#so compared to what they did with the dialogue in the main game

[nipuni]

Alright, time to share my opinions about Veilguard!! I have both criticism and praise so bear with me as I jump from one extreme to the other 😆 spoilers ahead of course!

The game has a very rough start with the dialogue being formulaic and rushed and the characters overexposing. It feels like a heavy handed attempt at summarizing all of previous games' lore for newcomers or in case you forgot but it's so overdone it feels coddling and trivializes a lot of previous events. Luckily this gets better once all of the introductions are out of the way, though the excessive hints and clarifications continue until the end sadly.

The locations are absolutely incredible and very diverse!! This is a highlight of the game for me. There is so much detail and care in every map and there are so many of them. My pc is struggling to reach medium settings and yet everything looks stunning. The verticality of the maps is so imposing and the graphics have a very dreamy quality that I love. I also enjoy the maze-like structure to the maps, it's more linear but makes everything look a bit more intentional. The color and light direction was amazing, all the visual development really!! it has to be one of the prettiest games I've ever played.

When I started I have to admit it did not feel like I was in Thedas and it all felt a bit theme-parky, if that makes sense. A lot of previously important and established world elements that made Thedas what it is were overlooked or made irrelevant. But the more I played the more it started to feel a bit more similar to Inquisition, for better or worse depending on what you feel about Inquisition. But!! this also feels like a selectively sanitized version of Thedas compared to previous games. In it's attempt to stay safe and uncontroversial in some aspects it loses a lot of substance and it changes the tone. The surface level politics, ignoring previously established major societal issues and a tell-don't-show approach makes the world seem more simple and shallow with no grey areas to explore. ( the humor also falls flat and out of place often too, and WHY is everyone always smirking, enough!! godlike beings are destroying the planet please this is not the time for Marvel banter aaaa )

The pacing at the start is a bit of a mess. It is so fast it felt like jumping from one world shattering discovery to the next with no time to process. The characters also seem to underreact to important information and major developments. It felt like the game was rushing me through all this to get to the part of the story it wanted to tell me while I was still wrapped in my shock blanket trying to catch my breath lmao. I really like all the key story points they touched upon, I just wish they dwelled more on them to give them more narrative weight. ( though blaming every bad thing to ever happen on the Elves was certainly..a choice )

I think the writing could have used more subtlety in the first half and more boldness in the second 😆 but I loved the thematic parallels between Rook and Solas and how every quest informs the main storyline. I do wish Rook was given more impossible choices and put in more difficult situations that forced them to lie or betray their own to better drive the point home though ( listen I just love a Trolley problem!! we need more of those, I'm the Trolley problem's number one fan!! ) I feel like they missed the chance to put Rook in Solas' role and be as vilified and hated for it as Solas was despite their best intentions which would make Rook's regrets stronger and in turn make their escape from the fade all the more impressive and give them a better understanding of Solas to either use against him or earn his respect. The line 'they called me the Dread Wolf, what will they call you when this is over' from the trailers was so good I was waiting for this!! But everyone just loves Rook no matter what!!

But I feel like I stated too many negative aspects in a row so moving on to some things I enjoyed!

The characters were very lovable to me. The romances weren't as long or impactful as I would have liked but I enjoyed all the companion quests. Emmrich is a delight and his quest is so wild and fun. I loved learning about Nevarra and I was awestruck by the Grand Necropolis. The mourn watch was so interesting, it showed a whole new side of Thedas' lore I knew nothing about! and I loved Manfred! Davrin is so charming, he became a favorite. I loved his quest too and learning more bits and pieces about the Dalish was great, I wish we got more. Seeing the Wardens through his quest also made me enjoy them a lot. Assan was very cute too and I'm glad he was treated as an animal and not turned into a goofy Disney sidekick too much lmao 😭 Lucanis is hilarious. The fantasy Spain/Italy was a bit silly and off at times but he is very sweet! and I love the Spite possession, that was so fun I'm glad they kept him that way! Bellara is adorable, her first backstory quest made me cry and I just love a nerd! I wish the second part of her story was written better however, and she sort of devolves into 'it's hard, I wish it was easy but it's hard' dialogues too often sadly. Anaris and the Forgotten Ones' portrayal was underwhelming and anticlimactic which was disappointing. Harding is also very cute and her Titan plotline was the most interesting to me, I bawled my eyes out in her quest!! I love the dwarven lore of this universe I'm so happy we got more of it!! ( she also fucking died in my playthrough?! I was devastated what the hell 😭 'whatever it takes' WEUEUGHHHG I'M SO SORRY) Neve was a slow burn for me because of my choices in game slowing that relationship down ( saving Treviso I mean, perdón amor 🙏 ) but I love detective novels and she is such a badass I ended up loving her. Taash was unexpected, I didn't think they would be so young. The coming of age story was sweet, though I found myself cringing a lot too at the handling of it I have to admit ( and the Lords of Fortune in general, and the Antaam...and que Qun..listen- kajshfgf ) but I also enjoyed learning more about the first expedition and the Qunari in general despite the messy writing and choices. I also loved Antoine and Evka! and Strife! And I haven't even read any of the novels they are in 😆 also Mila!!!! and her dad oh my god and Felassan haunting the narrative!! speaking of haunting, I would have loved for Cole to be in the lighthouse too I think it would have worked well 🤔 especially with the whole 'reading Solas' secret diary' thing the game had going on lmao

Everyone seems to get along except for a bit of friction that is quickly resolved at the start, which is hmm missed potential? I would have preferred more tension personally. I enjoy the drama! gives me more to work with and gives you a better grasp on everyone's personality by contrasting values. I think they wanted to speed run a found family trope for the new hero to establish some emotional stakes early on but it ended up making everyone seem like a group therapy session instead. The group meetings also have everyone either state the obvious or repeat the same opinion or conclusion to each other, I would have loved these meetings to have more bickering, have people get mad and storm out and also get to listen to different takes on a situation. Make Rook struggle more to take the reins and keep the team functional, learning how to be a leader.

Speaking of Rook! ( who in my case has a northern British accent that I loved so much 🥺) They seem to have a very established personality. I was expecting more of a blank slate but I'm lucky that the personality they went for kind of matches what I would normally choose in a first playthrough. Though the lack of range in the choices is irritating and takes away some replayability and role playing potential. Rook is very supportive and selfless, I wasn't expecting this tbh! But it all made my Rook turn into the team's weird supportive necromancer mom so it worked out in the end I guess lmao. I can't wait to draw her!!

I was so overwhelmed by the amount of information we got about Solas and his past!! I was expecting answers but not these many and not for them to be such an integral part of the plot!! The game feels like it's about him more than anything else. His arc is the best written out of all. He is mentioned in every conversation, he's the main advisor and the narrative foil, you get to talk to him often, you work for him and with him and go into his memories it all feels so surreal to me lmao I love him so I'm delighted ngl! but also making the other Evanuris so cartoonishly evil makes Solas into such an obvious choice of an ally, god of trickery or not, that it sort of takes the decision out of your hands and makes some dialogue options and companions' opinions seem almost nonsensical. I have no idea how this game would feel to someone who absolutely hates Solas' guts honestly. I suppose I will find out soon enough 😆

About Solas' story, I loved it! I somehow also feel that I knew it already, all the speculation and theories that Solavellan fans were crafting for years were so accurate that it was all very validating. Even the wildest ones! Solas as the Maker, the elves spirit origin, Mythal giving him a body, the war with the Titans, the origin of the Blight, Solas being on your side as advisor, I can go on, we knew!! Also I have to mention this I'm sorry but they made him look so hot!! unbelievable. And the bloodied teary eyed pathetic look in the end ouurghhh I'm cheering and clapping!!

The romance conclusion was so lovely 😭 the Loki and Sigyn ending we deserved to such a mythological epic!! and open ended enough for all of us to cook!! and we got to see him fight and transform into the Dread Wolf!! and whimper and cry!! and bleed and love!! that's all I ever wanted, incredible we were really spoiled what the hell I still can't believe it 😭 GDL acting was brilliant as usual! the visuals were also incredible and exactly what I had in mind when I imagined where the story may go, the eclipse, the giant wolf, the glowing eyes, the Elvhenan ruins, the statues, even the hair lmao it all aligned exactly to what I've been painting all these years but better I was thrilled 😭

Solas backstory with Mythal also offers players that didn't romance him a chance to see him act out of love and show a side they wouldn't be able to reach otherwise and I think it was smart! also very tragic and sheds more light into all of his choices and words and his relationship with Lavellan too and the parallels and reversals and uughh thoroughly enjoying the emotional distress 👌

Pleasing both the Solas lovers and haters at the same time was always going to be hard with him being such a polarizing character by design and the world states being so different but I think they did a good job! at least from my side of things.

I think my favorite part besides the Solas related stuff was the Blight. I loved how horrific and gross and threatening it was! I've always loved the concept of the Blights and I'm glad it was such a huge part of the story in this game. I also loved Treviso!! has to be the most beautiful city in Thedas ahhh and the Necropolis!! the gardens!! Vorgoth!!! Kal-Sharok!!! I can't believe we got to see it!! and a Titan!!! the giant floating face of Ghilan'nain in the clouds??? and the huge archdemons and dragons!! oh and that warden dragon trap in the shape of a griffon?? and the giant blight tendrils!! the siege at Weisshaupt was outstanding!! and the floating panopticon castle situation in Minrathous uughh there is so much I loved.

OH I also enjoyed the Varric arc even though I saw it coming since the trailer it was still played well and it was touching 🥺

The ending felt a bit jarring to me in tone though, a bit too cheerful considering...the horrors. Over half the continent destroyed and most of the problems Thedas had before the game are still there. Veil in place and all 😆

But I had fun!! I'm nitpicking really, the conclusion to Solas' story feels very satisfying to me which was my main worry so I'm happy. It is a good game!! with a sort of soft reboot feel to it and aimed at a younger audience which is probably what they were going for? You can sort of feel the struggle the team went through during production in the way the target audience seems unclear sadly. I also can't help feeling like this is an ending, so much was revealed and resolved!! but maybe I feel that way because that is what I felt after Shadowbringers / Endwalker in FFXIV once my favorite part of the story was wrapped? They can always pivot to a new continent and expand on the world and cultures we know almost nothing about, but that is always harder to sell so I have no clue where they will go from here 😵‍💫

Anyway I'm still processing a lot of stuff that I will probably talk (and draw) about later, this is already long enough!! for now I'll look up how to get the artbook because the art direction of this game is fantastic!! I would love to hear your thoughts too really, I'm curious about the experiences of players who made different choices and with different tastes to mine!!

[themothwhisperer]

Embrace the changes is my advice. A game and a tv show simply aren’t the same. They are not made the same and they do not offer the same advantages.

I feel kinda sad for the people out there that played and loved the game, but hate on the narrative changes they made for the show. Change was inevitable. Otherwise, why doing it? Making a carbon copy of something isn’t that valuable in my opinion.

That’s one of the main reasons why season 2 can arguably turn out to be better than season 1. Because what will come next is unexpected. It comes with a sense of surprise and mystery.

And that’s especially true when it comes to Ellie and Dina.

With episode 4, the reaction seems to be quite divided and it’s honestly super fair, but it’s fundamental to understand how this relationship did a 180 for the televised version. The game was stability, consistency and maturity. The show is all about playfulness, confusion and tension.

The most common comment I see is about the sex scene. I’m sorry, but to have them getting intimate was necessary, especially for the fans of the game. Taking it out would’ve been wrong in many ways. And when you think about it, this was the only good timing for it. The weed scene simply couldn’t happen in the show because the pace of their relationship is drastically different here.

At this point in time in the game, they are official and comfortable. They are getting into this journey as a couple and it’s crystal clear. And because of this closeness they already have with each other, it was hinted that Ellie was immune. She reveals that information very early on. Even if Dina didn’t believe her, there is a little unconscious connection that clicked in her brain. It won’t be as shocking when she will be confronted to it.

In the show, however, they are tiptoeing around each other. Ellie has feelings for Dina and Dina knows about it, but she’s scared to dive in. She feels the same way, but her sexuality is still a bit of a challenge. She’s been told by her mother this wasn’t right. It’s a mess, basically. And if we compare the timelines, it becomes very obvious that the game and the show are not evolving at the same speed when it comes to this.

So here’s the thing tying back to the immunity question: When Ellie takes a bite to save Dina’s life (which is, by the way, such an exciting and romantic change), Dina’s world is crumbling down. The possibility of them being together dies instantly. She feels guilty because she didn’t speak up earlier. Now it’s ruined. She’s desperate and terrified and heartbroken. I’ve read many things about the lack of communication into this scene, but dialogue is not always key to boost the narrative. Actually, it pretty often does the opposite. Dina doesn’t ask questions because she cannot deal with what might be said, by herself and Ellie alike. It will make it so much worse when she actually has to pull the trigger. She can’t stand the idea of having Ellie voicing she’s in love with her. She can’t allow herself to let it all out either, probably thinking it would be unfair to Ellie. So she stays silent. She’s just crying and waiting for the worst to come. And the biggest difference with the game is how there is no prior connection in Dina’s mind to have a glimpse of hope. She absolutely cannot believe in the immunity claim. There is no way. That’s why she’s not asking about it or trying to hear Ellie out. Once again, it would only make it worse.

Release comes, however, in all the ways possible. Ellie suddenly wakes up, water dripping down on her and a few hours actually went by. She’s fine. And Dina staying silent is motivated by the fact that she’s in absolute shock. To her, there was only one way out of this. She was most likely already grieving Ellie. But now it’s different. Ellie is actually okay, the bite didn’t evolve and she’s evidently feeling well. Once again, she’s speechless, shaken to the core. What can we expect? She just walks very slowly towards her, taking it all in. The anxiety, the fear, it’s all washed away. What’s left is her overwhelming feelings for her. There is nothing that can get in her way now. She’s learned her lesson. And the only words she can actually verbalize is the fact that she’s pregnant. It’s the only thing she’s hiding from Ellie. And before surrendering to her emotions, she just says it.

Here again, I’ve seen things about the pregnancy announcement and my question is: How else would you want it? A pregnancy announcement is a pregnancy announcement. In the game, it actually broke my heart. How Dina is invalidated by Ellie like this. Ellie who’s completely blinded by her rage. I’m not saying a softer Ellie is necessarily better for the storyline, but I did enjoy that pure moment of innocence in the show. She’s taken aback, but she’s not judging. They’re 19 after all. They don’t know what it means and how they will deal with it, but they want to figure it out together.

So yeah, the sex scene makes so much sense. Dina is ready for them to be together, she perceives only love in Ellie’s reaction and she wants that closeness with her. She won’t waste another second. Having this scene happen later on would’ve been so odd. Ellie will soon torture an already dying Nora, she will be next level traumatized. Dina will most likely get sicker from her pregnancy. This was the perfect moment, considering the rhythm of this version.

Finally, if we want more Dina, that was the only way to go about it. They need to be extra close for it to make sense. Many people were disappointed (myself included) by the fact that Dina is sort of forgotten after Seattle Day One in the game. They fixed it. Let’s appreciate it.

(Can we also acknowledge the breathtaking performance Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced delivered?)

[axuanmii]

5.6 paralogism mistranslations

(or, at least the ones i paid attention to, which is mainly just kaeya and diluc. yes i'm biased. leave me alone) (yes. some medium spoilers ahead)

honeyhunter and the bilibili wiki haven't updated with chinese transcripts of the new 5.6 archon quest so pretty much all of this is going to be reliant on my listening skills, which are pretty bad because i have a hard time discerning auditory things for some reason.

this isn't a mistranslation i just got really excited when i was going back through the travel log and saw this. i can't believe they remembered diluc was the former cavalry captain *bangs ground and cries*

if i had to say anything about this quest. i guess it would be that i wish more people would play with chinese voiceover. i feel like the tone of almost every character is conveyed better through it, and the lipsyncing actually matches up because, yknow, the game is originally in chinese.

no real hate towards the japanese voiceover, i know because of anime and other stuff that there's more interest for jp voices and hearing famous seiyuu is cool, but i wish it didn't come at the cost of me literally never being able to find chinese voiceover content or even the chinese voice actors half of the time. yeah Sometimes i can find it on bilibili but it's not easy.

anyways, translations are below the cut

so from what i've discerned for the general quest, it's all pretty well translated or slightly adapted for the region because of cultural differences. for example, dahlia and sucrose's exchange here

the second part is better translated (from memory, because i can't find this bit in the travel log to listen to the dialogue again) as "a girl by herself could be too dangerous, so let me help". this is generally because feminism and chivalry are viewed differently in china. china is usually more respectful of women than countries like the US, so chivalrous actions like this are considered polite rather than subconsciously(?) demeaning sucrose's ability. idk, i figure some people might see it that way.

alright lets get to the main thing that annoyed me

in chinese, the dialogue reads roughly as thus (...and i'll add emojis for tone):

kaeya: :O holy--* just by a hair!**. for this one i'll really have to thank master diluc for lending a hand! :D diluc: no need to be polite. even if you weren't here, i'd still lend a hand. instead, your presence actually blocked my way. :/ kaeya: well... why don't i just leave then? if i stayed, i would only be able provide some elemental reactions creating a lot of steam***. feels like it wouldn't be very helpful! :P diluc: really?

[*kaeya's onomatopoeia is going to be translated the way i hear it through sun ye's tone]

[**kaeya says 千钧一发, idk how to translate this idiom very well]

[***i checked if this was the chinese term for vaporize, it's not]

LIKE. IT'S DIFFERENT RIGHT? I'M NOT CRAZY RIGHT? why is the english translation so determined to make them seem like they hate each other more?? i know kaeya's following dialogue makes it less antagonistic--

but does that mean the first part has to make kaeya sound so lowkey pitiful through text dialogue? (disclaimer: as of may 7th, 2025, there are no english voiceovers for this dialogue)

i don't have much other opinion on this it just annoyed me because in chinese they sound a lot more amicable towards each other, with kaeya directly teasing. but those ellipses in english don't leave much to be desired.

additionally, here:

in chinese, the dialogue reads roughly as thus (...and i'll add emojis for tone):

kaeya: haha, alright, when did you realize something was off? ^-^ diluc: the first trial. :| kaeya: lemme guess, because of the imposter hertha? :o diluc: compared to them, your problem was more obvious. :/ kaeya: me?! >:O what was wrong with me? :( you mean to say, my role as the defense wasn't played with enough passion? >:) diluc: nobody said that.* it's just that it seemed like you lacked some nervousness. :/ kaeya: then... when does master diluc think i actually get nervous? >:)

*(i don't have a rolling eyes emoji but imagine it here)

like there's a clear difference here!! if it were a matter of timing for spoken dialogue, (which, let's be honest, hoyoverse has not cared about that almost ever (see: signora death cutscene)), the hardest to fit in the same timing would be my translation of kaeya's third line. and even then, the official translation's tone sounds much more muted because it lacks verbal direction of cn kaeya's vocal mannerisms (which, summed up, is basically just "teasing").

like, cn kaeya is an endearing little shithead hiding something, en kaeya has the air of someone on edge but trying to sound friendly (this feels more obvious in many interactions between him and diluc).

in chinese, the dialogue reads roughly as thus (...and i'll add emojis for tone) [brackets include implied information]:

kaeya: mm! don't worry, just leave this area to me and this enthusiastic volunteer (doing-the-knights-work)* civilian, master diluc! ^_^ albedo: why not say "the former cavalry captain and the current cavalry captain" [working together]? :| diluc: i don't feel like that's necessary =_=

*personally, i'd remove this part because it sounds weirder in english

need i say more. *slams head into brick wall* when will kaeya and diluc stop having their dialogue slandered in english

in chinese, the dialogue reads roughly as thus:

diluc: if i have to say something, i'd rather believe that someone who once helped me in the past couldn't suddenly become a cold-blooded killer.

this isn't really that big of a mistranslation i'm just very particular about diluc's words.

also i'm so offended at this group gathering photo because like what about everyone else who defended mondstadt? you're gonna ignore them?? fischl? mona?? noelle??? DILUC????

"oh ash it's a knights' meeting" YEAH BUT I WANNA SEE DILUC?? i'm calm. i'm so calm. this is fine everything's fine.

also the cutscene at the end was super cool, because GUESS WHAT HAPPENED

i love them so much

[muffinrecord]

Scene 0 is fun but...

Okay, now that we have an official translation and all (of course, I mean no offense to 29udon who did it before), I've got some more opinions on Scene 0.

It's fun imo. It's strength lies in Mabayu and she's a pretty funny, relatable character without being too obnoxious. I like that she's sort of a relatable sneaky lil kid who just wants to watch movies and mumble to herself. Her relationship with her aunt is super cute too and I love the dialogue between them.

However...

The weakest parts of the story have to be Mabayu sitting back and watching the PMMM girlies do their thing, mostly because:

we've already seen it all before really

it's less Mabayu content, which is the whole draw

The story really starts to drag once Mabayu hangs in the back and observes, occasionally quipping commentary. I vaguely remember that she goes through an entire loop and then finally starts interacting with the main cast for realsies later on, so hopefully we're not stuck here in recap land for too long.

But yeah, Mabayu is fun and I can't wait to see her pal around with Homura again. I never finished Scene 0 due to having trouble with my attention span and its slow release, but I did like parts of it.

Opinions on this story seem split between "worst thing invented ever" or "best creation with the amazing homobayu ship." I wonder if it depends on how much you like Mabayu as a character or not. If you read through a bit of it and find her amusing then you'll like it, if you read through it and don't find her compelling/interesting then you won't.

As for the translation, well I can't read Japanese so I can't compare. But it amused me. I like that Kyoko called Mabayu "the girl with the emo haircut." That's great. Also there is something kind of exciting about getting original Magia Record content into the game and seeing what an official translation for it would have looked like.

I dunno, I just feel really excited overall though. This made me miss Magia Record so much, especially when Mami popped up with her scene 0 outfit. God, what I wouldn't give to have an option for homescreen characters in live2d.

[hexhomos]

I think what you miss when you compare jv to cv is that yeah, cv was still paid dust at first after Arcane came out, but they also knew that they had season 2 to cash out on it later. And there’s very small chance of Jayce and Viktor returning to the narrative in any meaningful way in the future

the caitvi couple skins were in 2023... that is an entire year *before* season 2 dropped. still took a whole year after season 1 (nov. 2021) to be made. The years after arcane drops (2022, 2025 so far) tend to be messy for league as they ride the arcane press and try to mitigate costs otherwise.

2024 we saw mass layoffs that interferred with every major creative team at riot including the main LGBT coordinator. This year we're seeing outsourced skins that need to be heavily tweaked pre-release bc nobody is happy with them, 500$ gacha scams, general chaos behind the scenes. This year has been so disorganized long time fan reporters on the game (@skinspotlights) were joking about how fucking weird it was this week's patch got no skins at all except for an apology note saying theyd fix the shitty noxus pass cosmetics put out in january. Its been Years since they nuked a release day for a cosmetics patch, much less to *fix* a previous release from months ago - this effectively means their entire release calendar got shifted forward as they work things out on the backend. This isnt normal for league! ppl have been really unhappy! but even if they were operating at peak performance it was still highly unrealistic to expect anything massive out of arcane to get a lot of content this june. It's too fresh. And they're counting on the arcane fandom doing plenty of free press for them this year without further effort.

I actually do think its useful to compare the season1 CV/season2 JV ambiguous states. Season 1 CV had no kiss and only heavy dialogue/visual implications through lore; anyone with gay eyes could plainly see they were gay but pedantic fanon discourse still insisted they possibly liked men, just to be annoying about the specifics. They did it for years. I remember that. JV as of the end of s2 stand in the same place they were years ago (heavy supplemental material working out a relationship dynamic, the every timeline thing, being paired in skinlines) season 1 CV has that entire yearning-memory sequence with vi that was mirrored with jayce thinking of viktor in s2; the fandom boom levels they had are pretty much the same.

And CL did very much say Viktor’s narrative is not entirely done (due to his freakish power level and position in the cosmic scale) while the actual main executive producer for league went on a recent interview to state "Viktor&Jayce's future" is something they have to interpret with the audience.

I get why people are either dooming or coping constantly given the volatility of social media and arcanetwt but arcane is not the end all be all of riot projects. they are currently locale scouting for their Live Action series and making live movies/TV is something they wanted to get off the ground since the past decade- they have repeatedly stated their goal is to build an interconnected universe across all mediums and their MMO to keep the theme park ride firing on all cylinders. Im not naive enough to say theyll leave jinx and jayvik as "dead" permanently. They'll just pop up somewhere else. The question is time.

[starrstruck-xx]

why kairi might be the one who manipulated sora's memory

yes you read that right, and no i did not mis-type this (if you're thinking hey that should be namine!)

i was going back a few times to kh3 and i found many patterns and cutscenes in 3 that can be compared to previous installments of the game, even side by side, this one particularly caught my eye:

crazy am i right

so remember that scene in 3 where sora falsely exclaimed "the light in the darkness" to be kairi? (it's actually riku) where sora and kairi goes enters the light to made it back to the real world

previous clip in link because tumblr isn't working with me ("riku, answer me!!" comparison with "okay! i have to protect them (aitsu)! Namine can you hear me?")

as you've seen in the comparison i realized it probably a direct paralell to namine's fake meteor shower scene back in COM Sora's side. And these lines of dialogue in particular interest me

it got me thinking, and i think that kairi purposely did something to sora's memory at some point in their lives. The exact when i'm not too sure, but she had inserted herself into some of riku's part in sora's life as sora's taisetsu na hito (special someone)

i know this sounds crazy, but i think there's a valid reason to this theory

Why??

the motive is clear: that kairi is lonely. i personally relate to her character struggle, loneliness can be suffocating, just like how namine portrayed hers that resulted to the events in COM

kairi's main theme has always been about 'seperation' and being left behind by sora and riku. so it would make sense for her to crave attention

kairi might feel sad that sora and riku doesn't pay attention to her unlike how they pay attention to each-other, so i don't see it as off character for her to insert herself into a fake picture if she had the chance, especially as the love interest of her crush

she even said this back in KH1 which sora responded with "Huh!? What's gotten into you?"

or is it done out of malicious intentions? there might be a possibility for that, but i don't think it is as it goes against kingdom hearts thematic story that stays consistent over the years, that portrays every character struggle in a sympathetic way that honestly you can relate too

(xehanort is even a subject to this in dark road)

i think that kairi felt really guilty about it and didn't realized the impact that she had done to sora and riku's relationship. or maybe she thrived for it, because even if the affection is not real, kairi is still loved and remembered by someone as their precious person, and it feels nice especially with someone like sora

snippet from kh3 novel

in the novels, there's a strong hint that kairi cut her hair because riku cut his, which contributes a lot to the theory of kairi wanting to be sora's precious person (riku) where she somewhat mimics his behavior (she probably realized deep down sora cares more about riku than her)

Passing Memories

i think this also made sense lore wise, because why else would sora suddenly lost his memory of riku? and i don't think sora's sort-of infatuation with kairi is caused by comphet alone

forgotten promises is a recurring theme in sora and riku's relationship, everything up to this point has always leads to hidden thoughts and burried memories, you have to dig deeper if you want to find a connection between sora and riku, the examples currently are:

whatever is happening between soriku

passing memories jp name of oblivion keyblade that is owned by roxas

riku is the TRUE light

necklace theory: the fact that THE necklace is everywhere in the game but is never brought up like ever

aitsu (check full discussion on the internet)

COM the game (just everything related to COM, the only game with riku and sora beside DDD? it's sus if you ask me)

compared to sora and kairi who's relationship always seems shallow and on the surface. i think it made more sense with the 'why' factor answered, because every time sora is thinking of riku, kairi would replace herself in his position, just like the light-tunnel scene in kh3

the 'oathkeeper' (promise charm) and 'oblivion' (passing memories) also reflected sora keeping his promise to kairi, but forgetting about his to riku, riku might not be affected in the same way that sora does, so this happens:

+ the multiple and many instances, riku is straight up covered by kairi

some of those instances:

kairi is true darkness (ex: sea is metaphor for darkness)

xion (is said to be kairi but proven also to also be riku)

the final world

Power?

honestly, i think kairi is more than she lets on (like LUXU), let's talk about her nobody:

i think it's already suspicious that namine has the power to mess with sora's memories (because she's from kairi's body and sora's heart?) when existing nobodies like roxas and xion for example has powers directly tied to their somebodies (kingdom key), xehanort doing xehanort things, marluxia possessing the same rose petals as his somebody counterpart, (and a lot more...)

so, with a game like kingdom hearts, does namine's powers really came out of no where? we know that sora doesn't have the ability to manipulate people's memories, so who else could it be?? kairi's powers might even be more powerful

this would also aligns with the theory 'riku is light-kairi is darkness' because even at front value the game is telling you 'hey kairi is LIGHT and riku is DARKNESS' time and time again its always the reverse in certain situations, but you never got to wonder what it actually mean

yes riku is the light, but why is kairi the darkness?? yes she sort-of brings demise as xehanort's pawn, but is it really just that?

lastly, kairi is a princess of heart, and might even came from the lost masters era as it is decorated and spammed with stars (every symbol is replaced by stars i'm not joking)

it's very on-theme with the 'traitor' plot point that has been consistent in every khux game, so... (i have a theory that kairi is master ava, or master ava is her grandma, OR kairi is mom... or skuld)

in addition to all of this, i also think that kairi can also be a creature, maybe she's actually a chirithy:

however i do think as opposed to riku as a dreameater (spirit), kairi is a nightmare chirithy, as seen in their color pallet (might be a coincidence but who knows)

[1322daysofdoey]

Well, it's finally here. It's time for the Doey dialogue analysis. This post was long overdue...

Basically, I'm showing every line that Doey says in the game and figuring out which of the three boys' personalities is active at any given time, shown by how I color the text (which I screenshotted from the wiki a couple months back). I largely reached my conclusions based on Doey's tone of voice. In an interview, his voice actor confirmed that he used different tones to convey which boy was meant to be speaking and also described each voice, so that was my main point of reference for identifying Jack, Kevin, and Matthew in a lot of the dialogue.

But first, I'd like to thank both @an-eggs-quest and @toraynix for helping me double-check certain lines of dialogue. I really appreciated their willingness to help, and it was insightful to get other people's opinions on particular lines.

Also, to avoid confusion: "Jack" Doey dialogue will be yellow. "Kevin" Doey dialogue will be orange. "Matthew" Doey dialogue will be red. Split-colored Doey dialogue means I was uncertain between the boys represented by the colors used (with one exception, which I will clarify). I will go over these lines and explain why I was confused by them. Although, it's worth noting that Doey's voice actor did state in the interview that sometimes he used a "mix" of the boys for certain dialogue when he wasn't sure who should be speaking...

Some recommended links before reading: The interview between Michael Kovach (Doey's VA) and Tibbers, timestamped to the relevant part. A compilation of Doey's voice clips, so that you can listen to the tone in each line delivery. I believe it's missing the dialogue from the tapes, but playable audio files for those lines can be found on the wiki.

Actual analysis begins under the cut, since this will be a very long post:

The uncertain lines:

"Hey." - The line delivery is rather flat, kind of like Kevin's tone of voice, but Doey's expression and behavior during this line is rather silly and playful-seeming like Jack. (Additionally, a single-word line isn't giving much to work with, so it'd feel like just guessing either way...) For context, this is what Doey is doing when this line is spoken:

"I'm Doey." - The tone was a little hard to identify. To me, it sort of felt like it could be a smooth transition between Jack and Kevin.

Kevin's monologue about the workyard is very interesting and I think it's a good example of showing how different his tone is compared to the other two boys. He completely lacks that sort of "goofy cartoon character" aspect to the voice (for comparison, Jack's voice is very bubbly and playful while Matthew's deep voice tends to sound just a little bit like Patrick Star at times), and in this particular dialogue you can really hear the bitterness in his tone as he talks about this very negative memory of the experiments being abused by the guards.

The uncertain lines:

"(...)should probably go turn off our defenses for you, huh." - The tone is clearly changing away from Jack's, but I can't tell whether it's changing to Matthew or Kevin. It doesn't really have the warmth that Matthew often has, but it also sounds more relaxed than Kevin usually is.

"What's going on?" - While it could be Kevin, I also don't want to rule out the possibility of Matthew being able to raise his voice out of concern.

"Is that really...?" - Not only is the tone a little hard to place, but context-wise both Matthew and Kevin make equal sense to me. I think reuniting with Poppy after so long would be significant for both of them, so it's hard to tell which personality is reacting to seeing her again.

Note: This chunk contains an instance of Kevin calming himself down, which I feel is very important. I think a lot of people probably contribute that line ("We'll talk about this later. For now, I'll make sure "out there" is where he stays.") to Matthew instead, thinking he stepped in after Kevin started to lose his temper, but the tone is very distinctly still Kevin's in my opinion, not Matthew's. It more closely matches to how Doey sounds during other "Kevin" lines with his stern-sounding voice. And I think knowing that Kevin can regulate his own emotions despite everything would be very helpful for the fandom's characterization of him. He can get frustrated easily, but he's not unreasonable, and he can calm himself just as quickly unless it's a truly unfixable situation. He's not just angry all the time, you know?

The uncertain lines:

"How much do we waste?..." - A subtle change in tone makes it sound like Kevin could be briefly seeping through in what is otherwise a big Matthew line, but it's hard to say for sure since this particular bit is spoken as somewhat of a whisper.

The uncertain lines:

"It's okay. You're okay. It's all okay..." - While the text seems like something Matthew would say, in the actual delivery of the line Doey still has the same "on the verge of tears" sound to his voice that the preceding line has, making it sound like Jack could actually be trying to soothe himself.

"Look, we need to talk about this. We shouldn't-" - There's a difference in tone between this line and the clear Kevin line that directly follows it. I'm not sure whether this was due to a mid-dialogue personality switch from Matthew to Kevin or if it was already Kevin from the start and the tone change was simply a shift in emotion as he calmed himself after feeling stressed. It's also possible that it's an ambiguous blend of both personalities.

"Without the generator-" + "But I-" - Both of these lines are too panicked for me to determine whether it is Kevin or Matthew speaking, since I can't use the tone to identify them here.

"The Prototype... I lost track of him in the tunnels. Have you seen him? Was he at the Foundation? Or was he... W-what? ...What's going on? He's... I led him away, didn't I? The generator's fine, it's-" + "Oh no..." - For the former, the tone is too ambiguous and difficult to identify due to the emotion of the dialogue. For the latter, it's too much of a whisper for me to be able to tell which personality is speaking.

Note: This chunk contains yet another instance of "Kevin" Doey being able to calm himself during a tense moment, in this case when trying to express his serious concerns to Poppy.

Note: This chunk features the one triple-colored line of this analysis (the "(screams)" line). Unlike the double-colored ones, this one isn't due to any uncertainty. Rather, I firmly believe that this is all three personalities at once. You can hear all three of their pain in Doey's screams... And after that is his tragic emotional breakdown scene, which also features all three personalities, but instead switching between each one rather than all being simultaneous. I think we all know and understand this dialogue well.

The uncertain lines:

"NOT-" - It feels like a continuation of Matthew's part of the dialogue, but his tone is switching back to Kevin's yelling here before getting interrupted by the machine drilling into his back.

This dialogue all sounds like Matthew to me, as the tone sounds consistent throughout and is showcasing his caring leadership. Interestingly, that makes this the one instance where Matthew is calling someone "pal" rather than Jack.

The uncertain lines:

"Who. Are. You?" - While my initial assumption was that Kevin was speaking, I realized that Jack's parents would also be strangers to Matthew, so it isn't completely out of the question that he could be speaking here.

It's interesting to note that Kevin's distinct tone isn't present here, even though most of these lines are still clearly his. It's likely due to this being just a few days after Doey woke from his procedure and him still "adjusting" as the scientist stated. He definitely sounds disoriented. It could also partially be that, because of how long ago this tape took place, Kevin's tone and behavior back then wasn't really the same as it is during the events of the game. Some aspects of Kevin's attitude and mannerisms could have changed in the 12 years he lived as part of Doey.

This is very distinctly a Matthew monologue to me. His tone is consistent throughout the dialogue here, and it really shows how much he cares about the others. It's interesting to think about how if Matthew wasn't a part of Doey, then Poppy might not have been the only one to leave Safe Haven behind...

This final chunk, of course, is also just Matthew. It's closely connected to a memory of his, so it makes sense that he would be fully present here. While this dialogue is unused due to the side quests being scrapped, it's honestly still one of my favorites. You get to see a slightly silly/playful side of Matthew when he tells the player the book's title, lol.

...And that's everything. Thanks for reading, and please keep in mind that my analysis isn't perfect. I apologize if there are any mistakes with my interpretations. (And I also apologize for how many split-color lines there are, I tend to second-guess myself a lot because I don't want to incorrectly assume and misattribute dialogue... I think it mostly happened with Kevin and Matthew because they both tend to be active for the more serious moments.)

[storm-driver]

since the kh3 manga is well past finished and we've all had time to let it settle, i wanna broach this topic!

below the cut bc i doth yap

it seems that the author/artist for the manga, shiro amano, wasn't given as much liberty or time to twist kh3's narrative in the same way that he did the kh2 manga. lots of dialogue is rewritten to better fit the format of a manga, but the flair of personality that amano gave these characters in kh2 is very absent in 3. and if i had to guess, it's a combination of restraints from publishers (ie disney and square) as well as deadlines pushing him into a corner to go with old reliable shot compositions and poses, as well as not rewriting some otherwise awkward scenarios.

there's a lot of "original" content still in the manga, but it's nowhere near what was being poured into the kh2 manga, and it's frankly disappointing. to expect better than what kh3 gave us is a privileged thing for me to say, but kh2's manga delivered quite a lot for a game that was already near a 9/10 for most fans of it. and given kh3's divisive position in the series, i hope i'm not the only one to put my faith in the manga being able to spruce up parts of the game that were, for lack of better terms, underwhelming.

alas, it seems they had their wrist grabbed and hand forced for much of the latter half of kh3's manga. scenarios that were otherwise bland or underwhelming in the game were given little extra flair or flatulence.

a wishlist from me, if you were curious:

roxas's return and how exactly that happened

kairi being kidnapped would be rewritten to be more believable

sora and ventus forced to confront vanitas in a more direct light

the main cast other than sora getting dialogue between themselves

while you can argue a handful of these aren't necessary and were probably just me getting my hopes up, some stuff DID get expanded on and proved to be intriguing food for thought for the reader. vanitas gets a much more expanded section than he has in the game. kairi, while not escaping her unfortunate dilemma, was more proactive before being nabbed.

if we're down to personal preference, the entire ending of OG kh3 felt rushed and like the writers were trying to hop, skip and leap over hurdles to get to the end, without taking the time to put proper thought and care into every character's dilemma, dialogue, and their actions. a lot of characters just stand around and wait for them to be talked to by sora, before they engage in the conversation. or they just go mute after having their brief moment, and remain a background character for the entire ending of the game. re:mind somewhat remedied this, but writing errors are still present in a vanilla playthrough without the dlc, and frankly, that matters regardless of what future endeavors may fix.

(also the dlc does not retcon any of the issues present in the base game, so they're still absolutely worth bringing up)

the manga sadly does not stray far from what kh3 established, and actually feels like it's rushing FASTER through the ending of the game than the game itself ever did. one page can cover up to a minute's worth of dialogue and blocking. expressions aren't varied, and a lot of shots are just taken close-ups of characters faces, or they appear to be shot-for-shot recreations of some angles seen in the in-game cutscenes.

kh2's manga took 11 years to produce and fully release. comparatively, kh3's manga took 5 years to achieve the same. and before there's any concern, kh3 also takes a considerable amount of its dedicated pages to show off the disney worlds, like kh2 did.

that's not to call any of the work bad or poor. just an observation, rather. the kh3 manga seems to have suffered from timecrunch, or overall lack of care that was present in the kh2 manga. either the product wasn't intended to be more than just a retelling, or maybe there was some external pressure.

either way, this felt like a topic worth pursuing other's about. am i reading too much into this? did you or anyone else notice these kinds of things? anything else to note? i'm curious!

[astyrra]

ok i have finished deltarune chapter 4 here are my Thoughts

so susie's shitty home life def has something to do with alcoholism, given how she reacted to toriel being drunk

i really need to watch playthroughs, i missed a lot

including the secret boss, again. ugh

a LOT of things that im sure smarter people will make very cool theories about

i really like the contrast between alphys and gerson as teachers. gerson really doesn't get a huge amount of dialogue/screentime comparatively, but it absolutely sells the idea that he was a genuinely excellent teacher

the moment of realisation about the dusty hammer is SO well done

this is like deltarune analysis 101 probably, but the concept of like... as the player, i want to give kris more autonomy, i want to communicate with them, i *don't* want to be puppeting them. but i'm also limited by the options the game gives me, so i cant change that either.

the guitar version of the main leitmotif that plays when you seal a dark fountain sounds like something dess would like

the soul seemingly did not start controlling kris at the start of chapter 1 - at the end of chapter 2 when kris is in the bathroom for a long time, toriel sees that as normal, and the birdcage is already there and well-used. what was the soul doing before the player showed up?

actually, bc noelle comments that kris is acting strange, but susie thinks they're normal, the soul thing must have started before susie moved to hometown - if we learn when that was we'll have a better idea of the timeline and so on. susie already has a reputation at school at the start of chapter 1, so it's been weeks/months at least

i still want to know why kris is the one human living in a town of monsters. i think learning that will solve a bunch of mysteries

carol holiday, jeez. be nicer to your remaining daughter. susie did nothing wrong. and it felt like she was talking to the player/soul, not kris, when she said "you are always welcome here"

also, 2026. yay

[door-insurance]

So I played Life is Strange 2 for the first time ever

I didn’t wanna play it for a long time not cause it didn’t have Chloe or max (tbh I got sick of their asses around BtS they’re not even my faves)

By that point I was in college and had lost interest in the whole franchise but also I was very apprehensive of white creatives writing racism with no input from the group they’re portraying, they don’t usually do a good job

Sometimes they make it cartoony, sometimes they trivialize it, sometimes they romanticize it

So years later adulthood kicked my ass and I came back crawling to this franchise for some comfort, I finished True colors annnnd I finally started 2 after hesitating annnnd

^sketched this while playing

SPOILERS

I actually liked it

I liked Sean, the drawing segment he does- he was such a likable main guy, deserved better honestly.

I also liked Daniel, he was very adorable and I never got it when people called him annoying like no shit the 9 year old is gonna act like a 9 year old- just don’t be a jerk to him, I know he can be frustrating but that’s what taking care of a kid is like

And lis had always been about realistic complex characters, y’all can’t handle a traumatized nine year?

I have two younger siblings and two nieces plus I’ve been a bratty younger sibling to two older sisters

Maybe I’m just used to it?? But honestly Daniel wasn’t that bad

The racism portrayal in the first few episodes was not all that cartoony and it actually felt real at times, like I can check for American news rn and find stories similar to what you see in episodes 1-3 (minus the telekinesis)

Although the gas station racist hick spouting trump slogans was a bit on the nose, it’s more of dialogue thing

Some people thought the gas station detainment was egregious but it can happen unfortunately, especially to vulnerable people in rural areas and by someone of a higher systematic advantage

One other thing I did not like was the love interests, I thought Finn and Cassidy were alright characters on their own but why do we need romance in this game where the protagonists are always on the run?

I don’t like to compare lis 1 to 2 but when it comes to the romance the former did a better job as it spent more time establishing it, plus max stayed in the same place for the majority of the game- but you know what? Sean doesn’t have to be in a relationship right? It can be a one off thing, that’s fine

Which brings me to my next point

How old are Cassidy and Finn?

Cause Sean is still 16 and no, being on the road didn’t mentally age him- he’s not “mature” for his age

He is still a kid

So for some reason Dontnod never really specified their ages but some articles described them as teens (they look 30 to me) and they can be around 18 right? Their lives are hard stress ages you- it happens, we can with live that, it’s just a two years difference

But teens or not

why did they animate a whole knocking the boots scene???

Of all the games in the series, the only one that gets a sex scene is the one with the much younger protagonist and his ambiguously aged older looking love interest and I think it’s only with Cassidy you get to do it in the tent

Alex Chen was robbed of a on screen booty call from a beanie wearing lesbian with a sexy radio voice or a buff ass Adonis of a man who was Smokey the bear’s regional manager or something

Anyways I’m gonna move on I’m uncomfortable lmao

*im not hating on people who ship Sean with either Finn or Cassidy, I’m not even tagging your ship names- im just stating my personal preferences on my blog

One last thing I did not like about LiS 2 and it was the one thing that kept me from playing it for years

That one scene from episode 4

So at this point Sean Diaz went through the following:

-lost his father, had to abandoned his loved ones, education and home

-was accused of killing a cop

-had to take care of his little brother on his own while on the run, the same brother with telekinesis and none of them know how to control it

-was harassed, beaten then detained by a racist white man

-had to take refuge in an abandoned cabin with little resources

-the dog that they adopted at the gas station eventually gets mauled

-the one time they found solace at their grandparents house they had to leave abruptly cause the police was hot on their trail

-on their way out they can potentially witness the neighbors kid that they befriended get hit by the police car that’s chasing them

-they find shelter at a nomad campground but oh no they get involved with drug trafficking cause they barely have any other options to make money (unfortunately this happens a lot IRL this isnt egregious)

-Sean now has to deal with the trafficking, making sure that Daniel doesn’t get into any trouble with his powers while fake ass giancarlo esposito is breathing down his neck

-and guess what happens next… Daniel gets robbed into pulling a heist on temu gus fring and it goes badly, Sean can potentially lose a love interest/friend in Finn

-Sean gets hurt, Daniel goes so mad that he blows the whole place up; a shard glass flies into Sean’s eye and he ends up losing it

- Sean wakes up from a coma and learns that his brother is missing and he’s about to be taken to jail

- the one thing that consistently brought him joy during this trip was his art and because of the missing eye he can’t even do it the same anymore cause it hurts now

- Sean has to escape the hospital with a hot wired car, little money and has to drive across two states just to get to his brother

-on the way he dreams of his father, he wants him back he wants his old life back but that’s not gonna happen so he has to move forward

Im not listing all this as examples of bad story telling, a lot of these are real life experiences of homeless people. im just painting a picture of the shit that Sean had went through so far

Cause right after the dream sequence, Dontnod didn’t think all that was enough no you had to see Sean get hate crimed by two lifetime movie, sitcom special of the week racists- be made to either sing or suffer a brutal beating

It added nothing to the plot, it didn’t need a choice system either- it’s a hate crime, you’re not asking Joyce for fucking pancakes or eggs n bacon at the whales diner or hosing down Lisa the fckin plant.

This to me went straight to trauma p*rn category, it’s wheelchair Chloe all over again

I hated it then in LiS 1 and I hated now in LiS 2, this is why I don’t dick ride Dontnod that often

They always had this tendency right before the end they single out a particular character and mentally whip them, they become the writing teams punching bag- they think we didn’t get it the first time that this character is going through it, they just hammer it in with the subtlety of a heart attack and I hate it

“Yeah but it’s there to show Sean’s resolve to find Daniel-“

HE ESCAPED FROM THE HOSPITAL AND THE FEDS, HE HOT WIRED A CAR TO DRIVE ACROSS TWO STATES

He’s starving, dehydrated, suffering from chronic pain

That’s enough

Let the character breathe

You ask why not a lot of people wanna play this game and I’m gonna tell you, as much I enjoyed it myself it’s not an easy game to play- it gets brutal, especially right around the end

I’m not against bleakness or extreme conflict, I’m into that but sometimes that doesn’t translate well to any gaming format- especially a choices matter game that’s meant to be replayed

Some people have asinine reasons not to play LiS 2 like it dealing with racism and those people suck, lis had always dealt with progressive themes like calling out objectification, cyberbullying and sl*tshaming

Racism shouldn’t be the exemption

but misuse of racial trauma and not knowing when it’s appropriate to invoke it is a huge turn off and hella triggering to a lot of non white players and I remember when LiS 2 dropped I’ve seen (mostly white) lis fans at the time proclaiming that not wanting to play it meant that you were racist

Like I said there were probably racists who didn’t wanna touch the games cause of the main characters skin but there were people like me who were apprehensive of the “Let’s go to the mosh pit Shaka brah” people handling racism

This is the same studio that had Ms Grant (one of the few black characters from LiS 1) claim that the white settlers peacefully shared the stolen land with the native Americans

I find that shit harder to believe than the time traveling powers

And they were doing alright in the first episodes they covered stuff like unconscious biases slipping through, dog whistles, polite racism from the grandparents segment, police brutality, racial profiling and being targeted/othered- some of these things I went through when I visited western countries

Then they did the bullshit I feared theyd do…

I really don’t blame myself for being hyper vigilant at the time and honestly I was going through a lot then, even if I wanted to I wouldn’t have touched LiS 2 cause it’s a very heavy tasking game to play

I know I kinda made it seem like I didn’t like this game but I did, its the best one in terms of the choice system

It had more weight to it, seeing Daniel internalizing what you say to him or how you act around him was so cool

Also what the second game has over the first one aside from the choices system is the ending selection- I never liked picking the endings for max, I wanted her to pick the ending or her coding/script to do that

Its definitely more fleshed out technically even though LiS 1 has a special place in my heart it’s always gonna be no. 1- but im also glad that I got to experience the 2nd game for the first time, I liked it

Personal lis ranking

1: Lis 1

2: Lis 2

3: True colors

Discount bin: BtS

My personal fave moments from LiS 2:

- beating up the racist bully and giving him a concussion

-mushroom (rip icon)

- victorias letter

-winning that that bear from that claw machine

-gorillaz song that was not feel good inc

-Brody pointing at a fucked up looking arcadia bay yelling “that’s the past!”- that was hilarious

-Sean paying tribute to Arcadia bay in his sketchbook (this fucking kid man, he’s so sweet he deserves the world- what did he do to make DONTNOD mad at him)

- the wolf animation and the story that plays before every chapter

-this was the worst hate crime in the whole game

[mollywog]

Something I find funny about Jane Austen is: she doesn’t f*ck around with dialogue she doesn’t want to write (AKA: end-game main character proposals/acceptances)

Emma/Mr. Knightly

She spoke then, on being so entreated.—What did she say?—Just what she ought, of course.

Lizzie/Mr. Darcy

Elizabeth, feeling all the more than common awkwardness and anxiety of his situation, now forced herself to speak; and immediately, though not very fluently, gave him to understand that her sentiments had undergone so material a change, since the period to which he alluded, as to make her receive with gratitude and pleasure his present assurances.

Elinor/Edward

How soon he had walked himself into the proper resolution, however, how soon an opportunity of exercising it occurred, in what manner he expressed himself, and how he was received, need not be particularly told. This only need be said;—that when they all sat down to table at four o'clock, about three hours after his arrival, he had secured his lady, engaged her mother's consent, and was not only in the rapturous profession of the lover, but, in the reality of reason and truth, one of the happiest of men.

Anne/Captain Wentworth

Charles was at the bottom of Union Street again, and the other two proceeding together: and soon words enough had passed between them to decide their direction towards the comparatively quiet and retired gravel walk, where the power of conversation would make the present hour a blessing indeed, and prepare it for all the immortality which the happiest recollections of their own future lives could bestow. There they exchanged again those feelings and those promises which had once before seemed to secure everything, but which had been followed by so many, many years of division and estrangement. There they returned again into the past, more exquisitely happy, perhaps, in their re-union, than when it had been first projected; more tender, more tried, more fixed in a knowledge of each other’s character, truth, and attachment;

Catherine/Henry

Some explanation on his father's account he had to give; but his first purpose was to explain himself, and before they reached Mr. Allen's grounds he had done it so well that Catherine did not think it could ever be repeated too often. She was assured of his affection; and that heart in return was solicited, which, perhaps, they pretty equally knew was already entirely his own;

Fanny/Edward Edmund

I purposely abstain from dates on this occasion, that every one may be at liberty to fix their own, aware that the cure of unconquerable passions, and the transfer of unchanging attachments, must vary much as to time in different people. I only entreat everybody to believe that exactly at the time when it was quite natural that it should be so, and not a week earlier, Edmund did cease to care about Miss Crawford, and became as anxious to marry Fanny as Fanny herself could desire.

[sugdendingle]

Guys don’t let spoilers for new eps rattle you. We’re closer to Buddie now than we have ever been. Just have to let the story play out.

Remember these things:

They’re not really pushing B/T in the press they’re doing for the show. Like sure they’ve talked about them but go read all the articles and watch the interviews T*mmy is being talked about more as a mentor figure for Buck and not a long term love interest.

The show has very deliberately connected Buck’s bi awakening including B/T to Eddie and compared T*mmy to Eddie.

They’ve literally with dialogue pointed out Buck wanted Eddie’s attention twice (once when Buck was talking to Maddie after the game and once when T*mmy says “my attention” a clear indication he knew Buck wanted Eddie’s attention).

They’ve full on paralleled B/T scenes and Buddie scenes (call Eddie/call T*mmy)

Buck was talking about how great Eddie is moments before T*mmy kissed him.

Eddie was the character they chose to have crash Buck’s first date with a guy. They chose to have it be where Eddie announces that Marisol is moving in and after the date was over and ended badly the main thing Buck focused on wasn’t T*mmy it was the fact he lied to Eddie.

They’ve made it a point to say in interviews that Buck isn’t going to be having any more one on one coming out scenes this season. Yet they had both of Buck’s important coming out scenes involve Eddie. Buck ends up coming out to Maddie because he’s talking about the date and how he’s upset he lied to Eddie. They also had some very deliberate dialogue when Maddie said “I just think maybe you’re not sure of your own feelings yet. And if there’s something you need to tell Eddie you will. In your own time.”

They devoted a whole intense scene to Buck coming out to Eddie including with a hug.

They keep promoting Buddie in interviews and the press and almost all of the promo videos and pics this season have included them. They’ve also had Ryan and Oliver front and center during the press early on and both seem excited about Buddie’s storyline together this season.

They’ve even made Maddie and Chim’s wedding about Buddie to a large degree. All the promos for it are 98% Buddie. They’re also wearing a couples costume, partying with drag queens, and being more physically close than we’ve ever seen them be. Remember this is also happening at an event we saw Buck invite T*mmy to and we know Eddie has a gf who should presumably be his +1.

Marisol has barely been in this season. We don’t really know her as a person or even her last name. We don’t even know how a relationship between her and Eddie functions because we’ve barely seen them together. The one ep Marisol was heavily featured in the show treated her more like a punchline than a fully fleshed out character and certainly not like a long term love interest to a main character.

They’ve already had Eddie talking about how he’s a nester this season. But they also had a very emotional scene where Chris talks about Shannon and how everyone leaves. Eddie having Marisol move in with him so quick (even if she did move back out) just proves he’s repeating old patterns. He’s looking to replace Shannon in his life and for Chris. Instead of looking at what he has and what he wants.

Also remember that Ryan was included with all the other cast members who play queer characters on that episode of Family Feud that’s likely to air during pride month.

I know a lot of people are nervous about what the show is going to do with Buddie but remember there is more incentive for them to make Buddie canon now than ever before. They’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback especially in the press from Buck’s bi storyline. Tim and Ryan and Oliver and the rest know how much people want to see Buddie happen and how much attention they will garner the show when it does. They’re in the perfect position to finally move these characters in that direction and I think they are slowly and steadily. We just have to be patient. We’re likely to have parts of the story suck as we get closer to Buddie but it will be worth it in the end.

[emblemxeno]

Finished Aria of Sorrow!

-Got 100% map completion, and did a quick boss kill run through Julius mode!

-The story was better than I remembered, though to be fair, what I remembered was very little lol. I think what helps is that I was going back to Mina fairly often for the purpose of getting hints and having easy heals, but she also continually adds more haste to your goal given that she comments on feeling physically ill the longer she stays in the castle. It makes things more personal, especially when getting Soma's internal dialogue.

Soma himself, maaaaan, he's just a lil guy! He never asked to be Dracula reincarnated! He just wanted to wear his anime coat and bell bottom jeans in peace!

Being serious though, I really love Soma as a protagonist. I know some were probably annoyed by how confused and questioning he was when he had conversations, but I remember being 18 and man if only I had the confidence to actually ask what the fuck is going on.

Moreover, his design is just really good, he feels good to play (more than Juste, who I already thought was comfy to use), and he's so cool while also being a huge dork, and I find it really endearing and cute.

Side characters were pretty fun, if underutilized. Mina went up in the rankings, I really liked her as an emotional crutch and the primary force behind Soma finding an escape from the castle. Looking through the script, I found that I actually missed dialogue with her, specifically the one about Arikado being a family friend, the mystery of his identity (I know who he is lol), and his occupation, I wish I had gotten that earlier!

Soma's other allies were nice, I like how active Yoko and Julius are, since they also pretty clearly explore the castle as well, like Maria in Symphony and Maxim in Dissonance. Hammer was pretty cool, but ultimately kind of just became the Merchant Guy, and I was shocked every time he had new dialogue cuz it seemed so infrequent.

I was kind of disappointed with Arikado, because he only shows up again to help Yoko when she gets stabbed, and at times it feels like his presence was a victim of time constraints. Though maybe it's just because he was the main exposition guy at the start and for endings, so I guess I can't be too upset. I just wanted to see his beautiful face more though!

But nothing was more unimpressive than Graham, like this guy was so nothing. Maybe that was the point, because it's ultimately the castle itself and the chaotic power that's the main antagonistic force, however, I still can't help but feel let down by him as a villain. I don't really know his motivation for wanting Dracula's powers at all, besides maybe fanaticism? Idk, at least his boss fight was cool.

-Y'KNOW WHAT WAS A COOLER BOSS FIGHT THOUGH??? MY HUSBAND JULIUS BELMONT, HE IS THE BEST FUCKING BOSS IN THE GAME, BAR NONE! HE PUTS YOU TO THE LIMIT IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE, AND IT FEELS JUST LIKE A DRACULA V. BELMONT BATTLE AND IT'S SO FUCKING PEAK!!!

-Again, the game is the perfect balance of spectacle and simplicity. I'm astonished by the areas in the game, through the visuals, sounds, secrets, sprites... Everything in the game was a massive culmination of what came before it, and playing through it is just masterfully crafted.

-Normally, I'd be a bit miffed that the "Normal Best" ending is predicated on two drops that are random, but again, compared the CotM, the drops happen more often, and I learned that both the Succubus and Flame Demon drops are among the higher rate ones, so they're easier to get than like, 95% of the other ones, which I still had a good amount of by the end of the game.

Similarly, the game has hint books that almost explicitly tell you what souls you need to access the better ending, something that Harmony of Dissonance didn't do. Again, Aria improves on the shortcomings of its predecessors, while keeping and improving what works.

-The souls are just extremely fun to use. While I pretty much stuck with the Dracula-esque set by the end, I got use out of most of the ones I found. Mantle was funny, the vacuum was even funnier, the black cat soul was surprisingly pretty useful for grounded enemies, the Balore punch was fun, and the big minotaur Fuck You Axe Swing was satisfying, if really expensive MP wise.

For non offense souls, some are clearly mandatory (undine and skula, as an example), but even then, they feel good to use. I got lucky and got a Tsuchinoko soul to get discounts at the shop, Flying Armor was very useful before I got the mobility upgrades, iron golem was helpful when I was backtracking for 100%, and Headhunter added a nice bump to my stats before I faced against bosses.

Still though, it's more than just the best ending that's beneficial to having the three necessary souls equipped. Succubus helped me stay alive longer when dealing with normal enemies, Flame Demon was strong and cost effective, and the Bat Form ughhhhh I love the freedom that Bat Form gives you in traveling, plus Soma's Bat Form is so cute!!!

Shoutout to the Panther soul too though! Combined with Iron Golem, it made 100% completion near the end a breeze, plus it's just a neat speed boost that's good in the Julius fight.

-Julius Mode was neat, if a little underwhelming. I beat the last boss in like, an hour. The things that Julius can do really break the game in half, which is almost certainly why he doesn't have level ups or access to healing items, he's just that good. It's a fun little romp that's a good bonuse for beating the game, I feel.

-Last, but certainly not least, god if this OST was a person, I'd propose on the spot.

Along with the tracks I pointed out in the last post, I also love "Clock Tower", "The Arena", "Top Floor", "Dracula's Fate", "You Are (Not) Alone", and the Epilogue theme.

And of course, the theme song of my husband Julius Belmont, "Heart of Fire" is such a fucking banger, it's insane that Yamane cooked something like that up for GBA omg.

-I had such a fun time playing this game again. I played it once before because I had it on the Wii U virtual console, but coming back to it was like a fresh new experience and just as fun.

I'm gonna be taking a break from Castlevania for the time being, because Xenoblade X is coming out this next week, so I'll be all in on that lol. But I will be back, and the Dominus Collection will be next. I'm so fucking excited for those games.

[bloedewir]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

There's some post-game thoughts I can mark as spoiler ones. Read only if you finished the game.

I love the game. Really. The grand finale was magnificent, the main plot idea is painfully touching and I adore the heavy weight of sorrow I bear after I finished the game. The best kind of bittersweet grief of possible.

However it doesn't mean the game is flawless. There's some stuff I didn't get at all.

Why there's no option to ask Solas about the Forgotten Ones? Like, hello, you have an encyclopedia of elven lore in your head, can't you ask a few optional questions about weird ancient guy you've met during the journey? Nadas Dirthalen? (Or it's because da5 is going to be about new dwarven and/or qunari lore and Forgotten Ones/Executors?)

You also can't say anything about the murals.. which is kinda strange. Why didn't Rook comment those mind-blowing revelations? For Harding, at least?

Evanuris. Solas' story is beautifully written, Mythal' story was also revealed more than before (even if she's in all 4 games) so we get to know her better. But Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain? Fine, forget other evanuris.. but the spectacular duo? Spirits and demons are kinda the same, like two sides of a coin. Solas is Wisdom and Pride, Mythal is Benevolence and Retribution (as Morrigan said). Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are just.. bad? They're blighted and corrupted now but what about the past? Where's the duality of their personalities? No chance for redemption now because they don't want or need it, I get the idea, but the story itself? I wish there would be more about them. We do have something on Ghilan'nain tho, like: she created hallas but can't create them any longer and she has a full control over the Blight as if it's modeling clay (+ some Bellara' thoughts on a matter of "navigation" and "healing" and path Ghilan'nain chose for the People). But Elgar'nan? He likes tyranny. And he still had his hair. Uhm.. ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠∵⁠ ⁠)⁠┌

Romances. Can't say much because I didn't try all of them but Neve's and Lucanis'.. uhm. It doesn't feel like a written romance, y'know? Just a bonus lines so you doesn't have to feel lonely or whatever. Characters are on their own and don't have connection with Rook till the very end. There's no impact and Rook is, ironically, just an enjoyable side benefit™ but nothing more. Comparing to datv romance situation solavellan romance is hot as hell and full of content. And it says a lot.

Inquisitor. I do like how their absence was explained... yet Lavellan was robbed. I don't want to see a cringe Fade therapy session with Solas telling his tragic lovestory to a random stranger (Rook) and whining about just how much he misses his gorgeous wife (and I'm solavellan). But adding a few tiny details? The bare minimum: take the dai tarot card and place it on the wall in a music room. That already could've been much better. (mods mods mods 🤞🤞🤞).

Dialogue timing and triggers. I suspect dialogues are cool but I can't know for sure. In my first playthrough I didn't even know Davrin and Lucanis are not a big fans of each other before the Weisshaupt quest because I didn't hear it. DATV locations are much smaller than it was in DAI, so you just don't get the chance to hear those dialogues unless you find a trigger point and just stay there waiting to play all lines.

Some of that is not a tragedy and, theoretically, could be improved by magnificent people creating mods. But sometimes datv seems kinda unfinished like there's a missing puzzle pieces as if content was cut out with no replacement.

Despite some questionable moments and a bit of criticism I love this game regardless. It's dark and atmospheric, absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing. And analysis of Regret? Choices and consequences, acceptance, struggling, desperation, guilt..? The work Bioware did deserves to be highly appreciated. The final left me in tears, sobbing and grieving, and heartbroken - that's all I ever wanted of Dragon Age 💜

[spiritisawake]

I'm either delusional or this is actually a good piece of evidence to support a certain theory about sunday

Hi! This is my first time posting here but I decided it wouldn't hurt to share this. I was initially gonna post on the Sunday mains reddit page but I didn't have enough karma sooooo ye here we are.There will be some spoilers for the story in 2.2/2.3 and I'll be mentioning a design leak but that's it

So as you may know there's been A LOT of speculation and theories on where sunday will end up now that he'll no longer be in penacony. one of those many theories is that sunday will be joining the astral express. Now compared to theories like him joining the stellaron hunters and even the ipc theory, this one, at the very least in my opinion and from what I know, has the least amount of evidence to support it. The only thing some people have been using as evidence is the fact that the express was short of one player for playing a game and some dialogue that could possibly be hinting at a new member joining and also the fact that he has a golden rectangular badge at the end of his coat on his new potential design that was leaked recently which looked similair to the badge the express members have in their design. That was it, nothing else as far as I'm aware

I personally did not agree with or like this theory much as it didn't make much sense, from what remember, the express literally almost got killed by him and not to mention the fact that we literally run him over with a train in the boss fight. I don't think the bond between them could be fixed so easily after all that. This alongside the fact that there wasn't much to support the theory.

But then today I came across a little something.

In the radiant feldspar, near the divergent universe I came across an NPC named Amsella. Now this npc was one of those that like you can buy things from and I decided to check out what she had. I saw a food item shaped like a crow and just for fun I read the description. I'm just gonna put the pictures here and you can read them for yourself.

I'm still not a fan of the theory and I don't see how it'd really work but I'd thought it wouldn't hurt to share this incase I'm not delusional and actually found something good

TL;DR: I found a random snack that had a description that could possibly serve as evidence to support the sunday joining the astral express theory and decided to share it because why not

[ic-napology]

On Sandra Gulland's books (The Josephine B. Saga and The Game of Hope)

Rant incoming weeeeeeeeee

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Sandra Gulland is a born-American Canadian writer specialised in historical fiction. In the Napoleonic fandom she's mostly famous for her best-selling trilogy about Josephine Bonaparte, but in 2017 she also wrote a YA book centered on her daughter, Hortense de Beauharnais.

I missed this book. Personally I even prefer it to the massive Joséphine Saga in regards to certain aspects, despite absolutely admiring the work Gulland put to create it. Like, I'm bowing to her. Despite it being fiction, her research is at the levels of a professional historian and I saw her being praised by many of them. She's the first author to give a representation of Josephine where the promiscuity everyone was so sure about is rightfully doubted, since it's not proved by any direct source. And she wrote this saga in the '90s! We had to wait Pierre Branda in 2017 to put that bias into question once again. At least to my knowledge. And I loved to find the little easter eggs and references about the saga in TGOH.

There are two main reasons why I think TGOH functions better. First, it's focused on two years rather than a whole life, and so is the plot. There's structure and there's purpose. The narrative arcs are easier to manage and Hortense has a precise character evolution about her basically coming out of her shell. Joséphine's life is amazing, but there's not a unique point in a realistic life so she rather goes through things one by one.

Also I didn't like the choice of such a rigid diary form in the saga. It's explicitly stated that we're reading Joséphine's diary thanks to the dates and she sometimes explicitly mentions that's she's writing a diary, but it's not realistic how well she reports scenes - including extensive dialogue and details like people's gestures or expressions, especially if she writes in an emotional state or turmoil. So I'm put out of the illusion. Also did she always have that much time (and will) to write things? We are talking about Josephine Bonaparte after all. Instead, TGOH it's written by Hortense's POV in the past tense with no other details, which means the narration is fluid.

Strangely enough, I feel like Hortense's personality comes out easier from her words compared to Josephine's. She's a more active and opinionated reporter, commenting directly on what or who she writes about. I'm sure it's because she's a teenager so her POV must reflect a more naif and sentimental take on things, while Josephine rarely comments on what she reports on. My other theory about this difference is also because Gulland is very faithful to the sources and almost never invents things outside of them: while we're left so little direct sources from Josephine, Hortense wrote a very partial memoir and we're left many letters from her, so we can understand her point of view and personality much more, and Gulland's writing reflects this. I actually like the difference in personalities. Hortense is an emotional and opinionated writer other than character, while Josephine, even as a teenager, comes off as reserved and focused on what objectively happens without many comments, applying cautionness even in her own private diary.

I love their relationship in TGOH, it resonated with me. Josephine is a flawed but loving mother in a difficult situation, doing her best. There's also a personal reason. I see my young self in Hortense, dealing with nostalgia and uncertainty while someone dear was away in a war territory, and I see my mom in Josephine, being keen on hiding things from her child, starting from her own grief, just to protect her serenity. I also see her sweet and discreet character from the Saga confirmed here. Finally, it's interesting how this relationship made Hortense confront herself with feminine maturity.

Sadly I didn't like how Napoleon was depicted, in both works. I feel like Gulland struggled with him as a character, he's not very fleshed out. Most of his lines and gestures are famous quotes or typical habits taken from memoirs and that makes him look like a caricature of himself. At least in the Joséphine saga, where the story is told by his own wife who becomes seriously in love with him, he should have been a strong presence and character. You have to understand why he gained that love. You don't get any insight on how he feels and what's going on with him, he feels far. There are moments of tell don't show such as when they reconcile after he has returned from Egypt and we're just told "we talked and talked all night" besides from some line. Bro why won't you write what you talked about with your love and husband in such a pivotal moment for your relationship, after you transcripted all the conversations you had with you maid, your banker or your fruity friend Charles??

In TGOH I find a weaker presence and characterization more acceptable for Napoleon, because Hortense has a weaker relationship with him and doesn't even care that much. Still,he's objectively relevant to the plot, so I would have made him more relevant in this book as well. He's linked with all the most important people to Hortense: her father is still very much in Hortense's memory and Napoleon is replacing him, other than being the exact opposite of him. Her mother loves him and left for Italy with him for almost two years. He's taken her brother with him in Egypt so is also responsible for whatever happens to him. He's the brother of a friend she first had a strong animosity with. He influences her life and even her environment a lot. Please girl you just can't ignore Napoleon that easily as a presence. Hortense gives such strong, emotional responses to everyone but him. So when she accidentally calls him "Papa" it doesn't feel credible or earned. He's never felt that important to deserve that.

Speaking of Caroline, she's my absolute favourite character. Even when she's a meanie she's hilarious and her levels of not giving a damn to rules is life-goals, especially in an environment such as Campan school. Madame Campan is an amazing character but I dislike her, she's overly sweet and that's what keeps Hortense tamed even over stupid things. Also she idolizes Marie Antoinette so is as classist as her. Ugh. Good job Caroline, you deserve doing all the dirty pop-noddy you want with your husband. I like how she can be cruel, but it becomes clear that it's an armor of arrogance because she feels alone and insecure. I know it's from Hortense' perspective so the narration centers on Terror, but I still wish it was given more space to Caroline (and her family) being a refugee with her own set of struggles as well, a stranger finding difficult even to communicate. I get the feeling that when she cries with her brother about feeling inadequate compared to Hortense, she didn't pretend, even if she tells Hortense so. Infact she cries when Hortense and her friends welcome her. She's an adorable pest.

I didn't talk much about Hortense and Duroc, they are just sweet and cute as hell. Hortense is SO relatable when she berates herself with strict conversation rules at every line. I say this as an extrovert, but this is talking to crush matters.

I am so grateful these books exist no matter the flaws and the perks. In TGOH you become fond of everyone and it really feels like a family overcoming grief to be reunited and at peace again. 🩷