#empyrea part 2

[jaspersketch]

was just thinking, the end of empyrea part 2 and the storm titan fight would have been a great finale/final boss for wizard101, it ties the whole storyline from arc 1 onwards together (resolving the lore we throughout esp in arc 1 + the whole thing with the titans starting from dragonspyre, the stuff with the song of creation and the first world and whatnot from arc 2, etc.) pretty decently. but goddamn im glad it wasn’t

by the way who the fuck is fighting the storm titan 100 times. what the fuck guys.

[anxiously-sidequesting]

how about you shut the fuck up Mr. Irresponsible

[melveres]

"Who am I? I mean, who am I really? Baba Yaga’s not my real mom, I figured that out already. So where do I come from?" – Mellori

Quest: the Dreaming Begins, Empyrea part 2

[wanderingnork]

Having finished all Wizard101 worlds, I can actually make a full tier list! And yes, I know some of these are DEEPLY controversial opinions. (Polaris not being best world? Le gasp!)

I’ll explain the rankings, worst to best, below the cut.

F: Avalon. It’s the worst world. I, a myth wizard with subpar gear, soloed everything except the Indigo Giant boss, who I just needed help with because of his stupid damage output. The world design is cramped: you’ll be asked to go on an epic quest to retrieve something from a villain who lives right around the corner. The entire Lakeside area, with several distinct “biomes” (I don’t know a better word), is either the same size or smaller than the Caer Lyon area—which is a single town. The cartoony square trees and simplified textures are out of place in Arc 2’s more complex world designs. Its placement in the Arc 2 narrative is jarring. Yes, it gives us some Morganthe background, but that’s not remotely the core of the plot. Sandwiched between Zafaria (atmospheric, relatively high stakes) and Azteca (somber, arguably the highest stakes in the game), it feels…silly. It could have been a side world and if it was, I’d have a lot less beef.

D: Marleybone. While it has some redeeming qualities (I do love the steampunk elements very much and the Big Ben dungeon is a goddamn blast), it’s overall…meh. Every area is virtually identical various shades of gray—at least in Mooshu, also repetitive, the color schemes change by area. It’s terribly classist and when you look any deeper than the surface things get weird. Why the fuck are we attacking street sweepers???

D: Empyrea. My complaints about cramped world design go for this one, too. The supposedly huge Aeriel Jungle is smaller than all of the city of Zanadu. As much as I love the game’s pop culture references, this world took it too far. A wink and a nudge or a clever spin is WAY different than just dumping the cast of Star Trek into the main plot. And it’s every two steps in Part 1! The NPCs are 50/50 endearing and obnoxious to me. I adore the Aero Plains, at least. It’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing areas of any world. And Part 2’s focus on the Raven-and-Spider conflict is really good.

D: Zafaria. There’s an essay to be written on the troubling tropes at play in this world and more expert people than I have written those. Tldr, the sheer volume of stereotypes, the use of the “noble savage” trope, and mishmashed cultures are really an issue. And there isn’t a lot else going for this world, plot-wise or cool-NPC-wise. I find Zafaria forgettable, unless I’m cringing. Or thinking about the awesome giraffe librarian, who is indeed awesome.

C: Celestia. It’s just really uneven. I fuckin love the District of the Stars and Stormriven, but the Floating Land and the fact that I have to deal with Marleybonians are not thrilling. The crab empire is…fine. Quirky and par for the course. I appreciate how the story advances toward the more epic elements of the setting and the postapocalyptic history as you go along, but getting that far can be a drag.

C: Mooshu. This one shares most of Zafaria’s racial issues and suffers from Marleybone’s deeply repetitive area design. Repetitive enemies, too—monstrology on that world is visually boring as fuck. But it’s a lot less forgettable. The War dungeon is one of my favorites in the game, and the first time I can remember going “oh hey this game does more than kid’s book isekai.” Taking it as a whole, and including Catmandu and Kembaalung which have gorgeous design, it’s a perfectly average kind of world.

C: Wysteria. LORD BRAMBLE WAS RIGHT GODDAMMIT WHY CAN’T I SIDE WITH HIM??? I mean…it’s a Hogwarts Triwizard Tournament expy. It’s cute. I like having a world with no vast plot impact. The library dungeon design is absolutely kickass. But it’s just not…big enough to rate super highly. It’s there and gone. If we ever get to go *back*, I’d probably put it higher.

C: Wallaru. It’s pretty cool. The Outback area was gorgeous and as a horror fan I fucking adore Freddie Kroaker. The bosses were great, I’m a huge fan of the cheats in Wallaru (soloed almost all of them). What I couldn’t quite figure out is how I feel about the politics. It felt…off, how they handled the association between this fictional world and real Australia. I’m not educated enough to speak extensively on it, just to say that it felt Weird from what I do know. And hoooo boy. As much as I fucking adored the finale with the Doom Moon, I am N O T a fan of the sudden conspiracy reveal. Can we…not do antisemitic tropes like that? Please?

C: Aquila. It’s super cool and aesthetically gorgeous but ultimately it’s a collection of cool dungeons and epic combat challenges. As a player who primarily is here for the story, I am completely neutral on Aquila.

C: Novus. This got kicked down from B (where it belongs on plot reasons) by three things. One: the puzzle monster dungeon THAT ACTUALLY MADE ME MOTION SICK. I’m sure they were trying to get creative. N O P E. Two: while I know the NPCs needed to be unlikeable, they may have taken that too far. Mario di Mario specifically was so obnoxious I like to think my wizard actually punched him. Three: the Marleybone area was dumb as hell visually. Why the fuck did they use fire hydrants as houses? In context of all Marleybone stuff we’ve previously seen, it makes no sense.

B: Krokotopia. Suffers from somewhat repetitive level design, but the color scheme changes in every area and each area’s new theme is a banger. Especially Tomb of Storms. I adore the Manders so much. The issues of Marleybonian colonialism—which will come back all the way down the line in Novus—are at least loosely addressed. Including House of Scales, which has incredible design, music, and combat, I enjoyed pretty much everything in this world. (Caveat: Selenopolis hasn’t been released as of this list. Krokotopia position subject to change.)

B: Polaris. Wonderful world. Way too fucking cramped. Why is the Forlorn Tayg, a supposedly vast area, barely the same size as the Gulag? It also moves too fast for me, I could have done with a little more lingering and sidequesting. But I fucking love all the NPCs, I love how you meet a male ballerina wearing a tutu who’s not a joke and the penguins don’t have deranged sexual dimorphism in their designs, and the Borealis Titan is incredible.

B: Mirage. Many lovable NPCs and many beautiful areas, with special shout-outs to the Chronoverge and the Alkali Barrows. Loved the cat politics. The Pacman dungeon is hilariously brilliant and the Sands of Time are glorious. Suffers from SEVERE stereotyping and racism, I spent a lot of time absolutely cringing. Brought back deranged sexual dimorphism in character designs (why are the camels Like That). I may be the only person who didn’t like Istar and I’m okay with that.

A: Wizard City. It has its ups and downs. I include the Catacombs here, as well. There’s just so much content for so many levels, you know? I love the vast majority of it, both old and new designs. I don’t love the Gobblers, that’s…always been weird to me. Surprisingly I’m not a Catacombs fan. But everything else, the Three Streets and Unicorn Way and Ravenwood and the Commons…yeah. I love it. It really feels like home, somehow.

A: Karamelle. WE GET TO JOIN A UNION AND TEAR DOWN CAPITALISM. There are gummy bears you can fight! Fields of candy corn and orchards of gumdrop trees! I did almost this entire world solo, including the optional bosses, except the Bundozer. Has one of the creepiest areas in the entire game—you know the model town where the speakers play the Karamelle theme? Ever go to the edge of that map, where the speakers fade and the whole world goes quiet? It’s great. I don’t like gross-out humor though, so loses points for Gobblerton. And…the accents were painful.

A: Dragonspyre. While it struggles with deeply repetitive area design, there are enough unique locations—the Crystal Grove, the Great Spyre, and the Grand Chasm stand out here—that it’s not as overwhelming as Mooshu and Marleybone. More importantly, to me this is where the game gets its stakes. The threat that Malistaire presents—waking the Dragon Titan—stops being theoretical. You’re walking through the consequences of the last time the Titan woke. You get your quests from the ghosts of Dragonspyre. It’s serious now. Your eventual victory means something in a way that other victories haven’t.

S: Grizzleheim. Including Wintertusk here. Has some of the best, most unique level designs in the entire game. Areas are of reasonable size to traverse, but still give a powerful sense of scale to the world. Stunning music throughout. While I affectionately call it “Grizzlehell” for being so fucking difficult, that’s actually really amazing. It feels like a true challenge, especially when the worlds around it are speeding by. The stakes grow in a reasonable way throughout the quest line, from the easy stuff in Savarstaad Pass until it makes sense in Wintertusk that you’re here to stop the end of the world.

S: Lemuria. God. I loved this so much. It falls victim a bit to the problem of Too Many Shout-Outs that Empyrea did, but here…they mean something. The use of Silver Age/pulp fiction heroes is meant as a thematic exploration of what heroism means. It’s not pop culture for the sake of the thing, it’s an analysis of that culture through affectionate parody. What does it mean to be a hero? Is “heroism” a single thing, or something more? Can something be heroic sometimes and villainous another? It’s a good interrogation of that concept, is what I’m saying. The areas are reasonably sized for easy travel, but still have diverse “biomes” without feeling cramped. Each one is so unique! The heroes of Lemuria are endearing, and Dasein is wonderful. The unfolding plot is strong, too. I was genuinely sad when I left Lemuria and cheered aloud when I got to see the Heroes again at the end of Wallaru.

S: Azteca and Khrysalis. These two have to go together. I get why people don’t like them. They’re…kind of a lot. They’re full of “defeat and collect” quests with shitty drop rates, the bosses have insane health, and there are just so damn many quests. But…not only are they both beautiful in design with gorgeous music, they also have some of the highest stakes in the game. After so many worlds of victory, Azteca’s finale is a punch in the face. With brass knuckles. You fail. You lose. A whole world is destroyed. And the narration throughout the world, pointing out your heroism and superiority, makes it hit even harder. (As a paleo nerd, it makes me smile that Azteca is dinosaur-and-Aztec themed. The Chixulub impact crater is off the Yucatán Peninsula, home of the Aztecs—the world of non-avian dinosaurs ended there. Cool nod to real geological history.) And that failure makes Khrysalis feel intense. You now know that this game won’t always guarantee victory, so stopping Morganthe has a genuine sense od suspense—will the game makers let this be a victory? Or will Arc 3 be dealing with the fallout of the end of the Spiral as we know it? And Khrysalis is fucking dark. A whole sidequest is finding a mother’s lost child, who has been brainwashed into a military cult and may die. This was changed in a recent update, but when I played through the world the “defeat and collect” quests were “kill and collect.” It pulls no punches and never tries to make things simpler or friendlier. There are pop culture references, sure, but many are to older grim fantasy stories like those of Michael Moorcock and his contemporaries. It’s heavy. There are truly high stakes. You feel like you can fail. And to me, that story makes the combination of Azteca and Khrysalis the best worlds in the game.

[stormbreaker101]

Music(ology) headcanons! Part 2

My friend @klaraflamez and I have been writing a shared story based upon the wizard101 AUs we made independently. Things go somewhat off the rails, and so these headcanons that we made for Music absolutely do not work for canon, which is part of why I'm making this post separate.

An overview of our AUs:

In both Corrupted Spiral (my AU) and the Cleaved AU (Klara's), the Spiral learned so heavily on its dependency upon its Wizard that it led to the Wizards' demises. In CS, before Arc 4 could properly begin, Nora lashed out in fury, sick of being Nothing but a title and weapon, and abandons the Spiral. In Cleaved, Scarlet was killed in the final fight of Lemuria, a 1v8, abandoned and alone because the Spiral assumed she would have handled it.

The main characters of the next generation after the two Wizards (~0-5 years after Nora's departure and 25 years after Scarlet's death) each realize that even though they're not The Wizard, they still have a duty to serve the good of the Spiral.

Overall there's a major theme of destiny and responsibility not falling on just one person's shoulders. The Wizard is not the only Paradox, and the primordial magics of Light, Shadow, and Music are no longer reserved for the Wizard and the gods. They become proper schools, integrated with the other ten (7 playable schools + 3 Astrals).

I've written and come up with spells for the Music school, as one of the characters I'm writing ends up as the Scion of Music, while Klara's writing the revamped Shadow and Light schools because her OCs become the Scions for those.

More details on Music as its own school in CCSAU (both lorewise and mechanicswise because i am gamerpilled), and all the spells themselves plus their explanations (where I derived inspiration from) are under the cut!

Music is the magic of creation. 'Outgoing' mechanics are the name of the game. It is a major hitter like Fire and Storm, but also has access to heals like the more defensive Life magic that came from the Song of Creation. Music's greatest weakness is that it is a major glass cannon, with no spells in its repertoire able to mitigate incoming damage.

The reason Music is tied to Fire and Storm alongside Life lorewise is because the Scion of Music first studied Fire and Storm magic alongside Musicology, before Music was its own school. Our Scion shaped Music as much as Music shaped him.

Now onto the spells themselves!

MAINLINE (primarily ATTACKING) SPELLS:

1 pip - Lyrebird - 90-130 damage. Based on the lyre instrument, and also a nod to Lyra, the fanon Music school tree in the Cleaved AU.

2 pip - Trombun - 220-260 damage. A pun on trombone and bunny.

3 pip - Earworm - 500 damage over 3 turns. Colloquially, earworms are catchy bits of song that just stay in your head and WON'T GET OUT, which is the inspiration for making this spell a pesky overtime. Also, taken from the Earworm/Brainworm mobs in Empyrea.

4 pip - Melodeer -  465-525, + 20% heal OR damage blade to self. Melody + deer. Here we begin to see some utility and niche poke its way into spells so that they're not plain and pure damage. Also, just to balance Music against the other 'hitter' schools a little bit more, it doesn't get a 4-pip AoE.

5 pip - Volta Bracken - 400 damage AND 400 health to self. A reference to volta brackets (an element in musical notation), with language nodding at Storm and Life magic (volt as in electricity, bracken as in a kind of plant). Yes this spell is an objectively better version of Beary Surprise. I hate Beary Surprise so much why is the bear both anthro and nude. why does he fucking smile like that. why can i see the whites of his eyes. WHY THE HUG?

6 pip - Resonance - 525-610 damage + remove all blades on 1 target. A single-target version of Myth's dreaded Earthquake.

7 pip - Horschestra - 700 damage to all enemies. Your classic 7-pip AOE. Horse + Orchestra, taken from a song in the Homestuck OST because it made me laugh tbh.

8 pip - Revivace - 1200 Heal to all allies. Name derived from Revive (synonym of Rebirth) and Vivace (musical mood). Meant to be a parallel to Life’s Rebirth spell, since Bartleby is the closest thing to a Music school tree in CS. However Rebirth gives an absorb-shield, which counts as temporary HP even if the spell heals someone to full, while Revivace has no extra defense.

9 pip - Crescendo! -  100 damage turn 1, then a DoT for 200, 300, then 400 damage, to all enemies. Crescendo is a musical term for "get gradually louder"

10 pip (Azteca) - Ceramic Drake - 1000 damage to 1 target, then 625 damage to all enemies over 3 rounds. The first of Music's spells that take on aesthetics derived from the world they're learned in. It takes inspiration from the tlapitzalli, an Aztec flute-like instrument made of ceramic.

5 pip + Shadow (Darkmoor) - Rehubution - 810 damage + 25% Music trap to all enemies. The spell's name comes from the word Retribution and the rehu, an instrument made by the Māori of Aotearoa. All of the canon Darkmoor spells are actually Khrysalis themed, and @chrono101 (now deactivated) made a really cool post about how the Hoppers had Aotearoan references that I remembered while coming up with this post. The effect in combat is derived from Fire from Above before it was nerfed and then slaughtered.

6 pip + Shadow (Polaris) - Luphilymn - 1260 damage, +1 turn to Damage over Times (DoTs) on enemy and +1 turn to Heal over Times (HoTs) on self. Luphilim + Hymn.

4 pip + Shadow (Mirage) - Spirit of the Groove - 900 damage, divided between targets (like all other Mirage spells). This spell is less a reference to something Miragian, and more a nod to a character who had a major impact on the Scion of Music's development. Ceramic Drake, Luphilhymn, and the upcoming spells of Ramalong and Jungle Drum Jam also are nods to characters that the Scion of Music was greatly supported by.

X-pip + Shadow (Karamelle) - Ramalong - 220 damage per pip. A blend of sing-along and the candy rams. This spell is an X-pip because there are a handful of songs/lullabies about counting sheep. Count your pips up!

6 pip + Shadow (Lemuria) - Jungle Drum Jam - 850 damage to all enemies, +40% Music blade AND +40% heal blade to self. Taken from this once-off moment in Lemuria where Bantam says that he and the Koolakamba just casually use advanced musicology for the sake of boogieing.

The effect is taken DIRECTLY from the far superior path of the Life Lemuria spell, Lord of the Jungle, before KI nerfed it to bits. I am so fucking mad about the nerf. I fucking liked having a decent shadow AoE on my Life and now it's useless again. <- had to get my gamer rage out sorry.

1 pip + Fire pip + Storm pip (Novus) - Tempo Inferno - 800 damage, gambit 1 blade into a DoT for 500 over 4 turns, gambit 1 trap into a HoT for 500 HP over 4 turns. Tempo refers to the speed of a musical piece, and both pieces of this spell's name are nods to Storm and Fire as well (Temp- for tempest, Storm's most iconic spell, Inferno for fire). This spell would also hold visual reference to that one sidequest about how clocks don't work on Novus.

1 pip + Death pip + Myth pip (Wallaru) - Crab Grave - 575 damage to all enemies. A reference to the extinct Juggernaut crabs of Wallaru, the still living Tasmanian giant crab, and the legendary Crab Rave meme. Given that all of the Wallaru spells' archmastery pips are the ones backwards from the Novus spells' pips, it made sense to make Crab Grave's pips the roshambo opposite to Tempo Inferno's. Myth is the roshambo opposite of Storm, and Death is the roshambo opposite of Fire. Don't believe me on Death and Fire? Look at how Balance's Novus gear has 3 variants that pair Ice-Life, Storm-Myth, and Fire-Death as its archschools. No I don't know why the Balance Wallaru spell is Death-Storm instead of Death-Fire I don't get it <- gamer raging again.

UTILITY SPELLS:

There are some utility spells that every school gets access to, simply changed per school: the basic Blade and Trap and Shield are simply named Music Blade, Music Trap, and Music Shield, because they're standardized for all the schools (Except Ice Shield, which is actually Snow Shield, for whatever reason?). Though, to put a wrinkle into things and keep with Music's theming as hyper-outgoing, Music Trap is the only ward spell (a spell that affects incoming damage rather than outgoing) that Music gets permanent access to. Music Shield would be TC only. Traps get special treatment because of Maulwurf von Trap existing. I like the guy don't @ me.

Then there's the utility spells that are just about the same for each school but with unique names. These include:

the 2 pip damage bubble - Circle of Fifths, after an important element in music theory. +25% damage to all outgoing Music spells AND +25% to all outgoing Music heals (the boost to healing alongside damage is unique to Music. Life gets Circle of Thorns (+25% damage) and Sanctuary (+60% healing) as two different bubbles.)

the 4-pip critical and pierce bubble - Acoustic Arena, +15% Music critical and +20% Music pierce.

the dispel - Mute

the Taunt/Pacify - Soloist, Taunts the enemy for 2 turns, making you the only target they can hit. Yes, having a glass cannon school gain taunt is a bit poor in game design, typically you want your glass cannons to have some form of Pacify so that they're not killed as quickly, but thematically Music becoming a loud center of attention makes more sense to me.

the complementary triad shield - Eclipse Shield, -70% incoming Light and Shadow damage. The parallel to Storm's Thermic Shield (-70% Fire and Ice) or Death's Dream Shield (-70% Life and Myth). Like Music Shield, because this spell is both a staple piece of utility that every school should have access to and a defensive ward that goes against Music's school identity, it would only exist as a treasure card.

The level 75 minion from The Professor - Baronness Webberfeld - 5 pips, summon a minion of Music. She is a reference to Baronness Elberfeld, a minor character from the Sound of Music. Because I had to get a reference to that in. Because I am normal about Maulwurf von Trap and his source media.

And then we get to the unique utility spells, the gimmicks that gives Music its identity in-game or give it thematic support.

Tune Up - 0 pips, +20% accuracy to the next outgoing Music spell. A parallel to Storm's Lightning Strike (which back in my day only gave +10% accuracy, not +25%). Music spells have a base accuracy of 70% like Storm, so the accuracy buff would be greatly needed at lower levels.

Bangsnap! - 2 pips, Confuse or stun each enemy for 1 turn.

Gurdy-hurdy - 3 pips, Confuse or stun each enemy for 2 turns.

Bangsnap and Gurdyhurdy go together, I'm thinking of them being from the Grizzleheim and Wintertusk spell quests at level 35 and 55. Bang snaps are small explosives that only release a loud sound but do no damage. Gurdy-hurdy is a reference to another in-game moment.

(The hurdy-gurdy, un-reversed, is a kind of musical instrument.)

And, yep! Myth is no longer the only school with the Confusion mechanic! Yippee! (I can hear the gamerbro players scream.) This is because before Music became a standalone school in CCSAU, Klara had the idea that, the way some Wizard101 spells are musicological despite not being in the school of Music, some Pirate101 abilities are inherently musicological as well, namely Blast of Discord.

And this is an ability that our Scion of Music was able to learn before Music became an independent school, so rather than take that ability away from him, we decided to incorporate it into Music's entire repertoire.

Leitmotif - 2 pips, 305 HP to 1 target, then 305 more HP 3 turns later. A leitmotif is a snippet of a musical melody that comes back later in a piece or in another piece (Toby Fox, one of my favorite composers, uses leitmotifs to the MAX.)

Sonatyr - 4 pip, 650 Health + 30% Healing Blade to all. Satyr + Sonata. Does less health than Life's Satyr because I don't want to completely upstage Life, but giving an extra blade to everyone is useful. It buffs every healer, and would count for any blade-based gambits/secondary effects.

Adagio - 1 pip, +1 turn to a HoT on an ally or to a DoT on an enemy. Adagio means for a piece of music to slow down.

Allegro - 1 pip, -1 turn to a HoT on an enemy or to a DoT on an ally. Allegro means for a piece of music to speed up.

Adagio and Allegro are spells that go together. If they were to be implemented in-game, I'd have them be learned at the same time. Having a spell that does different things depending on whether it's on an ally or enemy is really interesting to me, though it would be a pain in the ass to code.

Encore - 5 pips, force your target to cast the same spell for the next 2 turns. Encore, of course, means "to play again". Taken directly from Pokemon because why not?

Baton Pass - X pips, give your blades to an ally, universal and at half-value, (1 pip per blade). Also derived from Pokemon because why not? The half-value gimmick comes from Bantam's cheat of "I'll be taking that, thanks!" Where he replaces a blade you cast on someone else with a universal blade of half value. The devs intended that cheat to be annoying and discourage buffing one player to the max, but it's actually a REALLY HANDY mechanic when used correctly. The half-value blade would count as a unique blade that therefore stacks with whatever other blades your ally has.

Perfect Pitch - 1 pip, +20% accuracy to all allies. Perfect pitch is defined as the ability to tell exactly what note(s) a sound is without any reference. This spell would be copy-pasted over from Life, and also derived from the Pirate101 abilities Call to Arms and Esprit de Corps, which both boost your team's accuracy. (Esprit also gives dodge, a stat that I cannot find any way to translate into Wizard101 that wouldn't be a defensive ward, which Music does not do). The animations for those two powers feature musical instruments (a drum and a trumpet), which makes it feel very musicological to me and therefore fitting for Music itself.

Fortissimo! - 2 pips, +15% Critical chance to all allies. Fortissimo is music speak for "BE FUCKING LOUD!" This spell is derived from the Pirate101 abilities Discipline and Enduring Discipline, which (are supposed to) give +5% and +10% critical chance to all allies. (I have heard that the abilities that purely increase critical chance rather than another stat simply don't work because Pirate101's code is made out of silly string, but that's besides the point). There are very few spells that affect critical, so it's a niche that Music could fill in if it wanted to.

This probably isn't even enough utility, Wizard101 has a SURPRISING amount of spells it throws at you. It's such an in-depth game. I love it. I am normal about Wizard101.

Also, Klara was absolutely AMAZING and drew some of the spells!

[sleepyisnotagamer]

full wizard101 worlds ranked but I mean it this time

20. Krokotopia - boring, small, repetitive areas, colonialism! (the new update will take some getting used to)

19. Karamelle - I work retail, okay? this is horrifying. it's also just regularly horrifying, too

18. Avalon - girl I love arthurian lore but this ain't it! it's just BORING

17. Dragonspyre - every area is the same set of colors and streets and I HATE crystal grove but I do like the final dungeon and that time travel one

16. Marleybone - the ire against the irish is palpable and bad and I'm only happy that it's short and easy

15. Wysteria - tiny. easy. not much there

14. Mooshu - happy bright world but girlie if this is japan you can't pretend it's china! you can't! easy dungeons tho

13. Celestia - love the celestial theming but I HATE the crustaceans and I want them all to BURN

ground zero, neutral zone, previous worlds are plunging into active dislike, the next set of worlds are plunging into active like.

12. Novus - idk how to explain but I love the aesthetics and the vibes and point of the colonialism mockery and that's great! but also I just...it irks (lol) me. idk

11. Khrysalis (pt.1) - it's like fine. don't love it (except Dyvim) but I don't hate it. and we get buddies!

10. Polaris - love those vibes, don't like the proportions, love the music, don't love the dungeons with a million rooms

9. Wallaru - pleasantly humorous, pretty open scapes, not a fan of mr. kroaker or those combat wombats, but the vibes were all right

8. Khrysalis (pt.2) - prettier and more geographically interesting and seemed to go by a lot faster

7. Zafaria - I know, I know, but besides Belloq and Elissa's tomb I really enjoy this world. not annoying

6. Wizard City - a classic, enjoyable, nostalgic, I never get tired of it except if I'm in colossus boulevard (and the commons theme <3)

5. Mirage - open worldy and unique areas and some funny sidequests and the whole dune thing was fun. there's. you know. but it was a nice change of pace

4. Grizzleheim and Wintertusk - I don't always love it but I'm lying I do I mean not always but I do. hope that helps

3. Lemuria - love all of Heap. some other parts were just okay. but the league of extraordinary animals and the power grazers for the win!

2. Azteca - beautiful and lush and diverse and fun and far more culturally sensitive!

1. Empyrea - if I'm not enjoying the references I am enjoyably hating them, and also it's more open worldy and diverse and a generally good time. and I had a good team up for the end. so. (plus reverie and it's endless supply of aethyr ore is wonderful)

Selenopolis - it's so pretty! will update when I play more

Aquila - girl it barely exists but if it existed more I would love her

Arcanum - I love wizardversity but this is a train stop, not a world

[edwardsparkleblood]

This is controversial maybe but I miss 2 part worlds. Like going to a world 1 time is great, but Khrysalis and Empyrea just hit different. Like, I can't fully describe it but Empyrea specifically feels like a whole nother game in Wizard101.

I trust KI in delivering Wallaru as a great final world but I wonder how much more excited I would be for the finale if it was more of Novus opening up for us. As Novus is a newly formed world and the first of it's kind it's upsetting that we're leaving it so soon.

[dyvimwhitehart]

bat for the wizblr game! :3

send me an npc and i'll describe my wizard's relationship with them!

BAT!!!!! OH HOW I LOVE YOU BAT

with amber: the bat and amber are twins to me. older brother and sister core. they're both broody, believe they work better alone, and have heavily-armored hearts of gold that beat strong for those around them they care about (mellori, mainly). that being said, they do not trust each other at all in the beginning, and it takes amber a very long time to come around to having him "on the team." she was close to doing so after medulla's defeat, but then bat's 'betrayal' sets things back a lot... to the point where she only works with him on neumia because she must. him leaving hurts her, though she moves past it quickly.

it isn't until their time on mandalla towards the end of empyrea as a whole that they start to rib each other good-naturedly. they have a very tough conversation as she helps restore his shadow essence about morality, what they hope to accomplish, and more. it's during this that amber reveals how she acquired shadow magic, and they're vulnerable with each other for the first time.

most of their relationship development happens after arc 3 ends. both he and her have very complex feelings about spider and raven, respectively, as important figures in their lives. they find a lot of comfort in each other because of this. amber confides in him more than anyone else about the burden of being bartleby's scion and the impact shadow magic has on her wellbeing. in return, she helps bat work through his identity outside of being spider's son. they are in near constant contact throughout arc 4.

they co-sibling the hell out of mellori together. the three of them are very tight-knit- and bat and amber are the closest thing the other really has to family.

with genevieve: dear god. these two want each other carnally and are going to make it literally everyone else's problem. they are terribly smitten and, for all of empyrea, are so fucking angry about it. from the first moment they're in each other's vicinity, there is tension of all kinds, and they are consistently at each other's throats throughout sepidious in a way that makes the rest of the party raise their eyebrows HIGH. moments of genuine concern are immediately followed by them trading barbs.

that being said, bat's 'betrayal' rocks genevieve, and sends her on a warpath throughout the beginning of empyrea part 2. she will just not stop bringing him up/badmouthing him to the rest of the group in a way that shows she is clearly hurting. when he's captured by the nimbari and presented to the crowd, she takes no joy in it, and the hostility between them dissipates notably as they fight dynt.

when they reunite in the chaos jungle, all of that tension comes to a head. we can all make an educated guess about what happens inside the cave as they restore bat's essence. for the rest of empyrea, they operate as a well-oiled machine, never quite saying what they want to say to one another / addressing their feelings beyond just attraction.

they don't see each other for a while after saving spider and raven. eventually, they quietly find each other in the arcanum, and spend a few days together. sometimes, they talk for hours. sometimes, they just sit in silence. but eventually, they come to the conclusion that they want to try and be together officially, not caring about distance or genevieve's role as scion.

she misses him horribly during arc 4. to others, they're an intimidating unit. around one another, in between antagonizing one another, they melt.

(i also want to add genevieve is half-qhat so they are... bat man and qhat woman...)

[ac-liveblogs]

I have never played Genshin before but my whale friend has been talking to me about the Jeht storyline! Jeht has a compelling storyline from what I’ve been told but apparently Jeht is an npc??? Which was shocking to me cuz…Jeht’s questline as of right now seems to be written for her to be playable one day??😮 (to me at least)

Like, many other gacha games would have a well written event/story that compels players to roll for them (Salieri FGO, Ebenholz Arknights, Liv: Empyrea PGR, Nehan GBF are the ones that I think of where the story emotionally moved me enough to try to obtain the story-centric characters)

Anyway! My point is that the Genshin writing team’s priorities are so…wack to say the least.

Oh yeah, for SURE. Jeht isn't even the only NPC that gets these extended storylines (longer and more developed than any playable character!) - there's Kazari from the Sakura Cleansing Storyline, or Rana and Arana from Aranyaka, or Ruu from the Thunderbird stuff, or I guess anyone from either of the Watatsumi questlines?

And it''s bonkers! Genshin's sales pitch for Keqing, one of two standard banner characters to get her own rate-up banner, was her showing up at the tail-end of the Liyue questline and immediately getting folded into the Traveller's Cheer Squad when they bought time for Ningguang to nuke Osial.

Cyno's personal story quest is about some other guy mourning his dead son, and Cyno is not the one that has an emotional connection to ANYTHING happening in that quest. Nilou's is about some Akademiyan girl and her father reconciling. Ayato's is about two randos wanting to get married. Eula's dumps her halfway through to focus on us dealing with her uncle? I don't know??

You do get the sense that Genshin is really, really not interested in their main playable cast - either that, or there are serious restrictions placed on which characters can be used for what. My pet theory as to why a large chunk of playable characters in Sumeru, Inazuma and Liyue are so distant from the plot is that the writers don't know everyone they'll be able to use. So in Sumeru, a writer might know they can definitely use Al-Haitham, Nahida and Scaramouche but don't know about anyone else, so they vaguely script the plot with "placeholder" characters they can slot into place once it comes time to finalise the draft.

That's why Cyno, Candace, Dehya, Nilou and Tighnari do shockingly little in the Sumeru questline when you actually stop to consider what it is they contribute that is unique to them, when compared to Al-Haitham. Why'd we gaslight some random NPC into betraying the Akademiya in part 2 instead of Cyno? Who knows? Did they know Cyno would be usable when they needed to script that part, did they know if his model would be ready?

But on the other hand, world quest writers can snag a pre-existing model, write whatever they want and do whatever they want. That's my best theory for the discrepancy! That might explain why Ganyu and Keqing did fuck all in the Liyue world quest...? Shrug???

Anyway, I've never really played a game with a story handled in such a batshit way as Genshin before. In so many ways.

[tea-cat-arts]

Ya, I think I left enough characters out that my "ranking every 'mostly white + usually a cool color + maybe gold'" post warrants a part 2 (if enough valks of this design genre get released to warrant a part 3 though, I'm just gonna cry). Usual disclaimer that while I'm trying to be objective as possible about this, art is a very subjective medium and I am not immune to bias. Anyways-

S tier (wouldn’t change a thing)-

still not entirely sure if she belongs on this list because the black and white elements are pretty well balanced, but eh- we're here now

Forget just this genre for a sec though- Aponia has one of my favorite designs in the game

It's the skirt, it's entirely the skirt

I'm glad they kept the outfit mostly black and white (other than the bits of jewelry used to keep the outfit cohesive) because I think too much color would've just distracted from the skirt

I also appreciate they made the white fabric different textures. It really helps to separate the veil from everything else

The usage of vines and flowers to break the symmetry of the design is a fun nod to Aponia's failed attempts to control the world around her

A rank (minor changes needed)

I just want that front white shirt piece thing have a "light blue to white" gradient on it to better separate it from her legs

Otherwise, this design is a friend

Nice use of texture, I really like how the sleeves look like fabric dipped in ink where the ink is just gradually creeping up

I also just think it's funny that she's the jade knight, but her color palette is mostly blue, where as Azure Empyrea's color palette is mostly green

The red accents are also nice

I think from a more objective standpoint, this design would be in B or C tier, but it's my list and I like the design, so it's going in A tier

I'm also not sure if there's really enough white to warrant her being here

The bikini top and mini tutu are goofy (I think I'd personally just make the top a turtleneck crop top with a book window cut out, and the tutu into shorts and a fanny pack), but I kinda like them

There's just a lot of nice color variation in this one

D tier (for disappointments)

Getting this disclaimer out of the way: I am aware of the racist elements of this design. I am not SWANA though, so I don't really feel it's my place to go in depth on it (I'd be happy to link or reblog other people's arguments though)

Congratulations to mihoyo for making me sick of the color purple. I literally didn't know that was possible

I know she had a purple Hoody that one Manga, but I really with they went with a blue/green, orange, and gold pallet instead

The dance motife feels kinda out of nowhere? Idk if she has a love of dance in one of the Mangas, but it was never really mentioned in game before now

Also having Rita (the British lady) be the one to teach her a Persian inspired dance was... a choice

I could see a redesign going a couple different ways

One being really committing to the whole "it looks like a regular outfit" think, focusing on the changing roles of valkyries and moving more towards the aesthetics of APHO

Maybe have her story take place in her home country, thus why she could be wearing more traditional clothes (and have a grandma or someone like that teach her the dance)

My other idea would be keep the story the same, but change her design to be more of a throw back to early valks, leaning more into the mech suit idea

I wish we got the bear hood

F rank (I have very few productive things to say because these invoke my inner Ragina George)

F, for "that was the ugliest f'ing skirt I've ever seen"

Ya, I know I'm breaking my "only out valks" rule, but fuck this design

There's so little tonal variation

Between the hair and shoulder puffs, this design just ends up looking incredibly top heavy

Mihoyo, keep her pants on

Just like Hares writing, this design is uninspired and directionless

I keep seeing people compare her to Shenhe and Eula and I'm gonna need yall to stop slandering my queens like that

Comments from the homies:

"Shorty look like an ice cube gum box"

"Why does she have nipple ribbons"

Froot loops abyss herald looking ass

Every day, I wonder if the trend towards monster design similarities in both games is an intentional way of hinting at further down the line multiverse plotlines (not explaining why it could be this here), or just a marketing decision

TLDR: these types of designs can work so long as they go bold on the colors

[worstdeathstudent]

I need to be very normal about wizard101 for a sec

In Empyrea part 1 when we try to rescue Mellori from the Bat cave we see her with two different models, neither of them being the model they should be. Her icon is her part 2 design and her model in the cutscene is from Polaris? Has this always been a thing, or did the icon change after part 2 released for no reason?

[slimeywooper]

Labmas AU - Unintended Consequences

Chapter 14 Part 2 - Revelation

Though you appreciate his offer, you inform him, "Well, honestly, I didn't actually do anything. After reaching the wash room, I decided not to do any work, and just played games on my phone. Now, normally I wouldn't do that, but I was in a really bad mood and I didn't want to reward someone for being cruel. Kudari wasn't with me, so he couldn't be blamed for the work not getting done."

Chuckling, he responds, "I see. In that case, if you aren't busy, would you be interested in coming over to my room?"

"To your room? Yeah, of course! I'd love to!" He actually invited you over! You can't screw this up! Don't be weird, don't ask any stupid questions, just hang out like friends do. Because that's definitely all this is, a friendly get-together.

Your heart is racing and you hope he can't tell how nervous you are. In a flash, the both of you arrive at his door. He must not have bothered to lock it, as it opens from him simply turning the knob. Upon entering his room, you notice how bare it is. A bed, nightstand, desk, two bookcases and a dresser. Unlike Kudari's room, there is not much that would strongly suggest any interests or memories of the person that lives here.

Walking further into the room to get a better look, you see that the nightstand by his bed has the drawer open. There are various rings, necklaces and bracelets strewn about inside, all with different stones decorating them. "Wow, you have a lot of jewelry. How come you never wear any?" you ask, curiously.

Approaching from your left, he tells you, "Oh, these are just trinkets I've collected over the years. I usually find something when I leave Plasma headquarters." Closing the drawer, his attention is back on you. "Sorry, I know it's not much, but do make yourself at home."

He doesn't have many places to sit. Eyeing his bed, you point at it and ask timidly, "May I sit down?" unsure if this is the correct course of action.

"You may," he says, and nods in approval.

Taking the few steps more necessary to get near the bed, you sit, trying not to feel awkward or self-conscious. Thinking of a topic that may help put you at ease, you begin, "So… you can talk to Empyrea?"

Smiling he affirms your question, "Yes, we can communicate." Grabbing the chair by his desk, he pulls it closer, positioning it across from you. The scene resembles the time you woke up in the personal suite, after meeting Kudari. He continues, "Though, the noises I make do not come from my mouth, but somewhere in my throat. Not from my vocal chords, specifically. Dr. Colress has tried to pinpoint the exact location the sounds come from, but he has yet to find where. It upsets him greatly whenever he makes an attempt. According to him, I shouldn't be able to produce them."

"I can imagine it does upset him. He's such a control freak, it probably irritates him that he doesn't know everything." Nobori seems to have a deep connection with Empyrea, so you ask the next question, "Since you've known the Subway Bosses from when you were a child, does that mean you met Empyrea around the same time?"

"Kudari and I met their Pokemon on the same day we were introduced to them. They only visit every few years. Every time they leave, it's Empyrea I'm most sad to see go. Kudari feels more of an affinity for Joltik than Galvantula, as when Joltik evolve, they go their own way, to start their own families. They're very territorial creatures, but they never stop caring for the young of any cluster they happen upon. He feels an intrinsic need to nurture them. The Galvantula we keep, on the other hand, he does not hold any affection for. I suppose Spindly gets a pass because he's known her since he was young. When it comes to kinship, the opposite is true for me. The Litwik are nice, but I feel no emotional connection to them. Not like I do Empyrea. There are never any Chandelure kept in the lab, so she is the only one I have ever been able to bond with. That's not to say I dislike Litwik or Lampent, but it's not the same as something that's like yourself…" Without you saying anything, he looks to you and apologizes, "I'm sorry, my rambling is making you feel terrible."

"Please don't stop," you request. "Some things you say are sad, yes, but If it's important enough for you to talk about, I want to be there to listen. That's what friends are for."

Nobori doesn't respond, but gives you a grateful look.

"Could you tell me about Kudari when he was younger? Was he really different from how he is now?" You make the suggestion with the desire of lightening the mood. As long as he talks about the times before they became teenagers, there hopefully won't be any more bad vibes.

"No, not really. I suppose the biggest difference now is his size and temper. But before that, he was more or less the same. Always fond of playing games and being creative. In hindsight, there seemed to be so much more hope back then." He starts his signature goatee twirling. "I was told by some previous employees that Dr. Colress actually took great care of Kudari when he was a baby. Similar to how babies cannot hold up their own heads, Kudari could not hold up his upper torso, he would hang limply if he was left sitting on his galvantula half. This would cause him great discomfort throughout the day, and when he was attempting to sleep, as there was no position he could lay in that would accommodate his human half together with his Galvantula half. They informed me Dr. Colress would carry him around most of the time, holding Kudari so that his head and torso laid on him, while his legs were able to hang freely. He did this every day, until eventually, Kudari was able to gain enough core strength to hold himself upright."

This information about Colress is quite endearing, though hard to believe. Remembering the time you saw Kudari shirtless, you announce quietly, "So that's how he became so muscular…"

"I… suppose so…" he trails off with a bewildered look on his face, lowering his hand.

Feeling embarrassed by what you had said, you try to move on, "What about you? Did Colress take care of you, as well?"

"Me? Well, I'm sure he held me and cared for me also, but I wasn't as… how can I word this… pitiful as Kudari. I don't mean that in a negative way, but for all intents and purposes, I was an average baby, aside from my color and eyes. Growing up, I was much more content to spend time by myself, though I suppose I was never truly alone. There were always spirits coming and going. Some of my free time was spent reading or playing games with Kudari." You're hanging on his every word, enjoying the look into the hybrids youths. "That's something that has followed me into adulthood. I still read when I have the time, though I don't have the space to keep the books. These bookcases only have my absolute favorite novels. Everything else is read on a tablet."

"I didn't know you had an interest in literature! Have you ever written anything?" you inquire, wanting to know more personal details about him.

He seems surprised by your question. "No, absolutely not. I wouldn't even know where to begin. No, I'm much more content just reading."

"Well, if you ever do deicide to try, I'd love to read it. I'm not what you would consider a 'reader,' but I dabble sometimes." You give him a smile. "Hey, you could even write a story about Kudari! Since he doesn't get to leave here, you could write him having adventures somewhere fun! It doesn't have to be realistic, nor do you actually have to show him, but it could give you some practice."

Nobori returns your smile, saying, "Maybe I will someday. Though, if I ever did show him, he might take offence to it."

"In that case, just tell him I was your editor. Then he'll be mad at the both of us." Shifting gears, you ask, "When you were a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he answers, "Honestly, I never had any aspirations of my own, strange as it may seem. There was always the feeling of expectation that I would just do what was needed of me. Now, Kudari, he wanted to be a scientist like Dr. Colress. He enjoyed following him around and attempting to help with the experiments he was conducting. His hair was even styled the same way as Dr. Colress' in an act of affectionate mimicry. But around the time he was eleven or twelve, as if overnight, he stopped, and was much more content with being in his own head. The anger he began to feel only accumulated from there. That's when Dr. Colress started to really come down on him." With a melancholy expression on his face, he mentions, "I think it broke his heart to see Kudari decline so much over the years. Not that he would ever admit such a thing. Perhaps that's why he can be so cruel… it's some kind of twisted form of revenge for his own heartache."

In a second, the whole aura of the room plummets. That was something you never thought of. Colress, being anything other than an asshole. If he was truly fond of Kudari when he was a child, the change in him when he started getting older must have been devastating. He did mention Kudari having temper tantrums when he was young, but surely Colress could have never predicted just how much puberty would change his temperament. Not that it erases the horrible things he now says and does to him. Maybe if Kudari had been able to keep his childhood disposition, they would be closer to a family, as opposed to whatever it is they have now.

Getting up from the bed, you lay a hand on his shoulder. He follows your lead, standing up as well, wearing an expression you can't quite read.

Nobori is silent, pondering something, before admitting, "I won't take your negative emotions if you don't wish me to, but know that I can sense them." He moves closer to you, your heart beating faster in response. Perceiving this, he asks, "Am I making you nervous? It is not my intention."

Your face reddens. The sadness you were feeling is quickly replaced by mortification. This isn't something you had realized was a possibility. He always seems to know when you feel bad, but this is confirmation that there is no hope of you hiding any 'off' emotions from him. Since first meeting him, he's known exactly what you were feeling, and when. Trying to defend your physical reaction, you stutter "N-no! Well, yes. But it's not a bad nervous! It's…" You grow quiet, not wanting to admit what you are feeling to him, much less yourself.

"Would it be presumptuous of me to state that I believe we are both experiencing the same sensation?" he asks, before closing the space that was left between you, placing his lips on yours. After a brief moment, he breaks away. You both stare at each other, that giddy nervousness returning. "Well, as much as I have enjoyed having you over, I believe it would be beneficial if I were to get some rest. I'm leaving tomorrow night on another job," he informs you.

It is sudden, but you are too overwhelmed from the kiss to protest. "Yeah, okay. That sounds like a plan." Starting to get your bearings again, you become aware of how hard you are clamping down on the cupcake container. Loosening your grip on it, you tell him, "Sure… I'll see you around." Making your way to the door, he follows closely behind.

Touching your shoulder, he turns you to face him again. "Thank you for coming over. I know I don't have much tact when it comes to personal affairs, but I'm glad we got to spend some time together."

"Yes, it was… nice. Maybe when you get back, we can talk some more about… everything," you suggest, wishing you could stay for longer.

Opening the door for you, he says, "Yes, absolutely. I'll be looking forward to seeing you again, (Y/N). Have a good afternoon."

"Have a good afternoon," you echo, exiting his room.

The rest of the day is spent in a dreamlike state. After leaving Nobori's room, you went straight to your dorm, not bothering to even try doing laundry like Colress had wanted you to. Ordering food to be delivered from a local restaurant, you ate by yourself. Once finished, you started on the cupcake. Kudari forgive you, but you ate the whole thing yourself. It was delicious. Colress must have ordered it from some high-end bakery. Thinking over the days events, only the latter half is getting replayed in your mind. What are you going to do? What can you do? Nobori is gorgeous, and he is so sweet and kind. It would be for the best if you didn't dive headlong into being smitten, if such a thing could be controlled. But for almost as long as you've been working in the lab, you've been feeling things for him. And he just admitted to feeling that same way. If you're careful, you two can be together without Colress or Kudari being any the wiser. Your blossoming relationship is something for only you and Nobori to share. When he comes back, you can discuss exactly what being his partner will entail, and how to go about it secretly.

[inaaontheskyways]

More HCs, but this time about worlds that're either of my own making or reimagining!

Aviarios: y'know how in Cool Ranch, there are some mentions about the birds coming from a place called Back East? Well, I decided to take it and turn it into a world that's based on the Jazz Era, specifically in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles! So it's a world that's known for its glamorous cityscapes, innovative ideals, and wild party scene, but what many don't realize is that much of it's Also plagued with all sorts of crime and illegality, esp where the mob is concerned!

Yago: this has Also been mentioned exactly once before, specifically in the Tower of Helephant dungeon in Wysteria! Its influences are based on pre-colonial Southeast Asia and the reason why is b/c, being one myself, I figured that it's high-time Southeast Asia gets a fantasy world all to themselves, so-! ✌🏽 it's a world that's abundant with rich landscapes and natural resources, though it tends to be pretty closed-off purely b/c foreigners rarely get a chance to travel there, what with its stormgate only being accessed through Mooshu, who already tends to be picky about foreigners in the first place!

Heroica: this one's basically my version of the scrapped Hero101 game and how its world is supposed to function! Its aesthetics are a mix of retrofuturism and cyberpunk, since those 2 tend to dominate hero comics, plus I always thought that it'd be interesting to see a world that's full-on futuristic sci-fi compared to the likes of Celestia, Empyrea, and even the Sky City in Lemuria! It's a pretty closed-off world that doesn't interact with the rest of the Spiral, as there's no real need to when advanced tech and inherent superpowers already makes everything suuuuper convenient!

Gamassa: this world is one that's entirely of my own imagining! Its aesthetics are based off of popular game symbolism (so chess, cards, and what-not), while the OCs I make for it are mostly inspired by "Alice in Wonderland"! It's a pretty chaotic world for the most part, as not only do the kingdoms constantly have tension and skirmishes between them, but also that concepts here just tends to run wild and bizarre!

Coloratura: another world of my own imagining! For this one, I simply thought that it'd just be fun if there's a world that's entirely based on colors! So since each of the kingdoms take after the colors of the rainbow, that means that not only are their aesthetics solely that color, but they also influence its climate and traditional customs!

[joshlifeheart]

I think this comes down to the divide between people who take their time and enjoy the game and people who just want to get through.

Especially with so many people excited to get shadow magic, a lot of us get frustrated with seemingly slow progress through the first half in particular because we are fighting the blue razors and fire leggers multiple times just because we went back to that village.

People that take the time to listen to the dialogue and understand the story are going to enjoy the world a lot more than people who are trying to rush to the next big thing like Darkmoor or Shadow Magic. At least for me, the issue is pacing over the areas given.

Khrysalis, Azteca and Empyrea all have different, but distinct pacing issues with moving through their worlds. Khrysalis and Empyrea are both particularly problematic because they were released over more than one update, meaning players were expected to take a while to progress through those worlds. Azteca just has a lot going on, and I won't get too far into it.

Anyways, I think people coming out of Azteca are hoping for a world that won't be too long (on their first playthrough) and Khrysalis comes in and says "Here's 2 years of content! Good luck!"

The other part of it is how we felt going into Khrysalis and Empyrea. Each time the wizard has just had a major failure. In Azteca, we can't stop Xibalba from crashing into the world and in Empyrea we just lost Mellori. In both cases, the player should be feeling down and that makes these long worlds even worse, at least to me.

I love Khrysalis's music design and the feel of different areas; truly one of the best places in the Spiral, I just also understand people who are frustrated by it.

the divide in the fanbase around Khrysalis is really funny to me. Half of the fanbase has it in their top 3 favorite worlds, the other half literally hates it and can’t stop talking about how much they hate it. (I love Khrysalis it’s my 3rd favorite world behind Karamelle and Novus)

There are very few people I’ve met who have played Khrysalis and were like “eh it’s okay”. It inspires strong feelings on both sides & I personally think that’s because the plot is really good but the gameplay is repetitive

[heroicrow]

@tsukibime

Exploring the research facility was completely and utterly exhausting. The detective was used to working long nights and he was even used to the physical strain of pushing through large the athletically intense labyrinths known as palaces in short amounts of time, but even still, something about this was a new level of tiring.

He’s decided to chalk it up to interdimensional jet lag, which doesn’t seem to be a completely far-fetched theory, all things considered.

Still, he wanted to cover more ground before he went back to somewhere safe to sleep. He’d have to return to the facility at least one more time to finish going through the majority of it, but there were other places to look, as well.

That’s what lead him to the artist studio. He figured it would be an easy investigation. That it would be a more relaxing way to gather information before he inevitably headed to sleep.

He didn’t actually expect to doze off while staring in contemplation at the paintings.

[horizon-hold]

Ambrose, Moolinda, and the Trees: we must find the scion of Bartelby,,,, whoever could it be,,, could it be you,,, or is it,,, not you,,,,,

the mc, who's already been the paragon of like 10 other prophecies: