#will I stick with it? who knows!

[pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer]

Games in 2023: One Piece Odyssey

The announcement of a brand new One Piece RPG tapped into some sort of childhood instinct in me, the kind where you hear two things you love are being combined into one thing and gasp in awe.  Child Pahrak would be pleasantly surprised to learn that I’ve finally gotten caught up on One Piece, a dream that always seemed just out of reach, up there with completing the Pokedex. (Which I’ve also done!  He’ll be so impressed.) But this isn’t about him: I’m an adult now, and I have to pay for my own anime RPGs.  Odyssey doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but it does deliver what it promises, and I found myself having a lot of fun along the way.

The game sees the Straw Hats shipwrecked on a mysterious island named Waford, where a less-than-friendly meeting with one of the island’s inhabitants results in them losing most of the strength they’ve built up over their journey.  Obviously they’re going to need that back, so it’s time to scour the island and conquer its trials in order to get back out there searching for the One Piece!

You’re able to run around the overworld as Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, or Robin, and can switch between them with great ease. (Even once Franky and Brook join the party later in the game, they can’t be controlled in the overworld.  Unfortunate as this is, I can see why both of them would have some unique logistical concerns, so I won’t complain much.) All of them have some unique action(s), but not all are unlocked right away, and the game expects you to main Luffy to use his stretching powers to grapple across very frequent gaps and use Observation Haki to scan for hidden items and enemies with EXP bonuses.  Chopper is small enough to fit through narrow passages, Zoro can cut through metal doors, and there are certain items that can only be retrieved using Usopp’s slingshot; Nami, Sanji, and Robin all have unique items that only they can see, though they will remark if you approach one while not playing as them.  And, while you can’t run around as Franky, once he joins back up with the crew he can build bridges to open new areas.  It can feel a bit uneven, but…I was probably going to mostly play as Luffy anyway, so I can’t say it’s a huge flaw.

Battles involves fighting enemies in multiple areas at once, exploiting rock-paper-scissors style weaknesses, and tagging crew mates in and out of your 4-person active party.  Personally I like it!  It’s not too complex to understand, but does add its own extra layer to combat.  Part of me wonders if you could expand this to have the whole crew fighting across the various areas, but that might be a bit too unwieldy.  Fans will see plenty of familiar techniques at their disposal: Usopp has a mix of long-range explosive techniques (only 1 Pop Green, sadly) and gag techniques that only work if the specific enemy is dumb enough to fall for it; Chopper obviously is your healer, but he also gets a decent variety of attacking skills, including the ability to activate Monster Point for a few turns; Franky has a lineup of high cost but high damage group attacks that can really wreak havoc if you manage your TP (tension points) right.  I do feel like Zoro’s many, many available techniques are a bit samey, though, and Sanji doesn’t really have anything that stands out.  Despite having a long list of techniques, Luffy’s are just different enough to feel like a decent variety, and I really like that they turned Gear 2 into its own mechanic. (You can activate it either by itself for a mere 5 TP, or by using any of several “Jet” skills, and increase Luffy’s strength and speed for a few turns; I always try to keep it on.) Why they didn’t do this for Diable Jambe is beyond me.

Back at the story, the only inhabitants of Waford (aside from the monsters) are two humans: another shipwrecked pirate named Adio, who is able to summon massive energy gauntlets with his Grab-Grab Fruit powers; and a girl named Lim, who has some inherent connection to the island and is the one who took away the Straw Hats’ powers.  I found Adio pretty interesting, and was never entirely sure how much I should trust him until everything was revealed at the end.  Lim is an emotionless character who gradually warms up to the crew and comes out of her shell as the story goes on.  Again, not reinventing the wheel, but I like her well enough, and she’s involved in some interesting plot developments later on.  It’s Adio who convinces Lim that they should help the Straw Hats regain their powers, which have now been scattered all across the island in the form of special cubes.  Defeating bosses on the island gets you cubes, restoring more abilities and enhancing the ones you’ve already restored.  Some (most?) skills gain slots which can be filled with Cube Fragments you find scattered around the overworld; each fragment is tied to a specific character, and you can equip them to any available slots through the skill menu. (They can also be unequipped and rearranged at any time.) When a skill has 3 slots filled, it levels up, which usually means dealing more damage.  Seems pretty straightforward, right?  Well, here’s the catch: in order to fully absorb the cubes and regain all of their lost abilities, the Straw Hats need to venture into the strange dimension known as Memoria, a world made from their memories that asks them to relive their past accomplishments to process the cubes.

Basically, the game alternates between chapters where you explore a dungeon on Waford, and chapters where you relive a past One Piece arc; specifically, you go through Alabasta, Water Seven, Marineford, and Dressrosa.  I think how one feels about this particular facet of the game will go a long way toward determining whether or not they’ll enjoy it as a whole.  Anime games have always made a habit of retracing their source’s story arcs, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it can get a bit…tiring at times.  That we’re explicitly “revisiting” these memories rather than simply advancing through the base story as the game’s main plot is something that might muddy the experience for some; Lim tells us off the bat that “memories are fuzzy” and some things might happen a bit differently, but there are scant few occasions where this plot point feels put to good use.  If you were expecting timeline shenanigans akin to the Dragon Ball Xenoverse games, you’ll have to look elsewhere.  It’s a bit disappointing, even frustrating at times: I was really looking forward to an interaction between Robin and the memory world’s Crocodile, but even when they’re in the same room, neither says a single word to the other!  I don’t want to admonish the game for not fulfilling my specific expectations, but that one…we can all agree that one is a notable oversight, yes?

Still, I want to judge the game for what it actually does rather than what I wish it did.  And what it does is lead us through some delightful new environments alongside a number of old favorites; Alabasta, Water Seven, and Marineford are some of my favorite arcs, and I know I’m not alone in that opinion.  It was nice to see Vivi again.  It was nice to see Iceberg and Tyrannosaurus.  Marineford is the one place we do see Jimbei, and crucially, the game capitalizes on the fact that this time, the Straw Hats are there to help Luffy through what just might be the single worst day of his life. (Though you STILL don’t have Brook for this part.  So it rings just a tiny bit hollow with him absent.  You’d think it’d be the other way around with all the hollow space between his bones, YOHOHOHO!!) And there’s one particularly good moment in Dressrosa that I think most fans will enjoy, but I don’t dare spoil what it is.  It was nice to see so many interactions big and small shared among the crew, especially the handful of sidequests that take 3 of them seemingly at random and see how they solve a problem without having the full crew to rely on.

Right, the sidequests!  So many sidequests, be they those limited crew stories, hunting down other pirates to claim their bounties, or more standard RPG fare like “kill these enemies” or “bring me these items”.  The game is surprisingly packed with things to do, with an in-game Objectives menu that rewards you for almost every single one (a total of 182!).  It’s, well, a full RPG!  I’ve got around 80 hours on my file and I’m still a few collectibles short of the Platinum.  Even that doesn’t track the bestiary, which I’d like to fill just for my own sake, or that last Zoro Cube Fragment I’m missing, or seeing if I can get the characters to the maximum level.  I got this far before the remaining tasks got grindy enough that I took an extended break.  This might also be the time to mention that there are locked treasure chests all over the place, giving you plenty of incentive to figure out how to get your hands on the key that opens them. (I won’t tell you how, but it was something I was already doing because it’s fun in its own right.) There’s also mountains of hidden lore if that’s your thing: several journals you can find scattered about, as well as extra snippets unlocked by picking up those special items only Robin can see.  This is a meaty game for sure.

I don’t want to spoil the story, so I’ll just say that despite some…misgivings regarding the endgame, I’d still say I like the plot overall.  It’s got enough of that distinct One Piece feel to it that I couldn’t help but enjoy it.  That’s true of every part of the game, really: you could go on all day about how certain things could’ve been “done better”, and there’s some merit there, but the game still does a fine job of everything and distinguishes itself by fully embracing One Piece’s unique charm.  Will it be GOTY?  No.  Do I recommend it?  Absolutely!  And I eagerly look forward to what comes next, be it DLC, a direct sequel, or a separate game done in the same style.  Even if none of that comes to pass, though, One Piece Odyssey is an entertaining and very filling experience, and one that’s yours for the taking.

Shortlist of things I want in a hypothetical follow-up:

-More Franky and Brook, ideally playable in the overworld.  I’d like to see Brook get a field action, maybe running across water?  Or something musical.

-Playable Jimbei!

-Faster overworld movement.  Maybe it’s just that the plot setup reminds me so much of Sonic Frontiers, but I wanted to get around MUCH faster than I was able to. (Though you do get fast travel relatively early on, and that does help.)

-More costumes would be nice (bring back Robin’s hat 2k5ever)

-If we stick with the Memoria concept, I’d like to see events play out way more differently than in canon.  I think it’d also be best if they used an entirely different set of arcs to avoid being too samey (the one I’d want most is Whole Cake Island, Skypeia probably has good odds, you could do a whole game that’s just Wano…)

-Let other characters who have Observation Haki use it in the field same as Luffy

-I do love that Conqueror’s Haki is a skill in battle, but I’m also curious about it as a field action that either stuns or removes weak enemies.

-Diable Jambe really should be a full mechanic

-Maybe a meter for Armament Haki you can expend to augment your attacks?

-There’s a whole slew of more techniques I want to see: more Pop Greens, General Franky, have Nami using Zeus, etc.

-Going on a bit of a tangent about Gears, I’d like more Gear 3 techniques for sure (Odyssey only has Gigant Pistol), and ideally the Gear 4 forms would last a little while like Gear 2 already does.  One thing they could maybe try is, when leveling up Luffy’s skills using Cube Fragments, you can choose to apply a Gear to it?  Like, when strengthening Gum-Gum Pistol, you have the option to make it Jet Pistol, or Gigant Pistol, or Kong Gun, and each would have their own unique benefits.  Though, that might be too complicated…still, fun to think about.

-There are a few techniques in Odyssey that deal extra damage to enemies with certain Devil Fruit types, and I think it’d be neat to see more effects that take this into consideration.  In that event, though, it would probably be best to have a more even spread of the various types: the Zoan buster move isn’t super useful when there’s only 2 Zoan bosses in the game, especially compared to there being 5 Logia bosses.

-I like the Bounty system, but I think it’d stand out more if they were minor characters from the anime/manga, maybe even some filler characters.  Let me hunt down Foxy and get paid for sending him to his death.

[soulrox]

DPxDC #21

Danny is a homeless kid in Gotham. He lives in Red Hoods' territory. His nickname is Numbers. A couple of kids learned he was good with numbers and quizzed him, and he got them all correct, hence Numbers. Danny loves living in Gotham, well as much as a 15-year-old homeless kid whose parents hate his existence can.

Danny is one of the kids who, when they find out info about people going against Red Hoods' rules, will report them to him. Tonight is one of those nights. Danny had learned someone sold drugs to a kid in the Alley. Danny made sure to retrieve the drugs from the kid, Stiches, and made sure the kids' friend, Patches, looked after him. cause even if Stitches wasn't able to take the drugs before Danny stepped in, the psychological damage of almost relapsing is tough, especially for a kid that couldn't be older than 12.

So Danny is on the lookout for Hood when he sees a group of people on top of a building, one of them being Batman. Danny knows that while not published Hood is connected to the Bat.

Danny scales the building and sees that its the Justice League and Batman.

Danny turns to the JL

Danny: do you have permission to be in Gotham?

Without giving them time to answer he turns to Batman

Danny: Did you give them permission? Or do you need help getting the Just Losers outta here?

Green Lantern (Hal): wha? huh, Kid?

Batman cracks a barely there smile, unnoticed by everyone, at the JL being called Just Losers.

Batman: they are allowed. Now kid what do you need?

Danny: I have info for Hood and I know you bats are all connected.

Batman gets Hood on coms.

Hood: *in Bruce's ear, but still heard by Danny* what do you want old man I'm busy.

Batman: hn a kid is here asking for you.

Danny: tell him it's Numbers

Hood: oh shit what's he got for me this time.

Danny: *tells Bats the situation* should I give the drugs to Batman?

JL in the background horrified to learn so much about Gothams' underground. (like this shit doesn't occur in their cities too)

Batman: yes I will make sure they get back to Hood so he can test and deal with them.

Danny: Cool cool

Danny does a drug deal with Batman.

Danny: so why are the Just Losers here?

Danny dislikes the JL, they never helped Amity. Dannys has gotten better with the bats thanks to Hood.

Danny: is it for the outsider setting up shop in the warehouse by the docks? With the sketchy af alien tech?

[notacluedo]

Andrew has had the same conversation like five times

[micamone]

hewwo

[umblrspectrum]

hi heres art so you pay attention to me now go read the tags

[uncanny-tranny]

I recently had to do a project in one of my psych classes, and man, I knew that CBT was used for every little thing, but seeing over and over, "do CBT! CBT is the best for every mental illness!" was so jarring. I'm absolutely biased because of my own experiences, but I just don't think it's as universal a treatment model as it's touted.

If you didn't benefit from CBT, it's not because you're lazy or didn't try hard enough or lacked intelligence or foresight into your own needs. Frankly, it's a therapy model that (I think) shouldn't be the only readily-accessible model and among the only therapy models covered by insurance. Some of us should not be treated in a CBT model and that's okay. It's not a sign of poor character or unreasonable demands, and if you don't think it's a model that works for you, then it's your right to express that!

[maomango-doodle]

Getting to know people

Based on @acetrigunweek day 3's quote

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 177

Now Dan is no coward. He’s not. 

But this stupid child body does have an effect on his reactions to things and honestly it’s a horrible thing that’s too small and too weak for him to use all his abilities. He could barely manage a fireball if he concentrated, yet everything caught fire with a mere outburst! His control was utterly gone, and a tantrum resulted in having to wear a stupid child leash backpack. 

It wasn’t like he was really a child, and it wasn’t like he’d get lost or some stupid shit that Danny would insist. Ugh, this isn’t even fair, technically he was older than him yet was stuck in a smaller body that he kept tripping over! 

Urgh, he’s even insisting on rewarding ‘good behavior’ and shit- must have talked to Jazz or something- because… Oh. No he wants the constellation bear, give! His star bear now, no takes back and, urgh, stupid baby body! 

Well, on the other hand, it’s utterly hilarious how much Danny sputters whenever he calls him Mom, not to mention strangers’ utter befuddlement. He ignores how Danny seems to be trying his best to live up ro the title. 

But! As he was saying, he’s no coward! He’s also not an idiot though, and having no control over his powers isn’t exactly a good thing. It’s really not a good thing when there’s a murderous-looking hero that he thinks he might have maimed in the future- which they apparently remember- staring down at him. So, he has to call in the big guns to fix this. 

“Mom, there’s a creepy fruitloop staring at me!” “There’s WHAT?!” Hah. Take that hero he doesn’t remember the name of.

(Behold the Grumpiest of Babies)

[starry-bi-sky]

this just in: danny fenton is just as much of a mask as Brucie Wayne? - another danyal al ghul au

Turns out, being placed in a civilian family who have no knowledge of your background is actually detrimental to the health and development of a child assassin due to lack of proper support! Surrounded by strangers in a foreign city, Danyal Al Ghul does as assassins do best. He hides. Espionage is one of many teachings one learns in the League, and it only takes half a day for Danyal to construct a new persona to hide behind: Daniel Fenton.

By the time dinner rolls around, Danyal al Ghul is safely and securely tucked behind the face of Danny Fenton; brand new adoptive child of the Fenton family who came from overseas. A shy, quiet little boy with a thick accent and curly hair, with brown skin and blue eyes, and an avid interest in the stars. The best fictions are always cobbled together in a little bit of truth, it's some of the only truth he ever lets through. He apologizes in a meek voice for his behavior early, he didn't mean to be rude, and he watches the three of them eat it up with coos.

Lies roll like silk against his lips, he struggles to meet their eyes and offers them his weakest, shyest smile. It's too easy. It's easy to go from there.

Danny Fenton, adoptive son, shy and awkward and unconfident but friendly. Who struggles in his classes and isn't the brightest, but tries his hardest. He makes bad jokes and has a quick tongue and a sarcastic mouth. He wants to be an astronaut. He's got the best aim in school, and is a terrifying dodgeball player. He's one of the least athletic kids in his grade.

It's like playing two truths and a lie, but there's only one truth, and the rest are lies. It's easy to pretend when he knows it's insincere.

Danyal Al Ghul, grandson to the Demon Head. Deadly, trained assassin. Has spilled blood, has had blood spilt from. Environmentalist, animal activist. He loves the stars. He owns a calligraphy set. A sharp tongue, an even sharper blade. He's clever, quick-witted, he would be top of his grade if he tried harder. He purposely doesn't.

He misses his family. He misses his mother, and he misses his brother. Mother visits a few times a year, so few times that he can count it on both hands. He cherishes every visit, as brief as they are. It helps remind him who he is.

Sam and Tucker are Danny's best friends. They've never met Danyal, but Danyal's met them.

It becomes routine to become Danny Fenton. As familiar and as easy as pulling on a shirt in the morning. Danyal wakes up and is always first to the bathroom in the mornings; stares at himself in the mirror until he can finally see Danny staring back at him. At night, he locks his door and sheds the mask.

Dying throws a wrench in his mask; splits a crack straight through the porcelain. He's able to smooth it over with sandpaper and liquid gold, but it's a little hard keeping his ghost form under wraps. It instinctively wants to shift to show his true self. Danyal can't have that, he's spent four years as Danny Fenton, he'll spend another four as him as well. Even if the feeling of the hazmat suit in his ghost form feels restrictive, like a too-small shirt suctioned to his skin that needs to be peeled off.

He'll live. Er-- well, you know what he means. It's frustrating however, trying to keep his Danny Fenton mask up even as Phantom - fighting in the air is something he needs to get used to, and the sudden propping of powers throws him off. But he is nothing if not adaptive, and he hates that he needs to slow his own skills down in order to keep pretenses up in front of Sam and Tucker.

The first time Danyal summons a sword when he's alone, is one of the few times Danyal gets to grin instead of Danny. He's fighting Skulker, and from an invisible hilt he draws a katana from thin air. It startles them both. Skulker takes a step back at the smile that spreads across his face.

They're both silent as Danyal examines his new sword.

"Do you know what people like me do to people like you, poacher?" Danyal finally asks him, the accent he began to hide a few months in slipping through. He drops all pretense, dragging the flat end of the blade slow and appreciatively against his palm. It's a good make, and when he cuts it through the air, it slices through like butter. He looks up at Skulker with a smile; "are you ready to find out?"

When Sam and Tucker ask about why Skulker seems so skittish around Danny now, Danny shrugs at them and says with a playful smile; "I don't know, I guess I kicked his butt too hard after our last fight." and he watches as Sam rolls her eyes exasperatedly, and Tucker snickers with his own joke.

By the time he reunites with Damian before their 15th birthday, Danyal is buried beneath so many layers of Danny Fenton that his brother will need a shovel to dig him out. He's not sure what he'll find.

[choccy-milky]

another batch of MCs as thanks for drawing clora🥹💖💖 once i start working on something i cant rest until i get it done so ive legit been working on these nonstop for the past 2 days from when i wake up till i go to bed.......i can finally rest 🧎‍♀️........THANK YALL AGAIN💖💖💖🙏🙏🙏 MC's in order: @moonstruckmoony @syaolaurant @dwightschrute11 @boxdstars @versailles-black @ccelicaa @ethniee @wrongcog @ashiori-chan @tamayula-hl @celestinawarlock @serpensortiamaxima @silvyadrakkon @jadepalaceyaya @zorro-d-t

[bunnieswithknives]

OK JUST A LITTLE THING BECAUSE IM INSANE @cubbihue

Song: Plastic by Cheekface

[cinnamon-flame]

Today I remembered that I made an flight rising account in 2021 (that I played for only one day and then I gave up cause it seemed too hard) and I logged in today to check it out again. Long story short I found out I had a lot of cash from somewhere apparently so I bought a couple of dragons for fun. As far as I'm concerned all the love is stored in the Aberration

[sparrowlucero]

do you actually dislike the bird abode or just the creature designs? not saying the name directly so your ass doesn't get blasted by the tag

I like a lot of the creatures in it; the showrunner is a really fantastic horror artist and it really comes through in the aesthetics of the show. I especially like this hand dragon, though there's a lot of other great designs:

As for the show on the whole, it's not bad but not really for me? Early on it really feels like it's schtick will be that it's a subversion of harry potter-esque stories, where the protagonist wants to go on an adventure similar to her favorite fantasy book but instead ends up hanging out with the "villain" (who's actually just othered)/the magic school turns out to be secretly oppressive/the world is kind of gross and spooky instead of clean and approachable... but as it goes along I think it ends up being a pretty by the books YA fantasy thing played mostly straight, and it isn't super interesting or funny or scary or anything besides that. Which admittedly was probably to its benefit, I think a lot of its popularity comes from it being this very tropeish and not-uncomfortable magic school/found family story that's actually queer, like I genuinely think this is hugely appealing to the average cartoon fan on twitter, but I'm just not personally into it in comparison to a lot of it's contemporaries

[anna-scribbles]

chapter cards for thirteen: november - april

read on ao3

[mettywiththenotes]

Jayce and Vi "its always two dumb headstrong bitches with a sense of justice telling each other exactlyyy"

Viktor and Jinx "its always two smart bitches acknowledging each others work but being intimidated by their power telling each other to fuck off"

[fallen-goldfishcracker]

Part of the reason I find Wyll to be such a compelling character is that he is such a good person, but in what I think is a kinda unique way. 

I've seen a few criticisms of how quickly Wyll seems to switch sides in his initial confrontation with Karlach; how fast he goes from convinced he must kill her to letting her live. For me though, this makes perfect sense. 

The decision Wyll makes in that confrontation not actually whether or not to kill her; he has to decide whether or not Karlach is innocent, but once he's confirmed that, it's not a question.

He commits so quickly to Karlach because he doesn't have to choose whether or not to kill her in that moment; he already decided seven years ago. 

Because at seventeen years old, he decided he would sacrifice anything for the safety of others. 

At seventeen years old he decided that his own life, comfort and happiness was never worth the cost of someone else's. 

And so at twenty-four, he learns the devil he's been chasing is a person, and a victim, and an innocent, and the decision is already made up. 

Because Wyll Ravenguard at twenty-four is who he was at seventeen, and twenty, and ten. 

And to me that's one of the coolest things about him.

There's a separate post I'd like to make about how Wyll never loses his childhood wonder of the world- and I think there's a very similar principle here. Wyll grew up hearing stories of knights who slay monsters and heros in shining armor, and he took those stories and loved them and held them close to his chest. 

And then he's seventeen and a devil asked him if he wants to be a hero, and he's not an idiot; he understands the price of saviourhood so he says yes. 

And so when he meets Karlach, it's never really a question of if he'll kill her. It's just a matter of him finding the courage. 

Because he says "you don't know what you're asking of me" and he's absolutely right, we don't. But Wyll understands the cost; he's understood it for seven years. I'll bet anything that when Wyll Ravenguard made his pact with a devil to save tens of thousands of souls, he promised himself and his city and his father who wouldn't listen that he'd only ever use his pact to help and be good, and when it comes down to it, he sticks to his word. 

Because above all, Wyll Ravenguard is a man who knows who his is and what he beliefs, and who sticks to his principles no matter what, and for me that's incredibly compelling.