#dealing with my feels by starting my third playthrough

[piratecaptainraven]

Temperance/The Star

[dmagedgoods]

I thought about how I fell in love with Raphael the moment he opened his mouth for the very first time but I feel that for some he was an acquired taste. Sooo, Raphael Nation, I'm curious:

[powdermelonkeg]

Alright so ive been thinking about it (probably far too much) and want a second opinion.

Tears of the Kingdom and Baldurs Gate 3 were the same price.

TotK gave me a total of like. I think it was 160 hours to 100% completion (koroks ignored) in my case. And then i set it down and have had no urge to touch it again.

I'm about 120 hours into BG3 now. I have not completed my first playthrough, and I expect Ive still got some 30 hours left of it. I DO intend to play through it again, and I know that there are countless things left for me to do in it still.

And like. I ENJOYED TotK. It was a blast. But looking at BG3 now, complete with its 3 stage city map, like five other maps too, full voice acting, complex storyline, multiple endings, replayability, etc.

It has me realizing that TotK reused its old map. The only major addition was a procedurally generated single-biome underworld and a couple of floating islands (several of which were copy pasted around the map). Most of its gameplay was already built on the previous game.

So the thought I keep coming back to then is that TotK was fine. It was fun. But if BG3 is a 70 dollar game, then TotK has no good reason to be any more than $40.

But I think youre more into both games than I have been, so I wanna know your thoughts.

Sat on this for a little bit and...yeah. $40 is a good price for it.

Like, I'm not too mad about the map thing. BG3 was in production since BotW came out, while TotK started in 2019 and has to deal with a physics environment. I know what I'm getting into with a Nintendo game when I buy one, I know the level of writing and effort (and railroading) to expect. But the price thing has been a thorn in my side that I've ignored for...awhile.

I do think BG3 deserved another year to cook. Maybe two. I'm extremely GLAD it came out when it did, because I found it when I did, but the third act, for all its complexity, has a lot of loose ends that need tying together. Which, I also am not mad about. When you've had Pokemon-level writing for most of your life, and you connect dots in Zelda, literally any snippet of BG3 writing feels incredible. Even the worst bits of Baldur's Gate are so rich in comparison to the Nintendo games I play. But I DO think that they rushed themselves, and they definitely did it so as to not compete with Starfield.

Which is like...I've spent a decade evaluating whole wheat bread, and you've put a massive chocolate cake in front of me. I'm not going to care that the icing on the third tier isn't as fancy as the first two. I am kind of going to lament that the baker had to rush it out the door, though.

Also BG3 replayability >>>>>>>>> TotK replayability. Like, it's past Skyrim levels. I love games where my choices matter and aren't retconned.

[grape-eating-vampire]

alright, it's done. i finished it.

this is the third and final part of things that happened in my first bg3 playthrough ever that I found so funny that I put them in my notes (spoilers below)

let me start this by saying I have only cried twice in the 155 hours it took me to complete this shit. however, I have almost-screamed at the characters more times than I'd like to admit. but first here's stuff that happened since the last one of these posts I made:

after killing Orin I went around Baldur's Gate for a while and did odd sidequests, including

clearing out a haunted house and sidelining to kill a stinky man in a wardrobe (and drag his body to a guy two streets over)

entirely ignored Gale's quest to look at a book because I kept getting arrested there after having killed the boss mage guy

I also foolishly though this wouldn't have any consequences. oh boy was I wrong

went to see a underwater prison, got told off by Gortash, decided to explore it after killing him, and promptly forgot to do so

killed Gortash! fuck that guy the only good thing about him is his fancy robe

tried to recruit a dragon called Ansur, found out the emperor is Balduran (????????? honestly I was shocked)

killed said dragon and felt like I was playing skyrim all over again

found a letter ("Dear Ansur") by Balduran/the Emperor. this was the first time I cried. I could still cry.

patch 6 came out! that was yesterday and I spent about 10 minutes trying out new kisses and sitting on Shadowhearts stool in camp (she now says "I'm glad you decided to join me" or something like that when you do)

went pretty much straight to the underground pool thing where the brain was supposed to be

failed abysmally to Dominate The Brain™

got pulled out by the emperor and had to start beef with Lae'zel because I had also forgotten to care about Orpheus and the hammer from the House of Hope

admittedly, I didn't really forget, I just didn't want to spend any more time with Raphael than I absolutely had to

my +14 persuasion saved the day once more and Lae'zel was fine with the one hope in her life getting his brains sucked out

went off to fight the brain once more. my game crashed twice trying to load that cutscene.

met all my allies! I forgot how many there were actually, and I only called on two of the groups later on

fought a lot. like a LOT lot.

got to the Netherbrain and kicked it's ass*

*had to reload about 3 times and try again because Minsc at level 12 was stuck on 100 hp for some reason and kept fucking dying

finally managed to kill the fucker! had Lae'zel deal the killing blow which seemed very fitting

more cutscenes, but this one actually didn't crash the game, I got to look at some beautiful unloaded walls and stuff instead

Lae'zel left right after we got to the haven. understandably so

remember how I ignored Gale's quest? well he didn't blow himself up like he inteded earlier, but he left to becOME A GOD????? I cannot fucking deal with this man

Karlach on the pier. this was the second time I cried, but unproportionally much so

Wyll left with her for Avernus, the little cutscene of them arriving there made me feel a bit better

Astarion had to leg it because of the sun (sorry)

Shadowheart didn't do much of anything during all of this, neither did Minsc, Halsin or Jaheira

decided to go help kids with Halsin, seems to fit my character (eventhough I really didn't roleplay so much)

we got an epilogue! yippie!

caught up there with everyone, except Lae'zel (who was there via the fantasy version of zoom) and Gale (who was there via the fantasy equivalent of a voicemail)

tried to hug Gale, couldn't, almost cried again but managed

also met a tressym who I recognized from fanart as Tara. I don't know why she was there, we never met her before and Gale hadn't mentioned her either

read a LOT of letters the party had received. barely kept my composure at the Gur's letter to Astarion

Withers did a cool speech and the game ended

after all of this and so much more that I didn't take notes about, I can confidentially say that Baldur's Gate 3 is the best video game I have ever played, and within it's genre my favourite ever!

I'm also emotionally devestated, especially after these final parts (but in a good way)

that's all, thanks for reading!

[huggingtentacles]

is the 150 meta level worth sticking to for endgame? my first playthrough i went to 165 without paying much attention to it, and stopped there because i didn't feel like i needed more. now i'm considering starting a new character and getting into broader multiplayer

There are two meta levels in Elden Ring and the choice between them depends on what you want from the game.

125 is considered the "tryhard meta" where you will meet more serious gamers. This is the level where you need to think about your build you will meet generally stronger players.

150 is the "casual meta" and it's generally easier to play at. You can get away with playing less optimally, you'll meet generally weaker players that are going through their NG+ cycles.

There is also a third option: 137. This level reaches both 125 meta and 150 meta. It gets the most multiplayer activity, and you get both the stronger and more casual players. The downside is that people on 150 meta will have a few levels of advantage over you and people at 125 will be slightly weaker.

I personally play at 125 and 137. 150 gives certain builds enough FP to become really spammy and hard to play against. Since I'm an invader, mages are a pain in the ass to deal with when there's a group covering for them.

Also. 137 kinda looks like a plague doctor. 1 <- hat 3 <- goggles 7 <- beak.

[ceeridwen99]

BG3 Companion Endings !!Rant!!

Hello there.

I...I just need to get some things off my chest, and this seems like as good of a place to do it as I will get.

So, exactly 100 hours of documented time into my campaign, and I'm about to start a fresh game because I don't want to finish act 3.

Let me explain. Also !!!!*SPOILERS*!!!!!

This may be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but the conclusions to a lot of the questlines, once we reach BG, are either unsatisfying or utter trash. My main gripe comes from the choices--or lack there fucking of--when it comes to the conclusion of certain companion questlines.

(Note: This is NOT a post about whatever companion ending one thinks is "good" vs "evil". I honestly don't give a shit about what endings people choose for their games. My issues come from the endings themselves.)

This stems from my main group setup, Shadowheart, Karlach, and, of course, Astarion (also my romance). I played a bard!Tav. It goes without saying that I love all the companions, even the ones that I didn't mainly use. They're all beautifully layered and I love that they are actually influenced by your playthrough...for the most part.

We'll get there in a moment.

My point is, after spending a good 100 hours with these characters, you end up caring a great deal about them. I really looked forward to seeing how their arcs were going to come to a head when we finally reached BG...

Act 1: Phenomenal.

Act 2: Fucking Fantastic.

Act 3: What the hell was that!

Never mind the complete and utter lack of pacing in the third act compared to the first two, what the hell are those questline endings?! I've never been so fucking disappointed and furious in my life. Again, this isn't a post about "good" vs "evil", but my irritation that NONE of the endings are good, or in my case, satisfying.

For a game that really stresses choices mattering (and for the most part they do to a certain point), it really suffers from Telltale syndrome in its final act, where none of the choices actually end up mattering, but in truth, you're pigeon-holed into two, and if you're lucky three endings.

Shadowheart's ending (in the Selune path) is either losing her parents but freeing her from Shar's control. Or gaining her parents but being tortured for the rest of her life. I don't even want to go into the Shar ending.

Karlach's ending is just fucking sad no matter which choice you make, and even the patched ending--supposedly giving us a better conclusion--is just bittersweet.

ASTARION'S FUCKING ENDING! Oh my god, his fucking ending is either selling his soul and the souls of seven thousand innocent people to not get a fucking sunburn. OR being banished back into the shadows and releasing seven thousand feral spawn into the world-- because yeah that sounds like a fucking good idea. Even if you don't release them, you have a choice between leaving them behind to rot or fucking killing them, but in this instance, their lives really would have been for nothing. By the end of this questline (and it is beautifully acted I'll give it that) I just sat there with a pit in my stomach feeling like I fucked up somehow no matter what ending I chose. To top it off, I learned that we don't even get any information at the end about how our choices affect the world after! What the hell!

Even Wyll's quest! Why the fuck an "I" of all people making this choice for him?! Where the fuck is the option to make him choose, or even ask him what he thinks/wants. In fact, where is the option to make anyone choose for themselves? Only Shadowheart (I found) really has one during her quest.

I find it really hard to believe that one could write such complex characters with strong, differing, opinions--so strong that they will leave the party if they dislike your actions too much--but then make them rely on the PC to make the most important decisions in their fucking lives. This is such fucking lazy writing and a cop-out. All of the conversations, all of the growth, really is just boiled down to "What do you as the player want for them?" *feral scream*

More than this, why the hell are there only two (maybe three at the max) options in the first place? You give us dozens of ways to resolve quests in acts 1 and 2, and yet, here is where you want to pull the "Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows, everyone has to lose something to gain something in return" bullshit? What the hell, Larian!

Don't get me wrong. I'm a writer. I get that narrative. But not here. Not in a game like this. In a game like this, these "choices" feel like a slap in the face. This is DND, there are always more than two to three ways to solve something.

I know there are limitations. I know this doesn't have a DM who can make adjustments to the story on the fly to give an ending based purely on your choices. Even so, it is still highly disappointing (even more so for someone who plays DND and is a DM). I was so mad after these questline conclusions that it soured my playthrough. I don't want to finish this campaign because what's the point when I know the people I've spent 100 hours with, are going to get the short end of the stick no matter what I choose.

I went and looked at spoilers for the main story ending after this, and that just pissed me off more. Two or three endings and a piss-poor epilogue are what we get. Not even credit slides to let us know how our choices actually affected the world in the end. Why. Why. I don't even want to mention how dirty they did Astarion. That wasn't funny. Just fucking sad.

This game is overall a 10/10 for me when it comes to acts 1 and 2. It's fantastic. But Act 3 is a solid 2/10 for me, I'm sorry. There isn't enough content to fill the third act out either. I don't know if my game is bugged, but I can barely find any quests outside of what's picked up in Acts 1 and 2 and it's making running around the city seem aimless.

In conclusion, I'm mad and sad. At this point, I'm just going to replay acts 1 and 2 until this supposed Definitive Edition Larian is apparently good at putting out for their games irons out these inconsistencies, hopefully. (This post is just about companions, I also have many issues with the main story. *sigh*)

At least there is plenty of content in the first two acts to keep one busy, and even with 100 hours, I know I haven't seen everything. I'm also curious to know if my perspective of the third act will change with the Dark Urge, as I've heard good things about them being closer connected to the plot.

Who knows, we'll see.

Lol, this isn't how I expected to come back to this blog. If you've made it this far, thank you for listening to my rant.

Final disclaimer: Please remember this isn't about "good" vs "evil" endings. Also, if this is not at all how you felt, I'm glad you had a better experience than I did lol.

Alright, time to go write AU/homebrew fanfiction.

Stay tuned. ;)

[fierce-little-miana]

What's the deal with Kaoru?

Welcome to the “I should be working on my fic but instead I think about Kaoru” of the day!

I do not hide it, Kaoru is my poor little mew mew, my pathetic wet gremlin. He makes everyone’s life harder in Hakuouki (when allowed) and it would be the understatement of the century to say that there is something wrong with him. But, this is not what I want to discuss, or at least I don't want to discuss what's wrong with his mind. No, I want to discuss what is wrong with Kaoru as a oni. Kaoru is a pure blood oni in Hakuouki, and yet no one in the story seems to acknowledge this fact and the worldbuilding itself seems to ignore it.

So what's the deal with Kaoru? (there might be a following post later, once I have finished my playthrough of Hakuouki: Fleeting blossom of the dawn, for now I am basing this mainly on the movies and the anime)

Let's start with the basics of what we know. Kaoru is Chizuru's older twin (and seeing how much they look alike I really doubt they are the third secret kind of twins that can have different parents).

(I mean look at this: Souji is demonstrating it for us)

This means that Kaoru is a pure blood oni as much as she is. Yet, in both anime and movies we never seen him turn into his oni form before drinking the Ochimizu. It could be that he never had any good reason to do so. Indeed, other pure blood onis do not turn often and Chizuru herself does not turn at all (not even a beginning of transformation) in the anime. Besides, we see him use oni powers: healing abilities, supernatural speed (or mild teleportation?), wind control?, etc. Yet, you get this feeling that contrary to Kazama who is naturally superior/on even field with the best/most motivated of the rasetsu in his oni form, Kaoru needs to take the Ochimizu to catch back to both Kazama and the best rasetsus. The only time we see him transform in a "oni" form in the movies is after he drank it and he has characteristics of both oni (horns) and rasetsu (red eyes).

Furthermore, Nagumo Kaoru was born Yukimura Kaoru and yet no one seems to recognize him as the heir to the Yukimura legacy despite him being Chizuru's older twin brother. No one ever calls him Yukimura Kaoru! And to this I must add that apparently Chizuru's blood is necessary for Kodo's little rasetsu kingdom, yet he has Kaoru's active support (or are they partners? I personally headcanon that Kaoru thinks of each other as partners without really trusting Kodo and Kodo is manipulating Kaoru). True, fraternal twins are not closer genetically than any other siblings (and generally speaking brother-sister twins are fraternal except if they are the fourth kind of secret twins) so Kaoru might not just have what it takes, but still it is odd to see this three things together.

So, to go back on our original question let’s propose some hypothesis on what's the deal with Kaoru. These hypothesis are that, hypothesis, and they are not mutually exclusive. Also do not hesitate to tell me your thoughts on the matter:

The Yukimura clan is matriarcal (I don't know if Toki no Kizuna: Sekigahara Kitan gave extra info on this?), meaning that Kaoru is not considered the heir because he was never the heir. It is not impossible but seeing how Kazama treats Chizuru in the original anime I going to make a not so wild guess and say that not all demon clans are matriarcal.

Kaoru was officially adopted by the Nagumos and he can't just be a Yukimura again. Besides, after killing apparently everyone/most people (☺️) in the Nagumo clan, he became its new official head so maybe the oni world does not accept plurality of offices.

Not all pure blood onis are equal in their gifts and powers. Kaoru is just naturally weaker than some (one the headcanons I am following in my fic).

Oni powers must be trained to develop properly (an other headcanon I am following in my fic) and no one bothered to teach Kaoru or he was purposely sabotaged by the Nagumos.

The Nagumos clan did something pretty bad (understatement of the century) to him that eventually made him weaker. I am thinking experiments here.

Here are the potential answer I have found for what's the deal with Kaoru. What do you think of them? Do you have other hypothesis?

[erebus-the-answer]

Will Power shouldn't have been Akechi's final theme(+ how Maruki did it better)

Persona 5 was my first smt game, but even in my first playthrough it bothered me. While I do think that Persona 5 has a problem with reusing tracks (I'm looking at you, Rivers in the Desert), when comparing it to the other games + animes, Goro's fight theme being Will Power becomes unacceptable.

Underneath the cut I will compare the secondary/social link boss themes from Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5

Spoilers for all three games/animes/movies under the cut

Persona 3:

so in persona 3, I would say that the closest thing to a party member boss fight would be the meeting and little tiff that happens with Ryoji on the bridge with Aigis.

So, in the game this is an animated cutscene and the song that plays is a slightly~ different version of Unavoidable Battle. (Don't get me started on Unavoidable Battle being used for the ??? fight lol)

Persona 3, especially during The Answer has a real problem with beating Unavoidable Battle into the ground until it's deader than dead. But... I feel that they rectify this in the movies with Light In Starless Sky

This is one of my favorite tracks from the Persona 3 Lineup (P3, P3FES, P3P, and the P3 movies) Even though Ryoji doesn't technically have his own boss battle, I felt like he was deserving of his own theme for such a big moment and such a "betrayal" from a character that you grow to love and care about. In theory anyway, I don't very much like Ryoji.

Persona 4:

So obviously in Persona 4 the secret twist villain or whatever you'd like to call him is Adachi. I was one of the many people unfortunate enough to get into the game with this twist already spoiled. That being said, with the expectation that Adachi would be a final boss sort of deal (even if he is third to last), it was really disappointing to me that he and Namatame share the same boss theme. I understand that we are supposed to believe that Namatame is the killer (even though he really obviously isn't IMO), but to hear the same theme twice made it extremely underwhelming to me. Also Adachi was not a hard fight lol

Luckily, this gripe that I have with the game can easily be fixed with this mod, which adds Yin Yang from the Persona 4 Golden anime to the game in the place of New World Fool during Adachi's boss battle. This was perfect to me because honestly this is such a jaw-dropping song to me. It perfectly explains the type of dynamic that Yu and Adachi have with one another. love love love love Yin Yang, and even though Persona 4 is my least favorite game from the series and Adachi is then by default my least favorite villain, I think this track being in the game and just existing in general really helps with the music aspect of the game.

I fucking love The Almighty and The Fog though, even if I did feel that the amount of fakeout-twist villains was a little bit annoying. (Do not get my started on I'll Face My True Self -Marie version)

Persona 5:

So, as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I feel like Persona 5 has a real problem with reusing tracks. Persona 5 was my introduction to the series, and when I said that it made me so excited that I felt my heart beating out of my chest and I was sick to my stomach (in a good way), I mean it.

In Persona 3, I feel like Master of Tartarus and Master of Shadows were fitting themes for the type of battles that we were having. The Full Moon shadows were just that. Shadows. They didn't really have any discernible personalities and they were just Shadows that needed to be killed for the sake of being shadows. I sort of wished that Strega had their own theme, but again whatever.

In Persona 4, even though we were fighting all sorts of different versions of different people, at the end of the day they all were facing their true selves, their shadow selves, so it makes sense for them to use the same battle theme when they are doing the same thing.

My issue with Akechi's theme being Will Power is that yeah, sure, his boss fight is technically an awakening, it's just been overused and beaten into the ground.

Now, I will say that it is better than his theme being Blooming Villain, the theme that EVERY SINGLE palace ruler uses, but it is still way too overplayed.

Like I said, P5 and ESPECIALLY P5R have some amazing tracks, but after the 4th time in a row hearing Rivers In The Desert, it starts to lose its spark.

In a stark contrast to the way that Akechi's battle solidified that they beat Will Power until it was dead, I'd like to take a moment to talk about Takuto Maruki, one of my favorite characters of all time.

I love Akechi as much as your average Persona 5 fan, but when it comes to how the music of the story drives home the point of their character, Akechi has nothing on Maruki.

I remember shaking in excitement when I first went on Spotify to look at the names of the songs from Maruki's palace and see what they were called (I am very particular about my music when it comes to persona games, my friends will let you know that I do not play when it comes to music spoilers).

The titles alone bring so much light into what Maruki was trying to accomplish. Gentle Madman, for example, is probably the most obvious one. It's who Maruki is. He's kind, sweet, he wants what's best for everyone, and yet he's on a complete wrong path. Something about the light piano mixed with the dark (???????????) sounding instrument really adds to it. It sounds clinical in a weird way, honestly, and it totally matches the aesthetic of the palace.

Out Of Kindness is one of the ones that makes me the most excited because it's such an awesome double entendre. He is doing it out of kindness, yet at the same time he has no kindness left to give! Beautifully, beautifully written! My God!!!!!!!

anyways, Keep Your Faith and Throw Your Mask Away. Need I say more? If you've played it then you know.

Of course I'm not saying that I expected Akechi to have an entire 5 hour long palace and half a soundtrack dedicated entirely to him. At the end of the day he isn't a final boss, he isn't the secondary boss, and he isn't the tertiary boss(at least in Royal anyway). Which I find to be... Disappointing. I mean he literally tries to kill the player character and thinks he succeeds! I know that Shido is the big bad, but I feel like Akechi deserved a bit more than what he got.

My idea would be perhaps Akechi got his own theme that he shared with the Holy Grail? I absolutely hated the fact that Shido and the Grail shared the same thing. It was so beautiful and amazing when we fought Shido and it transitioned between Rivers In The Desert instrumental and the vocal track. Almost threw up, so awesome.

They were kinda beating it already when it came to the Grail. I understand why, but to overuse such an awesome track really ruins it for me. and then when you fight the twins too? Jeez, give me a break.

Jaldaboath was an ok track, I'll probably talk about it in another post.

ANYWAY, my point is that I feel like Akechi deserved a better, more tailored theme, and it disappoints me that even in the anime he doesn't get it. The anime is even worse because he only gets Awakening? How annoying is that? There is a fanmade Akechi Palace theme, but that is a palace theme and not a boss battle. I guess we can only dream.

[thedragonagelesbian]

3, 17, & 27 for cyrus pleeeeease!

<333333

3: Race and subclass?

Race: Wood elf

Subclass: It's Complicated

I actually have a full level 20 D&D character sheet for Cyrus that I made back when he was still just a Dragon Age OC. So, when porting him over to Baldur's Gate 3, I decided to keep as much of that build as possible, making Cyrus a base paladin (because being a knight is his Whole Thing) with a barbarian multiclass (because he has a lot of repressed anger and ruthlessness that become more and more evident the more and more the world wears away at his sunshine kindness, and paladin-barbarian is just a very sexy build).

His original subclasses were Oath of Devotion (again, textbook fairytale knight, this is The quintessential stereotypical paladin oath) and Path of Ancestral Guardians (one of the more support-oriented barbarian subclasses and plays with the idea of Kirkwall itself as his guardian spirits).

On the paladin side of things, I just kept him as an Oath of Devotion pally in BG3, although he did end up breaking his oath during Act 2, switching him over to the oathbreaker subclass.

However, BG3 doesn't have the Ancestral Guardians subclass, and the flavor is very specific to the DA2 version, so I decided early on that when he took his third level of barbarian, he'd be Wild Heart instead-- angling for 'bear heart' specifically because it grants immunity to almost all damage while raging, and being unkillable is an important part of Cyrus' whole deal.

And also.

I wanted him to have fire resistance (however conditional) for smooching Karlach.

And as I also had Karlach specced as a Wild Heart barbarian, it occurred to me that Cyrus' multiclassing into her class could be like. a Thing for their relationship. I wrote a little bit about it in my fic for them-- Karlach being the one to train Cyrus in how to be a barbarian, helping him find his rage & be okay with experiencing negative emotions instead of repressing them, giving him his wild heart piercings after the Ketheric boss fight...

(also in this first playthrough, Cyrus ended up romancing Halsin too, which makes the bear's heart thing that much more significant)

But the thing is. I love Cyrus and I love shipping Cyrus, and I knew very early on that I would want to play through the game again to romance at least Astarion and Wyll with him. But. I love narrative-mechanics overlap too much to repeat his paladin-barbarian build for the other runs, because that's His And Karlach's Thing, and he needs a different thing for Astarion and Wyll.

SO.

I have two other BG3 timelines for Cyrus with two other builds.

The first starts off with the same base class of paladin with Oath of Devotion as the subclass. However, after Astarion kills him while feeding from him the first time, Cyrus Comes Back Wrong and spontaneously develops an innate connection to the Shadowfell for uh... reasons that are truly beyond the scope of this already ridiculously long answer. So, in that timeline, Cyrus is an Oath of Devotion Paladin (he will still break his oath at least once when freeing the other vampire spawn, but I imagine this version of Cyrus will want to retake his oath?) with a (modded) Shadow Sorcerer multiclass.

The second involves moving Cyrus' entire timeline around so he's older, more experienced, and more jaded by the time that he gets tadpoled. He swore an oath of devotion to a tyrant who abused him and then he swore an oath of vengeance against them and their reign, and neither made him happy or let him live his life on his own terms as more than just a Title and a set of obligations.

So, this version of Cyrus lost all of his levels of paladin during the couple of decades of self-imposed exile that precede the game. In addition to some stat shuffling around, his base class switched to Ranger for the 'was living all on his own as a hermit in the woods' vibes, and also to keep him as a martial/melee character because that feels the most correct for him.

I only just got this version of Cyrus to level 3-- I specced him into the Hunter subclass originally, but I think I'm going to switch to Gloomstalker instead. There's just something thematically interesting to me about Oathbreaker-Shadow Sorc-Gloomstalker, a lot of Cyrus' character is propelled by the literal, physical internalizations and manifestations of all the bad shit that happens to him, and struggling to make peace with that and even turn those changes to his advantage.

(Also gloomstalker in BG3 gets misty step as an autoprep and I can never turn down a short-range teleport)

17: Do they enjoy life as an adventurer?

Paladin/Barbarian Cyrus: unequivocal yes! Cyrus loves nothing more than to feel useful and of service, and adventuring is the best way he knows how to be helpful.

Paladin/Sorcerer Cyrus: he says yes, but he's been in a state of perpetual existential crisis for the entirety of the game made worse by the fact that he tells himself he needs to swallow all of it down so as not to get in the way of the adventure & helping others

Ranger Cyrus: no lol he really thought he had left this life behind, and he is Too Old For This (spiritually). I think he's really thrown for a loop the first time he sits down to trance, comes to having spontaneously manifested some goodberries in his lap, and realizes he can do magic again for the first time in a couple of decades. He'll do the adventure, and he won't even complain that much, and I think as the game progresses, he'll find more to like about it, but at the moment he's quietly being a real sourpuss about the whole thing.

27: What was their life like before the events of BG3?

Kind of alluded to this in the subclass answers, but in the main timeline (which covers both pally/barb and pally/sorc), Cyrus was having a splendid time as a dashing young adventurer.

Ranger Cyrus was living by himself in a small cottage in some corner of Sword Coast wilderness, cut off from the rest of the world by choice. He was able to fend for and provide for himself just fine but was also much lonelier than he would have admitted to himself. Being around people again is a huge change-- and try as he may to keep some distance between himself and his companions, he just can't resist Wyll's smile.

[chronurgy]

How did Durge come to be? Why them? Was it a vibe you tried to capture or a specific visual you wanted to represent? Did you borrow them from previous works or were they handcrafted for this story you have in mind?

I actually went into Bg3 and the dark urge story almost entirely blind - I think I'd seen maybe one or two dark urge lines/scenes in act 1 via my partner's playthrough but that was it. So I didn't have a lot to go on for what they were like! I had to feel that out as things happened and as the image of their past fell into place through the game. So they're very handcrafted for Bg3 (or maybe handcrafted by Bg3 would be the better way to put it).

In terms of borrowing - I was playing a wizard at the time in my real life dnd game and really liked the class, so that's why I picked wizard. And influences from that character and the general vibe of dnd wizards definitely spilled over into Vesper's personality, so that at least was somewhat borrowed.

As the pieces of their past started to come together (mid to end act 2 mostly), there were a few threads I really pulled on for them. The first was this feeling of isolation, of being alone in a crowd and lacking people who could understand them. They're a wizard, highly intelligent and fascinated by magic, and those things seemed like they just wouldn't be common among the majority of murder cultists and therefore they'd be alone. The second thread was partially to help explain their behavior in act 1 - why do so many good things, why help people? And that's where this idea of Vesper as an "ambush predator," as this person with great capacity for violence who still wouldn't go first to violence arose. Vesper is going to blend in, to be perfectly pleasant, to generally work nicely with people who have been helpful to them, and also obliterate anyone who gets in their way. Living people are useful. If they're not bothering you, there's no sense in killing them. The third thread was control. They're a divination wizard - they see the future. They make the future. They know what will happen and what is best, because they're the smartest person around. And the fourth and final thread - unethical research. They love magic and don't have moral qualms, of course they're gonna do fucked up unethical research. Before the bhaalspawn reveal, I thought that their backstoryight be that they had been born into a Bhaalist family and only stayed in the cult due to family pressure and access to people for their experiments.

And then I came into act 3 and met Gortash and learned about his whole deal and realized oh my god these fucking freaks would have loved each other. I made them so perfect for each other and I didn't even know I was doing it

[lady-of-luthien]

Jedi Survivor is awesome!

So I preordered this game (regular pre-order not pay an extra $20 for cosmetics - c'mon now EA) and started playing it immediately after work on release day. I finished the main storyline three weeks later and have been running around doing side quests. I will definitely play it again - on actual new game plus! (Yes yes I know why that wasn't feasible last game, but still.)

This game is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. I loved being able to do more things. There will be random spoilers, so the rest is under the cut.

Pros:

Gorgeous planets: Koboh has so much variety. The "oh space frontier is like the Wild West frontier" is a little wacky, but they leaned into it so it's a little funny. I loved that we got to go to Jedha. There are so many random conversations I missed because I was focused on the storyline in my first playthrough.

More saber stances! I focused mainly on the double saber, blaster stance, and a little bit on the dual saber. Next playthrough I'm going to use more single saber and cross-guard - I want to see what those play styles feel like.

MERRIN MERRIN MERRIN!

Merrin and Cal on Jedha - taking out that massive drill! So amazing!

So many themes of surviving, of trauma (escape pod from the Lucrehulk), moving on, dealing with grief and anger (Cal's dark deeds was scary), etc.

I was not expecting Master Cordova. I thought he died!

FUCK YOU BODE! I was not expecting that at all (I was hard avoiding spoilers while playing the game).

Cere looked awesome. I was so scared when she fought Vader, I did not want her to die.

I'm also afraid that Cal will have to fight Vader in the third game and then he'll die because NO NO NO.

They continued the hilarious random stormtrooper conversations and extended that with the clone-war era droids.

Rick the Door Technician!

The lead-up to the boss fight with Rayvis was legit more terrifying than the actual fight (I also chickened out and played the fight on Story Mode).

The Cantina music playlist is awesome!

My cantina peeps: Skoova Stev, Moran, Caij, and Mosey are so fun!

Cons:

Dagan Gera's storyline was a bit...incomplete? Felt a little lacking. Why was Tanalorr your home? Why are you so focused on Tanalorr? Was it because of Santari Khri (her lightsaber is amazing)? Did you guys have a thing? It felt like you guys had a thing.

There are some bugs. Since I recently built my PC, I didn't have the same performance issues others had. Did it crash? Yes, but only when I went fast traveling from one end of the planet to the other. Other times, it won't let me customize Cal or quit the game. Fix that, please!

Why does the game require so much storage space? It's insane.

It has RPG-elements with the customization, but I wished it was a bit more RPG-like. For example: the conversation options have consequences (oh well, there's Star Wars Outlaws next year).

I want more planets! Or more expanded planets. There was Coruscant, Koboh (which yes is the main base), Koboh's moon, Jedha, the Nova Garon asteroid, and a tiny bit of Tanalorr.

I want more! Can we have a DLC?

[thunderberryart]

Star's Rune Factory 3 Special 1st Playthrough, Part 3: It's... already nearly over?

So, going into Rune Factory 3 Special, I knew that the main story was going to be a fairly quick affair. That was one of the big things I heard about RF3; it's a good game, but it's not the longest. And I thought to myself "Well, I played RF5 and I'm pretty sure I finished the main story by early autumn of year 1 in my one playthrough. Surely, it can't be as quick or quicker than THAT."

It is, in fact, early autumn of Year 1 and I am just about to rescue Micah's fiancee AKA Shara from Aquaticus.

Knowing that I am very close to the end of the plot, I feel like it is a good opportunity to talk about the story. When I think about RF3's story... it's weird. Vishnal's marriage event comes to mind because the flaws of that event, I feel, encompasses a lot of the issues I have with RF3's plot. I have an older post going over my experience watching Vishnal's marriage event via YT, but to explain its biggest issue; it's short. I don't know if it's THE shortest of all the marriage events (I've still haven't gotten around to watching Forte's, Margaret's, Clorica's, Doug's, and Dylas'), but it is the shortest of the ones I have seen so far. And because it is so short, everything in that event comes in rapid fire--the plot, the emotions, Vishnal's proposal, the resolution--and so for what is there, it never feels like there's enough time to enjoy a scene and let it set in before the next thing happens.

That is essentially what happens with Rune Factory 3. The game has an incredibly good plot in concept, but because it's so short and things happen so quickly, it's difficult to appreciate what's there when it's there. For instance, compared to the likes of Frey/Lest and Alice/Ares, there is a lot less mystery with Micah; he starts recovering his memories immediately after defeating the first boss and it's always a sort of "Oh, that happened" kind of deal whenever he discovers an orb that triggers a recollection, even though him regaining his memories should really be that much bigger of a deal (the most emotional memory recovery scene was, I feel, the third where he remembered that he was the one tasked with defeating the monsters causing problems around Sharance, since it plays into the intro to the Death Wall fight later.)

There is also the matter of the Human-Univir conflict, which is its own problem. It's bad enough that it is resolved fairly easily, but the fact that the conflict isn't rationalized very well beyond "The Univir were exiled from Sharance at some point in the past--no one knows why, but the humans of Sharance and the Univir have hated each other since" is kind of... sad. In what I've experienced so far of the series, Rune Factory plots aren't anything to write home about, but... I don't know. I can't say whether RF3's plot turns out to be forgettable, but I can't say anything from the game's main story sticks out other than getting Kuruna to stop being so prejudiced against humans by giving her a handmade bouquet from the residents of Sharance.

But you know what they say; a mediocre story can be saved by good characters! And while I was initially overwhelmed by RF3's cast as mentioned in my first post, I've grown somewhat used to the eccentricities of Sharance by now and if there's anything memorable about the writing, it's how bonkers everyone is while still managing to convey some genuinely heartfelt storytelling. (And according to people on Reddit, XSEED's new translation for Special is apparently toned down from Natsume's original. Geez, I wonder how I would have reacted if this had been the original DS version.)

My favorites are the same as last time and... goddamn, I really do love Shara. Initially I figured I'd be marrying her purely to see if she was as bad as the fanbase makes her out to be and then in my second playthrough move on to a bachelorette I actually feel has genuine chemistry with Micah, but I really do like these two together. Granted, she doesn't have the most emotionally intensive plot associated with her requests (It's more about helping her younger sister, Monica, come out of her shell than any issues that Shara herself has), but she's so sweet and kind, cares for her family, and she loves flowers! I love flowers! And not gonna lie, her manner of teasing Micah and occasional bluntness do remind me of Frey, so that might have something to do with why she hits just right for me.

Girl, plz. You're killing poor boy.

That said, even though I made the firm decision this playthrough to marry her (and we would have had the wedding by now if Aquaticus didn't * grumbles *), there are other bachelorettes that I am considering marrying in subsequent playthroughs, which is pretty shocking considering my track record with RF4S. And by track record, I mean Arthur is the entire record.

Of the other bachelorettes, I've done a fair chunk of Sakuya's requests and I still like her a lot; besides having one of the more "normal" personalities, her love of travel and commerce reminds me a lot of Arthur (even though she's not a workaholic and is genuinely concerned with profits) and I'm liking the progress of her character development through her events. She also has a cute character design, but that's only ever a nice bonus and not something that determines whether I like a character or not.

The bachelorettes I was most skeptical of were Raven and Pia, and this is because I was aware of the fandom's opinions on those characters going in. Long story short: I figured this was going to be another Leon and Dylas situation for me, and by that, you know, I don't dislike either of them, they're pretty neat and I get why they hit close to home for some people, but it got annoying to see them constantly treated as objectively The Best when hey, their writing is not perfect, there's a reason why not everyone romances them; I'm certainly among those people. And at first, I was disappointed. Pia's personality was too airheaded for my tastes, and Raven... I liked her guest appearance in RF4S, but here, she's a straight up tsundere and tsunderes are one of those hit-or-miss kind of characters for me.

In Raven's case, I think I've done at least half her requests by now and by god, I feel bad for judging her so fast. Despite being a tsundere, she actually has an incredibly valid reason for telling Micah to stay away from her; according to her, anyone who becomes close to her disappears and she's afraid of the same thing happening to him. That... that hit hard and even if she doesn't end up being my favorite ship choice for Micah, I do want her to be happy.

Pia, I think, was just an instance of finding her initial personality overwhelming like many others in Sharance. I can't give any opinions on her character arc because I have only done one or two of her requests, but she is very cute. She is often lost in her own little world and tends to blatantly ignore things Micah says, but I do really love her happy-go-lucky approach to life and I unironically find her personal vendetta against squid hilarious. (She and Margaret would be friends.)

That is definitely the benefit of the romance system in RF3S. I'm sad there isn't a true dating phase and you can just go right to marriage once you've gotten the Engagement Ring recipe from Wells and Marjorie, but knowing that I can help these girls with their personal issues without having to turn down a heartwarming proposal at the end of their last request does make me feel a bit better about "hareming" all these bachelorettes. (And I say that as someone who detests harems and prefers a single dedicated romance in any narrative.)

My next post will presumably be my last for this first playthrough given how fast this has gone. I'm still incredibly attached to Selphia and RF4S is still my favorite game of the RFs I have played, but there really is a lot to love about RF3S despite its imperfections and I am already looking forward to my next playthrough. Cheers, everyone! I'll see you next time!

[parallel-selfs]

Fairy Gala

Followed Mewshi Q's playthrough.

Idia and Ortho aren't here, or Crowley for that matter. Kalim and Jamil run up to Trein to inform him on what's happening to their dorm which leads the professor checking the Mirror Chamber.

Alice and Grim are certainly staying at Savanaclaw while Ramshackle is getting repaired. She sees Jamil talking to Leona and gets invited to the emergency meeting.

A third year of Ignihyde is attending the meeting.

Alice makes a face at the word "craftfairies."

Listens quietly to lore.

Stares at Riddle. Stares at Malleus.

Trein states how long the gala takes, the issues the school will have without the magestone and having to close down the school which will lead to the students being held back a year. The students panic and volunteer to find a solution. Trein starts to protest, but the students win the argument.

She now realizes they're dealing with Pixie Hollow.

She only looks over at the two because everyone else was doing it.

"Malleus, seriously?" Trein is disappointed at everyone ducking out.

Trein lays down the facts to Leona and the prince just glares before begrudgingly agrees.

"Though, I'm not comfortable with sending my students off to deal with such a risky task. Miss Winter, could you company them? I know you wish not to join, but you're the only one I can trust in seeing this task through." She begrudgingly agrees.

They're having their personal meeting in one of the classrooms. (Grim is only joining because he doesn't want to be alone in Savanaclaw.)

"Hey, do this or else you will have to repeat a year."

"Now, we need figure out how we are doing the fashion show."

"I feel really pretty... what's that look for, Vil?"

"Oh, nothing." He's teasing her.

Damn.

"Guys, can you stop coming for Leona's throat?"

"This sucks."

Never let Vil coach me on anything.

Repeatedly checks herself out in the mirror while being all smiley. Leona teases her.

"Time-waster, huh?"

Of course it is.

"Good luck."

(She's borrowing one of the guys' phone cause she didn't think she needed to bring hers. Also, she doesn't have her glasses so seeing if the Queen is distracted will be hard to tell.)

"Got it."

Looks back and forth between the performance and the Queen.

Makes the second-long call and turns away from the runway to the subtropical zone.

"Did you get it?"

"Hide!"

I know that voice...

"We did it. Now let's get something to eat."

"Fabulous show, guys."

Drone Ignihyde set up.

"I mean, I'll take the new outfit, but I'm not taking any coaching from you, Schoenheit."

[justasmolliv]

L3: Black Heaven: A Necromantic Dating Sim

An ambitious visual novel which takes advantage of the medium, but cannot escape equivalent exchange.

I always appreciate a visual novel which understands that you'll play it multiple times, and makes your choices have a lasting impact across its narrative. While usually this manifests as a number of different endings which have to be navigated to reach a "true" final ending, Black Heaven: A Necromantic Dating Sim takes this a step further with its Fractal Madness mechanic to a mostly brilliant effect.

In Black Heaven you play as Uzo, a former scholar at Itzon Academy, a magic school dedicated to research on attaining immortality. Unfortunately, Uzo and his mentor Ru accidentally created a plague which caused uncontrollable growth and eventually destroyed most of the world. After the outbreak, Uzo fled underground and attempted to continue to find a cure, and it's here where the game begins.

As Uzo continues his own research, he is approached by a masked man who calls himself No-Eyes. No-Eyes offers Uzo a deal - if Uzo brings him the ghosts of Ru and his classmates Izagi and Lyse, he'll create a time loop for Uzo to relive his happiest memories of Itzon forever. No-Eyes will use the three ghosts to pursue his goal of chronomancy, a taboo area of necromancy research within the academia circle, and promises Uzo the luxury of forgetting about the death he helped to cause.

As Uzo travels back overground and towards Itzon, you play through his memories of his time there. You go to class, try to socialise with the other students, and attempt to woo Ru, Isagi, and Lyse. Despite my choices heavily leaning towards Izagi, I ended up romancing Ru. This was confusing to me, and I was disappointed by the lack of impact my choices seemed to have within this first third or so. 

I'm putting the fewest number of spoilers I can get away with in this review as Black Heaven is certainly a visual novel I think should be experienced. As Uzo explored the ruins of Itzon, it became clear why my choices couldn't have much impact. The true deplorability of his past actions is revealed as Uzo revisits the memories of his friends. This plot twist was one I hadn't seen coming, and it had me genuinely shaking my head at how cleverly I'd been duped as Uzo sat in front of a panel and was confronted by what he'd done.

Once you learn the truth about what happened, it's up to you how to deal with Ru, Izagi, Lyse and No-Face. Do you hand them over as he asked, or set them free and return empty-handed? There's definitely bad endings, and even worse ones, but there's an obvious good path which the game encourages you towards.

This is where I feel the Fractal Madness mechanic lets Black Heaven down while still enhancing a playthrough. Fractal Madness accrues as you reload the game to revisit choices, something I'd been doing a lot to attempt to get myself onto Izagi's romance route. I'd try out all available options to see what the characters' reactions would be, before reloading once again and choosing the one I liked the most. The more you revisit decisions, the more things become distorted. As Uzo was sneaking around the burnt husks of the lavish buildings I'd once seen, the music started to stutter upon itself. Memories would start to become distorted and gruesome, before Uzo reminded himself those events didn't really happen. I really enjoyed this effect, as I never knew when it could kick in and start to make me question whether what Uzo was really experiencing and remembering was the truth.

But the caveat is that all the reloads and choices happen in a single playthrough. As I explored the knock-on effects of earlier choices, I ended up with a lot of manual saves which I had to remember the order of, whereas other visual novels might handle this with a branching map you can dive back into. Overall, I was quite nice to Ru, Izagi, Lyse and No-Face, and I could explore their endings without really needing to change the choices I had made during the game. Replayability is tied into a single playthrough, where you're encouraged to reload and try different options, rather than a branching narrative which acts like a reiteration of events.

I'd have loved to see Fractal Madness go even more unhinged and bring in more horror and uncertainty, but in general I think Black Heaven is a well-written, engrossing story which uses the medium of visual novels and the habits of its players to great effect. Its own mechanic somewhat becomes its own limit, and one plot twist in particular is quite easy to figure out early in the game, but I have to commend Black Heaven for attempting something new with the meta of visual novels.

As I said before, I think Black Heaven is a visual novel which should be experienced. Its characters are well-written and relatable, the music is haunting, and the way it tries to tell its story is ambitious. If you're also looking for a good old musing on metaphysics and philosophy then Black Heaven is one I'd recommend.

[A copy of the Steam version of Black Heaven: A Necromantic Dating Sim was provided by developer and publisher Occult Triangle Lab.]

[celiastjamesoscar]

TLOU owns my heart. Will always love it. Which is why I was so conflicted by TLOU2 since I loved it so much but I hated how much I was enjoying certain part for certain reason. Percy Jackson though is the first book I ever wanted to read not for school and it kind of opened the whole door to reading for me (well that and The Hunger Games) and it’s spiraled into so many other things I now love which is why Percy Jackson has a special place in my heart and why I’m so hyped for the show (also the author was so involved that I feel like I don’t have to worry about it. Which as excited as I was for TLOU show I was super hesitant until I actually saw that first episode).

I like to binge play games because if I start a game I don’t intend to stop which is why when I started Spider-Man 2 I literally played till 2-4am. Or I start a game (Hogwarts legacy, forbidden west, Witcher 3) and only play like 2 hours and then don’t touch it for like over a year. I had a co-worker who took vacation time to play it and by that time he was back at work he was on like his third play through. He was doing a play through with each house (gotta experience all the side stuff!)

It was me! I love that and I’ve actually had super similar conversations. Someone asks for a manager and I go find one and I’m like “this person wants this thing and we don’t have it and they don’t believe me. Go tell them the same thing.” And then they go say the exact same thing I did and the person is all “oh okay thank you.” And then I just get offended.

It also owns my heart; I could talk about it nonstop if someone let me. Oh, trust me? I was the same way playing it. I hated how much I loved certain parts of the game, which makes it soooo much better. TLOU part 2 is the best game I have ever played hands down. Percy Jackson is one of the best series to get younger people into reading, along with the Hunger Games, so I can see how those books introduced you into the world of reading!! (The books that got me into reading was the ‘Game of Thrones’ series at the age of 13🧍‍♀️) I love all things that deal with Greek mythology, so I cannot wait for the show. I was also super hesitant about TLOU show, but just the very first scene of the first episode told me it was going to be amazing

Binge playing games is my favorite thing to do, but then I feel like I have no purpose once I finish a game. Hogwarts Legacy is a game that’s only good for one play through, but that’s just my opinion. And how the hell has your coworker done 3 playthroughs? 😭 i would get too bored with it

People have no respect for employees, like you guys are people too, no need to get upset with them over something they can’t control 😭 and the fact that they were nicer to your manager is insane, you deserve to be offended by that

[minnesotamedic186]

Investigation of a Rabbid's insanity

AKA me and @monsterbride99 talking about Dr. Vent and the horror movie reference in his lab

*This is going to involve discussion of the video game INSIDE, as well as the movies The Thing and Annihilation. There will also be discussion of murder and insanity, so I advise those who don't want to see these things simply look away(or, not click Read More I guess-) Also this might be a bit discombobulated so-*

Me: Made a thing for Dr. Vent, and I regret nothing- Bride: The crazy scientist in Pristine Peaks? Me: Yep- I wanna know what his deal is though. My boy's been living in an igloo next to, an abandoned mansion, for three days and he goes crazy. How the hell did that happen-? Bride: He straight up murdered a bitch did he? Me: I don't pecking know-! And I'm mad about that-! Bride: Maybe in self defense, most likely Me: I wanna know more about this walking Thing reference-!

Me: Seriously I wanna know more about Dr. Vent like, what exactly is his deal-? Maybe he's the one that saw something he wasn't supposed to- Bride: And was he the only one? Because if I can remember correctly from a playthrough, it seemed that a whole crew was there right? Or at least clues to suggest there was Me: I didn't see any implication of a crew Bride: Damn, I was going to say. If there was a crew before, then that would probably hint at an explanation Me: You think Dr. Vent killed his crew-?('cause I can see you thinking that-) Bride: No, actually… Me: Oh- Well sorry for assuming-/g Bride: I believe something else killed the crew And Dr. Vent is the survivor Me: Like that thing frozen in ice-? 'Kay hold on Imma go through the thing again- *After about 15 minutes of going through Dr. Vent's lab and the cave system inside* Me: Yeah I, I got nothin'- though if the thing in the ice block DID kill Dr. Vent's crew then that would make this even MORE of a Thing reference-!

Me: So what do you think killed Dr. Vent's crew-? Bride: If we're going by the reference, the "thing" Me: So the, thing in the ice then- Bride: Yup Me: That's actually why I think Dr. Vent set up the whole mask thing: To keep the thing frozen, not to set it free Bride: So I'm thinking this Thing eats whatever living being it can find, and whatever it eats becomes a part of it. And it grows stronger Me: Yeah I get it(I've seen the Kill Counts for both Thing movies-) Bride: Exactly Me: Now I just wanna know the process of Dr. Vent's insanity. Dude was only there for three days after- All… … I just had a thought What if the Thing, was a creation of Cursa? Bride: Ooooooh Me: Like I'm just thinking of something like, a sentient blob of Darkmess at first before it starts eating people- Bride: It would be even more fucked up if the blob was supposed to be another Spark Hunter but it's "birth" went completely wrong and thus making it as sentient as any Rabbid. Me: Oh my god, yes- Bride: And so to make itself feel "normal" it devours living beings Me: yES-! Bride: This Thing is like. a Rabbid turned into a melted blot of tar Me: And maybe it went to Pristine Peaks with Midnite(maybe hitching a ride on the Spark Hunters' ship) but instead of going to the Winter Palace, it went for Dr. Vent and his crew Bride: Oh I just had a thought. You know the Ink Demon's intro in Bendy and the Dark Revival? Me: oH-? I am intrigued- Bride: "A voice. A soul… The ink speaks to me." Me: Yeah-? Bride: Maybe that's how Dr. Vent went insane: he can hear this gross pile of Melted Rabbid TALK to him Me: O H - ! Oh I think I got a good song for this hold on-! Birde: Is it by Steampianist? Me: No, but it's kinda on the same level(maybe-)

Bride: Ooooohohohhoooo First off, I love this song Second, I love the interpretations of DID, OCD, and other symptoms/conditions within the lyrics And third… I like to think this is Dr. Vent's POV Me: I KNOW-! Bride: The Blob's POV is Thing by Steampianist Me: It is though-! o h - You know what I just though of-? Bride: What? Me: The Huddle from Inside- Bride: Inside, as in the game? Me: y e p - Bride: o h s h i t Me: I blame myself- … And I continue to blame myself as I then just thought of the goddamn bear thing from Annihilation-!

tHIS PECKING THING-! BrideOH SHIT YEAH Me: Need I remind you, this thing imitates its victims by tearing out their vocal chords, and assimilating them into its own- OvO Bride: I REMEMBER THAT SCENE HOLY FUCK That's EXACTLY what I imagined the Thing to be Me: We're just not pulling any punches are we-? Bride: To be honest, kinda but I love what we're doing Me: Making an abomination to torment an already insane Rabbid-?/hj Bride: Yup Me: … Honestly me too- Like I want there to be a REASON to Dr. Vent's insanity-