#mechquest is DARK

[thatvampireenthusiast]

so i've been thinking on this for a few days now, and of the ae games that i've played (dragonfable, adventurequest, mechquest, and aqworlds, though it's been over a decade since i touched that last one), mechquest is honestly the one with the darkest tone overall? like, right out the gate, the world that you play in is at war. the very first mission you do on the dropship in the prologue is track down an alien infiltrator that snuck in. by the time you reach soluna city the shadowscythe invasion has seeped into so much of everyday life. the hospital is overwhelmed by the war and needs volunteers. the museum doing archeological digs is having to contend with the shadowscythe at ancient temples. the *pizza place* sometimes comes under attack by the alien forces attacking loreon. and this is all stuff that happens before you ever even go off planet.

sure, mechquest still has the ae games classic combo of absurdist humor and internet memes and tonal whiplash, and the other games can certainly get dark, especially dragonfable, but the overall *tone* of mechquest is the darkest and the bleakest, under the surface. especially since we all know how it ends. or at least that's how it feels to me.

[nitroglycerin-sponge]

Mysterious Stranger Part 5

Links: prev / main

[high-voltage-rat]

In This Time or Any: A Mechquest and Dragonfable hero-and-reset-inspired spotify playlist

Shoutout yet again to @cyraen-ae whose encouragement in the tags was the reason I went through with posting this! tracklist (with youtube links for non-spotify users) and quotes below the cut!

1. Empire Now - Hozier

After all, darlin' I wouldn't sell the world / The way that things are turnin' / If it falls, I would hold on for all its worth / Future's so bright it's burnin'

2. Hero - Mountains vs. Machines

When everybody runs you gotta stand tall / Hit after hit you can never fall / If the stars come crashing / You'll be the one to catch them / Don't let go / You could be a hero

3. Go Get Your Gun - The Dear Hunter

We haven't won, and if we win, and if the morning light sets in / We've cheated fate again / And to those who die, please try to understand / That for those who die, we try the best we can

4. Battle Cry - Imagine Dragons

Stars are only visible in darkness / Fear is ever-changing and evolving / And I, I feel poisoned inside / But I, I feel so alive

5. Heroes (Reimagined) - Zayde Wolf

It's feeling like the sun's hiding / But we're gonna keep moving, surviving / No we won't go quiet tonight

6. Trapdoor - Casey Lee Williams & Martin Gonzalez

The pain it keeps invading / It's showing all over my face / Though I try to keep the hope alive / After all the things I've said and done / I don't feel like the chosen one / How will they see me if I lose my faith?

7. Still Feel. - Half•Alive

When I'm furthest from myself (Far away) / Feeling closer to the stars (Outer space) / I've been invaded by the dark (Can't escape) / Trying to recognize myself when I feel I've been replaced

8. CASTLE OF GLASS - Linkin Park

Bring me home in a blinding dream / Through the secrets that I have seen / Wash the sorrow from off my skin / And show me how to be whole again

9. Black Sky - WAR*HALL

Well it's all done / The silence stuns / A black sky will whisper: / "Your time has come"

10. Chasing The Sun - Billy Talent

And all that I've lost, and all that I've won / Don't mean nothing more when you open your eyes and they're gone

11. This Beautiful Life - The Dear Hunter

So let us force a smile and pretend that we're alive / Oh, but somewhere, none of this happened / The bullets removed themselves; life is beautiful

12. The Lightning Strike (What If This Storm Ends?) - Snow Patrol

What if this storm ends? / And leaves us nothing / Except a memory / A distant echo

13. If I Lose Myself - OneRepublic

You can feel the light start to tremble / Washing what you know out to sea, yeah / You can see your life out of the window tonight

14. Babylon - Barns Courtney

What planet are you on? / What constellation? / You're floating like a ghost / Out into the unknown / To the gates of Battleon Babylon

15. Just Breathe - The Unlikely Candidates

I have no memories / Just feelings lingering / Like a dog that's been kicked / So many times that he's sick / Bound to bite a hand and not know why

16. Pompeii - Bastille

But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all? / And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you've been here before?

17. Breathing Underwater - Metric

Out of place, all the time / In a world that wasn't mine to take / I'll wait / Is this my life? / Am I breathing underwater?

18. New Machines - Vinyl Theatre

Flooded in the sky / These secrets left untold / Scholars, lost to time / Ideas, overthrown / Secrets left untold

19. Deadmen - Saint PHNX

I’m drowning out / And asking why / My life is on repeat / I’m dreaming aspirations / Got no reason for defeat

20. Francesca - Hozier

Now that it's done / There's not one thing that I would change / My life was a storm since I was born / How could I fear any hurricane? / If someone asked me at the end / I'd tell them, "Put me back in it" / I would do it again

21. Ghosts - BANNERS

It's said and done, hard to believe / It's not dead and gone / I want to believe / All is well that ends well / But I just can't convince myself

22. Waiting Still - The Family Crest

Still you've got this empty cage / Oh your heart, oh your heart / Is it beating once again? / And the dark, and the dark / Is it speaking to you, friend?

23. A New Mission - Josh Whitehouse (no YT available)

The slightest realignments and my legs will fall beneath me / I've not even come to clock it and I'm facedown in my feelings / Thinking, "Where on earth am I? Where did my companions leave me?"

24. No Goodbyes (Friends Forever) - Fitz and the Tantrums

There's no goodbyes, just hope to see you soon / Will you recognize me? Will I recognize you? / Go through the things you gotta do / There's no goodbyes

25. You're Somebody Else - Flora Cash

Well, you look like yourself / But you're somebody else / Only it ain't on the surface / Well, you talk like yourself / No, I hear someone else though

26. Sons and Daughters - The Decemberists

Take up your arms / Sons and daughters / We will arise from the bunkers / By land, by sea, by dirigible / We'll leave our tracks untraceable now

27. May I Come Home From My War - Kelly Jones

Spending lost days, all the time I never get back / Trying to solve the ways of my mind and my make up

Note: a number of these songs are seemingly written with romantic love in mind, but I primarily chose ones where that love can still be interpreted as platonic and familial. I feel that the glue that binds the MQ/DF story together is the love and community that the Hero is a part of, so it was an inextricable part of my song choices.

[cosmicseapop]

Aqw’s Structure of Existence Theory Pt1

This is probably going to be wrong in some way but its an attempt to make sense of the confusing structure of the in-game universe and the current power hierarchy in a way that makes sense at least to me. Plus some theories and personal thoughts thrown in to explain where I’m going with things.

All written on the diagram for dnd planes since i felt it had the same structure of realms at the time of writing

(this is half way written, so 2 parts now and the others later)

Material Plane 

Since things seems to be centered on just Lore alone and not any other planet (if there is any, idk if thats the thing that carried over from Mechquest and Lore is the only planet with life left — didn’t play Mechquest and probably won’t just for this). Our Lore, Underworld, and Celestial Realm and their Mirror Realm counterparts seem to be two sides of the some coin that are equally affected by the influence of the Elementals Planes in a seesaw manner (this was shown in the Mirror Realm events and Mirror!Drakath’s mission of maintaining the balance of the worlds). 

It hasn’t been shown how the Avatars and Elemental Planes interact with the Mirror Realm yet but it hasn’t been stated yet if Mirror!Gravelyn and Mirror!Artix are Champions, only Mirror!Drakath. Which is very fucking curious, like are they use powerful mages of the opposite element? would they be the one exception to the 'everything is opposite' rule and use the same element? Assuming theres aren’t duplicate Champions in the Mirror Realm to balance out the ones in Lore, then we could assume that the Planes treat it as the same as Lore and there are Champions living in the Mirror Realm (like the missing current Champions/Envoys of Air, Energy, and Earth and other child element Champions/Envoys ((maybe not Energy depending on whats going to happen in RoCT))), which would balance out the number on Lore currently. 

The Celestial Realm and Underworld are included in the Material Planes since they’re technical physical locations on Lore and can be accessible by traveling there, don’t have any strong connection to any Elemental Plane (and that included Darkness with the Underworld since its just the preferred element to cast necromancy with in Greenguard and Dage’s), and also have counterpart locations in the Mirror Realm. 

Basically, it’s a flat Lore theory and the game takes places on a frisbee flying through space /j. 

Lesser gods native to Lore are fun. There’s 3 confirmed ones at the moment with Fimbal, Khoine, and Aletsch, all sharing an affinity with Ice, so there’s no limit on how many gods to just one element. There are others that could be consider native gods, ie Queen of Monsters, Big Daddy and Big Mama, Death and other Grim Reapers, and Anethyx’o. There’s most likely others but I forgot them or they’re being added in. 

This is on the assumption that being created/reborn with divinity and either creating a realm or being tied to one also makes them a native god, or at least a new age god of Lore. It could as be that they were just powerful enough to be seen as a god, like with Fimbal, Khoine, and Aletsch since we got surface level info about them and they could/could not have a personal realm. QoM did get reborn as a god after dying and getting shallowed by the earth, and is more of a God of Monsters rather than Chaos even if she’s credited with creating it. Anethyx’o was formed from the left over bits of power from the Reset Galanoth caused, who went on to form the Celestial Realm. Death and the other Grim Reapers would have a connection to the Underworld due to the whole cycle of souls thing, and the mere killing of Death was enough disrupt that cycle. Big Daddy and Big Mama (and their parents) counted as Gods of Love since they're in charge of love of mortals and gods, and their home is Arcadia. 

Elemental Planes

Literally the most confusing part of this whole thing

Not native to Lore but has a direct connection to the Mana Core. Not on the same plane of existence as Lore and seen as intruders by the native gods, but can affect it if the balance is disrupted. There’s really not a good way of explain what a Plane is at the moment. Maybe they’re just extensions or further away areas of the Mana Core that attuned to different elements. It would explain why it can be accessed via the Planes and how they can influence Lore (like the Mana Affliction but less severe). 

Champions, in my speculation, are a by product of a Plane connecting with a planet, created to be emissary of sorts for the element for that particular world. Not just Lore, but probably every planet that the Planes makes a connect with. Which brings up an interesting concept of the Avatars previously being Champions from other planets that rose to the position. It would explain why Fiamme having a human form, Tyndarius was able to be usurp the position of Avatar but couldn’t keep it since he wasn’t the Champion of Fire, and Galanoth could withstand having the power of an Avatar channeled through him. It also explains why the Avatars face bodily harm from trying to access the Timestream and possibly other realms that belong to actual gods. The one exception to this was Nulgath throwing the Worm that Walks into Adimonde’s realm, but the can be excused with the fact the portal was fueled by the Hero’s EDoT powers. (Basically gods can access other gods’ realm without consequence, but mortals trying the same face the threat of death from exhausting their life force from just opening and maintaining a portal, I think thats how it works). 

All in all, Avatars were probably mortal Champions from other planets at one point — probably the absolute first ones ever — and rose to the position of Avatar by being empowered by the Plane. They probably influence the Planes to some degree due to being connected to them for so long, with the Planes becoming off balance with an Avatar’s death (this hasn’t been shown yet with Kyano and Neso being gone, but I’m sure its going to come up with RoCT). They could also be the Champions of the Planes rather than a planet, and its through that unique position they became Avatars. It doesn’t explain the whole human form of the Avatars (since I feel like they would look more elementally depowered) but would also be could explain the influence they have on the Planes

Which opens that possibility of Champions replacing an Avatar, either through overthrowing them or, in Kyanos and Neso’s case, replacing a dead one with a living one (assuming that Silencing can’t reversed and Kyanos can’t be brought back in some way). A few of the Champions currently have differing goals and morals in some way from their respective Avatars (Gravelyn using Light for Evil when Celestia had it painted as Good, Rhubarb straight up going against Neso, Artix being the definition of pure good despite Darkness being associated with evil, Galanoth stopping the fire dragons in the Fire War). They’re more as a counter balance to the Avatars and their elements have represented so far, but thats more through Lore’s influence on their lives rather than the Plane’s.

Envoys are just below Champions in terms of power and resilient to the effect of the element in my opinion, but just by a bit. They’re more of an Avatar’s Champion rather than a Plane’s Champion and theres nothing stating a Champion and an Envoy can’t exist at the same time for one element (Idk if Elius and Galanoth count for that since Tyndarius was the one to make Elius an Envoy and I don’t think he got to keep that position post Shadows of War Pt2). Of course an Envoy’s power hasn’t been put to the test against a Champion’s — either with the same element or different one. 

Chaos and Order

These two don’t really fit in either but do at the same time. Chaos was created from QoM, who got the label of native god of Lore, but still got classified as an element since Drakath is technically a Champion — even if one that was made by QoM rather than chosen by a Plane. At this point there isn’t a Plane of Chaos or Order, and I wouldn’t call the Plane of Monsters that — mostly due to the fact that the one time it was called the Plane of Chaos was the Chaos War finale and since then it’s been called Plane of Monsters (as of Shadow of Chaos story arc). 

My guess is that since they’re technically new elements, we might see the creation of their Planes and Drakath ascending to an Avatar if he doesn’t get ascended to godhood to add to the Hero’s rouge gallery of gods to counter them. It would be the best way to show what exactly the Planes and Avatars are without exposition from an existing Avatar. 

[cyraen-ae]

Look I’m not insinuating anything but “summoning ethereal copies of your face that glide upward to do damage” seems to be a very Doom-y thing to do

[tmae3114]

.........oh shoot I just put the pieces together

Artix tells us at the start of the Romero missions that the reason he’d gone silent for so long was because “I have been on assignment for a long time now. As you may be aware, there have been outbreaks of zombie-ism and undead reports on worlds throughout the Galaxy.” right?

And we see on Romero that Artix is still an incredibly capable warrior pre-Reset, plus we can derive from his dialogue that he’s probably still quite skilled with the element of Light, even with being in a time where actual magical training is incredibly rare

And we know that the Shadowscythe are from the Plane of Darkness, even before the Reset happened. They’ve always been elemental creatures.

You know what else are creatures of elemental darkness? Zombies and the undead in general

So the sudden rise of undeath related reports that was keeping Artix busy and out of contact while the rest of the galaxy was at war with the Shadowscythe?

Probably directly related to the Shadowscythe

[iffdwrandomizer]

So, here’s the wiki to one of my newest favorite games

[nitroglycerin-sponge]

Mysterious Stranger Part 4

Links: prev / next / main

[nitroglycerin-sponge]

Mysterious Stranger Part 3

Links: prev / next / main

[tmae3114]

Hey i followed you for your insightful analyses of DragonFable lore, and was wondering if you could give a quick and dirty rundown of what exactly the Reset was? I am really not that good at MQ and all i know is that the two are related

[vibrates] it’s gone two am my time and I was going to sleep soon but absolutely yes I can do that!!!

okay, so, as short as I can manage it, bc you asked for a quick rundown: Mechquest and Dragonfable take place in, effectively, the same universe & timeline. MQ is a prequel to DF - the MQ timeline became the DF timeline via the Reset. The actual mechanics are somewhat more complicated (there’s a time loop involved) but that’s A Different Discussion.

The Reset was a last resort Worst Case Scenario backup plan on behalf of the good guys that didn’t go entirely right but also didn’t go entirely wrong either.

Prior to the Reset, the universe was a sci-fi setting with spaceships and different planets and giant robots - though there was still the fantasy element of magic as an existing, known thing, which a lot of tech ran on via batteries, that technology was called “manatech”, and the use of magic itself was something of a lost art. So really it was more like..... a fantasy setting that was far enough into “the future” that it had become sci fi? Anyways, the good guys were at war with the Shadowscythe - who were thought to be aggressive aliens and then turned out to be magical creatures invading from a different plane rather than a different galaxy - and, well... the good guys lost. Because the Shadowscythe play dirty and when it looked like the war was won for our side, they set off a bomb that destroyed everything. The entire universe was destroyed in an instant. “If we can’t have it, nobody can!” and all that.

That’s where the Reset comes in.

The Reset was, effectively, a backup copy of the universe. It was intended for “if the worst comes to pass and the Shadowscythe win, this is our last resort, our reset button”, sort of. Because while it was, pretty much, the universe itself converted into code with the magical power to recreate reality shoved into it, it had been modified so that the Shadowscythe would be shunted back into their home dimension if it was activated.

Warlic’s personal starship, which carried the Reset, was shielded against the end of the universe and programmed to teleport an individual there in the event of universe ending calamity, to activate it. However, Warlic had also programmed in a joke to try and cheer up the Literal Sole Survivor Of The End Of The Universe and it went horribly wrong. It was a coffee machine and the coffee got spilled on the Reset, causing a bunch of the data to get corrupted.

Thus, when the Reset was activated, it did restore the universe as intended, but it also rewrote a bunch of reality and time which trying to fix the corrupted data, ultimately giving us the world of Dragonfable! Because time was rewritten, pretty much nobody remembers that it happened.

There are a few things, and people, which survived the Reset’s rewriting of reality in their prior forms and a few which only got partially rewritten. Kordana, for example, survived intact. As did Jack Crescent, presumbly due to the whole “sealed away” thing. Similarly, Kathool makes reference to a few MQ events at points. The Ancient Exosuit from the Calamity Saga is an example of something which was partially rewritten - it’s an old Shadowscythe mecha, resized and repurposed by the Reset.

(The Reset did succeed in kicking the Shadowscythe back to the Plane of Darkness, though! Iirc, they’re stuck there now and working via proxies like the Doom spirits, where before they could show up themselves. I’m not 100% certain of that lore though so don’t quote me on that part!)

At present, the only people confirmed to have been actively changed by the Reset but continue to retain their prior memories are Safiria and Cysero. Warlic is implied in the Vizalain quests to have some idea about what happened but his reactions to the Shadowscythe mecha the Rose unearthed in the current plotline far more clearly suggest he doesn’t remember.

I hope that’s clear and concise enough! I am very aware it’s still long but I am not good at brevity XD I tried to stick to strictly Reset stuff and how it relates to DF without meandering into MQ lore

And if you want a longer, more in-depth explanation of the Reset, with relevant MQ lore attached...... I am fully willing to do that also. Though, probably at a later point, after I have slept

[tmae3114]

In regards to your theory about the Shadowscythe, so you think they’ve taken control of the Hero, or that they’re trying to and haven’t managed it yet? I’m deathly curious.

Short version: I think that what’s going on is more complicated than there simply being one culprit. I think some form of entity (using “Victoria” as an avatar) is causing the general visual novel high school au situation and the glitching is being caused by at least one additional entity, possibly more. I suspect that the Shadowscythe maybe be behind part of the glitching but not necessarily as their goal - I think they’re trying to break back into reality proper and this whole situation was just a convenient opportunity. Perhaps whatever started it weakened some barriers?

Long version:

Okay, so, here’s the thing.

I think there’s definitely more than one entity affecting what’s going on right now. “Victoria” has got to be involved but at the end of the Decorations route, she doesn’t know what’s happening and asks for help. So Victoria is probably not the one causing the glitching but may well be the one behind the whole... dating sim high school au stuff.

Some of the glitching, I suspect, is being caused by her potentially not being very experienced doing this, or something of that nature. Nothing in the Leadership route strikes me as particularly Shadowscythe-y and it’s all distinctly aesthetically different to the rest of the quest. Tomix’s vanishing and glitching and the effects on the text are very digitally themed - his name is redacted, pretty much. The effects in the other routes are... closer to cosmic horror-y reality glitching, I’d say.

The stuff in Activities and Decorations, though? That I suspect may be Shadowscythe.

Why?

Well, firstly, we’ve been getting a lot more Mechquest easter eggs and callbacks to the Reset recently. We’ve got the GEARS Houses in Azaveyr, the Rose found an old Shadowscythe mecha, and Akanthus has been messing around with a Shadowscythe mana core.

And in this quest alone, we got Mr. Warlic and Professor Kara, who are quite literally modified Mechquest art:

(Jaania used as example bc Casca’s head faces the wrong way and Anastasia doesn’t have the cape. I would’ve used Xaria if I could but alas, she is not available to me)

If it was just stuff like the Houses, I wouldn’t be freaking out this much. It would just be another haha, fun easter egg, that the teachers in the high school au are wearing the University faculty uniform. But the mecha and its mana core are quite literally part of the main storyline and Akanthus is having that core used to power an airship. The Reset is important right now, not just backstory.

So I think these outfits were a purposeful choice, meant to have Mechquest recently in our minds while playing this quest.

Secondly, this moment when Alz’ein vanishes:

(incidentally, the fact that Aria & Ash’s faces vanish and they subsequently look like mannequins in this moment is part of why I think something else, probably Victoria, is responsible for the High School AU setting)

That big green eye is extremely reminiscent of the eyes of the Shadowscythe Pilots as we knew them in Mechquest. It feels like too much of a coincidence for this to pop up in the same quest where we’ve got GEARS uniforms.

Thirdly, Victoria:

I do think she’s responsible for the wider situation but the glitching is clearly out of her control. On day three, when Tomix vanishes, she tells us that she senses the presence of “one long past, who strains to break the barriers between our realm and the unknowns of the beyond”.

After the Reset, the Shadowscythe were knocked out of reality and back into the Elemental Plane of Darkness(? I don’t fully remember this part, if it was the Darkness Plane or just “back to their home dimension” which may not be the Darkenss Plane) and, as far as we can tell, they haven’t been able to get out again since. They’re stuck working through proxies like the Doom Weapons and Doom Knights like Sepulchure (though, given the Mysterious Stranger, who is not Shadowscythe, Seppy’s situation is a bit more complicated than that).

So, that’s why I think it’s the Shadowscythe!

I don’t think that they’ve got control of the hero, nor do I think that they’re trying to gain it. I think the Shadowscythe are trying to break back through into reality to finish the war that they started - they were, after all, after complete universal domination and also our dragon. And when they couldn’t have either option, they decided to blow up reality because if they couldn’t have it, nobody could. So I don’t think even being stuck outside of reality for 5000+ years would deter them really. And we were outright told that since the Shadowscythe were from another dimension, the Reset didn’t rewrite them or affect their memories. So they remember. They very much remember.

I think that “Victoria”, whoever or whatever she actually is, may have inadvertantly weakened the barriers between our reality and where the Shadowscythe are and they’re taking advantage of the situation to try and break through again - causing the scenario “Victoria” made to break down in the process. Tomix’s vanishing was likely due to the strain on her of trying to prevent them affecting too much, while the other stuff was the Shadowscythe themselves.

...so, uh, yeah.

[tmae3114]

I got tagged by @frosttrix so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ here we go

Rules: tag 9 users you want to get to know better

How old are you? 18!

Current job? Unemployed? Technically a student I guess, my induction is tomorrow

Dream job? A writer of some kind, within the media industry! I haven’t fully made up my mind. (also being an author would be nice but that’s not something I wanna do as a career)

What are you talented at? Writing! I also have the inexplicable ability to stumble across songs that perfectly fit fictional characters and scenarios.

What is a big goal you are working towards, or have already achieved? Well, getting into college is definitely one for one that I’ve achieved. I’m currently working towards writing a novel I’ve been trying to do for years now, so also that.

What is your aesthetic? fire, flickering over coal and wood and paper, glowing and bright, light and warmth leaking outwards from around it. notebook pages filled to the brim with ink, notes and scribbles in every spare gap of it, pens, empty and full, lying around, always within reach. the well-worn pages of a well-loved book, the spine cracked from how many times it’s been opened, the turn of each page feeling like you’re seven and reading it for the first time again. a face, buried in a soft toy that has been a companion since before the brain could form solid memories, breathing in deeply the scent that nothing else quite matches, that smells like warmth and safety and home. the unmatched feeling of safety that comes when you hug someone you love, feeling their warmth against you and knowing that they can feel yours, your arms wrapped tightly around them and theirs around you. dresses and skirts that billow when you run or spin, long coats and cardigans that do the same, long sleeves that floof out at the ends and flap when you move your arms, the colours of all vibrant or pastel, but never dull. old, worn bible pages, annotations and notes written in ink soaked into the paper, and scribbled in pencil for modification, neon bright index markers sticking out between the pages. a million small things that take the eyes and nose and ears a few seconds to process but the mind and tongue and hands a thousand words to explain.

Do you collect anything? I am a hoarder by nature and I have many collections that I try to use to keep that under control. I’m a fairly casual comics collector, I’ve got a rock collection (not even, like, precious stones, just pretty rocks that I like), books and notebooks probably count at this point, and small stuffed toys on keychains!

What is a topic you’re always up to talk about? Mechquest! Also the Flashfam. Also my faith is definitely one. Also whatever my current major interest is, generally! (you can usually tell what that is via reblogs)

What’s a pet peeve of yours? Mmmmnnn... mischaracterisation of my favourite characters, probably. There’s a fair portion of things that irritate me but whenever I have to come up with examples my mind blanks.

Good advice to give? No matter how dark it seems right now, it’s going to get lighter. Everything has a purpose, and one day you’ll know the purpose for everything you don’t understand right now. It’s okay to not have all the answers, it’s not your job to know everything. you don’t need to take the weight of the world on your shulders, not matter how much you feel responsibility, there’s someone else already carrying it, and He’s got it covered. be honest, be helpful, be kind. sometimes being kind isn’t the same as being nice, and it can be hard to know the difference. Remember that words have power, written or spoken, and don’t use the ones at your fingertips to curse yourself. breathing exercises are more helpful that you think, but they won’t work if you let your mind run a million miles and hour down every which track while you try to do them.

Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it’s own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6: 34, New Living Translation)

Three favorite songs? Hmmm... my favourites fluctuate a lot, but right now I’d say... Come Alive (Dry Bones), You Are Not Alone - Owl City, and I Dare You - Bea Miller.

Aaaand... I don’t really wanna tag anyone so... do it if you want to?

[tmae3114]

Got any favorite Mechquest moments? Favorite mechs? hero in college shenanigans? Tell me all the things tmae3114! Because this game is so underrated and deserves more love.

*kicks down a door* I AM SO READY TO TALK MECHQUEST THANK YOU FOR ASKING ME MECHQUEST THINGS

I am in absolute agreement that this game is underrated and deserves more love!! I have a lot of love to give it but I am only one person and this game deserves more people.

This is under a readmore because it is so very, very long. So long.

I apologise to anyone who is on mobile and has to scroll past this.

Okay! Starting off, a non-exhaustive (haha) list of my favourite moments in MQ:

pretty much the entire Rebel Leader mission because a) it introduces us to Odessa and b) everything she says in it is so good??? but especially

“If you are indeed Slugwrath's loyal servant then crush me with your mecha as a symbol of how the Shadowscythe will crush you... honorless cowards!”

also Sys-Zero getting cured! that’s such a good moment! especially how he was cured because the solution turned out to be giving him the strength to save himself!!

and that what he needed to get that strength was Odessa. it was Odessa calling out to him that gave him the strength to fight his way out of the dark!

(listen I am emotional about Sys-Zero and Odessa and it’s a crime that we didn’t get more about whatever relationship they have? there’s something so significant there. he literally says that as long as Odessa lives, hope lives. he was broken and dragged down into darkness and the only light that could pull him out of it was her and there’s something very significant there and we never get to find out what)

ALSO ODESSA’S SPEECH AFTER SLUGWRATH IS DEPOSED AND SHE GETS ELECTED AS HIS REPLACEMENT

“Only together do we stand a chance! I know in my heart that we can succeed!”

All of Odessa’s dialogue is just so heroic and she’s so good so to keep this list a little shorter let’s just say Every Single Time Odessa Is Involved

(listen Alden is great and all but if I had the chance to swap out the ruler of Greenguard from him to Odessa I would do it in a heartbeat)

OKAY SO TO GET THIS LIST BACK ON TRACK FROM MY ODESSA GUSHING

The bit in the Planet Romero plotline where the hero, Artix & Helia are discussing the plan and Artix retorts that he’s done this before. What is MQ Artix’s past after the Planet Carpenter incident? Why does he have prior experience and confidence in espionage? Other Artixes (Artii? What’s the plural of Artix?) don’t have that! Other Artixes are actively terrible at that!! What is up with you MQ Artix I want to know

(also there’s a point where he says “I know that sacrifices must be made in the never-ending battle against the undead” and what does that mean Artix what sacrifices are you talking about)

(MQ Artix is like. the darkest Artix. something is up with MQ Artix and I Have Questions)

Also the bit in the Romero finale where Artix and Helia share that quick, quiet reconciliation because it just feels so real to me. It’s not some big drawn out emotional conversation, it’s just a small exchange that shows that they’re starting to mend old wounds!

speaking of Romero, Artix being all dramatic about thinking he’s turning into a zombie and going all poetic like “If I am to go, I wish to go knowing that I am leaving the universe in good hands. All I ask is that when I am too far gone, you make it quick and clean, and that my mission will not ever be forgotten!” and then Helia just goes “Oh stop being so dramatic. You’re not turning into a zombie.”

also, the Wormhole Saga

just. the entire Wormhole Saga.

but most especially the bit during Zargon Part Two where you have to decide whether or not to change the past and Sys-Zero literally just. puts his hand over his heart. and asks you to do this with him.

“I can’t order you”

(*whispers* he’s the commanding officer he could totally order you to go through with the plan but his moral code won’t let him-)

I mentioned Sys-Zero getting cured earlier with the Odessa stuff but you know what else I love? The mission where we find him after he was infected! For one thing, the opening cutscene with Sys-Zero on his recon mission is really cool (though, honestly, why did he have fast food with him. who takes fast food on recon missions. Sys-Zero you dork) and the dialogue before you have to fight him is so good (I love characters trying to warn their loved ones when they’re being mind controlled)

and honestly with how much skill the story builds Sys-Zero up as having, the only logical explanation for the hero winning that fight is that Sys-Zero was forcing himself to hold back even through the nanovirus

I’m going to stop myself from going on about Sys-Zero moments or it’ll end up even longer than my Odessa gushing

actually I’ll just stop the list here because you asked other questions too and I should answer those because this list could go on for so long

My interest in things generally tends more towards the storyline than the actual gameplay mechanics (the most I have for things like that in terms of preference is turn-based strategy games) but believe it or not, I do actually have some favourite mechs!

The Golden Wrapped Nubertron was invaluable for me in early gameplay (and still can be, tbh) because it’s optic weapon lowers the level of your opponents, which makes battles far easier. Also I love the flamethrower. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for this mech, I may never have gotten into the game as much as I have, as it’s abilities were vital for helping me beat battles I would’ve otherwise been vastly underlevelled for.

I’m also very fond of the Draconic Guard mech, mostly because I like the spear.

The Dragon Spirit Form mech is also one I really like! I actually spent a decent while grinding for the credits to get the permanent one because I enjoyed using it so much in the mission it’s temporarily available in for plot reasons.

But my absolute favourite mech would have to be the Iron Cook, which is the one that I use as my default. I enjoy every weapon it has available and also just really like the design.

Hmmm... well I have headcanons about the hero being a uni student (and the other GEARS students too) but most of them are angst related to the fact that they’re also soldiers with no training and you specified shenanigans so I guess I’ll just have to come up with some now!

The hero is never, ever late to one of Aleysia’s classes again after the first time. Moreover, they’re always extremely smugly early, and will tell her exactly how early they are when they get there.

Not even battles will keep the hero from being early to Aleysia’s classes

The Hero, with blood and oil smeared across their face and the tips of their hair still smoldering: I’m exactly 0.00000145 microseconds early to class

Aleysia never admits it but she’s actually proud of the hero’s efforts to always be early to her classes and impressed with their timekeeping when they do it, even though she compeltely and utterly aware that the entire thing is an elaborate way of poking fun at how strict she is about not being late

the hero is a certified over-achiever and totally passes out all the time because sleep is for the weak (and those with time to do it)

I mean, being a uni student, the hero is likely somewhere between the ages of seventeen and nineteen circa the start of the game, and just going off of the things you can do in game, they are- a university student- a solider fighting in a galactic war - a volunteer at the local hospital- a pizza delivery person- a member of the local police force

this kid is a complete over-achiever and frankly I am surprised that they can function at all

(”kid” I say about a character potentially my age or older)

[Hero voice] caffeine tablets are functionally the same thing as sleep, right?

the staff & students of GEARS have a bingo game going for “Places I’ve Found The Hero Sleeping That Aren’t Meant For Sleeping”

Sys-Zero is winning but Sarrina is a close second

the hero is notorious for having almost unreadable handwriting and being told to hand in all their assignments typed up

their handwriting isn’t actually all that bad it’s just that they procrastinate and attempt to do their assignments last minute in their mech during a battle

And I wish I could tell you all the things but there are so many things and it’s hard to make up my mind what to talk about!!

If you still want more MQ infodumping from me after reading this monstrosity, just shoot me a few other questions and I’ll keep going! :D I will let loose literally Every Bit Of Information as long as you give me a direction to go in ^_^b