, Blade arts, driver combos, blade combos, accessories, pouch items, affinity charts, etc. Being lax in just one of these things makes the game more of a chore to play than one would expect. But being aware of all of them makes the combat fast paced, strategic, and explosively fun.

But the gameplay isn't just fighting. It's also exploration and quests. XC2 features many gorgeous landscapes to behold and places to visit. Comparing to XC1 though... I like XC1's exploration mechanics, locations and secret ares just a tad more. However, XC2 has the worldbuilding trophy down pat. Certainly XC1 has its justifications for some areas not being populated or the backstory being lined with populous centered conflict, but it is that difference that makes XC2 more appealing in a "worldly" sense.

The politics of Alrest, its underlying message of idealism vs nihilism, building a future that defines and shapes future generations, even the nods to environmentalism and climate change. All of these are poignant and everlasting messages just as applicable today as they were when the game released. So IMO while Bionis and Mechonis are more fun to traverse, Alrest is more fun to experience.

Similarly, quests differ in this game compared to its prequel. XC1 had quests from the moon and back, at times to its detriment, especially the generic ones. However, it made up for that with a strong affinity chart made relevant by NPCs with memorable personalities and objectives. XC2, on the other hand, cut the chaff with the number of quests to be had, but along with that there was a noticeable dip in NPC quality. While I can't easily remember names of townsfolk in either game, XC1 still has the benefit of ties and links being foundational to its questlines that I can pick details and objectives from them out of my brain. XC2 sadly doesn't have that. A best of both worlds scenario exists in the next game, truly fitting tbh.

-Aesthetics, Presentation, and Music!

The game looks great, though definitely dated, most notably in animations and FPS performance. The worst of it happens in crowded city areas, especially Torigoth, which isn't a good sign for such an early locale. Overall, though, it turns out not to be too bad in the long run. You'd expect Mor Ardain and Tantal to have similar issues, but they really don't, at least as far as I know. For sure there's room to improve, but for a launch year Switch title? Very nice.

The ultimate dead horse of this game is its character designs and voice acting. For the latter point, it is pointedly rough especially for the middle chapters of the game, as you can hear the lack of direction from normally great actors. The last 3 chapters though is one stellar performance after another, and proves that talent along with even half decent direction goes a long way, and that it should be a lesson learned that a glaring issue like this not be repeated.

Character designs is touchy obviously. Pyra and Mythra sharing the lead role with Rex while having... let's say 'eclectic' outfits is very much a choice. I won't go into optics of such, as I'm not a woman and therefore don't have the wisdom or experience to comment on this point in a way that's very informed. What I will say is that it's nothing new for Xenoblade, or for the Xeno series as a whole. Is that a justification? No. But it's tried and true at this point.

I like their designs just fine (I also like Rex's for what it's worth). Now some rare Blade designs? Could've gone back to the drawing board. Dahlia is even more of a dead horse subject, but even Nim and ESPECIALLY Newt are ones that I just get the ick about. Talented artists for all Blades no doubt, but the designs themselves are just... yeah.

MUSIC oh god the MUSIC of this fucking game. Great orchestral tracks, electric guitar prominent rock, CHOIR LEAD PIECES, and the solo singer songs like Drifting Soul??? PEAK. Absolute peak. Every track hits where it needs to and then some.

-Characters and Story!

To repeat my earlier points, I adore the touches on the politicization of stuff like usage of mass weaponry, war resources, idealism/nihilism, religious dogma, climate change, and even identity optics. Every one of those points is supported by a stellar main cast, and a surprisingly solid supporting cast.

Rex starts as an idealistic child, with very staunch black and white beliefs. But being mentored by not just Vandham, but also Morag and Zeke, gives him perspective and growth to be the leader and hero Alrest needs.

He can say he's not involved in any war efforts by refusing to salvage weapons, but he realizes that war is more than just weapons. He can have a grand idea of going to Elysium, but how's he gonna do it in actuality. He may share Pyra and Mythra's physical pain, but how does he, as their partner, respond to their pain of being? Their emotions, the fear they carry, how they feel they're threats to the world and are better off erased?

Being an adult means respecting your loved ones decisions, being a hero means not going back on your promises or your fight to do what's right, being a leader means sometimes you have to work with compromises, being the Driver of the Aegis-no, the driver of ANY Blade, means accepting them as all they are, the good and the bad.

But all these lessons would be a bit meaningless if Rex wasn't so in tune with himself in the first place. Rex is more than just optimistic, he's full of love and hope! He's at his strongest when he remains true to that, and only falters when he lets his doubts get the best of him.

It helps that his friends give him something to learn, support, or aspire too, all while having their own developed characters besides that. Nia being of a similar age to him shows how even young people can be jaded by the world treating them horribly, but can just as easily propped back up when they no longer have to fear being themselves. Tora serves as someone who Rex can inspire and share a journey of growth as a Driver, and there's no better path of learning about your own strengths and weaknesses than being a teacher/leader yourself. Morag and Zeke show a positive example of what adulthood is towards the new generations; the former retains her love of her homeland and helps ground the party in reality while becoming more accepting of leaning on others to help without her pride getting in the way; the latter challenges tradition and stagnation, but instead of throwing the whole past away, he wants to confront it and find the most authentic and honorable way to move on.

The politics of Blades' relationships with humans as well... Gramps and Dromarch provide unflinching support to fall back on, being wise "older" members; Brighid and Pandoria deal with the idea of self, the former wanting to learn more about her past despite its apparent futility given the memory loss and the latter going through a then secretive (and possibly dangerous given what happened to Haze/Fan la Norne) procedure because she loved Zeke that much. And Poppi is such a smash hit character, being a composite of impressionable yet idealistic youth, the trials of finding your identity despite abnormality, and being fearful of your own capabilities should they come to harm people in the future.

Jumping off from that, both Pyra and Mythra are just so damn good. Besides their general personality difference, Pyra is surprisingly forceful (chapter 6 climax) and Mythra surprisingly sentimental/sweet (chapter 5 end). They treat each other as sisters because Mythra is just that kind of person, she's not snappy or controlling, she lets Pyra be herself. Both are afraid of their power, hence they want themselves erased from the world; but bonding with someone who was never scared of them or what they could do-something Addam admitted that he was unable to-changed their outlook: they love this world. No longer the pitying "this place would be better without us" type of love, but the "I want to remain and work to sustain this beauty and kindness" type of love.

In contrast, Amalthus is what happens when you let the world's ugly parts dictate your entire outlook-he hates himself just like Pyra and Mythra did, like how Jin and Malos do. Rejecting change by using religious dogma and enforcing control over the world through the core crystal cleansing. Killing Torna's legacy, and blackmailing Tantal. When you hate the world, hate yourself, and have the power to end it, be it through swift destruction or 500 year long stagnating rot, you'll do so.

That outlook is poisonous and is easily spread-look at any far right campaign today and see how they use similar fear mongering, rejection of change, and discriminatory exclusivity! That's unfortunately how a lot of people operate, and that's how people get broken by the systems that harm them and either led to violence (Jin) or wanting to escape by any means possible (Pyra/Mythra). That's why the hero being Rex, an upstanding youth wanting to change the world through optimism, love, and acceptance, means so much as a message. It's incomprehensible to those who don't want to listen (or who benefit by rejecting it) but is given support by victims looking for an answer.

That's the difference between existing and being alive, and ultimately that's what broke me during the final scenes of the game. Malos never existed as more than a machine, basically corrupted by a virus that was Amalthus' misanthropy, but Pyra and Mythra got to live. To witness cultures, meet and talk with people, fall in love with them, have laughs and shed tears. And when that light was reciprocated, they learned they didn't want to die for Alrest's sake, they wanted to live for it.

"So tell me... How was it, being alive...?" is terribly tragic and incredibly heartfelt, because, as Morag says "Most people go their whole lives without finding a meaning to it." I still don't even know if I have mine, or if I'll even find it, and when Malos said his final line that's when the tears started running. A being who sees himself as a monster, who never got to be anything but a destructive burden on people, but who went out with a smile when he realized that had he been awakened by people like Rex or Jin before Amalthus came into the picture, he could've had a life full of love like his sisters got. A life that we all can get. A life that we aspire to and deserve.

How this game manages to capture the emotion of the human mind, is endlessly impressive. A splendid journey from beginning to the end, in spite of some rough spots here and there.

I'm probably gonna take a break from Xenoblade for a little bit and jump back into FE in the meantime. Thanks to all who kept up with my XC2 shenanigans lol.

[csolarstorm]

There's a part of the Pokemon fandom that says Scarlet and Violet are the worst Pokemon games, and I get it. Everyone knows how bad the quality control is. It's been embarassing, and GameFreak knows it. What the will or won't do about it is another story.

On the other hand - when it comes to content, GameFreak is firing on all cylinders. There is so much care put into the characters, the story, the setting, the mysteries. The player character has a huge friend group - Nemona, Arvin, Penny, Carmine, and Kieran, and the fandom actually likes them, and talks about them, and each of them has fans. That's because they have actual character arcs. The friend group in XY can't hold a candle to them.

GameFreak is giving the story in S/V so much care that they're actually releasing an Epilogue on January 11th. They're actually giving the story an epilogue.

The gameplay is close to its peak in S/V, right behind the breath of fresh air that is Legends: Arceus. The abilities the character has to ride, climb, fly, send out Pokemon to do quick auto battles are fast, simplified, and freeing compared to older Pokemon games. It's fun to just pick up the game and mess around. Ride around randomly, pick up items, watch the Pokemon around you and how they act, and casually send out your own to KO some of them. This is even better in the DLC when you get Blueberry Quests, bite sized tasks that reward you for the random stuff you're doing anyway.

This does get to another significant problem that drags S/V down, and it's an issue with Pokemon on Switch as a whole. It's really expensive. Without the DLC, Scarlet and Violet don't have a third legendary, Koraidon and Miraidon can't fly, and the player doesn't experience the true conclusion of the story. The whole game with DLC is $93 together.

Does this nullify the quality of the game? It should not be this expensive, especially with the known problems with quality control and rushed graphics. I think the writers, artists, and game designers are objectively doing good work, but The Pokemon Company is definitely milking the games in a way that makes it hard for them. In the end, the overall quality of the end product with its compromises is ultimately up to each person to decide. For me, the content is getting overall better in each Pokemon game, and that definitely keeps Scarlet ane Violet from being the worst Pokemon game.

I mean, BDSP is right there.

[diaphin93]

My Thoughts on Dawntrail

So, Dawntrail has been out alot, but still spoilerwarning for the MSQ up until 7.0. This is not an indepth analysis of Dawntrail by any means, but more of my personal thoughts on how I felt about the story and contrasting it with how I feel about The War Within, which I think managed to deliver the first storytelling W for World of Warcraft since both games are running simultaneously.

For context, I do play both Games and I'm both positive and negative about certain aspects of both. For example, I feel strongly about Modern World of Warcraft just offering more than FF14 in terms of content, even if FF14 has alot of content that can be well replayed after it isn't current anymore. I enjoy general healer gameplay and tanking in WoW more, but also feel like FF14 being well able to compete through its great visuals and occassional innovative class design choices. I feel like World of Warcraft entered a golden age of class design since DF, while FF14 is currently in the midst of a very grim dark age.

And I have to admit, I started off kinda lukewarm on Dawntrail. I was on a prolonged hiatus and played more World of Warcraft or Singleplayer Games through most of Endwalker, but got hooked right back into the game a few months prior to Dawntrail release, slowly catching up with the story. I wasn't really hot about the initial premise, Endwalkers initial MSQ being an emotionally invested rolercoaster ride following Shadowbringers, concluding the entirety of the story so far and the entire Zero Chapter and the 13th being kind of more interesting for me personally, but wrapped up rather fast. In retrospect, I kinda felt sad about how many year long engaging plotlines, the war against the garleans, the ascians and the primals, where just concluded in one sweeping go, especially the end of the Garlean Empire being bitter to me, as it was my favorite plotline, adding alot of the narratives nuances, world building and depth into it.

Though I was still happy to play the story, really excited about the new classes and I was open about playing through it all. I kinda liked the idea of a succession contest and I actually liked Wuk Lamat well enough. I think Sena Bryer is not the best voice actress, but she has an endearing and authentic quality to how she voices Wuk, my biggest issue being her performance really crashing apart badly whenever she has to raise her voice. Though, as opposed to many, I don't really dislike Wuk. I think her story does not deliver in the slightest on her potential and that she remains overly static, but my bigger issue really was the inclusion of Alphinaud and Alisaie, who just well mandatorily shoved in because of Fan Demand. I guess there is a problem of both of their character arcs being concluded and them not feeling that distinct anymore, more like a package. Without the narrative being centered on their growth and maturing as people, they also feel a bit bland to me, compared to the other scions. I generally feel like Raha should have been included into the story instead, maybe a bit more Estinien as well, to let the newcomers have an adventure without the stakes being at an all time high for once. Rahas presence also would have helped Krile alot I think, because they just play off each other very well.

Going into the story, I just feel large portions of it were just really boring. The trials felt alot like side quests and I think the slowburn combined with the lack of voice acting and real battle content really made me mentally numb through alot of it. The cultures were encounter felt less interesting to me than in the past, especially since their presentation just came off as dry. And really, this made the lack of battle content and actual gameplay inside the quests very noticable. I personally also think the truth about the blessed siblings really fell apart for me, because while it was horrible how the Mamool Ja deliberately tried to breed two-headed ones, in their obsession with reclaiming their former glory, I just don't understand what the conclusion to it is supposed to tell us, as it turns out that they're simply the result of the different mamool ja tribes intermixing and the offspring having a high mortality rate, so it kinda feels like the conclusion is anti-miscegenation. I think that part of the story would have come together better if there was some more sinister method behind their creation.

But until then, yeah, it was well servicable. Us stopping right at our tracks after finding the Golden City was annoying, but what really broke the camels back to me was how we are forced through Shaaloani for some wild west side adventure afterwards, basically killing any excitement for the story up to this point. I personally also just don't like the whole wild west setting of Shaaloani, as it just felt just too far off from the rest of Yok Tural. So we are off to a very bad start for part 2 of the MSQ, which only gets worse when the real actual starts. I hate that the entire section of the alexandrian invasion on Tuliyollal is not playable and just cutscene after cutscene, way to keep us distant from the drama and action happening there. I also really dislike the aesthetics, but more on that later. We are off to even more fetch quests until we can finally board the train to attack the dome and...yeah. The story really falls apart here for me.

I really, really hate the entirety of Alexandrias aesthetics. First off...they are not Alexandria. They bear no semblance to the aethetics of FF9 Alexandria outside of the ruins of the oldtown and just don't really feel fitting for FF14 in the slightest. Modern Aspects worked well with Garlemald and Amauroth, because they still had a fantastical edge to it and looked unique, something that I will always immediately associate with this game. Alexandria on the other hand does just look like any generic cyberpunk city. And we are in the midst of enemy territory but just nothing happens. Its all peace and sunshine after they caused massive slaughter in the country we were supposed to feel attached to at this point and instead its basically just one sightseeing tour, where it feels like the game actively forces us to be in awe and wonder about how great it is there. Then there is Sphene who was really unlikable to me. I don't understand why so many people hate Wuk Lamat and sing praises to Sphene. I think what gets me is how the story forces itself to forget the elephant of the room, that she is the queen of the nation that just attacked us, and just sings praises about how kind and nice she is. I don't use the term Mary Sue lightly on female characters, I love to use it much more on men, lol, but she feels this way in how the narrative seems to try to bend over backwards in framing, which I just didn't find endearing at any moment and probably made me feel indifferent to her entire story.

I also feel like Alexandrias practices of turning souls into a currency, harvesting them and feeding them into the populace to creat a decadent faux immortality to everyone able to afford them, was never treated with the necessary gravitas and disgust. They invaded a world that never did them the slightest harm and slaughtered its people to rip out their souls, for gods sake. In every other story, this would be a nightmarish moral event horizon, while Dawntrails heavy handing and parody-like theme of understanding basically just treated it like a quirk of them we might not like, but have to respect. It feels like a parody of how the narrative treated the ascians, where we saw their humanity, saw the desperation and reasons behind what they do finally, but still could firmly stand in opposition to them, because the idea of us having to die so that they can restore their idealistic world was inheritly unfair. Dawntrail lacked this. And Dawntrail over and over displayed a near insistance of killing every sense of tension and stakes build by its own narrative, because right after Sphene decides to become the second coming of Endsinger, we go through a theme park sightseeing tour. It doesn't help that in a setting in which souls are a real physical thing we have already seeing and interacted with, killing AI Engrams just does not have any gravity to me. It works in traditional Cyberpunk Settings, where the soul is a much more abstract concepts.

So yeah, what I really disliked the most was DT killing every bit of tension the second it build up. Meanwile, I think the TWW Storyline not only had a better antagonist, but also just a better story experience where the action of the gameplay, even if its fairly simple, was combined well with the narrative at hand, with it making the great choice of relegating most of the zone lore to side content that can be used as alternative level routes for alts while keeping the main story focussed on the characters and the conflict at hand. I also think that the Azj-Kahet quests kinda handled the seeing the humanity in the people invading us better. Its more interesting firstly, because the people of Azj-Kahet are literally beastlike spider-people we so far only faced as an invading swarm and touring the city is a much less lingering endeavor and happens while connecting political players planning a rebellion and recovering a lost ally who had been kidnapped.

I think I will still regularily look into FF14 and resubscribe with new content patched, but currently its crazy to say, but World of Warcraft has the story that got me more hooked this time around. The zones are also really much more fun to explore, I love World of Warcrafts Zone Design and how the game gives you ample reason to be in the open world. There is also the current state of Dark Knight, my favorite class, which is just not fun in the slightest, I'm still hoping for an emergency class revamp in one of the 7.x patches, but otherwise my only hopium is Dark Knight getting a full on revamp with 8.0.

[knight-lautrec]

Finally got the platinum in this game after almost 140 hours. Review, maybe? Probably not but my thoughts.

Microtransactions: 21 unique mtx for things easily obtained in-game. Immediately left a bad taste in my mouth, but they'd already had my pre-order in by that point, sunken cost fallacy and all that. The game truly didn't need these mtx for any reason, and are hardly even worth an "early-game boost".

Anyway time for the actual game.

Combat is certainly more satisfying than the first game's, and all of the classes felt fun to play as. Even the Trickster, whose gimmick is pulling aggro and using illusions to distract enemies or cause them to hurt themselves, at the expense of dealing basically no damage directly. I do certainly wish the game had taken some inspiration from other popular action RPGs of the past decade, or even the Monster Hunter games. Sometimes in melee combat you might snap onto the wrong enemy and begin attacking them, and without a lock-on system, it seems that you just attack the closest target that you're next to.

The new and returning vocations are all pretty great, and I didn't dislike any of them besides my first few hours of using the Trickster class. I'd go more into what they do but I'm sure a quick reading of the in-game description could describe it better than I could.

Enemies in this game? Not really a huge improvement compared to the original game. The variety of enemies is artificially inflated by having different tiers of the same enemy. They might look or sound different, or they might have a specific gimmick or status ailment that they inflict. Dullahans are cool, though, until you encounter like 3 in one in-game night cycle.

Pawn AI? Not a massive improvement compared to the first game. They made them more helpful in terms of quests, for sure, but they'll also point out the same signs and ladders ad nauseam. There's not much you can do to really control what special moves they do, which can be an extreme annoyance when you want a Fighter or Warrior class pawn to launch you into the air outside of combat to reach something that is high up. They do this attack ALL THE TIME in combat, though. Nothing I love more than playing as a sorcerer or trickster and a pawn will decide to launch me into the air as I'm just trying to position myself. Just like the first game, they are hilariously bad with water hazards. Like, Lucatiel in the Sinner's Rise in Dark Souls II levels of tripping and drowning in the water. I've also had many close calls and deaths with pawns essentially shoving me out of the way when traversing a bridge or any narrow platform suspended above an abyss.

Traversing the world, once you get used to the oxcart system, is not nearly as bad as the original 2012 Dragon's Dogma release (before the game came bundled with the Eternal Ferrystone for infinite teleports). There's an oxcart travel network that essentially connects most of the major hub towns together, with a final area you reach much later in the game forcing you to travel by foot or by teleport. I guess they really wanted to double down on making fast travel a more premium thing in-universe, but fuck, why can't I even sprint forever out of combat to travel the world faster?

Story is, kinda just there. Probably about the same level as the first game, for better or worse. I don't really know what would work better in a game like this, but much of the main story is "guy tells you to go do this one task, you go do it, and return back to him". It very quickly feels like less of a grand adventure and more like I'm going through a list of chores. Because of this, I reached the end of the game before I realized it. I was quite shocked because I had spent an absurdly long time grinding to level up each vocation and also go on a 20 hour, 4 in-game day hunt of where I found my first collectable for a series of tasks in a sidequest.

Sidequests are okay, also about the same quality as the first one. A lot of varying ways to complete quests that often involve delivering items to one person rather than another, or delivering forged items to one person to keep the genuine article for yourself or another NPC. Vague spoilers below for both the end-game of Dragon's Dogma and Dragon's Dogma II. So, in the first game, there's a post-game after completing the final story mission that completely alters the game world. You can freely explore the world with much more powerful enemies and an entirely new area with enemies to fight and items to collect. In the original, there wasn't much of a story in this part, just enough to link the NG+ cycle to the gameplay loop, which imo was kinda neat.

In Dragon's Dogma II, there again is a post-game after completing the final story mission, but the method of reaching it is a bit vague and easily missed. Once you reach this post-game, the entire game world is changed in a more drastic way than the first game. You are now in an apocalyptic scenario with a time limit (think Majora's Mask but there's no loop or starting over while keeping some amount of progress). This section of the game is brutal if you haven't already read up on what to do or you've failed enough times to learn what to do. Basically, you cannot rest in-game, because that wastes precious time that could be used to stop the looming threat. Once you've stopped the threat, however, the time limit is removed and you are free to enjoy the endgame grind for the best gear and items, or you can end the cycle and start all over. Now that I've gotten the platinum, I'm happy to shelf this game for the foreseeable future. I might return to it someday, but I think I'm more like to revisit the first game before that. Taking everything into account, including the microtransactions and how few QoL improvements were made to an already kinda janky game from 12 years ago, it's really hard to recommend this to anyone unless you REALLY liked the first game and are dying for more.

I think I give the game a 3/5. It deserved a hell of a lot better, and so did the fans. Maybe they'll improve things with updates, but to be honest, I doubt it. Besides, the extra damage to Capcom's rep is already been done.

Rather than buy this for $70 USD, I say try the first game out. It's on most current platforms and it constantly goes on sale for like $5 to $10 USD, so wait for one of those to snag it. Otherwise, idk, play Elden Ring with some friends using the seamless co-op mod. Guarantee it'd be more fun than this.

I'm so fucking worried about Monster Hunter Wilds next year.

[misakicchi]

Thoughts and Experiences in CBT2

Before we start-

I would like to talk about the recently concluded Closed Beta Test of Wuthering Waves-

All are from my own interpretation and criticism over the state of the for this beta test.

1. 3 days before the end of CBT2 on March 17, they had given a LOT of energy, that would have been better to be given while the testing was far from the final day, it would have helped testers build more characters (40 energy per run on EXP farming and 60 energy for bosses). It would have been nice to be able to test the game to a much further potential.

2. ECHOES- literally echoes… While I was farming for intimacy and dropping a LOT of energy on bosses, there was 0 gold drops on bosses, like 0, nada. How can you expect players to build characters when the STATS they need on better rarity echoes are locked due to the low drop rate of golden echoes.

3. I don’t know if it is just me or a lot of people in the test experiences red ping even though they are on the correct server from their own regions (for me it is Asia-SEA region in-game). I am used to having red pings from other games, but that is because I have my account on other regions, however in my own region, I get a red ping. It is weird because my laptop is literally connected to as fast wifi setup.

4. ECHOES AGAIN- the limit of echoes in a character that I have achieved is 12- a stinking 12 limit, not my fault most better rates are on boss echoes that uses 4 SLOTS out of the 12. It wouldn’t be bad if the limit was just not there so that any good echoes can be slotted onto the character of choice than be limited to how much I can equip to a character. 5. The exp drop rate is bad- could be better. I mean it is easy to farm the node itself… but 40 energy per run is just horrific.

6. Intimacy- man I disliked how much it takes to level a character’s intimacy, in cbt2 it would be easy since we were given extra help by the devs. But anyone who just wants to read a profile or hear voice lines would be locked with quite a while. Intimacy drop from bosses (60 energy) yields 180 Intimacy Points, meanwhile 40 energy farming nodes yield only 120 Intimacy Points, this is only for CBT, I really do not mind farming this on the actual game... just that the time constraint to farm more character's intimacy in such a short amount of time is hard with limited energy (until the last 3 days) in the CBT.

7. The length between Lingyan and Jiyan story quest are light and day. We literally took more time helping an NPC on Lingyan story quest than actually spending more time with our temporary team (and actually trying to win the race with them) I felt more connected with the temporary team, maybe because I actually liked the whole Jiyan quest in general than running around with an NPC who wants to find her brother. Albeit I did enjoy both chapters, I wish we did get to continue the race... The cutscene was also not enough on Jiyans chapter compared to that of Lingyans.... like??? Give us more Jiyan cutscene pls.

I wish they would improve more on the coming months before release and that all criticism and suggestions will be taken into account. If I remember more of my comments in the forms I have sent to the devs, I will update this.

I did manage to get the characters I want, Jiyan and Mortefi to be exact. But man I started enjoying using Calcharo and Aalto.

I also post some videos while I was still in CBT2, if you are interested- here is my Youtube channel.

[gascon-en-exil]

Ranking the Jock Studio Love Interests, Take 1

The first demo for BLits's Jock Studio has been out for over a year now. Now there's a second demo on the horizon slated to release before the year is out, one that promises to show off more of the distinctive mechanical features that are helping it to stand out from the crowd of the numerous gay dating sims that go light on gameplay in favor of focusing their efforts on interesting and clever writing and/or hardcore porn.

The demo we currently have though is very much focused on hooking players with those two elements, something I have to say it does fairly well. Based on that, in this post I'm going to be talking about each of the six love interests and what most grabs my attention about their writing and...other assets...in the first demo. As we get more prerelease material leading up to the full game coming out whenever it does (2025, hopefully?), I'll surely be revisiting this topic. But for now, here's the love interests ranked according to how personally engaging I find them. I also have my opinions on the two featured NPCs in the demo, as well as on (shockingly) the main character himself, but I feel like we need more info on them and what they're going to be doing in terms of the naughty stuff before I can really express my thoughts on those.

Note that while the pics in this post are SFW, some of the opinions are decidedly not.

#6. Leo

The twinkiest of the love interests which already doesn't do an awful lot for me. His explicit content calls attention to his feet which is also not something that gets me going. Personality-wise he's unfortunately rather bland at this point, being rather sunny (sun motifs are all over this guy) and maybe a little too involved and eager to please for his own good. His storyline will almost certainly feature some level of burnout and needing someone - the MC and/or the other jocks, because that's supposed to be a thing - to get him to focus on himself for a change. Again, not really a sexual vibe that interests me, nor is it likely to be character development that wows me.

I don't hate the guy...he's just the one that catches my attention least. Kind of a shame too, because unless NPC Jacques Laurent gets a bunch of unexpected development related to his being French and not just having that name because it's turned into wordplay to make the game's title Leo's the character who's most likely to be culturally relatable for me.

#5 Yuuto

He's hyperactive, makes weird non sequiturs, and is Japanese. That sums Yuuto up pretty well, to the point that he can feel a little exhausting while oddly being not that interesting if you're not into the "exotic" vibe of his theme instrumentation, food preferences, and uh...underwear. (This game taught me what fundoshi are.)

I do like that his zaniness includes a casual nudist streak because that's always good for some silly sexual situations, and also that his masturbation scene in the demo actually plays with his hyperactivity by having him cum too fast and then needing the MC to coach him through taking it slower for the camera. Generally speaking, I like that the demo emphasizes a different professional dynamic between each love interest and the MC when they're making their videos.

#4 Zayne

Insincere, self-assured playboy vibes - flirts with and possibly sleeps with a lot of people (women and men?) but is surely going to have to be taught the meaning of love. Not really my thing, nor am I really into his various piercings including studs on his dick although I'm sure those would feel interesting. It's a little hard not to compare Zayne to Claude from Fire Emblem Three Houses minus any sort of political angle, because he's got the same gimmick of being casually friendly and flirty coupled with the sense that he's hiding something and more guarded than he appears.

How that will play out in his storyline remains to be seen, but as with Claude I find it tougher to get into characters whose biggest draw comes from how mysterious they are. Here's to hoping that will translate to some fun stuff in bed...or on the filming couch, as the case may be. Basically, he's a character I could be really into, but I'll need to see more before I can make that call. It's possible too that something could be done with his apparent bisexuality, as he flirts publicly with his many female admirers while turning on the charm just as much in private for the MC.

#3 Avan

The bossy, overworked student council president...even though I'm not entirely certain that US universities even have student councils, and that this isn't just a carryover trope from anime. But anyway, that angle will hopefully play into the academic and student life sides of gameplay that prerelease info has been touting, to say nothing of him having some level of oversight on the game's titular club. Avan's definitely going to be busy during the special seasonal arcs that were part of the game's many stretch goals; getting him horny and relaxed is no doubt going to be on the table.

Twunkier than I'd normally be into, but his assured, slightly bossy vibes can be fun and could go a number of ways in sex scenes from power bottom to the uncommon twink/twunk top.

#2 Derek

Has the soft Dom energy I most often end up sleeping with in real life, and obviously a treat if you're into muscles and big dicks and probably total tops although with as much as these games are promising it wouldn't surprise me if every guy turns out to be at least a little vers.

More than that though I like Derek as a former adult film star with clearly mixed feelings on the industry even as he's getting back into it. Like Full Service, another dating sim I've covered, Jock Studio is ripe to explore the world of sex work (and male sex workers specifically) from the perspective of its participants, which is naturally something I gravitate toward and something that I hope gets handled with finesse. Derek in particular is an established professional working with a bunch of guys just getting into the industry, so I can see his storyline being something along the lines of his mentoring role getting subverted by the MC discovering he has some hidden baggage about his former work that he doesn't want to share with anyone else. Good stuff all around.

#1 Bryce

Oof. Bryce is already a polarizing character, and while evidently I'm a fan of what it looks like BLits is doing with him I've got a case to make here for putting him in my #1 slot.

BLits's earlier games, Camp Buddy and its sequel, exist in a world where men just aren't straight and it's basically never remarked on that literally every guy ever gets horny for other men. That's great for wish fulfillment, but it can get rather ridiculous at times. Jock Studio, by contrast, is going for a very different tone right from the start, with Bryce being a homophobic gay4pay frat boy who swears very loudly by his heterosexuality. While I understand how this could be very off-putting, even when you know from what kind of game this is that Bryce isn't really straight, I appreciate it as new territory for these developers. Internalized homophobia is a goldmine for character drama, and as with Derek there's also the opportunity to comment on elements of the gay porn industry: in this case, the fixation on "str8 acting" men and on porn scenarios involving "tricking" or "converting" straight guys into having gay sex. There's a lot that could be dug into with Byrce past his abrasive surface.

Additionally, of the three larger love interests Bryce is the one that comes closest to appealing to those who like softer/chubbier builds, even if he's still got the big glam muscles that Zayne and Derek have. His explicit scenes - and the MC's goofy intro to him - call attention to his sizeable pecs and ass (also armpits if you're into those), so that's fun. A lot of people are looking forward to Bryce turning into a big needy bottom...which would indeed be quite entertaining.

[swordofhearts]

i've already kind of said my thoughts on seekers of the storm on twitter (not much, only one tweet lol) but i'll go into my thoughts here since i completed my first prime meridian run yesterday

(seekers of the storm spoilers ofc, also really long post sorry)

first off, i like the new maps for the most part. they feel a little small compared to some other maps, but that's not too much of a problem since they're part of an optional route. i like the idea of an alt stage 5 but after having no extra stage 5 for so long it feels a little out of place, but that might also just be me. music is incredibly good though the music on treeborn colony goes SO hard

the new items are kind of hit or miss for me. i love the items like sale star, chronic expansion, and luminous shot but getting items like purity beads or knockback fin are so useless. they're really not as great as the sotv items, especially since there's nothing like void items in this dlc. most of the new reds are cool though, it's mostly the whites and greens that aren't as great. overall was pleasantly surprised but just kinda meh

i haven't been able to try out any of the new survivors unfortunately BUT i did unlock all of them so hopefully i'll try them out soon, seeker seems pretty interesting and definitely a nice change of pace from other survivors

i personally haven't had too many problems with gilded enemies, they just seem to have way too much armor for no reason. only just learned that they take away your gold which is kind of stupid but i never really noticed that. haven't run into any twisted enemies that i know of but i remember it was AWFUL when the dlc first came out

i said this in that one tweet i made but i feel like the path to prime meridian is so fast. i really wish it was paced out more bc if you're going to false son without looping, you have to be able to get a really good build right away because there's very little chance to get items. plus, i feel like the prime meridian map could be a little more than just running up to the boss fight. it's such a jump in difficulty that i feel like would be softer if there was one more stage in between.

i do think the false son boss is cool though. definitely isn't as interesting as mithrix, but it's still challenging. i like the part where if you get struck by lightning, it disables your abilities until you break one of the barriers. definitely makes the fight interesting, but i don't know if i would intend to do the route if i wasn't trying to get the prime meridian skins. i'm also just a looping enjoyer so i'm not a huge boss fight person

i am glad that gilded coast finally got included into the normal gameplay loop! it's something that was so out of place in the past and was incredibly rare (at least from personal experience) so being more regularly able to reach it is really nice

and then there was the whole shitshow that was the initial release. i waited until the first patch was released to see how gearbox handled it, and got it after that. thankful to say that i haven't had any problems since buying it!

overall i'd say that i was pleasantly surprised given the initial backlash, and i'm glad that i did get it, but i don't really think it lives up to survivors of the void. i definitely need to try out the new survivors over the next week or so, they seem fun to use (and praying that chef gets fixed). definitely don't want to say that i'm excited to see gearbox do anything but they seem to be handling it okay. interested in what's going to come out of the game in the future, but i'm hoping it's larger than sots.

[acertainmoshke]

🧥 🍎 and 🌙 for the October ask game!

Ooh these are some good ones, thank you! I'll start with Cold Iron for this ask. And under a cut because, predictably, this got long.

🍎 apple: let’s talk about friendship in your wip. do you have any favorite friend/platonic dynamics? any friendships gone sour?

You know that scene in Leverage where Parker and Elliot are trapped in an ice cave having a deep conversation about how they have a darkness Hardison doesn't share because of who they are, what they've been through, and the things they have to be willing to do? That's basically Shakatra and Doug. By the time they meet, both are considerably more likely to kill casually and, while not exactly enjoying it, both understand it as a necessity so their better friends can be safe. Shaka introduces him to the idea of wandering deep into a rain-dripping forest and screaming at the top of your lungs, and Doug takes them to seedy bars to chill for once. Both of them are usually the most dangerous person in the room (Doug is human so of the two, Shaka is much more of a danger but compared to other humans Doug is awful fast and mean). They can both be kind of dicks in a very much not joking way, but it's refreshing that neither of them is bothered by the general grumbling, complaining, and insulting.

There WILL be some friendship drama but I'm not nearly far enough to know what it is yet.

🌙 moon: do any of your OCs have dark backstories or secrets they’re trying to keep?

Oof, does Shaka ever. This is actually my really self-indulgent darkness hit here. Not only were they an unwanted changeling child (in the early 1900's!), but their mother determined that rather than abandon them to die it was better to punish them for the loss of her real daughter. So they were abused and bullied throughout childhood, struggled as an autistic inhuman kid in school, got beat up by older brothers until they were old enough to strike back. But they stayed, even after they met Kris and understood that leaving was an option, they stayed because of their baby brother Richard. He was the only one who actually liked them, and they took care of him and protected him back.

What they're trying to hide is that they killed him.

They didn't, of course. Probably. If I really want to go dark I'll make it accidentally their fault, but as of right now what happened was he accidentally fell off the fire escape in a fight with his mother, and Shaka wasn't fast enough to save him. Both of them fell 7 stories. They weren't human, they survived with only bruises (and the general idea that they were unkillable and should test that theory as much as possible). He...did not. They ran away after that, and as of book 1 it's the only thing they haven't been fully honest with Kris about.

In later stories, they are also trying to hide who they were back at the beginning of the series as they learn to be less violent and have more compassion, they don't want to admit who they used to be.

🧥 warm coat: share a happy or fuzzy scene from your wip!

There haven't been a lot of these so far, but I'll do my best...

Ok, there haven't been any so I'm just going to write something. This takes place towards the end of the first book.

It was good to be home, but the platform seemed smaller than before. I took the stairs two at a time and spun on my bare feet at the bottom, letting my body fly into the nearest wall. The air stirred slightly and I raised my hand instinctively to catch the box of cigarettes. Kris, holding Jack on one hip, winked at me. I flicked the first one and the end sputtered into glowing life. I let myself take a long, comfortingly familiar, drag on it before flicking another one to life and placing it carefully between his lips, on the side away from where Jack snored against his shoulder. Maggie looked around and dropped Cassie's hand. Cassie, released, swayed until she almost collapsed, stumbled, and blinked up at the flickering lights. Maggie adjusted her glasses. "Think we could get some fire or something in here?" I went to share a glance with Kris, something like We've never needed one before, but he was already moving. There was a pile of paper bags in one corner with paper wrappings flung on top from all our diner meals. There may have been a trash can at the bottom of the pile at one point, but it was impossible to tell anymore. He tossed several into a small mound in a more central part of the platform, under a light. And then he threw his cigarette in the middle. Maybe it was the oil that soaked through the paper in big greasy stains, but it worked surprisingly well. Soon the fire flickered up almost to my eye level, the smoke drifting lazily up the stairs and down the street. "I'm really tired," Cassie said, yawning. She was leaning against the grubby tiled wall, in stark contrast to her blue silk gown, and tugging idly at one dark pigtail. We settled the kids into our old nook. They had enough room to burrow under the blankets until both vanished entirely. There wouldn't be room for two kids and three adults, but that was a problem for future us. The fire blazed. Warmth crept into my fingers and toes for what felt like the first time in my life. I lay my head on Kris' shoulder and he didn't pull away. He was huddling into the circle of heat and turning to ask Maggie if she wanted to try our diner tomorrow, which was definitely better than the one we met her in. I still didn't understand why this made her laugh, but things were good again and we were home and safe and actually warm and for just this moment that was all that mattered.

Tag list: @pga-books

[bluebudgie]

So, initial SotO thoughts.

tl;dr: Liked it, not my favourite release.

More details below.

It's a little hard to compare to anything we had before since it's not quite an expansion but also a bit bigger than a regular LS release. Somewhere in between.

I liked it overall. I had fun (I don't think I ever didn't have fun with any release in this game). I do however have many smaller gripes that add up a little. Let's actually start with the biggest one:

The new maps

Well, obviously I loved the inclusion of chak on the new maps and seeing the little critters in a new shiny form was very exciting, but let's take the rose-tinted chak glasses off for a moment.

I like the fractal concept of the first map. It's interesting as an idea but I feel like it fell a little flat in execution. Rata Novus is probably the place that differs the most from the actual-Tyria version, and all the other fractals are just kinda... barely different? Like the Crystal Desert taken over by forged is just..... well, it's desert with forged in it. Like it already is in PoF anyway. And the Kaineng section kinda feels like that too, we have enough hostile jade bots in EoD anyway so... yea I don't know. Didn't do super much for me.

I wish NPCs were a bit more interactive. You can't really talk to many people at all. Core maps had so many random guys just standing around giving you little tidbits of dialogue. Especially the first map just feels very... barren.

Visually a great map nonetheless. Same goes for the second (non-hub) map we got, which is really unique in terms of architecture. We haven't really seen anything quite like it in the game before, so that's cool.

Exploration wise... ...yeah. I mean. Basically exactly what I had feared became true, no real exploration depth and at the very least on the first map you're pretty much expected to just skyscale to every point. Which goes really fast too, despite the whopping 50(or so?) POIs. I wish they had at least made some of the new masteries mandatory for reaching certain spots, but nope. Completed entirely without a single mastery leveled. Feels kinda pointless to introduce movement masteries if they aren't at the very least obligatory for certain events or map exploration. The second map makes the updrafts a little more useful since reaching some of the higher places can be a bit more tricky without it, but... yea I don't know.

I'm not exactly disappointed since that's pretty much what I expected to happen, but still I wish there were a few more interesting ways to get around places other than just straight up flying there. I guess I want more hidden stuff. Secrets. A jumping puzzle that spans half the map like in Draconis Mons. Well, for all I know they are there and I just haven't found them yet.

So yea, overall... visually beautiful; I'm glad about Rata Novus being a clownfest of snobs; I think if chak weren't in this I'd feel extremely lukewarm about those maps. That said, Amnytas has some of the highest quality grass I've ever seen in this game. Seriously what the hell is that grass.

Story and characters

I was worried about this for a bit while playing but the ending thankfully took the immediate worries from me for now.

It felt very... prologue-y. Which, in the end, it was. And I'm glad about that. I was so scared we were in another Gyala Delve situation of "here's an entire story that has absolutely no time to unfold and we'll abruptly end it pretending there was a conclusion". But thank god the epilogue made it clear that this was just the beginning to the storyline. (unless anet is preparing some clown make up)

So now that we had this introduction to the setting and first look into a new cast of characters I'm intrigued to see where all of this is going. I hope everyone we've met gets more screentime in the future and maybe some of them will tag along with us for the next adventures? The whole cast felt like it had a lot of potential. I want to see more of Gladium and Galrath. Isgarren seems interesting, I liked his dialogue. Sad about Mabon. Hoped Peitha would be a non-humanoid creature. Narcisse is cute. I like how they handled Zojja so far.

Didn't care much for the whole wizard tower story before SotO released, I'm decently interested now at least.

Gameplay-wise the player 2 experience was pretty miserable once again (Why exactly did I have to be a blue orb during the entire first flesh fortress instance? Why can I pick up and carry keys in the wizard's tower but then can't interact with the object they need to be used on? Seriously.) but that's nothing new.

As mentioned in another post, the German translation was a trainwreck of contextually wrong mistranslations, English sayings/proverbs translated literally into German when that is absolutely not how that works, misgendering (Zojja wasn't the only one with male pronouns - Yao was also back to that again) and entire chunks of voice lines randomly missing on several occasions. Seriously I don't know what went wrong here but please pay your localization team better. Or at least give them more context to work with.

Music

The few new songs I heard were nice. Lacking a bit in identity, but I guess it would be delusional to expect an EoD, HoT or IBS soundtrack here. GW2 music tends to be extremely high quality so I'm nitpicking on a high level with this one.

There is one battle theme that was really cool, though severely overused. I think it's the one that plays during rift events. Or like, during most of the release in general.

I can't quite explain why but I had several instances that made me think "this is what the PoF combat themes should have sounded like". The music as a whole somehow is very reminiscent of PoF. Like if someone took PoF battle music and went "chill a bit, please."

Was also nice to hear that one new ambient track that echoes the TD main theme and the Rata Novus theme.

Metas

They're okay. First map's meta drags on a little. Though I like collecting the essences. That one phase with the coloured bars is severely stressful. Second map meta is pretty neat. Was a little overwhelmed by it since it started literally 2 minutes after I got onto the map for the first time and I had no idea where anything was and just frantically followed the squad to find a giant squid bug demon on top of a huge tower. Seriously man give me a break. Fun experience though. Did it again on another day on an overflow map without a comm and we managed, though barely. Difficulty seems appropriate.

All in all...

Didn't completely blow me away. I liked it as a setup to something larger. Doesn't compare to any of the big expansions (though I do think the storyline in itself is at least more interesting than PoF, though it obviously lacks the polish of the expansion). If compared to LS seasons I'd say I had a better time with most of LS3 and LS4, and also large chunks of the Icebrood Saga.

I think how well SotO does in the long run largely depends on what gets added to it next. I'm excited to see more, and especially to get more context to all the new characters. Don't pull another Gyala Delve on me. Please.

And also.

Finally rid of the Commander title. Wayfinder is so much better.

[cutepresea]

Isn't it odd Symphogear didn't get any normal length OAV or movie made, or even on the merch side more nendo or nendo petit made considering how popular it was in Japan? I know the fear was real with prods and manus during the first two seasons because they thought it was a fail project and didn't want to invest but after five seasons and five concerts? I don't know I feel like I'm missing data on why we were given the short stick compared to other popular animes...

Ah, I never really felt like that when it comes to the series (except for figures, but I get to that later in the post. I went on a bit of a tangent and it ended up longer than intended. Oops)

Five whole seasons

Four series of shorts

Enough character songs to have a box of 9 CDs released (doesn't include XDU songs)

Concerts that get released on blu-ray since G's (this one just feels like a bigger deal to me because season 1's in 2012 never got recorded or released)

A mobile game that's been running for 6 years and gets its own albums separate from the aforementioned box (there was another mobile game a decade ago that died pretty fast but nobody remembers that one, shhh...)

And a monthly spinoff manga that has enough content for four volumes so far

...All feels like a miracle to me, especially for an anime not based on an existing manga, game, or light novel

Seriously, I love this series but I have no idea how G was greenlit

I'm still waiting to see what the new project is because there's still a possibility that it could be a movie or something. I just don't expect it anytime soon, whether it be a movie or an OVA, because Kaneko (co-creator and scenario writer for the series) is busy both designing and writing a RPG which he stated was something he wanted to do while not working on Symphogear since he was too busy to work on games while he was doing that (link is Japanese, but it's the interview where he said that)

Which, again, is probably why the new project is dated 20XX

Now if I were to talk about stuff I personally would want?

If it's a movie I'd like it to be completely new content but if they make some lengthier OVAs, I've been asking for an adaptation of 3.5 from XDU for a while since the Alexandria Incident gets mentioned in AXZ.

XDU's service isn't going to last forever and I'd hate to lose a canon side story like that when it does eventually end.

They could also do 4.5 but it isn't as high a priority for me because it serves more as an introduction to Noble Red than anything and outside of the short part between Fine and Enki, it felt weird coming out after XV ended

On a bit of a side note, I've said it before, but I wouldn't be too surprised if any new anime content is by Studio KAI instead of Satelight. A LOT of Symphogear's staff moved over there after XV ended which is why XDU's second OP was done by them.

Now merchandise, oh boy, yeah that subject has stung a bit over the years. The fact the only Nendos are from S1 really is sad

They want their friends to join them

Heck, Chris didn't even get a Figma back then like Hibiki and Tsubasa did

I can't believe it took as long as it did for Kirika, Shirabe, and Maria to get figures. Especially Maria, who didn't have one released until 2022.

And it is an actual crime that Miku still doesn't have one despite being around since season 1. That is Hibiki's Wife Sunshine y'all are ignoring. (Season 1 Miku with green hair when? 🤣)

Hobby Stock's set of scale figures they've been releasing and Good Smile's ACT MODEs are a step in the right direction though. There's also been more plushes in recent years which I personally really love.

One of my wishes is someone going back to G and making figures for that so we can get Black Gungnir Maria or Shenshoujing Gear Miku

The parallel world versions of everyone from XDU would be fun too but I'm not pushing my luck there. The other Hibiki technically already has one but it used an existing Hibiki figure as a base

And yes, I am begging for a game that isn't gacha. I'm a lover of action games and RPGs so I would love something along those lines. I'm not horribly picky about the specific type

[tboy-boone]

1-7, 10-18, 23

Hi golf!!

1. Your favorite movie released this year

I really liked Five Nights at Freddy's but I think it's because I played the games way back when...

2. A movie you think is underrated

Power Rangers 2017. I know no one liked it but I had fun so that means it's a good movie ❤️ or Gone in Sixty Seconds! It's a fun and silly found family movie!!

3. A movie you think is overrated

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation 🧍‍♂️ I think there was a lot of potential to make it...... better but no one took those opportunities! I don't really like it and it's my least favourite of the series!

4. A movie you like but wouldn't recommend

The Double because I liked it and it was a cool concept BUT I WAS STRESSED OUT THE WHOLE TIME. world's most stressful movie oh my god

5. A movie musical you like

I know I will get hate from you for this but I liked Mamma Mia! It's one of my favourites and I have the soundtrack on cd!

6. A horror movie you like

I REFUSE to pick one because I love horror movies so much. OF COURSE The Thing, Psycho, 1408, Insidious, Us, and Nope!!! I love them!!!

7. A sci-fi movie you like

CAPRICORN ONE!!! I have soooooo many thoughts on this movie. I hate the ending, fuck that ending, what is wrong with you. But OUGH EVERYTHING ABOUT IT

10. A foreign-language movie you like

Ante... Sundaraniki! You'd probably hate it because people find love and are happy <3

11. A movie you wish you could un-watch

The Hotel just because it was sooooo boring and nothing happened

12. A performance you think is underrated

SAM WATERSTON IN CAPRICORN ONE!!!!!

13. A performance you think is overrated

All performances in Friends With Benefits. I didn't like that movie and I didn't get the hype either

14. A movie made better by the ending

I thought the ending of Next was pretty good and I wouldn't have liked it so much if it didn't end like that

15. A movie ruined by the ending

EXILED THE LAW & ORDER MOVIE BECAUSE WHY THE FUCK WOULD THEY DO THAT. He is my little pookie :(

16. A trilogy/franchise you like

I looooove fast and furious, mission impossible, and bourne franchises. They are RAHSHHSHS

17. A movie you never get tired of talking about

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol!!! It's probably the best in the franchise and my favourite!!! The comedy aspect is sooooo strong in this movie and the others hardly compare to this one

18. A movie you never wanna hear about again

Vampire's Kiss!! I know a lot of people really enjoyed, yknow Nic did a good job. I just didn't have a good time! I didn't like it and I didn't have a good experience! I don't want to rewatch it or think about it ever again!

23. An animated movie you like

NIMONA!!!! I haven't watched it in a while but I really loved it when it first came out <3

[findmeinthefallair]

Lol Hunter is not only very comparable to each main or supporting character in Owl House, but also damn comparable to other blorbos.

Anyway I visited my demon son Akira in some episodes of 2018's Devilman Crybaby..

(this anime is dark, sad, violent at times, thrilling and bleak...also do not watch it unless you're alone because it can get pretty NSFW too)

Wild hair? Dark T-shirts? Sad bois:

And I was reminded that looking at other stories and similar cases can strengthen my headcanons and metas. Referring to The Hunger Games, since its protagonist and Hunter have the same mental health condition, could convince me that Hunter will spiral into extensive depression after Belos's death before he shows signs of recovery.

But..I hadn't given serious thought to rage being one of Hunter's several grief responses after Watching and Dreaming's final battle..not till now. 🤔🤔🤔

Because Akira is a darn similar personality to Hunter: very gentle, empathetic (in fact, Akira is an empath, literally experiencing other people's emotional pain, feeling it for them when they don't really want to..hence the show's title). And Akira has also never wanted to harm another person. You'd initially expect gentle souls like this to like, never get angry.

After Akira's mother passes away in traumatic circumstances, his behaviour is such that he puts up a front to appear fine but he isn't holding it together well..

It's not visually shown but from the first person perspective of Miki (his best friend) looking at her ceiling, she and the audience can hear him screaming in rage and breaking objects in his bedroom right above hers. Right after their chat on the balcony (shown in the previous screenshot). It's one of his bereavement responses. But this rage only comes out when he's in his own space, not with anybody else around.

Idk..now I wouldn't put it past a poor grieving Hunter in the early months of those 3-4 years, to have at least one very unexpected explosion of rage after some bad trigger comes along. He might subconsciously feel safe enough in the company of the Noceda family, that he'd create a mess in Luz's basement in a frenzy like that. It would happen so fast, seemingly out of nowhere. Of course, he'll feel so awful and guilty after expending that energy, shocked at himself and disgusted with himself. And/or it may happen if he decides to visit the castle ruins.

Or....(and this is sadder but idek)..what if it happens in the early days of him learning the palisman-carving craft? He wouldn't touch and destroy anything made from palistrom wood but some other objects might be pushed off shelves or something. Hunter is someone with a long fuse, but a lot of little frustrations building up could light that fuse. In the case of the carving workshop, him making mistakes and getting splinters on his hands in the process of learning...that might leave him frustrated enough to have a one-off temper flare. He'll feel awful but Dell is very kind and would treat him so well and help him.

I was also told by friends that Hunter would feel very off balance with no more staff to use, since he relied on staffs for so much of his life that they'd feel like an extension of his own body. With no staff, the sense of his physical center would feel different and I wonder if this might feed into frustration that is part of his general grief...to the point that this frustration does indeed build up into a brief rage explosion at some point.

Like Akira, he'd definitely not direct that at any person or living thing. But inanimate objects might be destroyed. 🤔🤔🤔

Our bodies sometimes do instinctive but frightening things out of nowhere to release emotions and attempt to restore psychological balance, and it can happen in a flash. Wails that you can't control which escape your chest, keening, or heaving with sobs, and in this case anger and rage. Anger is the most immediate natural response when our boundaries are crossed. Rage is an especially big outcry after we have been violated, fueled by fear and grief.

[game-boy-pocket]

So... Nintendo Direct thoughts I guess.

I joined a little late, so honestly, I just fast forwarded through all the games I didn't care about. Kinda the way to go tbh.

I still don't know about pokemon man. Everyone is saying "Yeah it's poorly made but it's one of their better games in a long time" but like I don't know how much I trust a pokemon fan's opinion on that that... you know I preordered Violet, after Legends Arceus left a good impression on me. But I cancelled it after some financial harships started happening and now I feel like I dodged a bullet.

Sonic Super Stars is looking pretty good, I really... really wish Fang was playable... I know he's a bad guy but I love him so much and have always wanted him to be playable... I'm just glad he's back at all, and his 3D model looks decent.

That "Saturday Morning Cartoon" inspired game intrigues me but like they shouldn't have had the boring Nintendo Direct narrator talking over the trailer and let the game speak for itself, show it's personality a little... does it have cheesy filmation style dialogue?? Also their villain looks kind of lame compared to like, Skeletor or Prime Evil.

Still not sure about Splatoon 3. It just looks like more of the same to me, I am kind of curious, but at the same time, it feels too late to start now... then again, if the game really is as samey as it looks, I could probably just coast on what I know from Splatoon 1 and 2.

I have no interest in Detective Pikachu as a franchise and the fact that his personality just seems to be "I love coffee" does not endear me to the character.

Super Mario RPG

Holy Fucking Shit

I didn't think the maniacs would do it.

When I heard the rumors I was like "Yeah right... this does not fit in line with the current corporate image of Mario, they're not gonna do it, and if they do, they'll butcher the art style"

I was so fucking wrong, it looks amazing. They even made Mario all squat and pudgy like the original game, I love it so much, and it looks like there are new cinematics... possibly even entirely new sections of the game what with Bowser riding his Clown car with the others.... that or they're new special attacks. I can't fucking wait you guys it looks so fucking good, I hope they consider making it a franchise again. I still have the original game but I am going to buy this day one.

We even saw Boshi briefly, and the spines still have their weird shapes. I have no reason to believe they'll change Terrapins into standard looking Koopa Troopas now. Literally all my fears are gone.

Don't know what to think about the Peach game. I make it no secret, I'm kind of over the whole arts and crafts aesthetic in games and a game that's just a stage play seems no different. I'm not even sure what kind of game it is. I just would have wanted another platformer. I guess I have to see more.

Luigi's Mansion 2 coming to Switch is a pleasant surprise. I wonder if we're going to enter an age of 3DS ports, because I can think of several 3DS games I want to see on Switch. Kid Icarus and A Link Between Worlds chief among them Luigi's Mansion 2 is my least favorite in the series, but it's still a good time. It not being on handheld makes me more likely to replay it. I do think they could have enhanced the visuals a little more though.

Too little too late with Batman. I already bought it on PC. I would have bought the Arkham Trilogy day one if it launched earlier in the Switch's life. But i'm glad the option is there for people.

I'll be honest I thought Dragon Quest Monsters looked pretty "meh", and I don't know if it's just a bad trailer or what, but the fact that the Solo, the Hero from DQIV shows up, immediately got my interest, he hs my fave hero design, and I was happy he was a skin in Smash Bros... still, man, this looks like a 3DS game... How can they be releasing this after Dragon Quest XI?? Also, is the playable character the bad guy from DQIV? I played the NES version so I didn't really see his human form.

Not much to say about Pikmin. It looks like Pikmin. Which is a good thing. But I don't know how eager I am to play it. Not a day one purchase, but an eventual purchase.

I am tempted by the Metal Gear Solid collection but it has so much extra shit that I don't really need which probably jacks up the price and I think I might prefer playing MGS1 on a CRT anyway. But man it's jsut been so long since I played Metal Gear that I don't even care I just want a way to play it. I'm just glad it's not a fucking Cloud game.

Penny's Big Breakaway had my attention just from the character designs, it screams Playstation 1 platformer. Like Mega Man Legends or Tail Concerto or something. And it's a 3D platformer... but when I heard the Sonic Mania team is working on this, i'm all in. I just wish the enemies weren't just a bunch of dopey looking birds, I want a least some kind of cool factor in the game. But yes I will be keeping my eye on this one.

Mario Kart 8 DLC looking okay. I expected Petey. He's cool I guess but i'm not gonna play as him. I'll be happy to see him on the track though. He was kind of a big part of Mario History in the Gamecube and Wii era.... Wiggler though? Meh... and KAMEK. He should have been in the base game imo, he should be a mainstay in every spinoff, he should have been introduced with the Yoshi's Island course... I'm very happy to have Kamek here. The course looks interesting too. Glad it appears to be another new course.

The new Wario Ware....... looks like Smooth Moves 2. Was the boring Nintendo Direct Narrator doing a Wario voice or did Wario get a new voice actor?? Anyway. I'll keep an eye on this. Smooth Moves was my 2nd Fave Wario Ware game, so this shows potential.

I was pretty bummed out when they mentioned Tears of the Knigdom, and it was only to announce some Amiibos... I still can't even find the Link Amiibo. They look nice though. It will be nice to have a Ganondorf Amiibo that doesn't look like shit. ( No offense to TP Ganondorf fans, but you gotta admit, the first wave f Smash Bros Amiibos is kind of rough ) ...I hope this isn't a deconfirmation of DLC. I really want more of this game, now that the main story is done and my list of side quests is rapidly shrinking, I'm getting sad about the inevitable end of one of my fave Zeldas.

And the big one

Super Mario Wonder

I'll admit I was disappointed that it was doing 3D again instead of a hand drawn style...

But the characters look so good now. They actually look more like 3D models of Koichi Kotabe's artwork. Mario and co are so expressive, their stances are not nearly as boring as the New Super Mario Bros games, their animations are so good, calling back to Mario 3 and Mario World with the blurry feet and airplane run, Mario actually HAS facial expressions now... and holy shit is fucking DAISY playable? Without sacrificing Toad? This is pretty huge! The enemies are looking really cool and stylized too, they all seem to have gotten model upgrades!

I will say... this is reminding me a little bit of Kirby Return to Dreamland, which... is worrying to me. That "wonder Flower" reeks of a Kirby gimmick, and I honestly find that Kirby's gimmicks lately just kind of slow the flow of the game, and often times just feel like all flash and no substance. "ooh I destroyed a hole room of enemies with a really big sword that I was forced to pick up" like I don't actually feel like I accomplished anything with that... I hope I'm wrong.

Also, I heard the rumor that there would be elephants... I don't like elephants. I thought I'd hate Elephant Mario... but you know what, he makes me smile.

I am so excited for this game.

This was definitely one of the better Nintendo Directs in a while, it won't top the back to back Banjo in Smash and Tears of the Kingdom reveal for me, but i'm pretty happy with what's on the horizon.