#next game speculation

[fierykitten2]

Both Johto and Unova are trending on twitter so with just over a month until it happens, my thoughts on the next presents, Pokémon games and other stuff

I think on the Johto vs Unova debate it has to be either both or neither (at least for my own sanity. Still, I have every intention on joking that Game Freak confirms the Paradox trio corresponding to whichever region of the two we get is superior if one of these two regions is chosen but not the other). I also believe the reason the DLC has so much stuff relating to those two regions isn’t because they’re teasing the next game(s) but because there are these trios known as the Legendary Beasts from Johto and the Swords of Justice from Unova which somehow all have the same heights just with the first and second one inconsistently being the tallest or shortest (idk how to describe this) and the third members of both trios, Suicune and Virizion, just happen to have the same initials as Gen 9’s main paired versions, Scarlet and Violet, and since Scarlet and Violet feature version-exclusive parodies of well-known Pokémon (I say well-known, most people only care about Amoongus because of Among Us) it would be a missed opportunity to not take advantage of the whole Scarlet Suicune Violet Virizion alliteration thing (and simultaneously make the two best Pokémon ever)

More DLC sounds cool but is extremely unlikely blah blah blah

I’m sure we’ll get an experimental game but I’m also sure that it won’t be Let’s Go! (because LGPE are remakes of Yellow and take its main gimmick and expand on it) or Legends (because the Sinnoh trio (well, replace Giratina with Arceus) are the only trio responsible for Pokémon’s main religion. Also why would they release a game where we go to the past (and no equivalent for the future) in the time travel generation? That doesn’t seem fair to me

If I had to choose a region to revisit in an experimental game (or remake, that’s cool too), it would have to be either Hoenn or Kalos. Alola and Galar would be cool too, I just think it’s a bit early for them to get revisits

Oh yeah and the whole “Unova remake confirmed” stuff annoys me because with the exception of FRLG/LGPE all remakes have been released during the generation whose number is double the original generation’s number (not sure how to phrase this) so by that logic a Unova remake should come out in Gen 10, not Gen 9 because Unova was introduced in Gen 5, not Gen 4.5 admittedly there was also the two consoles later theory and even though I prefer to ignore the Switch 2 leaks even I can’t deny the fact that after Gen 10’s DLC there’ll definitely be a new console so that kinda blows my argument out the window

I had another point but I forgot it also can I just point out both GSC/HGSS and B2W2 are sequels (to RGBY/RBY/FRLG/LGPE and BW)

[polling-sonic-fans]

If a 2nd Sonic character got added to the next Smash game, who would you want it to be?

Tails

Dr. Eggman

Knuckles

Shadow

Amy

Silver

Blaze

Metal Sonic

Werehog

Someone else

None - Sonic should be the only Sonic character

Thanks for the question anon!

Polling Sonic Fans for their opinions on all manner of things. Share good questions to indicate what you want asked. Submissions open.

[dragonageconfessions]

CONFESSION:

I think Solas dies in the next game no matter what, it just ends up being how does he die? Cursing a world that left him behind and rejected his plans, or at peace that he was wrong and the world doesn’t need to be set back? That seems like the logical conclusion of picking whether we need to defeat him or save him from himself, and I think it meshes well with his fear in the Fade during here lies the Abyss. Does he die hated and alone like he fears, or peacefully with the people who saved him? How we get there I haven’t the slightest but I bet you that’s the end point.

[attractthecrows]

be real fucked up if they brought the inquisitor back as an enemy if you drank from the well of sorrows wouldn't it

[live-emotion]

I would guess the dates and times (in JST) for next group of news we get is:

Wednesday May 15th 7pm - Quartet Night 'Song Letter' MV clip Wednesday May 15th 8pm - Quartet Night Retweet Campaign starts

Friday May 17th 7pm - Quartet Night Group Introduction

Wednesday May 22nd 7pm - Heavens 'Glorious Angels' MV clip Wednesday May 22nd 8pm - Heavens Retweet Campaign starts

Friday May 24th 7pm - Heavens Group Introduction

That leaves May 25-June 11 (or May 29-June 12 if you count the 3rd RT campaign) clear for more announcements before the game releases on the 12th. I'd guess no announcement on the 25th so soon after the Heavens introduction, so at the very least probably something on May 29th and June 5th. We still need a proper look at the Piece Gacha system and probably some full teaser trailer videos and ads for the game like Shining Live had.

Likely also smaller announcements of rewards if certain milestones are hit for amount of pre-registered users etc, but so far nothing like that has been announced.

[chirpsythismorning]

The Duffer Brothers rushing to put The Last Of Us on the ST5 inspo board after Ep 3

[mercisnm]

whatever little respect I had for Veilguard writers has gone out of the window with the Hossberg Wetlands boss fight... what do you mean the boss is another dragon? And it's phase 2 is simply YET ANOTHER DRAGON? I am well aware I've bought a game called DRAGON Age but is every single boss fight in this game going to be just fucking dragons with slightly different configuration??

[eloise175]

Quick analysis of various instances I noticed over the course of the story

Contains mild spoilers from the novel, so be warned.

In the chapter 119, we saw how Penelope was actually worried that Winter might die. This terrified her since it ‘broke’ the logic of the game and its mechanics. Her inner thoughts were something like: “But he’s a love interest. Surely he can’t die, right?” Showing how Penelope is very much convinced that it is all a game, and uses this notion to reassure herself whenever she’s feeling anxious/apprehensive.

This happened before, in the hunting tournament (chapter 69), when Callisto was knocked down from his horse by an arrow and briefly lost his bearings, (no I don’t think he actually lost consciousness, instead I believe he was ‘playing dead’ and decided against it when Penelope started to panic and call out to him worriedly, realizing that the assassins might want to get rid of her too since she was a witness).

This to say that despite her better judgement, the game is starting to feel a little to much like reality, and this belief is backed up by the appearance of the system windows (that later on will be revealed to be the Ancient Wizards’ doing to help her).

It’s all an excuse that Penelope clings to, so she can prevent getting too emotionally involved, but unfortunately for her, she’s inevitably doing so. She’s somewhat aware of it, and every time her worry subsides, she ‘reprimands herself’ mentally:

“What am I thinking? They can’t die. They’re love interests.”

“This is only a game, so why am I feeling like this?”

(Or something amongst those lines).

Her subconscious already recognizes the targets not as characters, but as actual people. It’s still too unbelievable for her, so even if their actions are considered ‘out of character’ from what she remembers their personalities to be, Penelope doesn’t question it much, merely brushing it off as the game’s fault for not elaborating further in the male-leads’ descriptions, (like she did in the cave scene after finding out more about Callisto’s sad childhood).

This will later on change; during the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet, Penelope comes to the shocking realization that she indeed has feelings for Callisto. She always admitted of not viewing him as a target, despite the favorability score on top of his head, but now she’s even less prone on seeing him as a in-game character due to her feelings for him.

More down the line, after exploring the tomb of the Ancient Laila, and getting a clear look through the mirror of truth at the true nature of this strange world she got stuck in, Penelope will come to the conclusion that it was never a game to begin with, (this still does not stop her from occasionally referring to this reality as ‘crazy game’).

As Winter comes back, we can see how Penelope’s earlier worry is replaced by irritation and perhaps anger too. They’re now safe, and she has a chance to actually process the feelings that were previously put on a backseat.

Penelope is assumably very angry at what he did. Not only did he show how careless he can be to prove a theory, but he put her and different sorcerer kids in great danger, all for his dumb ‘test’ to see if Penelope was a follower of Laila. It is understandable that he’s very weary and has his reasons, but he’s purposefully endangering the very kids he swore to protect, by literally thrusting them into the cultists’ hands (the very people the children need to be protected from).

At least someone (Raon) is happy that he’s back. Penelope looks like she’s about to sucker-punch him into oblivion.

Jokes aside, I think that after Penelope confronts Winter about his actions, the season will come to a close, considering that each season is around 40 chapters, this one will be the same too, plus it’ll be the perfect opportunity to end it with the conclusion of the island arc.

I can’t wait for the next season, since it will have Yvonne’s appearance, Callisto’s birthday banquet, the greenhouse scene, and maybe the long awaited coming-of-age ceremony, (we’ll also get to see Cedric again! ^^)

[summertimemusician]

Honestly I don't know if I'm remembering it wrong due to sleep deprivation, but out of everything in TOTK one of my favorite little details is that Zelda's eyes in her Divine Noodle (affectionate) form when Demon King's flames hit or graze her tremble a little, more so around the pupils than the iris

The implications are absolutely delicious when you think about it, either it's an expression of deep seated, primal fear which she would probably feel as a dragon even if her main instinct is to help Link, it makes sense she'd feel distressed when faced with a bigger predator if we assume the dragons actually work like wild animals (I mean have we looked at Demon King's full size and length? He absolutely overshadows her and he's clearly going in for the kill, what with that initial bite, he's clearly not only gunning for Link and for Hyrule but also for her specifically), because Zelda by nature is not a warrior, she will fight for her people and to defend her people but she's not one to start the conflict, she's not one to HUNT, so when faced with something actively doing so it makes sense she'd be a little afraid, just because you are made to fight the divine threat from birth doesn't mean you can't fear death in the process('Courage is not the absence of fear but the will to rise against it even when you're afraid' and all that), immortality or not and trust me I'm getting to that part-

And arguably the more interesting implication: that dragons can feel pain/get hurt from other beings in a similar status, which also puts their immortality into question. Because that little twitch can also be because the flames actually hurt her.

One thing I always found interesting in TOTK is the dragon skeletons deep down in the Depths, they're parallel with the Leviathan skeletons, sure, but the fact that the dragons that we know can come and go from the depths and that there are actual skeletons there makes me look at them side by side and think "Oh those are dragons" rather than Leviathans, which begs the question: what could have killed them if dragons are immortal and can live for such long periods of time? What could have killed them when none of our weapons (including the Master Sword mind you) can't hurt Naydra, Dinraal, Farosh and Zelda in a way that matters?

I think the best answer in this case is given to us by Zelda's reaction (assuming I'm not wrong and didn't just imagine it due to sleep deprivation) to the Demon King's flames.

Maybe, just maybe, what caused them to die was likely another dragon. Which means that dragons can actually die, just not through age or natural means, but have to actively be killed through the right means/being for it to stick. Which also tracks with a lot of divine lore in LOZ in general, Demise/Ganondorf only being able to be brought low by the Master Sword wielded by someone who posseses the Hero's Spirit (or that has become worthy of it is we see in Wind Waker) because it's quite literally a divine blade, Hylia actively giving up her immortal form to become a mortal but still slumbering/existing in a separate realm outside of time can also be considered a form of divine death, not to mention Bellum being in the process of killing the Ocean King in Phantom Hourglass. Divine beings have always had an element of mortality to them in LOZ, and it's not too much of a stretch to think that pattern might hold true in TOTK.

(Personally I think maybe the dragons we know might have killed the others in a territory/route dispute, if we go with the fact that a person loses themselves when they consume a secret stone and is guided by their base instincts/whatever goal they had before becoming a dragon, I don't think territory disputes would be all that far fetched, or some other goal which would motivate possible aggression.)

Although there's also the other possibility to consider: we get the armor set of the wild on the heads of those skeletons in TOTK, and we know for a FACT there was a hero before BOTW/TOTK Link, not only through the Ancient Hero's Aspect (which I have so many thoughts/headcanons about) but also through the tapestry in BOTW no matter what the heck happened to the lore in between games, you can still work with the information that there was a hero before BOTW/TOTK Link, and possibly one even before that one if we assume the armor set in the depths isn't from the Original Calamity Hero.

What I'm pitching here basically is, Original Calamity Link/another possible Link was likely a dragon slayer (not uncommon among Links, but how many Links killed an actual possibly divine dragon?), and possibly the one to kill the dragons in the depths and that maybe, just maybe we should have a game one day or a manga which either clarifies or debunks that- wait I know it sounds insane but listen stop walking away-

(Also if it's indeed a sign that Zelda feels pain it honestly ramps up Wild's/TOTK Link's motivation to kill Ganondorf WAY up because I too would want to eviscerate anyone who hurt Zelda even if she can't outwardly show it.

Also also- divine flame scars on Zelda where the gloom fueled fire grazed/hit her in her dragon form, you wouldn't be able to see it normally, but once she turns back into hylian they're there as another showing of how her time as a dragon will always stick and haunt her.)

[moghedien]

At this point I think I know the basic contents of the rest of the episdoes of TLOU and they're all gonna hurt

[orcelito]

The sims 2.... is so addicting...

After the hell that was this past Friday & given the lack of immediately impending deadlines, I gave myself permission to do fuck all this weekend & just played sims for most of it. I've been building a real big house. Spent much of yesterday doing the construction and today I've been doing furniture and outdoor stuff. It's rly coming along!!! But I'm still not done yet lol. I rly like how it's coming tho... it'll be so nice to have the family move in here....

[chibishortdeath]

It smudged a LOT, but I doodled a little pose study based on the old painting “Dante and Virgil in Hell” and I think it came out pretty cool :3

[polling-sonic-fans]

Polling Sonic Fans for their opinions on all manner of things. Share good questions to indicate what you want asked. Submissions open.

[chipistrate]

It's been 3 years since we were first introduced to Princess Quest and we've only been given more questions than answers with every new installment

I kinda love it but also pleaseee Steel Wool what the FUCK is going ON with this GAME!!!!!!

[humanmorph]

my baseless palisade 2 speculation is that while listening to Jack + Austin in pal56 I thought it could be fun if the protocol was part of the next system they're using somehow since it's become so important. like characters have "favors" btw them instead of bonds or w/e. now I don't know how much sense that would make for returning characters who have a sense of arbitrage contracts & how scary they are - while of course the protocol doesn't have anything to do with contracts, as it's been stressed, one could make a comparison - or the revolution in general? It'd immediately compromise player characters to an extend given arbitrage is the big bad, but this can be cool (really depends on the story setting out to be tell(hence the baseless part of the speculation)). mostly I just like when big setting stuff is directly reflected in the rules for the game so the narrative & system can influence each other back & forth.

[edwardseymour]

“She was a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon for several years alongside Anne Boleyn, so she would've witnessed the way Anne held Henry off for so long by pleading her virginity. She watched, and she learned. There is a famous tale of how Jane was picking out items for her wedding to the king, while Anne awaited her execution in the Tower. If true, it would show sprinklings of a cold heart. [...] I wonder if Jane was reminiscing over these events, as she was dying of child-bed fever, and if so, what her thoughts on them were. Did she pray for forgiveness for the part she played? I like to believe that she did, given how spiritual she was known to be.”

abfiles comments writing fanfic fantasising about jane seymour in moments of terrible duress!