#i love his design but i wish his story had more variety ;~;

[doodledstars]

The serpent merman

[luvsophen]

The romanced Inquisitor and the Redeem ending (Veilguard spoilers)

I often see misunderstandings and critical comments, especially on Reddit, about the role of the Inquisitor in the redemption ending. I want to explain how I see it from a narrative designer's perspective. I'll approach the topic from a broader angle, so I ask for your patience and understanding. Long read.

To understand the ending and why the Inquisitor is written the way they are, we need to revisit Solas's motivation and psychology as presented in the game. Even in “Inquisition”, it’s clear that Solas clings to the past as if it were the ultimate truth. He asks the Inquisitor to prove him wrong, but that idea feels doomed from the start. Just as I thought ten years ago, I still believe that his primary motivation isn’t solely about his people but rather a deeply complex internal crisis. Solas is a complex and layered character, and his motivation should reflect that complexity according to all the rules of storytelling. It’s incredibly unfortunate that the story arc involving the rebellion and the spirits was cut, as this truly simplified his character and didn’t give players a chance to ponder his beliefs more deeply. But we know that this motivation exists in the background and is alive. We only hear about his motivation related to his people, that is, the spirits, in the final choice with Rook. Naturally, the fact that Bioware put his personal regrets and trauma front and center is psychologically accurate, but the player should have come to this conclusion on their own, discovering it themselves. It’s too obvious, but such are the modern trends in storytelling.

Now, regarding Lavellan. The ending with a romanced Inquisitor suffers from the same issues as the rest of the game — lack of variety and exclusive choices.

I see that some people are disappointed with the ending because the Inquisitor's love and pleas were not enough. I assure you, it was never intended to make it enough. If the Inquisitor’s love/friendship had been enough, Solas's story in “DAtV” wouldn’t have even begun. Solas is as immersed in his past as any millennia-old being could be, leaving no room for anything but his burden, guilt, and despair. Left to his own devices, he will always choose the path of least resistance to his trauma, repeating his mistakes in what he believes is for the greater good until he reaches the point of ultimate self-destruction. He is truly a broken man because of all the terrible things he has done and the horrors he has endured.

The point of the storyline was to showcase the depth of his regrets, the weight of his burden and moral downfall. The Inquisitor (friend/lover) affected him in a way that no mortal ever could. Solas runs from them, and there are objective psychological reasons for this beyond simply not wanting to hurt someone he cares about. Lavellan isn’t wrong when she says she could influence Solas. Yes, if they had years and time for such conversations, but that opportunity doesn’t exist. He doesn't leave her a choice and decides for both of them.

The logic of the ending is that you need to peel back Solas's “layers”. In the finale, Solas is deeply wounded and exhausted, and it’s the perfect moment to play on his emotions while he’s so vulnerable. From a dramaturgical perspective, the focus was correctly placed: the present, future, and past must come together to lift the burden from his shoulders, show him a new path, restore his wisdom, and give him a new purpose. This is how the writers envision his salvation without killing him or distorting his spirit.

Rook represents the present — the modern world and its people. And the modern world asks Solas for mercy, pleading with him not to destroy their lives even more, reminding him that more violence won’t make “the flowers” bloom as Solas wishes. Rook delivers the first logical blow: “Who benefits from tearing down the Veil —you or all of us? You’re lying to yourself and drowning in regrets”. Solas knows this, but knowing and accepting are different things for the psyche. That’s why Rook, as a representative of the world Solas aims to destroy for the “greater good”, steps forward first, asking him to reconsider his true motivations. And Solas does ponder. By this point, he’s already filled with doubts, born long ago, but he’s still not ready to make another choice. The massive burden of the past and a graveyard of sacrifices remain on his shoulders. Solas rejects Rook, rejects the desires and opinions of the present, the modern world, just as he always has. As he must. For now.

Then the Inquisitor steps onto the stage. Whether a friend or a lover, the Inquisitor was the first to show Solas during their time together that he was wrong, cracking his convictions. This is especially clear in the letter to his beloved Lavellan.

Look at how he acts in this scene. How he freezes upon seeing the Inquisitor, how he lowers his head and dagger, the sadness and regret on his face, the tears welling up. In Lavellan’s case, he exhales painfully: “Vhenan”. After all these years of separation and his betrayals — “My love, my heart”. For me it was a emotional moment of vulnerability.

The Inquisitor is here to give Solas two things: forgiveness, which Solas cannot grant himself, and a reminder of who he is, who he dreamed of being, offering him a choice for the future. But even these gifts may not be enough for Solas because a person trapped in the past and overwhelming regrets, committed to self-destruction and mass deaths, sees no reason to choose a different future.

He has lost all hope for it. He believes he deserves neither happiness, love, nor forgiveness. And when Lavellan says she forgives him, Solas doesn’t understand why. What’s the point of forgiveness after all he’s done? Look at his face in that scene. He can’t forgive himself. He tries to prove to himself that he doesn’t deserve forgiveness: “I lied, I betrayed you”. The contrast with his self-justifications in “Trespasser” is stark. And yet, she forgives him. It means a tremendous amount to him, and he turns away from this gift in disbelief. It will take years before he truly forgives himself.

This scene is meant to show how deeply he’s sunk into his past, into his own darkness, unable to step back even for the sake of his beloved or a friend, for another path and future. He’s filled with self-justifications.

Solas explains why Lavellan’ forgiveness isn’t enough: “And then I... and then she died for nothing”. No, not because “she/Mythal” died for nothing. Everything he’s been through, everything he’s done to the world—everything—was for nothing if he keeps the Veil. And how can he live with that? All the suffering must be justified. His millennia of fears, pain, and guilt—these are stronger than his feelings for the Inquisitor. This is realistically portrayed, even if it hurts his beloved, even if it hurts you as a player. He can’t release himself from his burden and guilt. He’s come up with a thousand justifications. You hear this throughout the game from Mythal, Ghilan'nain, Morrigan, and so on. Solas is an unreliable narrator.

The present, the future, the past. Mythal is the catalyst for everything. That’s why she has to deliver the final blow, and she breaks him. For the last time. I won’t touch on the ethics of this moment. His entire tragedy began with her; his downfall started with her. He ties all his burdens to her. She embodies all his past and all his pain. Through her more benevolent version in Morrigan, Mythal shares the burden of their joint crimes with him. She doesn’t apologize or express remorse to him but directly destroys his last justification—that it was all for her. She no longer needs it. He is free. The world has suffered for too long, Solas has suffered for too long. It is time to stop. And in the finale, there’s no time for him to create another reason to justify his “delusions” and mass deaths.

Solas no longer has the strength to fight himself, and he agrees to stop. His past, present, and future simultaneously redefine his purpose. Now he has a new goal. This suits him as a spirit bound to serve his purpose. But he can't forgive himself and that's logical. The romanced Inquisitor is here to demonstrate for him immense wisdom and generosity by mortal standards, a deep understanding of Solas's spirit, and the strength of her love for him. It should break through any rational defense of his psyche. He is seen, heard, forgiven, given hope and purpose, his fear of being alone is shattered, and he is loved so deeply that he can hardly believe it. These are all the needs and desires of Solas that we have learned about from the two games. He desperately needed it and Weekes gives it to him with the help of the Inquisitor, his beloved. This is intentional. Solas is so disoriented and broken that he can't say anything to her except to give her a choice, one last chance to turn away from him, because he himself will no longer turn away from her.

Narratively, the Inquisitor, friend or lover, represents a bridge between Solas’s past and future: a factual happy future and a new purpose if you are his lover and leave with him; or you grant him a new purpose, reminding him of who he is, if you do not leave with him or are his friend. Solas faces dangerous work both on himself and on the Blight; this is not a respite.

The Inquisitor, however, will never be freed from their religious and mythical role. This character will always be tied to that role in the story.

Lavellan here embodies almost a religious myth about the great power of love that surpasses all contradictions, a bond stronger than rational reasons. It’s pointless to rationalize, and you won’t find solace in that process — their relationship is meant to be a deeply emotional romance with an irrational, mystical and mythical connection between two lovers.

Lavellan performs a strictly narrative function here, but out of respect for those players who cannot associate themselves with such an Inquisitor, there should technically have been an option to not go with him into the Fade right in that scene, instead of at the tavern.

Narratively, the writers are concluding the arc involving the story of the Evanuris, Solas, the Blight, and the Veil. Above all, the writers focused more on this overarching narrative than on how to incorporate the player's various choices into the plot. Therefore, the canonical character of the Inquisitor takes precedence here — that's how the writers envision this character.

Canonically, The Inquisitor like the HoF, is a hero with a specific, grand purpose in the plot. This is a character who brings order to a world on the brink of madness. They think on a global scale and resolve global conflicts. They don’t create problems, they solve them. The same approach is shown with Solas. He is both a global and personal problem for Lavellan. Solas forces the Inquisitor (any of them) to endure a lot of pain and unpleasantness, turning their life upside down.

Lavellan’s resentments, wounded pride, and sorrow may later be expressed or dealt with differently, but right now, the fate of not only Solas but the world is being decided (quarrels will not help anyone solve the task on a global scale; Lavellan will not be petty, nor will she be too proud, just as she won't think of herself first when faced with the world's fate; she will only think about it once the world is no longer in danger). Lavellan cannot convince Solas, but will keep trying with the influence she has.

Personally, I believe that this type of love (type of the lover) is exactly what Solas needs for his personal growth.

The Inquisitor offers him forgiveness and understanding because that is their role here — to be above it, to be wiser than Solas, to show more mercy, patience, and understanding toward others’ nature and spirit than Solas ever did toward the modern world and mortals. And this is especially valuable for the narrative. Mortals (Rook, the Inquisitor, Morrigan) give Solas what he couldn’t get in the past: the freedom to be himself, and salvation and/or love. This idea is even repeated in the game’s cut files.

According to interviews, Bioware wanted to level the playing field so that any player with any world state/choices could choose the redemption ending — I'm not a fan of this decision from the perspective of character development, but after all, this is a game, not a book story.

I’m not too critical of the Solavellan ending, even though I’m not a Solasmancer; I just like him as an antagonist and a character. I don't find the ending with his solo redemption psychologically credible. I'm sorry they didn't add at least Cole to the game to help him on this painful journey.

In my opinion, Solavellan ending is the best thing that happened in the game for Solas (and in his whole life). At least somewhere, he was given happiness and something he didn’t even dare to hope for.

The game itself is a big disappointment in terms of narrative, but I don’t want to criticize Bioware too much without knowing the reasons why it turned out this way. And for this reason, you should try to look beyond the execution and focus on the content and context of the story to understand the writer’s intent.

Thank you for reading to the end!

[hummingbird-games]

2024 in Review (Indie Games)

2023 | 2022 | 2021

Helloooo gamer friends!!!

I'm so tired.

Lol.

Anyhoo, y'all don't care about that!!! Y'all are here to see what games I played and what the heck I have to say about them! Reminders: I don't bash games I didn't like, and I try to post more in-depth thoughts and reviews and general yapping to Gem's Game Gems.

DEMOS

When Stars Collide - I am by no means a sci-fi girlie. I need a HEAPING dose of fantasy or fantasy elements to help me out. That said, y'all might remember how I went feral for Gilded Shadows, so I am locked in for this journey with WSC. It's just as mysterious and lore intense as GS, but also just as intriguing and engaging!

Love Me, Love Me Not - I looooove when a game charms me to pieces??? Our MC Addie, the introduced LIs, the story, the art??? Where do I begin?? Anyway, please check this one out y'all! I'm impatient for the full game (shocker, I know).

Threads of You: Beyond the Bay - So my thoughts and reactions for this one are on the side blog, but I really enjoyed the demo and I have eyes for Chris, Vince, and Alex hehehe.

Lost in Limbo - While I'd been keeping tabs on this game for what seems forever because of the character art that originally caught my attention, I almost didn't finish the demo because it was lowkey disturbing (I'm a wimp and not all horror is made equal). But!!! BUT!!!! I push through to the end, had a good time, noted that I need to play the full game in the daylight with the music turned down low. And I absolutely adore Ara and Xal so, so much.

A Simple Twist of Fae - Absolutely no one cares, but I read a lot of manga this year. Like, a lot-a lot. Like, ~180 books and 1/3 of that was manga. Anyhoo, When JMB announced she was cooking up this game, I was impatient to get my grubby hands on it. AND THEN I PLAYED IT AND IT WAS THE SHOJO INSPIRED GAME OF MY DREAMS?!?! Like.....I wish I could both have it on my computer and also on my bookshelf. Final build dropping when??? (Also the UI design is utterly delightful, I cry.)

The Summit Library (FULL DEMO) - The last time I reviewed this game, we got chapter 1 as a taste, and I was. Locked! In!! The full demo gives us the first 2 chapters as well as the previews for all the romance routes and while giving everyone a whirl I'm *still* undecided on who to go for in the future, I must mention this: TSL is so aspec friendly???? I do love a game with smut, don't get me wrong looks at College Craze but sometimes I have my moments of being overwhelmed/sliiiiiiightly repulsed and the variety of options you have to choose how you react and interact with the various LIs in this game is amazing. (I have more thoughts on this, so I'll try to remember to post to the sideblog, but please understand that this game is totally worth your attention and time imo!!!)

Fully Released & Played (at least 1 playthrough)

Rabbit Trail - This. Game. Is. SO. Cute. *punches the air* 😭🥹(Copy + paste of my review on the itch.io page -> This was so charming, so fluffy, so cozy, just delightful all around??? I've only reached one ending so far, but René is just the cutest protag to play as, and his interactions as he delivers his mail made me cheese so dang hard! (Also, I wanted to fight his parents for not properly appreciating their kid LOL))

Stuck by Design - I checked this game out because I was looking into games that fellow programmers had worked on, and this cozy game stumbled onto my lap. The music was perfect, the UI is beautiful and clean, and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of the VA for the LI, Yuki.

Wake Me Up If You Need Me - I called this game older!HSDJY MC x Ryan coded and I'm still right. The voice actor MAKES this game, and the interactions the player has with Reed is so flippin' delightful?? All my love and adoration to the game developer. May they make more beautiful games.

CTRL FREAK - The developer team brought us The Faithfulness of the Universe which is a banger in its own right, and CTRL FREAK is the team's commercial, finished project that I also found delightful. The soundtrack and the animations are chef's kiss 💛

Breathless Winds - Ooo, baby, ooo. So. If there is only one game you play from this list and you have some spare cash to spend (at the time of writing, the game is on sale!!!) please, please, check this one out. It left me absolutely spellbound, both the orginal demo, and then the full game. While I didn't get to blog fully about this one, and I only tackled 2 of the 4 routes, this game is absolutely everything. This is my indie game of the year. Poppy and her journey resonated with me, and between the music and the art, everything just came together so perfectly.

Wake Up Magical Girl - Listen TF up, if miseri creates it, I'm gonna play it, idc, idc. That being said...this game had a kick to it that when I finished my first playthrough, I had to stare off into space and gather myself. It takes the concept of magical girls and heroism and gave me a teeny tiny existential crisis, but other than that, I'm fine, it's fine, play this game, thank you.

Sleeping Under Spells - God, I love me a game where I get to argue with a LI. I love it. Bonus points if it's lowkey stupid stuff we're bickering over LOL!!

Our Wonderland - Yeah, uh huh, you thought you'd escape me talking about this game this year, didn't yah???? Too bad. The fifth and final arc dropped this year and I played it and I cried and felt for the briefest moments that life was okay. To say something different than my review of last year, I love that this seems to be the game that helps fellow ace devs find and flock to each other, I'm not kidding 🤣 so thank you Carrot for helping us fellow aspec peeps feel seen and validated and understood!

I Watched a Full Game Playthrough and Highly Recommend

Replay Boys - Okay so technically at the time of posting, there's still one more video I'm waiting to watch (Naja of BlerdyOtome uploaded her stream to YouTube) but my Godddddd. I've had my eye on this game for FOREVER but I was lowkey waiting for it to move to itch.io (I'm still a lowkey Steam hater 🥹) anyhoo, watching this absolutely wild game made me go ahead and buy a copy for myself to replay at a later time, but it's just great. The summary only scratches this surface of what the game entails 🤣

Gemi’s Gushies

(a list within a list of games that have devs trucking along in the background and I want to spotlight for y’all)

Save the Villainess - Life got away with me and unfortunately I never finished my play of the demo BUT what I have played was fun and I hope to return to this in the new year!

Woman of Xal 2 - Plot Twist Studios is on that Sequel Train with the next installment of WoX!!! Which I'm VERY excited for!!! I've unfortunately only completed one playthrough of this game, but the first game is definitely a masterclass in replayability, and I hope next year I'll be able to do a second playthough as I wait for game 2's Kickstarter!

...

And that's 2024! Any shared favorites?

- Gemini 🫶🏾

[konigenblobbity]

hii it’s anon that asked about the “what’s your problem” story , i was wondering what your favorite characters from cod were (sorry if you’ve answered this before) and what your head canons for them would be? and how’s your master list going just curious, well i hope you had a great day whenever you read this :3

Headcannons: 141 + König

18+ MINORS DNI

Warnings: Fluff, NSFW, comfort, sex, blowjobs, cunnilingus, praise, degradation, possessive traits, overstimulation, just a variety of NSFW, links to straight p0rn

A/n: I don’t really have a favorite! Although I do love writing for Ghost. But I will say, I love König cause his design is so sick and he’s also Austrian which is <3. Hope you’re having a great day / night when you read this! ALSO! I think the links only work if you open the Twitter app. Pls lmk if you know how to make it work, cause idk what’s going wrong.

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley -

SFW

Simon is a sucker for physical touch, resting a hand on the small of your back whenever you walk together, tracing the knuckles of your fingers during meetings, simply brushing his ankle against yours under a table

Acts of service are his thing. He’d prepare your coffee in the morning, you’d find your knives and guns polished to perfection if you had an important upcoming mission, be always had an eye on if you were running out of anything - like shampoo or water - and it’d be replaced before it ever goes empty.

Any second he spends with you is never a second wasted. Just being in your presence makes him happy, you two don’t even have to be talking to each other! He just loves having you near him, being able to look over and see your face whenever he wishes…

He could stare at you for hours, trying to memorize every feature of your face to perfection.

Movies and cuddles, always. He won’t even watch the movie! He’ll just be staring at you, so peaceful in his arms. If it happens to be a horror he loves to watch how you jump slightly, gripping onto his arm tightly and hiding behind it. He loved how you felt safe when he held you, how you looked to him for protection.

NSFW

Two words. ROUGH INTIMACY. Ghost can’t help but rail into you till your voice snaps. But he’ll always make his adoration for you clear. Kissing every inch of skin, praising you, mumbling how good you felt, what a good girl you were being, all the while slamming into your cervix till your brain melts

We all know he’s BIG. And when you first see him, he can see the shock and nervousness on your face. You had no idea how he’d fit inside you. First time he’d be sweet and reassuring, but from then on, if you brought up his size, he’d just say “Don’t worry… I’ll make it fit”

Loves to hear you. Takes note of every small motion that causes you to moan out or whimper.

Wants you to sit on his face. He craves it. Wants your thighs to suffocate him slowly as he eats you out so expertly.

He’s merciless… barely giving you recovery time between when he eats you out, and when he slides deep inside you.

This man just LOVES to overstimulate you. The broken moans and cries that leave your lips had him hungry for more. Because no matter how many times you came, or how much you begged for a moment to relax, he knew you can take it. And you did. “Awww I know… f-fuck I know. Is it too much?” he’d tease you, voice soft and gentle before somehow speeding up his pace, chuckling as your eyes well up from the overwhelming pleasure “I know you can take it. Be a good cocksleeve and take it”

Due to his more animalistic side that wants to fuck you senseless… you two have a safe word. That if it ever becomes painful or too much you promised you’d say it. And if you couldn’t say it, all you had to do was wrap a hand around his throat, he’d stop immediately and make sure you’re alright. “Shit…” he’d slip out of you gently, beginning to rub your waist softly “it’s alright… there you go. Deep breathes” if you were tied up in any way, he took them off. He’d kiss at any red marks his fingers left behind “I know darling… it was overwhelming. You’re okay now” and he’d just caress you and take care of you for as long as it took.

Every chance he gets he finishes inside of you. Watching how the mixture of his and your cum slide out of your fluttering cunt. It makes him groan each time.

Then taking a finger and picking it up before stuffing it back inside of you. “You better now waste a drop… want you to feel me dripping out of you for days”

Certain nights he’ll even go so far as to keep his dick inside of you. Using it as a plug so his cum stays inside you. He’d groan as you continue to flutter around him. But as his dick softens inside you, he falls in love with how the warmth of your pussy surrounds his sensitive cock. Finding a deep love for cockwarming for multiple reasons.

Bonus —> This is exactly him! The change of pace to take moments just to hold and kiss you, before going back to manhandling you, hands finding their way to grip at your hips to hold you in place for him. Ugh and the slight choke hold!

Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavish -

SFW

This man is so flirtatious, loving to get you to blush through his words. “I swear you’re an Angel…” smiling at you as if you’re his whole world “i could just look at you for hours”

Soap just adores hearing your laugh. This often means he’ll surprise you by suddenly tickling your sides. Of course you try to escape but you don’t stand a chance, his grip on you tight and unwavering.

Play wrestling is a must for this man. He loves when you get all cocky, threatening to pin him down or tackle him. He likes to goad you, get under your skin till you finally lunge at him. Of course he’ll let you have your fun every once in a while but it always ends the same. Him winning and pinning you down. “You know you don’t stand a chance lass… why even try?” He loves to tease. Using the opportunity to kiss you all over.

Always finds time for you! No matter how busy he is, he will make time for you.

Loves using pick up lines on you, even though you’re already dating. Adores when you throw your own pick up line his way, always making his laugh with how cheesy they are.

NSFW

Such a horny man. Legit grinds against you whenever he can, even if you’re talking with other soldiers in the common area. He just can’t get enough of you.

Loves when you give him head… the sight of your lips sloppily sucking him off, it was enough to have him trembling. His hands would caress your head before grabbing at your hair. Encouraging you not to stop. “F-fuck you’re so good… so good to me~” praising breathlessly. “So gorgeous gagging on my cock like that” the way saliva connects your lips to his cock was probably the hottest thing he’s ever seen “Lips slick with spit… Can I fuck your throat numb? Please Angel” he checks in consistently, wanting your consent with everything. He enjoys gripping your hair and holding your head in place as he feverishly shoves his cock down your throat.

He is not shy to kiss you after you suck him off, wanting to reward you when you’re good for him “Did such a good job gorgeous… let me reward you like you deserve”

His hands loved to explore your body, running over your body and groping at any skin he could reach.

Any position where he can see your face? His favorite. He wants to see how your eyes roll back, how your mouth falls agape, how spit collects at the corner of your mouth. “Feels good doesn’t it? God lass, you look so drunk on my cock… all for me”

Just praise. He cannot shut up when it comes to you. “Such an Angel. Such a beautiful beautiful lass” whether you’re on your knees, beneath him, riding him, he needs to make sure you know how gorgeous you are. “I wanna make you melt~ All for me. Wanna make you feel so so good”

Never satisfied with you only cumming once. He will always make sure he gets at least 2 out of you. On days where you both have the time… he won’t stop until you beg him to. “Give me one more yeah? One more orgasm before you pass out…” “Can you do that for me?”

Bonus —> This just screams soap to me. He craves this intimacy, that closeness to just feel and worship you in his arms. The shower being a perfect place to be alone together, just melting under the feel of your lips

Second Bonus —> with your permission of course, he would totally make a video like this. Watching it back when he’s alone, thrusting into his fist imagining it was your pussy. Closing his eyes as he listens to the sound of your moans from his phone. Sometimes he’ll just watch it… not even to get off. Just smirking at the sight of you so weak for him, completely at his mercy.

König -

SFW

This big bear just wants to hold you. Cuddling you against his big chest while his hand completely envelops your palm. His arms wrapped around your waist, keeping you as close as he can.

Protective as hell. You are his top priority… if he gets the idea that someone is making you uncomfortable in any way, he’s stepping in and willing to resort to violence for you “Back off… or you’ll be picking your teeth off the floor”

He is a sucker for your touch and kisses. When you’d pepper them on his face through his sniper hood he just melts. Your touch relaxing his muscles effortlessly, specifically going insane when they sit at his waist - which is slutty as hell! - thumbs resting on the V taper of his torso.

Definitely sprays his pillow and bed with your perfume. He loves the scent of you and wants to have the illusion that you’re in his bed even when you’re not.

König will speak in German to you randomly, whether it’s nicknames or whole sentences. Loving how you don’t know what he’s saying but trust him enough to know it’s only ever something sweet. “Du bist das Licht meines Lebens“ or „Mein süße Engel“ (t- You are the light of my life, my sweet Angel)

NSFW

Size kink. Simple as that. Can’t help but feel pride every time your cunt manages to take all of him inside you. Praising you. “Such an obedient little pussy… taking all of me so easily without any struggle. Fuck it’s like you’re molded to fit me”

Loves missionary simply because he can see the way his dick bulges through the skin of your lower stomach. He’ll place a hand there, softly pressing down against it which had you seeing stars

He. Is. A. Switch. Fight me. Sometimes this big bear of a man needs to be taken care of. Loving to fall apart under your mouth or pussy, abiding by your rules and letting you lead. Whimpers and whines spilling from his lips while he pleaded for more. “P-please, mein gott Schatz. Please go faster, f-feels so good” (t- my god sweetheart)

Making out with you gets him so hard so fast. Hands exploring each other while your lips mold against each other. His tongue prodding at your mouth softly until you let him in. The feeling of your tongue sliding against his while your mouth swallowed every noise he made, that was just so hot to him.

Aftercare is very important to him. With his size and his roughness he always makes sure to soothe your sore muscles after a rough fuck. He’ll always take the time to massage your thighs and shoulders to help ease your twitching. He’ll softly kiss over every inch of your skin, praising you for being so good, and then holding you into the night, holding you close. “You did so good Schatz… my best girl. Let me help ease you to sleep”

Bonus —> SIZE. KINK! He’d just watch how his cock slides down your throat, protruding through your skin. He’d fuck your throat nice and slow just to watch your skin bulge with the head of his cock. Being ever so gentle as he slides himself in and out of your throat

Second Bonus —> He loves having you on his lap. His large frame holding you as you ride down onto his cock. Watching you bounce up and down and urging you on with his hands gripping your hips.

Captain John Price -

SFW

Price was not big into PDA, preferring to save his physical touch for when the two of you are alone. Instead he shows his affection through praise and compliments. Often following missions or in the mornings. “I’m proud of you, you did a great job in todays mission” , “Morning soldier, good to see you nice and cheery”

Trusts you ENDLESSLY but is always afraid that you’ll get hurt. The idea enough to crush him.

If you do come back from a mission injured, he’ll demand to be in the room with the medic, pushing them aside to take care of the more minor injuries - obviously not taking on more than he can handle, they have a skilled medic for a reason. But he feels better to be there and help in some way.

If you’re sore in any way, he is immediately ready to alleviate your pain. “You alright darling?” You always try to ease his mind and hide your soreness but Price knows. Even the small winces of your body had his attention on you. “Y-yeah just a bit sore in my shoulder. Its bearable though” he was already making his way behind you - whether in the common area, bedroom, office, he’s on his way - and begins to massage at your muscles. “Tell me if it hurts too much” the second he starts there’s no getting rid of him, no matter how many times you say it’s alright, if you’re still wincing or clenching your teeth, he’s not moving. “Let me take care you darling”

If you’re not a soldier, when he’s gone you get tons of letters and gifts, he’d even send you little wooden carvings of hearts he’d make when he had time. Always saying that he misses you dearly and cannot wait to see you again

NSFW

His endurance would surprise you… able to hold back just to watch you fall apart on his cock over and over till he’s satisfied.

Nothing turns him on like pleasuring you. He could stay tucked between your thighs for hours if you let him. His tongue memorizing every part of your sensitive pussy just to get you to fall apart faster each time. “Mmm, you taste so good… she’s absolutely drenched”

He has AND WILL CONTINUE TO place you up on his shoulders so your hands touch the ceiling while he eats you out feverishly

Big on foreplay. Loves to finger fuck you before he does anything else, preparing you even when he knows you don’t need it. You’d beg him to stop teasing but he couldn’t help himself. Wanting to get you writhing on his bed before he even fucks you. “Patience darling… it’ll feel so much better I promise”

When you give him blowjobs he goes haywire, the feeling just indescribable. However the doesn’t like to grab at your head and throat fuck you. Rather shirting to a 69 position to please you at the same time. Often eating you out so goddamn good you have to pull your lips off his cock, not that’s he’s complaining.

Not one for teasing, he gives you what you when you ask for it nicely. Loves to hear you beg on your volition without having to withhold your orgasm from you to do it.

Price wants you to hear him… he wants you to know how good you make him feel.

Bonus —> Enough said. He wants you WRITHING. Holding you in place as he brings you to orgasm over and over.

Second Bonus —> SO HIM ITS INSANE! Late night post mission fucking. Wants you nice and close, head buried in your neck as he groans and murmurs to you. He would be so vocal it’d surprise you at first, moaning directly into your ear.

Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick -

SFW

Always tries to be a real gentleman. Setting up actually cutesy dates for the two of you. Yet he doesn’t want you to mention it too much. He doesn’t need the praise for being a good partner, it comes naturally.

Showers you in compliments, even if it’s a little thing. “Your hair looks beautiful today” “I always thought that shirt looked good on you” often pulling you close after he butters you up with his kind words “Your skin is practically glowing… my own goddess”

Good morning and good night texts… they don’t even have to be long, he just loves sending you a message so you wake up or go to bed thinking of him. Cause he sure as hell thinks of you.

He sticks by your side whenever he gets the chance. Always wanting to be the one to spar with you in training, the one you eat breakfast and dinner with, the one you sit next to in the common area. Practically nothing can drag him away from you.

A big advocate for you stealing his clothes. Loves to see you in his hoodies around the base, a smirk growing on his lips when he spots you. He loves as well when you sleep in his shirts, having once told him that you like how it smells like him.

NSFW

Gaz isn’t into taking videos and photos of you when you’re intimate. However… his one expectation is a set of Polaroids you gave him of you in lingerie, each photo with one less piece of clothing until the final one was a breathtaking nude photo of you. He prefers to keep them in his wallet, physical evidence that you’re his.

Gaz doesn’t shut up. Whether he’s praising, teasing, or slightly degrading you, he doesn’t stop talking. He loves the effect his words have on you. “Yeah? You’re close aren’t you? I can feel how you clench around me… trying to pull me in deeper, such a good fucking pussy. Just for me” occasionally leaning down and whispering directly into your ear “Sound so fucking beautiful… screaming out for me like a cock hungry whore”

He’ll use any chance he can get to smack your ass. The moment you lean over a counter, or bend over to grab something, you feel his hand collide with your ass. When you’re around other soldiers he simply gives your rear a little pinch or grope. Making sure it’s subtle enough no one even noticed.

Loves to lead but not be dominant. He enjoys choosing the position and how he wants to hold you, or touch you. He doesn’t like to manhandle you though, never.

However he will let you lead whenever you want. He’ll be especially supportive if you want to ride him, it being one of his favorite positions. His hands will hold your waist as you bounce on his cock. His eyes glued to the way your tits bounce in unison, either moving his hands up to grope them or leaning forward to lick and bite at them. “Looks so fucking sexy… let me help you darling.” His hands will lift your hips up and down harsher, even meeting your hips halfway by thrusting up into you. It’s not long before he takes control, fucking up into you - see second bonus ;)

He is a BIG tit guy. They don’t need even need to be big, he just loves playing with, licking, and kissing at the skin of your breasts before moving to toy with your nipples. Moaning against them knowing you’ll feel the vibration through your whole body.

Loves to cum on your tits and face. Wants to see it decorate your skin, or your clothes ;)

Afterwards will pick some of it up with his fingers, sticking them in your mouth “Suck them clean for me…” when you oblige hell immediately kiss you.

He would do the same after he finger fucks you. Licking his fingers clean right in front of your face, winking at you after he’s done.

Bonus —> He loves how you sound, but is more than happy to gag you with a rag or his fingers to keep you quiet. This just feels very Gaz… the roughness and lust. Yet he’d definitely make sure you’re in the mood for that kind of sex.

Second Bonus —> Loves how you ride him, wanting to lead your movements. When your thighs falter and ache he’ll soon have your wrists or even your hair in his hand as he fucks up into you. Encouraging you to meet his thrusts by smacking at your ass.

[inkpot909]

Caesar Zeppeli x Shy!Reader Headcanons

↳ Reader is written as gender neutral with they/them pronouns. Biblically accurate bisexual Caesar Zeppeli.

A/n: The more I’ve rewatched Battle Tendency, the more I wish Caesar had more screen time. Not that I ever disliked him, but at this point of JoJo’s brainrot, I can’t help but demand wish he’d gotten more time than he did. That’s why I’m happy to be writing him; I hope y’all enjoy!

Warning(s): None

First of all, let it be known that Caesar is not a picky man when it comes to his taste in men and women.

He doesn’t subscribe to the idea of having a certain ‘type.’ And frankly, to even slightly suggest he would is insulting.

Such a blasphemous statement would be met with a scoff and eye roll, his arms crossed in order to ensure the message is drilled through others’ minds. To him, it’s frankly preposterous.

A true romantic, he’s rather open-minded.

In fact, he likely takes pride in his past relationships and flings all being unique in their own right. Each and everyone of them, there’s a story to tell.

In part, he just appreciates meeting and interacting with people in general. And growing a mutual attraction from there, even if it’s short-lived, is even better in his opinion.

Because family is extremely important to him, he considers it in every individual he meets.

Where they come from, and the people in their lives that shaped them to be who they are today. It’s the more imperative thing in his life… so he naturally considers it for the every day people he comes across. Everyone has others in their lives- family and friends alike -and he always takes that into consideration.

Caesar himself would say, “Beauties come in all varieties.”

That’s all well and good, but his proclaimed lack of having a type is simply not true.

Unconsciously or not, he does have a specific preference. Though… sure as hell he would never admit that to himself or anyone else, for that matter.

Regardless of what he claims, Caesar does have a tendency to approach those who are more on the shy side.

It’s got something to do with the fluster he can pull from his naturally charming demeanor. He puts on a bit of a show, no doubt, but it’s one designed to get more bashful individuals all flustered. If he manages it, it’s such a boost to his ego that he cannot help but press further.

After all, someone lonesome or reserved deserves affection as much as anyone else. And he loves to dish out attention, if only to direct eyes towards him.

Case in point- you.

The textbook definition of bashful… you’re quite reserved, to say the least. And unlocking true personalities beneath a shy front is one of his favorite pastimes.

As expected, he makes his attraction to you apparent almost immediately.

Even the most oblivious individuals in the general vicinity can tell he’s flirting. His smile his easy, and his eyes hold a confidence you can’t say you’ve seen in many before him…

“My goodness… you’re all alone?”

Lost in your own thoughts, you hardly pick up on the voice speaking a pace or two away from you. Regardless… perhaps it’s fate or misfortune that you do. Your gaze pulled from both your thoughts, and the large café window to your right.

Only for your eyes to land on a tall and muscular man, near to you in age.

The blonde man chuckles, pointing to the empty space across from you. A tiny table, it’s one of two spots available. Even still… it’s not too busy inside the cozy space. There’s a gentle buzz of coffee shop patrons around you, but it’s no where near reaching full capacity.

Regardless, that’s not what soaks up your attention at the moment.

With widened eyes and lips that only dare to hang open, you can only watch as his gaze darts between you and the open space at the little table you’ve claimed for yourself. What the hell…? you think to yourself. When was the last time you were approached so blatantly? Your mind blanks trying to recall.

“That’s a shame…” he continues on, seemingly not minding that you didn’t immediately respond. “Do you mind if I join you? A morning only grows more pleasant with an occasional interaction here and there with an interesting stranger, no?”

The blonde lightly chuckles, seating himself across from you before you can even slowly nod or shake your head ‘no’. This young man… he’s so forward. How can you hope to keep up with that?

“In..” you start, forcing yourself into making small talk. “In a cheery mood morning, then… erm…?”

“Caesar Zeppeli,” he finishes for you, offering his name casually.

He pauses, taking a sip of his own drink. He sets it down on the table, the cup clinking softly against a harsh tabletop. “And why not? The weather is lovely… the day is still young… and I’ve gotten the opportunity to speak with a beautiful stranger.”

Ah… a flirt, you think. And a weirdly positive one at that.

Regardless, you push those thoughts aside, for now. His smile is friendly enough, and you’re not receiving any ‘creep’ signals from the man.

“Y/n…” you respond quietly, not yet giving him your last name. Luckily, he doesn’t push you into giving it. You consider asking him if he makes a habit of approaching strangers, but you neglect to, if only to mirror his lack of pressing.

“Pretty name,” he hums, as if on instinct.

At first, you figured he’s approached people enough times to the point where the memory of you would soon slip from his mind.

He waved to at least three passerby’s that first conversation you had, clearly the type to recognize and be recognized. Familiar with the city… a local to the Italian city, born and raised, most likely.

You were only half right on your assumption, however.

Because Caesar never forgets a lovely face. So of course, he made sure not to let yours slip from his brain.

It surprised you the second time you saw him, that he even bothered to remember you.

And like the first interaction, he did most of the talking. Not that either of you really minded.

Once small talk is over and done, he can go off on whatever tangent he’s in the mood for. In your perspective… at least he picks topics that hold substance. At least, they do in the manner and passion he discusses them.

To Caesar, it’s easy for him to talk to you. That’s one of the first thing he concludes, in direct relation to your shyness.

You’re a good listener… and he could help but stow it away in his long-term memory.

He doesn’t mind carrying conversations, really. Caesar follows along with whatever he can pick up with someone being comfortable with, and that’s something to take note of right off the bat.

He’s the first to start on a topic… to make advances… and to eventually asking you outright if he may keep in contact.

And the next thing he notices, is how much he stresses over not always being able to be there.

His hamon training is quite demanding. Something that was never a problem before, despite the long list of people he has tucked away in his memory.

But you… the desire to get you to fully open up… it’s an itch he just has to scratch.

And luckily for you, he’s patient. An attitude of, ‘if it’s meant to happen then it will’.

Not exactly pushy, but there’s a glee present in his green eyes when you care to share anything with him. A not-so-subtle implication that he wants you to keep going on.

And hey, maybe you stopped yourself a bit too early for his liking this time around… he tells himself that he’ll pull more out of you another time.

But to Caesar’s own surprise… the more he gets to know you, the more he wants to stick around.

While he would consider his heart open to many… well, hell… he’s never been so focused on one specific individual before.

It’ll take some time for him to digest the feeling… but luckily for him, you’re as patient as he is. He thinks. Seemingly. Definitely?

Your shyness makes you hard to read at times, but he honestly likes that. Maybe it’s what further draws him to you in times of casual conversation. With every small detail revealed, he finds himself even more interested.

Once Caesar grows a pair and finally explicitly commits to you, he’s the one who takes the reins.

Neither of you mind, to be fair.

He’s attentive enough to take care in learning what you prefer. Especially considering… you genuinely prefer him speaking up for the both of you.

That being said, he adores it whenever you do decide to speak up.

It’s rare, sure, but he showers you in more praise than normal when that side of you happens to show.

He knows better than anyone that it’s uncommon… so when he does see it, he knows just how truly special it is.

Not one to back down from anything himself, he’s the best hype-man you could ever ask for. A special gleam in his eyes… a smile he couldn’t hope to hide… he’s so proud of you for standing up for yourself.

Yes… he’s more than happy to do so in your honor.

But seeing you take control like that… well, it strikes a chord he didn’t even know existed. It shows progress… it shows that there are times that even you cannot hold your tongue… and it adds to the full picture of the person you are deep down.

And that person is someone he grows to love. Without question.

And when you’re fired up… he cannot help but become fired up as well.

In all, Caesar is very receptive. By the time a concrete relationship inevitably forms, he’s so in-tuned to reading you it becomes a no-brainer to him. As natural as breathing.

And, if he’s being honest, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

[ohnogodpls]

i love how you draw genshin characters, especially the body/facial variety! i wish genshin did more of that

i especially love alhaitham and neuvillette in your style!!!

btw, what are your favourite male and female characters? i personally love kazuha, kaveh, and nahida and the shogun (puppet bc ei is a girlfailure and i like to think of the puppet's personhood)

Thank you for the kind words :3

About characters, hmmmm...

For male characters Zhongli and Childe are fighting for the #1 spot. I started the game for Zhongli because I knew he would be the kind of character I really like: ancient calm veteran of time who just wants to live a simplier life despite knowing that he will forever be connected to events and powers beyond human comprehension. Childe I actually never expected to like as much as I do, but he really grew on me with his personality, his past that can come back very soon to shed some light on some really important teyvat lore, and his double sided persona. The way he loves and cares for his family and can genuinely make friends while staying loyal to tsaritsa is amazing to me, I think he is very well written in that way actually.

Well, and now I think it shows quite well that Neuvillette is in my very high regard :D

For female characters I really like Eula, I like her past and present contrast, her stand on refusing to follow her predetermined path. Her design, her animations, her moveset are just so elegant and beautiful... I just wish she was a little more releavant, I wish she had some inpact on the story, even though I understand that she is a side character.

And Nahida. I really liked Sumeru's story and undertones. Genshin overall has a flowing narration of humanity getting away from the godly influence: Mondstadt is the land of freedom, freedom from their archon as well, Liyue shows us how humans can now handle matters on their own when in need to deal with even celestial matters, Inazuma is a display of human will that will continue developing even when put in a situation it was put in, it did not need archon's approval to grow and develop even when forced not to. And then Sumeru showed the cruelty of humanity towards their archons. People of Sumeru refused Nahida, showed how they want to be independent to an extent of creating a manmade god. I think in that environment the kindness, the naivity and the softheartedness of Nahida really got to me. She is calculating while also being empathic, I find it really interesting.

[madam-whim]

The Gold Road Reveal and my thoughts on it

I’m gonna start this off by saying I love ESO. I have been playing since 2017 and I’m pretty much doing everything the game has to offer. Quests, dungeons, trials, antiquities, sometimes PvP. That being said, this post will include lots of criticism that I feel (or know) is shared by many other fans.

But first things first, let me start off by listing some of the things on yesterday’s stream that had me bouncing in my seat:

The new zone is absolutely stunning! There’s a lot of variety to it and it does look very pretty. Exploring it will undoubtedly be fun and a feast for my eyes.

Also, Fennorian will be there, so I know there will at least be one well-written character that my Vestige has an actual bond with.

The scribing system being more of a roleplay thing – I don’t know what some people were hoping for, but I’m glad it’s not some Big Damage For Those Who Are Good At Maths kind of system. It still allows for a more unique playstyle, and I suppose it’s going to turn out like always: Do whatever you want in open world spaces, but keep your bow backflip heal out of veteran content.

And maybe the biggest “Yes!” moment of the evening: Ed Stark being the zone lead for Gold Road. While I did not like High Isle as much (too predictable for my taste, but at least it had recurring characters), he was responsible for Greymoor and Murkmire as well. I thought Greymoor was fantastic (good quests, excellent new characters alongside very familiar recurring ones), and Murkmire… well, I think Murkmire suffers greatly from being “the DLC that came after the Daedric Triad” so to speak. It kind of fell into the void created by a storyline spanning a full year (or even more, if you count the setup for the whole thing, which really began with the Varen’s ghost and Darien’s letter in Wrothgar and the Gold Coast sweetroll killer quests). I think that’s why lots of people don’t seem to like Murkmire very much despite it having great storytelling. My point is this: I do have some hope that after the fiasco some recent DLCs were story-wise, Ed Stark will at least make sure Gold Road makes sense.

And now for the criticism.

Ithelia’s design (Whenever, wherever, I want to kill Hermaeus…)

… yeah, about that. As one of my friends put it, she looks like Shakira with wings.

They really could have done so much better. The way she is now, as @akaviri-dovah said, she really just looks like a Meridia clone who somehow stole Jyggalag’s crystals, which is funny on so many levels (more on that later). Suffice it to say that I personally think the design choices are kind of lazy, given that we already have an angelic-looking Daedric lady.

Also, what’s with this picture? This kinda makes it seem as if she originally looked. Um. A lil different from the way she is now. In any case, I’m just gonna call this a missed opportunity for something more unique. I do like the glass shard aesthetic, I just wish they’d taken it in a different direction.

Dragon Break Princess Ithelia, or something like that

Now I know Dragon Breaks have to work differently from what Ithelia does, but I am kind of wondering what the consequences of her fate-altering abilities are. How do you alter fate in a way that threatens reality (with reality consisting of past and present events, with all possible versions of the future being possibly-real until one actually happens) without altering the timeline? Just by removing a possible future? Then one could argue that any Daedra could do the same just by manipulating people. Granted, it’s possible that Ithelia sees all possible futures and can do whatever she likes with them, but even then, she’d only be influencing what can become reality, not what already is. So how can she be THAT dangerous?

Right now, it just seems to me that they needed an adversary for Hermaeus Mora, and since his big things are knowledge, secrets and fate, and they couldn’t very well make a Daedric Prince of Anti-Intellectualism or a Daedric Prince of Snitching, she had to be a fate-altering type of Daedra.

At this point I’m still wondering how she even works, because how does she not accidentally cause Dragon Breaks? And if she is that damn powerful, how on earth did Mora alone manage to pretty much remove any trace of her? Which kind of brings me to my next point.

Memory Issues

I know, I know, Ithelia is not the first “new” Daedric Prince. (Which makes her stolen Jyggalag crystal vibes rather funny if you ask me.) And I don’t mind her being crazy powerful either, because so was Jyggalag or else he wouldn’t have been cursed. But that, to my knowledge, required several other Princes, whereas Ithelia apparently got owned by Hermaeus Mora alone, who then erased all memory of her. Which is not only quite the feat given how powerful she has to be, but also a very weird thing for Hermaeus Mora to do. I kinda thought stealing memories was more Meridia’s style. This entire part does not quite make sense to me yet and seems a little out of character, but well. By the way, speaking of Meridia…

Meridia-baiting the players

At this point, ZOS have to know we’re getting tired of waiting for villain Meridia. Everyone I know who is even the least bit interested in ESO’s storyline wants to see it. And I’ve seen people get their hopes up in recent days (new Meridia/Dawnbreaker-themed music box, the Ayleid ruin hint on the fragments sent to streamers…). Even in the twitch chat, there were people hyped about what they thought was Meridia, and who were disappointed when they were told it was Ithelia. And yes, I am absolutely saying they did this and made her a Meridia lookalike on purpose. But I’m well aware that we haven’t gotten any new hints about either Meridia or a certain someone since Greymoor, and that chapter will be four years old soon. Even I am beginning to give up, as much as I hate to say it.

By the way, I really did NOT appreciate Matt Firor name-dropping Darien right at the beginning. If you’re not planning to do anything with him, just let it go. I know absolutely nobody who appreciates being fed very tiny hints for two years and then being left in the dark for four years straight. If you don’t want to pick that storyline up again, just stuff the man into the Old Life quest and be done with it.

Honestly, once again, I’m gonna say this is a MASSIVE missed opportunity right here. ESO’s 10 year anniversary is coming up, what could possibly be better than to go back to the roots now and reward all those loyal players with the story they are waiting for? I distinctly recall Molag Bal telling me to watch my step around Meridia, and the setup is all there. I’m honestly disappointed that there is no Meridia content at all. And this ties in with my final point, albeit vaguely.

“Recurring” characters

Ah, yes, we do love recurring characters. Sometimes. We do love it when a fan favorite comes back – a character who’s accompanied the Vestige over the course of an entire story arc or has made multiple appearances over the years and has become beloved by many players, and, most importantly, who is well-written, i.e. has a unique personality. And that’s why “recurring characters” is not always a recipe for success when it comes to getting people hooked on a story.

It is when it’s one of the five companions, or a Ravenwatch member, or your main alliance buddy (Raz, Naryu and – oh, wait, yeah, us Covenant babies don’t have one anymore). It also works when it’s a character we’ve run across several times already, like Alchemy, who I know tons of people love, or my favorite walking disaster Revus Demnevanni.

But it’s certainly not working when it’s a character we barely know anything about, and who isn’t a hit with the community. Like Eveli’s brother whom I had to google because I could not remember who he was. He’s from a prologue quest. Nothing more. That’s not a “beloved returning character”.

ZOS have several of those just lying around, and they’re just not using them. And even the base game had so many characters that were there over the course of several zones, that were well-written and at least memorable to the degree that people would recognize them with just a little reminder, like Indaenir or Holgunn and Walks-in-Ash or the Vanos siblings. Hell, we haven't seen good old Vanus Galerion in a while. They are ten years old now and deserve to be dragged to the surface again.

Okay, I’m done now!

This concludes my rant (because that’s what it is, I’m aware). I just want to say again that this is not be dragging ESO through the mud, this is just me pointing out that the devs (especially the writers) could do so much better if they listened to their lore nerds and story-interested players more.

[bastart13]

Well, you said it, now it's on you, haha!

1) Apart from Love & Legends, do you enjoy any other stories from Lovestruck? If so, which ones are your favorites?

2) If you were to create your own version of the Love & Legends characters, how different would they look compared to the original versions you've shared?

3) Is there anything you wish had been explored more or done differently in the original, both in terms of design and plot?

4) You've mentioned changes made to Reiner and others, but have you discussed Altea's redesign? Can you share more about the direction you've taken with her and the reasons behind it?

5) I noticed the addition of wet-haired sprites for the MC and Helena. Have you created or do you plan to create other variations like this?

6) Have you started working on redesigning the weapons? Is that something that interests you, given the unique and interesting weapons in Love & Legends?

7) Do you plan to create or add heart gallery scenes, and if so, how would the process differ from creating the sprites? Would you aim to recreate them faithfully or put your own spin on them?

8) Do you have favorite heart scenes from the original? Are there scenes you wish had been drawn?

9) If you had unlimited time and resources, what ambitious additions or changes would you make to the revival?

10) Are there any non-playable characters from the original that you wish had been added as love interests?

I think 10 questions are a good enough start, lol.

1) Apart from Love & Legends, do you enjoy any other stories from Lovestruck? If so, which ones are your favorites?

I love most of the other Lovestruck series :D There’s such a broad variety of genres and characters, but they share this great focus on group dynamics that really makes you get attached to them as a whole. I think my other favourite series are Reigning Passions, Queen of Thieves, and Sweet Enchantments. My favourite routes are Amara, Fiona, Onyx, Zain, Emilio, and Razi, though shoutout to Remy and Onyx’s writers for being the ones to make me cry.

[Going to stick the rest under a read more to avoid the long post]

2) If you were to create your own version of the Love & Legends characters, how different would they look compared to the original versions you've shared?

Immensely hard to say. My tendencies aren’t towards classic medieval fantasy so the aesthetic probably would have ended up entirely different but I feel like I already took a lot of liberties with them? Honestly, they could have ended up like anything XD

3) Is there anything you wish had been explored more or done differently in the original, both in terms of design and plot?

Hm... Reiner’s probably my favourite character of the lot, but I do think I’d prefer his route if it carried over some worldbuilding from Helena’s and wedding traditions were different from modern western ones. Culture shock comes up a lot in the game as conflict and leaning into Reiner not understanding why giving the MC a ring makes her uncomfortable or the proposal being the first stage of establishing their relationship would make his end a bit more sympathetic.

Also, personally, I get a bit checked out with prophecies or acts of god, even in fantasy, so Alain and Saerys’ routes can get harder for me to engage with towards the end.

4) You've mentioned changes made to Reiner and others, but have you discussed Altea's redesign? Can you share more about the direction you've taken with her and the reasons behind it?

Ooh, yeah! So Altea’s design is a bit racially ambiguous but like the MC and Saerys I thought it’d be nice to draw her as Asian, though more south-east Asian like Cambodia or Malaysia. You get a lot of beautiful ornamentation and clothing from those cultures which I could style into celestial or winged symbols to suit Altea’s magical girl aesthetic while grounding it.

The general direction I’m taking with Eclaciel is combining medieval European silhouettes with the fabrics and styles of south east Asia + magical girl colours and sparkles.

As for her actual design, I wanted to make her chubbier as a further contrast to Helena and as another symbol of her subtle wealth. Altea’s the sort of character I imagine who took the peace time to flourish, especially after such a hard childhood > adulthood. The retainers care about their appearances in different ways and while Altea doesn’t want to rub it in anyone’s face, she does like to show off a bit with good quality fabrics, polished jewellery, and bright colours.

5) I noticed the addition of wet-haired sprites for the MC and Helena. Have you created or do you plan to create other variations like this?

All the main characters have wet hair sprites now and I think my plan is to create new variations where I see them. The MC also has a ponytail sprite and Witch Queen eyes when she’s being possessed, Alain has a messy hair sprite to echo himself as a child, and Reiner wears a silk cap when he’s sleeping to protect his hair.

I’m not sure right now what other variations might pop up but I’m planning wedding variations, makeup, and the timeskip hairstyles.

6) Have you started working on redesigning the weapons? Is that something that interests you, given the unique and interesting weapons in Love & Legends?

I... don’t have much practice drawing weapons. I did have to sketch them out for the promo art I did, though I only really made references for Atlea’s staff, Iseul’s bow, and August and Alain’s swords.

Like the characters, I veer towards more grounded, simpler designs vs fantastical and detailed.

7) Do you plan to create or add heart gallery scenes, and if so, how would the process differ from creating the sprites? Would you aim to recreate them faithfully or put your own spin on them?

I do plan to draw CGs eventually, though I’m a bit intimidated by the sheer quantity. The process would be the same as most of my illustration work: thumbnails > lineart > flats > lighting. Similarly to the sprites, I’d vary how much inspiration I’d want to take. Some I’d essentially want to redraw, I’d have a bit of fun with others, and maybe replace others. One major change is converting all the portrait compositions to landscape. I understand why they did it that way, but landscape orientation is far more comfortable for the game.  

(Some of my ideation thumbnails)

8) Do you have favorite heart scenes from the original? Are there scenes you wish had been drawn?

Like all of Love & Legends, it’s an interesting blend of incredible and strange art. I think they got a new colourist past Iseul’s 7th season and that definitely made a big difference but the compositions have always been impressive. My favourites from each route are:

As for scenes I wish had been drawn, I’m not sure anything comes to mind other that Reiner and MC’s Vegas wedding, since that was the climax of the season.

9) If you had unlimited time and resources, what ambitious additions or changes would you make to the revival?

Oh god, I’m not sure? Voice acting would be sick even if I never know what anyone sounds like. An animated intro/trailer would be awesome. Maybe updating backgrounds as well?

10) Are there any non-playable characters from the original that you wish had been added as love interests?

Weirdly I’m not someone who looks for other characters to become love interests. It’s fairly obvious when characters weren’t intended to carry a route by themselves and I'm content with the stories we have :D

[vera-king-hrfl]

Yay! OK so I picked this up from @dark-and-kawaii (thank you bebe! I only wish my design skills were as godlike as yours and not painfully infantile 😅) And I thought it was just a super fun way to explain my HC surrounding my two lovers, Cal and Ryldinn. Obvi Ryldinn is mine, so I decide what he's like, but the Cal stuff is also specific to this story, and might not agree with your own.

Nsft below cut, CW: discussion of sexual trauma.

Ryldinn

For those of you who have read the story and know his background, this might seem a bit odd, but just work with me. People handle things in different ways.

Ryldinn was a sex slave before he was kidnapped by the mindflayers. Basically, a prostitute whose owner kept all the money and who had no choice about who he slept with or what was done to him. He's also killed a lot of people for the same reason. He feels no guilt about that.

So it might be a surprise that he's quite submissive. He's definitely a bottom, and he likes pain. He likes to be spanked, clawed, bitten, and having his hair pulled. He likes it when Cal loses it a bit and gets rough. He never really minded his life that much before. He's never known anything else, and in his society, there was never anyone who would think there was anything wrong with that, so it doesn't affect him like it would affect, say, Astarion. There is trauma there, though it's very much buried in his psychology. He's starting to feel more agency over his own body, and now he'll only accept those things if Cal does them, but he still likes it.

He is very homosexual. He dislikes women in general and would never actually touch one in that way unless he was ordered to do so. Those of you who understand matriarchal drow society will understand why. He's gay due to past trauma. He's obviously not a gold star, but he's never been with a woman out of choice.

Part of his repressed trauma requires him to be very clean at all times. It's almost an OCD compulsion. He doesn't mind if Cal is sweaty or smells a bit like a horse, but for himself, he bathes as often and as thoroughly as possible and loves water and swimming, scented oils for his soft sensitive skin, soap, and anything that smells nice.

His body is the drow definition of perfection. He's not tall (5'7" or so) or extremely muscular but tight, hard, strong, smooth, and defined. He's lighter and stronger than he looks. His dick isn't very big but quite pretty, easy to take, or to suck. He's sinuous, lean, the elven equivalent of a gazelle or a cheetah. He has very dark grey skin, almost black, and pure white hair, almost translucent. Bright red eyes, slightly pink lips and nipples, lighter palms, and soles.

Cal

My sweet baby boy! The little brother, the peace maker. Always polite and accommodating. Possibly the only person who could have taken that weird damaged guy and made anything pleasant out of him.

Cal is a genuinely good person. He's been through literal hell, but despite the devil blood, he strains with all his being to keep his hope and his softness. He's also killed people, but he hates it, and it haunts him.

Sexually, he's actually quite dominant. He loves being asked for sex, encouraged, and being begged sets him on fire. He was a virgin before Ryldinn, but he finds his stride and discovers his likes and dislikes very quickly. He's a top, but the service variety, and he makes sure that his partner is feeling good before taking his own pleasure. He doesn't mind hurting Ryldinn as long as he knows that he's enjoying it, but he's not really into pain himself, and bottoming is not his preference, though he will do it if Ryldinn wants, and does have that occasional desire. He likes using his tail, likes when his horns are pulled on, and loves when his tiefling attributes are adored. He's a bit insecure about his heritage.

Cal is bi/pan, whatever. It wouldn’t have mattered to him if Ryldinn had been a woman or a sentient rock. He loves the person, regardless of what they look like. The fact that Ryldinn is beautiful and wants him so bad is a bonus. It's that want, that desire to be with him that makes Cal melt. He's also demi and has a hard time performing unless he loves the person and they love him back. That said, there is quite a bit of devil blood in there, and sometimes that takes over, though he tries with all his might to suppress that.

Cal is a bigger dude. I made him about 6'1" in my story, and reasonably muscular. He's a bit malnourished due to the exile and the journey, but he has a tendency to get a bit more chunky when he's comfortable. He'd definitely be softer around the middle with a bit of a belly. Nothing wrong with that! He'd be your very own squishy heater to snuggle with on cold winter nights. He is also a devilish tiefling and has that big thick ridged cock. He likes it when Ryldinn tells him how big he is, as plenty of men would.

Together

They both love kissing. Ryldinn had never been kissed before Cal did it, but now it's his favorite thing to do. He loves the soft lips and the forked tongue and the intimacy. He can kiss his tiefling for hours. Cal has kissed, had a few hot and heavy make-out sessions when he was younger, just never went further.

Eye contact. Another thing Ryldinn has avoided, but Cals eyes are so beautiful to him, the gentle burning fires, the love and desire. It just makes him feel special.

They both have a pretty high sex drive and do it often. Cal usually tops, but he also likes to go down on Ryldinn, to taste him and make him shudder. Ryldinn likes it any way Cal does. Slow soft missionary, against a wall, bent over a table, whatever his man is in the mood for. Cal's favorite position is on his back with Ryldinn riding him. He loves to watch how his body turns his lover into a shaking panting mess. He loves to see the gentle undulation of the perfect gorgeous body enjoying him so much.

They both love touch. When they're together, they're usually touching, even if it's discreet. Hand holding, tail wrapped around an ankle, petting.

Anyway, there's probably more but those parts are still to come so I'll leave it here. I hope this helps you to understand where I'm going with this. I've had so much amazing encouragement and feedback from you guys it's inspired me to go deeper into the personality of these characters and how I see them. Thank you all so much for tolerating me! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[coochellati]

Team Bruno fr, I think I was sold pretty quickly and he only got better and better for me haha-

It’s pretty funny because if I’m watching anything with someone and they see me taking notes they’re usually a bit confused but curious about what I might be writing down haha. Usually it’s never anything that important to the story (unless it’s some major detail I don’t wanna forget) and it’s just me just taking notes about traits about the characters I like.

Here, I’m happy to share a couple of my silly notes! I think this shows a pretty accurate variety of the stuff I was noting:

How it started😭😭: “Ok wow Bruno’s little partners are completely insane.

This guy in blue is super superstitious

Fugo acts all calm but he has QUITE a temper

Little guy is just learning. And also incredibly angry.

Abbacchio.”

“Bruno has a good heart🥺🥺”

I wrote out the bit of backstory they revealed about his childhood, which is one thing, but as I was scrolling through my notes looking for interesting examples I noticed I even wrote down a note about how Bruno weighed a little bit more than Prosciutto, I guess I just found that interesting lol.

And I found a special fondness for his place in the other team member’s backstories, but specifically Narancia’s. Bruno’s a specific character type I’ve always admired. I know I won’t be the best at explaining it but I loved that part about how he yelled at Narancia about joining the mafia, but he wasn’t really angry and was just trying to protect him from a life he might regret. One of my favorite scenes for sure. I love that kinda thing.

AND the way his face softened when Narancia swam after them, he was so. Happy. Please. Let Bruno be happy more often-

And I lost it at the “Arrivederci,” scene during the Grateful Dead arc, it was actually so cool and I feel like just watching that scene raised my own coolness by 5%.

Ok trying not to ramble too much but I especially appreciated his reaction to Abbacchio’s death. Watching the leader character having to be strong for the team, but inwardly it’s hurting them so badly-

And to end it on a lighter note, even before I had started jjba I always had a fondness for Bruno’s design since I considered it super iconic and cool. It was neat to finally get to actually see him since he was one of the few Jojo characters I actually knew by name before watching.

And of course the occasional: wow Bruno is so hot when he *insert various hot Bruno moments here*

Fell so hard for him, wow. I do enjoy a few Jojo characters, my other really big one being Rohan, but like. If I had to pick one to actually be with how could I Not pick Bruno-

Anyways thanks for listening to this little ramble about things I ended up writing down about Bruno❤️ and I’m so glad you liked the sketch! He’s fun to draw~

Ack !!! I’m sorry this took me so long to answer 😭

I love how you’re annotating Golden Wind. I wish that I took more notes on Bruno while watching.,,.,,.. Next rewatch i think i will do that,.,.,..

“Little guy is just learning. And also incredibly angry” 😭💀 IM DEAD

Okay, I’m glad you wrote down that Bruno weighs more than Prosciutto, because I totally forgot about that. Cool fact to know.

On the topic of Bruno’s role in Narancia’s backstory—I’m going to recommend you read Purple Haze Feedback. (Here’s a link to the translated story!) It’s a novel that takes place after the events of Golden Wind. The story follows Fugo as he attempts to redeem himself in Giorno’s eyes. The best part is that PHF expands on everyone’s backstory—especially for Narancia, Bruno, and of most of all, Fugo.

PHF is not written by Araki, but there’s original illustrations from him within the novel. So is it canon? Eh—it’s semi-canon. Because this was written well before the anime came out, there are some minor contradictions to the anime’s version of the story. PHF lines up fine with the manga. …So I guess you can choose if it’s canon or not. (I like to pretend it is.)

PHF isn’t very long. I read it straight through in about 4 hours. (I could NOT put it down.)

Anyway!

You know what’s funny? I also adored Bruno’s design before actually watching part 5. And then I watched it and the same shit happened to me. We’re absolutely twinning in this scenario. 😩

…And full confession, I’m also a Rohan stan. I need that narcissistic asshole to put me in my place.

I’m always happy to listen to anyone’s jojo info dumps! You are always welcome to ramble here :)

thanks for the ask! <3

[oodlyenough]

now that i've finished dual destinies here is how i'd rank the aa games that i've played.

this started as a bulleted list but then as always i ended up rambling forever, so, some of it is under the cut. spoilers for AA1-5 & AAI1. anything not listed is a game i've not yet played

1. Ace Attorney (1)

can't beat the original. ok so maybe the first time i played turnabout samurai i got so bored i took a 3 year break. that's not the point. i was weak. i think this game is the tightest and as the introduction to the concept and the characters it does a surprisingly good job of balancing and developing all of them. pretty satisfying arcs and relationships for every major character. also 1-4 and 1-5 are two of The best cases ever.

2. Ace Attorney 3/Trials and Tribulations

this one coasts on the strength of the dahlia throughline. all three of her cases are great. the fey lore develops so well and so interestingly, i loved getting a chance to play mia, dahlia is the best AA villain, bridge to turnabout has so many great things going on, edgeworth v franziska rules, phoenix investigating with franziska rules. it had some of my favourite puzzles and puzzle solving. the weak points that lose it top spot for me are that i didn't like how edgeworth and franziska evaporate from 3-5 in the second half, i wish maya had a bigger role in 3-5, and i don't enjoy anything about godot. also the two middle cases bored me to tears

3. Ace Attorney 2/Justice for All

this is a messier game than the above two for sure and i also thought it had the worst puzzle writing of the original trilogy. the magatama's use here is a bit clunky. i also think the way edgeworth's disappearance and return is handled is not quite as satisfying as it could've been for such a big emotional thing. the execution of the start of 2-4 with maya's kidnapping and engarde hiring phoenix could've been done much smoother.

BUT: i love the expansion of the fey lore, introduction of morgan and pearl and kurain, and franziska is my specialest little girl and i love that she's here. and 2-4, especially as it goes on, is such a good interesting case and some of the BEST character stuff for phoenix and edgeworth and truly made me unwell about the ship indefinitely. edgeworth hunched over his desk with bugged out eyes through gritted teeth "the prosecution... rests..." ??? peak romance

4. Ace Attorney 4/Apollo Justice

this is a really fun game that has the difficult task of introducing a lot of new characters and it pulls that off fairly well. apollo, trucy and klavier are all really fun. it's super interesting to see phoenix as an NPC and see what a mysterious galaxybrain he is when you're not given a front-row ticket to his scattered thoughts. i think the mystery writing here was coherent and pretty tight and i had fun solving the puzzles. 4-1 is one of the best tutorial cases for sure.

downside is that it's underbaked and you can tell. the new characters, while likable, barely get a chance to shine or really develop. apollo is not really much more than an avatar, the story is still about phoenix. and even when i'm enjoying the game, it just does honestly feel kind of... mean... the way the game drops every character from the trilogy and does what it does with phoenix.

5. Ace Attorney Investigations 1

fun pixel sprites, some fun new characters, it's cool to be able to walk my lil dude around and click on stuff. some of it is pretty funny. there's a surprisingly large variety of new female characters in different kinds of roles and personalities and designs and i always appreciate that.

the mysteries are not very good and the puzzles are frequently frustrating. the lack of trial day structure means the pacing feels wonky in many places. the returning characters are not written very well, franziska in particular is a flanderized shadow of herself, and most damning of all: edgeworth, the main character, is not written particularly well. the bratworth flashback in particular shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the character established by the trilogy imo.

6. Ace Attorney 5/Dual Destinies

this game had most of the same flaws as AAI and it didn't even have nice art or fun investigation banter to save it. i like athena a lot, i love aura and canon lesbians, it's nice to see phoenix as a lawyer again and get some confirmation edgeworth and the feys didn't fuckin die off screen. aa5 klavier is fucking hilarious. some of the new NPCs are funny s/o to the orca and plonco and robin.

the non-chronological plot was unnecessarily convoluted, the dark age of the law was emphasized so much only to be totally underdeveloped, the phantom plot twist was cool for three seconds and then pretty stupid in retrospect. apollo's storyline is a disaster. trucy has been replaced by an automaton that talks about panties. the lack of being able to investigate scenery makes the investigation days short, hurts character development and contributes the pacing that makes every final trial day feel interminably long and infuriating. too many plot twists rely on the game simply not providing evidence until the last second, at which point the twist becomes obvious. the nicest thing i can say for dual destinies is that it didn't irreparably break anything i loved in the previous games.

[petra-creat0r]

Petra's chapter 3 concept

Welp. I finally caved and gave into the full prediction. Or at least my take on Tenna, Mike, and Rook. (Plus a shop keep for Bitsy)

Are my takes on Rook and Tenna a little safe/cliche? Probably, but I still like them. Especially Tenna. She's a silly fella. A real wiser cracker. They berate Mike over their hyper specific coffee order off camera.

I might also hear you asking "Petra, if your Rook and Tenna are horrible people, how are they supposed to mirror Asgore and Toriel?" IDK. I just wrote that down and am still working the take out. Additionally, while they'd be parallels, they wouldn't be one to one. Most of how I imagine them atm is they're how Kris wishes Asgore and Toriel were when it comes to their relationship. Aka, loving and together. Rook and Tenna are horrible people in a healthy relationship, Toriel and Asgore are relatively good people who's relationship wasn't working.

Again, I don't know, I'm still working on it.

Also Mike. I think Mike is my favorite take/design of these three. Overworked, tired, boom mic operator/stage hand who hates it here. Even prior to Rook meeting the Knight and making changes to the studio, Mike was generally under appreciated and didn't like all the entitled actors he had to work with. Especially Tenna. Only person he's worked with who he's actually liked and gotten along with was Spamton, who I imagine did some commercials back in his Big Shot days. (Oh if only Mike knew what Spam was going through in those days... The horrors.) As for Mike's opinion on Bitsy? He tolerated her, pre- the spider's popularity. I imagine after Bitsy signed that contract with her mysterious benefactor, she became a little bit of a brat off camera. Before just completely going off the rails at least.

Just some more notes on stuff. Rook is based on the TV remote and Tenna was originally just a game show/variety show host before Rook started cutting corners and costs and so now half the channels are hosted by Tenna or sponsored by TennaVision. Tenna is either the TV itself, or more likely just the antennas. Mike's of course a microphone. Maybe a speaker idk. I've said in previous posts that Bitsy is an old VHS tape and Lanino and Elnina are just on there for another frame of reference. They're the weather channel, I doubt there's any argument about that.

Finally, the shop keep. V.C. Ramsey, aka Grampa Ramsey. He's based on a VCR player and the nursery rhyme, "Baa Baa Black Sheep". Ramsey is the shop keep connected to Bitsy, and they used to be old friends before you know, the whole mystery man stuff went down. The VCR details may be subtle, but I still like Ramsey's design. I could listen to his stories for hours.

[sir-subpar]

Just curious, what do you think of Fizzarolli from Helliva Boss??

Whoa boy, this'll be long, bear with me

I'll be honest-

I like him.

He's very charming and funny

Love the prosthetics

The writing for him has been off lately, one of the very least he hasn't been butchered like everyone else. He's still very charming and funny, and well it confused me at first, I do now find his Dynamic with Ozzy to be very Charming. To be honest, they're kind of the only reasons I hold out even a tiny sliver of Hope for the show. The rest of the show has become very aggravating but whenever those two were on screen at the very least I'm entertained

Having said that-

His outfits are terrible

He deserves better than... This

This outfit especially

The colors clash and are strange. Very unflattering, especially for a character as Charming as him.

And I will admit, I'm a little biased because I am an Alex Brightman fan, I think he's very funny and very talented

His dynamic with Mammon feels off.

Maybe it's because he's the only one of the seven deadly sins who actually acts like the seven deadly sins, or maybe it's because Mammon looks like a Christmas tree

Or it might feel off because.. it feels like he shouldn't be that intimidated by Mammon when he's got Asmodeus right there. I don't mind the idea of Mammon being a jester, because if I remember correctly, one of his many nicknames was the "Lord of fools"

And I don't necessarily hate his voice either. I'm not sure if it matches him or not. I'm still on the fence about it, but the voice itself is all right.

I feel like Fizz could have had a very interesting Dynamic with Mammon, especially if the whole "Mammon's the reason he became successful and met the love of his life" is what they're going for. But I feel like it gets ruined by making Mammon such a caricature. There's no subtlety.

If Mammon really views Fizz as an ungrateful brat that he gave everything to, I feel like that should be explored.

Getting back on track. While I like Fizz, I'd argue he's probably my favorite character, I have an issue with him. Or rather, how the show treats him

Maybe it's just because I'm asexual, so when things are overly sexual I tend to be less interested, but I'm really tired of just how much are the cast is hypersexualized 24/7

Almost every character that is significant to Blitzo's story (other than his relatives, thankfully) seems to have to be a sexual or romantic interest at some point.

Stolas, Verosika, Fizzarolli, Striker, Chaz, Moxxie and Millie, Dennis, etc,

Don't get me wrong, the idea of a character using sex as a tool to get what they want is interesting. And is not necessarily bad. Even if it was against my preference, I can see potential in it.

But it seems like the majority of the queer characters are either mocked or hypersexualized. (I'll give Ozzy a pass, since he is the embodiment of Lust)

Moxxie is a punching bag, Blitzo, Stolas, Fizz, Striker (in the harvest moon festival), Chaz is basically nothing but a sentiant libido, Glitz and Glam, Verosika, etc.

It's just dissapointing how it's lacking variety.

Fizz himself is great, I like him a lot.

Originally for my redesign/reimagine project, I wasn't going to do the seven deadly sins but I might have to do Asmodeus and Mammon since they are so entwined with fizz story-wise.

Also because their designs drive me up the wall, but I'll talk about that more in their posts

Long story long, Fizz is the best character in the show to me.

For the record, if any of you like the show as it is, great! I wish I could, I really do, but I just can't enjoy it as much as I want to. And yeah, reimagining the show has been really fun! I'm not entirely sure why, but it is. Maybe it's just a good creative exercise

At the end of the day, these are just my opinions, I'm sure all of you have your own reasons for liking or disliking it, my word is not law. Feel however you feel, and I will feel what I feel.

And all right, I confess, these two are cute.

[ladyirisreviews]

Final Fantasy X-2 - Review

Finally, we arrive at the last Final Fantasy game I'll be reviewing for now, Final Fantasy X-2, a direct sequel to Final Fantasy X, it is also a contender for the fanbase for worst Final Fantasy game so that's exciting.

The basic plot summary contains spoilers for the previous game, so if you don't want it spoiled I recommend avoiding this review before you play it.

For starters, the main character this time is Yuna, who goes on a journey with Rikku after they find a sphere that shows someone who looks very much like Tidus, who disappeared at the end of the last game.

With Rikku's brother and a friend of his, they form the Gullwings, a band of sphere hunters who search the land of Spira for Spheres that might contain clues to where Tidus might be, and get some treasure along the way.

They are also accompanied by Paine, a new character who joined their journey as sphere hunters, supposedly only for the money, though her goals could be different.

So with no clear lead as to where to begin, they look all over Spira for clues, meeting some characters along the way and getting involved with the new politics of the world, which are somehow linked to the mysterious place they saw on the sphere.

So, to talk about the plot of this game is even more complicated than with the previous game, since it's mostly stuff happening left and right, but at least the main objective is clear from the start, which is pretty much all I can say without detailing everything that happens on the story.

All I will say is that I enjoyed Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, I liked watching them getting along and just talking, but found Brother really annoying, and every other new character not very interesting, especially the comedic relief characters, which were also kind of annoying.

The overall plot also felt like it came out of nowhere with a very flimsy excuse, but I really won't get into detail, I prefer to avoid the headache.

The combat is ATB again, and it really bummed me out, not because it was bad but because the turn-based combat from the last game felt so good.

This time battles are way faster and there's no waiting period between actions, meaning, one of your characters and the enemies could act at the same time.

Attacks come out instantly but spells and skills have a cooldown before they come out, which can get interrupted by attacks, this applies to both allies and enemies, the rest of the basic combat is more or less what you would expect from Final Fantasy, but also like you would expect, it's the Jobs that change things up.

Jobs this time come in the form of Dresspheres, which you get throughout the game, levels work like normal again, with the characters getting exp and leveling up, but to develop the classes you need to use them, kind of how the GFs worked in Final Fantasy 8, which I am happy that idea was reused.

In the menu for the jobs, you can pick what you want to unlock next for said job, a new skill, a stat bonus, or a passive skill, and it shows how much progress you have made so far for unlocking it, I really like this system.

I was checking constantly what I had unlocked for each class and got excited when I unlocked a new cool skill, and the way this progression works makes it so every class is relevant throughout all of the game.

You might not use the classes you already mastered on random encounters, but on bosses you really need to bring your best in order to beat them.

And before I go on I just want to mention that I really love the designs and how they change depending on the characters, not every class fits aesthetically with every character, but I just love the visual variety there is, some of the designs really rock and I love them, I wish this system was in more games, it's a shame it hasn't come back.

You are also able to change classes mid-combat, which may be what inspired the Final Fantasy 13 system, but it's only speculation.

The way it works is that you equip jobs into something called Garment Grid, which is several nodes joined together by lines, you can change into any class that is a neighbor of your currently equipped class, and the path that connects both jobs is then activated, and depending on the Garment Grid you have quipped, you can get different bonuses for the fight.

There are a lot of types of Garment Grids, with different numbers of available slots and types of bonuses, some give you bonuses just by equipping them, and others need you to constantly change classes to access bonuses, as I mentioned before.

There are also special Dresspheres that you can use only when you completely traverse a Garment Grid, and they work kind of how summons worked in the previous game, with the other 2 characters going away when you change into that Dressphere.

All of this is very cool in concept, but not so much in execution, instead of making battles feel dynamic, some battles can feel tedious at first when you are getting all the bonuses by constantly switching jobs.

Because there's no cooldown after you change jobs, you can change again instantly to get all the bonuses, and that's kind of boring, I really think it would be way more engaging if you had a 2 or 3 turn cooldown between job changes.

I also didn't feel like using the special Dresspheres, there are Garment Grids that let you change into the special Dressphere right away, but trying to unlock the skills for it meant the other 2 characters wouldn't advance their skill learning, and I really didn't feel like grinding.

There's an extra dungeon that looked kinda long and maybe I could have trained all of the classes there, but I also didn't feel like doing that dungeon, I wanted the game to end quick because of how the main game progression is handled.

Besides the main missions, there are numerous quests you can engage with in all over the world, and this is one of the game's biggest weaknesses.

You can explore every part of the world since the start of the game, and you can keep track of the percentage completed on the location selection menu, there is a lot to do, which doesn't sound too bad, but the problem is that the game is divided by chapters, and sidequests become unavailable the moment you advance to a different chapter.

So in order to do most of the sidequests, you need to check every location again in every chapter, which becomes rapidly tiring even while on the first chapter.

Traveling through the world you explored in the course of a whole game in only the first chapter, only to check if there's stuff to do on every single location again in every single chapter is incredibly frustrating to me, and it's the main reason I kind of hate the game.

There's just so much stuff that you would miss otherwise, and just the previous game made a lot of effort at making nothing missable, this game then goes in the complete opposite direction and makes everything besides the main missions missable.

I really think that the game would be way way better if they restricted the areas you could visit, and I am for real.

If they did what the previous game did, and locked you only on the main missions first, and just before the end they let you explore to your heart's content while making everything not missable, it would be such a better experience in my opinion.

Even if they left the plot intact, which I really didn't like, but made the side content not missable, it would improve the gameplay experience a lot.

So, to summarize, the base gameplay is very good, the Garment Grid system wasn't as engaging as it could have been but it was interesting nonetheless, I liked the character moments between the main girls but I didn't really enjoy the rest of the characters, and the plot overall was kind of a letdown, but it was the progression of the game that made me not enjoy the game as much as I wish I did.

There's not many RPGs where all of the main characters are girls and I was really excited about this one, it's just sad, but it's not the worst game ever, there's some fun to be had, especially if you focus only on the main missions or only on the gameplay.

I would only recommend it if you really want to play all Final Fantasy games and especially liked Yuna and Rikku, and also if you are down for some very tedious exploration and a not great plot, otherwise, I'd say it's not very worth playing, I wish the systems were used on a better game, but I doubt Square Enix will ever do that, guess I would have to wait until an indie dev uses them.

(Or until I make a game with a similar system.)

[ctl-yuejie]

What did you eat yesterday Season 2 - Episode 7

(yes, I jumped over episode 6, but I watched it at 3 am and just had a lot of feelings and not that many thoughts)

this episode reenforced my opinion that the show's writing is among the best in the slice-of life genre. the way themes and story-threads are introduced to come back in later episodes or get featured from a different view point makes this show not only feel well-rounded and well thought-out but it makes you think and reminisce since everything feels so real. The show treats its premise seriously: Shiro-san and Kenji being 50 and late 40s respectively is not treated as a surface-level story setting but it does the work of really dissecting and deep-diving into how these two people would view the world. Their outlook on life is so so different from mine, not only because I'm not a gay man in Japan but because of our age difference. We might share similar experiences but how we react and think about the same issues couldn't be more different. I love that I can never predict what tone the next scene might set and it feels like talking to a queer elder sharing their story. You can learn something just by listening and gain new perspectives.

Shiro-san losing a friend, thinking - yet again - about death and not having any children of his own is contrasted with how solemn but peaceful the funeral is. Here is Shiro-san imagining how tough things must be for the widow and - what he assumes - three young children only for the children being old enough to have kids on their own. It perfectly illustrates the kind of bubble in which we might experience our lives. His former classmates talk about becoming grandparents and here is Shiro-san just having started finding a way to accept his complicated emotions of not granting his parents grandchildren. It not only feels like two social circles colliding but how unintended alienating it can feel to be queer. And sometimes it just hits you that there are people around you that are both similar and very different to you. And an excellent way to connect the theme of marriage and children to the past episodes but from a very different viewpoint.

The same way Kohinata and Wataru are so important to the story. They can be comedic relief while never feeling cartoonish but they also offer more variety in how a gay couple can live together paired with the generation gap between the three and Wataru.

While writing is fantastic, this show equally is indebted to the stellar performances by Uchino Seiyo and Nishijima Hidetoshi. The way Uchino Seiyo can carry pure joy in his voice gets me everytime he calls for Shiro-san off screen. The way they both move inside the supermarket and as a couple, the way they embody their characters so thouroughly is never not giving me joy.

favourite moment: Kenji realising that Shiro-san wants validation by the supermarket lady and being overjoyed at that fact and that Shiro-san will wear his glasses more often.

food talk

Not only was this another fantastic episode, I am craving some nabeyaki udon now and i wish i had brought back more yuzu kosho from japan. I wish I could get my hands on fresh clams here. Never tried clam soup with just clams but it looks delicious. And I wish I could get fish roe here.

production corner

I really commend this show for making this flat so congruent with its history. you understand why shiro rented it in the first place. you can feel both their styles coming together and also the different times they might have purchased things. it is not planned by an interior designer but has a consistent style that feels very them.

[bonetrousled]

can you talk about why you disliked undertale yellow? never played it or watched a playthrough but i’m very curious!

PREFACING THIS WITH A DISCLAIMER i know it is a passion project and it makes me Feel Bad that my feelings on it r this negative. i do not mean to discredit the years of work anybody put into it and i am So Happy that the general consensus is that people really liked it! i'm glad the team's work paid off. i am also going to be SUPER opinionated. undertale is my biggest interest of all time it has been my special interest for going on Nine Years . i am Wired to have very strong feelings on it . please do NOT take my opinion as a message to Not enjoy it if you do! play it and form an opinion on ur own time

also SPOILERS for the game!

that being said

i will first state the things i Enjoyed

music was phenomenal! it was very fun and atmospheric

artwork was very good! it makes me a little sad that the canon characters we see didn't really get the tlc/polish that all of the original content did, but that's ok!

i like how smarmy flowey was in the no mercy run. it was a little ooc at times but i had a blast (which will sadly become a negative) partly bc of his attitude

i love mo as a character. im going to rescue him from this game i just know it

ok. things that frustrate me from least to most (i will try to keep this brief bc i WILL go on a tangent if left unrestrained)

i wish the main cast had more variety in monster types. body shape, proportions, colors, etc! with how wide the array of the cast is in ut, it's just a little sad that the main cast here all roughly have the same build, height, and aren't really "monstery". lots of the non-main characters (i am including the feisty five in here) have more diverse and visually interesting designs to me and i wish there was just a bit more variety

add-on to the previous point: something abt the fact that dalv just kind of looks like a human Guy who is Purple with Horns makes me irrationally irritated. they could have put a little more of a bat motif in there or Something because the first time i saw him i genuinely didn't think he was supposed to be a monster

some of the fights are NONSENSE BULLSHIT HARD for no reason. some of these have been fixed since release but there were multiple segments that weren't even like. main story character fights that made me want to rip my hair out. additionally the shops are FEW and FAR between. it was a STRUGGLE to get enough healing items 90% of the time and i had to ration them out constantly

i know most were patched out and this is kind of a nitpick but the complete ABUNDANCE of grammatical and spelling errors on release took me out of the flow of things SO much. places that desperately needed a comma that had none, words completely misspelled (outside of punchlines for jokes), things like that. it wouldn't have been such a problem but it happened SO much and really got into the way of making sure dialogue progressed as normal. speaking of

i'm so sorry. half of the dialogue and jokes make me want to shriek and scream in agony. maybe it's just not my cup of tea and nobody is forcing you to have completely toby-fox-accurate jokes in your game but the majority of the jokes made in the pacifist/neutral runs fall completely flat for me. the general dialogue is very fanfic-esque to me in a way ? i do Not know how to describe it. it's not Good. along w that i'm sorry but in my opinion the way they wrote asgore in there is COMPLETELY out of character. i'm going to be so so honest mr king "fuzzy pushover" fluffybuns isn't going to go GET OUT OF MY SIGHT AND NEVER RETURN!!!!! the man got beat up by a child and took her in to train her. like yeah his garden is sentimental or whatever but like. he is such a Nice Guy. he would Not do that

the timeline does not make Any sense. if frisk is the first human to fall in YEARS to the point where everyone is losing hope of ever getting another soul for the barrier and most monsters don't recognize you as a human and let you interact w them freely why in the Fuck are undyne and alphys just like. alive and kicking here. why is alphys doing amalgamate shit already. what is going ON

and finally. the part that makes me the Most Irritated

i cannot fucking stand the story. I AM SORRY

i physically cannot expound on this as much as i want to bc the post is long enough as it is and i'll go on forever but generally speaking

i Do Not Like ceroba. i didn't really feel any connection or anything to any of the other characters in General but her entire deal and everything that surrounds it just makes me So Mad. like ok. i tried to get past the "oh my husband is a super important scientist (but not the royal scientist because that's alphys teehee but still REALLY important) and he's also secretly a boss monster (even though the only boss monsters we see are the Actual Fucking King and Queen of monsters and are the same monster subtype)" shit but like. THEN it's like. oh he's actually making a super secret magic serum that uses essence from a boss monster soul and a human soul (where did he get that. he made this after he was fired from his job. where did he get a human soul from) to give EVERY monster the power of a boss monster so that when we EVENTUALLY get enough souls to get to the surface (could literally be hundreds of years from now) we'll be strong enough to beat the humans (that's why asgore is collecting the souls in the first place. to shatter the barrier and become a god strong enough to beat the humans. that's the Point)

but WUH OH!!!! the serum is actually KILLING him!!!! and he never told his wife! so he leaves a series of tapes behind to tell her abt it after he dies and IN THESE TAPES he's like listen. here's this awesome potion im making. you need a BOSS MONSTER SOUL and a HUMAN SOUL to make it work. our daughter IS a boss monster. BUT. do NOT FUCKING use it on her. ok. DON'T. do that. ok love you (dies) AND FUCKING. her like 6 year old daughter walks in and speaks in a perfect eloquent sentence and says some shit like "we have to carry on daddy's legacy :(" and asks to be injected w the shit that we saw kill her dad SECONDS PRIOR and ceroba is virtually IMMEDIATELY like well ok if the kindergartner says it's fine. AND OF COURSE HER DAUGHTER IMMEDIATELY FALLS DOWN????

and when i tell u the like. WHOLE second half of the game is dedicated to this bullshit nonsense. ceroba has this whole thing where she's trying to kill you because you're pure of heart or whatever and it'll work for the serum or something and after a LONG ASS (stupid incredibly hard for no reason considering SHE IS NOT a boss monster) battle w her she's like ok i'm not gonna do that anymore i give up kill me etc. and in pacifist you're like nah i won't kill u i forgive you Hooray!

and so. right. youve been fighting the ENTIRE TIME. to find the missing kids. to get home. to leave the underground after figuring out what happened. there are only FIVE human souls at this point. having one more will NOT break the barrier. you've been fighting to LIVE this Entire Time. the story must end in clover's death SOMEHOW but literally the driving force here has been survival

clover is literally like ummmm ok well im gonna give up my soul right here right now to add it to the pile. *dies on rooftop ALONE* . the shriek i screamed when this happened was. Astronomical. like. oh yeah everybody let the 9 year old give their life for a civilization that has been trying to kill them this Entire Time. never mind the fact it makes all of the fighting and striving and grueling we did Worthless because clover decides to sacrifice themselves completely out of the player's control. this wouldn't make me AS mad if we had like. a choice like the forgive him/do not asriel thing where we could face asgore and be forced to lose OR sacrifice ourselves but even then it's just. SO silly to me.

i think i get the like. doomed parents sad child dreemurr parallels they were TRYING to go for but it is all so clunky and wonky and. just DOES not work narratively if you think about ANY aspect of it for too long

all of these factors combined made the game a complete and total Slog to get through . it is Not just me i streamed it to a few friends the whole time and the opinion was the Same

HOWEVER.

the no mercy run, completely against what it is MADE to do, was fucking awesome

the passive aggressive comments from flowey the entire time were hilarious. the power trip i got chasing axis was splendid. i didn't have to sit through pages of dialogue that made my eye twitch. i just got to Kill People.

i do Not like the fact that they seemed to think no mercy = Hard Bosses which. isn't really true for undertale ? out of the normal bosses only two are ramped up in difficulty and it thematically makes sense Why. in uty martlet gets multiple fights (including a Bullshit Insane Hard Final Fight), ceroba gets a Bullshit Insane Hard fight w a new mechanic that is introduced out of Nowhere and took me like 6 times to notice that it was even Implemented, and axis gets a tough fight. which is Fine but i do not think it really understood the message of like. the no mercy run is not supposed to be Fun. you are eviscerating this world and everything it has to offer. you're literally Killing the game. it's a tricky thing to balance but all in all No part of it made me feel bad. this could be due to me Already not really caring abt any of the characters but. sigh

also martlet gets really strong at the end bc she injects herself w dt but like. why does she know about that. she does guard stuff Near the Lab but why does she Know about the experiments. the whole point is that nobody Else Knows. where did she get that from. what the fuck

anyway. says that i won't go on for too long. proceeds to go on for too long like some kind of Liar