#for some reason they're my favorite elemental duo help

[symbio-ratio-art]

(Frightbite is posed so he's a lot shorter in the drawing than he actually is!)

I finally got back around to fixing that Fredbear line to go with my Springbonnie line from before. These two are called Timiteddy and Frightbite!

Below I added more talk about my mindset when making these guys, some inspiration behind their designs, and some more lore that was too much for their dex entries. These two lines have a "friend to enemies" dynamic going for them and it's impossible to write it all in two Pokedex entries 💀

I chose Fairy-Psychic for Timiteddy because I wanted him to be based around the Fredbear plush from FNaF 4. To this day, people debate if Fredbear plush is possessed or imaginary or just Afton messing with BV. For this I decided on the imaginary friend theory hence Fairy. The Psychic type comes from "Psychic Friend Fredbear" because it was right there. I had to 😂 His design is entirely based off the Hex Fredbear plushie design with a touch of Bite Victim's constant tears. His shiny is a mix of Nightmare and Lefty with grey tears from the dead kids.

Timiteddy's whole quirk is that his entire appearance is deceptive. He gives off the vibe of a weak Pokemon due to his plush appearance, constant tears, and aversion to fighting, but Timiteddy is actually strong by default and a force to be reckoned with. Those tears are the result of an overflow of psychic energy caused by his lack of fighting. They are used for both attacking and defense, and his claws pack quite the punch as well. Timiteddy stays on the defense for than anything however, for the reasons stated above. Lots of Timiteddy can be found around younger children or the Pokemon Hareo. Despite their differences, Hareo and Timiteddy stick together. They're two halves of a duo.

Frightbite is a based off Nightmare Fredbear and the Hex Fredbear plush. He keeps the Fairy typing for the imaginary/nightmare/dream element Nightmare Fredbear is associated with, and the steel typing also comes from Nightmare Fredbear's sharp metal claws and teeth. His shiny is a mix of Nightmare, Shadow Freddy, and a touch of Puppet with the purple tears. His back is ripped open due to his evolution requirement: being defeated in battle by a Bonslaught.

Frightbite's whole theme is betrayal. The evolution is the result of a Timiteddy being destroyed by a Bonslaught, the one Pokemon line they keep their guard down around. Timiteddy are one of Bonslaught's favorite victims due to the manipulation element and the violent battle that comes after the betrayal. The negative emotions from that come from the encounter cause the Timiteddy to lose any inhibitions they had with harming others, leading to the Pokemon evolving into something much bigger and much more visually intimidating. The last remnants of its psychic tears harden into claws and the rest is permanently lost due to his ripped open back.

Some of Frightbite's ripped seams been weaponized by its evolution. The most obvious one its its stomach. While still partially sealed with a button, its chest has become a second functional mouth capable of biting anything Frightbite is able to hold into place. The second is the seams going down his neck. While the first four stitches are able to stretch with ease, the rest can be stretched temporarily to cause a devastating bite for anything it gets a hold of. A Frightbite rarely has to use this heavy of a bite however. His bottom jaw with always curve down when opened due to the lack of structure.

Despite their nightmarish appearance, Frightbite are actually great to keep around kids. They are very careful with their claws and teeth because they know what its like to be on the other side of them. Towns dealing with dangerous Bonslaught often borrow or adopt Frightbites from other nearby areas to help protect any children they have. Frightbites are one of the only Pokemon a Bonslaught will avoid out of fear.

Frightbites and Bonslaught who are raised together still have this instinctive fear and instinctive hatred for one another albeit a lot tamer than in the wild. It is important to always keep an eye on these two if you keep them together, even if they were thick as thieves when they were children. A Frightbite is only caused by a violent attack from a Bonslaught after all, and Frightbites have never been ones to easily forgive and forget...

[riff-is-on-a-fucking-crisis]

hey tumblr, i got content

(i've been having bbb elemental brainrot and these 2

[daisywords]

📖🔮 for the ask game!!!!!!!! :)

📖 - favorite thing about your current wip

hmmm everything I really love having two main characters who both get POV and switching between how they interpret things and how they perceive the other. First of all sometimes it's funny. Second of all it's a fun exercise in character development when you have two characters who disagree with each other and they're both wrong and you're rooting for both of them.

And like yes eventually this becomes a romance but I swear *slaps Lya and Trip* this duo can fit so many different dynamics like we basically have annoyed coworkers except one of them is the employee of the other (and doesn't get paid for it because the one who is the employer can't ever have money) and like also they're obsessed with each other and they can't shut up but also they ignore each other at all costs and also they hate each other but they keep helping each other again and again and then they get so mad that they ruin their own lives just to get away from each other but that lasts like a few hours at most and then they finally communicate and experience sef recognition through the other (derogatory) and then become the keepers of each other's darkest secrets and then have some kind of secret alliance and protect each other against everything else but there's still things driving them apart and they still keep secrets from each other and misunderstand each other but everything's different when they're giving each other the benefit of the doubt this time and they learn humility and forgiveness and everything good because of each other and outside politics are playing them against each other not to mention their own personal commitments but at the end of the day they're in love even if they never come to an understanding and then at the end of it all they forget everything and have to start over and work together to figure out what happened even when they take different paths and have to confusingly come to terms with who they used to be to each other and who they are now and

hahahha i am so normal about them

🔮 - what genre do you enjoy writing

Fantasy babey

(I also like soft scifi and ambiguous contemporary)

Mostly I really like having control over my worlds and social dynamics and I don't want to have to be beholden to irl history/fact or have to do research

Like I want to be in charge of the exact contexts and flavors to get the exact kind of situations and character dynamics that I want (you could say that my worldbuilding approach is very character oriented) So I like to have stories take place in other worlds because it gives me that freedom. This to me is actually a lot more appealing to me than the typical "magic" aspects of fantasy that define the genre. Yes I like a good magic system as much as the next fantasy fan but that's not the main reason I'm here.

(The most extreme example of this is the wip I've been planning for years that takes place in an alternate historical world vaguely inspired by the ancient Near East but like. there isn't any magical elements at all. Is it fantasy? idk. idk what the genre is)

ask game

[chaosstar290]

Reasons try out Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore.

Nintendo's been pretty casual with porting Wii U games over to the Switch, and for good reasons. Normally, I'm not all into porting games that I've already played, but my personal favorite games on the system that lack good marketing and advertising are now getting the attention and love they deserve.

Take Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for example, one of my favorite 2D platfomers. The game originally sold 1.72 million copies worldwide on the Wii U. Not very good numbers, huh? However, the Switch port managed to beat those sales numbers with 2.25 million units sold worldwide by the end of March 2019.

So while this could be seen as a way for Big N to earn more $$$, this is also a way for those who never owned a Wii U and missed out on some of the system's best titles to give these games a shot. Now we just need a port of Xenoblade Chronicles X and The Wonderful 101...and Star Fox Zero, I guess.

But that's a topic for another time. This post is specifically for my favorite JRPG on the Wii U only to be tied with Xenoblade Chronicles X....Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.

This'll be a long one, so here's hoping you'll stick with it until the end.

Development

Before I get into the reasons, lemme educate you guys a bit. Back in January 2013, both Atlus and Intelligent Systems made a teaser trailer for a potential Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem crossover for the Wii U.

The trailer was mostly just a slideshow with various character artwork. Despite this, there was a decent amount of hype surrounding it. But development around the game was pretty silent. That is, until we fast forward to the Nintendo Direct in April 1, 2015. We got a trailer of the ambitious SMT x FE crossover that fans were waiting for...but this was the final product.

Needless to say...neither SMT nor FE fans were happy about this. The fandoms were incredibly salty and foaming at the mouths, basically calling it a Person 4 Lite with a hint of FE. Heck, they're probably still posts on this site from 5 years ago that'll show that.

Fast forward to the games initial release, and you'll see quite a few positive reviews and thoughts about TMS. Unfortunately, the sale numbers were not all that great for the game. Obvious reasons being that it was a Wii U game, and many fans of both SMT x FE were not happy with how it turned out.

And to be honest, I wasn't feeling the game myself at first. It seemed too lighthearted and upbeat, and the J-Pop, anime-ish aesthetics were very off-putting. However, the more I saw about the game, the more I was drawn into it. Somehow all that disappointment I had about TMS originally just washed away. And considering it was a new IP, I decided to give it a chance. And hoo boy...I was generally pleased.

With that outta the way, let's get into why I'm excited for the Switch port of game, and hoping people will give it a fairer chance.

The Setting

The plot of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is mostly simple. You start out as high schooler Itsuki Aoi, the main character of the game encountering his childhood friend Tsubasa Oribe at an audition event to become a idol. It isn't until moments later in the game that the area gets overruned by shadowy creatures known as Mirages that suck out the creative energy known as Perso-- ah I mean Performa from the other idols and audience.

Poor girl doesn't know what's gonna happen next.

Despite our main characters seeming unharmed by the effect, the Mirages drag Tsubasa into their world known as the Idolsphere. And of course, courageous Itsuki takes action to follow and rescue her.

After trying to make a daring rescue, Itsuki gets bombarded by a Mirage, but somehow manages to awaken it. Taking the form of Fire Emblem Awakening's protagonist Chrom. Itsuki does the same with the Mirage that captured Tsubasa that takes the form of Cedea from Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon. The two awakaned Mirages, however, suffer from a bit of amnesia and can't quite remember who and what they are.

From there on, Itsuki and Tsubasa form a partnership with Chrom and Cedea, encountering various characters trying to reach their way to stardom while trying to draw back the opposing forces from taking over Tokyo and the world. Typical RPG stuff, am I right?

It's a fairly standard and slightly cliche plot with some common anime tropes, but for this game...it works. It's a plot that's incredibly silly, upbeat, and over-the-top, but again...it works for this game. And I love it. It may not be original, deep, or complex, but the story does its best to not take itself too seriously, and it doesn't fail to keep a smile in my face.

Aside from the vanilla cookie-cutter MC Itsuki, the various casts that you meet are incredibly charming, and go through their own personal growth as celebrities. Though you mileage may vary on this.

The Gameplay

The combat is the real star of Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Basically, it's your standard turn-based combat system...but with a few twists. If you've ever played a SMT or Persona game, then don't be surprised that elemental weaknesses make an appearance here. Along with that, the Triangle Weapon system from Fire Emblem also makes an appearance in the game.

But if you're not familiar with either franchise then give you a basic example how this works. Say that you've encountered an armored Mirage wielding an axe. The weaknesses on that enemy are both lightning and swords, and Itsuki just so happens to have both the necessary element and weapon equipped.

In case you're wondering...how the Triangle Weapon mechanic works in FE is that Swords beat Axes, Axes beat Lances, and Lances beat Swords.

The interesting thing about this is that once you exploit an enemy's weakness, other characters will jump in and combo extra attacks. These are called Sessions, and their not only powerful...but also flashy as all hell and it's glorious. Not only that, but there's also Duo Arts where two certain characters will sometimes perform a song that unleashes a powerful attack...which also strings up more Sessions. As broken as this sounds, it actually is pretty strategic for taking down harder enemies, and they can also form Sessions...so be careful.

There's more to the gameplay like roaming Tokyo, exploring dungeons, and upgrading your characters and Mirages by Tiki from Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon as well.

There's mixed opinions on the dungeon aspects of Tokyo Mirage Sessions, but...I personally enjoyed them. Aside from the first one. Once you get past the first dungeon, they get better as the game progresses. From exploring a darker version of Shibuya where you have to avoid giant cameras from sending you back to the entrance of the of the room you currently entered, to venturing through a maze-like TV studio.

There's also side-missions that you can do with your main cast that'll help them grow and develop even further. You'll be rewarded with either a special cutscene or a special attack. Or maybe both.

The Visuals

Go go...Persona Rangers?

If it wasn't obvious from the amount of images I'm posting, Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a very colorful game. Fitting with it's lighthearted theme, the amount of colors the game throws at you makes visuals aesthetically pleasing. Heck, you could make these your personal wallpaper on your phone or something.

Sure, Tokyo Mirage Sessions isn't nearly as strong as Persona 5 graphically or even artistically, but like most Nintendo games...what their games lack in terms of detailed ultra-hyper graphics, they make up for it with giving their games gorgeous artstyles.

Also, this game has some reeeeeally good artwork.

The Music

J-Pop plays a pretty big role in Tokyo Mirage Sessions, so expect a lot of vocal tracks. If you're not into this kind of genre of music, then you might wanna stray away from this game. If you are (or if it doesn't bother you), then you're in for a treat. As someone who really isn't into J-Pop myself, the songs in this game are incredible and catchy followed by some beautiful cutscenes. Reincarnation from Kiria Kurono and Feel from Tsubasa Oribe are some of my personal favorites.

The music from outside the vocal tracks are pretty good too. The normal battle theme and the Illusion Shibuya dungeon theme are just to name a couple.

What's New?

Like I said before, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is a port of the Wii U version, but with added content. Any DLC that was added in the original game will part of the base game in the Switch version. But let's talk about the new stuff.

EX Story and Songs

The EX Story is basically a dungeon that you explore in short bursts. Here you'll find new costumes such as a Joker outfit from Persona 5 for Itsuki, or an Annette outfit from Fire Emblem Three Houses for Mamori Minamoto. Or you can have a much easier time grinding for EXP. Also, much like the side-stories, this dungeon will also explore the main casts' issues and help them grow.

New songs will also be added in this port. A duo song called "She is..." sung by Tsubasa and Kiria is one of them.

Sessions

By making Sessions even more powerful and ridiculous, unplayable characters like Tiki, Maiko Shimazaki, and Barry Goodman will also join in Sessions.

In addition, a Quick Session option will be added. Which is a major upgrade in my book. One of the big issues the Wii U version had was while the Sessions were fun to watch, they took forever to get through with the more characters that joined your party. There are also smaller improvements like the Switch version having faster loading times.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this long as hell post will spark some interest into those who'll give the game a shot. I know there's small nitpicks like the lack of English voice acting and censorship, but the latter is a topic I'd rather not delve deep into.

Regardless, these small cons are greatly outweighed by the large pros this charming game has. If you're an Atlus fan, a lover of JRPGs, or wanting to play something that'll ease the wait for Persona 5 Royal, I highly recommend you give Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE encore a shot.

If you're also waiting for Persona 5 to actually come to the Switch like me, this game is next best thing we've got for the time being.

This is one of the most stylish menu screens ever.