#minor spoilers?

[whatevenisfictionatthispoint]

I love the thought that characters in the isat universe could give each other headaches on command

Like, you wanna mess with me? I'm gonna say the Magic Word (not please) and your brain is going to short circuit trying to process it. Mine might too but shut up that's not important

[drawn-corrosion]

wanted to draw the lizard!

[detective-dorian]

The company that brought you Persona "I think I cracked my ass" 5 has now brought you Metaphor "where is the butthole" ReFantazio

[elkian]

In Stars And Time (and its predecessor Start Again to a degree) did something really impressive in a video game: making a non-combatant child character not only likeable, but critical to the fabric of the story. Notably, the Kid is not a primary story character. They represent the common folk of the endangered fantasy land; someone whose home and family was taken by the Big Bad, leaving them stranded.

In the core party, we have the Housemaiden, blessed, immune to the worst status effect, bearing a unique elemental type, etc. It's actually very amusing that she is blatantly The Main Character of this story, because she isn't the POV character.

With her we have the Fighter, a good-hearted tank who worked as a Defender in the homeland of the first three; the Researcher, a foreigner traveling the land, who's book-smart and has a wide array of spells, the wizard type.

And then we have the POV character, Siffrin, a classic Improbably Good-Natured Wandering Rogue archetype. You know, the classic shifty thief-type and troublemaker who nonetheless aids the party without thought of reward and isn't actually a criminal despite the vibes? That kind of rogue.

The Kid isn't a playable character. They can contribute to combat, but it's randomized. The most you can do is equip them with gear and skills that affect the frequency of their input, and ask them to feed the party heals (and possibly feed the final boss a bomb).

What the Kid is, what they represent, is in many ways the emotional core of the party (as the party knows it; Siffrin might develop different ideas, but, notably, still cares deeply for the Kid's wellbeing).

The Kid provides snacks, which is partly about their heals-carrying role, but it has a broader application. Between each level in the main dungeon, there's a snack break with three options. As you play the game, looping over and over, choosing different snacks can be the most you can break out at times. Snacktime also creates a narrative and gameplay break, a time to chat with the party one-on-one.

The Kid is the moral support and backbone of the party; it's possible to tell this story without them, but it would, frankly speaking, be a less emotional, less interesting story, with lower stakes. The Kid is at risk when you fight; the adults team up and agree to protect them no matter the cost, and this is not a throwaway line. This has consequences. This creates texture.

Late in the game, Siffrin develops the option to do Party Member Personal Quests, and despite being a noncombatant, the Kid is one of them. All of these Quests are meaningful and important in their way, but the things we learn in the Kid's Quest are extremely important to understanding Siffrin. The other Quests have personal elements that Siffrin relates to, but this one is about him in a very specific way, that could not be fully replicated by mirroring the events referenced onto one of the adults. This Quest pans out the way it does because the Kid is a kid.

It's hard for me to put into exact words, especially when I don't want to spoil things, but there's even more specific details that make them important to the narrative progression, again, without being an "important" person in the context of the game world. By being important to Siffrin and the rest of the party, by having their narrative wound in with the others, the Kid is as integral to the story as any other character.

Kid characters like this in video games aren't often well-respected, and that tends to be for good reason - they tend to represent ludonarrative dissonance, be annoying, or be the product of overcompensation and have their importance rubbed into the player's face. Many of them could be extracted from the narrative without having a significant effect on the outcome, or would destroy the narrative because they're the focus character, borderline Morality Pets for protagonists. The Kid in ISAT and SA fascinates me, because I came to care about them in a very natural manner, not just because their personality and interactions are endearing, but because the way they and the other party members relate to each other has a tangible impact on the story and emotional core of the game.

[littleravenette]

canon novel kim suho design my beloved

also bonus llojavi for you all <3

[kkatastrophic]

Doodles bc I LOVE THEM BOTH-

Text:

Kokichi being a gremlin

"Nooooo"

Kokichi: "You remind me of Momo-Chan." Leon: "How so?" Kokichi: "Himbo, fake beard." Leon: "C'mon man...-"

SUNGLASSES SQUAD!!!

Sorry the pic is blurry and it's a bit messy. Kokichi topknot my BELOVED.

[troblsomtwins829]

This is an old game, but there is still so much that we don't know.

One of the first things you can unlock in Jak 2 is Big/Small head mode, and I turned it on because I wanted to see how ridiculous it was. And it WAS ridiculous. But it was also a great model to see Jak's hair because I have a PS2, and those games were designed with a very different graphics output than our modern consoles. And I noticed something.

Jak's hair is RAGGED. Not like "It's been buzzed off and grew back messy" ragged, I mean "Left alone without an ounce of care offered" ragged. Weither the unfortunate messy mop he has in 'Daxter' is due to shrinkage or matts, this is still a fairly accurate amount of growth for two straight years. (For reference, the average human grows hair at a rate of one inch per two months)

I understand, as a 3d model, his hair is one object out of convenience, but when Daxter still holds on to that mop during a spin attack and Jak's response is a visual grimace, that hair may likely have ended up being a minimum single object over his time in prison.

Other Finds:

There are signs posted EVERYWHERE, and I DO mean EVERYWHERE. Everything from traffic signs to advertisements to shop signs! And they all say and mean things! Here's a few I noted

There's even a few Zoomer ads, but I cannot for the life of me make out anything more than "Long life" and part of the model

Another neat thing I found, though probably not new, is that when and NPC doesn't have a mission for you, they just don't exist. This is me in the Underground Base while I had misc stuff going on, standing in Torn's spot because he's just not there! Maybe he really DOES get some fresh air once in a while!

There's a map in the Underground Base, and I don't see this map anywhere else in the game, nor does it appear to line up with anywhere in Haven

It's an aerial view, but of what? It HAS to be Haven somewhere, why else would it be there? Is this an old map of the city before the walls were built? How long have the walls been there? How long has Haven been without it's rightful king? It's a very large city, that has heavily populated areas, but given the existence of Dead Town and areas beyond, it clearly used to have a much bigger footprint. The wall clearly wasn't built with travel along it in mind, it intersects houses and security gates. There are no patrols along it. I haven't seen so much as a guard or turret tower. And yet the walls are so tall and so thick, that they contain a whole network of power transportation to keep the shield walls up. Who designed it? And why isn't it maintained better?

Of course we know the answer to the latter question: Baron Praxis.

Baron Praxis is so uncaring toward his people, this much is obvious given the state of the slums, but Riddle me this: What dystopia leaders of note have enough funding to put up a giant FLASHING NEON propaganda ad in the middle of the slums, and still refuses to believe that people in the flooded districts of their city have no trouble getting into their homes?

These people have no way to get to these buildings, no WONDER they build their homes on stilts! The Water Slums is filled with what look like communal hovels and ramshackle dwellings that are staying upright and afloat with twigs and prayers.

Speaking of Prayers: The oracle.

There's this tapestry in the Oracle in the Water slums. There's like eight of them, but they all say the same thing. I've found no translations of this anywhere online, so I got real close and personal and snapped some pics to translate. And it's...it's oddly specific, in context, but I can't explain why in the world it's worded the way it is.

Translation is as follows:

"THE NOBLE WILL BE ASSURED OF A PLACE IN HISTORY THUS BEING GRANTED A FORM OF LIFE TO BE FOREVER VENERATED BY THEIR ANCESTORS AS ONE WHO LIVED A LIFE OF GOOD"

That is such an odd wording. Why "Ancestors?" Why not "Descendants?" that would make more sense, giving that noble person a place in history. It's clearly meant to be a general statement to the people and the followers of the Precursor beliefs to live their best life and BE a good person overall, but the way this is worded feels so specific toward Jak. I can't shake the notion that this is some old prophecy or prayer given from the Oracle before it fell silent that's been woven into that tapestry and hung in that place of worship.

[firelightfemme]

Ok ok last one I swear

[emberleesblog]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Week 13!

You know, I was thinking of doing two WIPs this week as it is my bday week and I thought I'd gift you all, but I ultimately went with this instead. The other wip might actually get posted as a complete story hahaha.

Anyway, with all the SxF theories going around, I dug deep for a story I started last year based on them, and thought I'd give you some heartache.

Here's a snippet from my story 'Match' that may one day be complete

Enjoy!

If it's too hard to read (literally, too small), let me know!

Hope you enjoyed and see you next week!

[radiates-confusion]

Watching 9-1-1 again is so stressful TvT, I started from season 2 ep 1, to get all the cute Buddie moments again, and now I'm just ahead of the lawsuit arc, and I just, half the episodes make me wanna curl up and cry TvT (I'm substituting with cute Buddie fics)

Just gotta power through to when things stabilise ig

[kkatastrophic]

Heh

*Wipes blood off mouth*

Your panic attacks are strong. *Gets back on feet*

But are they strong enough to survive... THIS?! *directs your attention to 5 things you can see*

FIVE SENSES GROUNDING TECHNIQUE!

heh. *wipes blood off mouth* your panic attacks are strong. *gets back on feet* but are they strong enough to survive.... THIS?! *directs your attention to five things you can see* FIVE SENSES GROUNDING TECHNIQUE

[soularsss]

the dirt under your fingernails

[ashoss]

some things dont change

[oliapfel]

just watched Deadpool & Wolverine

they really are just like that aren't they?

[littleravenette]

my blorbo, my scrunkly, my babygirl

[themaidenofwords]

Jon: Wow look at all of these Freaks and Weirdos in these statements. Good thing that I'm unlike them and always logical and intelligent.

Also Jon: Supplemental-- I am in the walls.