#i feel like not just as playable characters but when it comes to npcs either

[nvmbersix]

i really wish genshins body types for playable characters were more diverse. they use the same basic body bases for everyone,, its kind of annoying sometimes. like i want to see varying heights, fat characters, actually Buff characters (sideeyeing itto...).. its such a shame they dont put a little more effort into having actual variety

[vasito-de-leche]

I was wondering... I've been reading the self-aware au and I wonder if Manus Vindictae is also aware of the player— How does Forget Me Not even react to the concept of the player too if he's ever self-aware of it? A human who calls the shots on the story progressing (clearing levels) and also the one who beats his ass in battle (i had to insight 2 level 20 my arcanists to beat him under 10 turns in hard mode)

Can he hear the player? Can he see them? (I tend to gush over him whenever he speaks, I repeat the scenes he's in 😭 i miss him sm in the story) sorry for all these questions!!! Im so curious of self-aware aus and how they work and yours particularly was REALLY good

;R1999 FORGET ME NOT - Self Aware AU

Headcanons about Forget Me Not within the Self Aware AU.

this is a very good opportunity to think about non-playable characters within the game, actually! ty for the ask o7

there was someone who commented on one of my self-aware posts saying it was kind of like analog horror and I agree lolol

I vaguely remember mentioning that the requirements needed in order to be aware of the Player's existence were to either reach a 100% bond and/or to be exposed to Vertin's constant presence.

Forget Me Not, as an NPC with little to no actual relevant weight in the grand scheme of things (he is only relevant during the 1929 arc as of now) doesn't meet any of these requirements, so I don't think he'd be aware of the player!

His self-awareness is limited to knowing the world around him is fake, which fuels his self-deprecating and self-defeating, deranged, depressing mindset. I like to imagine Forget Me Not doesn't even understand that the world he lives in is a game, he just knows it's fake and that no matter what he does or says, no one will truly remember. Things will inexplicably reset or loop, and even so, he's not aware of the many times he's been forced to battle Vertin and the others because the Player had to grind specific materials. And so on and so forth. In his eyes, the "high power" that could attempt to control this empty world would be Arcana and no one else--after all, she's the one who opened his eyes to the truth through indoctrination.

When it comes to the figure of the Player, I wanted to portray an extremely obscure and detached figure. Vertin herself can't even fully wrap her head around the Player's existence, she doesn't even know if you're human--if the protagonist, the character "closest" to the Player is still left in the dark about these aspects, imagine how it is for other characters who don't have the privilege of acting your will, of being your hands and eyes. Sonetto can't even get a proper look at the Player, she still needs an insane amount of time lingering around Vertin to become more attuned to this somewhat eldritch entity tied to her. Characters of "equal" importance to Vertin, such as Arcana, may be able to perceive the Player in their own unique ways just like her, but everyone else? They need these special cases to even notice such a presence. Vertin is your only link to this world. You're the one looking in, this is a one-way mirror and only a very select few can look into the abyss and realize that something -someone else- is out there, staring back.

Like, of course I'll make exceptions or bend the rules if people request direct interactions between a character and the Player, but if we're talking about the setting as it is, then this is how I picture it.

Can he hear or see the Player? Nope. He doesn't have the means to. He doesn't even know they exist.

Forget Me Not feels superior with his self-awareness, gloating about how he's not like the common rubble who goes on about their day, entirely blind to the horrors. And yet, he's not aware of his limited perception of the world. It's very ironic, the way he looks down on others for the very same crime he's guilty of: obliviousness. Forget Me Not believes everyone outside of Manus Vindictae is too dumb, too unworthy of the freedom that comes with self-awareness. But really, this is just the blind leading the blind at the end of the day. Within Manus Vindictae, we only have Arcana and Forget Me Not as important characters, so it's hard for me to make a proper frame of reference, but overall I think that only Arcana is fully self-aware. Everyone else's perception of reality are equal or slightly inferior to Forget Me Not.

I think this falls in line with his modus operandi, so to speak! The way he believes he truly understands how things are, while turning his back on reality at the same time because he can't take it. He's too delusional, too unstable and frail to acknowledge that he may not be right, that he may be just as lost as when he first opened his eyes, that Vertin, someone so utterly disconnected from his ideals and morals and views, is the "chosen one."

As usual, Forget Me Not prefers to live a lie an double down on his usual habits than realize he always had the chance to change for the better and he just never had the courage to take that road.

How would he react upon finding out the Player's existence and their opinion on him?

I don't know the specifics around how exactly he finds out this piece of information, but either way, Forget Me Not would probably be shaken to his core! This isn't an easy pill to swallow in the slightest. You have to understand that every single time you beat him in battle, he 100% believed it was all Vertin's prowess.

How was he supposed to know she had someone guiding her? How was any of this fair?

Essentially, Forget Me Not has to confront the fact that all of his struggles, all the constant fighting and every conscious choice he's made to further ruin his life, were predetermined, already set in stone by forces beyond his comprehension. It's both freeing and claustrophobic, especially for a character like him who revels in misery and his status as an underdog earning his vengeance. He's done so much, he's worked so hard to get to where he is, and sure, his life is far from ideal, he's still the same self-destructive man, but now you're telling him that this was what the world planned from the very beginning? He had no say in anything? Someone out there decided that he was meant to be like this, and even after gaining self-awareness, he wasn't good or strong enough to break away from the script--in fact, he played right into someone else's trap.

I feel like Forget Me Not, at this point, would continue to do the only thing he knows: he doubles down. He redirects all of his hatred and all of his feelings towards the figure of the Player, if only to justify his existence--he can't live as a free man, he can't be seen as a living being worthy of respect because the plot commands it, he doesn't know where his own conscience begins and where the script and dialogue he's meant to say ends. So he might as well keep digging his own grave.

He loathes the Player more than anything else, because if there was no one to play this game, none of this would've happened in the first place. He fully blames you for every single thing, no matter how big or small. Everything that is wrong with his life can be traced to the person booting up this goddamn game every single day.

And if he learns that you replay each cutscene that he's in, he takes that as an offense.

This is just cruel mockery to Forget Me Not--not only you're the reason he's turned into such a miserable excuse of a man, but now you've turned him into your personal little jester, to sing and dance for your entertainment.

If he finds out that you hate him? That's good, it's a mutual feeling and it makes this tantrum he's throwing much more easier to deal with. But if he finds out that he's your favorite character? It kills him from the inside. How dare you?

His voice gets sharper, more visceral--every word is drenched with such profound hatred that you, from your side of the screen, can't help but think that Forget Me Not's voice actor is doing such a great job! And the artstyle is so good, his expressions look so real!

I can also see Forget Me Not eventually struggle with the fact that the Player loves him and sees him as their favorite character. It's not as easy and straightforward as hating you anymore--he doesn't even know you. He doesn't even know what to trust anymore.

Given how depressing he can be, I think he may latch onto the Player? The rug keeps being pulled from under his feet each and every time, but your existence, as awful and mysterious and controversial as it may be, is real. You're real. I have a lot of thoughts about this specific dynamic, but I'll leave them for another post so this one doesn't end up being suuuper long lol

On the subject of finding out that the Player is a human.

This one is easy! If someone were to tell Forget Me Not that the Player, the bane of his existence, is a human, then he'll just be in denial about it!

I really just like the idea of Forget Me Not having no means whatsoever to interact with the Player, it makes things so much more frustrating for him. Of course this means that everything he does know come from third-parties. And this piece of information is an extra layer of stress that he can't physically process at the same time as everything else in regards to his self-awareness, so he chooses to ignore it. To debate it. To simply deny it.

What, is he just supposed to believe everything he's told about you now? He can't even perceive you properly, let alone understand the sort of creature you are and your influence on this world--for all he knows, the people claiming to see and talk to you are all liars! All of his informants and spies could just be dead wrong, they may have misheard something on the way!

You can't be human, because he can't take another blow to his pride like this. It's humiliating enough to be played like a fiddle in such a way, Forget Me Not doesn't even want to think about the possibility of this small, fake world being at the mercy of a human--part of the very same group that caused him so much pain over the years.

[stardustgates]

Trying to write for HSR SAGAU is so much harder than I thought, especially because I’m starting with the initial cutscenes and battles before choosing either Caelus or Stelle, and trying to figure out how Kafka and Silver Wolf would react to being suddenly aware of a higher entity hanging around them and controlling their bodies is so difficult in prose(?) form.

Anyway, some rules/extra info/thoughts I had for my own personal interpretation of a self aware star rail:

✧ It’s still a universe of its own, but for those who become aware of the player, it’s like realising you’re a picture in a picture book. The people and places still go on about their own ways and change with time, but suddenly there’s a metaphorical hole in reality that something beyond their comprehension is peeking through.

✧ The more time the player would spend with certain characters in their team, the easier it becomes for those characters to hear their voice. (E.G I Play with Caelus and Himeko with almost every fight, so they’d be able to hear pretty much anything I say after a week or so of playing with them non-stop.)

✧ The trailblazer is generally seen as not just a vessel for the stellaron but also the player, so a lot of characters and NPCs will offer really good rewards to them when the player is out quest-completing with them.

✧ The compartment that is ‘practically glued shut’ on the express, is used by the characters as a shrine to the player. The trailblazer spends the most time here when the player is offline, as they don’t have a room to themselves (yet!! Hoyoverse I’m counting on you!)

✧ Most characters start off confused and alarmed when first feeling the presence of the player but eventually come to idolise and worship that presence. The playable ones in particular being extremely obsessive over them and, as a result, the player’s trailblazer.

✧ March 7th, Dan Heng, and the trailblazer form a protection squad/Fanclub of sorts and eventually are seen as the de-facto representatives of the player. The make sure any visitors to the Astral Express know their place and don’t try to steal away too much of the player’s attention.

✧ Both Kafka and Silver Wolf are initially weary of the sudden feeling of being watched and controlled, even more so when the battles start and they feel their control of their own bodies ripped away from them. Naturally they are sceptical and distrusting, but the euphoria left from the surge of power this imperceivable entity (read: the player) gives them is borderline addictive and sways them into a more positive-leaning neutral standpoint by the end of the tutorial chapter.

✧ If you’re wondering why the characters talk so much when idling- or doing anything really- it’s because they’re trying to communicate with the player without setting off any alarm bells. They take it slowly and steadily, easing into their own true thoughts when they’re sure the player won’t panic at the sudden change in behaviours and mannerisms (read: So they can fight for their attention far more openly)

✧ This is most definitely going to be a yandere AU (I cannot escape my demons 😔)

That’s all I’ve got for now, I’m currently working on a really big piece for this SAGAU and it’s only just reached like 3k, and I’m not even half way done :) pain pickle

[cerastes]

With the exception of Arknights what are your thoughts on gacha games?

I don't feel like I need to exclude Arknights from the statement, I can criticize things even if I like them.

In general, I don't like that their widely accepted and even defended business model is "Capitalize on FOMO, exploit gambling addictions, create dependent users". I also think that the use of the "game as a service" model, and one that needs to keep pumping content forever and can't risk to alienate the player, severely limits what can be done with the medium in terms of creativity, because you can't kill off playable characters nilly willy (I actually think Epic Seven was cooking with this, Epic Seven will kill off playable characters and remove them from the plot if it feels like it, or at least used to back when I played, don't know nowadays), relationships and dynamics with characters tend to be limited because otherwise your audience can feel like you are cucking them, and I wish I was kidding but just look at the absolute dumpster fire of a drama going on as we speak (22nd of January, 2024) in Girls' Frontline 2 over in China over one of the characters having interactions with a male NPC, and you can't ever bring a true sense of finality to any given arc because everything ends up having to be foreshadowing, set-up, build-up and so on and on and on. In many cases, you also have a mold cast of Must Have tropes in your playable cast: The Maid, The Idol, The One That Worships The Ground You Walk On, The Underage And Underclothed One, The Underage (But We Treat This One As A Precious Child!) One, Foxgirl, The Cold And Highly Analytical One (But Actually, Loves You), Chuuni, etc, so it feels like in every game I kinda already know at least a third of the cast minimum already and I'm kind of primed to not really want to know them, even though there's subversions I end up liking sometimes (Fenny from Snowbreak is an example of an Idol-type I ended up loving despite not liking Idol-types).

On the other hand, even with these negatives in mind, having a game that periodically updates and adds content, and that you can discreetly play pretty much everywhere on the go due to smartphones being their main 'console', games that foster community and something to talk about with your friends that also play and that will always have something new every couple of weeks, as well as inspire fanart, fanworks, analysis, and commentary, and that tend to be more risque and interesting with their designs is honestly good to have. I personally enjoy the community aspect of gacha games, I consider it one of the two most important aspects for me, because I know I can come here, for example, and see people talking about the story, the characters, the music, the gameplay, and more, every day, and the other important thing to me is how discreet they are, since I can just play a few maps or stages in my phone real fast midst a social situation at work, and then hop back in with a renewed social battery or when a topic I like comes up.

I fully get when people showcase their disdain for gacha, yeah, but if we really want to be nitpicky, the majority of the game industry is kind of a cesspool of toxicity, which is not to say "stop bashing gacha" and instead say "bash the whole thing if you're going to be bashing it anyway" (and we should! Game devs and other personnel in the industry have been crying for better conditions for years now!). Either way, if someone decides to sit at the gambling den, it becomes their responsibility. I want there to be more safeguards for people with actual addictions and to protect them, but with this in mind, if anyone still decides to sit at the den, it's assumed they are going to take responsibility for their actions and financial decisions.

So all in all, yeah, predatory games that suffer in quality due to their own trappings, but also good sources of community, inspiration, and effective at being discreet games you can play anywhere and that get periodic updates (this isn't necessarily exclusive to gacha but it is an aspect of them that bears mentioning, which I point out since no doubt people will want to point out there's good non-gacha smartphone game options out there)

[dracobrooklyn]

Durge x Reader Part 1

When you really like the design of the Cannon DragonBorn and his voice is like butter making you melt. I was sad you can't romance him and your the playable character instead. So Here I am going to write Headcannons of what if he was a romanceable NPC that was in your party. These are my thoughts taking bits and pieces from the Cannon and putting my thoughts and ideas into Durge.

|| MDNI || 18+ this will contain Themes of Language, Violence, and of course Sexual Content. DO NOT READ!!

Cannon!Durge x Tav!Fem!Reader

This will be in a Fem!Reader POV!!

Word count: 1.44K

Part 1: Meeting Durge

Durge is a White Dragonborn that is a Storm Sorcerer. Literally born from the blood of Bhaal to be the perfect monster for his destruction on the world. Though... he does not remember. After being taken by the Mindflayers. He does not remember anything before he was a prisoner. The Ship Crashing, his head spinning with so many thoughts. He only remembers his name and that he can cast magic thankfully. But everything else? He's lost. Of course You Find him being attacked by a group of Goblins, coming to his aid, to make sure he is okay. Of course he's hesitant, but he thanks you for your help. You of course ask him his name, Durge. A Strange name but it's his, nothing with it. He would ask if you know where they are, and of course replying that you weren't sure yourself, being in the ship and all, you were snatched away by the mindflayers as well. A little frustrated not sure what to do, he gives you his thanks and about to leave. Is that such a good idea? To go out alone especially that you saw him get attacked by Goblins? No. You ask him if he wish's to tag along with you and your other party members. Strange bunch... why not? He accepts. After all where was he to go? He has no memories. Everything is dark. And you were all trying to find a way to get this cursed parasite out of your brain... before you did turn into a Mindflayer. Maybe you will be able to help him remember. Durge is a little distant towards your other party members. Wasn't a fan of Astarion, not one bit. The way he acted, the way he talked to you as if you were insignificant. You were very much capable of defending yourself, you saved Durge's life. So he always gives the pale elf a glare. Shadowheart he does not mind but her pride and stubbornness can be a little annoying. She at least gives you a little respect when she talks to you.

As your party grow, you get to try to help Durge try to get some sort of sense with his memories. But nothing seems to happen. He can only think about maybe... maybe he had a family or friends waiting for him to come home, or perhaps he has a lover, or maybe something else. You definitely joked to him he could be a prince that was out hunting, he did find the joke amusing though. It was good to have some sort of conversation and company. Being alone with no memories was a little sad and lonely at times.

You were having a hard time sleeping. Specifically with the damn worm wiggling into your brain. So you noticed Durge was having a hard time sleeping as well, tossing and turning into his tent, into his sleeping area. You see how his lips curl back almost in a growl showing his teeth, his eye crest furrowing either in pain or anger as his claws gripped onto the blankets, how he curls up in a fetal position. Is he okay? You quickly went to him to wake him up, and you do. He grabs your arm and pins you down onto the ground his clawed hand wrapped around your neck growling, glaring his red blood eyes into your eyes. He pauses and noticed it's you. He get's off you quickly, not wearing a shirt and only trousers in his sleep wear as Durge feels so awful. He almost hurt you. He apologizes and ask's if you were alright, of course you were shaken but told him you were okay. Everything was alright.

Those dreams... nothing but blood... screaming... yells of anguish. Remembering his dream too well, just looking down at his hands, remembering in his dream he had blood on them. Once you did go back to sleep at your bed roll and he looked at you... what if your blood was on his hands... they started to shake. Fear escaped him, he didn't go back to sleep that night. He just laid in his bed roll in his tent frightened he could have killed you.

He felt awful the next day and wanted to apologize. Durge said if there was anything to he could do for your forgiveness. Of course, you were kind to him. "You had a nightmare Durge, perhaps they were memories, not good memories but maybe your memories are trying to come back to you, and it was too much." You could see the look on his face, he looked a little... worried. You asked if Durge wanted to talk about it. He only shook his head and said "No I... I like to hope they are nightmares, and not memories."

He very much appreciated your kindness, he really was happy that you didn't treat him any different from your party members. When he was distant, it was him just thinking, trying to piece together his "Dream" he had last night. You gave him a journal that you bought from the Druids grove, for Durge to write his dreams so maybe he can go back to the, as you smile at him and say "If you need company tonight... if you have a nightmare, don't hesitate to wake me okay?" And Right there... that's when the feelings start to blossom. The gift of the Journal. The Way how you were comforting on his darkest moments, trying to remember his past. The Way you treated him normally. You invited Durge to the fire to talk with the others, bring him into the conversation, telling you about your past. Where you lived growing up. Durge is very envious of your memories. That you have them, though he out right does not tell you. He wants to know his past so much, who the fuck he is!? It leaves him in a bad mood leaving you with the others at the campfire and heading into his tent for the night. Going to sleep a little mad... but also sad at the same time. Maybe he had a group of friends that miss him dearly. That laughed with him like a bunch of chumps. He wasn't sure.

[glitterguts13]

I don't know if you do Playable Character x NPC but could you write something about Argenti x Velite with Argenti doting on a pregnant Velite and Velite complaining but secretly enjoying it.

OK BUT LIKE, THEY WOULD BE SUCH A CUTE COUPLE, RIGHT??? I hope we see Velite with Argenti again, I love me a good Tsundere. However, since we don't really...have that much on Velite, I'm just gonna do some headcanons on this one!

TW: mention of abortions

Velite's pregnancy came as a shock to no one but him. In his mind, Argenti is just...a casual lover, nothing serious! He wouldn't get caught up with someone like that, he's too weird! Even if Argenti wasn't such a weirdo he'd never want someone as ordinary as Velite...

Except in Argenti's mind he and Velite have been dating for months and he's already hearing wedding bells. They might be separated a lot because of their different paths in life, but Velite always finds himself crossing paths with the knight.

Velite doesn't take the news well. It was just a routine physical exam that the IPC required, nothing was supposed to come up! He'd been feeling just fine, why would the doctor have even run a pregnancy test at all?? These exams were just to make sure he didn't pick up any weird space viruses along the way!!

Doesn't tell Argenti and fully plans on getting an abortion. It would...be better that way. If Argenti knew, he wouldn't want Velite around anymore and, well, Velite didn't want that either. A baby would get in the way of his work, and he didn't have any family or friends to help so...maybe another time in the future.

Except the night before he's supposed to go in, Argenti shows up, all smiles and holding a massive bouquet of roses.

"My love, how I've missed you!"

Velite nearly throws up on Argenti's shoes.

It doesn't take long for him to blurt out he's pregnant, and he's getting an abortion and Argenti doesn't need to worry about it, it's going to be taken care of, just don't be mad about it-

Argenti looks positively gutted.

"What? What are you looking at me like that for?? I told you already, I'll get rid of it!"

"Is that...what you really want to do?" it catches the IPC worker off guard and he falters.

"It's what you want me to do, right?"

Velite didn't expect the hurt expression that Argenti gets, how just how safe and warm he feels when the knight pulls him into his arms and holds him close.

"Of course not!" he chides gently, "I'd be honored to raise a child with you! What more beautiful thing could there be in the world?" he does stop, holding Velite at arm's length, "However...I will respect whatever decision you make. It is not my right to control your choices, but please know I would be happy to raise a child with you...should you want that?"

Now Velite is totally thrown off his balance because WTF was that about?? Argenti was supposed to be mad about this, not sweet, kind, caring, understanding, and, excited?? Fuck.

Velite is a sobbing mess because damn pregnancy hormones, and it takes a long night of talking things over and hashing out feelings that the IPC worker, quite frankly, didn't want to talk about at all.

He calls and cancels the appoint the next morning, and Argenti is thrilled, and truthfully, despite denying it it, Velite is happy too.

Argenti is an attentive lover on a normal day, but now that his beloved is pregnant? Oh, he is nearly insufferable with how sweet and thoughtful he is.

The smell of his shampoo causing Velite to feel nausea? Throw it all out, he'll get something unscented. Velite has cravings at 2 in the morning and isn't going to sleep until he gets it? Where in the galaxy does Argenti need to go, his ship is fueled up and ready. Morning sickness? He's got a cold washcloth, a bottle of water, and his toothbrush set up. Aching feet? Foot rubs for hours, even is his thumbs start to cramp.

"Knock it off, you don't have to baby me so much," Velite argues, whining as Argenti helps him undress for the night and change into something more comfortable.

"Nonsense. It is my duty to make you as happy as possible." Argenti nuzzles into Velite's neck, trailing kisses down his shoulders.

"You aren't obligated to do anything, I told you from the start, I don't want you feeling forced."

"Do I seem as if I'm being forced?" Argenti asked, genuinely. Velite groaned and shook his head.

"No. That makes it even worse!" plopping down in bed, the IPC worker lets his head fall back against the pillows and runs a hand over the swell of his belly.

"I don't understand, why is that 'worse'?" Argenti sits beside him, looking like a puppy that had just been dropped kicked across a field. Christ, Velite wasn't equipped to handle this.

"Because...I don't deserve having you...do all this for me. What am I gonna do when you're gone?"

"I will have my phone with me at all times, just say the word and I will be right back here as quickly as I can be-"

"No. I mean, what am I going to do when you leave." it takes a second for Argenti to fully grasp what Velite is saying, and when he does, much to Velite's shock, he laughs.

"My love, I'm never going to leave you. I love you. Why would I ever leave someone I love?" Velite really didn't understand Argenti, how could someone think so simplistically about such complex things??

"Because you get tired of me? You fall out of love? Find someone better?" the list is cut off when Argenti leans in and presses a kiss to Velite's lips.

"I am not the sort of man to promise my heart to someone carelessly. When I say that I love you, I mean that. I mean that I love everything about you, that I can not bear the thought of living in this world without you. You are the light in my sky, the colors in my vision, the reason my heart bea-"

"Ok, ok, ok, I get it!" Velite presses a hand over Argenti's mouth to silence him, cheeks burning hot, "Stop saying such embarrassing things! Look, you've gone and gotten the baby all riled up now!" the IPC worker whines. Eyes sparkling with delight, Argenti presses his cheek against his lover's belly, nuzzling it gently.

"Ah, our little one agrees with me! Yes, let your mother know how much we love him and how wonderful, smart, and caring he is. How we're going to shower him with love for as long as w-"

A pillow is brought down over Argenti's head with a soft pwff. Velite's whole face was bright red, the color creeping up to his ears and down his neck, in a way Argenti found truly breathtaking.

"I said stop it!"

[yakuzabrainrotlive]

Now that I'm done with Y6 and seem to have reached the end of an era, I think it's time to do a TOP 3 of... everything, I guess? No particular order to the categories (besides top 3 games being last), so have fun browsing🫡

Thanks for all the cool and kind comments and tags this far!! 🫶🏻 This fandom has been so welcoming and I feel right at home 🥺❤️

If you wanna tell me my taste is terrible/incredible, drop a comment or ask or anything! I love discussing this stuff :>

For now, see y'all in Like a Dragon (Y7). I wanna at least get through Gaiden before real life gets hectic af; I'm starting my 4-month long clinical practice period in January and graduating afterwards. So I wanna be done with Gaiden before Christmas, pretty much. No idea how long either of these games are, so... 🤷🏼‍♀️ we'll see it I get there.

OKAY NO MORE RAMBLING. Sorry lol.

TOP 3 KARAOKE SONGS

1) Machine Gun Kiss

2) 24 Hour Cinderella

3) Pure Love in Kamurocho

TOP 3 DYNAMIC INTROS

1) VS Majima in the Coliseum (Kiwami 2)

2) VS Kuze in the sewers (very generic choice but it IS excellent)

3) VS Daigo (Yakuza 4)

TOP 3 MINIGAMES

1) Karaoke

2) Kiryu feeding stray cats (Y6) OR Taiko no Tatsujin if that one doesn't count

3) Darts

TOP 3 LEAST FAVOURITE MINIGAMES

1) Out Run (Y0)

2) Fishing

3) Aromatherapy Massage

a (dis)Honorable mention to Shogi and Majong. I don't hate them, but I have NO idea how to play them and haven't even tried ever since I got humiliated when I first attempted them.

TOP 3 SUBSTORIES

1) Another Haruka (Y5)

2) Haruka's Biggest Fan (Y6)

3) The Doll Girl (Y0)

TOP 3 RESTAURANTS

1) Smile Burger (cheap AND effective healing and a decent exp point yield in K2 and Y6?? incredible)

2) Kanrai

3) Kyushu #1 Star

TOP 3 CHARACTERS (Besides Kiryu and Majima)

1) Akiyama

2) Shinada

3) Nishiki

TOP 3 FINAL/ENDGAME BOSS BATTLES:

1) The entire final section including Millennium Tower and everything after in Yakuza 6.

TOP 3 TATTOOS:

2) Shibusawa

3) Ryuji

1) Kiryu

2) Tsuneo Iwami

3) Aizawa

TOP 3 FIGHTING STYLES (All playable characters)

1) Akiyama

2) Slugger Style

3) Dragon of Dojima (Y5 specifically)

TOP 3 RANDOM NPCs:

1) The based af Red Brick Hotel receptionist in Y3 🫶🏻

2) The Kamurocho takoyaki stand owner in Y0 who gave us some incredible Majima/Makoto crumbs

3) Kotobuki Drugs owners (thanks for all the Staminan Royales ✌🏻❤️)

TOP 3 WEAPONS:

1) Bicycles (iconic, legendary, crowd control MVPs, will never be matched by anything 💅🏻 )

2) Traffic cones (any size)

3) Shotguns

TOP 3 HEAT ACTIONS:

1) Komaki Firearm Flip

2) Essence of Sadism (the one with the crop you get from the dominatrix) 😳

3) Essence of Weaponry (pistol, the one where you straight up shoot the enemy and whack them over the head with the gun)

TOP 3 NON-HEAT ACTION TECHNIQUES:

1) Komaki knockback

2) Tiger Drop (come on. it's fun when you learn to pull it off. Let's be fr here.)

3) Tanimura's parry

TOP 3 WRONGEST PREDICTIONS I HAVE MADE (on or off the blog):

1) Kiryu and Majima will end up clashing in Y0 and something tragic happens. As a result Majima would become his insane Kiwami 1 version (I had seen a few short clips before Y0).

2) "Kiryu will be happy one day. He's just gonna work towards it in the games."

3) Kiryu and Haruka will live together at the start of Y6 and they'll be happy 🙃

AND FINALLY

TOP 3 GAMES (Y0-Y6)

1) Yakuza 0

2) Yakuza 6

3) Yakuza Kiwami

[hellobitchlet]

This was originally going to be part of my thoughts on the first act of Natlan, but it got pretty long so I'm posting it separately.

With Natlan further tripling down on "the harbingers all have different goals, they're just part of the same organization", I just want to say that this plot point has been annoying me for a while now. Hear me out, ok?

Don't get me wrong, I really like Scara's backstory. But since Inazuma started, everything with the Fatui has quickly turned into yearly "what is this harbinger up to? And what is their backstory?"

I mean, when Scara first takes the electro gnosis and betrays the Fatui, it seems cool. Because it was the first time a harbinger seemed to not care about the Fatui, and they could have made some juicy drama with it. But they didn't.

Dottore showed up, trying to make Scara a god, and the electro gnosis plot was over. Then Scara got a quest focusing on his entire backstory EXCEPT for the Fatui. Nothing with Dottore was really about the Fatui either, just his research. Then Arle showed up, and despite being raised in a harbinger's orphanage, she doesn't care about the Fatui either. She's involved in a Fatui project, but we barely focused on that. Signora is almost never brought up.

The Fatui's plotline and screen time has always focused on the harbingers, with any focus outside of them coming from rare, lazy world quests with unimportant npc's you're never going to see again.

So when the harbingers themselves are completely ignoring everything outside of their own stuff? We... barely have any grasp on wtf the Fatui is even up to, and almost no world building being done with them. Because instead, we're talking about Dottore wanting to make a god. Or justifying Arle's child abuse towards Fontainian children with her backstory.

This is the main reason why I've always believed that Childe and Signora are the best written harbingers. Childe's character stories and story quest is the only time I've felt like regular Fatui lore was done with a notable character. These two (+ Pierro) are the only harbingers so far who seem to give a shit about the Tsaritsa, and their 'separate goals' and connections to other sections of the lore are small things that still leave plenty of room to be involved in the Fatui. Childe is actually from Sneznhaya and was a normal member at one point, and Signora actively agreed with Tsaritsa's ideas.

(And, yes, Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet aren't harbingers. I'm happy that we finally have playable, non-harbinger Fatui characters. But you can't deny that they're just extensions of Arle. After Fontaine act 1, no one really regards the twins as Fatui, they're just part of Arle's orphanage. They only talk about Arle and the orphanage. We don't even know what Fremi's job is, and the twins' character stories and in game appearances are so separated from each other that it feels like their spy work isn't canon. They don't care about these 3 or expanding on the Fatui through them. They're just here to prop up Arle.)

[two-nines-left-spleen]

Thoughts and rambling on HSR 2.2 (Part 2)

MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Please feel free to share your thoughts, Ideas, things you noticed etc. I love when people ramble about things they found in the indulgences they enjoy.

Here are thoughts, pins and findings on Trailblaze Mission

Small Town Grotesque Quest

Misha's introduction as a Key Character was done a little clumsily. He did come a bit out of nowhere and him being suspicious was cleared a tiny bit too fast for me. I mean, as someone who actively tries to figure out the story beforehand, it was clear that there was way more to him, I just thought our characters would find out more -naturally. I blame Welt's perceptiveness, haha. The rest of his story however, was phenomenally executed. More on that later.

Hoyo PLEASE make Micah playable. One man with beard. You had no business designing an NPC this hot. (Siobhan too, please, please, please)

I have - and this is biased as HELL - massive Dr. Ratio brainrot. His fucking prescription he gave to Aventurine in 2.1 said Dormancy first. The Death Meme is revealed here to be Dormancy. Ratio is either a.) connected as all hell to the other characters or b.) really, really fucking clever to have this figured out earlier than everyone else who was NOT directly killed or in contact with Penacony's Kerberos. (Or c.): both). It also shows again, that, for being repeatedly advertised as a narcissist, he cooperates quite well with his surroundings. More on him later - yes, we saw this man for 2 seconds on screen, yes, I will write paragraphs about this. Stop me, I dare you.

Robin is a good-at-heart character and to me, she represents Penacony's heroine (like Bronya and Seele were Belobog's heros -alongside the Express Crew). I like that she was, like Firefly, instigating things on her own and thankfully subverted my fear of her being portrayed as a damsel in distress. I like characters that, at their core, are portrayed as kind. They are easy to write but hard to write well and I feel like HSR has done a very decent (not perfect, but decent) job at it.

I saw some people say that she wasn't in the story enough, and while we didn't get the whole Aventurine-Kakavasha experience with her, I felt like her impact was there during the whole quest, especially towards the end. (Put the metaphorical pin in that too).

Now, Gallagher. Hooooh this one's - hard. Difficult to pinpoint him and his stance and especially his stakes in this story too. I still think I don't fully get why he believes what he believes in. There's obviously so much more to him and this is the very first glimpse of History Fictionologists and the Enigmata followers. I doubt what we saw was the real him - and he did reveal some very interesting things regarding his path. I think we'll see him again, most likely in another form, most likely more complete. He is just a 'made-up character', even according to himself - his story in Penacony is over, but not in the universe. The Penacony Gallagher may have been Thirteen and younger than Mikhail but whatever bigger thing he seems to be part of seems to be- older. Also kind of hilarious that he actually told truths most of the time - in the most backhanded way possible. Frankly, he deserves a whole ass analysis post for himself (The CREDITS, THE CREEDIITS WHAT DOES IT MEAN??????).

And with this 2.2's second trailblaze quest concludes! See you in part 3!

[remy2fang]

I wrote about this on Twitter, but I might as well post it here too and elaborate.

M. Bison’s hat is in the new SF6 Ed stage and it’s missing the golden Shadaloo emblem. It’s because F.A.N.G took it and wore it as a necklace. For those who read the Feb 2018 three-parter story TOXICITY, it’s been stated that F.A.N.G wanted to revive Shadaloo and M. Bison, in which he thinks the former leader of the organization is not truly dead. He tried to find resources to fund his efforts. Fast forward to late September 2023, F.A.N.G’s plan still tracks as seen from A.K.I.’s arcade mode and by talking to NPC “FANG” Fei in World Tour. F.A.N.G wearing M. Bison’s emblem around his neck is a reminder that he has a purpose to fulfill.

Now you might notice something different with the emblem between the two F.A.N.G illustrations, even though both are supposed to depict the same time frame where F.A.N.G first met A.K.I.. The 2018 version has the emblem clearly drawn with the Shadaloo skull and wing (I don’t know where the other wing went). The 2023 version from the A.K.I. memory art, although highly detailed, the emblem looked simplified. The necklace doesn’t look like a Shadaloo emblem anymore. It only has a vague shape of it. I only noticed this after seeing this gorgeous A.K.I. and F.A.N.G fanart back in the beginning of December of last year:

https://twitter.com/yoooou_know_who/status/1730868640214561227?s=46&t=iEGeYIIN_aP028wRnoVcUQ

I take it that the fanartist probably used the A.K.I. memory as reference to draw F.A.N.G. I don’t know if the artist read the Toxicity story. Most people didn’t read it anyway considering how many people thought F.A.N.G died until the A.K.I. dlc dropped.

Anyway, there are some conjectures why the 2023 version is like this. Maybe the artist just wanted to simplify the shape of the emblem because “so and so” reasons, maybe laziness, despite the entire artwork being super detailed in everything else. Another reason could be that they retcon the emblem and have F.A.N.G wear something else.

What do I think? I think the art direction of the 2023 illustration wanted to obscure the image of the emblem because they don’t want to give everything away story wise, which seems most effective towards those who never read Toxicity. The devs probably wanted to save more storytelling for later. That is why in the base game we don’t hear much about Rashid, A.K.I., Ed, nor Akuma, because that’s a story to tell when these characters come out. And from the sounds from the A.K.I. dlc, not everything has been said about F.A.N.G either. A.K.I. didn’t mention about her master’s Nguuhao dagger even though is was written to be a big deal in the Toxicity story. She didn’t even mention about Shadaloo nor Bison in her memories…that is until the avatar has to do a mission for her because she got a message from FANG to look into Shadaloo. Still, she never said Bison’s name. She seems to view these things as tasks for the job. Hmm…it might be no wonder that the emblem looked blurred. All A.K.I. could think of is her life story and F.A.N.G lol. But F.A.N.G for sure likes Bison and OG Shadaloo.

With the reveal of this new stage, it gave people hope that Bison and/or Seth might return in SF6. I don’t doubt that. There are indications for their return and it’s great that people are excited for it.

For me, when I saw Bison’s hat without the Shadaloo insignia, it all comes full circle from the F.A.N.G-centric Toxicity story. F.A.N.G indeed took it and wore it around his neck. It’s only a matter of time when either he or someone else explains about the missing insignia. Because of Bison’s hat on the stage, I now have Sign #14 that F.A.N.G might return playable lololol.

Now let me pour more of my running thoughts here. I have a feeling that F.A.N.G had something to do with the ruined Shadaloo lab. He must’ve placed Bison’s hat on the chair after taking the insignia. The lab equipment seems to be working too. Remember, F.A.N.G was trying to fund the revival project as mentioned in Toxicity. I think this is the result of it.

Sure, it could be someone else who placed Bison’s hat on the chair, but I don’t know who else is as passionate about Bison and Shadaloo other than F.A.N.G himself. Balrog only cares about money and even worked for the Illuminati during SFV. Vega doesn’t seem to care about Shadaloo either and Sagat doesn’t want anything to do with the organization anymore. The Dolls are free and want to live ordinary lives. There are some Shadaloo henchmen that are loyal to Bison from one of Rashid’s missions. Since these lackeys were targeting Rashid, they might be affiliated with F.A.N.G because he’s the one character who has a major grudge against him…but who knows, they might be JP’s allies instead. Though, one could say that Juri Han might’ve set the entire thing up. Revive Bison and finally enacting revenge against him. She always wanted that anyway lol.

[ac-liveblogs]

Okay, if genshin were a tradition party based rpg, how would you handle all the different playable characters/who would you pick as the party?

Hi! I'm envisioning a maximum of 9 permanent party members at once, with the remaining Genshin cast being reduced to either NPCs of varying importance/plot relevance or guest party members depending on the storyline.

That would account for Traveller + 1 party member per region + 1 party member related to Abyss (likely endgame).

Though I can't pick out Natlan, Snezhnaya or Abyss-related (though that'll probably be Dainsleif unless there are Developments), based on plot elements that I can build on, stretch out, weave into other things or twist until they almost break, my canon playable party (+ justifications) so far are;

Traveller + Venti, Xiao, Kazuha, Collei, with Diluc replacing Venti towards the 3/4 mark of the game. Paimon is still there but. Yeah. Traveller would be a more distinct character with their own personality/arc.

Traveller (Just wants to find their sibling and leave ASAP -> eventually comes to care about Teyvat and the people in it and want to protect them)

Venti (Investigating the state of the world after his 500 year nap -> primary motivation for investigating Archons/the Fatui at first)

Xiao (Trying to work out what to do with his life when he is no longer required to protect Liyue -> dealing with the fallout of a few important deaths at the game's 3/4 points)

Kazuha (Coming to terms with his feelings regarding his friend's death/ambitions as well as his own detachment issues -> chasing Scaramouche to retrieve the stolen Electro Gnosis)

Collei (Overcoming her trauma/coming to terms with what's been done to her -> Beef with Dottore/helping Nahida)

Diluc would replace Venti ( :) ) ideally Kaeya would have to betray Mondstadt for whatever reason and Diluc joins the party to chase him down and beat some sense into him.

Fontaine is a bit shakier as I'm still hammering out the details there (need to see what happens in future plot), but I'd either pick Navia, Furina or one of Lyney's siblings (it depends on whether or not I'm going to kill Arlecchino - may have too much crossover with Diluc).

Given the variety of people living in Teyvat, I'd like to have a decent spread of regular humans and non-human characters with various different motivations, either relating to the Fatui, Abyss, Celestia or Khaen'riah's War that drive them forward, either to prevent disaster or discover the truth about what happened during the Cataclysm.

This is accounting for the fact that I'm taking a hatchet to both the region's plots and everyone's roles in the narrative to varying degrees, so those choices would make more sense in the context of the reworked plots (which I would consider more remixed than rewritten, except for the parts where they're dumb)

And that I am going to kill some people, but I'm less precious about the characters than HYV. ( :) )

As far as guest characters go, they'd join for a variety of reasons but probably wouldn't theoretically go much further than AI-support in certain quests (Ayaka in Inazuma, Albedo in Dragonspine, that sort of thing).

[rosejigglypuff76]

Cookie Run Kingdom - Special Episode Ideas

Lately I've been thinking of the possibility for potential storylines for Cookie Run Kingdom! More specifically when it comes to the Special Episodes that the game has to offer.

This there's only been five of these Special Episodes, I feel like I can brainstorm a couple of new ideas if more were to be added in future updates.

Here are a couple of rules that I decided to make for myself while listing out possible/potential Special Episode Stories & Plotlines: 1) It needs to focus on either a returning character or a brand new character planned out for the given update. 2) A Special Episode needs to be either Flashback Episode such as "A Mermaid's Tale", a Side-Story Chapter similar to "Legend of the Red Dragon", or something that has both just like "Icicle Yeti's Winter Song" 3) Story needs to make sense within a Cookie Run Kingdom setting. So character development for most of the cookies involved. 4) Have at least 2 New Playable Cookies and Magic Candy for Returning Cookies.

Alongside a few extra things that I decided to add, but it doesn't need to apply to every idea: 1) The Special Episode can be some sort of sequel to a previous update, which includes the original chapter's storyline as a bonus for players. An example could be "Icicle Yeti's Winter Song", which includes the plotline of "Lantern in the Snow Story" as a bonus. 2) A cookie who was an NPC prior will eventually become a playable character, releasing alongside their Special Episode. An example comes with Pitaya Dragon Cookie when they released with the "Legend of the Red Dragon" storyline, and was an NPC prior to that. 3) References & Inspiration of various other pieces of media is allowed, just as long as it makes sense with the planned-out storyline.

Without further ado, here's all the storylines for potential Special Episodes in Cookie Run Kingdom!

~~~

Special Episode Idea #1 - Bittersweet Flower Within Ones Headspace Story Type - Side-Story

Synopsis For years Dark Choco Cookie wasn't sure if he could ever escape the control that Strawberry Jam Sword has over him. But Day 1 of having it causes a flicker of light that gave the Exiled Prince the hope he needed to break through the curse. A cookie that he sees in dreams, the only cookie that was able to nullify the Strawberry Jam Sword's control. Months after leaving the Cookies of Darkness and thus the control of the Strawberry Jam Sword, Dark Choco Cookie now wanders Earthbread's various forests. Recollecting what he once lost from himself. Even meeting the cookie who he thought only exists in his dreams to help him out during the toughest times.

First-Half of the Story A couple of flashbacks from Crispia Episode 13 & 14 are showcased, all of which lead up towards the point where Dark Choco Cookie left the Strawberry Jam Sword and the Cookies of Darkness behind. Numerous times he recounts the cookie that he often sees in his dreams. Seen as a silhouette during flashbacks, the now Redeemed Prince believing he was someone that he came up with in order to nullify the Strawberry Jam Sword's pain and given eventual hope to break free. He ends up bumping into Peach Cookie, who happily brings him with her. This is where Plum Cookie also makes an appearance, but the meeting was abrupted by an unsuspecting Leek Cookie. Dark Choco helps out Peach and Plum deal with Leek, but unknowingly comes to the aid of a cookie who he thought only existed in his dreams. That cookie is soon revealed to be Herb Cookie.

Second-Half of the Story A few or so months had past, and Dark Choco Cookie is shown to be taken in by Plum Cookie and Peach Cookie's Master called General Jujube Cookie. The Redeemed Prince also got to know Herb Cookie beyond his dreams, and has a stronger bond with him. This eventually leads up to the events of Beast-Yeast Episode 3 & 4. But unlike his father, Dark Choco is the only Cacaoian that's immune to the Pale Ailment. In fact his bond with Plum, Peach, and especially Herb gave him the feeling of true resolution. It also turns out that General Jujube Cookie's Dojo (or something like that) is located in Mystic Flour Cookie's area in Beast-Yeast. But Dark Choco's hope and resolution caused him to finally find himself once again. More character development for Dark Choco Cookie is there, which is also accompanied by character development for Herb Cookie and Peach Cookie as well. This also includes more screentime for Peach Blossom Cookie, who can be classified as the older brother of Peach Cookie.

Story Inspiration Omori (Game)

Main Character Cookies *Dark Choco Cookie *Herb Cookie *Peach Blossom Cookie *Peach Cookie *Plum Cookie

New Cookies *Leek Cookie (Epic Rarity, Ambush Type) *Plum Cookie (Epic Rarity, Defense Type) *Peach Cookie (Super Epic Rarity, Charge Type)

Magic Candies *Herb Cookie -> (Gains the Water Type) Gives the three enemies with the Highest ATK a Shackle Debuff, a shackled enemy's HP is given to heal Herb Cookie and the rest of his party.

Main Reason for the Special Episode Dark Choco Cookie didn't show up that much in the official chapter for Beast-Yeast Episode 3 & 4, and was instead only shown in flashbacks or simply mentioned. This idea of a new Special Episode involving Dark Choco was created to give him the character development that we didn't get to see. Even showing a couple of ways to how he successfully reach said development.

~~~

Special Episode Idea #2 - A Desire for The Order Story Type - Sequel Story

Synopsis Sometime after the events of the "Tragedy of the Tower" story, Pastry Cookie continues to follow Reverend Mother's desires to follow the wishes of The Witches. The St Pastry Order is revealed to be located somewhere in Parfaedia City, with numerous believers growing by the minute. But every single believer didn't know the real truth, one that Pastry herself knows far too well. Knowing what she's seen when she ventured to the Tower of Sweet Chaos prior to now, feeling bad for Red Velvet Cookie and the various Cakes who were treated as "monsters" by many. A story about rebellion and independence starts, as Pastry Cookie meets up with an unexpected group of cookies.

First-Half of the Story One faithful night Pastry Cookie ends up finding Red Velvet Cookie lurking around in the shadows of Parfaedia, looking around as if he was trying to hide and run from someone. She secretly follows him, towards one brightly lit up place. Curiousity got the better of her, as she too went inside. Pastry found Red Velvet in what appears to be some type of bar or pub, the latter immediately confronts her but was quickly calmed down. It wasn't just Pastry nor Red Velvet in the scene, but the likes of Sparkling and Cream Puff were also there. Even Red Velvet's cake hound, Chiffon, was also in the building too. Another cookie also heads inside the building, revealed to be Sparkling's Juice Bar. This cookie is what many cookies refer to as the "Detective Princess", due to her royally intelligent and logical crime solving skills despite her young age. It was Walnut Cookie, who's known Sparkling, Cream Puff, and even Red Velvet for quite sometime. The first-half of this Special Episode involves Pastry Cookie and Red Velvet Cookie getting to know each other more outside of their respective alignment. Includes the former of the two slowly drifting away from the St Pastry Order's beliefs, and the latter feeling that he feels more like himself when he's not with the Cookies of Darkness.

Second-Half of the Story The story continues in somewhat of a good light, with Pastry Cookie secretly telling the truth she's seen in the Tower of Sweet Chaos to numerous cookies in Parfaedia. Learning even more about The Witches, knowing that there's more Good Witches compared to the Wicked Witches the St Pastry Order followed. Following the Witch of Order to be precise. Unbeknowst to her, Pastry Cookie didn't expect to get Red Velvet Cookie arrested by Almond Cookie. For once Red Velvet Cookie felt helpless, even worse compared to the prey that he doesn't want to be seen as anymore. Reverend Mother was a few steps ahead of Pastry Cookie, and ended up hypnotizing many cookies of Parfaedia with her magic. Now being nothing more than mindless puppets for The Order. Sparkling, Cream Puff, and Walnut are the only other cookies within Parfaedia that weren't affected by the hypnosis. And the three of them, including dearest Chiffon, decide to help Pastry Cookie finally face against Reverend Mother head-on and rescue Red Velvet Cookie in the process.

Story Inspiration Persona 4 Golden, Persona 5 Royal

Main Character Cookies *Pastry Cookie *Red Velvet Cookie *Chiffon *Cream Puff Cookie *Sparkling Cookie *Almond Cookie *Walnut Cookie

New Cookies *Chiffon (Epic Rarity, Ambush Type) *Reverend Mother Cookie (Epic Rarity, Magic Type) *Walnut Cookie (Super Epic Rarity, Ranged Type)

Magic Candies *Pastry Cookie -> (Given the Light Type) Has Two Cookies with the highest SPD (includes herself) to increase by +35.5% as the battle continues *Red Velvet Cookie -> Power now hits all enemies on the field, but does the most damage to two rear-most enemies. Brings the two rear-most enemies towards the front, inflicting Injury Debuff and decrease in DEF. *Sparkling Cookie -> (Given the Light Type) Heals all Party Members, but gives extra progressive healing to the Two Cookies with the highest ATK with the power being similar to the Blind Healer's Staff Treasure *Almond Cookie -> Magic Candy Power includes Shackle Debuff & Injury Debuff, all enemies will have their SPD and ATK decreased

Main Reason for the Special Episode Since Pastry Cookie and Red Velvet Cookie's story is seen with so much potential, this idea for a Special Episode involving them was created. Tackling the serious themes of religious cults (St Pastry Order) and gaining your own sense of individuality. Having themes similar to that of Persona 4 Golden & Persona 5 Royal. Plus the story taking place in Parfaedia can given the potential of more character development for Almond Cookie and Cream Puff Cookie. Sparkling Cookie also makes sense to be in Parfaedia with his overall concept, and a couple of other stories he appeared have the possibility to be mentioned in dialogue (mainly Holiday Express Story, but also Tropical Soda Islands Story).

- - - - - - - - - -

Cookie Run Kingdom - Special Episode Idea Template

Special Episode Idea #0 - TBA Story Type - TBA

Synopsis TBA

First-Half of the Story TBA

Second-Half of the Story TBA

Story Inspiration TBA

Main Character Cookies *TBA

New Cookies *TBA

Magic Candies *TBA

Main Reason for the Special Episode TBA

[punklorde-hunter]

So 2.1, just like the previous patch SO much happened, and To no one's surprise, It blew everything we saw in 2.0 out of the water! And since i did something similar during 2.1, I'd thought it make sense to do the same for the next part. So without further ado!

Spoilers under the Cut!!!!

Of course the start of 2.1's story has to end right where we left off, in the room where we found Robin's dead body O_O. But i like the direction they go, where after we split off form Aventurine and meet with the Express, we get to see multiple POV's, kinda like how they did with Dan Heng on the Luofu but more complex. And man did it work wonders!

While I know there were people meming and a bit disappointed Duke Inferno never got to appear in game, I did like that Acheron at least remembers his last stand. Man stood by his principles and went out fighting (even if he' prob won't be playable)

I also like how they handled Acheron & Welt together. Like I said before never got to play Honkai Impact 3rd, but I did get to read a lot of the supplementary material like Second Impact, so it was nice to see that side of Welt from there. And that's while Acheron isn't his Mei it's nice they shared a kinship

What a fun Greek Myth ref to match the HI3 Ref

I got nothing to add to this the sand pit was hilarious as hell! The NPC walking into walls and clipping into floors made me lose it. The devs had way too much fun in that area lmao.

Siobhan give em one more chance 🥺

the straight Up Pikachu ref sdjaldsadkklds

The little detail of Aventurine's & Dr. Ratio's shoes was pretty cute, the lil' spades on Aventurine's sole and Ratio's sandals, it's nice!

Nice Unlimited Blade Works ref there Star Rail

This next parts more on the serious side, so I'll give a little heads up that rest of the post is prob about to touch on really dark topics like Enslavement, genocide, su1c1de, and not so nice things like that so be warned.

So,

Aventurine / Kakavasha's backstory....

there's so much I could say but they really did a excellent job fleshing out his character. From how he was "lucky" from birth but everyone he ever loved wasn't so lucky, how his reckless gambling with his life was there even as a kid, him feeling he's never been truly free only going from one master to another, mans got trauma and it's no wonder he thinks everything comes at a cost.

I haven't seen a lot of post about the part where Kakasvasha says his last goodbyes to his sister, right before the Narration explains that the small rebellion ended in the Avgin clan's extinction (it's vague if the Katacins survived, but considering how the story paints them, not many people are gonna miss them). over 6,000 deaths and over ,000 casualties, all on a planet that was barely survivable. And while his sister sends him off after one final prayer to Gaithra Triclops, it left him alone with no one, and we know how he ended up afterwards.

Not to mention the fact even when Aventurine killed his old master by STRANGLING HIM WITH CHAINS, he would've been arrested by the IPC had Jade not taken an interest in his bet. Man has been through it. No wonder he recklessly bets his life in gambles, it was either that or he dies.

Speaking of reckless gambling, the entire sequence after Sunday does his Harmony suggestion we get that oh so nice interactions with the young Aventurine and his shadow the true self other Aventurine that rags on him the rest of the way. The shadow Aventurine lays it in him that underneath that bravado is a man whose so scared to lose more and yet doesn't care if his own life gets taken in the process since all he has is that. Not even with all the money in the universe. Dr Ratio's "betrayal" was supposedly an act, but he still thinks on some level the doctor hates him and it was real, he has no one to confined in or anything.

But with the younger self it's different. The way his young self still has light in his eyes, how in the hallucination he's at the theme park with his family, who are dead. First he denies that there are any Avgins since they were all dead right? But then he shows a kinder side he would never show to anyone, much less himself. And it accumulates in the scene where he decides to live on a bit longer and says a final prayer to his past, to Kakavasha. I was choking up all through that final part.

I know the patch mostly focused on Aventurine, but even what we learned of Acheron is also sad. She's not really a Galaxy Ranger, because her status as an Emanator of Nihillty, a "Self-Annihilator," is tragic enough, means she'll forget precious memories, senses, untill there's nothing. So it's sticks out to me that Acheron is the one to give Aventurine the nudge to live on, she she also has lost so much but chooses to walk on in life. Plus Dr. Ratio's note to Aventurine was very Ratio, no-nonsense but also wants him to live on despite their differences. The Aventio fans are eating it up but it's still a nice gesture from Ratio.

Speaking of Sunday, I said I wanted him to get his revenge as a treat but I wasn't counting on him almost killing Aventurine with whatever Harmony power he put on him. Sure the man lost his sister to an unknown murderer, and the light cone memory of them of a simpler time is sad. There's still a few unanswered question about him and Robin's relationship, like if Robin's fondest memories of are the pretend concert between her and Sunday, why is ti as adults she only just got back to Penacony, and why the Harmony isn't in sync anymore that caused her voice to lose it's tune. Also Sundays controlling attitude and his raven bird watching in every scene he's in makes me think the once closed siblings may not be as close anymore

Also with the reveal of what "Gallagher's" role in the story is, the drink he made for my Trailblazer fits a bit TOO well. I don't completely believe he's working alone, but his association with the Something Unto Death meme has me excited for his role next patch. Let my chill bartender man be a bit shady as a treat. Truly the "most normal human in the game of werewolf" (Thanks Shaoji)

Also to no one's surprise, Sam & Firefly are one in the same. While I am interested on how the last Stellaron Hunter is gonna be like and what their deal is, it's a shame most people like em were spoiled by the twist since it makes Firefly and Sam SO much more interesting.

But overall 2.1 has been AMAZING in terms of characterization and with 2.2 being set to be the "climax" of Penacony's Story I can't wait to see what they do with the plot threads they have been cooking up.

[enden-k]

i didn't catch most of the sumeru events and I so get it. i want more of it too, it's like so-so. Big and colorful. fontaine is just sort of the same

Hoyoverse really popped off with sumeru tbh, both characters and quests.

tbh I'm of the opinion that like. there should be one new location event with each update (like the thelxi stuff, tho it was not very exploratory, could have been better) and then they should just do one in a Different nation (I guess they had that poetry thing but it was kinda boring)

also like. they need the hsr thing where you can play story events even after they're done. I missed the fucking interdarshan tournament and I'm still so fucking sad about it. I haven't even been playing genshin all that long and the events already bore me to death. i know they're hard to make but like hoyoverse come on. genshin is you most popular game, Make An Effort

...this kinda turned into complaining I'm sorry. long story short I get you

this is my main issue too and also probably why hoyo decided to take the focus off playable characters and instead make npcs important for events. i have difficulties connecting and feeling so easily so im really unfazed when some random ass same face npc who i know for not even 5mins suddenly dies (cough teppei or what that silly guy was named) or smth- what im saying is that i need the time and chance to know more of this character before i can have a connection and then im able to feel. its why i fucking CRIED and felt so much for jeht and why shes honestly the best npc in this entire game to me HAHAH we honestly need more npcs and stories like jeht and the one cartographer in the chasm etc

anyway

bc hoyo locked some important character stories/lore behind events where the focus was on them (albedos events with SUPER IMPORTANT lore to the game), the scara event before his release, kavehs event,...) it sucks a lot for people who missed those. i guess its why they started to bring in more npcs instead but honestly, those events feel very bland to me most of the time (ofc its different for others) bc of my issue with connecting with a character in a limited time. im excited to see some familiar faces again and then the main story is some random ass npcs lovestory

idk i feel like the events really drop lately. maybe its also just bc im a pampered little noodle spoiled rotten by lantern rite and interdarshan championship. idk if ppl get me there hhghg i think if they either create unique npcs and give us the time and chance to make a connection with them, the events they create around them might get better again. this, or they bring back more events focusing on playable characters but make those accessible after the event end for new players missing them

this turned super long and rambly sorry, im tired and brainless today uhghgh anyway

[gamebunny-advance]

Confession

I wish I liked Zuke more than I do.

I don't dislike him, but he just doesn't do anything for me.

And when I say "he doesn't do anything," I almost mean that literally. I feel like he contributes almost nothing to the main conflict, and the conflicts he is a major part of aren't really his fault, so he has nothing to gain from being in them. Zuke basically begins and ends the main story as the same person, and I think a main character should go through a little more growth than that for me to get attached to them.

And frankly, his personality just doesn't make up for those shortcomings for me. He's funny, but almost everyone in this game is funny, so he doesn't really stand out to me.

Normally, I like a kind-of-weird dude, but he's just so subdued about it that those quirks might as well not even be there. I get that he's supposed to be the straight man to Mayday's excitability, but those traits aren't strong enough against the more colorful characters in the cast. I'm not asking for him to be a wet blanket, but he doesn't resist the world's wackiness as much as he could to be a more effective straight man character.

I also get that part of his character is that he's more "experienced" compared to Mayday, so he's also sort of the anchor to this world: he already knows of most of its eccentricities, so he doesn't feel the need to react that strongly to anything weird they might come across, but that makes him very boring to me. He just doesn't go far enough in either extreme. Because it's not even that he just blindly accepts everything: he does have a reaction to DJSS pulling out a mini-Earth to make himself grow, and he does question how Kliff got May's number. He's just... reasonable, but in a boring way. It's like his two main traits are at odds with each other: He doesn't really react to the world, and the world doesn't react to him. He simply "is."

At the end of the day, No Straight Roads is Mayday's story, so she gets most of the important story beats and character growth. Zuke is more of a support character, and that's fine, but it feels so unbalanced when he's also the other playable character. Like, I'd think he'd be at least as important as Mayday to the story, but he really isn't. He does have parts dedicated to him, but again, neither his conflict with DK West or Eve are actually started by him, so he doesn't really have anything to gain from them in terms of character growth. In fact, his fight with DK West is so unimportant to his growth that you can still beat the game and get closure on the main conflict without even finishing it.

I dunno, I just feel bad about it because I don't think I should be as indifferent to one of the leading characters as I am the numerous NPCs in this game. Part of my problem with the fandom's treatment of Kliff was that he's a main character, but gets almost nothing from the fandom, but here I am not giving a damn about one of the two main protagonists. Like, I don't think I could be more hypocritical if I tried.

I'd almost go as far as to say I care about Yiruk more than I care about Zuke. That's how bad it is for me, XP.

The only real capacity I have for caring about Zuke is how he interacts with Mayday as a part of the B2J unit, but at that point he's just an accessory, the same as May's guitar.

To put it another way, I feel pretty comfortable drawing Mayday by herself and can tell a story with just that, but I can't draw Zuke alone, or I feel like it's incomplete.

[animalpetcel]

Finished chapter 14. Messy thoughts:

The Good:

- I liked the conclusion a lot more than the conclusion of the first arc

- Very interested in the Priestess atm

- Wisadel was pretty fun. Logos was pretty cool

- Nadine is interesting, I would like to see more of her

- I think it tied together the different plotlines and developments of the Victorian arc well

- I’m still distrustful of the Sarkaz narrative but bc things didn’t completely burn down I will continue to hold my tongue

- Bc it was told over 23 nodes instead of 9-10, reading felt less like a slog (also I was able to take my time with it instead of trying to read it all in 2 days)

The Bad

- I still feel kinda shaky on Theresa’s character and agency. Also given other comments I saw online I think her true motives could have been demonstrated better

- I disliked how easy the stages were. I know that this is a limited event and newbies need to be able to clear but this is also like a major turning point in the overall plot of AK (which newbies shouldn’t be reading) so the combat feeling like a wet blanket takes a lot of wind out of its sails

- Tho it did its best, I still feel like the cast of this arc is way too bloated. I honestly forgot that Saileach was in this arc at all with how little she mattered in the end

- I say this as someone who likes Manfred: Ascalon should have been allowed to do something to him. So far it feels like her assassin powers falls apart whenever it’s not a faceless NPC, which makes her somewhat less cool

- Theresis…? Idk where we’re going with this man.

- During the Doctor’s Originum Dream section, we saw a bunch of characters the Doctor didn’t really know or care about (Allerdale and Baird as examples)….Why?

- The Civilight Eterna Reveal. It feels very thinly like they just wanted “Canon Playable Theresa”

The Mixed

- Theresa and Frostnova I feel like parallel each other a lot when it comes to their decisions to fight us as a test. Shame I didn’t really care about either to the extent that the game wanted me to so I wasn’t really broken up about fighting them/them dying

- We could have gotten more from The Followers. Actually we should have gotten a proper event for them a while ago but also they just need more in general

- It kinda feels a little easy how RI was able to get the KMC and Victoria to walk away from each other with no one stirring the pot but the arc needs to end on a somewhat hopeful note so I get it

And that’s it! I honestly don’t really think that Kazdel & Theresis alone could carry a whole chapter arc (also I think it’ll be a while until we’re able to confront the Priestess). An Anni event yes but I don’t think any more focus on just the Sarkaz is necessary atm (idk maybe I’ll be proved wrong). Since they do have an RI monitor, I do hope we get a playable Damazti when we get another Kazdel event though.

For the next major story arc, whenever that comes, I would honestly love for us to finally get focus on Ursus. I’m dying to know what HG has planned for that nation and I want to meet Neon.

Like please HG I want to go to Ursus!