#rf lest

[runefactorynonsense]

Cozytober - Day 13 - Apple Pie

How... How does that even work? Don't question it.

[hysterical-ryu]

Part 11 of my RF4 child redesigning project: Xiao Pai!

Sorry for taking a while to get this one out!

For Xiao we have Bao and Emery!

Xiao Pai and Lin Fa’s names seem to be a mix of two names, but for Bao I only went for one (and went for a Chinese name, for obvious reasons). With Emery I decided to go for something that was specific to Xiao Pai’s character, which is that she loves flowers, specifically emery and crystal flowers.

I like to think that Bao would be similar to his grandmother, in that he messes up but it somehow always works out for him. He’s aloof, but definitely not stupid. Bao has amazing focus and tends to not pay attention to anything other than the task at hand. He’s sweet and kind and spends most of his time helping his grandmother and mother at the Bell Hotel. Whenever he isn’t helping out he likes to read at Dragon Lake, or cook.

Emery is also a sweetheart, but since she’s younger than Bao she doesn’t get many chores. Her older brother also has a tendency to take her chores and finish them for her. She doesn’t mind since it gives her more time to go around and socialize. She loves talking to the travelers that come through Selphia and asks them about their stories all the time. Emery would love to travel with her family someday. She’s also precocious and nosy.

I definitely wanted to go for the Chinese-inspired outfits that Xiao and her mother wear. I also considered “referencing” Xiao’s father when making these but didn’t since he doesn’t have a unique appearance (rip). Also, I didn’t intend for Bao to be doing the “gotta be one of my favorite genders” pose and I didn’t realize that was what it was until after I sketched him lmao. So shout out to Bao, gotta be one of my favorite genders.

And finally, next will be Amber!

[freakinthefridge]

put your favorite fantasy characters in street clothes

[mhk-87]

An unexpected confession!

(^_^)

[ryuuseirune]

blorbos (orb variety)

[sketchyspudley]

Arthur wouldn’t have to work the fields if he arrived as normal, but a guy can dream

[musical-chick-13]

Genuinely I cannot take the phrase "de-centering men" seriously anymore.

[thunderberryz]

Actually, the whole "Arthur and Raguna are distantly related" thing is pretty interesting from a lore standpoint because at some point during Act 1 (I can't remember if the conversation happens after Amber or Dylas's rescue), Ventuswill explains that the reason she thought Frey/Lest was a member of the royal family was because of their Earthmate status.

Like even though it doesn't make sense in regards to getting the protagonist mixed up with Arthur specifically (since he is all but stated not to be an Earthmate), thinking Frey/Lest is royalty because of that does make sense because not only is it confirmed that there are Earthmates in the royal family, but one of those Earthmates was the protagonist of the first game in the series as well as one of the spin-offs.

There's also the fact that Frey/Lest ultimately ends up fighting Ethelberd, who is so bitter about his defeat at Raguna's hands that he is attempting a total genocide of all Earthmates while simultaneously trying to obtain their power, and if Frey ends up marrying Arthur, she does become a princess proper. So yeah, it's interesting to make comparisons between Raguna and Frey/Lest just because of how much their stories relate to one another without actually intersecting.

[lem-argentum]

look what charms got here hehehe!!!! <333

[avenger-concerto]

Major Rune Factory ramble and rant to get it off my system before 2024 ends.

This is just me airing out some dirty Rune Factory laundry before the year ends so I can get it off my chest and start a new, as Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma comes up. It'll be one big tl;dr so if you don't wanna read then you are far from obliged to do so but if you want, then sure thing.

I wanted to write something sincere and honest that isn't just a jab meme with a predictable punchline.

Really, this is just me speaking aloud not just about Rune Factory but about the nature of writing in farm sims. I dunno. It's the last day of 2024. I've done my New Years cleaning and I'm bored.

So, RF fans and by extension, Bokujo fans keeping saying "We need Rromanceable MILFs" but I think they just mean more bachelorettes in Rune Factory that visibly not just look but also behave like adults.

I'm aware short / young looking / petite adults exist too (Xiao Pai in 4 looks visibly young but she constantly makes it a point to Lest that she's their senior while they're dating) and that younger players may also get into the series for the first time but let's not forget the series' history so we can learn and observe how it can evolve and progress in the future. It's easy to forget that Rune Factory used to pander to otaku in Japan long before they realized it had a huge market with female players and an international audience.

Granted, RF1-RF2 were very tame and the latter game I remember attracting a lot of fanart of the male characters and it sowed the seeds for an interest in potential bachelors. Which is a sharp contrast to Rune Factory Frontier, which up its tropes like a trashy 2000s harem romcom anime with features that wouldn't fly well today e.g. choosing to "accidentally" walk in or peep on the bachelorettes' changing room by the beachside or the discourse surrounding Eunice's story arc but that's another can of worms unrelated to this post. The Rune Factory 4 manga that was published in Dengeki Maoh back in 2012 had a lot of skeevy fanservice that would not align well with the series image nowadays.

"But it's in anime style, so female characters will look young by default" It's true. Especially with Minako Iwasaki as the artist, as much as I love her art. But that's not always the case. Fire Emblem mainlines or Hoyoverse gacha games (Genshin, Honkai Impact 3rd, Honkai Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero) can and have designed adult female characters who visibly look and act like adults. (just posting Ruan Mei from HSR and Shamir from FE:3H as examples) And not just their designs or mannerisms either, I mean like... more heavier, hard hitting and mature storylines. I feel like 5 lacked it in that department compared to the feels coasters that were the marriage candidate sub events in RF4. But then again, it's probably weird to be asking for a revenge story or a tale of redemption and loss in a fantasy farm life sim but this is just me rambling on.

I don't want to say I've "outgrown" Rune Factory or anything. Cozy life sim games are such a comfort to me and I'm well aware a meme I posted then deleted yesterday resonated a misleading message but knowing 5 gave men likers Murakumo but kept Misasagi or Elsje off limits was weird.

I know 5 was just one entry in the series. I know bachelor and bachelorette rosters are variable depending on the game. Tides had a wide variety of designs while its bachelors fell flat because they were last minute. I personally felt like 5 had far more better designed bachelors than 4 did and 4's bachelorettes felt more balanced compared to 5.RF GoA and RF6 could turn out differently with their own sets of marriage candidates but the problem with RF5 was that they designed and wrote bachelorettes as if it was a game released in the late 2000s and early 2010s in 2021-2022.

RF Guardians of Azuma releases next year and RF6 will presumably align with the series' 20th anniversary window in 2026 so we'll see how the series. I know romance and marriage aren't the only things that define Rune Factory games but I feel people should be more open to discussing what makes them uncomfortable with the series instead of handwaving it because of X or Y.

I go on benders like this because I grew up with Rune Factory as the title that introduced me to cozy life sims. It has a special place in my heart. I was in high school when I first got into the series but even then I could tell that the candidates looking young may have had nothing to do with my age, probably due to a combination of artstyle and who Marvelous/Neverland were pandering to at the time.

Granted, my experience getting into the series won't be 1:1 with others so I can't speak for them and hell, maybe I'm wrong too but I do feel like "hey, maybe put more effort into the series' female characters" shouldn't be a hot take that can be dismissed with it being a cozy life sim or that kids play these games too.

That being said, I still haven't and will never forgive the garbage writing they gave Xiao Pai in her main marriage proposal event. RF4 treats her pretty horribly and it's always kinda weird when I read people going on about how "we should have married Lin Fa and adopted Xiao Pai instead" when in her romantic dialogue, she's brought up how she's older than Lest (in the JP script, she specifies by two years) which brings me to my next point....

I think ultimately it also has to do with the fact that the characters we play as in Rune Factory are pretty young themselves. In games like Potion Permit, the My Time At games, Fields of Mistria, Sun Haven, and Stardew Valley, we are blank slates we can easily customize to our liking with our headcanons and whatnot.

Rune Factory... the self inserting begins and ends once we choose a name for our protagonists. RF protagonists are usually their own characters and any dialogue choice prompt we are given with them aligns with their base personality.

Raguna was pretty "vanilla" in RF1 but had shades of 2000s harem romcom protag vibes in Frontier. Kyle in RF2 was more or less similar to RF1 Raguna imho. Aaron and Aria played the role of precarious and rowdy kids seeking to go save their father. Micah in RF3 comes off as a mild-mannered but somewhat deadpan snarker in the face of Sharance and the Univir Settlement's antics. RF4's Lest and Frey are defined by their devotion, trust, and loyalty to their friends. RF5's Alice and Ares have this air of skepticism and caution that I haven't really seen with Lest or Frey. Aden is the reckless, hotheaded shonen hero with his childhood friend, Sonja, as the fussy but well-intentional voice of reason in Tides/Oceans. A lot of male protags in RF are written to be "boyish" and "inexperienced" hence why older adults in these towns don't seem like immediate options but Ares can also marry Murakumo and Lucas so really, at this point I probably shouldn't think too hard about it.

I don't really have anything else to say aside that I like cozy life sims a bit too much and Fields of Mistria is a blast so far. I think Celine, Reina, and Valen are my favorite bachelorettes so far but I like all the bachelors and bachelorettes really. I really do think Olric will be added as a post-release bachelor in an update or patch after the full thing comes out.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. Here's to 2025 and more Rune Factory games to come.

[sasslett]

Wondrous Tails: Ghost Hunter AU

With a gulp, Jess stopped, staring up at the massive, decrepit mansion that was to be her home for the eve. 

Haukke Manor.

Only the most haunted place in all the Twelveswood. 

Supposedly.

“What?”

The woman nearly jumped out of her skin at the feel of a hand clapping onto her back, glancing up to find her dear friend - and Eorzea’s ghost hunter extraordinaire - Varrus standing at her side, smiling down at her. 

“Having second thoughts already?”

“N-no,” Jess quickly stammered - hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. “At least… not when I’ve got you with me.”

“Just so.” He laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t let any of those nasty ghosties so much as lay a single spectral finger on you.” 

“My hero,” she huffed, returning her gaze to the wooden doors before them. “Now… Remind me what the story of this place is…?”

“We’re searching for the spirit of Lady Dartancoors,” Varrus explained, hoisting his pack over his shoulder before pushing the doors open and stepping inside. “She was the last noble of the house, who was gravely injured during the Calamity several years past. Since then, the remaining house staff have reported strange phenomena, including sounds, knocked over items, opening doors, you know the drill.” 

“I… Yeah.” She nodded, eyeing the elaborate foyer as she followed her friend inside, from the plush carpets to the matching drapes, the aged, ornate furniture and decoratively carved railings and pillars. It was, in all honesty, nothing short of gorgeous… though some part of it definitely gave her the creeps.

“All the staff have left for the day,” he continued, his hands on his hips as he, too, took in their surroundings. “We’ve got the full run of the place, so we’d best start preparing before the sun goes down.”

“Preparing?”

The Elezen nodded, opening his pack to reveal a variety of equipment, things the Highlander could only begin to guess about. 

“First, we’ll need to set up our cameras and RF detectors, as well as a motion detector or two.” 

“RF detector?” Jess tilted her head, to which her friend nodded. 

“Radio frequency detector - if the energy in the air around them changes, they’ll emit a loud sound. The bigger the change, the louder they get.” 

“And they change… if a ghost is near?”

“Correct.” Rummaging through his bag, he produced another handful of items. “It’s believed that spirits exist in the in-between, and can communicate in frequencies we can’t understand. That’s why we’ve got these.” He held up an item the woman couldn’t even begin to describe. “EMF - that is, electro-magnetic frequency detectors. Using these, we can decipher the speech of ghosts. There’s… a few more things in here, but that’s probably all you’ll need to know for now.” 

Slowly, Jess nodded, though… she couldn’t exactly say what to make of all of it. 

“And are ghosts… dangerous?”

To that, Varrus gently laughed. “Not typically - only to extraordinarily beautiful women, that is. Which… Hmm… Perhaps, in that case, it’s best you sit this one out…” 

Jess rolled her eyes, gently giving her friend a shove - lest he see the blush rising up her cheeks. “Very funny - now, let’s do… whatever it is we need to do.”

In no time, she’d helped her friend set up various cameras, noise-makers and other strange devices around the manor, leaving no ilm unchecked, until the two stood in the foyer once more.

“Well,” Jess placed her hands on her hips, “now what?”

“Now we catch some shut-eye while we wait for some ghost activity.”

“Shut-eye?!” She stared at the man dubiously. “You mean to tell me you expect us to sleep in here? With ghosts about?”

“Gotta get what sleep we can.” He flashed her a bright smile. “Unless you’re scared, that is.”

“I’m… I’m not scared.” She quickly shook her head, yet it seemed her friend wasn’t so easily fooled. 

“Well,” he tilted his head, “would it help if you could sleep safe and tight in my arms?”

“You know what,” she huffed, “maybe it would. Maybe it would…”

[the-romantic-lady]

Unpopular opinion: I think the royal family needs to go back to courtiers and “men in gray suits” who understand tradition and run the royal household. This new wave of “fresh and exciting” hires needs to end lest the monarchy become a cheap celebrity show.

Unpopular? Girl, you don’t have idea how much I’ve been thinking this since 2017. They have given us small royal vibes since then, the majority of things they have been doing is to do whatever they want, hiring people to ‘help’ them with their own projects and profiles, not people to help them with their royal role. Like, I’m not expecting ‘saviour hirings’ but at least people who are willing to say things to them that can be uncomfortable’ and to ask the RF to do things they don’t want but that will help the firm. But now it seems that a member have an idea, then that idea is applauded immediately and the staff make it work with the help of PR and the media, selling it as the ‘smartest thing to do’ when it’s not. (Cough, cough, sometimes they give me the vibe that all of them only love to be said ‘yes’ to everything, they don’t want to hire people who are willing to say ‘no’ because perhaps sometimes they believe they know better)

I’m not saying they don’t have to evolve, but perhaps they don’t have idea of how evolution of an ancient institution should work. I know that in our recent times there is a lot of ‘social’ problems that can offend some if they go with a super traditional coronation, but by cutting it completely isn’t the route either. Like, they are at risk to jeopardize the meaning of a ‘royal family and how a firm should work’ (and they aren’t elected people, they need to behave as Royals; not as influencers, celebs)

I definetely agree, just bring the ‘men in grey suits’

I am surprised by how popular this opinion seems to be. And you are right that this was right around 2017. EII’s reign was successful despite the ‘surprise’ death of George VI. The people guiding her understood the monarchy better than her and kept her in line often conflicting with her own emotions at time. Nowadays, the only engagements they attend are ‘causes close to their heart’ ignoring all other sectors of British society. Diana’s legacy is somewhat responsible for that as well since she has become this life changing royal. The Queen didn’t necessarily do anything big but she connected with the British public from all different backgrounds. When was the last time William and Catherine opened a new facility that wasn’t mental health related? Have they visited some of the creative sector behind so much of traditional British arts and crafts? It’s all become an activism show and I am frankly annoyed of it.

[hysterical-ryu]

Part 8 of my RF4 child redesigning project: Margaret!

For Meg we have Lyrik and Melody, and their obviously musical inspired names!

Lyrik and Melody are both kindhearted music lovers like their mother. While they both play the harp and piano like Meg, they also have their own preferences. Lyrik enjoys playing loud instruments like drums, meanwhile Melody prefers her flute and her voice.

Melody is the more soft-spoken of the two. She isn’t necessarily shy, but often keeps to herself and prefers to enjoy the sounds of nature. Melody loves flowers and gardening, and when she isn’t practicing music with her mother and sister, she enjoys her own little flower patch on Lest’s farm. She gets along great with her sister, and absolutely loves to fuss with her hair (especially braiding it).

Lyrik is out-spoken and confident, she loves to preform for others and will always be there to stand up for people. She knows enough self-defense to protect herself and others, but isn’t interested in becoming a town hero like Lest. She takes life at her own pace, and likes to have new experiences. Lyrik wants to travel around the world when she gets older, and see what’s out there.

Porco 100% loves the twins. Best grandpa.

I looked at the other elven characters from previous games while designing these two, just to see if there were any common themes. The most obvious one was florals, there were some kind of flowers on most of the characters, or plant-like features even in small amounts. Also, this may or may not be an elf fashion thing, but a lot of them were wearing puffy shorts lmao, so I know I just had to include it on one of the girls!

Next will be Forte!

[beck-a-leck]

What are your headcanon ages for the main character, bachelors, and bachelorettes from Rune Factory 4?

oh my gosh I started answering this like a week ago and then it fell through one of the swiss cheese holes in my brain. Sorry Nonny!

I don't really have any hard headcanons about the rf4 character ages, and really what I do have is just kind of a general age range for them. But if you're curious about how the characters read to me maturity-wise I'll tell you.

Frey/Lest - I think they're in their early 20s, somewhere between 19-23 at the beginning of the game. the amnesia helps them have a bit more of the "youthful innocence" that just comes as being that age. Like you can clearly tell they're grown and responsible enough to have been given the story-compelling mission in the first place, but that also have the energy and optimism of someone who still sees the world as completely open to possibilities without as much of the "i need to have my shit together" vibes an older 20-something might have

Amber and Kiel are the ones I headcanon as the youngest, and they both give me very strong late-teens/babey adult vibes. I don't see them any older than 19 at the beginning of the game. And depending on when in the RF world society would consider someone a Full Adult TM, it can change the lower end of that age range, so even to 16 or 17. They're not children, but they're still kids, if that makes sense. They both still have "parental" figures in their lives so they're not entirely independent as an older adult might be.

Forte, though I actually don't think is too much older than Kiel, she's maybe just a few years older than him. So about the same age as Frey/Lest, early 20s, no older than 25. I think given her family history and her general character she was definitely the girl who had to grow up too fast and has acted more mature than other kids her age needed to. So she can very easily be read as older, but I think there's enough clues in her dialogue and her character to show that she's younger than she wants people to perceive her as.

I get the same general age range from Vishnal and Clorica too, 19-25 though probably closer to college ages. Vishnal I think is the younger of the two butlers. Their roles as apprentices and the fact that they're still in training tells me they're probably still rather young adults. I imagine butler training of the caliber they're going through is a 4-6 year ordeal and I imagine they would have started in their late teens/early 20s, much like most people choosing a career path.

Xiao Pai and Doug are the last of the under 25s. It's hard to know Doug's precise age, given he's not human and dwarves are long-lived in the RF world. So while he might look and act like a hot-headed 19-22 year old, he might be 60-70 years old. They've never really spelled out the lifetimes of the non-human races. Xiao Pai I tend to read as on the younger end of her 20s, but given the way she acts and her general clumsiness (which are often associated with younger people) she could also be older than that. It's hard to say.

Margaret is another one of those ambiguously ages characters, being an elf, we don't actually know how old she is. But I definitely read her as an adult in her mid-late 20s. I think she's the eldest-coded bachelorette, so I could even see her as a 30-something. (I genuinely don't think any of the bachelorettes are supposed to be older than 30 because god knows the developers would have had them complaining about being an old maid and a spinster 🙄) She just reads as a character who has had much more worldly experience than the younger girls, and yeah, some of that can be attributed to the fact that she's had Decades more time and lots of freedom than the others, but she also feels more settled into life and adulthood than a younger character would.

Dolce I think is mid-20s. I can't really explain it, but she just gives me "I'm 25 and I've finally felt my brain chemistry solidify" vibes. I do think what she went through in her life, as well as dealing with an eternally youthful and chaotic spirit of Pico probably made her act more mature than she was, much like Forte, but I also do think she's just a little bit older than most of the other marriage candidates in town.

Dylas and Arthur I think are around the same age, mid-20s. Arthur I could push to late-20s, but there's something about his character that makes me go "oh no, he still has that independent streak of the young 20s" I do think his upbringing also forced maturity onto him at a younger age than would otherwise be expected, but he also took on responsibilities that people might not expect someone so young to do (he also shirked the responsibilities he didn't want to do, so again that independent/rebellious streak) Dylas I think acts younger than he really is, though he's really not all that old. I think he got to spend a several years living as an adult in his original time before becoming a guardian, though he didn't really see himself as 'grown' back then and that carried over to how he behaves in game (with additional traumas)

Which brings us to Leon as the last, I think. He's the one I could possibly see being the oldest of all the bachelors, late-20s to early-30s. In his life before becoming a guardian he has established a whole vocation and had been in it long enough to become a high-ranking priest. Even if he had started his vocational training as a young teen, I don't think he could have gotten as far without spending a good portion of his 20s working at it.

So the tl;dr list:

Lest/Frey: 19-23

Amber: 16-19

Clorica: 22-26

Dolce: 24-28

Forte: 22-25

Margaret: 25-30

Xaio Pai: 20-25

Arthur: 24-28

Doug: 19-24

Dylas: 24-28

Kiel: 16-19

Leon: 27-33

Vishnal: 20-24

[mhk-87]

There are a lot of interesting characters in this game...

(^_^)

[ryuuseirune]