#like that npc stuck with me a while ok

[moeblob]

What if I straight up didn't explain myself? What if I just said trust me on this? Would you?

[charlybvnny]

Michael's final moment

A Michael_Beloved animatic about his final moments, because he is an underappreciated character, and has so much potential.

A ramble about him under cut.

TWs:

- bugs

- bones

- talk of death and decay

- I think there is a slight flash but I'm unsure? So flashing warning just in case

michael is an underated npc / character and people should utilise his dynamic more often. i will explain:

he's stuck, he has nothing to do, nothing he can do. because he's an npc, his life will never begin because he's not living. people overlook him and don't pay him mind, his own parents don't pay attention to him. it's not that they don't love him, they do, they just don't have the time nor ability to look after him, atleast not properly.

people treat him more like a glorified pet because he is still an npc, no one should, realistically, love him like a son, at most he is a pet. but he's one of, if not the only, npc on the dsmp that is canonically considered a son, not a pet. shroud is technically a pet, yoghurt is i think considered fundy's son? but if you check on the wiki, michael is the only one of actual listing and not just an addition of another. michael is his own person, and yet is still an npc. he can't do anything, and yet is his own someone. he is someone, not someone's addition. he's not tubbo's son, or ranboo's son, he is michael.

and yet he's still stuck in his room. still stuck having to go along with other people's wills. because he is code. he can't do anything but follow his code.

and so with the charactarization of michael, making him his own person, it allows him the ability to think, yet not do. "i think therefore i am" and yet he can't think. not actually. he still has to follow his code. if you hit him, he must attack back, its in the code. so you can characterize and personalise michael all you want, give him hopes, and dreams, give him depth, but in the end, he is an npc. he can't leave his room, he can't make friends, he can't go explore. he is stuck in his room. just like how rapunzel is stuck in the tower.

in this essay i will explain why michael's song is "when will my life begin"-

[shots fired i bleed out as someone drags my body away]

Ok but in actuality, the rotting aspect of Michael is so great for potential in fics;

michael can be used in fics and i'm heartbroken people don't. see, michael is a zombie piglin, he is quite literally rotting. he is a sick, dying child of neglect and no one uses this to their advantage. do no fic writers see the potential devestating catastrophe of michael? how angsty it could be if he's used right?

I like Michael, can you tell 🥺

And you don't even need him to be a piglin in fics either, he could be a dying plant, or an injured yet beloved pet. He has potential please people listen to me 😭🙏

You can make him disability rep, please I love disabled characters in fics (if done right) and there's so much potential here.

I was messaging my friends while making this too, and I was shattering their very souls with my angst, and the thing is, you can shatter your friend's souls with angst too! Please use Michael, even if he's just a side character in your fic, if you got Tubbo, or Ranboo, please include Michael in some form, like a melted candle, or a torn doodle.

Anyways continuing on with angst!

They say the eyes are the route to the soul, and I like to think piglins only die when their souls are damaged. Only when their light fades.

Michael's usually twinkling eyes, now dull and a sullen blue, holding nothing but pure sorrow, and childish hope now shattered. His parents aren't coming. No one is coming. He's going to die alone. He's going to die, without embracing his parents one last time.

His body so decayed and rotten his ribs are fully out, spiders finding a new home where his once beating heart of love was, and yet he allows them to stay, allowing the bugs to feast on his carcass, because it's something. It's another being simply touching him. And so he lets the bugs eat his dying self, because at least it's something, a distressing comfort to accompany his final moments.

He's not alone. Not yet. It's fine. He's not alone. He won't die alone.. he thinks with his last thoughts, salty tears prickling his eye as he tries to comfort himself, just as his parents would if they were here.

I hope you cry, I hope you sob, I hope those silvery drops of sorrow prick your eyes and roll down your cheeks. If you are angry at me, perhaps you should scream into the bottomless pit of my soul, maybe a shard of guilt might scream back one day. Today's not the day though.

[moldingtundra]

Explanation for my unpleasant gradient and infected dynamic headcanon!

Ok let’s get one thing out of the way:

I headcannon that unpleasant gradient is infected/kaspers ADOPTIVE father

if that makes you uncomfortable, no worries! Simply ignore it or ask me to tag just in case.

now for the people actually interested in why I headcannon as such, I’ll explain in this blog! So strap in for my ramblings lol.

WHY? AND HOW?

ok let’s get the obvious out of the way:

Unpleasant always appears from infecteds apartment. And ONLY infecteds apartment. Nothing else.

which is obviously weird. I know that other npc’s only spawn from one place (i.e infected from his own apartment or pest from the subway) but this almost always correlates with their lore in some way. If unpleasant had spawned somewhere else then it wouldn’t be such a big deal but this MAJOR evidence for my headcannon.

of course he could just be a really annoying roommate but I’ll explain this in my next point-

-which is THIS:

Litteraly who the fuck follows their “roommate” around once they get an injury, you wouldn’t do that type of stuff unless….

It’s your child.

yeah that’s right, I believe that unpleasant is actually just a worried dad. Which explains why it always follows infected around and why it has such close correlation.

on top of that there’s infecteds skateboard, who the hell gets a skateboard directly based off of their supposed roommate? Unless of course. Infected actually looked up to unpleasant and based his skateboard off of it.

“BuT kEvIn WhAt aBoUt ThIs!?!?1!1?”

I honestly have no idea what to say of this. I’ll be honest lmao. But I’m guessing it’s probably the fact that it’s just teenage angst and/or him hating on unpleasant because he’s technically not his “real” dad.

“bUt ErM kEvIn wHy WoUlD hE eAt HiS CaT tHeN ☝🏼🤓”

Because erm actually anon there’s 0 fucking evidence he ate the fuckass cat there’s only speculation and coincidences who the hell knows maybe it’s KASPER himself (I actually headcannon that but it’s a topic for another time)

ok now that I’ve THOSE out of the way it’s time for general headcannons!! ^_^

General headcannons + ramblings!

number one! Since unpleasant is pretty much fixated on ‘cringe’ things (skibidi toilet and unfunny 2020’s jokes) it could play a factor on why infected dosent like having him around, he’s chill. But he’s basically the embodiment of embarrassment. Whether that’d be through his habits (nose-picking, messy eating, etc.) or his humor (as stated before) he’s pretty much the dad that embarrasses you wherever you go.

on top of that, the difference and the opposite nature of both infected and unpleasant makes it quite hard for anyone to really think they’re even partially related. Which is why infected takes advantage of the fact that he can say he’s a “creep” / stalker and anyone can believe him.

However despite their difference in nature. Unpleasant and infected are actually not all that awfully different. They’re both mentally stuck in a period of time (2010 with infected, 2020’s with unpleasant) and they’re both ‘cringe’ in their own respective ways. So despite their opposing beliefs and humor, they’re actually not all that different.

this and unpleasant would be the type of ‘protective and nosey’ dad. Constantly trying to see what is up with his adoptive son while also trying to protect him ever since he got the infection. To which infected retaliates and pushes it further, thinking he deserves to live his life the way he sees fit. Even if it means getting in trouble sometimes. Which is probably why no one is comfortable with unpleasant, it only suspects everybody.

Anddd that’s all! I think- But man that was a woozy to write- I hope you all like it! Who knows if this does well I might write more of my headcannons! For now though I’m gonna log off for the evening- Bye bye!

[lyss-sketchbox]

My thoughts on Inazuma vs Natlan so far. Is that Inazuma dropped the ball. There's no questioning that. It was rushed and the resolution lacked weight, and it almost definitely needed a lot more space to breathe and probably would've benefited from the 5 act structure instead of speedrunning with 3 acts (such as needing actual time spent with the Watatsumi Resistance rather than spending like 30 minutes tops).

HOWEVER. I feel like the initial Act I-II of Inazuma did a great job established the STAKES. It showed us the very real damage being caused by the various unjust decrees and why people are fighting. Natlan I kinda felt like did a lot of telling instead of showing, and any potential stakes feel kinda... Unserious? Because no one's really seriously hurt and even if they're saying Natlan will explode soon, I'm not really feeling like it's as dire as they're trying to sell it.

BUT IVE BEEN INFORMED YOU CAN DO NATLAN OUT OF ORDER??? Like you could in theory do Natlan BEFORE Inazuma thru Fontaine (with the quick-start function) which is why Natlan is more 'self-contained' which is absolutely insane to me?? Like HELLO???

Overall, I feel like the concepts and plot presented in Natlan is fine. But they didn't do a good enough job of selling to me these things. Like the whole child soldiers stuff kjadf like we actually dwelled on it for longer than a millisecond, we'd probably realize that's super fucked up!! But instead we gloss over it, making the whole quest seem fairly light-hearted despite everything.

Rubs my hands together ok anon lets talk cuz yeah i have thoughts

About inazuma

I definitely agree with you that Act 1-2 (especially 1) of inazuma did well setting up and showing how much negative impact the shogun's rule has impacted the people:

Vision holders literally losing a chunk of themselves (or worst, their lives) from their vision being confiscated.

Non-vision holders risking their lives for helping said vision holders (the resistance)

International traders being stuck in the nation, repressed by local government, and scammed by local traders just to keep business alive.

Local government bloating the price of everything!!! (And being able to get discounts only if you have connections)

Corruption even in the highest positions (gestures at the Kujou clan)

Fatui meddling that lead to the deaths of many for profit

The shogun literally programmed her robot to be that heartless because she herself dont give a shit about any of these issues. As long as her eternity stays.

Fr after venti and zhongli, getting an archon that acts as a proper ruler of a nation AND an antagonist sounds COOL AS FUCK. The booba sword scene while yeah, boobs wooo, also was a wonderful show of her authority over her nation.

After that they tripped and fell in Watatsumi. While i appreciate the environmental story telling of Watatsumi's and Shogunate's bases during the war, we barely get enough time to do... ANYTHING of substance. If i remember correctly, we became team captain, then do a bunch of training and defeating vagrants (on our own because friendly npc fighters didnt exist yet) and thats it. Where is the plotting? Wheres the planning? It was all just an anime training montage we barely get to see or feel. I genuinely feel like we couldve just replaced the entire Watatsumi arc with 'the fatui is selling delusions to people with confiscated visions to help them cope with the lost so traveller go to the delusion factory' and NOTHING wouldve changed. Hell it wouldve made ALOT more sense why yae came to save us at the end if the whole thing happened in Narukami.

Also after all that SHOWING they did alot more TELLING about wooo how smart kokomi is she is so smart and cool and the savior of the resistance. Like girl the fatui had their grip on your soldiers to the point they almost didnt want to surrender their delusions what are you on about. While you can argue she was only a priestess before the war and had no war intellegence skills, the people prop her up as such, kujou sara took her seriously. So she has to have some merit. Well im not seeing any (fight me on this i dont fully remember what happens in watatsumi)

Also at the end we fight the literal dictator of the nation with the power of friendship then everyone and i mean EVERYONE forgave said dictator...... cool. They would definitely benefit from an extra act so that watatsumi adds to the idea that this civil war and the shoguns current decree is causing damage.

About AR

The thing is that the requirements for you to start Natlan AQ is to be AR 28 and finish Liyue AQ (which requires AR 29 for the entire thing). While starting Inazuma requires AR 30, Sumeru needs AR 35, and Fontaine needs AR 40 (highest AR requirement by far).

Id argue that each nation is supposed to be a self-contained story. Even so, based on AR requirements theyve been chronologically in order because you NEED to complete the previous AQ to start the next. EXCEPT for Natlan.

While this is obviously to be more open to new and returning players, it really.... decreases the stakes, like you would assume the more we progress the tougher challenges we will have to face. But Natlan? Nawww you can go to Natlan without fighting the dictator 👍

About Natlan

I AM ADDRESSING THE CHILD SOLDIER THING FIRST BECAUSE YES. THEY DEFINITELY DID ALOT MORE TELLING THAN SHOWING HOW THIS CHILD APPARENTLY CAN BE SENT TO WAR WITH A REAL CHANCE OF DYING!!!!! I talked about this before because they ironically did alot more showing how child like Kachina is which adds more to the FUCKING CHILD SOLDIER THING.

HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE OKAY WITH THIS??? Oh its our nations culture, its just the culture shock, OKAY YEAH BUT THE TRAVELLER AND PAIMON ARENT NATLAN NATIVES AND THEY DONT FEEL ANYTHING ABOUT THIS????? Wow yey cheer for the child to go to war! BRO SHE DIED AND WE WENT JACOOZIING WHILE WE WAIT FOR HER TO RETURN FROM WAR...............

ITS VERY OBVIOUS INFANTILIZATION BECAUSE IANSAN DIDNT FUCKING GET THE SAME TREATMENT. You know, the other small girl character there, nah she went to war just like Kachina, lived, and stood by the Archon and WAS READY TO THROW HANDS WITH A HARBINGER IF THE ARCHON DIDNT FUCKING FIGHT HIM HERSELF.

Everything just feels so.... chill? So relaxed with no stakes at all. I mean yeah the Abyss is creeping into the nation's roots but instead of sending armies we make it a tournament. Yeah people die in these excursions but we can revive them so we can ignore the horrors of experiencing death. Yeah the flames are dying so the archon has to give up some of her power to keep it lit but its okay! The harbinger is a gentleman that wont take this opportunity to do some scheming. We need the power of the chosen one of each tribes to save natlan but hey cant rush it! We got a year after all teehee.

Man. Head in hands. What the fuck.

Not even gonna go into the whole the archon is human but mavuika is the one that got reincarnated to retake the role just in time to solve a national crisis thing. Because i dont even know if THAT is accurate.

If they somehow trip and fall worse than inazuma id actually be amazed because the bar is very very low.

[hollow-u]

DISCUSSION BOARD: NEW HOLLOW GAMES PROJECT?

serveronium_: lets get this over with. I keep seeing a bunch of posts about a new hollow project?? so what's the deal with that? or is it just a bunch of made up stuff? any posts about it on the official hollow board get deleted immediately. and that thing been deaaaaad for a while.

litgamer2000: think it's some kind of hoax. or maybe a fan game? ARG thing? the hollow was kinda freaky after all xD

omniomniomni: It's kind of closed thing. Anyone who wants a link to more info can PM me.

NPCWatcher: wow.. hope anyone didn't get malware! LOL

Real1sonlY: Nah, omnis the real deal. This whole "Unleased" thing is kind of on the down low, but not too difficult to search up.

serveronium_: OK yeah i did kind of risk my computer blowing up into bits, buuut yup. This is a Thing. Will update on more stuff i find.

litgamer2000: Sooooo not some fan made hack??

Real1sonlY: If some bored 12 year old could program this whole thing - then sure, but i doubt it. Still, game appeared just as suddenly the original got shut down. Devs would wanna hype it up somehow i'd think

NPCWatcher: LOL - does it have something to do with that sitch with the weird guy that went crazy? Deleted the original server, dipped and now wants to make his own version?

litgamer2000: Ah yes! The legendary "weird guy"!

Real1sonlY: Yeahhh really love the guy - Now all those hours I put in to participate in the game that got suddenly wiped is now totally worth it! (sarcasm btw)

serveronium_: Finally read up on what omni sent, and also some more stuff. Unofficially the game's titled "The Hollow: Unleashed". It's a real thing, but participation seems to be invite only. Some super elite stuff ig

litgamer2000: That's crazy!!! And this info is just out there? Wouldn't ya think it'd be better hidden?? - How has Hollow games not sent a cease and desist already??

codenode12: Woww you guys are super active tonight. But I'll break it down for you guys. My uncle works at Hollow Games and it's not their's but they are monitoring the statistics and stuff!

Real1sonlY: Yeah, everyone's uncle works at Hollow games, dork.

litgamer2000: Soo anything else about this UNLEASHED thing?? Does the Hollow get into your room instead of u getting in the hollow??

Real1sonlY: Hopefully not. That sounds terrible. 👎👎👎

NPCWatcher: Nice!

serveronium_: Sorry im back. Guess who had a great chicken dinner

litgamer2000: Okay.. But the game?? Dying to know what you found out (not rlly dying)

serveronium_: Yeah sorry. So my guess of why it's "unleashed" is because the game's kinda more complex.

Real1sonlY: Even more than the OG?

serveronium_: I mean the OG kinda was cool and always updating - but the NPCs were kind of weak - the same few and always stuck to a script.

There are a couple additions, and these guys are like, super advanced.

NPCWatcher: A new advanced self-learning language model?

serveronium_: Maybe. Whatever that means. But people say these things are uber complex. Sentient kinda?

litgamer2000: ughh creepsville much?

Real1sonlY: whatevs, I'm hooked. I just hope another weird guy doesn’t shut it down like the original.

serveronium_: if someone tries maybe the NPCs will stop him? Sounds like theyre already doing a better job at running the game than any dev team I know! lol

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during TGCF S2 Ep 2

Also watching this while sketching now here we go!

Previously on TGCF… 

-And starting off at the Gambler’s Den!

-Hey you’ve heard the old saying, “It costs an arm and a leg” I think this fits perfectly for the red demon masked gambler

-Hey! No getting sweat on the gambling table!

-Hua Cheng: No Thanks~ *fans myself with a hand*

-Yeah those are the best house policies San Lang

-Man, the loop braided ghost assistant is literally all of us fawning over Hualian amirite? (that Ghost maiden is going places!)

-This den operates on Hubris Logic

-Stop decreasing your child’s lifespan!

-Now Roll!  That just made think of DND, I dunno why

-Those dice weren’t loaded (Anybody seen Road to El Dorado 10/10 totes recommend)

-Worst dad I’ve ever seen and he’s just a gambling NPC

-Hehehe Just imagine Toph in the Gambler’s Den (For those anticipating The Scrap Immortal and the Avatar, I’m afraid that’s going to be a scene that won’t come to fruition, really sry readers)

-“It’s despicable, and that’s coming from a ghost like me” that was a really great quote ngl

-Kinda hard to accomplish since you were talking to a ghost

-Yep prolly the worst Dad I’ve ever seen in all of TGCF

-Hi Rouye

-Hi Windmaster

-Honestly, the reason they have Qingxuan switch from Male to female in this season is that from a Union Standpoint, they had to allow Anjali Kunapaneni dub other series while Jacob Eiseman took over and vice versa.  That’s just my theory, I’m not sure if it might be true.

-Aw, he’s worried over his complexion

-Man, Xie Lian’s expression shifts as he inspects Qinqxuan’s complexion.  I love that little attention to detail in the animation.

-And then Qingxuan happily exclaims while putting both hands on his cheek was 100% precious!

-“If I were a mirror where would I be” they have the best lines of this Season 2 so far!

-Wind Master laugh is clearing my pores

-Hi Qianqiu, Hi Mengyou

-Not so smart to me

-All the ghosts have really unique and distinct designs (it’s that kind of uniqueness I’m trying so hard to capture in my TOH Oc murder mystery au)

-“Aw man!  What was his number!  Not cool Taihua!” - Literally every ghost in the Gambler’s den, and also me.

-Well, you’re not wrong, Qianqiu

-Hehehe the double facepalm XD

-Not the brightest candle on the altar

-Let’s face it, we all lost it during Hua Cheng soft chuckle!

- He noticed the laugh!

-Man the background ghost voices are on point

-And I’m like at Qingxuan, “You didn’t read the signs?” Does anybody other than the ghosts, read the signs???

-“He might be fine if he doesn’t reveal who he is” Qianqiu: *reveals who he is* Too soon dude

-That blue masked ghost woman sure has sass

-That blue beaked ghost also has a cool design tho

-Don’t mind me just fanning myself whenever Hua Cheng speaks cause it gives me the vapors~!

-The fact that they thought the same thing!

-No not the gambling table!  

-Woah he sent it right back!

-This is infinitely better than the live action martial acts films I’ve seen in my whole life

-It’s like a stake raising tennis match

-That glow in his eyes

-He’s going Super Saiyan

-That animation really did get better

-“He’s stuck up there!” My comment: “Like a fly on fly paper” My sister’s comment: “Like an idiot on idiot paper” lmao

-Yep just point and laugh ghosts, point and laugh

-You mean from bad to worse

-I told you Ghost City’s the Las Vegas of Ancient China, told ya~

-A new table!

-You’re not wrong on luck

-Snake eyes is even worse

-“Like I said, biggest is so overdone!  Crazy idea, what if smallest wins? Sound fun?”  Qingxuan is spitting bars in the dub people!

-They’re just gonna believe that from two newcomers?

-Xie Lian, internally chanting: “Small…small…small…” His cursed and horrible misfortune: LOL nope :3

-Not your fault for looking like a snack Qianqiu

-Wait till you see the fandom, Taihua

-Alright, hat got Hua Cheng enticed

-Literally everybody witnessing a man in white robes desperately shake a pair of dice: Is…that guy ok?

-His smile widened!

-“I can’t watch!”  I can and it’s gonna be something!

-Oh he sees a lot in that raggedy jerk than you do right now buddy

-“What’s there to teach about shaking dice?  It’s just shakin dice!”  The best random quote of this episode, and the tone when that side character said it!

-“And you’re the expert!” He got sassed back

-*Hears Hong Lian Qian starting up like* Aw yeah, the best song of the new season! *Vibes out with writing and sketching like no tomorrow*

-Dude! Pass me the Aux cord!  You better not be playing mainstream garbage!  *Casually plays Hong Lian Qian like a G!*  WOO!!!

-There he is, just a red transparent curtain keeps them apart, also Hua Cheng’s status but let’s not get ahead of ourselves

-The wind animation!!!, and Wind master’s not even summoning it

-Literally when my older sister first saw this scene she was like: It’s the pottery scene from Ghost

-He rolled an 11!

-If my underaged TGCf OCs witness the infamous dice scene like in season 2, Qing Tao and Chun Xue(both 12) look up to their older friends: “..ssShould we be listening to this?”  And then Lan Hai and Nuan Yu (both 14) frantically respond with covering their younger friends’ ears: “…pProbably best if we played it safe.” (Quotes are from an episode of Close Enough) heck I can imagine the Gaang reacting like this witnessing the dice shaking too, just swap Qing Tao and Chun Xue with Aang and Toph, and Lan Hai and Nuan Yu with Sokka and Katara, (Zuko would also try to cover the Southern Water Tribe Sibs’ ears, but this hypothetical scene also won’t happen in my TGCF x ATLA xover, now back to the reaction!)

-The singing really is timed well with the animation!  10/10 baby!

-“You see, it’s bigger now” …I got the joke

-“It’s starting to feel like San Lang is just teasing me” Oh yes he is~

-They’re chucking their dice at him!

-It’s a 10!

-“Now I’m sure San Lang is just teasing me”  Told ya~

-The chibi scene!

-Welp, looks like those rolls were just practice rolls

-You gotta love Xie Lian’s internal monologue

-Qingxuan chucked his fan at Taihua, and it came back like Sokka’s boomerang (I had to make that reference!)

-That tapir/baku headed Ghost

-It’s a 12, and it timed well with the rising crescendo!

-That one monkey like ghost

-Right on the gambling table!

-Did he cheat?

-The music change!!!  The soundtrack team knew what they were doing!

-“Who cares it’s gorgeous!  He’s so handsome I think I might just die right here!”  “What are you talking about?  You’re already dead!”  That was a really great exchange!

-And he is seeing his real face!

-“Please my lord don’t tease me!”  Oh yes he will~!

-Now the ghosts are suspicious it took em like half an episode!

-Hey guys I think we’re all gonna get a kick outta this, “The stale half eaten bun from Ep 5 was in Xie Lian’s sleeve the whole time!”  I’ve always wanted to quote that, and it was totally worth it!

-Man, I can’t wait to write Aang’s reaction seeing Xie Lian and Hua Cheng interact together!

-“Um, I’m afraid it’s gotten a bit hard” Yep, they slipped that in, and James was a boss at writing the whole english script for the season

-He tosssed the bun up and down like San Lang did with a small piece of a broken sword in S1 Ep 6, the parallels people!  The parallels!!!

-And him biting the stale bun got XL all flustered! AAAHH!!!

-Look at him go!

-Not that random stand, wait it’s still in tact

-Slay that performance Qingxuan!

-Chide him good!

-And Xie Lian’s still does a great job as a strategizer and a mediator

-The introduction that would change the season forever, also Qingxuan’s emotion shift when it came to describing his new friend’s current occupation with collecting scraps as a living

-He knew San Lang was Hua Cheng?!?!?!

-Hua Cheng is messing with them!

-They’re using him as bait!

-Oh yeah, that’s right, they’re friends

-Geez savage, Wind master

-Hey, no dissing Ling Wen she’s doing her best!

-Gone from Season 1 eps 2-3 and Ling Wen still couldn’t find him???

-Welp, there’s the cliffhanger

Does this reaction count for Hua Cheng’s B-Day?  More reactions will be on the way, I’ve got 3 weeks left of my quarter and I’ve got two big projects to finish so hang tight everyone!

[samusique-concrete]

some thoughts on dark souls 2

well, here we are. a while ago i posted some thoughts on dark souls 3, which i now will update by saying it ended up becoming one of my favorite games ever, period. more than ds1 and elden ring i think (?). beat it multiple times, had a lot of fun fighting bosses in different ways, had fun with people online, been on the grind for getting all the achievements, been looking into installing the randomizer mod, etc. it's thanks to the buttery smooth UX ds3 provides that i got to enjoy my time with it so much. i cannot say the same for ds2.

not to reignite an age old debate but i don't think ds2 is really all that good... or at the very least i think the stuff it gets 'wrong' ends up overshadowing the stuff it really does get right. if you like the game that's fine obviously, i can see the appeal and i'm not here to say "DARK SOULS 2 SUCKS!" or anything. i'll list some stuff i liked and some i didn't so you can see where i'm coming from:

(SOME) STUFF I DIDN'T LIKE:

the ADP/AGL stats. i can't fathom why they thought it was a good idea to tie your i-frames to a stat. ds1 got this right the first time. this is genuinely beyond me.

movement/animations. ds1 could at times feel like a weird take on turn based combat in real time. it worked. ds2 just feels sluggish, on top of not being super responsive. you can be locked on but if you roll and attack your attack is stuck to the direction where you roll and you completely whiff. was ds1 vanilla also like this? i only played the remastered and it's, you know, how it should be. also where are the i-frames for going through a fog door or opening a chest??

the healing system. why did they feel the need to split them into flasks and gems? i certainly never felt the need to have two different healing items, except for the only sometimes useful feature that you can use gems while still moving. didn't see much use in the fact that one heals you slightly faster than the other. if anything having to manage two separate resources, one finite and the other not, was a bit annoying. ds3 went on to improve on this with only flasks; there were more of them and you could move while drinking them.

the menu. a bit finicky to traverse. more on this later.

the hitboxes. jfc. on top of being horrible there's very little feedback for when you're being hit. you just see your health bar decrease seemingly out of nowhere sometimes.

the enemy encounters... are actually fine for the most part. in some sections it's actually hilarious, in a good way (enemies blasting through locked doors? the constant invasions? the forlorn coming to get you if you die a lot, or the pursuer randomly popping in? actually funny stuff). it just got really annoying to deal with them at times for the other reasons listed above, plus also having to deal with some of the most baffling level design in the series.

the level design. the gulch? the undead crypt? good god.

the bosses. they're ok-ish for the most part, though most of them aren't very memorable and it's not really super engaging to fight them because of the combat mechanics. the dudes in armor are tight though and i wish there were even more.

the npc dialogue. these people just never stop their yammering do they. probably the single funniest player message i've ever seen in one of these games was just next to the last bonfire where aldia talks to you. the message just said "right, right". i laughed out loud for a solid while.

(SOME) STUFF I DID LIKE:

the story & themes. i think this is the most realized 'vision' of a plot in a dark souls base game. it's really interesting and it actually makes you care about some stuff, and it also makes you feel a certain way about the world design, which is nonsensical in a cool way. i get that in order to get some of this across they had to write more dialogue but at least you can mash A through that (at the risk of missing something relevant).

the human effigies. a step up from the humanity system from ds1, that would ultimately end up getting revised to perfection in ds3 with the embers.

the graphics. obviously this came out some years after ds1, but for a game that still released on the same console generation as its predecessor, it's a bit wild how much more they could get out of the systems at the time. also the art design in some areas are in my opinion a big step up (thinking of heide's tower of flame, the walk up to drangleic castle, the dragon aerie and other random hallways where the lighting got used in striking ways) and that also helps. (i don't wanna let ds1 off the hook here just for being 'the first one' though; by 2011 the industry already knew what they were doing, and fromsoftware had already released demon's souls prior to it. it is a bit crazy that a game from 2011 looks and feels like that but i say that with a lot of love).

the menu. they figured out a way to make you visualize your character while at the same time trying different armor pieces on (with your character even taking a slightly different stance while the menu was open, as if they were posing), and then they went back on that for ds3. a shame.

majula. obviously the coziest hub.

bonfire ascetics. really, really cool item that i'm baffled doesn't exist in some other shape or form in subsequent titles. i get that they could be used to farm to get an obscene amount of souls but it'd be really cool to have the oportunity to re-fight bosses in other souls games without having to beat the game and getting up to a certain point again. maybe like halve the souls they give out so it's clear that they're there as an optional challenge instead of a farming item, idk.

the atmosphere. atmittedly it's very different from ds1, but it's still... something. there's something to it. i consider ds1's atmosphere and general vibe so well realized that i see it as sort of unsurpassable. this is probably the thing i'd criticize the most about ds3: in that game the atmosphere is really austere for some portions of the experience, though it obviously makes up for it in other ways.

the memories. idk they weren't great and a they're a bit obtuse as a progression gate but still a neat idea. the whole 'action set piece' vibe does clash tonally a bit with what i associate with souls titles but it would've been interesting to see that idea fleshed out in a sequel.

all in all, it wasn't all bad. it was just really frustrating trying to meet the game halfway sometimes when ds1 had already figured out ways to impart something onto you even through all of its friction. i know miyazaki wasn't the one directing this one etc etc but it really does feel like a completely different studio made it. like it was the first 'soulslike'.

echoing my post on dark souls 3, i will now close this one out with a few screenshots.

i realize i've now written about dark souls 3 and dark souls 2, in that order. i guess i'll eventually write something similar, though different, about dark souls 1.

[okthatsgreat]

ok Idk if ur like hiding spoilers so don’t answer any of this if u can’t but if u CAN please please tell me why the dating sim girls hate & ur omnipotence so much they want you dead!!!!! is it the same reason they hated the first one or different? is there a reason tamsin wants you to stay on script, knowing she’s not interested and likely doesn’t like the dating sim format she’s stuck in? id kill to play this lee

ID KILL TO MAKE THISSSSSSSSS GOD I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS!!!!!! SO MANY IDEAS THAT ARE FAR TOO AMBITIOUS

BUT i can say this a lottt of it revolves around the medium of video games/dating simulators in general. if that makes sense. like the typical dating simulator is over the course of a few weeks(??) or something, which you AS THE PLAYER are able to pop in and out of as well as restart and redo to your hearts desire. if you want a different ending then you can simply restart the week and get a different ending!! if you want to date a different girl or see all of her reactions to everything you say to her then you can do that!! that’s definitely what the LAST guy did. but the thing that at some point these four girls became AWARE he was doing that. they are the only four people in this soulless world that are AWARE that they are stuck in an endless, one month cycle that all bends to one guys whim. they had no control whatsoever about what happened because they were not created to drive the narrative forward. and protag 1 was a very bored player with a lot of free time

so at one point the npcs finally actually for real talk to each other outside of their “pre-set” dialogue. the first protag has been repeating ellies route for a while now and the others were initially resentful of her just because they for real do Nothing when their route isn’t being played. but then one day ellie goes This Sucks. and the other girls go This Sucks. and the plan is formed to confront protag 1, and whether they MEANT to murder him or not they ended up killing him, at drowsy creek which is where ellie’s ‘final date’ is. and they don’t have that long to feel terrible or anything, because the timeloop STOPS. like they actually DID IT. which is why so many of them look different when YOU show up— they were actually able to explore the world and grow as people!!!!

but then here YOU are!! the second protagonist! you have the same ability as the first guy, and suddenly all four of them are stuck in the EXACT same cycle. which is why your decisions are really important here— IMMEDIATELY a lot of them are thinking about killing you, because that clearly worked for the last guy. pushing wayyy too hard about the murder is gonna make them even MORE hostile, especially tamsin who is quite defensive (hence why she’s telling you to BACK OFF BUDDY). a lot of the endings of this game are them taking you out lmao, only for you to come righhtttt back. if you go through the game just trying to do a normal romance route, it’s likely you’re gonna get killed!! ESPECIALLY if you do ellie’s bc she’s so over it lmfao

in my dream beautiful universe where i am able to make this game, the “true ending” of the game involves the four characters waving you goodbye before the game gets uninstalled from your computer entirely. bc that is truly the only way of ending the cycle. they have to be removed from the context of a video game and the protagonist simply can’t exist

[quenthel]

My experience with Dragon's Dogma 2 and my thoughts about the true ending (spoilers!)

So first of all I never finished the first game. It just did not captivate me, and I got annoyed by the respawning low level enemies and lack of fast travel. I loved the monster designs and the pawns a lot tho.

Then the second game got announced n I vacillated between getting it and not getting it, while like 90% of my friends were hyping me up. I ended up pre-ordering. I made my pawn after my beloved kittycat Lara.

Dragon's Dogma 2 is very similar to the first game but it feels more polished. The vocations are more fun, the pawns are chattier and cuter, the vibe of the world is a bit more whimsical and sillier than it was. I ended up not minding the low level enemies at all because the combat is just that fun. The npcs are also more charming this time around but the more I played the more I just fell in love with the pawns. The rest of the npcs colored the world, and the game's big quest (aside from continuing the cycle n killing the dragon) is specifically to learn about this world. The pathfinder specifically tells you this the game itself grapes you by the shoulder and invites you to have fun in this light hearted theme park. Kill cool monsters! Meet lovely people! It's very comfy.

BUT THEN the game occasionally has moments that made me feel emotional. And many times these moments were connected to my pawn. When my dear Lara was in danger or dying or in pain in a cutscene it felt meaningful because she is my main pawn. My main traveling companion, my little heal bot. I even presented her to the Sphinx when she asked who I love the most because she is the one always by my side chatting in my ear.

Then I got to the end. And the victory over the dragon felt hollow. Like ok great I did it I saved the world but it's just the same shit right? And where is my pawn? So I triggered the true ending or the beginning of the true ending that breaks the cycle. At first I found this very cool bc I love when games about grand cycles allow you to just upset the order of things... (It was very dark souls like) After I found my pawn sweet Lara again I started taking on the rest of the post game, which was preparing the denizens of the world that it is ending. Lara said she always felt my Arisen's presence like a heartbeat, even while separated.

And as I was facing down the last thing available for me (aside from another quest that glitched out) something very cool happened. The last challenge was killing another of these weird brine dragons, by powering the Gigantus you fight earlier. And it was LARA doing it not my Arisen. And SHE killed the dragon. Like pawns in this game have no free will at all, it's acknowledged many times by the setting. They are mysterious and they exist to help you. They have emotions, and they chitter cutely, but you make them. They are even more doll like than your own player character or all npcs and yet by the end my own pawn was the character I cared for the most. And she started acting without me prompting.

And then it was the end of my journey and I summoned a new proper dragon. And Lara turned into one too (like when pawns get the disease n turn into dragons) but this time she remained aware. And she helped me kill the new dragon. Like the last moment with your poor struggling pawn deciding to help you not because it's their role in this world but because it WANTS to help out of it's free will? That moment will stuck with me for a long time.

And it's such a smart decision too bc your Arisen steps out of the cycle and your pawn your precious companion does too. While the spirit of the game talks about pawns being hollow nothings, your own pawn replies to that that it's not true and it became something because of the player. And this is a game where pawns learn things from you all the time.

Like it just made me think about a lot of things. Fantasy stories and the people in these stories are there to serve a purpose usually (the pathfinder says this exact same thing too). Dragon's Dogma 2 analyzes what it means to exist in one such a story on a level I think. Like it presents you with a beautiful world and with lovely people you can escape to. It's idillyc and you are a hero and you can kill monsters and dragons and you can be so cool. And at first wanting to see the true ending feels like a punishment. Like oh really? You wanted to see this world unravel? Well it's all shit now. All those lovely people are in danger the world is no longer beautiful and everyone is DOOMED. Do you care to struggle? Why do you care to struggle? Do you care for this little doll you made so many hours ago to aid you? Why does it feel meaningful when it gains free will?

I think it's very impactful on a level because I did end up caring a lot. Especially about my pawn transforming into something new. The two of us together remaking the lovely world in which neither of us have a place in...

[adelle-ein]

cleared the beta main story (it's five chapters, for anyone wondering, all set in wishfield), there's loads of side quests etc to potentially do but i think i'll probably spend the rest of the time dressing up nikki and wandering around - don't want the first several dozen hours of the full game to be a drag when it comes out lol, want to leave some stuff. nikki also decided to mix things up on me by getting stuck *above* the ground in the last few cutscenes so that was fun

positives: really is just a gorgeous, gorgeous game. the dress up mechanics are stellar, lots of options and things to mess around with. i don't even really have a ton of clothes yet but have still spent tons of time dressing up, it's great, i've never played such an hd fashion game and it's exciting. so much love and detail has gone into the world - npcs will be standing around knitting, tons of tiny items and details in houses and storefronts. some of the animals are supremely cute, there's so many flowers, there's lots of little like...sewing/weaving/knitting/crochet/art details lying around. there's no part of the world that feels unfinished or like an afterthought. even the goddamn treasure chests are beautiful. it's very much a "see a place, go to it" open world. photo mode is really just fantastic and everything i want other games' photo modes to be. generally gameplay feels pretty easy and accessible - it's a little overwhelming at first when they're throwing terms at you (might be easier for nikki veterans) but you can get the hang of things after a bit, and the combat's easy. no lag, loading screens are pretty minimal, runs gorgeously on max settings on my computer (which is a very good gaming computer but not like a custom rig or whatever.)

negatives: don't love some of the platforming but i've gotten by ok without needing to call my sister to come do hard parts for me, so that's good lol. if i can manage probably most people can. the gacha really seems awful, odds of naturally pulling anything good are low, currency rare, hardly anything in the common pool, all that good stuff. and at least so far, some categories of items like eye colors and capes for momo are locked to pulling heavily, which sucks. while most of the bugs i've experienced are visual glitches, and i've had way less crashing since they pushed out hotfixes, said glitches can get pretty annoying at times - mostly nikki sinking into or hovering above the ground which can impede all kinds of things, and sometimes buttons to skip or advance scenes not working properly, (though usually if clicking didn't work, hitting f did and vice versa, still a pain). voice acting is flat as a board, and the last few cutscenes had some pretty gnarly typos/translation issues (there's some otherwise, but not enough to really impede the game imo.) these are pretty predictable complaints i think. not optimistic that the gacha will improve but i think the bugs etc can be smoothed out. also i got a little dizzy/motion sick at times but nothing awful, just needed breaks.

but yeah, excited for full game, shame about the gacha but hoping the rest of the game is strong enough to stand without it

[myuiis]

(same anon who asked for sinu analysis) well first off let me ask your thoughts on YeonhuixSinu

Despite my undying love for this man- I'll admit they're cute n all BUT I always felt it was undeveloped.

I don't know if it's just me but when Jason (I think) said he'd snitch about him being with neko to her I was confused back when he was still under the influence of those pills at workers. Like, Did I miss something? Did I forget something from the gaps between the arcs? Idk. But even if she was shown to be worried over Sinu, it didn't seem romantic at all especially that all the big deal girls cared too. PTJ also made it seem like an already established relationship and I'm still questioning when?? She seemed to know him well and all but no hinting of any romantic attraction was there, just your average big deal romanticism and admiration lol.

I understand that PTJ has to leave some details away for the sake of the pacing but I think he could've at least thrown some hints here and there.

ok yeah. so this won't be a super long post because i am tired but good lord i am very... lukewarm about sinu and yeonhui. im with you on the "who?" when yeonhui was mentioned again in 2a. now im glad that sinu is with someone he's happy with but man... sinu and yeonhui is just such a mid ship compared to literally anyone else he could've been shipped with. let me explain.

yeonhui's lack of presence in the story. now this is probably the main reason i find this ship so lackluster. how am i supposed to root for a ship when the female love interest is literally like npc #125? while she did have more presence than the other girls on the street, this isn't really a high bar considering ptj's track record writing female characters. and this isn't to say she was boring or had a bland personality either (even though she KINDA did...). she was strong and independent, stood up to samuel when he tried to extort them for money (iirc), bore the burden of sinu's sacrifice and stayed strong for big deal, and was there to comfort jake when he learned of the news. she could've been a REALLY interesting character because she was so strong and also stuck to her ideals in the same way sinu did, so they could've been such a power couple, had yeonhui been developed more. it would've been nice to see yeonhui and sinu strategize about how to protect big deal together, or see more of yeonhui bandaging and caring for sinu after he gets hurt, or seeing sinu bring yeonhui gifts and money... or anything, really. the two have barely have any substantial interactions over the entire arc besides the last part where sinu's about to sacrifice himself, so much so that it makes me wonder... who is this yeonhui person? why are they important again.

chemistry. this mainly comes up to personal preference but yeonhui and sinu feel more like an older sister-younger brother dynamic to me. yeonhui took sinu in as a child, fed, clothed, and cared for him, and then continues to take care of him as an adult, which comes off as big sis behavior. again, some people may like this dynamic romantically, but i personally find it super platonic and sibling-leaning.

other sinu ships. idk. just find it a LITTLE heteronormative that any man and woman who share a little bit of screentime together are instantly a couple while sinu and jake can be out here pulling "you are my everything" and "i came back to big deal for you and you alone, jake" moments, and they'll still be just "good bros". again, kind of up to personal preference, but if you compare yeonhui x sinu to jake x sinu or even samuel x sinu, there's a clear lack of interactions and chemistry for yeonhui x sinu

so yeah. thats kinda it. this ended up being way longer than i expected so im not gonna write a conclusion paragraph but those are my thoughts around yeonhui and sinu together romantically.

[kitthenameless]

Ok I have started what has to be the weirdest (and most heavily modded and headcanon-ed) BG3 run I will ever do. No companions, just Tavs and NPCs. It won't fully come together until Act 3, but let me paint you the picture.

Tav #1: Tiefling "circle of the stars" druid. A bit quirky, but a fairly sweet and normal guy. Romancing…

Zevlor: Tiefling paladin. You know him. You love him. He's doing his best. Will bring him around in Act 1 until the party, then pick him up again for Act 3.

Tav #2: Half-drow warlock with a vampire patron. Not technically a vampire spawn, but still bitey. Also summons ghosts when he plays music and sometimes accidentally explodes in a fountain of blood. Romancing…

Abdirak: Pain-loving human priest of Loviatar. Also main source of food for vampiric boyfriend. Presumably no combat skills. But he will whack you with a mace if you ask nicely. Will bring him around throughout the game. And…

Kar'niss: Drider who has lost his mind. Probably hisses at the sun. Probably also hisses at anyone who tries to hose him down. Potentially good in combat though. Will pick him up in Act 2. Not sure what to do with him in Act 3 since his big spider butt might alarm the city dwellers.

So I'm just imagining normal Tav and Zevlor sitting at camp, watching the three white-haired weirdos biting and whacking and hissing and bleeding and making out with each other, prepared with Revivify scrolls for the next time one of them accidentally kills another, wondering how they ended up stuck with this group to save the world with.

(My little Act 1 adventuring party. I love how Zevlor just looks tired, while Abdirak is like, "I'm here, I'm queer, and I may only have 21 hp, but I can cut you with my chiseled abs 😏")

Mods: Weeviljester's Ethereal Heads. Pretty Boys Head Presets by cedastarions. Ghouls Customization Compendium - Custom Heads Horns and Beards. Viking Hairstyle + Lilith's Armors by badwitch69.

[nianeyna]

I kept a bullet-pointed liveblog in a notes document as I played the new ffxiv expansion. now I have finally finished the story so I can share with the class without fear of someone responding to me with spoilers. speaking of which everything below is dawntrail spoilers, for the entire expansion, in case that wasn't clear.

⬇️ SPOILERS. FINAL FANTASY XIV DAWNTRAIL SPOILERS BELOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ⬇️

Dawntrail Liveblog

- ok so the mean claimants are obviously not going to win, but catboy promise is a dark horse. also not ruling out "nobody wins"

- Urqopacha is super cute

- CAMPFIRE SCENE!

- Erenville's deal continues to be very mysterious no matter how much he contrives to appear to be telling us about it

- lol Erenville dialog: "I spoke too much" YOU BARELY SAID ANYTHING BABE

- Kozama-uka is sooooo pretty

- I like how the entire first dungeon was totally unnecessary since we would have got there FASTER if we'd just stuck around and helped Alisaie and Erenville repair the boat lmao. but that's not how the WoL does things!!

- CAMPFIRE SCENE!

- erenville lurking in the background... siddown boy lmao

- unknown dude: hey you uh... forgot something. yeah back there. come with me and get it this is definitely not a trap

- oh no it was a trap! who could possibly have predicted this??

- awwww, Koana. wasn't sure about him at first but he's just a cute little muffin isn't he

- wuk lamat getting all excited about eating the xibruq pibil was so cute omg. she just likes food!!! I appreciate that in a woman

- oh shiiiiit wuk lamat origin story?! dun dun dun...

- aaaaaand solo duty... ulp

- haha get wrekt

- CAMPFIRE SCENE!

- the mamool ja should look into tourism... this place is pretty as hell

- ok koana shooting the tablet was a pretty cool move

- have my doubts about the golden city being in yak tel... like if it was there why'd they go to xak tural then

- ok, I guess it... was there? or... the *entrance* was there... according to gulool ja ja, anyway...

- road trip alone with erenville be still my heart!

- out of context erenville quotes: "this is your first time, so let's take it slow"

- no need to apologize erenville... you can drag me into anything you want

- oh wow this is really fucking sad. wow. I wasn't expecting that!

- the ridiculous train plan is cheering me up a bit thank god (editor's note: it didn't last)

- sigh... there always has to be at least one zone per expansion that's all dark and gross-looking. did they sign a contract to that effect or something??

- I can't believe how mean this plotline is to erenville

- this is fucked up... this is so fucked up

- npc: "sorry to darken the mood" NO THAT'S FINE I DON'T THINK THE MOOD CAN GET ANY WORSE!!

- I want to rip Spene's crown off and push her off a cliff. her little I'm so cute and innocent and helpless act makes me want to puke.

- CAMPFIRE SCENE!

- if any more parents die in this story I am really truly gonna lose it

- YES finally we get to fight these horrible people. machine army. whatever.

- I hope the next trial is sphene... I want to kick sphene's ass SO bad

- well there goes otis which brings the fucking dead parent toll to at least 4

- finallyyyyyy made it out of heritage found... *collapses onto the floor of tuliyollal like a shipwrecked sailor reaching land*

- (ok obviously I've technically been back to tuliyollal while I've been doing these godforsaken quests but THIS IS DIFFERENT!)

- we didn't fight sphene but the prospects are looking really good for me getting to punch her in the face soon. probably not literally like we got to do with zenos, but I guess you can't have everything :(

- wow sphene really BELIEVES she's just a helpless little girl. fucking incredible.

- next expansion let's have a final zone NOT populated entirely by ghosts. change it up a little

- so should I count namikka and cahciua's deaths twice on the parent death toll scoreboard or what

- you know what I still don't get. is why the yok huy went to xak tural to look for the golden city. *why did they think it was there*? I mean heritage found is there *now* but it definitely wasn't hundreds of years ago!

- that face on the tower looks more like meteion than sphene tbh

- two more dead parents!

- I can't. believe. sphene erased herself before I could beat her ass. this is the most unfair thing that has happened in this expansion, and it is up against some STRONG contenders

- it's just not satisfying to pummel a weird robot that has none of her memories!

- oh sphene's SORRY? *loudest fart noise ever*

- it's a good thing wuk lamat is here to be nice cause if I had to do it I'd throw up

- "their lives remain unchanged"? uh.... we shut off the afterlife. which was a real physical place you could go to. I feel like that changes things a bit!

- I DID IT I'M OUT CREDITS ROLLED UP I'M DONE THANK GOD

First half I rate: 9/10

Second half I rate: 3/10

Overall I rate this expansion: 5/10 I guess

Up until the lightning dome appeared I was having a blast. after that the gameplay experience became one of gritting my teeth so I could get out and be done with it. all the alexandrian zones are dark and unpleasant to be in, which would have been bearable except the plot was literally nightmarish and any new characters I didn't hate either died or were already dead (except gulool ja, who's cute of course, but his story was still pretty upsetting in a different way). This is not to say the writing was bad, because I don't think it was. In the alternate universe where I was LOOKING for a tragic existential horror game I might have even really liked it. However I really really wasn't looking for that at all, so in the real world I feel pretty betrayed and upset. There's a line between "plot twist" and "false advertising" and I think they left it behind in the dust.

But hell, at least we got 4 campfire scenes.

[sparkbugs]

Ep 105 of jrwi liveblog!! My thoughts and reactions under the cut :3

The psa is so real good on you jay

Skip to like 20 mins in cause I forgor to write-

The egg joke was great LMAO. Also BIRD BIRD :D also. They left the tortle to die???? Oopsie I fucking guess??

Underground town :o chip pls just follow bird bird mannnn

I’m still so worried about Early Drey and Finn on the boat oh my goddddddd (THANK GOD THE SHIP IS SAFE WAA)

NEW NPC WIRH ART OHGHDHHS I LOVE HER??? Whomst are you… pink smithy lady… OHGGGGGG TRICELLE ROLFAERA YOU ARE ALSO GORGEOUS

Bird bird my bestie… they better save everyone on this island man like I get it’s their home but they don’t need to be stuck here anymore

HOLYYY SHITTT 7’2… who is this… artists I kiss u /p you’re so fuckin talented and the art you’ve made is so so pretty

IGNEOUS!!! IVE SEEN ART OF THIS BOY OH HES RAINBOW HES SO COOOOL

LMAO GILLION THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU <3

This woman. I want to be her friend.. ZAMIA :D BE MY FRIEND PLS YOURE SO COOL

I love how they’re arguing in front of these people LMAOOO “you lot are crazy, man” yea igneous. They’re a bit insane but it’s ok!!

“We’re the weird kind of pirates that throw our money off the boat and save things” 💀 yea well.

Well they’re gonna go beat up bad pirates that are killing these people and something bars gonna happen cause when does it ever go right!!! Haha. Ha. (Referencing a Spoiler I know that happens but I have no idea When it happens)

Group huddle moment!! Bring all these people on the ship I don’t care :) save them all somehow

Gilly nugget of wisdom. He’s smart I agree with him

There’s a lot :( just. Aaaag

God taking out the corruption on their own is going to be. Terrible.

Yeaaa gillion you. Need to stop dying please <3

GILLION JUST LIKE ME FR brother you cannot save everyone I understand. I get it man but you cannot save everyone you have to look out for yourself

Hallow spell :o time to google what the spell means- aw hell yea protection spot

GOO DRAGON… chip praying? Never thought I’d see the day- oh he. Corrupted nvm

PRETZEL PLUSH ON THE FLOOR OF GRIZZ ROOM - SHE !!!!!! I think so anyway- SHE MOVED

Whomst was taken. They’re gonna get her back

Oh they have a boss that was taken :(

Just noticed puppy behind grizz :o they eepin

Zamia :( SO MANY SAPPHICS IN JRWI I love them all.

“We’re gonna help as best as we can but we also need help getting around here” seems like a reasonable request as they brought Knock back anyways.

Zamia I love you already :( you deserve the world, y’all gonna get out of here don’t worry

RABBIT! RABBIT!!!! And fox… ogghhdjs everyone on this island. They’re my favorites ever.

GIVE AWAY THE PANTS!!! QUEEN YEAHHH MAKE THEM NEW CLOTHES :D give them hope. This is so good I love this sm

Petlen!!! Trinket friend. MAGIC ROCK! Rock. Love rocks… OMG GIVE THEM FOODS FEED THEMSSS

HAJDJDISH switch blade.. AWEJDIS PETLEN :( I love them

ALICE? What how do you say her name. Smithy… “I saw you smithing from across the room” yeah I would’ve said that too tbh

CHIP FINALLY GETS STUDDED LEATHER GIVE HIM BETTER ARMOR HOLY SHIT!!!

This is we’re Knock gets the “yuh” from too-

DOES SHEBSAY ANYHING ELSE LMAOOOO I love her

Uh ohs. Jay. The map!!!! Huh hahdjgdja map??? What. Uh oh. Wuh oh

Corruptionnnb aaaaaa

LMAOOO “you see something bad? You RUN!”

17 ac finally jeez.. yay armor and upgrades

Spider webs… haha this is gonna go terribly

Ohhhh who fucked up- GRYFFON NOOOOOOO

Everything is fine everything is fine everything is fine the scuttling means nothing everything is fine everything is fineeeee

Queeeeeennn aaaaaaaahshsgaia

AAAAA spider that’s not a friend that’s not a friend uh ohssss ahahahaaa VORTEX WARP HELL YEA SMART MOVE- oh the web. RUNNNNNN A FUCK

This is fine :) I wanna be where the people areeeee I wanna seee wanna see em dancing.

Petrol.. patrol. Same thing…. (Also currently making burger while watching so I’m multitasking this is fun)

Gillion. You what. I mean yea but also haha that’s terrifying haha please be careful

Backstreets back ALRIGHT! Haha uh oh “what you don’t see” uh. Hehe there’s a heart or something.

“Like nuts” … Charlie please.

… haha! Uh oh!!!!! Hahahahdjdhgsja

This episode was great I’m so nervous. For what comes next! Hahaha!!!

[gardenergulfie]

Hello mutual in law gardnergulfie. Could I perhaps inquire about the npcs from dnd

So that "cow man" is named Simon and he's a member of the rival adventuring party to my players! I'll tell you all about them rn!

(Art by @autisticzedaph and @cuuno)

Ok so Simon, Simon McOwens, is a minotaur wizard (formerly a paladin till situation caused him to renounce his oath) and he's the leader of the rival party. He's a friendly but sometimes awkward guy who's charisma comes from just how outgoing he is! He'll cheer for you even if the two of you are racing! He's the one who has the wrangle the more rowdy members of his group in line, to varying degrees of success. Oh and also he's Transhet and uses he/him pronouns!

Next is Nectarine Everloam: a dwarf artificer and the unoffcial second in command of the group. The voice I do for her is based on Fluttershy MLP and thats a pretty good indicator of her personality. Thought quiet and shy, she's actually quite respected by her group and can silence some of them with a look and a few words. She doesn't get angry, just disappointed (which is worse honestly). She also has a lil pet mouse construct! Deffo has adhd/autism. She uses she/her and is a lesbian!

Then we have Took Lil-Tell: an owlin ranger/warlock who wants you to think its a rogue! Very much the "Oh he's a lil guy -> oh he's a bit fucked up actually!" Looks like a sweet, trustworthy tbh creature, big fan of knives, mischief, and thievery. But look at their lil face, you wouldn't hurt them would you? No, you can't, and while you're unable to fight them they're snickering and giggling at you. Awful, I love him. It's aroallo and uses it/they/he btw!

Finally we have the beloved bastard: Sir Finley Prayfallow. A rune knight fighter tabaxi who should probably start investing in barbarian because Wow is she easily riled up. This cat is Miles Edgeworth meets Pirate Joe and he sucks soooo bad. Like, most stuck up cat Ever. British /neg. Kinda pathetic too. I love her, I hate her, she lives in my head rent free. He literally went to a school for knights and yet somehow has the strangest honor code ever. He would call you a slur but only one he can reclaim himself. I hope he changes or dies <3. Also she uses he/she and is very gay.

So yeah those are my blorbos I have Many More in my backpockets but those are the main ones me and the party obsess over. Hope this is enough info!

[naddpod-encounter-tourney]

Broken Bonds:

for this, i will be copying the description from friend of the show tournament @chompe-diem’s comments on round one. they are as follows.

zirk and stella confrontation. ok i could go on about this for ages so let me just pull some quotes

> "when will it be enough!" (caldwell pcs yelling. mwah easy way to the heart)

> "You're stuck. i've spent so much time trying to fix things and you're the one thing that's always broken, and I, I just can't anymore; there's other people that need me, okay?"

just the move of fia's suggestion and then. man i fuckin love the way murph narrated stella in that. her just absentmindedly taking it apart as she keeps talking, it just,,, it does things to my brain

henry's obviously been a pretty shit dad so far, but the way hank/jake so genuinely and naturally acts protective of hank jr when he's chewing out stella. it's just a nice touch, it really adds

stella vervain. yes all the above points involved her but she's one of my favourite npcs and this ep is where u truly see all of her and what she is.

the reveal of big rex and little rex moxora and prophet cain

batilda's heartfelt moment with fia, the i love you

emily with the momentary stasis and pretty much saving batilda's life by incapacitating cain

zirk w the nat 1 death save

bukvar getting taken by moxora and having the form of a bookish little boy who could be fia's brother- *sobs*

and the whole philosphical/emotional ending w fia and the crew etc etc

Crown of Dreams:

The Duck Team races back to the Crick to track down the missing members of the Old Folks’ Circle!

Glen made his escape from the Time Out Tree with assistance from a grenade, which Callie assumed was the one she gifted to Cooter (Glen’s father).

After some investigating at Eloise’s (member of the OFC) stump, they see some suspicious tracks that lead them to Cooter’s stump at the edge of town.

In Cooter’s stump Frogson and Holmes find Glen’s old room, and his various journals. He had wanted to be a ranger captain by 50 and Peepaw of the crick by 100. [Fool.] He had books on Moonshine and Marabelle, and he idolized them. He had a note from Meemaw saying “we will not rain arrows down from our towers. we will always shine a light.” in response to him suggesting they go to war. They also discovered letters to Eloise and determined that she walked from her stump and was a co-conspirator.

The Duck Team was then met outside by Cooter, apologizing. He sent them into a trap, where Glen was waiting with the trapped Old Folks, the Evil Old Folks, and Meemaw (also trapped). After attempts that incapacitated most of the Duck Team, Glen attempted to wrench Ultrus from the helm while Calder was unconscious. Calder resisted.

Sol fell unconscious, and rolled a nat 1 on a death save (very on brand for caldwell). Callie got polymorphed into a nannerfly. Seeing this through a vision in his helm, Calder offered his body to Ultrus in exchange for the giant saving Callie and Sol. Calder just wanted to be useful. "Perhaps you have a giant's heart after all, Calder Kildé."

After slamming Glen against a wall, Ultrus caused the corrupt Old Folks to flee, and he, Callie, and Sol stood at an impasse. Calder apologized to his friends and Ultrus took him away, into the woods.

Glen then revealed that the only being that might be able to help with their problem of the trapped Old Folks was Mawmaw, but that was impossible, as he had sent his mind-controlled father to kill her.

But Cooter, ever the berry boy, used a goodberry to save Mawmaw, resisting the geas spell, causing him to go unconscious. Cooter's action confuse the hell out of Glen, who cannot believe his father would do that, knowing he would likely not survive it, proving his intense misunderstanding of the Crick and of his father once and for all. Callie and Sol helped revive him, and both he and Mawmaw were safe.