#dragon quest heroes i and ii

[cursedappendage]

Slay the Princess Narrator, Princess, Voices in Japanese

<<Vessel Names Part 1(Chapter I & II + Razor III & IV) <<Vessel Names Part 2(Chapter IIIs) Part 4(TLQ, TSM, Echo)>>

VOICES TIME BABY

Actually, I'm gonna go in chronological order of character mentions. So, we will start with:

The Narrator ナレーター(Nareetaa) [Narrator]

Simple and direct. There is a word for "narrator" that is of Japanese origin(語り手 lit. "Story hand" meaning narrator/storyteller), but the English word is the one more widely used. He also says "I" using the first-person pronoun 私(watashi), I'm assuming to indicate his "formal" attitude as, although men can use it, it's usually only in formal situations/you don't know someone well. He is of course referred to in third person with the kanji 彼(kare) meaning "he" or "him", but some voices like Contrarian and Smitten use katakana for him instead of kanji(カレ) for some different type of emphasis, I'm assuming.

Now in the Narrator's first lines, he tells you that there is a

Princess(or "The Princess" sometimes) プリンセス(Purinsesu) [Princess]

Like I mentioned in the "Princess and the Dragon" portion of last post, the Princess always referred to with the English word "Princess" rather than the Japanese word for princess.(She's also very often referred to with the pronoun 彼女(kanojo) meaning "she", of course). She tends to use the first person pronoun わたし(watashi), like the Narrator, although in her case it's written simply in hiragana, I assume to show less formality and more just how she refers to herself. 私/わたし is also used by women casually, in contrast to what I said in the Narrator section. She also tends to use あなた(anata, "you") for her 2nd person pronoun(formal/regular way to say "you").

The 1st and 2nd person pronouns the Princess uses also tends to change with each chapter:

The Spectre, Stranger(Chapter II), Damsel, Wild, Grey - 1st わたし(watashi, わたしたちwatashi-tachi when Stranger Princesses merge)・2nd あなた(anata)

Base Princess(Chapter I & Heart of TSM)*, The Nightmare, Moment of Clarity, Razor, Prisoner, Cage, Princess and the Dragon, Happily Ever After, Stranger(Heart of the Shifting Mound)- 1st 私(watashi, 私たちwatashi-tachi for Stranger)・2nd あなた

The Adversary, Eye of the Needle, Fury, Wraith - 1st 私・2nd お前(omae, can be seen as rude or more colloquial, for someone of equal/lower rank)

The Tower, Apotheosis- 1st 我(ware, not really actually used in real life, but gives a sense of profound, old, important-ness, typically used by king/god/godlike characters)・2nd お前(omae, though she also calls us 小鳥kotori "little bird")

The Beast - 1st アタシ(atashi, feminine, more casual form of watashi)・2nd オマエ(omae, she also calls us ヒヨコhiyoko "fledgling", all three of these words are written in katakana)

The Witch - 1st あたし(atashi)・2nd あんた(anta, colloquial/familiar form of anata, often considered rude, sometimes spiteful)

The Thorn - 1st あたし・2nd あなた(omg she uses the same 1st as the Witch but switches from "anta" back to "anata" omg y'all I'm cryingggg😭😭)

*Chapter I Princess tends to switch from あなた to お前 when antagonized(pre Tower, Adversary, Beast, Witch)

OK SORRY I KNOW THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE VOICES IM SO SORRY

Now let's start with the homie, the one who's always got your back

The Voice of the Hero 勇者の声(Yuusha no Koe) [Voice of the Hero]

Simple enough. Something to note is that there are two words for "hero" in Japanese, 英雄(eiyuu) and 勇者(yuusha). 英雄(eiyuu) is what you call a great person, someone respected for accomplishing something and leaving great impact on society. 勇者(yuusha) is moreso a brave person sent on a quest of adventure to defeat evil/protect others. The former emphasizes the impact and admiration of their achievements, while the latter emphasizes courage and bravery. Someone said something like "勇者 is someone on a journey to slay a dragon, 英雄 is someone who had already come back home from slaying a dragon". In the context of the Voice of the Hero, rather than someone with emphasis on the change he's made in the world, the emphasis is on his morals and good-intentioned actions. He uses ボク(boku) as his 1st person pronoun, which gives him a little bit of a "good boy" typa feel. Or at least some politeness. It's also noted that he uses katakana for boku instead of the kanji 僕(boku)(which, the Long Quiet himself actually uses out loud).

I'm doing the voices in the same order as their respective Chapter II Princesses in the first post(based off the "Memories" menu)

The Voice of the Stubborn 頑固者の声(Gankomono no Koe) [Voice of the Stubborn]

Yeah okay, this one's the same. 頑固者(Gankomono) means "stubborn person". He uses 俺(ore) as his 1st person pronoun, a very masculine pronoun, can be seen as rude in a formal setting, but is very typical and normal for casual men speech.

The Voice of the Broken 負け犬の声(Makeinu no Koe) [Voice of the Loser]

Now this one's insulting. 負け犬 (makeinu) means loser, failure, you get the picture. Made up of the words 負ける(makeru, to lose/to be defeated) and 犬(inu, dog). But it's very fitting I must say(Broken would totally bark for the Tower 100%). He uses the 1st person pronoun 僕(boku).

The Voice of the Cold 冷血漢の声(Reiketsukan no Koe) [Voice of the Cold-Blooded]

冷血漢(reiketsukan) mean "cold-blooded person" or "coldhearted person", or simply "heartless". 冷(rei) meaning cold and 血(chi) meaning blood. Same meaning as in English, someone who can kill a Princess with no hesitation. Like Stubborn, he uses 俺(ore). (He also tends to use quite blunt/rude ways to refer to the princess)

The Voice of the Paranoid 妄想狂の声(Mousoukyou no Koe) [Voice of the Delusional]

妄想(mousou) means delusion, while 狂(kyou) refers to lunatic, or insanity or mental abnormality. Now, delusional isn't exactly the same as paranoid, but the Paranoid can come off as delusional sometimes. Of course, anything we believe in the construct becomes real, so the Nightmare route is full of our real delusions. He is the intrusive thoughts part of our brain that manifests into reality. And in other routes, the Paranoid can come off as a bit insane(the Cage and Apotheosis especially make him seem more erratic). He also uses 俺(ore).

The Voice of the Cheated 野放図の声(Nohouzu no Koe) [Voice of the Unruly]

野放図(nohouzu) can mean wild, arrogant, unruly, but it can also mean unchecked, uncontrolled, unregulated. I put unruly as I thought it fits a title better, but in my head I think more like "unhinged". And I guess that kinda does fit the Cheated's personality, his main objective in the Razor is to win against her, and he's basically like "let's keep getting stabbed until there are enough of us to be better than her", definitely not sound of mind(he also has that comment when you take the blade of "let's make her hurt for what she's done to us"). He very much let's his emotions take the better of him, usually hating on the Princess and the bullshit of everything or spiting the Narrator. He's also, again, very unhinged(mentioning dropping the Cage's head and he says "I mean... we could...") His pronoun is also 俺(ore).

The Voice of the Hunted 獲物の声(Emono no Koe) [Voice of the Prey]

This one I don't have much to say, as it's pretty obvious why he's named that way. And it's pretty much the same as the English name. Like the Hero, he uses the pronoun ボク(boku), I think it's in katakana to mirror the Beast's pronouns.(He refers to her with kanji in 彼女(kanojo) but he does refer to her with katakana in アイツ(aitsu, something akin to "that guy" or "that person", when he say's "She's coming(アイツがくる！)")

The Voice of the Opportunist お調子者の声(Ochoushimono no Koe) [Voice of the Easily Elated]

お調子者(ochoushimono) refers to someone who get carried away easily, someone who does whatever they feel/want, someone who gets easily elated from praise and flattery. I think this is both a funny and accurate translation of the Opportunist. We know he definitely gets carried away easily. He says that second line in the game even(freeing the Thorn: "I can do whatever I want, and I believe with with my whole heart...").I can't really think of instances of him getting praised off the top of my head but he does seem to think it will work on other people. He very much goes with the mood, attempting to curry favor so he can make sudden rash decisions out of nowhere. He uses 僕(boku) which I think fits his suck up personality.

The Voice of the Contrarian あまのじゃくの声(Amanojaku no Koe) [Voice of the Contrarian]

Direct and simple translation again. あまのじゃく(amanojaku) refers to someone with a perverse personality, or someone who opposes other's opinions. Interestingly, あまのじゃく can also refer to an actual small demon in Japanese folklore. I just thought it reminded me of that one line from him "Time to get back to our old devilish ways". He also uses 俺(ore).

The Voice of the Skeptic 疑心暗鬼の声(Gishin'anki no Koe) [Voice of the Skeptic]

疑心暗鬼(gishin'anki) is an expression/abbreviation, it means something like "suspicion creates monsters from shadows", it's about how suspecting something can lead you to suspecting everything, and doubt and suspicion makes you jump at shadows. I think this makes some sense, as his hyper-focused perception of things makes him question everything around him. He notices small details that grow into things bigger and more important than they were before. Also 俺(ore).

The Voice of the Smitten 騎士の声(Kishi no Koe) [Voice of the Knight]

This one I find really funny. 騎士(kishi) refers to the medieval type of knight, known for their chivalry and honor, like ones in armor and usually on horseback(騎(ki) relating to horses). I think it makes perfect sense in the context of the Damsel, a knight come to rescue his beloved Princess, to free her from the confines of the cabin. I also think it works in the Thorn for similar reasons. But I think in most other routes it's hilariously out of context, like "damn, this knight guy kinda freaky calling this blade Princess gorgeous/calling this Princess with a dress of her own skin gorgeous" Like the Tower, he uses 我(ware) giving him that old medieval feel, and he addresses the Narrator with 貴君(kikun), meaning "you" used by men in letters addressing their equals/lowers, and he addresses the Princess with 貴女(can be pronounced anata or kijo), polite language used to refer to women in letters. I was planning on this being the last post but I dont think I can fit it all here sorryyyyyyy rest of the stuff will be next post

Edit: added pronouns of voices

<<Vessel Names Part 1(Chapter I & II + Razor III & IV) <<Vessel Names Part 2(Chapter IIIs) Part 4(TLQ, TSM, Echo)>>

[genshin-impact-updates]

"Summertide Scales and Tales" Version 4.8 Update Details

Dear Traveler,

Below are the details of the Version 4.8 update "Summertide Scales and Tales" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Bug Fix Compensation for the issue whereby Neuvillette could rotate at an unusually high speed when casting his Charged Attack, resulting in an abnormal attack range: Primogems ×100

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/07/17 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 4.8.

Bug Fix Compensation for the issue whereby Neuvillette could rotate at an unusually high speed when casting his Charged Attack, resulting in an abnormal attack range and other issue fix compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/07/17 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2024/07/20 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2024/07/17 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. Limited-Time Area: Simulanka (This area is only available during Version 4.8)

Simulanka

After perusing the book sent as a gift by a mysterious person, you visit a fairytale world named "Simulanka." Like many classic stories, the prophecies of the goddesses were fulfilled one by one with the arrival of visitors from another world. The hero and their companions thus embark on a journey to defeat the evil dragon...

※ As long as you have completed Archon Quest Prologue: Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom" and teleport to the limited-time area "Simulanka" through the Story Quest "Summertide Scales and Tales," a Teleport Waypoint will be automatically unlocked in the "Forest of Blessings" located in this area. You'll also receive the Primogem reward for this Teleport Waypoint when it unlocks automatically.

◇ Area Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 18 or above

• Complete the Archon Quest "Song of the Dragon and Freedom"

◆ Simulanka will no longer be accessible after the end of Version 4.8. You will also no longer be able to open treasure chests, gather materials, or earn quest rewards in Simulanka, so grab the opportunity to explore away!

II. New Character

5-Star Character "A Thousand Scents Traced" Emilie (Dendro)

◇ Vision: Dendro

◇ Weapon: Polearm

◇ A Fontainian perfumer, one who bottles secrets.

◆ Elemental Skill: Fragrance Extraction

◆ Creates a Lumidouce Case that fires Puffs of Puredew at nearby opponents at intervals, dealing Dendro DMG. When nearby opponents are affected by Burning, they will give off Scents. The Lumidouce Case collects nearby Scents and after collecting a certain amount, its level will increase, increasing the quantity and DMG of Puffs of Puredew.

◆ Elemental Burst: Aromatic Explication

◆ Stows existing Lumidouce Cases and creates a Level 3 Lumidouce Case. The Level 3 Lumidouce Case will continuously cause Scented Dew to descend, attacking opponents within range and dealing Dendro DMG. When the duration ends, the Lumidouce Case reverts to Level 1, or it inherits the level and number of collected Scents from the previously stored Lumidouce Case.

III. New Equipment

New Weapon (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

Lumidouce Elegy (5-Star Polearm)

ATK increased by 15%. When the equipping character triggers Burning on an opponent or deals Dendro DMG to Burning opponents, the DMG dealt is increased by 18%. This effect lasts for 8s, max 2 stacks. When 2 stacks are reached or when the duration is refreshed at 2 stacks, restore 12 Energy. Energy can be restored this way once every 12s. The 2 aforementioned effects can be triggered even when the character is off-field.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon Lumidouce Elegy (Polearm) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

IV. New Outfits

Nilou: Breeze of Sabaa

◇ An elegant outfit for Nilou, this featherweight dress is seemingly woven of countless flowers, and with it drifts a light fragrance like the east wind at dawn, carrying beauteous blessings from a fairytale land.

◆ Between the start of the Version 4.8 update and 2024/08/26 03:59, Nilou's outfit "Breeze of Sabaa" will be available for purchase in the Character Outfit Shop at a limited-time discount! During the discount period, the price of the outfit is 1,350 Genesis Crystals. The price will revert to 1,680 Genesis Crystals after the limited-time discount ends. The outfit can only be purchased once.

Kirara: Phantom in Boots

◇ Kirara's outfit. The swashbuckling feline of fairytale fame, the crafty courier of dearly-held dreams... is pleased to make your acquaintance!

◆ In Version 4.8, you will be able to get Kirara's outfit "Phantom in Boots" for free by participating in the limited-time "Summertide Scales and Tales" event.

◆ After Version 4.8 is over, Travelers can buy the outfit in the Character Outfit Shop.

V. New Main Story

New Story Quest

Emilie's Story Quest - Pomum de Ambra Chapter: Act I "Floral Debt, Blood Due"

Permanently available after 2024/08/06 18:00

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act V "Masquerade of the Guilty"

New World Quests

New Limited-Time World Quests

"The Lotus Leaf and the Champion," "The Forest and the Princess," "The Answer of the Lotus Leaves and Forest," "Narration Footnotes," "Text's Coda," and "Towards the Lighthouse, or Far Away"

VI. New Gameplay

New Gameplay: Envisaged Echoes

In this gameplay mode, each challenge corresponds to a designated character and has its own independent challenge mode.

To participate in the challenge stages, this corresponding character must be Lv. 90, and their Friendship Level must be at least 8.

After completing "Envisaged Echoes" challenges, you will gain the corresponding character's Echo cosmetic rewards.

◇ Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 35 or above

• Complete and finalize a combat performance in Act 6 or higher of the Imaginarium Theater

For details on the gameplay rules, please see: "Envisaged Echoes" Permanent High Difficulty Challenge Gameplay Details.

VII. Other Update Details

New Recipe:

○ Hotel Debord, Fontaine: Fricassee de Poulet

New Character Specialty Dish:

○ Emilie's specialty: A Fragrant Feast of Flavors

Adds Set 33 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

Adds some prompts for loading screens.

New Namecards:

"Emilie: Base Note": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Emilie

"Travel Notes: Fanciful Fabrication": Reward obtained via the BP system

New "Hide UI" function: You can enable/disable it in the "Settings > Other" menu (you can also enable/disable it using specific shortcuts on PC). When enabled, the main interface will hide UI elements such as map and party information.

New functions in the Dialogue Screen:

(1) "Dialogue Review": You can open the "Dialogue Review" interface while playing through the story to view the dialogue records for this segment of the story or listen to the voice-overs again.

(2) "Hide Dialogue Screen": You can hide the dialogue screen while playing through the story.

"Genius Invokation TCG" Gameplay Update:

New Character Cards: Chevreuse, Navia, and their corresponding Talent cards. Corresponding invitation duels and guest challenges have been added to the Player List.

New Character Card: Frost Operative and their corresponding Talent card. The Tavern Challenge has also been added.

New Action Cards: "Ultimate Overlord's Mega Magic Sword," "Prospector's Drill," "Gladiator's Triumphus," "Serene," "I'd Rather Lose Money Myself...," and "Tada!" can be purchased from Prince at The Cat's Tail.

The Forge Realm's Temper is once again available. The theme of this edition is "The Forge Realm's Temper: Endless Swarm":

(1) Defeat endless waves of enemies during the rounds in "The Forge Realm's Temper: Endless Swarm" to accrue score.

(2) After you complete the stage battle, you will gain a score and the corresponding rewards based on the highest score you got in the stage.

(3) Different stages will contain different special rules that grant buffs. Use these rules well to fight more effectively.

Imaginarium Theater

After the Version 4.8 update, the new season of "Imaginarium Theater" will be available on 2024/08/01 04:00.

Required Elemental Types: Hydro, Cryo, and Anemo

Opening Characters: Furina, Barbara, Kamisato Ayaka, Diona, Xiao, and Faruzan

When Imaginarium Theater is open, the corresponding Opening Characters will obtain Fantastical Blessings.

Special Guest Stars: Emilie, Dehya, Nahida, and Xiangling

After the new season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the characters Kaeya, Kaveh, Yoimiya, and Yelan will each gain a new "Thespian Trick" that can be exchanged from the NPC Wolfy.

In addition, in order to optimize the experience of obtaining Principal Cast during the gameplay, after the new season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the following adjustments will be made:

(1) Adjusts the initial Fantasia Flowers provided from 100 to 160 when starting a challenge in Hard Mode.

(2) After completing a performance, you can select one of two characters when obtaining a new Principal Cast (prior to the adjustment, the corresponding mechanic will grant a Principal Cast without providing options in the default state without gaining specific performance buffs).

(3) Optimizes the refresh mechanic of Performance Events.

Spiral Abyss

Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• All characters in the party gain a 75% Dendro DMG Bonus.

Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 4.8, the Lunar Phases will be as follows:

Searing Moon

When characters attack Burning opponents, their CRIT Rate is increased by 15% and their CRIT DMG is increased by 30%.

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● Open World

Now, after defeating the boss "Lupus Boreas, Dominator of Wolves," Trounce Blossom rewards not collected will only disappear after he respawns.

Adjusts the respawn time for boss enemies in the open world, with the exception of "Lupus Boreas, Dominator of Wolves," from 5 minutes to 10 seconds (After the respawn timer ends, Travelers need to teleport to another area and return, and the relevant enemies will respawn).

Adjusts the respawn time for certain harvestables from 48 hours to 46 hours.

Adjusts the unlock condition for the "Lower World Level" function from World Level 5 to World Level 3 (you can choose to lower the World Level upon reaching World Level 3).

Adds an option at World Level 3 to 6 to lower the World Level on the relevant prompt interface when all party members are defeated by enemies during exploration in the open world.

● Quests

Reduces the difficulty of the "Anti-Raiden Shogun Training"-related quest objective in the Archon Quest "The Familiar's Path."

Reduces the difficulty of the challenge gameplay related to the Story Quest "License to Glide" and "Mondstadt Glider."

Optimizes the refresh logic for Commission Quests: Commission Quests that have their scenes occupied by other quests will not refresh and appear. However, Commission Quests with unfinished achievements are not affected by this refresh rule and will still appear.

Certain quests that can unlock systems will have a new special icon on the Quest Menu.

● Domains

Adjusts the enemy placements and certain Ley Line Disorders in the Domains "Forsaken Rift," "Cecilia Garden," "Peak of Vindagnyr," "Hidden Palace of Zhou Formula," "Clear Pool and Mountain Cavern," "Hidden Palace of Lianshan Formula," "Domain of Guyun," and "Taishan Mansion" to reduce the challenge difficulty of these domains.

Unlocked Domains can be used as Teleport Waypoints even if Travelers have yet to reach the Adventure Rank required to challenge the Domain.

After Travelers reach Adventure Rank 10 or have completed the quest "Knights of Favonius" of the Archon Quest Prologue: Act I "The Outlander Who Caught the Wind," you can unlock all Domains of Blessing, Domains of Mastery, and Domains of Forgery, with the exception of Midsummer Courtyard (There are no specific unlock criteria for Domain of Blessing "Midsummer Courtyard").

After defeating the "Enemy of Note" in the "Trounce Domain," if Travelers leave without claiming the reward, the game will display a second confirmation pop-up.

● Adventure Encounters

Once you have reached your daily Encounter Point limit, any further Points gained will be converted to Long-Term Encounter Points. Long-Term Encounter Points will not be cleared the next day and can be stored until the next Version x.0.

Travelers can convert accumulated Long-Term Encounter Points into usable Encounter Points through consuming Original Resin.

a. The number of Encounter Points obtained from completing Archon Quests, Character Story Quests, and Hangout Events has been increased.

b The number of Encounter Points obtained from completing World Quests, Story Quests from Limited-Time Events, and collecting event rewards has been decreased.

c. Completing World Quests that begin Limited-Time Events, the Afterword World Quests from Limited-Time Events, and City Reputation: Requests will no longer give Encounter Points.

● System

Adds an interaction using the spacebar on the "Cooking" interface (when using a keyboard and mouse as control devices).

In the "Spiral Abyss" character selection interface, you can now drag characters to adjust their position within the party lineup.

Adds the filter option for "Astral Mark Status" in certain characters' interface.

When you have sufficient offerings to level up offering-related systems (such as the "Statue of The Seven" or "Fountain of Lucine"), clicking on the icon of the relevant system on the map will display an offering prompt.

Adds a new setting in the "General Settings" of the "Artifact Auto-Lock" function. When enabled, for Artifacts with 3 Minor Affixes, the locked plan will consider conditions like "Includes any 2/3/4 of the following Minor Affixes" will be treated as "Includes any 1/2/3 of the following Minor Affixes."

● Genius Invokation TCG

Optimizes the descriptions and previews of related effects for certain cards.

Shortens the display time of some card effects.

Optimizes the description of the Support Card "Kusava": In the description "Discard a maximum of 2 cards with the highest Elemental Dice Cost in your Hand," "cards with the highest Elemental Dice Cost in your Hand" will be adjusted to "cards with the highest original Elemental Dice Cost in your Hand."

Optimizes the Action Phase time calculation logic in Co-Op matches: The Action Phase time limit will no longer be a fixed amount and will be extended depending on how many card effects Travelers trigger.

● Other

Optimizes the text descriptions for certain effects and events in "Imaginarium Theater."

When characters are in the Theater Lobby of "Imaginarium Theater," the Paimon Menu can now be accessed.

After the Version 4.8 update, users who have not used the "Past Quest Resource Management" feature and have mobile devices that have resources that can be deleted will receive a one-time red dot notification.

For some discrete graphics cards that do not support the "Dynamic Character Resolution" visual effect, the "Dynamic Character Resolution" option will no longer appear in the "Settings > Graphics" of the game.

Adds a "Compatibility Mode" option to the "Settings > Graphics" tab on the game login screen.

Adjusts the order of certain quests in "Adventurer Handbook" > "Experience."

Adds a shortcut button to navigate to the Adventurer Handbook on the "Adventure EXP and Adventure Rank" interface.

In the "Battle Pass/Gnostic Hymn" interface, the slider at the bottom of the interface now supports the click-to-position function.

Optimizes the user experience of each list interface:

a. When switching or refreshing lists, the previously selected or scrolled position will be retained.

b. Optimizes the scrolling speed of lists.

c. Optimizes the rules for displaying red dots in lists.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Quests

Fixes an issue whereby Sorush could not be used in certain locations after entering the "Defiled Chamber" in the World Quest "The Hymn of Tir Yazad."

Fixes an issue whereby the position of character portraits displayed may be abnormal in Clorinde's Story Quest when the text in the text boxes are too long.

● Enemies

Fixes an issue whereby damage numbers had a chance of not displaying when certain skills of Ruin Automatons inflicted damage on Ley Line Monoliths.

Fixes an issue whereby Specters could have 0 HP but could not be defeated under specific circumstances.

● Characters

Fixes an issue whereby characters' skills had no CD and skill performance was abnormal under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby some characters' recovery time after being hit was abnormal.

Fixes an issue whereby after Arlecchino casts a Charged Attack and moves rapidly after the button is Held, the character would be down abnormally after falling from a low altitude when her Stamina is expended.

Fixes an issue whereby the Wanderer would remain abnormally in a state of levitation after he expends "Kuugoryoku" under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby Neuvillette could rotate at an unusually high speed when casting his Charged Attack, resulting in an abnormal attack range under specific circumstances.

● Weapons

Fixes an issue whereby there was a chance that the positions of the special effects of the weapon "Uraku Misugiri" would be incorrect after being equipped by different characters.

● Audio

Fixes an issue whereby testing voice-over resources were incorrectly used for some of Sethos's Chinese voice-overs in the cutscene animation of Cyno's Story Quest Lupus Aureus Chapter: Act II "Oathkeeper" (This resource was not recorded by Chinese voice actor Lanling Li).

Fixes an issue whereby there is a chance that the sound effects of character movement would be missing when Clorinde moves in the water.

Fixes an issue whereby the sound effects could be abnormal when Gaming joined the party on the "Party Setup" interface.

Fixes an issue whereby there were errors with the Chinese voice-overs during some quests.

● System

Fixes an image error in the "Raiden Shogun" avatar.

Fixes an issue whereby you are unable to access the corresponding scene if you teleport to the Theater Lobby and select "Leave for Now" during the Spiral Abyss challenge.

Fixes an issue in the Spiral Abyss whereby the skill cooldown of the party in the second half would not reset after selecting "Retry Challenge."

Fixes an issue in Co-Op Mode that caused musical instrument gadgets used by guest characters to disappear abnormally under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby the sorting of Artifacts in the "Inventory > Artifacts" interface would appear incorrectly under certain circumstances after the Version 4.7 update.

Fixes an issue with incorrect Exploration Progress calculation in certain regions. After the version update, Exploration Progress for some Travelers may increase.

Fixes an issue whereby it was possible to use "Thespian Tricks" that had yet to be obtained on the "Photo" interface under certain circumstances.

● Genius Invokation TCG

Fixes an issue whereby the Character Card "Wriothesley" was unable to trigger the effect "If the character has no more than 5 HP" related to the state "Chilling Penalty" during the Action Phase if his HP is 5 or less due to the Combat Status "Burst Scan."

Fixes an issue whereby the Character Cards "Consecrated Scorpion," "Consecrated Flying Serpent," and "Guardian of Apep's Oasis" were unable to use their Talent Cards when frozen.

Fixes an issue with the text description of the Combat Status "Deep Devourer's Domain" of the Character Card "All-Devouring Narwhal" in other languages.

Fixes an issue whereby the Usages of the All-Devouring Narwhal's "Dark Shadow" Summon was incorrectly deducted if your Character Card took damage and was knocked out at the same time.

Fixes an issue whereby the Usages of the Combat Status "Flying Cloud Flag Formation" was not reduced after the Character Card "Neuvillette" casts "Equitable Judgment" to trigger the damage bonus of the Combat Status "Flying Cloud Flag Formation."

● Other

Fixes an issue whereby after completing a performance in the Imaginarium Theater, the finalization screen would only appear after some characters attacked.

Fixes an issue whereby when selecting "Restart Performance" after a successful performance in the "Imaginarium Theater," the selected party lineups will not be recorded.

Fixes an issue whereby a Domain Entrance interaction point would appear abnormally within Mondstadt.

Fixes some text errors in certain languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

◆ Optimizes inconsistencies between certain voice-overs and the corresponding lines.

◆ Optimizes certain English translations.

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Adjusts the effect of Event Card "Bonecruncher's Energy Block" of the Character Card "Consecrated Beast": Removes the effect "If your active character is a Consecrated Beast, then they gain 1 Energy."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "Consecrated Flying Serpent": This effect will be adjusted to "Deal 3 Anemo DMG and draw 1 card."

Adjusts the effect of the Combat Status "Flying Cloud Flag Formation" of the Character Card "Yun Jin": Removes the effect "Deal +1 DMG."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Decorous Harmony" of the Character Card "Yun Jin": The effect "When Yun Jin, who has this card equipped, is on the field, and if you have no cards in your Hand, Flying Cloud Flag Formation will cause your Normal Attack to deal +2 additional DMG." will be adjusted to "When Yun Jin, who has this card equipped, is on the field, and you trigger Flying Cloud Flag Formation: If you have no cards in your Hand, this Skill deals +2 additional DMG."

Adjusts the effect of the Combat Status "Burst Scan" of the Character Card "Kaveh": "After this, deal Dendro DMG equal to the original Elemental Dice Cost of the card you Discard +1" will be adjusted to "After this, deal Dendro DMG equal to the original Elemental Dice Cost of the card you Discard."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "All-Devouring Narwhal": The effect "Deals 1 Hydro DMG. This character deals +1 DMG for every 3 extra max HP provided by Insatiable Appetite (Max +5)" will be adjusted to "(Max +4)."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Burst of the Character Card "Lisa": Adds the effect "attach Conductive to the opponent's active character."

Adjusts the Elemental Burst DMG of the Character Card "Kaedehara Kazuha": Anemo DMG dealt will be adjusted from 3 to 1.

Adjusts the Elemental Skill DMG of the Character Card "Kaedehara Kazuha": Anemo DMG dealt will be adjusted from 3 to 1.

Adjusts the effect of the status "Midare Ranzan" of the Character Card "Kaedehara Kazuha": The effect will be adjusted to "The next time you use Switch Character to switch to the character to which this is attached: This switch is considered a Fast Action rather than a Combat Action. Before you choose an action: If the character to which this is attached is your active character, they immediately use a Normal Attack. The Physical DMG this Normal Attack would deal is converted to Anemo DMG. Once finalized, this effect is removed."

Adjusts the effect of the Summon "Solar Isotoma" of the Character Card "Albedo": The effect "When this Summon is on the field: Your character's Plunging Attack spends 1 less Unaligned Element." will be adjusted to "When you perform "Switch Character" and this Summon is on the field: This switch is considered a Fast Action instead of a Combat Action."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Descent of Divinity" of the Character Card "Albedo": The effect "When there is Albedo on the field who has this card equipped, if your side of the field has Solar Isotoma, then your characters' Plunging Attack deals +1 DMG." has a new effect "then your characters' Plunging Attack costs 1 less Unaligned Element."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Dominance of Earth" of the Character Card "Zhongli": The effect "When your active character is protected by a Shield Character Status or a Shield Combat Status, your Summons deal +1 Geo DMG." will be adjusted to "When your Zhongli, who has this card equipped, has at least 7 HP, the DMG dealt by Zhongli and the Geo DMG from your Summons +1."

Adjusts the effect of the status "Pactsworn Pathclearer" of the Character Card "Cyno": Removes the effect "If equal to or greater than 6: Indwelling Level -4." and adds the effect "If Indwelling Level is at least 8, decrease the Indwelling level by 6."

Adjusts the effect of the Elemental Skill of the Character Card "Cyno": Adds the effect "Pactsworn Pathclearer's Indwelling Level +1."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Featherfall Judgment" of the Character Card "Cyno": The effect "When your Cyno, who has this card equipped, uses Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer while having an even number of level of Pactsworn Pathclearer's Indwelling effect, deal +1 DMG." will be adjusted to "When your Cyno, who has this card equipped, uses Secret Rite: Chasmic Soulfarer while having at least 2 levels of Pactsworn Pathclearer's Indwelling effect, deal +2 DMG. (Once per Round)."

Adjusts the effect of the status "Refraction" of the Character Card "Mirror Maiden": The effect "The character to which this is attached takes +1 Hydro DMG." will be adjusted to "When the character to which this card is attached switches to another character: Elemental Dice Cost +1."

Adjusts the effect of the Talent Card "Mirror Cage" of the Character Card "Mirror Maiden": The effect "will increase the Elemental Dice Cost of switching from a character to which this is attached to another character by 1." will be adjusted to "The character to which this is attached takes +1 Hydro DMG."

Adjusts the effect of the Support Card "Dawn Winery": The effect trigger limit "Once per Round" will be adjusted to "Twice per Round."

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Support Card "Kusava": The Elemental Dice cost will be adjusted from 0 to 1.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Support Card "Lumenstone Adjuvant": The Elemental Dice cost will be adjusted from 2 Dice of the same element to 3 Dice of any element.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Event Card "Falls and Fortune": The Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 1 to 0.

Increases the number of Usages of "Undersea Treasure" generated by the Event Card "Underwater Treasure Hunt": Each character can receive healing from this effect once per Round.

Adjusts the effect of the Event Card "Lyresong": During this Round, the effect that will be triggered the next time you play an Artifact card will be adjusted to "Spend 1 less Elemental Die. If you have not played any other Action Cards before playing this card, spend 2 less Elemental Dice."

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

[on-my-vigilante-sht]

Masterlist

The Hunger Games

Finnick Odair

You’re Losing Me

Inspired by Taylor Swift’s “You’re Losing Me.” How Finnick loses the best thing he’s ever had.

Haymitch Abernathy

Capitol Punishment Masterlist

A story in which Haymitch’s lover is a plaything for the Capitol

I'm Sorry

Moments of Haymitch having to mentor his ex-girlfriend

Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus

Luke Castellan

Follow Me

Luke's girlfriend is excited to finally become a year-round camper so she can spend it with him. But Luke has other plans for them.

Delicate

"Is it chill that you're in my head? / Cause I know that it’s delicate"

Competing With Gods

When Apollo is sent to camp as a punishment, he sets his sights on Luke's girlfriend.

The Way I Loved You

"But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain / And it's 2 a.m. and I'm cursing your name / So in love that you act insane"

The Final Quest

How a quest with the love of Luke's life turned him away from the gods

Asshole Instructor

Luke has been an asshole but he can't help it until he realizes the girl he likes could be gone any minute

Mine

"You are the best thing that's ever been mine"

Apollo

Immortal Danger

Apollo marries a half-blood without realizing how dangerous it can be

Immortal Danger II

Despite an extravagant wedding, Apollo is still confronted by those who want to end his marriage

John Wick

Forced Love Masterlist

Arranged marriages aren't uncommon in the crime world but John Wick never expected to be forced into one with his boss' daughter.

Criminal Minds

Aaron Hotchner

Undercover in a Skin Tight Skirt

The BAU Chief isn’t fond of sending his scantily clad wife in as bait

That Skirt

Smutty follow up to Undercover in a Skin Tight Skirt

I Can’t Leave

When the reader is forced into hiding, she’s desperate to inform her fiancé and his son

Move On

Rossi tells Aaron he should move on

Moving on to You

Aaron finally tells his longtime crush about his feelings when he almost loses her (Sequel to Move On)

Sparring Matches

The BAU undergoes PT evaluations, that includes sparring matches. And in the ring will be the secret couple, tipping off the rest of the team

Home Sweet Home

Sometimes going home isn’t always a good thing. Especially when your hometown is obsessed with marriage and you have a secret boyfriend.

"You're Okay"

After Aaron and his agent are saved from captivity, she grapples with returning to her regular life with her husband when the only person she wants to be around is Aaron.

Spencer Reid

Erotomania

Spencer’s girlfriend has a stalker

Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon

Sandor Clegane/Robb Stark

Between a Wolf and a Hound I

Sandor Clegane was never naïve enough to think he could marry the king's daughter but it doesn't make it any easier to see her married off.

Between a Wolf and a Hound II

The new Lady of the North tries to cope with the fact that she is now married and has a responsibility to her husband.

Robb Stark

The Godswood

When the newest Lady of the North is chased into the woods, the lords of the north search for Robb Stark's wife

Cregan Stark

Wrong Person (College AU!)

Aemond's girlfriend has a group project with the man he hates the most, Cregan Stark.

Forgiveness

Cregan begs for his wife’s forgiveness when he accidentally injures her

The Wall

When Cregan is forced to bring his wife to the Wall, he tries to ensure her protection but does not hesitate to defend her honor when necessary.

Grey’s Anatomy

Mark Sloan

Haunted

Mark finally finds where his wife has been hiding

Twilight

Carlisle Cullen

Sorry to Meet You

The moral dilemma of the patriarch of the Cullen clan finally meeting his mate after 350 years

Attack on Titan

Levi Ackerman

Amnesia

When the Levi Squad goes out on a mission with a few rookies, accidents happen

Favoritism

Captain Levi wouldn't let his feelings for a scout under him get in the way of his professionalism, right?

Reiner Braun

Guard

When Reiner returns from his ten year long mission, he is assigned to protect the the woman he could never have.

[pinksugarscrub]

One Year Celebration 💙

Hello travelers!

Weary from your journey? Fear not, I have remedies to soothe your aching feet. Take a seat and pick your fancy. Although I caution you that you may only ask for two tales as I have many more customers. Well, what will it be?

~ i

Side Quests

For any pre-existing stories completed or not such as "Sun and Moon" or short stories like "Home" send in a request for a fic based on their respective universe. As long as it does not interfere with the main story you are free to spin the tale in whichever way you choose.

For example, our lovely Katy requested a sea witch Hobie! with a mermaid! reader.

Bounties

Looking for a change of pace after screening across the spider verse for the hundredth time? Send in a request for a different character or do ask for our lovable Hobie Brown, I won't judge you. The list goes as follows:

My Hero Academia

Ouran High School Host Club

DC

Marvel

One Piece

Avatar the Last Airbender

Bridgerton

The Dragon Prince

Howl's Moving Castle

...and so forth!

If you're unsure of your request or have another fandom in mind please let me know and I'll respond as soon as possible to provide you with a suitable story.

~ii

After choosing your story I'm sure you would like something sweet or savory to enjoy so please, look at our menu and let the barmaid know. Be wary we do not serve ale (smut) so please keep that in mind when you order.

Tiramisu - angst/comfort

A mix between sweet and bitter! This would go excellent with a "right person, wrong time" scenario.

Hearty stew - fluff

How...domestic of you. I love it! Doing everyday activities or enjoying new experiences with your person of choice seems lovely.

Bean Brew - angst

Sometimes I wonder why I subject myself to this, and then the ideas come. This appears fitting for "unrequited love" or "miscommunication".

Now you are ready to order!

~ iii

Message by Carrier Pigeon

Interested in asking for advice for your next adventure or asking for my own? Just send in your inquiries! I'd love to talk about my inspirations as a writer or converse about your favorite books. Writers uplift other writers, yes?

Note in a Bottle

Want a sneak peak into the wips currently within my arsenal? Ask away and I'll try to contain myself from joy. Even unreleased works 👀...

Other

As a mage in training I do have other responsibilities other than manning this tavern therefore I ask of you to be patient for your tale to arrive. Enjoy the fire and view while you wait. Thank you again for all your support and happy birthday to the blog! 🎉🎉 The deadline is September 27th as not to interfere with Octobie.

[demifiendrsa]

Weekly Shonen Jump 55th anniversary appendix in Weekly Shonen Jump 2023 issue #33

1968 Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #1 Otoko Ippiki Gaki-Daisho by Hiroshi Motomiya 1969 Dr. Toilet by Kazuyoshi Torii 1970 The Gutsy Frog by Yasumi Yoshizawa 1971 Tezuka Manga Award 1st Edition Samurai Giants by Ikki Kajiwara & Ko Inoue Boy of the Wilderness Isamu by Soji Yamakawa & Noboru Kawasaki 1972 Astro Kyudan by Shiro Tōzaki & Norihiro Nakajima 1973 Play Ball by Akio Chiba Hochonin Ajihei by Jiro Gyu & Jo Big 1974 Akatsuka Manga Award 1st Edition 1975 The Circuit Wolf by Satoshi Ikezawa Doberman Deka by Buronson & Shinji Hiramatsu 1976 Toudai Icchokusen by Yoshinori Kobayashi Kochikame by Osamu Akimoto 1977 Ring ni Kakero by Masami Kurumada Susume!! Pirates by Hisashi Eguchi 1978 Cobra by Buichi Terasawa 1979 Kinnikuman by Yudetamago 1980 Dr. Slump by Akira Toriyama 1981 Captain Tsubasa by Yoichi Takahashi Cat's Eye by Tsukasa Hojo Stop!! Hibari-kun! by Hisashi Eguchi 1982 High School! Kimengumi by Motoei Shinzawa 1983 Fist of the North Star by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara Ginga -Nagareboshi Gin- by Yoshihiro Takahashi 1984 DRAGON BALL by Akira Toriyama 1985 City Hunter by Tsukasa Hojo Miraculous Tonchinkan by Koichi Endo Sakigake!! Otokojuku by Akira Miyashita 1986 Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada 1987 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki The Burning Wild Man by Tadashi Sato 1988 Bastard!! by Kazushi Hagiwara Jungle King Tar-chan by Masaya Tokuhiro Rokudenashi BLUES by Masanori Morita Magical Taluluto by Tatsuya Egawa 1989 Weekly Shonen Jump reaches 5.000.000 copies in circulation Dragon Quest: The Great Adventure of Dai by Riku Sanjo & Koji Inada Video Girl Ai by Masakazu Katsura 1990 SLAM DUNK by Takehiko Inoue Chinyuki by Man Gataro Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi 1992 Hareluya II Boy by Haruto Umezawa 1993 Tottemo! Luckyman by Hiroshi Gamo Hell Teacher Nube by Makura Sho & Takeshi Okano 1994 Midori no Makibao by Tsunomaru Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki 1995 Weekly Shonen Jump reaches 6.530.000 copies in circulation Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san by Kyosuke Usuta 1996 Hoshin Engi by Ryu Fujisaki Yu-Gi-Oh! by Kazuki Takahashi Kochikame 20th Anniversary & Chapter 1000 1997 I's by Masakazu Katsura Seikimatsu Leader den Takeshi! by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro ONE PIECE by Eiichiro Oda 1998 Rookies by Masanori Morita Whistle! by Daisuke Higuchi HUNTERXHUNTER by Yoshihiro Togashi 1999 Hikaru no Go by Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata The Prince of Tennis by Takeshi Konomi NARUTO by Masashi Kishimoto 2000 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean by Hirohiko Araki BLACK CAT by Kentaro Yabuki 2001 Bobobobo Bobobo by Yoshio Sawai BLEACH by Tite Kubo 2002 Strawberry 100% by Mizuki Kawashita Eyeshield 21 by Riichiro Inagaki & Yusuke Murata 2004 Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata Gintama by Hideaki Sorachi Katekyo Hitman Reborn! by Akira Amano D.Gray-man by Katsura Hoshino Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation by Yoshiyuki Nishi 2005 Neuro: Supernatural Detective by Yusei Matsui 2006 To Love Ru by Saki Hasemi & Kentaro Yabuki 2007 Sket Dance by Kenta Shinohara 2008 Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan by Hiroshi Shiibashi Toriko by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro Bakuman. by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata 2009 Kuroko's Basketball by Tadatoshi Fujimaki Beelzebub by Ryuhei Tamura Medaka Box by Nisio Isin & Akira Akatsuki 2010 ONE PIECE New World Begins 2011 Nisekoi by Naoshi Komi 2012 Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. by Shuichi Aso Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma by Yuto Tsukuda & Shun Saeki 2013 World Trigger by Daisuke Ashihara Isobe Isobee Monogatari by Ryo Nakama 2014 Hinomaru Zumo by Kawada My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi 2015 Black Clover by Yuki Tabata 2016 Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs by Tadahiro Miura Kimetsu no Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge BORUTO by Mikio Ikemoto & Ukyo Kodachi The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu Kochikame 40th Anniversary and Serialization End 2017 We Never Learn by Taishi Tsutsui Dr. STONE by Riichiro Inagaki & Boichi 2018 Jujutsu Kaisen by Akutami Gege

2019 Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto Mission: Yozakura Family by Hitsuji Gondaira 2020 Undead Unluck by Yoshifumi Tozuka MASHLE by Hajime Komoto Ayakashi Triangle by Kentaro Yabuki Me & Roboco by Shuhei Miyazaki BURN THE WITCH by Tite Kubo SAKAMOTO DAYS by Yuto Suzuki 2021 The Elusive Samurai by Yusei Matsui WITCH WATCH by Kenta Shinohara Blue Box by Kouji Miura 2022 Akane Banashi by Yuki Suenaga & Takamasa Moue

[madameevil]

Protagonists & Failures (Dragon Age)

Originally, I started writing this as a reblog to another post complaining about how Rook isn't anyone special but then it quickly became something else.

I realized something while typing my response out to that. The two games that are hated the most within the fandom (DA: 2 & DA:TV) have the protagonists experience failure repeatedly as key parts within their story. I think that's no coincidence.

Let's look at when the games either force you to accept/face failure or provides you a non-game over failure state that you don't purposefully choose. I'll focus on the main questlines & companion questlines because I don't have time to break down every side quest in all the games. I also won't count purposeful choices made by the player as failures. Consequences sure, but a player driven choice to kill or save someone doesn't count. You made that choice knowing the consequences. That's not a failure you're forced to face. Hopefully that clarifies everything.

Spoiler warning for all games below cut.

Dragon Age: Origins

Prologue: Regardless of which origin you choose, your Hero of Fereldan (HoF) suffers a loss or failure that forces you to join the Wardens.

Ostagar: Regardless of your choices, you are forced to accept the failure at Ostagar.

...

Every other instance, you are successful. You are successful in recruiting the Dalish, handling the problem at the Mage Circle, handling the dwarven problem, handling the Redcliffe problem. There are different ways to address these problems which lead to different sacrifices but those are all choices the player knowingly makes and in the end you are still successful in your goal. You gain an ally for the fight. That's your goal. Each time you gain one.

The entire game is just travel around to get allies. Ally has their own problem that is somehow more important than the blight. Resolve said problem: gain ally. That's it. That's the formula. (Don't get me wrong I love DA:Origins but mostly for the companions.)

In the end, even if there is a loss associated with it, you are victorious. You kill the Archdemon. You save Fereldan.

Dragon Age: II (2)

Prologue (conditional): You fail to protect a sibling.

Expedition (conditional): Your choice put your other sibling in danger. You lose them either through death or the Wardens. You also fail to gain any of the items you initially went down there for.

Qunari Mage: You fail to give him freedom. Even if you defend against the other Qunari, they still kill themself.

Mother: Hawke fails to protect the last family member who's present in their life.

Qunari: Hawke fails to resolve things peacefully before they attack the city. You fail (conditional) at judging your companion, Isabela.

Dalish Clan: You fail to save the Keeper of the clan. You fail (conditional) to keep Merril's clan alive.

Mage v. Templar: You fail to resolve tensions. You fail to stop things from escalating. You fail at judging your companion, Anders and you failed to stop him. You fail to save the circle as the First Enchanter uses blood magic. You fail to stop the Knight Commander from succumbing to the relic. The relic you found. The relic you failed to recover.

DLC Legacy: YOU unleash the evil and YOU fail to kill it.

...

Hawke's story is a tragedy. They struggle and struggle to just simply survive and hold on to those close to them only to fail repeatedly. At the end, no matter who you support, you're forced to flee Kirkwall. There's no celebration. There's no party. The ending scene as the Knight Commander is petrified isn't happy. It's not joyous. No matter what your relations were with your companions, you're forced apart (except your lover). DA: 2 requires you to face failure and loss at every turn in the story.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Haven: You fail to fend off the attack on Haven forcing you to retreat and end up at Skyhold.

Halam Shiral: You can fail here if you get kicked out or fail to gather the evidence you need.

Trespasser DLC: You fail to stop or convince Solas.

...

Otherwise, you are victorious at every turn. You outmaneuver Corypheus so badly that he's the one who's constantly moving to a fallback plan. Dude is on plan Z by the time you finally finish him, I swear. After Haven, you consistently have the upper hand and win against him pushing him into a corner.

There are times when you are forced to make a tough choice like with Bull's Chargers or with Hawke & the fade, however, each time you are making a conscious choice on the matter. The story doesn't force you to face these as "failures" they're just difficult choices to make and that's an important distinction. It's not framed as "you failed to save the chargers" it's framed as "you sacrificed the chargers when you didn't have to." It's not "you failed to escape the fade" it's framed as "you sacrificed Hawke/Stroud/Alistair to escape" Either way you aren't blamed for it. Varric may be hurt if you leave Hawke, yes, but even he doesn't blame you for it. He doesn't grow angry with you. He's just upset. He knows it was Hawke's choice to remain.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

This game is all about little wins. Neve points that out in her story. Failure here usually has a small win associated with it.

Backstory: Rook fails at (or screws up) something.

But you did end up with Varric because of it.

Ritual: Rook fails to protect the team. Rook fails to protect the world by unleashing worse threats.

But you did successfully stop Solas's ritual

Davrin Recruit: Rook fails to save the griffons.

City Choice: Rook fails to save a city. Rook fails to kill the dragon. This one I'm including because Rook is blamed by both companions and NPCs for it. It's also framed in a way where you truly believe your other companions and faction can help the city just as much as you can the other, but you fail to factor in the dagger. The dagger is the only reason that dragon lands. It's the only reason you can stop it from attacking the city and focus on you instead.

You at least saved one city and injured a dragon.

Weißhaupt: Rook fails to save Weißhaupt. Rook's plan fails at killing Gil.

But you did kill her archdemon.

Blighted Dragons: Fails to kill Gil again.

But you did kill her dragons

Elgernan's Eclipse: Fails to stop him from summoning his arch demon. Fails to stop them crafting the dagger.

But you did save the hostages

Island: Fails to protect the team. Fails to see Solas's betrayal.

But you did kill Gil.

Then if we look at the companion quests we see even more...

We fail to capture the venatori in the relic case because the system is corrupt.

We fail to give Lucanis closure with Zara because Illario.

We fail to save Taash's mom.

We fail to stop Hekenkoss so Manfred has to.

And the every time we fail to kill the gods or fail to stop their plans, more of the South falls. We lose territory. We lose a faction. We lose companions.

...

Failure is a prominent occurrence in DA:TV for a few reasons.

Rook isn't anyone special. Rook isn't the only one who can end a blight. Rook isn't blessed with a magic hand that can fix the tears in reality. Rook is just a person who Varric happened upon. They're just someone who is struggling at every turn.

Rook must experience failure to feel regret. Rook must feel regret to be manipulated by Solas. All these failures accumulate to the prison swap. There you're forced to face them. You're forced to acknowledge that you failed, but you had little victories along the way too and sometimes that's all you need (thanks Neve). Also because regret is a MAJOR theme in the game among Solas and your companions.

EITHERWAY this leads to an almost inverse of how Inquisition felt. In Inquisition we were outplaying the antagonist. This time the antagonists are outplaying us. We're the ones struggling to find a next move. We're the ones struggling to think of another plan. On top of that, blame is cast on Rook multiple times by NPCs and their own companions.

So what's the point?

People don't like to experience failure. They don't like to be told they failed. They don't like to be told "you weren't strong enough." or "you did everything you could, but in the end it wasn't enough." It doesn't feel good to be powerless and that's what Rook is for a lot of the story. It's also what Hawke is for a lot of DA:2.

I think a lot of people don't know how to process feeling powerless in the game. Their thoughts follow the same pattern of regret: "if only I did X" or "if only I was stronger/better."

In reality there's a lot of anger that follows; either towards oneself or anything else you can cast blame on. In a game, it's much easier to cast blame on the developers and say "If only you did X" or "if only you made the PC stronger/better", "If only you wrote it differently.", "If only you gave me different dialogue options."

But I think feeling that way is the point. You are supposed to feel powerless. You are supposed to feel like no matter how much you struggled, it was helpless at times. It plays right into the core theme of the game. Unfortunately, I think that doesn't sit well with a lot of people.

I think asking a gamer to feel powerless in a video game always leads to people feeling uncomfortable. That uncomfortable feeling leads to hate or a dislike of the game. "Power Fantasy" is a real concept in games and when it's broken there are consequences to it. However, I do think that breaking it deserves to be explored and utilized within narratives. Breaking it at the right moment is after all a key step in The Hero's Journey.

Anyway! My ramblings have concluded. If I missed some crucial moment or rambled too hard and lost the point, let me know. If you're polite I'll probably respond.

[bestanimatedmovie]

Welcome to Revenge of the Underrated!

Some of you asked me to put a "haven't watched both" to be more fair to the more unknown movies, but I've seen other tournaments doing this and I think it limits too much who can participate in the polls. So what I decided to do is a double elimination!

What does that mean? That means a movie has to lose twice to be eliminated. In other words, there will be a sorts of losers bracket that'll be part of main bracket. I'm undecided on whether to do this for only one round or the whole bracket, as it would make the tournament very long. Do let me know if you have any opinion about it.

Anyway, Revenge of the Underrated, Round 1:

Miss Hokusai vs Happily N'Ever After

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children vs Tiger and Bunny: The Rising

Ballerina vs Book Girl

On-Gaku: Our Sound vs Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie Part 1

Cats don't Dance vs The Flight of Dragons

Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge vs The Girl Without Hands

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix vs Flatland: The Film

Felidae vs Pokemon the Movie: The Power of Us

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West vs Unico in the Island of Magic

Rock and Rule vs Rock-A-Doodle

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning vs Freddie as F.R.0.7

The Plague Dogs vs The Magic Riddle

Pokemon Heroes vs The Pebble and the Penguin

Strange Magic vs Sea Prince and the Fire Child

Help! I'm a Fish vs Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs

16.Azur and Asmar: The Prince's Quest vs Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer

17.Titan A.E. vs Ico, the Brave Horse

18.The Adventures of Mark Twain vs A Troll in Central Park

19.The Case of Hana and Alice vs Once Upon a Forest

20.Underdogs vs Long Way North

21.Mars Needs Moms vs The Twelve Months

22.Phineas and Ferb: The Movie: Candace Against the Universe vs Blinky Bill

23.Robot Carnival vs Revue Starlight: The Movie

24.One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island vs Winx Club: The Secret of the Lost Kingdom

25.Ruben Brandt, Collector vs Samurai Jack: The Premiere Movie

26.Lupin III: The First vs Pippi Longstocking

27.The Three Caballeros vs The Legend of Manxmouse

28.Princes and Princesses vs The Snow Queen

29.A Letter to Momo vs Seven Days War

30.The Wild Thornberrys Movie vs The Rabbi's Cat

31.Night on the Galactic Railroad vs The Boy who Wanted to be a Bear

32.The Swan Princess vs Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito

33.Patema Inverted vs Bartok the Magnificent

34.Next Gen vs Padak

35.Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods vs Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

36.Thumbelina vs Catnapped!

37.Early Man vs Rainbow Magic: Return to Rainspell Island

38.Junk Head vs Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie

39.Charlotte's Web (1973) vs The Princess and the Goblin

40.Shaun the Sheep Movie vs Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

41. Redline vs Balto

42. The Addams Family vs Inu-Oh

43. Epic vs Mary and the Witch's Flower

44.The Girl Who Leapt Through Time vs Vivo

45.Barbie: Princess Charm School vs Kronk''s New Groove

46.Waking Life vs The Transformers: The Movie

47.Barbie in the Nutcracker vs Barbie as Rapunzel

48.Pokemon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back vs Cool World

49.The Land Before Time vs When the Wind Blows

50.The Secret of NIMH vs Summer Wars

51.The Black Cauldron vs All Dogs go to Heaven

52.The Red Turtle vs FernGully: The Last Rainforest

53.Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas vs Ron's Gone Wrong

54.The Boxtrolls vs Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

55.Arthur Christmas vs One Piece Film Red

56.Barbie of Swan Lake vs The Rescuers Down Under

57.Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole vs Secret of the Wings

58.The Castle of Cagliostro vs Pokemon: The Movie 2000

59.Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust vs Arthur and the Invisibles

60.Tinker Bell vs Barbie as the Island Princess

61.Mind Game vs Tekkonkinkreet

62.The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh vs Dragon Ball Super: Broly

63.Mirai vs Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

64.The Lion King II: Simba's Pride vs Scooby-Doo! and the Cyber Chase

[mister-e-muss]

Time for the first backlog report of the new year! I didn’t actually finish as many games this month as I thought I would. I was intending to put Octopath Travler 1, The Lost Child, and Pokémon Black on this list, but such has eluded me.

Bravely Default II:

I gotta be honest. This game isn’t on here because I completed it. It’s on here because after several years of playing on and off, after having been stuck on optional bosses one too many times, after reviewing the fact that it is number five on my longest played Switch games (sandwiched between Dragon Quest XI and Trails of Cold Steel 3 if you’re curious), I still find myself not liking this game. I played for more than ninety hours, but only rarely in that time did it ever feel like I was having fun. I have many, many issues with this game, which probably deserves its own post.

What I’ve learned from this game is this. 1.) If you don’t like the demo of a game, don’t purchase the full game in the hopes that it will get good. It won’t. 2.) You can disagree with literally everyone else without being a contrarian if you have actual beef. 3.) Sunk cost fallacy is a bitch. If it sucks, hit da bricks!

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective:

Now for a game that is perfect in every way! :D

The music, the rube-Goldberg puzzles, the story, they’re all great! Every single character has unique motion to them, from Inspector Cabanella’s style to Bailey’s Panic Dance, to *Spoilers* unnerving self-manipulation. The amount of character packed into this game is untouchable. It stole my heart so completely that it’s become one of the few games I’ve ever 100%’ed.

Now go play it for yourself! It only took me like two or three days!

Shantae, Half-Genie Hero:

This game has been sitting in my Switch Library for quite a while. I’ve enjoyed the Shantae series since Risky’s Revenge, on the DSi.

Wayforward seems to have put significant effort into the presentation. The 3D modeled environments actually help the platforming in a way, making it easier to distinguish background from interactive elements. The music is nothing short of great.

I do find the plot to be a bit thin however. I hopping across levels to fulfill Mimic’s grocery list isn’t exactly high-stakes adventure. They try to tie this all up with a supposed threat to the realm of magic, but it only comes up at the beginning and end, making the individual ‘episodes’ feel disconnected. I also find it odd that they try to put in a ‘You can rely on your friends’ Aesop when in this game they debatably do the least, outside of Sky and Wrench being your taxi.

On that note the whole ‘Shantae is fired’ bit would have hd more weight to it if we visited more than one town.

Regardless, I do think it’s a fine game, and one worth the time spent on it.

Bayonetta 2:

As long as there’s music, she’ll keep on dancing! And there is music and dance aplenty in this game!

The combat is just as smooth, with the introduction of the Umbrian Climax only adding to the experience. The music and visuals are both crisp and clean, though I have to say that I prefer the first game’s soundtrack overall.

The plot is good, with plenty of twists, but I find that they should perhaps have split the ‘Jeanne must be rescued from hell’ and ‘amnesiac kid gets involved in supernatural family drama’ should have perhaps been saved for different games. I like Loki, (breakdancer who fights with a tarot deck is such a fun character idea)but we came for the girlfriends. I also wish they leaned in more with being able to fight demons. Having a separate enemy category for them is a nice step, but less so when there’s only like, ten or twelve of them.

[corneille-moisie]

I wanna talk about this twin eagles statue in the entrance of the Kingsbarrow (There are potential spoilers in this post ! It's indicated where they are, but you might want to avoid this post all together if you don't want anything spoiled at all. This being said, hurry ! Play the game ! XD)

There's a lot of imagery going here, but let's begin by the beginning.

The twin eagles is the symbol of Heliodor, right ? It's on its banners, it's a huge golden statue, in the castle, at the bottom of the staircase leading to the throne room, it's on King Carnelian's brooch, it's on the heliodoran guards' capes, and it's on the armour of both Hendrik and Jasper, amongst other things :

Hendrik and Jasper, at this point in the early story, are considered heroes, according to the book found in the house in the far eastern part of town (yes, the one some tourist is looking for, for a side quest), and inseparable, to some extent. I always assumed that the twin eagles were symbolizing the two of them.

But that's also pretty easy to assume, so let's dig a little more.

Mild spoiler alert for Act I after this sentence, as I mention why you're in the Kingsbarrow, what you're fighting in there.

So, two eagles, right ? With weapons. Sitting on an orb.

You get to the Kingsbarrow to retrieve an orb, and to get this orb, you'll need to fight two grim gryphons.

Let's take a look at the weapons on that statue.

A sword, an ax, and a torch. While these can be found in Dragon Quest games since the very first game, I want to point out something else that is going to be a tad bit more spoilerific as I'm going to refer to Act II of the game and your 8th party member. (like... it's weird to only have 7 party members, don't you think ? ;) )

The obvious part here is that both swords and axes are weapons Hendrik can be equipped with, and, sure, you just used a torch to get out of the sewers with Erik, so here's that for direct references, but...

A torch is a symbol for light (duh). Not only is the Luminary someone who can bring the light back to Erdrea after Yggdrasil fell, but he can't do it without the spark of light that Hendrik figuratively becomes by turning Cobblestone into Last Bastion. ("spark of light" being used verbatim by Queen Marina to refer to Hendrik, and again, by (actually) King Carnelian to refer to both Hendrik and the Luminary, both in early Act II)

Then again, and this time, spoilers alert for Act III, after Yggdrasil fell and it is revealed that Jasper is on the bad guy team, Hendrik kind of loses his "twin" knight fellow. But do you know who also turns out to be a knight ? Sylvando. In Act III, Don Rodrigo sends your party to the Kingsbarrow to bring to light that friendship is a very strong weapon. Ultimately, it unlocks a pep power that involves both Hendrik and his ax, and Sylvando and his sword, and which also unlocks the last part of both their skill trees : Fraternity for Hendrik, Chivalry for Sylvando. Friendship/torch + Hendrik/ax + Sylvando/sword = Twin Eagle Statue in the Kingsbarrow lol.

But THEN AGAIN, the whole thing might also be a symbol strictly for Hendrik, as, still in act III (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER ->), he feels like it's his duty to fight the ghost of Jasper, so his soul can be put to rest. As a result, Hendrik gets the Twin Eagle Armour, as his old companion's soul is now cleansed from Mordegon's influence, now that they finally shed light on what actually happened.

Now, I think that wraps up this info dump that I didn't realize i would do when I first set foot in the Kingsbarrow... I'm gonna go back to the game lmao. Time to go to Hotto :)

[questersrest]

Why do you think the scions are the 'scions of Erdrick' and not the 'scions of Alef'? They're more closely related to Alef.

You can call them what you like. Like, Alef is a name only used in adaptations like the CD drama and the novelisations so I don't refer to his game incarnation as that, i call him the hero of Alefgard, the hero of Tantegel, or just the first hero.

In fact, Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road Victory, which mostly uses the names the heroes are known as, calls the first hero ロトの血を引く者参 (Roto no chi o hiku monosan) which is like 'Roto's (Erdrick's) descendant' or if you'd like you could use the word 'scion' you could also translate it as 'scion of Erdrick.'

I'm not actually sure where the name 'scions of Erdrick' for the DQ2 party is used.

If we look at DQMBRV again, they're just individually named as ローレシアの王子 (Rōreshia no ōji) or prince of Midenhall, サマルトリアの王子 (Samarutoria no ōji) or prince of Cannock, and ムーンブルクの王女 (Mūnburuku no ōjo) or princess of Moonbrooke. Then it refers to them collectively as 勇者たち (yūsha-tachi) or 'heroes.'

Meanwhile, some appearances of the hero of DQ2, such as the clip from DQ2 seen in the true credits of DQ11, use the name ろらん (Roran) which some think comes from the Japanese name for Midenhall, ローレシア (Rōreshia).

But, if you want to use the CD drama and novelisation names like Alef, the hero of DQ2 gets called アレン (Aren) or Allen there.

Point is, the names used officially get changed up sometimes so really call them whatever you want. I think Dragon Quest fans will probably know who you mean if you say 'scions of Alef'.

ANYWAY, sorry for that tangent. To answer your actual question, I think it's probably because Erdrick is the big iconic figure in the first three games. I mean those games are called the Erdrick trilogy after all. It's like yeah they're descended from the first hero but more importantly they're descended from Erdrick the legendary hero. The game is even called Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line in reference to the bloodline of Erdrick.

(Hey! There's another thing you could call them: 'luminaries of the legendary line.' Yeah that's a mouthful but technically it's an official English name.)

[satoshi-mochida]

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake launches November 14 - Gematsu

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store on November 14, Square Enix announced.

Here is an overview of the game, via Square Enix:

About

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a stunning reimagining of the beloved masterpiece and narrative beginning to The Erdrick Trilogy— the first three games of the mainline Dragon Quest series. Featuring vibrant HD-2D graphics, new and modernized features, and a refined narrative, players are invited to set out on an epic fantasy adventure to save the world from a dark evil. Years ago, the great hero Ortega bid farewell to his wife and child as he set off on a quest to defeat the villainous Archfiend, Baramos. Ortega failed his quest, and Baramos still threatens the world. Now, on their sixteenth birthday, Ortega’s only child is summoned by the king of Aliahan and entrusted with a mission of the highest import: to take on Ortega’s quest, vanquish Baramos, and save the world. Accompanied by a band of travelling companions chosen in the beginning of the game, players are immersed in a vast HD-2D world full of towns, dungeons, and caves, meet fascinating characters, and fight ferocious monsters in enhanced turn-based battles. Rebuilt for modern audiences, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake gives existing fans the chance to re-experience a beloved RPG experience and its expanded offerings like never before, while also being a perfect starting point for newcomers to discover one of the most influential RPG franchises in gaming history.

Key Features

A Fully Modernized Remake of the Original – Stunning HD-2D visuals fuse pixel art with 3D graphics, bringing players into the world of Dragon Quest III like never before, along with an improved and modernized UI, and other quality of life improvements.

Traditional Dragon Quest Style Battles – A refined take on the classic turn-based battle system, featuring new animations, additional improvements such as an adjustable battle speed, an auto-battle setting, and more.

Immersive World – Deep exploration of a vast world map with an abundance of rich and captivating locations to discover, challenging players to overcome many unexpected encounters during the journey.

Experience a Timeless Musical Score – An immersive, authentic, and diverse musical composition that captures the timeless essence and magic of the Dragon Quest universe.

Pre-Order Bonuses

Pre-orders for the standard physical or digital edition of DRAGON QUEST III HD-2D Remake will include a free Trouble-Free Travel Kit in the game. The Trouble-Free Travel Kit contains the following items:

Elevating Shoes x1

Seed of Strength x3

Seed of Defence x3

Seed of Agility x3

Seed of Life x3

Seed of Magic x3

Collector’s Edition

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Standard Edition physical game

Collectible game storage box for both Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake and Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake

Dragon Quest III character, monster and logo acrylic blocks complete set

Including 20 vocations, 2 boss monsters, and logo

The Adventurer Accessory Kit (Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake in-game items)

Ring of Strength x1

Dragon Scale x1

Words of Wisdom x1

Cat Suit x1

Exclusive digital wallpapers x2

The Trouble-Free Travel Kit (as detailed)

Watch a new trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

Release Date Trailer

English

Japanese

[genshin-impact-updates]

"Roses and Muskets" Event: Take Part and Obtain the Event-Exclusive Weapon, Ultimate Overlord's Mega Magic Sword (Claymore)

〓Event Duration〓

〓Event Rewards〓

〓Eligibility〓

Adventure Rank 20 or above

And complete Archon Quest Prologue: Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom"

※ Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act V "Masquerade of the Guilty," Raiden Shogun's Story Quest "Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act II," and Furina's Story Quest "Animula Choragi Chapter: Act I" first to get the best experience from this event.

〓Event Details〓

● During the event, the following gameplay modes will unlock in sequence: "Thousand-Pace Interdiction Arcminute Sharpshooting Zone," "Trick Shots, Tricky Lights," "Xtreme Drive," and "Into the Frame."

● In the "Thousand-Pace Interdiction Arcminute Sharpshooting Zone" gameplay, Travelers must use the simulation device to use a musket to defeat opponents and complete the shooting challenge.

● In the "Trick Shots, Tricky Lights" gameplay, Travelers must use the studio's Special Lighting Effects to defeat opponents and accrue points.

● In the "Xtreme Drive" gameplay, Travelers and their friends will race for control over Stabilization Mekaballs and higher scores.

● In the "Into the Frame" gameplay, Travelers will have a go at a unique film editing challenge in which they must take film clips from different angles and edit them together to complete a film.

● Complete the event's various gameplay modes to obtain Theater Tickets and reach a certain amount of Theater Tickets to redeem for Ultimate Overlord's Mega Magic Sword (Claymore) and its refinement materials as well as Primogems, Crown of Insight, Hero's Wit, Mystic Enhancement Ore, and other rewards.

● Complete the event's various gameplay modes to obtain Films for Fun. Films for Fun can be used to redeem for rewards in the Event Shop such as Character Talent Materials, Weapon Ascension Materials, Mystic Enhancement Ore, and Mora.

[most-screwed-by-writers-tourney]

Already got a list of the ships for the ULTIMATE fucked up ship tournament done. Hopefully will start it in two weeks or so. This is a list of the ships:

1. The Darkling and Alina, The Grisha Trilogy

2. Batman and The Riddler, The Batman 2022

3. stu and billy from scream

4. Vriska and Terezifrom homestuck

5. light and l from death note

6. Dirk Strider and Jake English from Homestuck,

7. Vio and Shadow Link from the Four Swords manga

8. Emilio Murkmere x Tobias Schenien from Ghost Eyes

9. Oswald x Ed from Gotham

10. Anna Croft/ Yu Junghyeok (orv)

11. Dimitri/Edelgard - Fire Emblem Three Houses

12. Will Graham and Hannibal, Hannibal

13. yoonbum x sangwoo, killing stalking

14. Starscream and Megatron, from the Transformers franchise

15. Mukuro Ikusaba/Junko Enoshima from Dangan Ronpa

16. Ladd Russo and Lua Klein from Baccano!

17. Daida and Miranjo from Ousama Ranking

18. Shizuo and Izaya from Durarara!!

19. theresa x otto, honkai impact

20. dorian x fem! inquisitor, dragon age

21. renee x huey from baccano

22. nanami x touga, revolutionary girl Utena

23. madoka and homura, puella magi madoka magica

24. (Ronan Lynch x Joseph Kavinksy) - The Raven Cycle

25. Seishirou and Subaru from Tokyo Babylon/X

26. Misaki/Satou, Welcome to the NHK

27. Bakugou and Deku (My Hero Academia)

28. Akito and Shigure, Fruits Basket

29. House and Wilson, House MD

30. Scarlet and Chase, I’m the Grim Reaper

31. Jong-woo and Moon-jo, Strangers from Hell

32. Moon-young and Gang-tae, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

33. Medea and Helio, Your Throne

34. Celty and Shinra, Durarara

35. Akira and Ryo, Devilman

36. Yoshino and Kirishima, Raise wa Tanin Ga ii

37. Chateau and Ryang-ha, Love of Kill

38. Satoko and Shinpei, Hotaru no Yomeiri

39. Clarice and Hannibal, Silence of the Lambs

40. He Yan and Fu Shenxing, Who is the Prey

41. Cain/Owen from Promise of Wizard / Mahoyaku

42. Texas/Lappland from Arknights.

43. Jeongmin and Siyun, Dreaming Freedom

44. Han Chae-ah and Park Yunsu, Trapped

45. akane kurashiki/junpei tenmyouji from zero escape

46. Juri/Shiori (from Revolutionary Girl Utena)

47. Jackie/Shauna, Yellowjackets)

48. Cassandra/Rapunzel from the Tangled series

49. Damien and Elena from vampire diaries

50. Kristoph/Phoenix, Ace Attorney

51. Juice and Chibs, Sons of Anarchy

52. Utena/Anthy from the anime Revolutionary Girl Utena.

53. Cutthroat x Swindler, from Akudama Drive.

54. Yuno Gasai x Yukkiteru Amano from Mirai Nikki

55. Sal/Syakesan x Wadanohara from Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea.

56. Jeremy and the SQUIP, Be More Chill

57. Ian Grimm and Poppy Li, Mythic Quest

58. Lestat de Lioncourt and Louis De Pointe du Lac, Interview with the Vampire

59. fuuma and kamui from clamp's x/1999

60. Victor and Eli, Vicious

61. Elisabeth and Der Tod, Elisabeth

62. Rudolf and Der Tod, Elisabeth

63. Veronica Sawyer and J.D, Heathers

64. Akechi Goro × Persona 5 protagonist (Akira Kurusu/Ren Amamiya)

65. Hondomachi and Fukuda, ID: Invaded

66. Harley Quinn and the Joker, DC

67. Christine and Erik, Phantom of the Opera

68. Lisa Reisert and Jackson Rippner, Red Eye

69. Valeta and Reinhart, I Failed to Oust the Villain

70. Light Yagami and Misa Amane, Death Note

71. Sumire and Hakubo, Toilet Bound Hanako Kun

72. Mika Harima and Seiji Yagiri, Durarara!!

73. Emma Wilson and Yohan Lee, My Deepest Secret

74. Sarah and Jareth, Labyrinth

75. Addie LaRue and Luc, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

76. Ja Yoon and The Nobleman, The Witch, Part One: Subversion

77. Makima and Denji, Chainsaw Man

78. Kyoko and Katsuya, Fruits Basket

79. Mrs. De Winter and Maxim, Rebecca

80. Mutsuki Tooru and Urie Kuku, Tokyo Ghoul

81. Victor and Elizabeth, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein

82. Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexei and Dracula, A Dowry of Blood

83. Ha-im and Geunhu, Never Ending Darling

84. Frank Cotton & Julia Cotton - Hellraiser (1987)

85. Yuki Cross & Kaname Kuran, Vampire Knight

86. Johann and Sasha, The Double Agent

87. Sian and Yul, Secret Alliance

88. Charlize and Dylan, The Taming of the Tyrant

89. Lin and Dosung, 340 Days

90. Makishima Shougo & Shinya Kougami from PSYCHOPASS.

91. Charlotte Willmore x Lizzie Wells, from The Perfection (2018).

92. “Hikaru”/Yoshiki from The Summer hikaru Died,

93. Dolph Laserhawk x Alex Taylor from Captain Laserhawk

94. Dolph Laserhawk x Rayman from Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix

95. Yuuji Itadori x Mahito from Jujitsu Kaisen

96. (luo binghe x shen qingqiu) from scum villain's self saving system.

97. Heaven Official's Blessing. Ships He Xuan and Shi Qingxuan.

98. Ives and Boyd from Ravenous 1999

99. Eve and Vilanelle, Killing Eve

100. Sephiroth/Cloud (FF7 Compilation)

101. Clary and Jace from the Mortal Instruments

102. Rika Sasaki/Yoshiyuki Terada, Cardcaptor Sakura,

103. Veralidaine Sarrasri/Numair Salmalín, from the Immortals Quartet

104. Eli/Oskar, Let the Right One In (2008).

105. Lavan Firestorm/Kalira, Brightly Burning

106. Lapis/Jasper (Steven Universe

107. PearlescentMoon/SMajor, the Life Series

108. Christine/Erik (Phantom Takarazuka)

109. The Brain/Julia (Animaniacs 2020)

110. Sterek, Teen Wolf

111. Jonathan Sims/Elias Bouchard, The Magnus Archives

112. Fyodor and Nikolai, Bungo Stray Dogs

113. Beatrice and Battler, Beabato, from "Umineko”

114. Father Paul/Riley Flynn; Midnight Mass

115. Edward Teach/Izzy Hands; Our Flag Means Death;

116. Batman/Joker

117. Cesare Borgia/Lucrezia Borgia - The Borgias

118. Dean/Sam Winchester from Supernatural

119. Vegas/Pete (Kinnporsche: The Series)

120. Hitori Uzune and Nanaki Kazuaki from Hatoful Boyfriends.

121. Lanze/Bluepool and Anan from Beauty and the Beasts

122. Blade and Dan Heng from Honkai Star Rail

123. Spike and Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

124. Isaac and Finn, I’m Dating a Psychopath

125. Lenore and Annabelle, Nevermore

126. Estelle and Khalid, From a Knight to a Lady

127. Layla and Matthias, Cry or Better Yet Beg

128. Hyuna and Luka, Alien Stage

129. Karuto and Lily, Dear my Living Dead

130. Andrew and Ashley Graves, Coffin of Andy and Leyley

131. Lydia Deetz/Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

132. Harrow and gideon from gideon the ninth/Locked Tomb

133. Cathy x Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)

134. Felix x Ollie (Saltburn)

135. Grace Chastity x Max Jaegerman, Nerdy Prudes Must Die

136. Mikoto and Haijin, Tsuiraku JK to Haijin Kyoushi

137. Eucenielle and Tes, I Hold the Tyrant’s Heart

138. Claire and Balt, The East Wind of the Altas

139. Usui and Misaki, Maid Sama

140. Sebastian Michaelis and Ciel Phantomhive, Black Butler

141. Dabi x Hawks from My Hero Academia

142. Alice “Daisy” Tonner/Basira Hussain, The Magnus Archives

143. Naruto and Sasuke, from Naruto

144. Byleth Eisner / Jeritza von Hrym from fire emblem three houses

145. Akira x keisuke from togainu no chi (nitro+chiral game)

146. Lucy Gray Baird and Coriolanus Snow, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

147. Elias and Chise, The Ancient Magus Bride

148. Gendo and Yui Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion

149. Punpun and Aiko, Goodnight Punpun

150. Sang-hyun and Tae-ju, Thirst

151. Hawa and Adam, The Guy Upstairs

152. Satoru Fujnuma and Gaku Yashiro, Erased

153. Root and Sameen Shaw, Person of Interest

154. The Doctor and the master, Doctor Who

155. Juliette and Warner, Shatter Me

156. Ich and Mrs Danvers, Rebecca das Musical

157. Kokichi Ouma and Shuichi Saihara, Danganronpa V3

158. Roxy and Velma, Chicago

159. Griffith and Guts, Berserk

160. Creed and Train, Black Cat

161. Torso and Mutsuki, Tokyo ghoul

162. Vash and Knives, Trigun

163. Sweeney Tod and Mrs Lovett, Sweeney Tod

164. Kuroi and Mashiro, Thou Dhall Not Die

165. Amy and Nick, Gone Girl

166. India and Charlie Stoker, Stoker

167. Pig and Runt, Disco Pigs

168. Anakin and Padme, Star Wars

169. Chloe and Kairos, I Shall Kill That Sweet Devil

170. Jung and Seol, Cheese in the Trap

171. Anthy and Akio Ohtori, Revolutionary Girl Utena

172. Feyre and Rhysand, A Court of Thrones and Roses

173. Lelouch and Suzaku, Code Geass

174. Mikiya and Shiki, Garden of Sinners

175. Gatsby and Daisy, The Great Gatsby

176. Ivan and Till, Alien Stage

177. Sylar and Elle Bishop, Heroes

178. Helena and Demetrius, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

179. V and Rika, Mystic Messenger

180. Yukari and George, Paradise Kiss

[ultimate-sword-showdown]

Sword Showdown Bracket Round 1

Round 1 is complete!

Tournament tags:

#sword showdown -- all posts related to the sword showdown.

#not sword showdown -- any posts not related to the sword showdown.

#sword showdown polls -- all sword showdown polls.

#sword showdown propaganda -- all propaganda.

#sword showdown updates -- important non-poll posts related to the sword showdown.

#the bladesmith answers -- answered asks.

#the bladesmith speaks -- general posts.

#sword showdown corrections -- fixed mistakes.

Jack/Sumarbrander (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard) vs. Sword of the Creator (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Doomblade (Kirby) vs. Dawnfang/Duskfang (The Elder Scrolls)

Sword of Protection (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) vs. Leo's Katanas (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Rose's Sword (Steven Universe) vs. Sasha's Heron Swords (Amphibia)

Serenade (Dead Cells) vs. Sunsword (Dungeons and Dragons)

Caliburn (Sonic and the Black Knight) vs. Blue Rose Sword (Sword Art Online)

Sword of Sanctuary (Lego Ninjago) vs. Stygius (Hades)

Ghirahim/Sword of Demise (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword) vs. Myrtenaster (RWBY)

Riptide (Percy Jackson) vs. Sword of Heroes (Kung Fu Panda)

Sword of Light (Dragon Quest) vs. Buster Sword (Final Fantasy VII)

Aegislash (Pokemon) vs. Sword of Night (DC comics)

Sword of Fire (Lego Ninjago) vs. Ninja Sword (Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja)

Lucky Seven (Xenoblade Chronicles 3) vs. Aatrox (League of Legends)

Zangetsu (Bleach) vs. Wirikidor (The Misenchanted Sword)

Galaxia (Kirby) vs. Masamune (Final Fantasy VII)

Pure Nail (Hollow Knight) vs. The Blade of Ahrah (Dust: Elysian Tail)

Excalibur (Arthurian legend) vs. Exor (Super Mario RPG)

Demon Blood Sword (Adventure Time) vs. E-Ming (Tian Guan Ci Fu/Heaven’s Official Blessing)

Nightblood (The Stormlight Archive) vs. Holy Moonlight Sword (Bloodborne)

Sword of Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride) vs. Murasama (Metal Gear Rising)

Grass Sword (Adventure Time) vs. Tessaiga (Inuyasha)

The Transistor (Transistor) vs. Firelink Greatsword (Dark Souls 3)

Diamond Sword (Minecraft) vs. Fusion Sword (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children)

Dragonslayer (Berserk) vs. Fierce Deity Sword (The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask)

Sting (Lord of the Rings) vs. Crissaegrim (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night)

Falchion (Fire Emblem) vs. Sword of Dios (Revolutionary Girl Utena)

Darksaber (Star Wars) vs. Need (Valdemar)

Brisingr (The Inheritance Cycle) vs. Stripes I & II (Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt)

Master Sword (The Legend of Zelda) vs. Beacon (The Adventure Zone)

The Sword (Cardcaptor Sakura) vs. Glamdring (Lord of the Rings)

Excalibur (Soul Eater) vs. Eyelander (Team Fortress 2)

Monado (Xenoblade Chronicles) vs. Mortal Blade (Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice)

[egostrawberry]

Opinions on the new Nintendo direct

Mario & Luigi Brothership: this looks cute as FUCK. I loved Mario & Luigi Dream Team so I already know this is gonna be a banger

Nintendo World Championships (NES edition): I like when Nintendo acknowledges the speedrun community and I will be trying this even though I suck at video games

FAIRY TAIL 2: Generic anime game #1

FANTASIAN Neo Dimension: Generic anime game #2

Nintendo switch sports (new sport): This looks like ass! I’d rather have Wii sports resort please

MIO Memories in Orbit: Yup that sure is a game. Looks cool ig

Disney Illusion Island: Yup that sure is a Disney game

Hello Kitty Island Adventure: IM PLAYIN HELLO KITTY ISLAND ADVENTURE

Looney Toons Wacky World of Sports: Space Jam already sucked ass but at least it was nostalgic. Now it just sucks LMAO

Among Us:

Farmagia: Generic anime game #3

Donkey Kong Country returns HD: OH HELL YEAH I used to play this on my 3DS

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake: I think I heard my dad talk about this game once

Funko Fusion: Thanks, I hate it! Absolutely nauseating!

Luigi’s Masion 2 HD: FUCK YEHA BABY DARK MOON’S BACK IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR SO LONG YEEESSSSSSS

THE NEW DENPA MEN: the fuck is a denpa man. Kinda cute ig

METAL SLUG ATTACK RELOADED: I think I heard my dad talk about this game once

Darkest Dungeon II: huh?

Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack: Sorry what? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of me pirating your games

Phantom Brave The Lost Hero: Generic anime game #4

Marvel vs Capcom fighting collection arcade classics: Eat my ass Marvel capcom W

Super Mario Party Jamboree: I love Mario party games! They tear relationships apart! This looks fun. I like the word “jamboree” that’s a fun word

The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom: ZELDA PROTAGONIST GAME?!? UM YES???!!???!!??!?!?!? The gameplay in this looks hella fun

Just Dance 2025 Edition: I’ll only be buying this ONLY if they put hatsune miku in there

LEGO Horizon Adventures: Yup that’s a LEGO game. Horizon is pretty cool tho I watched my buddy @web-creep play it

Stray: Kitty! :3 I already have this game on PlayStation sooooooo

Tales of the Shire a lord of the rings game: Don’t care didn’t ask + gollum

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection: Oh my god I finally get to experience the AA game where Edgeworth won’t stfu about chess I’m so excited /gen

The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy: Generic anime game #5 + I dont like danganronpa (I probably spelled that wrong (I do not care))

Romancing SaGa 2 revenge of the seven: Generic anime game #6

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond: Hey that’s my mom! Samus is my mom you guys. I hope Snapcube sees this.

Conclusion? I’m very excited for Dark Moon HD remake and that’s basically it :)

[theadventurerslog]

Quest For Glory II: Trial by Fire | Part 1

The Adventurer's Log

Release Date: 1990

Here we go! Spielburg was saved and Cinder Win was whisked off to Shapeir, the homeland of the Kattas--Shema and Shameen--and Abdulla Doo. Like the first game, I've watched this game played so overall it won't be a blind play, however the wizard-specific parts and puzzle solutions will be mostly new to me.

The intro opened with a djinn watching our crew riding Abdulla's magic carpet...

And he laughed at me. Rude. At the end of the first game there was a dragon. Hints at more to come? Just cool stuff?

After some swooping around and credits we landed in Shapeir where it was time to look the part of a desert hero because the previous outfit just wouldn't do according to Shema.

New game, new kingdom, new outfit! A hero should look the part!

With the intro complete it was time to get started with character creation or character import. Thankfully, importing your character is a very smooth easy experience at now. I suspect less so originally. You can rename your character, but Cinder Win is eternal.

We opened in the Katta's Tail Inn, chatting with Abdulla. The inn was only just set up but has become the centre of Shapeir's entertainment. "Where else can you watch Shema dance?"

This'll be my base. Free food and room! No more sleeping in the flowers for old Cinder.

And I got a bit of bad news hinting at the main plot point to come.

The Emir of Raseir, Arus Al-Din has gone missing...

I asked about the Emir. He said Arus 'was the kindest of men, quick to hug you and call you brother" but not very brave. Aw.

I also asked Abdulla about Shapeir to which he said the land of Shapeir may be plagued by Elementals and Djinns but would always stand as long as there are heroes. Like me!

And I asked about money and found out I'd need to find the money changer.

I checked out my character sheet and new portrait! Look at Cinder being all magic-y!

Ah yes the game introduces the communication skill which can be used for things like bargaining. I wonder how the stat is determined on import... That looks like a pretty darn good starting score to me.

Otherwise, it was time to check out Shapeir and enjoy the sights. Which means it was time to talk to everyone and look at all the things before setting out to explore and getting lost.

I asked Shameen about the Emir and the city of Raseir. Those who were driven from Raseir spoke highly of the Emir, but of his brother Ali Hasan (Sierra really really likes using the name Ali in Arab themed places...), they merely spit. Raseir was a city much like Shapeir "a mirror". Now it's said it's foreshadowing of what's to come.

Then I exited out into the plaza! And was immediately thrown sales pitches.

Map! Compass! Souvenirs!

I can't buy anything until I convert my money. I asked Alichica for directions to the money changer... he gave me directions. So many directions. Spoiler alert: they didn't help, though that was more my fault.

I went down first which is the city exit. There are riding-sauruses! Sauruses to ride! But the seller won't be here until tomorrow.

I went back up into the many alleyways of the city. So many...

I want that map.

I got very lost and confused. I lost track of my directions immediately so Alichica's were not helpful. After a lot of wandering hopelessly I stumbled out into another plaza though, the fountain plaza.

Baskets, lamps aaand magic shop!

The magic shop is owned by Keapon Laffin who is a gnome, so he is quite the character full of ridiculous wordplay, rhymes and puns down to his name as seems to be the gnomish way in QFG. I approve. He's great.

He has spells to sell but some of them I already have. The ones I need to get are Force Bolt and Levitate. He sells Erasmus' Razzle Dazzle, so if I had given up on Erasmus' game at least I could have gotten it here. I'm glad I didn't give up, but nice to know anyway.

I asked him about magic and learned of Aziza who lives off the east end of Shmali Tarik... if I can find that... And he talked about WIT -- the Wizard's Institute of Technocery. I learned of that in the first game, and now it's somewhere here in Shapeir. I'll need magic to find it.

There were plenty of silly things to examine. And a Rosella puppet!

(She was sort of being made into a puppet for Lolotte...)

With the map in the game manual I attempted to find my way to the money changer again... I still got confused and ended up going in a circle and landed back here at the fountain plaza. The map in relation to the game corridors is confusing! And I'm not very good at directions! And aaaa!

It took a few tries, but I made it! I looked up an image of the in-game map I don't have yet and found it a bit easier to follow.

I met Dinarzad (what a name... I'm guessing a play off of Scheherazade?). There was also her guard, Franc, full of money puns.

Clap clap clap. He's certainly not gonna Buck the pun trend in this game.

I had a 172 gold. I got 113 dinars in return... because of her fees. I got curious and looked that up which I don't want to do too much, but again, curiosity and I'd rather have fewer money woes this time around. Her rate is based on much you give at a time and is apparently best to do 50. So I tried that and ended up with 154 dinars by the end. Yay!

Then I made my way back to the fountain plaza which I discovered seems to be split into two screens? I was very confused for a moment. The second half has food sellers--Scoree and Sloree--named after Corey and Lori Ann Cole, the creators of Quest for Glory. There was also the apothecary. I avoided it all for the moment to keep going onward to the starting plaza because I wanted that map before anything else.

I successfully bargained for the map and compass bringing each down from one dinar to 50 centimes! Half-off!

Map and compass!

The really nice thing about the map is once you've found a location you can just click to go it automatically.

I went back to Keapon Laffin and bought my two spells. Bargained successfully there too knocking 10 dinars off each!

While I was there I remembered to try asking him about Erasmus and happily got an actual answer.

Fenrus too!

And I asked about Katta for an unsurprising pun.

I bought a brass lamp in the fountain plaza. I'm sure I'll want it at some point.

"The shiny brass lamp is engraved on the bottom: 'Aladdin Lamp Co.'"

Evening fell so I went back to the inn to eat.

I went back outside to practice some magic. I was successful for a time until a guard came and told me off for casting in town. He warned me. I thought he was gone, and tried again, or maybe I was hooped regardless after that initial warning, but I got arrested and agame over... And I forgot to save beforehand so I had to buy my lamp and eat again. Oops!

I tried dipping my toes into the desert and fired off a few force bolts and a fire bolt, but then a pack of jackalmen showed up... I ran and fled back to town. It also wouldn't let me use levitate out there.

Turns out run isn't the command to use here. It's escape. So I had a bit of a panicky moment thinking I couldn't run away at all.

It is pretty at night though. Look at that sky!

But this screen right outside town wouldn't let me use my spells at all. So, I took the risk and back to practicing carefully back in town until I ran out of MP.

Levitate!

I realized I didn't talk to Shameen all that much before so I did again. It turns out when the katta had been driven from Raseir, the Sultan here welcomed them in here. Raseir is just in a bad way.

Then while the night was young, I still decided to get Cinder to bed.

A productive first day for getting stuff. And I even managed to already flee from something.

Onward to Day 2 next time. I'd like to find Aziza and the Adventurer's Guild. Actually enter the apothecary. Maybe get a saurus? Generally explore more and gather more information. I want to get my map filled in with as many locations as possible. The less I have to wander those street corridors the better...