#shit is making me want to get a gaming pc goddamn

[talesfromthebandgeekmafia]

Holy fucking shit Baldur’s Gate is so good game of the year indeed

[operationslipperypuppet]

New to your blog and I'm curious and think this will probably be a good ask for you to cook on for a while: Sell me on Naddpod?

well first of all welcome! as much as i walk like a d20 blog and talk like a d20 blog i am in fact a naddpod blog a lot of the time so. look out. (everyone)

this is gonna get long.

now, to the task at hand.

naddpod.

imagine if you will that four improvisers/comedians who are very good friends combine their powers to tell stories that they want to completely sit in while also having the ultimate goal of making each other laugh.

naddpod is first and foremost a comedy podcast, there’s a reason dragon pussy comes up four and a half minutes in, there’s a reason “cumpatriots” being said in today’s episode left me completely unfazed. they want it to be silly. they enjoy it being silly.

but god do they also just simply care.

they care about their characters, they care about each other’s characters. they create a world together where when the dm (murph, most often) gives them a shocking twist, you can hear them waiting with bated breath, the same as you, for what will come next.

there are also so many deeply devastating emotional moments. “you ruined my night, brian.” is said in the show and oft repeated by the fans for a goddamn reason. you feel for the characters when bad things happen. you can’t wait to see them resolved. and they don’t feel cheap when they happen. you’re having a great time even as they have terrible times.

the worlds feel lived in. you also feel like you can see the worlds be created as you listen. it’s just so fun. there are several episodes where if i listen to them during a shit day i feel so much better.

sometimes, it’s deeply stupid. and it’s very fun. god are some bits insane. (shoutout to dip spit). but it’s just a good time.

they’re also incredible writers. the stories the dms are trying to tell come from this pure place of loving what they’re doing and being very good at it.

murph’s encounters are also some of the best in the game. even when they’re similar they don’t feel tired. he creates pictures you can see so vividly without having any visual aids. he keeps the stakes high even though he clearly wants his players to win. and they’re so endlessly creative. (c3 def has some of the best encounters due to his experience at that point but don’t discount some of the mighty c1 and c2 ones either)

in conclusion, listen to naddpod. please. you’ll have a great time. if you don’t enjoy the dragon pussy of it all, you might not love it, but if you enjoy it or can power through it, you’ll have fun.

and now. a quick rundown of like the general conceit of each (completed) campaign off the top of my head. in case you’re curious about where to start. (you can start at the beginning of any of these, in any order) and fuck it. i’m including a spotify link to every ep 1. i’m also def gonna do a bad job so. grain of salt etc etc.

bahumia (campaign 1): three legendary heroes saved the world three years ago, cumulating in their killing the devil. but then they vanished. and things have gone bad. so our adventurers attempt to figure out what happened. and how they can fix it. (100 episodes, dm’d by murph) (x)

trinyvale: sci-fi. three roommates work for a corporation on mini retrieval missions that eventually all come together to point toward one large mystery: what happened to the gods and how does it impact the world? (22 episodes, plus a few one-shots or mini arcs, dm’d by caldwell) (x)

the mavrus chronicles: five lads who are each other’s boys go on a beach vacation and one gets lost. they have to find out what happened, and find their friend, even if it means trekking across the water into the mysterious fog (7 episodes, dm’d by emily, ft. zac oyama’s guest pc from bahumia) [also has a sequel campaign, blazing babe, where they go to a burning man-esque festival and try to figure out who’s trying to ruin it. you can’t listen to that on its own. it has 4 episodes](x)

eldermourne (campaign 2): a dark fairy tale setting where those devoted to the gods continue to hold their alleged promises over people’s heads without quite explaining what it really means. and a secret order has left behind our heroes, who have no choice but to try to track them and what they’re working toward down. (41 episodes, dm’d by murph) (x) (also has a session 0)

ba2mia (campaign 3): we return to the world of campaign one, 200 years later. things have changed in the world a lot in the time in between, and it’s a much more cyber-punky place now. our heroes work for a megacorp attempting to dig itself into every major city in the world. they do their best to outrun that. and its ripples. (72 episodes, dm’d by murph) (x) (session 0ish)

twilight sanctorum: the family business is as detectives. and the business is slow. in a noir setting, a father/grandfather, son/father, and grandson/son work together to solve one single mystery: who is threatening the featured performer at the town’s most famous theater. (4 episodes. dm’d by emily) (x)

the episodes i shared will give a better early description than i did, certainly. bc they thought about them more.

anyway. long answer over. hope this helps. maybe. idk it ran away from me a little bit.

thanks for the ask!!

[devotion-disorder]

Hey Devo! I came here to ask about if you were keeping up with DOL but I just noticed your post yesterday! I was about to ask if you just updated it because of the new Housekeeping class?

when i made that post i dont think the update was out yet haha! but just now i did just sink a couple hours trying out the update :DD I finally have proper free time now to actually play the damn game rather than living vicariously through other people's screenshots LOL

I had to open a new save because in my old save the goddamn ear slime kept stopping me from going to the housekeeping class specifically LMAOO i couldn't get rid of it even with cheats ;_; i haven't actually cooked anything so far but think its a fun addition!! vrel is right that since class is the only way to learn recipes its gonna take a looooong time to actually unlock a decent amount of them...i wasn't expecting a skillcheck a la weekly exam to successfully learn a recipe, which makes it hard bc housekeeping is probably gonna be the last skill i choose to grind esp in early game...but im excited about gifting food to the LI's :DDD

i've been getting too complacent cause before i just play with cheats to get the scenes i want but now i actually wanna try to unlock some more feats....Ive never even won the maths competition and it seems so hard 😭😭😭 and I want to save pc's virginity for wren / one of the LI's but I also want to see bailey's rescue for the stimulant kidnapping which will include a really messy gangbang encounter 💀💀💀💀

but this does remind me how crazy complex DoL as a game is like its got me planning strategically what i should do and shit. and each playthrough im still finding out new stuff like I only JUST discovered the phallic option for the science fair💀💀💀like no two playthroughs will be the same fr!!!

[door-insurance]

Not to be dramatic or anything, but thank you for your great chasemarsh art and for drawing the girls. Sometimes I genuinely worry that Victoria and Kate would be forgotten by this fandom, when they shouldn't bc they're also very important female characters to the story. people tend to treat Max and Chloe as if they're the only female characters so thank u for doing Kate and Vic justice!

Heya!

Thank you for the kind words, both Kate and Victoria are hella important characters and I'm glad to see them still get love. One of the things that motivated me to start making fanart was seeing how barren the other character tags were compared to Chloe, Max and Rachel

At some point Chasefield was the 2nd most popular ship in the fandom but as time went on I feel like the new batch of fans we're getting didn't really explore the game's world as well as the older generation did or got into the franchise through watching speedruns or even worse, they saw tik tok edits of only the max/chloe scenes and nothing else

It's actually painful lol we used to have ask blogs for characters like Brooke, people would do shitposts and scenarios that involved all the other blackwell kids- now whenever i feature them somewhere id get questions on who's who

I'm hoping that my project at least has that old fandom spirit of appreciating Arcadia Bay and the world building

---

speaking of VortexVN, I'm gonna start doing monthly updates. So far in January I managed to do the following;

-Added in an achievement system

It's gonna be list/text only, adding in pictures and stuff is just beyond my basic programming knowledge but I will include funny references specific to each route

-created a character sheet for Victoria:

i actually don't like how her sprites turned out i'm gonna revamp them next week

-Polished the waking up cutscene:

won't show the whole thing but this is the third frame

also just wanted to say that the demo launch was a success!

As of January we reached 59 downloads for the PC version and 80 browser plays for the web version, so in total 139 people played the demo... Holy shit amazeballs

Now going into this I knew it will never reach Love is Strange numbers and level of hype cause it's been almost 10 years but oh my god I didn't expect this many people playing lol

It’s kind of a gamble making a fan game featuring a divisive/antagonistic side character

my goal was around 50 downloads and browser plays for the FINAL RELEASE of the game, we hit that shit on day one with the goddamn demo- ya'll are amazing for that

I'm gonna try my best to get this project done as soons as May or June of this year, game deving isn't easy but I will try to update yall on a monthly basis.

Next week's tasks are the new journal entry and revamping Victoria's sprites

[anthurak]

9S is the final boss though? Like his whole arc after 2B dies is him going insane until you get to the final fight with A2 with her being the obviously better choice.

Alright, ‘cracks knuckles’ guess I’m finally talking about those Nier takes I’ve never gotten around to.

Yes, you are correct. Which is why I call 9S a ‘blemish’ and not something that outright ruined the game for me.

It’s still annoying when you get into later parts of Route B when 9S starts stumbling onto all the big lore and backstory reveals with even Commander White dropping into emphasize how important what he’s finding is. As if the story is saying ‘aren’t you a smart and special little boy, 9S, for discovering all these important things’. Which combined with 2B dying at the start of Route C, makes it feel like, as I said, 9S is getting the ‘he was the REAL main character all along!’ treatment. Particularly when we consider that 9S gets to be the PC of both Route B and half of Route C, whereas 2B only gets Route A and A2 only gets half of Route C, effectively meaning that 9S technically gets the most screen time, story-wise.

Add on the fact that, as I said in the original repost, 9S reads and acts like literally every generic, cardboard-cutout self-insert anime protag-guy, to the point where some of his dialogue with 2B that I think the game wants us to interpret as ‘flirting’ feels like it’s out of a goddamn visual novel, and you can see why I consider him pretty insufferable.

It also doesn’t help that every time I’ve revisited Nier: Automata, I’m always finding 2B more and more interesting and compelling as a character. Just as an example, has anyone noticed that despite being seemingly the most ‘professional’ and loyal to the YoRHA cause on the surface of the three PCs, 2B is actually the most merciful of the three to the machine lifeforms? Like how when you first encounter non-hostile machines, 2B doesn’t want to attack them, stating that there is no reason to attack those that aren’t attacking them. Or how 2B is actually the MOST open of the three to talking and working with Pascal, whereas A2 is at first extremely distrustful and 9S just wanted to attack him on sight.

And yes, I really like A2 as well. Unfortunately the way her route is constructed means that she feels just as much like a replacement for 2B as she does a separate character in her own right. Which combined with the shorter length of Route C, makes her character feel a bit truncated.

And yes, 9S rapidly revealing himself to be a crazed, murderous incel simping for 2B the moment she dies IS in and of itself a great, twisted and interesting character turn, and I wholly agree that A2 having to Old-Yeller him is absolutely the better choice for the final battle. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really change everything else I’ve been saying up to now. Or the fact that 2B absolutely got fridged to make it happen.

Personally, for a long time now I’ve felt a better way to do the post-‘everything’s gone to shit’ reveal that we see in Route C would have 2B not actually dying but instead taken by A2 and eventually purged of the logic virus, though with 9S still wholly BELIEVING that 2B is dead at A2’s hands. Say, A2 still stabs 2B, but it turns out to be non-fatal.

From there, Route C follows A2 and a weakened/regaining-her-strength 2B working together. Likely with some fun gameplay twists were-in you’re switching control between the two. All the while, 9S is deteriorating even further than what we saw originally, to the point where even when he learns that 2B is alive and sees her again, he just goes into an even more crazed ‘you abandoned me!’ and ‘you left me for her!’ mode.

Which actually ends up leading to 9S mirroring Eve’s own crazed obsession with Adam and the rampage he went on after the latter’s death. Which in turn at first leads 2B to believe that 9S has some lingering virus infection from Adam and Eve from when they were holding him captive and that is the source of his madness, meaning that 9S could still be saved.

Of course, in a tragic twist, it is revealed that it ISN’T something lingering from Eve, but rather that 9S is deliberately re-infecting himself with the virus. That the true source of 9S’s madness is simply his own twisted obsession with 2B.

Which in turn leads to a final boss fight of 2B and A2 fighting a now-monstrous 9S. A fight which culminates in 2B and A2, with the help of Pods 042 and 153, hacking 9S in an extended trippy hacking sequence.

A sequence which culminates in 2B/the player having to hack into 9S’s menu and actually forcibly uninstall his OS-chip in order to put him down for good. Complete with you/2B effectively having to fight the ‘Are you sure?’ confirmation box which becomes progressively more crazed and unhinged, until Pod 042 mentions that you can force-uninstall the chip through some seemingly simply method like holding the button. Or perhaps something equally zany like switching control to A2 to uninstall the chip while the confirmation box is ‘occupied’ with 2B.

Thus, we still get a tragic/bittersweet ending of 2B being forced to kill 9S, but this time for good with the sense that now she can finally move on. Also this version would absolutely have 2B and A2 becoming a couple.

So yeah, that's a... few of my takes on Nier. Heck, I didn't even go into the AU I've had percolating for a few years now wherein 9S is expunged from the story entirely, 2B is partnered with 60 and is a bit of a yuri-harem-protag and there is frankly WAY more world-building than is necessary.

[balketh]

Lol, sorry if I want clear: I'm not here to debate. If you disagree with my thoughts on Starfield because you still like what Bethesda are doing, keep it to yourself. Triple A gaming has gotten worse because of this acceptance of shit (aside from the CEO capitalistic nightmare in the industry atm.) I truly could not want to hear those opinions less; it's like hearing from sports video game fans that current gen sports games are fine being so utterly engorged with dark pattern microtransations. Have some fucking standards, please.

Skyrim was truly only worth a damn because of modding. Oblivion, Morrowind; only still relevant because they're moddable. Bethesda wouldn't have been the first company ever to successfully shoehorn PAID MODDING on CONSOLES if that wasn't 100% the case. Something literally NO other company forced through before them. Skyrim would not have been a mega success if players on PC couldn't fix their issues. It didn't last because of console players. It lasted because of bugfixing and pornmaking modders, and that's a goddamn fact.

Nothing else they've done since has been nearly as good or long lasting. That longevity - because of modding - is the only real reason they've had so many chances to make more games. It's the only reason they're such a big fucking company now. If it wasn't, they wouldn't have released the CK for Starfield.

They have not learned; their games keep getting worse, their sales keep going down. It might be slow, but it's a fucking fact. Reviews aren't everything, just as sales aren't everything, but Bethesda is, largely, on the decline, and that's not up for debate.

Jee, it's almost like headlines like "An All-Time Low For Bethesda Studios" re: Starfield DLC completely support my entire point that Bethesda is in a serious decline that they won't recover from because they keep making worse shit than the last thing they made, and it's been that way SINCE THEY JUST KEPT REMAKING SKYRIM.

I cannot be clear enough when I say it won't improve. A writer for Bethesda, Will Shen, (one of the better writers - responsible for all of Nick Valentine/Far Harbour in FO4, the best bits of FO4), left Bethesda after Starfield, because of how awfully run by upper management it was. That's 1000000% what I'm talking about. I could not be more correct. You don't have to believe me if you don't want to, but people inside the fucking company can see it, exactly as I said.

Emil Pagliarulo, lead writer on - let's see, Bethesda's four worst written games, games known for having shitty stories that people actively disregard in favour of just playing with the game like a sandbox full of toys - FO3, Skyrim, FO4, and Starfield, (with known shitty contributions to Oblivion) claims that Starfield is Bethesda's best work yet. The guy who wrote the Dark Brotherhood storyline in Oblivion, which, to be clear, is dogshit. Not the 'kill creatively' gameplay, not the lore from TES at large, the actual writing, dialogue, and in-game narrative surrounding your actions; go and look it up right now. It's contrived slop, and this was his 'big win'.

The man who openly stated that he doesn't like using design documents in his work. On massive, sprawling, open-world narrative games. The man literally responsible for every single bad story Bethesda has released since Oblivion - yes, all of them, because that's what lead writers do, they approve and direct the writing of their team. The awful non-protag from-birth-fInD-uR-dAd of FO3. Skyrim's utterly generic dRaGoNs-R-bAcK! Go shout at them until they stop! and the god awful lol-all-sides-are-shitheels-but-whatever Thalmor, Legion, and Stormcloaks. FO4's hilarious improvement on FO3, 'SHAUN, WHERE IS MY BABY SHAUN', with the most obvious fucking minute-one twist imaginable, and now, his pièce de résistance, an entire universe of uninteresting, themeless, cookie-cutter sci-fi drudgery with no real reason to explore or be invested. A man so anti-protag in singleplayer games that rather than make you the protagonist in Starfield, they used the restartable ending to write off your singular importance by having there be infinity of you.

The fucker responsible for Shattered Space's absolutely dogshit reception, and its terrible writing and narrative direction. That lead to article headlines like 'Bethesda Honcho says Starfield is "the best game we've ever made" in massive bout of amnesia', something that would only fly if, oh, I don't know, we were generally all aware of how dogshit Bethesda's writing and dialogue have been for a decade. He might not have done the genuinely fucking bland, soulless gameplay, or riddled the game with fucking BETHESDA MENUS, but he's responsible for the most unfixable thing in all of these games: the writing.

That's who will be doing ES6, probably with Todd backing him.

People didn't buy Skyrim 17 times (yes, that's how many discrete versions of Skyrim you could have bought without buying the same game on the same console twice) for the fucking story. They bought it because it's a fucking fantasy sandbox that did not have a competitor of similar scope for years. Starfield is a bad sandbox, and it shows.

Yeah, no, Bethesda's a fucking goner if he does ES6. It won't flop, because people will fucking RUSH to buy it day 1 without knowing a thing about it, but the reviews that follow will eviscerate it. ES6 will be the downfall of Bethesda. Both of them need to fuckin' retire, and let some actual talent do the writing for once in this decade.

I can only wish it would drop sooner rather than later, so they could just fucking stop.

[chipped-chimera]

I enter the cyberpunk 2077 tag. I see a post about the game not being 'punk' because of all the triple A gaming company typical shit 'means it's not punk'. I roll my eyes so hard I exit the tag.

Points, context, rebuttal, whatever beloooow (I am not reblogging post because I don't want to attract hate to OP, but I am writing this cause I'm sick of seeing it).

Yeah triple A dev treatment fucking sucks. It sucks CDPR vowed to do different and didn't but that is missing a bunch of context. Here comes the context -

I've been following CDPR since about 2010-ish. They've always held onto older era gaming attitudes and respect their consumers. I guess in a way they were still made for an older era around the Cyberpunk release for the following reasons.

They shot themselves in the foot with their own marketing. Hiring a big name may have done that. If you look at the teaser trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 on announcement it basically says release date wise 'its done when it's done'. Being part of that older era they want to put out a COMPLETE game. Well tested. They came from a time where game updates were a LUXURY and that's why I trusted them to release a good product.

Marketing however got so big that it exited the realm of core fans and into the general public (derogatory). When they announced another delay, I was chill. I trusted them. Shit takes time man, whatever it takes to make it good AND treat your employees well bro. General public however was out for blood, sending death threats, pulling preorders.

There's this fine line you have to tread in marketing. Too little hype, no one knows about your product. Too much hype, you skyrocket expectations. Hype at the wrong time - you end up peaking at the wrong moment and end up losing momentum for release. You can see the conundrum here. They were arguably in the skyrocketed expectations and the losing momentum risk region.

So they did crunch time for release. In a way they had to. I mean sure they could have been 'punk' like OP suggested and said fuck you to the non-core fanbase but unfortunately punk doesn't pay bills. It doesn't keep the lights on. It doesn't keep your employees employed. It doesn't stop them from getting sent death threats for a delay.

So they rushed it out, it bombed. That sucked BUT it brought them peace. Because while everyone was making fun of them and quickly forgetting about it to go laugh at the next bomb of the month - it meant they could actually get onto fixing/finishing their game because people like ME knew them. It wouldn't be left as is. Also let them work at a less insane pace.

I started playing it (I finally had a PC that could handle it) right before the Edgerunners release and the public reboot. It was a fucking. Solid. Game. I studied game design and if I didn't get sick and had to stop this game would have been my goddamn final paper. There are so many good choices narratively and mechanically to the point you can't separate the two. It was everything I expected.

They worked hard to get there. We currently live in an era where entertainment is treated like fast food and people can be fucking incoherent when they're told to have patience. Why do you think so many games release in a scuffed state? Why do you think this new 'redemption arc' story in the game industry has become increasingly common? Because Devs keep getting sent DEATH THREATS just for doing work. That's fucking insane. No wonder they're working overtime and sleeping at the office because the general public has turned gamedev into an industry that basically uses psychological torture as a whip to get your game out 'on time'.

Yes there are absolutely horrible triple A gamedev companies, usually under the stable of a larger company (EA, Activision etc. take your pick) but CDPR ain't that. In my eyes their hand was forced.

You know what is punk? Going with a little, 'unpopular' (basically not DnD) ttrpg written by a black man and building a new IP and experience from it - AND having him on board and getting his active input during development. Because dear lord current media in general seems to be allergic to taking risks and new IPs.

You know what else is punk? Releasing free DLC updates that would be a micro transaction otherwise (no I am not talking about Phantom Liberty and I argue that's an 'expansion' though I guess no one uses that word now) and putting the goddamn pdf of the ttrpg handbook they based it off with the game download. Putting stickers in physical releases (going by my witcher experience), giving you goddamn HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES of in game posters to print for yourself FOR. FREE. No one DOES THAT anymore.

Also arguably putting out Cyberpunk is punk just in the narrative it tells in the goddamn first place - especially in the current climate, but I think I've made my point here.

Also my last point, in big letters because it's driving me fucking insane:

CYBERPUNK. IS. A. GENRE. A GENRE. THEY DID NOT INVENT CYBERPUNK. BLADE RUNNER. NEUROMANCER. ALTERED CARBON. IT'S A GENRE. THE PUNK ELEMENT IS IN THE NARRATIVE. IT'S NOT SOME KIND OF 'STATEMENT' ABOUT THEMSELVES, IT'S A GENRE AND ALSO THE LITERAL TITLE OF THE TTRPG THE THING WAS BASED OFF IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Anyway I'm sick of seeing CDPR being thrown under the bus and being treated in ways that will actively end up affecting future development. I really, really hope they haven't been too affected but if they end up feeling forced into modern day gamedev cycles and all the bullshit that goes with it ... well I know why.

And it starts with people who spout shit like this.

[blundergato]

im still playing zenless. i say this every so often, but i dunno how much i have left in me for this game. i rolled miyabi. shes broken as shit and makes every other character feel weak. why am i putting in any sort of work with a team build for my fully built nekomata when i can just choose miyabi, close my eyes, turn off my pc's monitor, walk outside and gorilla smash the buttons on my controller until she kills everything dead in 15 seconds flat. boring ass character to play, but goddamn shes strong. i rolled lycaon too and i havent even used him yet cuz i dont need to use anyone except miyabi (and caesar if i REALLY just want to turn my brain off).

the next characters coming are astra yao and evelyn. im not particularly excited about either of them. im a soldier 11 truther now, so i REFUSE to get evelyn. im sticking with 11 until obol squad comes out. astra yao looks neat, but i feel like unless the game somehow makes miyabi not busted, i dont give a shit about supports. ellen is coming back which is cool cuz i started playing after she was already gone, but miyabi exists and is also an ice damage dealer, so.....

none of the new future characters theyve shown speak to me that much.

--

i started playing judgement a few weeks ago. im back in kamurocho! i like it a lot so far, but...duh? i do like that yagami does not feel anywhere NEAR as busted as kiryu. like with kiryu (or majima or saejima), you walk around and you just feel like the final boss. yagami does not feel like that at all. hes a good fighter an all, but hes not a force of nature. kiryu gets shot like 3 times in a cutscene, takes a short nap and walks that shit off to fight 100 dudes at a shipyard. yagami can and will take actual, semi permanent damage to his health bar during boss fights. he also has to sneak around and stuff cuz hes a detective while kiryu's method of finding the truth is just beating up everyone in his way until he accidentally stumbles upon it. awesome games.

[styrmwb]

I beat Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

This might be the longest game from start to finish I've ever played

Not in the sense that this is a long game but in the fact that this is the first real game I ever played (I'm sorry, I'm not considering pc learning programs for baby), and it took me approximately 18-19 years to get around to Finally beating it. It's very funny to say that my first experience into gaming was a strategy game. I also think that somewhere, deep down in my heart, this planted the seed for what games I ended up loving in my present. Experiencing this game with an adult mind was ALMOST a fresh experience, yet I uncovered a lot of old memories and experiences during it.

This game is goddamn addicting. I Genuinely had so much trouble putting it down at times because I just Kept Wanting To Play. Let me explain to you my thoughts :)

Gameplay

I love RPGs to the bottom of my heart; HOWEVER. I have Always Always Always HATED gear management. I don't think I ever truly appreciated it in a game until Final Fantasy IX, where equipping gear and holding onto it taught you abilities permanently. It made me care about my gear and when to equip it more than just stat buffs and "yeah I guess I'll get fire immunity whatever". I LOVE that system so much. Another system that I love to the bottom of my heart (also an FF Classic but Dragon Quest gave me this too) is the job/class system. The freedom of changing my characters to be whatever I want and to mix and match their abilities is so fun and leads to a lot of flavor and mechanics. Final Fantasy V does it the best imo. So what do I get here? I get 2 of my favorite RPG mechanics of all time put into one!!! The reason this game is so addicting is it's basically to me character building simulator. I am constantly thinking about job paths, what I want each of my guys to be, how much time am I putting them in battles and spreading across their usage and swapping gear to maximize AP gains and make a small army of broken warriors. It's an absolute joy. The base gameplay is super solid too which helps. I mean, I love strategy RPGs (I am, unfortunately, a Fire Emblem bitch), so you literally can't go wrong with it.

I loved the jobs in this game. In fact, I'm gonna be a big nerd and tell you about my whole clan because this is MY post and I make the rules

Marche - Paladin/Fighter: World's Strongest Child. Fighter's damage output is insane, and has a wide range of abilities that helped out with its accuracy or distance, as well as just some meaty hits to annihilate. I went into Paladin just for some extra defense, and was also blessed with some good support skills and a stupid strong nuke in Holy Blade.

Montblanc - Mog Knight/Juggler: To be real here, I fucked up with this dude. I Did Not know what I wanted to do with him, and messed his stats up a little as a result. But Juggler is such a good support unit, especially with Dagger's disable + damage and Smile's instant turn ratio. Mog Knight did not perform how I wanted it to, but it has funny ability names.

Nikolai - Hunter/Archer: As I mentioned before, I'm a Fire Emblem bitch; and what that means is that I'm used to archers sucking shit (fuck you Python hit your damned shots). I was NOT expecting the bowman here to be as goated as he was. The utility of the aim abilities from damage boosting to disabling the enemy, as well as hunt's huge monster damage, this dude was a prime stay throughout the entire playthrough.

Chelney - Dragoon/Gladiator: This guy took a bit to load up, but once he did, holy shit. Absolute damage demon. Dragoon's wide range of AOE abilities + spear usage given some extra strength and smaller focus when needed from Gladiator, on top of the insane movement I gave him meant I had a Bangaa missile land wherever I wanted it to.

Eugene - Sage/White Mage/Beastmaster (when needed): Another unit I didn't really do optimally. White Mage is obviously a great support as it always is, but I genuinely thought Sage was gonna be a support type. Instead I got some damage skills (which to be fair were nice to have) that were super rare to find and didn't feel really BEEFY. Beastmaster was mostly there to support the Blue Mage.

Gertrude - Red Mage/Summoner: The early playthrough goat and 1/2 of the reason why I think Viera units are the best units in the game. Red Mage's wide variety of abilities came in clutch, as well as the bit of Fencer I gave her at first to cover both magic and physical. Then came Summoner, which was just "haha drop a big explosion". THEN I got Doublecast. "HAHA DROP TWO BIG EXPLOSIONS". Very very very fun unit, I just wish she actually managed to hit more. I blame myself for not giving her more movement to get behind the enemy.

Skimble - Time Mage/Black Mage: The epitome of a glass cannon, Poor Skimble could nuke anyone he saw but kept constantly getting targeted and killed. I actually did really like this mix of jobs because he could pull off support and damage well whenever I needed.

Gotwald - Bishop/White Monk: Not the most used unit, but a VERY fun combination of jobs. Bishop is like, Good Sage, with its healing and damage magic, and then the White Monk abilities balanced it out with some physical attacks as needed and Revive. Thematically it all balances out very well, I loved this.

Gallahad - Ninja: Another unit I didn't really know what to do with. He started out as a thief but I never really liked stealing in games (mainly cause it just never seemed worth the trouble). It was worth it to get to Ninja, though. His damage output, especially once I unlocked Double Sword was insane. The utility of Ninja Skills are also awesome, I just wish he could land them.

Agatha - Assassin/Sniper: I lied when I said Gertrude was 1/2 of what convinced me Vieras were the best. Agatha is 5/6ths of what convinced me of this fact. Having her in Sniper was already really solid with Doubleshot, Death Scythe, Aim:Weapon, etc (a really funny combo was dooming someone then using Montblanc to speed up their turns and thus their demise.) But then Assassin? Holy shit. Literally just instantly killing anything across the field, dashing around at mach speed, everything in her range. Once I mastered Ultima Buster and gave her back a greatbow, everyone was just "am I going to Last Breath or Ultima Buster you? You get one shot either way". Insane unit.

Karl - Gunner/Animist: This is such a fun long range hide in the back of the map combo. Gunner has surprisingly crazy damage, and it can keep up that damage AND cause statuses. Animist rounds it out nicely with the self heal and AOE attacks (oh I can't shoot you? Get Chocobo'd, idiot.)

Nobel - Blue Mage/Fighter: This is a Blue Mage that is 1000% worth the investment. You don't even need all the spells. Matra Magic is one of the funniest spells in a strategy game I've ever used, and even beyond that I had Twister and Dragon Force. Fighter was there to give them extra meat for their attack based spells, as well as no MP options because Damage > MP is a thing and is good.

That was my clan, and I feel like most everyone got their time to shine (even if certain bunnies and lizards got a little more than others). There are some jobs I wish I got to experience a little more but I just couldn't put the investment into it. Illusionist and Alchemist are a couple that I think I could have cooked with in an alternate timeline; Templar as well. Gadgeteer scares me, but a luck based affect everyone class is really funny conceptually. I also really appreciated how throughout the game, the base jobs weren't always invalidated, and they had their place when needed.

I think building characters, while it is the part I enjoyed the most through the game, is very much sunk cost. You gotta just invest in your guys from the get go cause nobody you recruit later is going to even out just due to amount of abilities.

Other gameplay things I liked: customizable map is really cool. I ended up going with an optimized guide just cause I wanted treasure and I know I don't play games more than once often so I was going for full 100%, but as a replayability feature it's SO cool. I also actually quite enjoyed the little bit of time management that was there; it reminded me of Persona. Hold off to accept this mission cause I can't make it in time to do these other couple, plan out my optimal route to hit as many or as little battles as I could in this period. Map navigation was an actual part of the game which was cool.

The Law system gives me feelings so complicated. Thematically, it's very cool and fits in perfectly in the world (or I should say the world is built around it very well.) And theoretically, it really gives you incentive to switch around your units and plan out their growth. But in my experience, 80% of the time it was just annoying? (which again, flavor wise, VERY accurate). Like there were times where I got hit with "do not hit animals go to jail" on a mission I did not know was exclusively full of animals. I also don't think they were the clearest things at times, and you really do just have to get punished to find out the limits of stuff. It's not The Worst, but I don't think I had a lot of fun with it. Except when it prevented the enemies from doing something that was hilarious. Stupid Illusionist can't do anything when target all is illegal lmfao

To tie in two previous points, I think Jagds were a very cool area. The trade off of no laws but for permadeath is neat, and those zones actually gave me fear and made me try to plan and prepare when I went around them. I also have a memory of my childhood playthrough losing my favorite guy so I didn't want a repeat of that hahaha. But I think the permadeath eventually becomes WAY more of a punishment than it should be due to how hard raising a character is. One wrong move, and the guy you put dozens of hours and AP into is gone. I will say, this game absolutely made me anal about saving constantly, so that might be good? Maybe?

Two things I can strictly say I disliked, were the randomness and dispatch missions/mission items. When it comes to randomness, I feel like I was really blocked out of certain things just because I couldn't get the units or items I wanted. I didn't get the chance to recruit a second Viera for so long, which sucks when jobs are race based. (I read somewhere that it was based off month but I found that out way too late). Items as well; when abilities are locked to gear, you Need gear to reach potentials. But I barely got any Sage weapons, I was losing out on a lot of ice magic cause I just couldn't get the items, and I literally never got to figure out how to steal said weapons cause I didn't get the weapon to do that. It bothered me. Mission items are the absolute bane of my existence. I HATED them. You need them for so many missions, but those missions will appear WAY before you can even get the items, and some items are one time get only meaning you can screw yourself out of everything, which I hated. Yes, I know that if I was playing this back in the day (and if I had friends when I was playing this back in the day), you could trade and link for items, but as a solo player, it just doesn't work. The mystery difficulty of dispatch missions sucked too. I had to look up the formula just to figure out how to make something guaranteed to win.

I think this wins the award for Game With Gameplay I Actually Really Cared For And Had Opinions About 2024

Story + Characters

As a kid, I really didn't think about the story at all even though I could read it just fine. I was just a small one who named his character ABCDabcdef and had fun moving my guys around (also god damn I was a lot smarter than I thought considering how far I got) My adult brain though, was actually able to appreciate what this game was. I think it offers a really interesting inversion on the Isekai genre, before the Isekai genre even blew up. What if the main character wanted to go home? For a GBA game in 2003, I feel like this was surprisingly... profound? is that the word? I'm not saying it was the greatest piece of media ever written, in fact I think there were a couple areas where I would have liked a little more clarification/details, but like, for what it is. It's really cool.

Marche I think is an interesting character. He felt very... responsible. Like "haha ok guys we had our fun but we Need to go back." He was able to call the bullshit on the world, and try to pull everything back to reality. I felt this even further reading about his backstory and relationship to his family. Sure, he had freedom, but he dedicated his effort To his brother, and his mother, to make them happy, even at the cost of his own. He's a character that I very much appreciated and related to. Although, I think I would have liked more to his motivation. A stronger reason behind his intense want to go home.

Ritz and Doned were fine. I like them, but there isn't much To them. Ritz was a cool, strong character who I liked how she never backed down from her wants, and Doned hit close to my heart, being a very accurate younger brother; and I felt for him, "gaining" the health he always wanted. I really liked the scene between him and Marche fighting about what the other has. But they didn't get to show up much, which stinks, and in Ritz's case especially I wish her motivation was a little stronger.

Mewt I think was the perfect character to cause this story and this world. I completely understood his struggles between the bullying and the loss of his mother, seeing the struggles of his father, and wanting that all to go away, dealing with, or more aptly NOT dealing with the pain by running away from it. His mental state literally shaped the world, from the laws of the land to creating an overpowered coping mechanism in the form of him but backwards (fuck you Llednar you're too damn strong).

This game has a good Cid. I expected him to be a shithead, but in the real world he was just depressed and in Ivalice he was actually really honorable.

Montblanc and Shara were both good friends to their respective child, but I do wish they both had a little more background/depth. (I also wish that Shara hit literally any of her shots come on I wasted a unit slot on you)

Both the Nu Mou surprised me; Babus actually made me feel for the dude, clearly caring about his prince and fighting for him; his behavior and appearance made me think he was Mewt's stuffed animal given life. Ezel's fucking hilarious, this dude said FUCK the government, laws are no fun at all. I love that dude so much.

I don't have much to say about Remedi, as she's literally an extension of Mewt. She serves her role as being that physical incarnation of a metaphysical concept to plunge your sword into that every FF game needs.

To kinda summarize my point, I did like everything, and I thought there were a lot of cool concepts. The game made me feel feelings, it plucked at my heart a little. But it's not as deep as I would have liked, I don't think. Granted, this is a GBA game. I'm not expecting Shakespeare or anything, but if we ever got a remake or something? I'd love some expansion.

Apart from the main story, I actually quite enjoyed the background story of Clan Borzoi. These guys are being menaces, you defeat them, and through reading the rumors and dispatch missions, you find out their leader runs away in a boat you helped him with, only for him to come back 4x as evil, bringing fiends and becoming a fucking vampire. It was honestly a joy and a side plot that Did Not need to be there but I loved.

The post game 100% completion judge storyline was fun too. We get more Cid screentime AND we get to fight against the law being shitty and corrupt which you always love to see.

Art

I love this game's art style and direction. The portraits, the way everyone looks, is so fun, it's cartoony and unique. The monster designs are so special yet still recognizably classic. The game itself is really colorful and vibrant which makes it a joy to look at, especially as I can't tear myself away from playing it.

Even the animations just make me really happy to look at, although I recognize part of that is nostalgia. The spells are fun, like the demi squishy circle, or the Illusionist full screen hellfests (Stardust is the best one). Even the summon animations, for being on a GBA game, had that classic FF sense of grandness, power, and being over the top. I love looking at this game.

Music

It's amazing how even through the GBA sounds, this is very recognizably a Sakimoto soundtrack. I can feel that grand feeling that the XII OST gives me in the form of beeps and boops. I don't care what some people say, I love the way the GBA sounds, and I think this game has a very good soundtrack. The title theme lives in my head rent free, as well as the bar theme. Marche's theme is also probably one of my favorites, being a slower piece compared to most of the game.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

See it's funny cause Marche is a stranger in paradise and I'm about to talk about the origins of Final Fantasy

Go play the silly Jack game dammit

I never truly appreciated how FF this game is. I will preface this by saying I Have Not played the original Tactics yet (I should have done it before Advance but childhood experiences win the matchup low diff), so my experiences are mainly second hand, that might affect some of my outlook. But as I was saying, this game feels INCREDIBLY classic Final Fantasy. Between the monsters, the jobs, the colorful nature of the game, the references to previous characters (I saw the four fiends! And Gilgame[sh]!) the fantastical aspects over the more serious political drama, I get the same vibes as the first few FF games, which makes me happy. I honestly feel like this game feels more FF than XII does (I am not saying XII is not an FF game it obviously is).

Speaking of XII, it is INSANE how much Tactics Advance brought to that game, and how little credit I feel the general public attributes to it. Like, This Game Came First. This game created Viera, Bangaa, Nu Mou. This game had Montblanc and Nono. This game had the Giza Plains. This game had monsters like Carrot. This game created Judges! So much of XII's identity is Tactics, and playing through this made me realize that even more of it is still Tactics. We wouldn't have Fran, we wouldn't have Gabranth, without Tactics Advance, and I wish this game got the respect it was due.

Shoutouts to XIV being the only game to acknowledge it in the form of Clan Nutsy. (I'm retroactively mad at Theatrhythm for not doing ANYTHING)

Post Too Long! Red Card: Go To Prison!

I'm so glad I finally got to finish this game, and complete a mission that I've had since I was a kid. I specifically remember giving up on the Llednar -> Mateus combo, and now here I am, 100% completion.

I can absolutely see why I put so much time into this game; it's addicting, and it has so many features and aspects of games that I love put into one package, even if there are bits I could do without.

The game as a whole feels ahead of its time, and even beyond the console it was on, and I hope one day it can get the recognition it deserves, rather than only getting a rerelease on the Wii U. I do recommend any FF fan to play this game. To finish off the post, I would say;

8/10. An absolutely addicting fun time and a key point in the history of my favorite franchise, as well as my own life. It's got some frustrations and imperfections, but it's such a solid experience.

[porygon2electricboogaloo]

what is your favourite thing about each of your pcs and why do you enjoy playing them?

Ooh get ready for a hefty reply. I'm gonna cap the list start at where I really got back into dnd, since my characters before this point weren't as deep. Shoutout to Dax Ironbeard, Finnan Tealeaf, and Ling Fai though (yeah I know Ling Fai is one of my npcs but I just really like the name). And as fun and silly as one shot characters can be (lookin at you Klutzy and Waldo and Witchhunter Recruit Binglebangle) they aren't really developed enough to make the list. But here goes!

Oogway: a tortle knowledge cleric from @a-very-angry-woodchuck's Dungeoneers campaign. I liked how level-headed he was, being more interested in exploring than fighting. He made me fall in love with support roles in combat as well.

Gundor of Moonfell, AKA Gary: a human blood hunter/ranger and my second character from @a-very-angry-woodchuck's Dungeoneers campaign. He was a delightfully traumatized shit disturber, and I loved how deep his backstory lore went. I never really realized you could get that into a character up until here. (If only I could have played him for more than 3 sessions... Womp womp)

Nicky Nickson: a fixer from @quantemphys's Cyberpunk Red crew. It was really fun to have such strong ties to an NPC, in this case the pop star Sunny Sun Lee, and seeing that relationship develop.

Rocky Gallagher: a raccoonfolk divine soul sorcerer from @quantemphys's Idle Creek campaign. My favourite thing about him was how interwoven he was into the whole big conspiracy plot of the campaign (even getting his sorcerer powers as a result), while staying pretty clueless about it. Having a hint of metaknowledge while playing a less smart character was really really fun. Also his arc from sad janitor living in a soap house to town mayor is maybe my favourite tied up development of any of my characters thus far.

Spike Dynamo, AKA Death Wurm: a solo from @quantemphys's Cyberpunk Red crew. I LOVE the energy he brings to the table: nonchalant, serious, can and will shut down shenanigans, but his intensity is like no one else I've played. He's also so damn good at what he does, and having the vigilante alias is just so cool!! Highlight was almost killing AV in the very first session, though very excited to see how his backstory elements are gonna play out :)))

Jasper Taliesin: a spider from @a-very-angry-woodchuck's Blades in the Dark campaign. My bastard son, my lil manipulator, my pride and joy. I love him for many reasons, but I think the core is how much I enjoy creative solutions. He's always prepared for a problem, is cunning and fast-talking enough to get out of trouble, and knows how to pull a hell of a scam to get what he wants. I'm only limited by what I can come up with, which is especially fun when used to set up your allies. I also liked that his backstory was simple, letting me really discover him, with his actions in the game itself having the greatest impact. Oh and betraying the crew to secure a long-term win was so exciting to play out. He's so close to being a villain with his ends-justify-the-means, but still morally good somehow. Still haven't gotten over his death, even though he PLANNED IT IN ADVANCE GODDAMN

Draco Acid Bloodhowl Infinity: a duergar necromancer from @quantemphys's Aldermoore campaign. We have not seen much from you, but you were still delightful! Playing an angsty character was a challenge but very fun. I also enjoyed being a very flawed character, both selfish and temperamental. Hope to see more of him eventually!

Crazy Moe: a leech from @a-very-angry-woodchuck's Blades in the Dark campaign. If you want chaos, havoc, and destruction, look no further. Moe is as reckless as they come, and really just wants to blow shit up. I love playing him because he feels like a force of nature, and seeing how much damage can be done in just one guest appearance is just *chef's kiss*

Cadence Sarabande: a lurk from @a-very-angry-woodchuck's Blades in the Dark campaign. She's been a really interesting character to play between her lore and her being a 15 year old assassin, but I think the real selling point is her demeanor. So optimistic, so sassy, so naive. I love her dynamics with the rest of the party and the inevitable disagreements that arise from all her opinions. Also the accent is a lot of fun lol

Captain Jaq Bram: a sea dragonborn, leviathan hunter ranger from @lilmissrandom's unnamed campaign. While I've only gotten the joy of playing him for a few sessions, I get to live out my grizzled sea captain fantasy. He's incredibly surly, and he's going very much insane, but still has a soft spot for his crew. I love how obsessive he is toward exclusively hunting sea monsters, and getting to use a custom subclass to really portray that! Confrontations with the party over his alleged misogyny have also been really fun to play out, and I'm super excited to watch his nuances and trauma get investigated.

I'd also like to shout out Voltergeist and Fronk Shoetwos, a pair of very recent creations that I hope will slam dunk their way into my heart.

Thank you for the question it was SO much fun to answer!

[bossyuri]

Ima put my random thoughts about SRV in here! It probably won't make much sense but wtv sdfsg

again I haven't placed the last building or conquered the whole map yet, as context, but i did finish the main story aside from that.

So ima start of with thoughts while disregarding how the bugs affected the experience!

Overall, I had a good time! I really enjoyed it. I love the new crew. I loved the focus on friendship. I'd say the story overall is nothing really special though, which I don't think is necesserily a bad thing. Sometimes a chill story packaged in a fun game is good ya know.

I loved finding out bits and pieces about our friends through dialogue, I think that was great, and I really liked that it felt like a solid friend group. Modern Yuri (as I like to colloqually call him lmao) is so much more mellow from having a good support system early on lol. But he's still got some Classic Yuri in him.

The rival gangs I think that thematically, visually, their music and stuff, they were great. I liked them a lot, they had good contrast, their music when you fight them rules. I do think that they were a little underused in the actual story though so they don't quite leave the impact that say, the Syndicate did. The threat they posed felt more theorical than anything you actually see. Again not the worst thing, but I feel like they could've used a bit more time to be more present. (I did like how the Panteros stuff ended because it tied in with other things later though!). Like I think in particular that the collective could have been used a lot more.

That said I did play with looong months-long break for the first quarter of the game so idk how that affected my impression. And the last few missions I think were really, really cool, I really liked them! But I felt like the middle parts after a certain point weren't quite as memorable.

But I don't think it was bad! And the game isn't quite over yet, so I'm looking forward to what's to come.

Also I did like how narratively the game tries to give you a nice fantasy release from a lot of real life issues. I'm sure many people at Volition had to face these frustrations in their lives and it felt like. relatable yknow.

Now though.....so I work in game QA, going on my 7th year, and the game released in....really an unnacceptable state, which was really a bummer and really harmed it. I don't blame the devs. Devs want to give us good games. But they don't control release dates.

and they did not control covid. I know a lot people see covid as an "excuse" to fuck up games but trust me as someone who was working in the industry through it all, it absolutely messed up a *lot* of stuff that you may never know about. My setup from home is still not ideal. And thats not even getting into employee burnout but anyway-

I've had crashes to desktop, blockers in missions (regularly), broken multiplayer (tho i havent had a chance to test it again after patches) needing full game restarts for a variety of reasons (clothes broken, face broken, world stopped populating, quest blocked...) the clothes system still breaks for me after so many months after release (thought its a lot better. i dont fear the stores as much anymore lol). I don't know if it's a quirk of the PC version, but it would have been so much more of a good experience if they had had the time to polish the game more before release. Lots of gamers don't have much patience for this kinda shit, and it's a shame for a game that has a lot of love put into it.

But they're still patching the game, and the QOL changes that they keep adding are really good. The game is a lot more stable for me too so I will definitely keep playing, and I'm hoping that my mental state will allow me to make some fun content from it. I'm still kinda hoping for a steam release sometime so I might get to replay the story again if that happens. Because taking screenshots on epic is a goddamn pain.

So huh anyway. I don't think anyone cares that much but if you've read that far thank you! And also thanks for sticking around with me for so long despite my dropping off the face of the earth in a depression spiral. But I'm still around and Yuri is still around. And Saints Row V is fun!

[carterashofficial]

I need to vent for a hot moment about my usually fantastic boyfriend

So. Tonight I make dinner. My boyfriend knows I love to cook. His father has been living with us since April (don’t even get me started but I am ready for him to move out)

I make Tacos b/c Taco Tuesday. I’ve got a chicken breast the size of Rhode Island (thanks Costco), beans, rice, cheese, tortillas, cilantro, a whole onion. I go all out. My big frypan is full of onion and chicken. Like 2lbs of this shit. Can of beans boiling on the stove with cumin and salt. I add cilantro and lime to my rice.

When I say that this could’ve fed like 6 people, I mean it. 6 people with 2 tacos made of 10” tortillas, and it would be fine. I have 2 tacos. Boyfriend has 3? His father, I’m not sure, I’m going to assume 3. Point is, a decent amount of chicken and beans were left over, certainly enough for my lunch tomorrow and maybe the day after.

I tell both of these dudes that in an hour, during break time for my group video game night, I will pack up the leftovers for my lunch tomorrow. Both make sounds of acknowledgement.

Break time comes.

There are no beans or chicken left. I ask where it all went, because boyfriend’s father sometimes packs up the leftovers.

Boyfriend says his dad asked if he could eat the rest, and boyfriend said yes.

I tell them both that I literally had said that I was going to pack it up for my lunch. Boyfriend says he can cook more chicken. Or do something with the 1/4 cup rice left.

Dear reader, this man can build a high level gaming PC or decently play a song on a guitar. His skills do not lay in cooking unless someone (me) is there to keep him from stabbing himself with a paring knife, or he has a YouTube video open to follow along; and even then I’m still nearby b/c he will ask “is this okay?” Or “is this mixed enough together”. I love him. Cooking is not his strong suit, but he can make a nice grilled cheese or scrambled eggs.

So I do not trust my boyfriend to cut up another Rhode-Island chicken tit with a paring knife. We have no beans. The rice has been sitting out for an hour and is slightly crunchy.

I’m pissed. I spent an hour making dinner and I can’t even take any leftovers for lunch, which I definitely made enough to do.

Boyfriend is mad that I’m upset b/c I have to cook again. It’s that or I spend $ on takeout for lunch tomorrow and I don’t want to do that. I wanted my taco salad.

Boyfriend offers to tell his dad to go get me something I can take tomorrow. Obviously it would be takeout b/c his dad can’t cook either. I don’t want takeout.

So.

I’m pissed and cooking again at 9 at night.

Boyfriend is upset b/c I’m pissed.

And his dad is snoring on my couch and I want to scream b/c it’s been 5 goddamn months of him living here and he can’t go somewhere else.

[kyuohki]

Adventure (Atari)

First game I truly remember playing, and those damn dragons were so anxiety inducing. The bat was also infuriating, as it could and would steal your sword and replace it with something else while you were trying to kill the dragon, or would steal the bridge while you were running from the dragon, and then you died bc there's now a . (Once had the bat steal the bridge while I was on it, and it took me on a trip about the map and abandoned me in a wall, then the dragon ate me bc I couldn't move.)

Fun times!

.

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES)

This was the first true game that I played and beat w/o any help from my family. But holy shit am I bad at Zelda games, especially the "classic" overhead styles. The only reason I get through this game is bc I've played it so often, I can nearly run through w/o dying (the Dark World Skull Woods dungeon and that Boss fight are the *hardest* in this game!)

.

Final Fantasy 6

From the opening sequence to the Opera (that you can hilariously fail), FF6 became my favorite of all the Final Fantasy games!

The original translation is still my favorite of all the re-releases (but that's probably the nostalgia talking). I remember being so shocked when the Opera section happened, and we absolutely messed up the first attempt bc we never read the script for Celes' cues.

Every replay I do of this game, I make a point to save before starting the whole Opera segment, so I can both do all the failures w/o a game end, but also go back and replay it as many times as I want. :D

.

Colonel's Bequest (PC DOS game)

What a goddamn classic, from Sierra. I never could get the best ending w/ all the clues found, and it's so easy to skip entire segments without meaning to (not to mention if you miss picking up clues). This was also an anxiety inducing game, bc it's a murder mystery, and sometimes the Murderer would be in certain places when you tried to open a door and would strangle you (and I believe it was randomized, too). I was constantly saving and praying each time I went into a room bc I didn't want to die. ;o;

.

Suikoden (1 and 2, bc I played them back to back).

I did not expect to get sucked into these games.

I did not expect to enjoy having to run around the damn map and try to find 108 goddamn recruits.

I did not think I would like replaying S2 three to four times to get all endings (some of which you had to have a save about a quarter into the game, so that you could make the correct choices down the line to get to said endings. It was infuriating, and I loved it.)

[opwolfe]

Vent post for the sillys

I just wanted to finally start working out again and all I got was my brother screaming at me for breaking the PC (I didn't) and my mom screaming at me for telling him off.

I told him he could get on and instead of just like, fixing it, he came into my room and started bitching at me for breaking the PC and putting it in an infinite reset loop (it was fine when I got off it) and I told him I didn't break it and he screamed at me saying I did (I literally did not), and then my mom came in and started screaming at me for screaming at him.

It was fine for a bit and then he came back in and started yelling at me more for it and then started throwing my things around and kicking my furniture over, so I punched him in the face for getting in mine about something I literally did not fucking do, and he tried throwing things at me and then tried to throw me to the floor, and in doing so he broke his phone, mom came in and started screaming at me for "being on a high horse and not fucking listening" like that's not what they've been doing to me for the past two hours, and then she just kept fucking screaming at me for shit I have no fucking control over and told me to "get a goddamn job already or get out"

And honestly? I might just fucking do it, I'm going to look at jobs outside of the city and pack my shit up, because I don't fucking deserve to be treated like shit because someone decided I did something I hadn't, or y'know, might just kill myself, whatever comes first

I can't leave my state because I'm trans and I'm just surrounded by red states, but I cant leave my city because I'm still getting my paperwork done, I don't want to live in a world where I can't do anything and can't be myself

I'm also really fucking scared of my boyfriend leaving me over venting about this (I don't think he would, but people have cheated on me and left me for less) or just leaving me because he got his fill of me and is now sick of me, because he hasn't been talking to me for the last few days unless I've prompted him too, like I know he just has work and can't talk while he's there, but you'd think he'd make time for me outside of his soooo busy schedule of arma and counter strike but no, I've been asking him to play one simple little Valentine's event with me in a video game and I've either gotten nothing or a "yeah sure we can do that" and then he never fucking does it, I'm tired, I'm hurt, and I just want to talk to my fucking partner for more then two seconds, sometimes it truly is if he wanted too he would

No one's going to read any of this and that's completely fine, I doubt my boyfriend even has tumblr anymore so he's definitely not going to see any of this or even ask about it, but I'm just going to take a nap and wait for someone to inevitably come and scream at me again

[by-ilmater]

okay i'm a good ways into my second playthrough of datv and i realized i never posted any of my thoughts after i finished the first time. warning for end game spoilers, like big time, i mean it

many of my initial criticisms still stand, for me. like dai before it, i think datv suffers from some pacing issues. it starts off very slow, and i don't think it really starts to open up until after the dragons. i've always thought dai had the same issue, that the game only really gets going after you get to skyhold.

idk how to really phrase this, but the emotional pacing? feels off for me? does that make sense? like, there's several moments in the game where something absolutely devastating happens, and they did a really good job of capturing that. i think the aftermath of the dragons are a good example of this. in my second playthrough i'm playing a crow rook, so i chose to save treviso (did it the other way the first time) and the moment you fast travel back to dock town after that and half the building is just fucking GONE. that was a gut punch holy shit.

but then, so much of the rest of the game feels.....idk. cold? flat? it just doesn't seem to have a happy medium, there's either huge shit happening or....eh.

i will say, i think i'm enjoying the game more on a second run and that's not super common for me. it has let me pay way closer attention to how they actually handled varric after knowing he's dead the entire time, and there's some surprisingly clever moments.

speaking of the dragons, something i do like that datv did that felt more in line with origins is the game forcing you to make fucked up choices and live with the consequences. there's several moments in origins where you can just straight up lose a party member if you say something wrong or do something wrong, and I think that got kinda lost in da2 and dai. especially in dai, you have to go out of your way to really fuck shit up. i like that the dragons are bad no matter how you choose. i like that, if you choose wrong during the final battle, people will just straight up die (that's also very mass effect 2 and i love it). someone will also die no matter how you choose! there's no way to save harding or davrin after that choice, afaik. i like that.

i wish that we had more freedom over our rook as far as backstory and age and things like that. i really hate that the game basically railroads me into playing rook as young, especially during the emmrich romance. that irritates the fuck outta me. why give us the option to give rook wrinkles and grey hair and whatnot, and then insist that they're some naive twentysomething? haaaaaaaaaate that. i think, for a voiced pc that wasn't just a named person like hawke or shepard, dai struck a good balance. i liked that characters would ask your inquisitor questions, and then you got to decide how they felt. rook doesn't get that.

i miss being able to just talk to the companions whenever. like, i do like that they kinda move around the lighthouse and interact with each other, but i think we also could've been given the ability to talk to them while they did that, instead of having to wait til they have their little speech bubble prompt. idk what inspired the decision to make it like this, idk if people complained that there's too much talking in previous da games. but i loved all the talking and i want it back.

this is a petty personal issue, but i am so so sad we finally got to see weisshaupt in a game and it immediately gets fucking destroyed. literally so heartbroken. i've wanted to see weisshaupt since alistair talked about it in origins.

this feels like a mean criticism but.....some of the voice acting does not hit for me. i chose the american male voice for ezra, cuz he's a city elf from ferelden. and man, it bugged me the whole fucking game lol. but with kai i chose the british male voice and the difference is huge.

goddamn this got long lmao sorry. i'm sure i'll think of more later.

[angrelysimpping]

Off Screen

Written April 3, 2024

Shout out to the talented, sweet, n hampsom 💜@inkyquince 💜 for the amazing vtm game and who made Tekli and Luka (and Rada, who is more connected to Necro's PC yet here she fucking is because I'm a silly billy >m<) (and Ifan who is connected more to Benji than Andi yet here we are)(and Sigvar, who is also more connected to Necro's PC uh)

Contents: talk of curses and ghosts; suicidal ideation and planed scuicide; unreliable narrator; dry humping; some cum eating; briefly implied sex work; biting; some mild blood and blood drinking

Words: 1,813

The boat was…eventful. Yes, that's the word he'd use, eventful. Better for keeping the spirits up. 

Eventful. 

God, he couldn't wait to get to Russia. Luka would finally be safe, they'd be-

Tekli. Tekli might be there. That's why he'd chosen this boat, in the end. He'd seen the letters, saw she might be held up in Russia. So close. So goddamn close. He just had to actually make it there. 

Not die first. 

Would he die first?

His chest still ached where the spirit, Rada, had touched him. Cursed him. 

He'd been so fucking stupid. But, hey, maybe something good would come of it? He could only hope as he trudged back to his rooms, lingering cold of the Shadow Lands still clinging to him. Funnily enough, it was almost comforting. The same constant ache that lingered in his fingers during winters, the same numbness deep in his bones that'd been the only thing keeping him from falling apart when he found himself alone. 

Alone. He always ended up alone, one way or another. 

It'd be a blessing to die. He wouldn't be alone then, would he?

The ship buckles under him, lights dimming and colors failing. Only a second, a blink of an eye, and everything is right again. 

Or would he go there? To the Shadow Lands? His family wouldn't be there, would they? He can't see Mir past the serious six year old boy fascinated with insects. Can't fathom Rzepka other than a sweet nine year old, dirt smeared across her cheek from gardening. And Polina? Whatever had happened in death, she wouldn't end up somewhere like…like the Shadow Lands, would she?

Alone, then? Alone even in death? Or, stuck hunted? Spirits like Rada chasing him down. Rada herself after him? A special hell he’d never conceptualized before?

He didn't particularly want to find out. Though, if the world kept sliding around him, out from under him, he'd have to get used to that place, sooner or later. 

Andrzej is careful not to make too much noise as he slips into his rooms. Even as sleep calls to him, he takes time to make sure the door is barricaded. 

Shuffling into his room, Andrzej changes into his sleeping clothes before pausing, looking at his rumpled bed. He'd dozed there for a bit while Luka had read and it'd been fine, comfortable. A good enough bed, better than others he'd slept on. Yet, he turns, walking back out into the shared room before crossing over to Luka's. 

The man is sound asleep, and there's a pang in Andrzej’s chest. 

God, he'd dragged Luka into a mess. Maybe he should've left him in Italy. Or not snuck him from the brothel- no. 

He's gone down that line of thought too often. If he didn't offer Luka a way out of the brothel, he would've been killed. He was sure of it. But, maybe death would've been better. Isn't that what he himself was chasing, after all? His own death?

If that’s what would've been granted to Luka, that is. Who knows what could have happened, really? Some all knowing God, maybe? Not him, though. No, if anything was proven tonight it was that he didn't know shit. 

He couldn't even find Luka a safer place to sleep. 

Do you see me as a protector, Andrzej? 

Throat constricting, lip curling, he has to fight off the urge to scream. A protector? A protector? He'd met Ifan twice and he seemed trustworthy enough but…but he knew her. He knew Tekli. Sigvar and Ifan had been there, they said, when she ghouled him. And he can't remember, he can't fucking remember. 

He'd rather cut out his own tongue than claim he thought of anyone in that sense. Yet, he might just do it if it'd secured Luka a safe place to sleep away the day. 

A protector? When was the last time Andrzej felt protected in any sense? 

And he knows the answer. Even as his own impending death bounces around his brain, Andrzej lets himself forget for a moment, dropping into bed with Luka. 

He'd meant to find a way to hide Luka away on the boat, and he'd been cursed instead. 

Maybe that's the tipping point. Maybe that's the reason a few stray tears escape the corners of his eyes, wetting Luka's hair. As the smaller man presses against him, nuzzling his face into the crook of Andrzej’s neck, what little resistance he had to becoming attached to Luka dissolves. 

Andrzej tugs off his ever present gloves, worn leather hitting the floor as he tosses them irregardless of where they fall. His hands slip under Luka’s shirt, drag the fabric up as his hands splay over smooth skin. A desperate bid to be even closer to the sleeping man that works. Even though Luka is a thinblood, dead yet not and lacking a mortal's warmth, the shards of ice lingering in Andrzej’s marrow seemed to melt away. 

“Sweet dreams, Lukasha.” He mumbles the words directly into Luka’s hair as he presses a soft kiss to the dark locks. “I’m so, so sorry.”

-

There’s a hardness pressed against his thigh.

It’s the first thing Andrzej becomes aware of as he wakes, momentary worry that he’d pulled a knife or stake in his sleep. But, that’s not what he finds. 

Luka is curled against him, and Andrzej can’t help the way his heart stutters at the sight. Dark lashes and freckled cheeks, so close he could count them if he wanted. And right next to him, still in his arms, hands still spread over his back and keeping him close. 

It’s as Luka’s dark eyes blink open, still bleary from sleep, that he registers what actually woke him. 

Luka seems to notice it at the same time as him, eyes going wide and face burning as he yelps, trying to pull away. Trying to hide the erection poking into Andrzej’s thigh. 

He can’t though. He can’t pull away when Andrzej is still holding him close, eyes wide as Luka inadvertently grinds against him. 

And, interestingly enough, his own cock answers with interest, slowly growing hard as Luka moves. 

“S-sorry.” Luka’s voice is choked, shaking as he speaks. “I-I don’t…” He trails off as Andrzej continues to stare at where their bodies meet, slowly lifting his leg to press a strong thigh against Luka’s cock. 

When was the last time he wanted this? Actually wanted? Not the itching, burning need brought on by the blood, the vitae? 

“Do you…” Andrzej’s mismatched eyes meet Luka’s. “Do you want me to, uh, take care of that?”

He didn’t think Luka could blush any darker, but he’s proven wrong as the Italian tries to register what he was just asked. 

“I-I…want,” he manages to get out, barely above a whisper, “want to…if you wanna.”

Andrzej groans, deep in the back of his throat, as he presses forward, brushing his lips right over the beauty mark on the other man’s collar bone. “If you want me to, I will, Lukasha.”

Luka isn’t graceful by any measure as he shifts, movements still blunt and clumsy by sleep as he slides on top. Not that it matters to Andrzej, his breath catching in his throat as Luka settles himself. His hands slide down, over Luka’s sides and making him shiver, before resting on the smaller man’s hips. 

The first movement is hesitant, experimental. Beyond perfect. 

Sparks shoot down Andrzej’s spine as Luka rocks forward. If he wasn’t already fully hard, he is now as Luka lets out a small, high pitched mewling sound. That seems to be some kind of trigger for the thinblood as he nearly collapses forward to tuck his face into Andrzej’s neck, humping their clothed cocks together in earnest. 

Andrzej helps him move as best he can, fingers digging into hip as the muscles flex under his palms. Each desperate movement pulls another sweet sound from Luka’s lips, and Andrzej revels in each and every one. With the way Luka is hunched over, he has unlimited access to an expanse of slender shoulder. It’d be a sin not to take advantage of such a blessing. 

Maybe he should’ve asked first, seeing as what they are, but Luka doesn’t seem to mind when Andrzej starts nipping and sucking at his exposed shoulder. In fact, his noises get louder, his movements more fervent as Andrzej bites and kisses, uncaring if he leaves any marks that might be visible once they left the sanctuary of their rooms. 

It’s greedy, but Andrzej has been in want for so long he doesn’t think of it. He bucks up, throwing off Luka’s rhythm and making the man squeal. He chuckles even as fingers dig into his shoulder, into his ribs. He bucks up again, tight grip on Luka’s hips keeping him firmly in place. It does exactly what Andrzej wanted, another cute sound escaping Luka's throat.

So, he keeps going. 

Luka’s mouth latches onto the joint between his shoulder and neck, hanging onto Andrzej for dear life even if the ghoul’s hold on his hips kept him safely in place. 

It’s with one of Andrzej’s rough jerks up that he makes the mistake. He’s still giving Luka’s shoulder the occasionally lick, kiss, nip, and his canine catches. Copper tang spreads over his tongue, metallic and sweet.

Luka whines, shivering, as Andrzej’s hot tongue instinctively laps up the spilt blood.

And Andrzej freezes, chest heaving and eyes wide.

Fuck. Fuck. Had he hurt Luka? He wasn’t sure. He’s still hard but that didn’t matter. Nothing else would. Luka was the one person he didn’t want to hurt and if he had-

A warm wetness seeps into his clothes.

Cum.

Luka had cum. 

Not hurt. No. The opposite. 

Luka leans back, looking down at Andrzej. His dark eyes are glazed over, somehow softer looking than ever as he slips a hand under Andrzej’s clothes. The hand is cool compared to his burning skin, a welcome change. 

He can’t look away from Luka as he starts to jerk him off. His mind empties. Maybe the first time in a long time as he gazes into the endless depths of Luka’s eyes. It’s on pure instinct, complete auto pilot, as he dips his fingers under Luka’s clothes. Collects some of the spent cum on his thumb. Pops the digit into his mouth, licking it clean. Finally breaking eye contact as his lids shut in pure pleasure, salt and copper across his tongue. 

His hand drops, gripping onto Luka’s thigh as Luka lurches forward, pressing their lips together in a quick kiss. 

“Lukasha.” 

A gasp of his name against his lips as Andrzej reaches his end, spilling into Luka’s hand. 

They stay like that for a moment, close and breathing heavy before Andrzej smiles, sitting up, Luka sprawling in his lap. “Come on, Lukallini. Let’s get cleaned up.”