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theresattrpgforthat · 3 months

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Do you have any games that involve urban fantasy with less focus on fighting than something like Dresden or Shadowrun?

THEME: Urban Fantasy (Minimal Fighting)

Hello there! What I've got here is quite a mix, I wasn't sure how much violence you wanted (or didn't want) so I have a little bit of romance, a little bit of nostalgia, and a little bit of horror!

City of Mist, by Son of Oak Games.

City of Mist is a role-playing game of film-noir investigation and super-powered action. It is set in a modern metropolis rife with crime, conspiracies, and mysteries. The protagonists are Rifts, ordinary people who became the living embodiment of a legend, their Mythos. While your Rifts may seek to strike a balance between the mysterious nature of their Mythos and their mortal aspirations, the powers within them always threaten to tear their lives apart. They have unwittingly become a part of a secret world of clashing stories, and soon other legends will come looking for them with demands.

City of Mist is a combination of PbtA and FATE, giving your characters descriptive tags to use for both their benefit and their detriment as they go about solving mysteries in a supernaturally-saturated city. The primary theme of the game is mystery, and thus more than anything your characters will be primed for investigation. That’s not to say that there isn’t violence - but violence and fighting can be de-emphasized if the group is more interested in the mystery side of things.

Character Creation involves a combination of mundane and supernatural themes, as your character is endeavouring to strike a balance with the parts of themselves that they recognize (student, parent, office worker, ex-partner) and the parts of themselves that are hard to understand (mythical beast, deity, folktale, urban legend). What’s important to define is your daily routine, your personality, and what kind of supernatural powers you have.

This game isn’t explicitly anti-violent, but it absolutely provides you with ways to solve problems that aren’t violent, so I think City of Mist is worth checking out.

Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites, by Pammu.

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites is a narrative RPG about spending your night in one of the only clubs in your city that’s safe for creatures of the night like yourself. All you want to do is have some fun just like the humans do. Play a supernatural creature of choice, put some sick EDM on the speakers and get your game on!

This game works best for an even number of players, up to 6, and is GM-less. It combines urban monsters with flirting, dark clubs and hookups. Each of your characters will look for a partner by doing things that will appeal to the other players. If they like what you do, they’ll reward you with tokens, which you can spend to improve the atmosphere of the club. Fill another player’s intimacy meter, you’ve won them over, and the two of you decide how the night ends for both of your characters.

If you want a game about flirting and the magic of a nightclub, this is your game.

The Far Roofs, by Jenna Katerin Moran.

The Far Roofs is an original role playing system and bundled campaign using pens or pencils, paper, six-sided dice, ten-sided dice, playing cards, and a bag of letter tiles. It's complete in one volume: with this one book and the equipment above, you'll have everything you need to play.

As the story progresses, your characters will gain access to over 150 unique, narrative-focused powers developed and refined over the course of a decade for the Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG before being simplified and adapted for use herein.

The Far Roofs is still being Kickstarted, but Moran’s work on Chuubo’s Wish-Granting Engine produced a game that emphasizes wonder and emotional experience. The Far Roofs looks to deliver along the same lines, and the examples of play point towards investigation, social interaction, and magic powers. Jenna Moran is also known for her unique and evocative storytelling in her work, so I think it’s definitely worth checking out.

Lighthearted, by Kurt & Kate Potts.

Welcome to the magical 80s dream world of Lighthearted. You are a Prep, Jock, Geek, Rebel, or Outcast, like those kids in The Breakfast Club, except you are just about to start magic community college. Through play, we'll explore how you grow out of your high school cliques all while dealing with magical mishaps, college parties, vampires, and worse—finals!

Lighthearted is a complete tabletop roleplaying game that uses the language of film and television to reimagine the coming of age stories popular in 80s teen movies like Weird Science and Sixteen Candles, but with a modern fantasy spin. It's set in an alternate 1980s with fantasy elements weaved into the most outlandish bits of 80’s pop culture. There are fantasy religions mixed in with mall culture, dark magic cold wars, and magical glamours instead of plastic surgery.

This is a game of magic and coming-of-age, as you play first-year students at a magical community college. You’re off to the big city, and the big world - will you survive your first college party? Your first vampire?

The whole game feels like the neon lights of a vibrant night-life combined with the nostalgia of an 80’s film. Your magic is attached to how you feel, so as your emotions change, so will your effectiveness at certain actions. If you want a game that’s as light as its name, and you are seeking out rosy-tinted nostalgia, this might be your game.

Changeling: the Lost, by Onyx Path.

Once upon a time, they took you from your home. They promised you a place at their side, and meaning in your life, and they surrounded you with beautiful things. But the beautiful things were oh so sharp, and they laughed when you bled.

Day by day, they changed you. But day by day, your will grew stronger. On the last day, you smashed your way through the beautiful things and ran, not noticing as you bled or feeling as you cried.

You fought with courage and cleverness and took yourself home. Now the beauty and the horror are yours, to have and to hold and to live.

Welcome to once upon right fucking now.

So I’m familiar only with the 1st edition of Changeling, but as far as I understand, the setting and core premise of the game is the same in the 2nd edition. Changeling: the Lost is a game of fairy trauma. Your characters are survivors of a fae horrorscape, a place both wondrous and terrifying all at once. This game is solidly in the horror genre, but it contains within it a taste of the magical, and it’s also the reason I got into roleplaying in the first place.

As in many Chronicles of Darkness games, fighting is an option in here, but it’s not a wise option. Getting into fights pulls at your characters’ ability to understand the difference between our world and the world of Fae, it’s very easy to sustain supernatural damage that is hard to heal, and, well, sometimes it’s hard to tell who your real enemies are in the first place.

I’d say that Changeling is more of a political game than anything else. Your characters will have to dance through the highly literal wording of faerie pledges, and untangle difficult relationships between Courts that are both safe havens and potential beds of sedition. This is a violent game, but much of the violence possible in Changeling isn’t physical - it's emotional.

This Night On The Rooftops, by C.M. Ruebsaat.

This is a game about gazing out over the smokestacks after dark, with the wind in your hair and a friend at your side and a thousand lights of progress on the streets below.

This Night on the Rooftops is a collaborative storytelling game for 2-5 players about friendship, growing up, and revolution. You will play members of a gang of children in The City, a fantastic world of industry and dying magic, where witches labour alongside factory-workers to make ends meet.

This game looks slightly less modern, but it takes the fantasy aspect of witchcraft and places it inside an industrial city. The game uses a modified version of the No Dice No Masters rule set, which is excellent for stories that have an ebb and flow to them, managed through the use of token expenditure. This game is also GM-less, giving everyone at the table the same amount of control over what happens next.

Since the characters are a gang of teenage witches looking to make ends meet, this game doesn’t strike me as one that prioritizes fighting or violence. The city looks big enough to grind up the characters if they’re not careful, so they’ll likely have to find solutions to problems that don’t get them (or their dependants) in trouble. If the game is like other No Dice No Masters games that I’m familiar with, the group will also have a big say over which elements of the city are the most intriguing to them.

Partners: The Urban Fantasy File, by Tin Star Games.

Some murders are just elf defence…

Vampires are real, magic is real, elves are real - and murder is still very very real. This expansion takes you and your Partner down the moonlit streets of urban fantasy, where the dead sometimes get back up again but crime is still a mystery needing two heads to solve.

The base game for this, Partners, is a two-player mystery-solving game about a pair of detectives, a straight-shooter and a wildcard. You’ll need the base rules to play, but this supplement brings in dead elves, suspicious vampires, and other common characters in any urban fantasy genre. It can work as a one-shot, or as a series of episodes. If you want a game that's primarily about solving a mystery more than anything else, this is is for you.

Solacebound, by Sascha Moore.

Young monsters played at the boundary between the worlds. They slipped and stranded in a human city. Isolated and unwelcome, they search for each others help and a way back.

Solacebound is a GM-less Game for 3-5 people to play over a few hours. Search a sprawling, oppressive city for your friends, find out who is willing to give you a roof, bash back against authorities, cook together and console each other. Will you find a way back home before all passages close?

You are teenage monsters trying to find their way through an urban environment, in a place that is hostile to them. You survive by hiding out, finding each-other, and do things together to make sure you keep each-other healthy. Cards from a deck act as resources, but also as an oracle to help you describe the fallout of any given action, and the emotions that are attached to it. This is a game about metaphors, about what it is like to live in a place that fears you, so I definitely recommend making sure the entire table knows what this is about before starting a game.

You Might Also Want to Check Out

Subway Runners, by Gem Room Games.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #game recommendations #dnd #asks #indie ttrpg #urban fantasy

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cosmos-dot-semicolon · 2 months

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Leshy's Dual Nature (Act 2, Kaycee's Mod spoilers)

You know, I'm really divided on how Leshy is characterised in Inscryption. Like about everything he's portrayed as goes two ways.

He's both the world's spirit of nature and somebody intrinsically aware he's in a video game. He's revealed to not have been evil in the way that he kills actual humans for his card game, but he also did stab out one of his colleague's eyes and turn them all into animals and then lock them away for years. He's a game designer, but also a tyrant actively vying for control over his world.

The most interesting portayal of this is his friendship with Kaycee and his attitude towards human players as a whole.

I know a lot of people see this as purely good and wholesome because he only cares about making a good game (and his campaign clearly has more effort put into it than act 2 and 3), but the game itself hints that even that has more sinister undertones to it.

Rebecha is one of the few outsider perspectives you get on the Scrybes' enmity, and she chooses not to mention how he imprisoned his colleagues, but instead his relationships with the player.

He is in this for the thrill of playing the game, above everything else:

(sorry for the Docs screenshot I don't have the original on hand)

If anyone's played Doki Doki Literature Club, he almost reminds me of Monika, but like? Not romantically attracted to the player and actually fleshed out with a philosophy and character beyond edgy aesthetics. Which makes sense, given Mullins has cited that as an inspiration for some of the meta plot in Inscryption.

But regardless, that's what brought both Luke and Kaycee to their deaths. It could be argued that this is a neutral thing/survival instinct on Leshy's part, but I'd ask you to compare that to Grimora, who's portrayed as doing the right thing in bringing down the game (at least within the constraints of the meta plot)

And while I don't think the fault of this lies entirely on Leshy, you see Kaycee start to suffer from social isolation and weird behaviour long before she actually gets (presumably) assasinated by her company. Her death is by no means on him, but had she lived, I can't imagine she would've turned out to be a well-adjusted individual under the influence of the disk.

Like I get being attached to your own OC projects which maybe 1 other person in the world will enjoy (my AU of this game), but like girl. I think something is happening to you there.

Their friendship is absolutely genuine, but it's clear that the disk is a sort of cursed artefact that Leshy has no gripes with keeping her near. Like as far as Kaycee's Mod's plot goes, she never discloses this to the other programmers, and just continues to slowly obsess over her mod and the game's secrets alone.

And like. From experience, that's just not a healthy way to go about it. Even just having one other real person to discuss your creations with will go a long way in making you feel less stuck in your head.

I don't think any of this makes Leshy's characterisation worth throwing away or condemning or anything. It's fascinating that he has so many layers to him, even if they're not all well-executed (I want to comment a bit on how his philosophy is kind of blunted by the twist that he's not killing real humans, but this post is long enough).

But I think it's worth reading into this guy as more than just 'the least bad Scrybe along with Grimora'. He's the densest character you get from this game and I think it's a shame people don't explore that.

#inscryption #inscryption leshy #leshy inscryption #inscryption analysis #kaycee's mod spoilers #inscryption spoilers #'leshy inscryption is the better version of monika from ddlc' is not the take I thought I'd come up with tonight but here we are #i'm supposed to be revising for exams but I'm exhausted #dots dots dots

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yamayuandadu · 3 months

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Hisami and Zanmu. What drives their love for each other? Does Hisami just like egotistical oni? Do they go on dates? Do they ever cuddle? Would Hisami prefer if Zanmu kissed her or scolded her? Both, maybe?

A truly profound set of questions. Sorry it took me so long to answer them, I haven’t been on social media much lately. I didn’t lose enthusiasm for this pairing or anything - my general interest in Touhou might fluctuate, but I’m fairly sure that much like in the case of junheca my interest in Zanmu and Hisami is here to stay.

I won’t bring much new to the world of zanhisa discourse with this but like many people I like the idea that Zanmu enjoys the fact she can’t fully account for what Hisami does. This idea simply has a lot of comedic potential. Maybe she enjoys the element of uncertainty this introduces to her plans, specifically. Surely it can boost her ego if her plans work even if she is not in full control of some element. And there’s no way Hisami isn’t doing some sort of cartoon villain sidekick yes-man routine during the planning stages (which doubtlessly also provides the desired ego boosts). To put it sort of bluntly, I also think Zanmu is into Hisami on the level of physical attraction. She’s supposed to be a corrupt monk, her irl counterpart according to a legend associated with Ikkyu who famously wrote love poetry and had multiple relationships over the course of his life, there’s no way she doesn’t experience it on some level imo. On a relevant note, it would be cute if Hisami’s title was essentially her memorializing something Zanmu said about her early on after they met. On Hisami’s side, ever since I read about the riveting academic arguments over whether it’s defensible to call yomotsu-shikome forerunners of oni I’ve been thinking about how to adapt that with her character in mind. What I have to offer is that she originally developed feelings for Zanmu in no small part because they share the unusual “sort of kind of oni but you can poke holes in this claim” status (logically Zanmu should be a tengu, that’s the default path for corrupt monks, I would really love to see that referenced at some point). Otherwise she’s just been assigned henchman at birth, and Zanmu lets her truly utilize her talents to follow this calling.

I like to interpret the game’s events as a pivotal point in their relationship so imo they WILL go on dates at some point at the very least - Hisami’s ending is essentially the first one as far as my headcanons are concerned. I do think they cuddle though. Perhaps more, even. Hisami occupies the position of a henchman with benefits.

Last but not least, clearly a combination of both is optimal. I have some more relevant thoughts pertaining to that that I will spare the readers from (for now).

#zanhisa

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authorchia · 4 months

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⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚ 𝚂𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚔𝚢, 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚕𝚢. ⋆｡𖦹 °

𝚅𝚊𝚗 𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚘𝚗

AHA! I knew I would make a dedicated post for my personal r1999 crack ship! If you see this post you're in for a ride because I will make you interested in this ship~

As you may know from the title, I ship Shamane x Eternity, or I also like to call it SeaGoat/Capricorn. I already have a few reasons and headcanons for this couple, so heads up! Long post incoming below!

💙 Ship name origin

It was a usual day in the r1999 discord server, and at that time they were talking about ships and stuff. I playfully asked if there's a good name for my ShamaNity ship. Then I got a revelation that I can call them SeaGoat because of Shamane's udimo and Eternity's sea/ocean theme! And one of the members said "...Capricorn". At first I was confused so I googled it AND I FOUND OUT CAPRICORN IS A SEA GOAT! "THIS IS GENIUS" I said, so that's how I adopt the ship name! Though I know it doesn't really fit with one of Eternity's voiceline. But if I name it OceanGoat... it's- uh- you get the point.

💙 Their dynamics

Good lord, they give off so many dynamics... But looking at their voicelines and in-game lore:

1. I can pretty much tell they're both yappers (in a good way). Eternity talks about mostly about seafood and about her experience as an immortal, while Shamane talks all about his journey being a shaman and some giving food to us (Vertin). I can see them talk back and forth about their experiences from their respective lives. They could know how each sees the world through the eyes of a mortal and an immortal. I like to think the suitcase feels lively as the both of them always talk to each other, no matter the time or circumstances (✿ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)⁾⁾

2. THEY'RE BOTH OLD. In the current global roster, Shamane is the oldest of all the male characters (being 45 y/o) while Eternity is the oldest of all the female characters (being over a century old because she's a vampire). They definitely act like an old married couple. They'll be the suitcase crew's parents like isn't that just the sweetest thing?

3. Their Ultimate animation Just look at these!!!

Shamane represents the sky while Eternity represents the sea/ocean, and it really tickles my neurons thinking about it. NOT TO MENTION Shamane's ultimate also has what it looks like some sort of lake? The point is that they both have something to do with water on it!

4. They both can fill their loneliness This more just me doing some headcanon, but from Eternity's voicelines, I can tell she's pretty lonely. Being an immortal has its advantages but also comes with a price. I haven't seen Shamane's full backstory, but judging from the trailer, he definitely went through a lot on his journey to become a shaman. As the two gets closer, Eternity would find him amusing yet inspiring for he's still alive after going through so much as a mortal and Shamane would find her intriguing and would be curious about the immortal's life. They slowly find solace with each other, the shaman receiving simple yet genuine love and care while the vampire gets to have someone who can have fun and relax together. Though Eternity knows they won't last forever, for Shamane's life is nothing but temporary in her eyes. She will be lonely in the end, like she always have, but at least she got to experience something new...

💙 Last words

Aaaaaand that's the end of why I ship them! If you made it this far, WOW! You certainly are a reader, my friend! Have a cookie for compensation~ 🍪

#reverse: 1999 #reverse 1999 #reverse 1999 headcanons #r1999 #r1999 shamane #r1999 eternity #shamanity #ship post

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yuri-is-online · 2 months

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So I’ve got to ask, would you recommend Tokyo Revengers from your experience so far? Does the story and characters outweigh the (alleged) obnoxious currency system and money grabs?

So my gut reaction is to say no, I do not because I just cannot feel comfortable recommending this game in the state it's in, but I am going to make a pros and cons list to help maybe give you (and anyone else curious) a basic idea of where my head is at right now and help you make your own decision.

Cons

THERE ARE NO CAMPAIGN REWARDS. I cannot stress that enough there is nothing being given out to day one players to help you get started, and honestly it's super hard. Saving up for pulls feels like a foreign concept, there are so few opportunities to earn gems I have no real idea how I would even start building a stash let alone a team with the few characters I currently have. They don't give you a free SSR like twst does to help out, just the free SR from choosing your guy at the beginning though they do have a paid free SSR function. Now Twisted Wonderland does too, but like I said they give you a free one with unlimited re-rolls at the start.

Someone actually did the math about pulls and I agree with their assessment here: the cost isn't the worst I have seen in a gacha, but when you couple that with no free SSR for f2p, lack of reliable way to earn gems and I can feel it being a nightmare if the game progresses any further without a re vamp of some sort.

There really is no point to the combat or team building in this game beyond being a road block between you and the story. It's full auto which could be neat if there were nice animations but there aren't. It really might as well not be there, and that's before you get to the SSR rates...

Neither Pro nor Con

You might have noticed the above reddit user talking about the distinction between joseimuke vs otome and the reason for that is way back when this game was first announced it was supposed to be an otome game, which implies a level of explicit romance and relationship between the MC and the characters that is not typically present in joseimuke games. The current version of the game has a cast that seems to have completely changed, both character and voice actor wise. The stated reason for this and the delay was "changes in the market." It was originally supposed to be based off of Tokyo Ghoul? And was supposed to release in 2019, but was delayed until 2020, then put on indefinite hiatus until it's release now.

On an unrelated note, OG Obey Me! was released on December 11, 2019, Twisted Wonderland was released in Japan on March 18 2020, and Genshin Impact's world wide release was on September 28 of the same year. Make of that what you will.

"Yuri why did you bring up Obey Me?" Well Solomon's ring is introduced as a plot device... which could be interesting if they are going the direction I think they are with it but I don't know if I have enough faith in them for that.

The Pros

The characters in this game are honestly really fun. I really do mean that, I am not sold on their dorms/houses but the dynamics between the characters themselves are good for what they are. But the tone is very goofy compared to Twisted Wonderland (despite featuring more explicit topics) and I don't think these characters are as well developed as twst's are, but I think that can be chalked up to one of these games having been written by a manga author and the other having not.

I am a little bitch who hates horror stuff and is easily spooked but I really love how they are using modern internet horror monsters in this game. The first book features a creepy pasta monster that I was legitimately afraid of as a kid and I love their take on him. This second book features a ghost from a popular Japanese creepypasta. I'm a sucker for people being creative and using things that have become a part of popular culture without making it cringe, and I think this game succeeds at that.

Wrap Up

This entire situation has made me think about two animes I really like that I think sort of fall into the same dynamic as Twisted Wonderland and Tokyo Debunker. The first I am sure you have heard of, it's called Komi Can't Communicate and follows a girl with trouble communicating who really wants to make friends, and ends up accidentally befriending a guy who wants to help her out. The manga started being released in 2016 and is still going. It's quite good and I like it a lot.

The second is a little show called Aharen-san wa Hakarenai. It's manga started in 2017 and it received an anime adaptation around the same time as Komi san was being adapted. It follows a girl who has trouble communicating who really wants to make friends who accidentally befriends a guy who wants to help her out. I have no idea if Komi-san inspired Aharen-san nor do I really care because once you get past the generic set up, the routes the story takes are completely different as are the personalities of the characters. Komi is a slice of life and coming of age story in addition to a romcom, whereas Aharen is just a straight up romcom with a really cute main couple. There is room for both to exist because both stories do their own thing, just with a similar premise. There really is no reason Tokyo Debunker and Twisted Wonderland can't do the same, provided TD gives itself room to breathe and fixes it's damn grind.

Well assuming it picks up in Japan, it doesn't seem super popular over here right now.

#<3 asks #tokyo debunker

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homestuckreplay · 1 month

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Shrinking Wormholes; Transferring Syllogism Twine

(page 134-137)

Homestuck is my worst enemy. These past couple days without updates left me time to transcribe the video on page 137, which took long enough that I never want to look at it again. Which is a shame, because it's a cool video, the shifting colors and the twisting spirograph are good to look at and I like the irregularity of the movement. And I do respect the attention to detail - the fact that Hussie took the time to write out 231 meaningless phrases about DIY and spread them unevenly throughout the video shows a real dedication to recreating the video game experience. It feels very real, I can sense the anticipation when the video gets stuck on a particular phrase for a full second, that feeling of just wanting to play the game but having to wait.

Below the cut at the end I've listed all the phrases in the video, but it's LONG, so be warned. I'm also not sure this was a good use of time, there's not loads here that seems relevant. We get a broad overall sense of the game, which seems to be a building/DIY simulator, maybe something like digital Lego, maybe something more like having to maintain a house day to day, perform repairs and give it 'upgrades' like new lighting or a new garage, as most of the nouns are tools you could buy in a Home Depot.

Here's a few exceptions that jumped out to me:

Observing Avenues, Analyzing Eyes - both of these relate to surveillance

Transferring Syllogism Twine, Auditing Nescience Passages - relate to knowledge/logic or the lack of it

Anticipating Gateways, Shrinking Wormholes, Referring Time Spools, Retrofitting Aesthetics Portals - these relate to time and space, perhaps to messing with the laws of physics

Transcribing Existence Rivets, Finalizing Atma Augers - relate to life and the soul

It's interesting to me how these phrases are hidden within a barrage of far more mundane ones. I think this game will seem on its surface to be very normal and simply a reflection of John's existing life, playing in a digital house not too different to his very real one, but that it has more and weirder stuff going on below the surface. The game will present opportunities to escape the trap of the suburbs in ways that John can't yet figure out in real life - but will be able to in the game, because he has experience with gaming and coding. It might take some mild hacking and exploiting loopholes in the mechanics, but these possibilities are clearly coded into the game, or they wouldn't be in the loading screen. It's a game that wants the players to push its limits and see what's possible, and rewards a player who tries to go beyond the mechanics as presented.

John's had a lot of practice messing with his sylladex for 130+ pages, and I think that's really going to pay off when he starts using a similar skillset in game. It's interesting, because most characters (or people) would have an arc of learning a skill in a game and then exporting it to real life, while I think John's going to have the opposite, with the supposed constraints of the game actually giving him freedom, and the supposed open world of real life just closing doors to him.

Anyway, no wonder TT is excited to play this game. I bet she's eating up all these long words.

Transcript of Flash animation, p.137. Spelling mistakes come from the original.

Transforming Soffits Reorganizing Keys Formalizing Immersion Joints Justifying Kick Extractors Advising Aggregates Managing Elbows Recasting Connectors Achieving Aluminum Trowels Officiating Disks Exhibiting Absolute Spigots Progressing Coil Hydrants Jerry-building Reflectors Informing Casters Inventing Rubber Hoists Performing Wrenches Judging Chalk Adapters Upgrading Ignition Paths Regrowing Flashing Recommending Ratchets Approving Barriers Sweeping Impact Fillers Sewing Mirrors Detailing Collectors Enforcing Measures Distributing Systems Presenting Plugs Interwinding Registers Piloting Ash Diffusers Gathering Cranks Supplying Eave Pockets Undertaking Scroll Stops Accelerating Straps Designing Fittings Protecting Diamond Boilers Logging Downspouts Correlating Shingles Uniting Mallets Qualifying Electrostatic Lifts Sharing Clamps Obtaining Circular Fluids Ranking Foundation Gauges Sensing Miter Brackets Originating Space Networks Translating Drills Regulating Guards Selecting Gable Padding Utilizing Pellet Dowels Reconciling Artifacts Altering Pulleys Shedding Space Filters Determining Vents Representing Mortar Remaking Flash Rakers Supporting Funnels Typecasting Rotary Chocks Expressing Junctures Resetting Auxiliary Vises Professing Strip Treads Inlaying Matter Trowels Questioning Drivers Forming Edge Fittings Sketching Blanks Overshooting Spark Breakers Rewriting Controls Playing Tunnels Inventorying Buttons Enduring Joist Handles Effecting Ratchet Bibbs Unwinding Couplings Forsaking Vapor Conduits Defining Sockets Calculating Heaters Raising Grids Administering Tiles Measuring Resources Installing Ignition Remotes Extracting Corners Manufacturing Ventilators Delegating Consoles Treating Mounting Stones Enacting Jig Deflectors Intensifying Alloys Improvising Cargo Pinpointing Bobs Prescribing Arc Masonry Structuring Metal Chocks Symbolizing Lathes Activating Plumb Kits Adapting Coatings Fixing Channels Expediting Cordage Planning Compressors Enlisting Hangers Restructuring Keyhole Augers Shearing Ridge Hardware Collecting Reciprocating Bolts Maintaining Corrugated Dimmers Whetting Hole Collars Conducting Mandrels Comparing Assets Compiling Sealants Completing Paths Composing Equivocation Wheels Computing Dampers Conceiving Electrostatic Treatment Ordering Cotter Grates Organizing Ties Orienting Ladders Exceeding Materials Targeting Thermocouples Demonstrating Emery Stock Expanding Latch Bases Training Wardrobe Adhesives Overcomming Fasteners Streamlining Storm Anchors Navigating Springs Perfecting Turnbuckles Verifying Gate Pegs Arbitrating Arithmetic Lifts Negotiating Outlets Normalizing Strips Building Surface Foggers Checking Key Torches Knitting Grinders Mowing Planers Offsetting Stencils Acquiring Bulbs Adopting Rivets Observing Avenues Ascertaining Coaxial Grommets Slinging Wing Winches Instituting Circuit Generators Instructing Wicks Integrating Pry Shutters Interpreting Immersion Lumber Clarifying Coils Classifying Wood Bits Closing Cogs Cataloging Matter Strips Charting Holders Conceptualizing Push Terminals Stimulating Supports Overthrowing Shaft Spacers Quick-freezing Connectors Unbinding Ground Hooks Analyzing Eyes Anticipating Gateways Controlling Proposition Rollers [blank bar momentarily]

Converting Power Angles Coordinating Staples Correcting Benders Counseling Joist Gaskets Recording Gutter Pipes Recruiting Drains Rehabilitating Rafter Tubes Reinforcing Washers Reporting Guard Valves Naming Freize Sprues Nominating Rings Noting Straps Doubling Nailers Drafting Circuit Hoses Dramatizing Flanges Splitting Framing Compounds Refitting Stems Interweaving Patch Unions Placing Sillcocks Sorting Slot Threads Securing Mode Cutters Diverting Catharsis Plates Procuring Load Thresholds Transferring Syllogism Twine Directing Switch Nuts Referring Time Spools Diagnosing Knobs Discovering Locks Dispensing Hinges Displaying Hasps Resending Arc Binders Retreading Grooves Retrofitting Aesthetics Portals Seeking Stocks Shrinking Wormholes Assembling Blocks Assessing Divets Attaining Lug Boxes Auditing Nescience Passages Conserving Strikes Constructing Braces Contracting Saw Catches Serving Instantiation Irons Recognizing Fluxes Consolidating Fuse Calipers Mapping Shims Reviewing Chop Groovers Scheduling Lag Drives Simplifying Hoists Engineering Levels Enhancing Tack Hollows Establishing Finishing Blocks Estimating Adhesives Evaluating Mortar Examining Auto Turnbuckles Processing Foggers Servicing Avenues Transcribing Existence Rivets Revising Consoles Separating Absolute Stencils Budgeting Sheet Grommets Preparing Kits Realigning Cartesian Mandrels Painting Fasteners Filing Grout Hangers Finalizing Atma Augers Formulating Couplings Identifying Sillcocks Imagining Materials Inducing Shutters Influencing Wheels Licensing Chocks Lifting Extrinsic Mallets Overdrawing Ratchets Overlaying Ventilators Overriding Cardinal Soffits Specifying Element Aggregates Systemizing Divets Shaping Pockets Publicizing Aether Remotes Governing Archetype Dimmers Monitoring Assets Launching Manifestation Systems

#homestuck #reaction #please i love to build ikea furniture but this is beyond my expertise #its 2am and i wish i knew a builder so bad

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utilitycaster · 10 months

Note

Do you feel like you like FCG more now *because* of how much he originally grated on you? Because I’ve been feeling lately like that. Like I see him now and part of what I enjoy is how very much he’s grown as a person from the (sorry Sam) painfully unpleasantly awkward/nosy guy he was. I like him more because of how much he bothered me to start. If not that, what else do you feel had fueled your shift in feelings, I’d love to hear!

Good question! I don’t know if it’s that he was grating early on so much that the things that were issues for me early on have since been resolved in-game as part of a compelling and well-crafted arc. There are characters who have great character arcs whom I’ve loved start to finish, but it is true that there’s something uniquely satisfying when a character you didn't like turns around, and this is by far the most dramatic turnaround I've experienced in actual play.

I didn’t mind the awkwardness, and the nosiness was a bit irritating, but for me the problems were much more the constant people-pleasing/terrible therapy from someone who didn’t seem to have any awareness combined with the fact that a sourceless cleric is not interesting to me at all, and Sam was having a difficult time with the mechanics which is somewhat unforgivable in a party with two glass cannons.

All of that has since been fixed. I think the subclass is still in need of retooling, but now that the party has more HP and FCG themself has more options, Sam is less reliant on the mechanics I disliked and much more comfortable with more standard cleric options. FCG developing a sense of personhood and approaching his interests out of genuine curiosity and wistfulness about the experiences he cannot have rather than the obsequious “oh, I’m just a machine” has been a joy to watch. And, of course, they’re engaging with a deity! They’re exploring faith in a way we really haven’t seen before; all our past clerics have been clerics since childhood, and the pathway to being a paladin is fundamentally different. Finding out more about Aeor, and his connection with FRIDA are both icing on the cake - really, all I needed was an arc about FCG finding a source of faith (deity-based or conceptual) and coming to terms with being a real person, and, like Ashton, I couldn’t be prouder of them.

If I may: I think of the cast, Sam is not necessarily graceful or subtle at dropping hints and working in a picture of what’s there without explicitly saying it (I've talked about this as negative space), but he is extremely good at understanding the structure of a story and that this is work that needs to be done. Think of Nott spending an hour disguised as a halfling in a cafe, or Scanlan doing drugs, or FCG being weird about birds and talking about their past party. It's necessary groundwork to be laid, and it’s infinitely better to lay it on thickly or imperfectly than to not do it at all. As a result, sometimes Sam's characters do take longer to grow on me, but they consistently have; the turnaround for FCG was just the sharpest.

I think because FCG was built around a particularly complicated reveal, it was rough until we hit Breaking Point. Because he was so focused on putting those dominoes in place, he was holding back too much on everything else. Once we had that reveal it felt like Sam could actually breathe. The confirmation FCG had a soul came not long after and everything since then has been a wonderfully explored arc of someone coming at the problem of “who am I and where do I fit in to the world” from several different directions.

#answered #Anonymous #critical role #fcg

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iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia · 5 months

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Brainrot Housekeeping: A little note about Dorian

This is my heads-up that I've decided to try messing around on their platform and translating some of my headcanons into the Arcana's visual novel format.

This is not a promotional post. (hence why you won't be seeing any links, story titles, or profile handles)

It's mostly so that if anybody sees something posted by an author over there using my ideas/moniker, it's probably me and not a thief. Also, this blog is far and away my priority over that - if I start to feel overwhelmed or burnt out, that's going to be the first thing I stop doing. Not this :)

I'm putting more thoughts below the cut since the main point of this post is to be transparent about my activity to avoid misunderstandings:

I've been in conversation with plenty of people about Dorian. I've heard from people whose lives were transformed for the better because of it, I've heard from people with mixed feelings, I've heard from people whose lives were wrecked by it. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who's been on my page for a while that I'm fairly skeptical of them myself and don't always see eye-to-eye with them on how things seem to be run.

Anybody who's talked to me personally about it knows that I have boatloads more opinions, but I realized that those are based off of what I've heard much more than off of what I've experienced. So for transparency's sake, here are my reasons for trying this out:

First, the most important thing I've learned to do is to try encountering something for myself when I keep hearing and developing strong opinions about it. Sticking to this personal value is what got me out of Rai's server and influence (if you don't know and you want to know, read my pinned "to the arcana fandom" post) and ultimately what helped me get the resources I needed to help my friends get out of serious danger too. If I want to join the conversation about the clear divide between Dorian's vision for the Arcana and the fandom built around the original game, I have to try both sides out for myself.

Second, I'm a curious person and it seems like a new way to fuck around and find out (something I do constantly, though I rarely show it on here :P). I'm a creative, I love these characters, and the chance to see my own words in the original format sounds like fun.

To finish off, these are the goals and parameters I'm setting myself when it comes to however active I end up being over there. I'm putting them here again for transparency, but mainly to help me keep myself accountable:

My main goal is to try a new experience and have fun in the process. To do that, I'm going to keep my mind open without losing critical thinking and only make what I feel like making and when I feel like making it

Nothing I create is going to be motivated by a desire to be "successful". I'm already successful - I have a steady job IRL, a group of amazing friends, and this gift of a page that lets me be creative and find joy with other people around one of my many interests

Being active over there is going to be a bottom priority. If my tasks are getting to be too much, that will be the first to go because the only value I place in it at this time is experiental

If I find I can't stick to these goals, whether it be motivation, mentality, or just a loss of interest, I'll stop my activity over there and re-evaluate what I'm doing vs what I want to be doing and why

If I encounter something that's deeply concerning to me, I'll attempt to address it proactively through the proper channels available to me. If those concerns remain unaddressed and I think people need to know about it, I'll talk about it openly and honestly

I won't use my blog or server to promote any work I publish over there. Concurrently, I'll do my best to avoid any promotion off of the Dorian app

That's all from me for now about this! I'll be linking it in my pinned post so people who want to know more about me can look at it, but I won't be putting it on the arcana tag because I don't think it's relevant at this time.

Cheers!

brainrot

#ask arcana brainrot #dorian era

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friendsim2 · 2 months

Note

just finished around 2/3 of volume 12, i love so much the entire dreamscape / real world mechanic and lore-wise, love the way purplebloods and their history is represented and currently romancing Lynera. i'm in love with this volume so far thank you all so much (and whoever had the idea of making TechniColor Heart an actual thing, i'd hug u)

That was me (game's director/lead writer here) - TechniColor Heart was actually in production for a few months. The April Fool's joke trailer was just a fake-out using footage from the actual game (within a game) - it's original inception goes back to the "we'll put sex in the game" meme we did on Twitter.

So I basically spent 3 months writing, coding, and doing UI design to put that in there. The assets are a combination of Friendsim 2 assets and backgrounds I did and sprites that Riotbreaker did for another game (it was cancelled in its original form and another studio may or may not be continuing it at some point, but without the original assets). I'm a big fan of committing to the bit - to the point where every one of the "hahaha wouldn't it be funny if we put this in the game?" jokes has not, in fact, been a joke.

Originally there was gonna be a shorter and less interesting dream sequence in that bit there that had a Tyzias/Tagora trial sequence (we actually had that sequence completely done with recorded dialogue) as well as some small walk-around segments using existing assets.

There were also a couple cut mini-games from Volume 12 - a sliding tile puzzle and a "light up the lights" type puzzle, neither of which was very fun - so those got replaced with Tetris and Fire Fling, respectively. (if you talk to Mallek about his GameDude console in the TechniColor Heart segment, you can actually play Gameboy versions of those games to practice them)

Overall, Volume 12 has probably been our most involved volume. One of the things I wanted to get right going into this game was how the purple bloods are portrayed, because there's a lot of baggage associated with how they're shown in canon, and I wanted to approach the whole thing thoughtfully and make it an impactful experience.

I cannot stress enough how important the contribution of the route's primary writer, Miranda Holliday, was to the experience of that route. They laid down the framework (and wrote most of the first half of the route) for a lot of the themes and how they tie into real-world issues of ethnicity, race, and culture. I picked up what they put down and then they went back over what I'd written in the second half to tighten up some of the language and provide feedback on the way the themes were developed.

Also, the route's sprite designer, Cole, was instrumental in fleshing out the character designs and giving them a unique character. Riotbreaker ended up doing the finished sprite sets off the original designs, and she did an awesome job of following Cole's reference designs.

Also, unique among the routes, we had the stark contrast between the dreamscape backgrounds (done by Dave Fowler) and the real-world backgrounds (done by Herk Lapaduza, who's done work on a couple other volumes both released and unreleased!). The dreamscape in particular was very much an exercise in "have fun with it!" to the artist, and the result was a delightfully surreal experience to contrast with the much more grounded style of the other backgrounds.

Lastly, our VAs for this route really helped sell their characters' unique personalities. Valentine was my choice to play Marvus from before we even started this game (there's an interesting story there - before FS2 was a thing I was going to do a fan dub of my Delightful Abattoir Hiveswap novel, so some of the voice cast comes from that!), and Miranda, Jason and Vyn did an amazing job with Akhnai, Barzum/Baizli, and Chahut.

#friendsim #friendsim 2 #homestuck #hiveswap #hiveswap friendsim #fan game #friendsim2 #fan project #fansim

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artistic-mathematics · 8 months

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You really think Lae'zel/Shadowheart would actually be happy long term together?

I really tried to love it, did Shadowheart origin and romanced her but I dunno, just felt like Tav with some new dialogue. It feels like a really shallow ship, Shadowheart is not subtle when she likes someone, Kalrach/Halisn. Neither is Lae'zel.

They just aren't interested, even after their fight and the creche/gauntlet there's no connection beyond casual respect.

Just don't see it at all. Maybe I lack the fandom goggles for it but very vapid ship

yes, I do think they would be -- they both grow to be kinder and softer people, and really grow to care for each other by the end.

I actually think Shadowheart and Lae'zel are more subtle compared to the other companions when they like someone. you have to remember that sex is like, stage -1 for Lae'zel's romance -- githyanki don't really do love, so romancing her is quite literally touching all the bases backwards. Lae'zel never states who she likes during any playthrough (afaik) aside from the player character, and that's just because that's not exactly something she's familiar with because it's not in her culture at all.

as for Shadowheart, her voiceline for Karlach is when she meets her -- and ofc she's not going to have any similar dialogue for Lae'zel, because Lae'zel is a gith. and correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe this is the only time Shadowheart says anything like this ab Karlach for the rest of the playthrough. as for Halsin, she actually has dialogue where she expresses disdain if the player character kisses him. there's no way to know this is jealousy unless you romance Shadowheart and Halsin asks to have sex with you during the end of act 2, in which Shadowheart will fully admit to wanting the opportunity. but this is only if you're romancing her -- she won't make any mention of it otherwise. even when Halsin finally offers to travel along, her reaction is by far the most negative compared to everyone else's.

so in summary, I don't really think Lae'zel and Shadowheart are exactly the type to openly admit to who they like necessarily. I think they'd work well especially considering that they were both deprived of love for so long (Shadowheart being kidnapped + not being allowed to love bc of Shar worship, Lae'zel straight-up not having any due to gith culture) that it'd be this gentle learning experience for the both of them. they both already clearly care for each other, even if it's just as friends. besides, they already bicker like an old married couple in game lol

also keep in mind that these are just my interpretations! if you don't think Lae'zel and Shadowheart would work well together, you're absolutely entitled to your own opinions and views :)

#ask reply #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #shadowheart #lae'zel #shadowzel

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katyspersonal · 5 months

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(More elaborate under cut)

It is really interesting to think of what might have been a particular reason, if any at all! Both putting one's special skill they've worked hard to master to a great use OR not having much under one's belt but finding the way with passion and open-mind offer for a compelling character! But Bloodborne is also full of various gods (or people) using others and who knows if the results are handy in some way? Caryll could've been chosen, or someone (Willem? Laurence? idk?) could have offered them. Like 'yeah it will shorten your lifespan by like 50 years but you will serve the humanity well!'. And knowing madness of Byrgenwerth scholars, Caryll could actually volunteer for something like this!

But also Hunter rune/mark has been shown to exist since Pthumerian civilizations AND Byrgenwerth used to be a place of studying history and archeology; Caryll might have rediscovered and improved lost knowledge for that matter! But also Runes Workshop Tool is found on Hemwick on some unfortunate normie hunter victim tied up and surrounded by many pages, and the statue behind Memory Altar (also found all over Chalice Dungeons) has a surgical stitch on the forehead and AAAAAAAA-

Personally my first thought about the character was a mix of things - an artist guy that also had synesthesia and partially deaf. Then I fell into a rabbit hole of Hemwick implications and had Caryll be the long-missing third head witch of Hemwick (there are at least three statues in the game implying the 'triad', and one IS in Hemwick Mansion!). ......then I found out as far as Japanese original is concerned Caryll has a male name (Karel) with that mother-teresa-looking-motherfucker statue also being a reused asset in dungeons- My current compromise is to have two characters - a scholar in Byrgenwerth that deciphered the alphabet, and the witch that found a way to burn it into a brain for hunters' aid! So why she is the one revered by Old Hunters and Church Prospectors, whereas Caryll is otherwise a hiding figure closer to Byrgenwerth.

And what are your stories about Caryll guys?

#bloodborne #polls #runesmith caryll #bloodborne headcanons

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silriven · 6 months

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Thoughts on the Badlands Campaign

So I finally got around to playing the Badlands storyline for myself. I went into this thinking "oh, maybe I'm reading way too much into the quest text, maybe when I play it myself, I'll see why everyone tends to find Rhea the sympathetic one in the story here."

I'm here to report that, uh, no, when I was the one actually taking eggs from the imprisoned mother and then murdering both her and her children in game, I found it just as impactful. Maybe a little more. We do some really despicable things for "the greater good" here.

The black dragon body count racked up by you, the player character, in this questline is thirty-six: 12 darklight soldiers, 22 whelps, Velarok, and Nyxondra. Alliance characters get a trio of enthusiastic dwarf sidekicks to help us with some of this.

The saddest part about playing this, for me, was realizing that when Rhea sends you after the escaped Nyxondra, you find her circling above her brood. So her first act of freedom was to go to the surviving experiments to try and protect them. You then kill 12 for the quest.

Another sad thing is her one line of dialogue, which is also the last thing she ever says: "My kin won't forget what you've done! We will rage, mortals!" Have her kin actually forgotten? We don't know, because so far, none of the black dragonflight have brought this up.

(There are these lines from the recent "Misfit Dragon" quest line with Wrathion and Vyranoth in patch 10.2, though, which I still love. It's a stretch, but it could be a nod to a lot of Badlands story things, including this, so there's that at least.)

All of this is on top of the suffering endured by Nyxondra "off-screen" as Rhea forced her to lay eggs while she was an invisible prisoner trapped within eyeshot of her unaware kin ("right in the middle of their breeding grounds"). It's unknown for how long.

One last interesting thing that stood out to me was that Rhea refers to herself "an envoy of Alexstrasza herself", so I think it's not a question of "if" Alex knew about this but "how much" did she know.

There's also a very dark joke about draconic diplomacy somewhere in here

The part of the quest that I think is really most affecting is when Rhea seems to have an epiphany and realize the extent of the pain that she's caused, but then she immediately doubles down on the excuse that Nyxondra's sacrifice "was necessary." Nyxondra, of course, seems to disagree strongly. Her free will has been taken from her by Rhea, she has no agency in this situation.

After this, Rhea sends a Champion out to "put her out of her misery," like she's a wounded animal. It's barbaric.

Then there's this line: "The Red Dragonflight is as benevolent as it is powerful." This is the final bit of salt in the wound. The Red Dragonflight was anything but benevolent in this quest. I think the only way you could come to that conclusion is if you see the corrupted black dragons as not only past the point of saying, but as lesser beings who are disposable, whose pain is some kind of comeuppance for having succumbed to the Old Gods.

It's another case in World of Warcraft of corruption being associated with moral "badness" by the narrative. The narrative in this game constantly implies that the dragons who succumb to corruption do so because they have some kind of moral failing or moral weakness. The narrative tells us that black dragons "deserve" not just to be killed but be made to suffer for their madness and for the actions they took while under the Old Gods' influence.

Rhea even says this somewhat explicitly: Nyxondra supposedly deserves what Rhea is doing to her because of what her flight did to Alexstrasza. Her suffering isn't just the consequence of cold science being done to save the future of the black dragonflight, it's deliberately retributive.

I'm not really going anywhere with this, just kind of wanted to talk again about how (intentionally or not) Wrathion's origin story is dark as hell.

#silriven: ruminations #nyxondra #rheastrasza #rhea #badlands #world of warcraft #wrathion

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pythoria · 8 months

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something about bg3 i find fascinating is just How Many characters are good and compelling. Usually with most media, be it games or tv shows or movies you have one or 2 characters you get attached to, but with baldur's gate i love almost every single character in their own way.

Astarion is instantly charming and witty, he's the sassy vampire who most people find themselves drawn to, but he's not the only compelling character by far. Gale takes some time to grow on you, but after you actually see how his story unfolds and maybe even romance him, you start understanding that he's just as hurt and sad as any of the other characters, groomed from a young age and misunderstood because of it. Astarion sees himself as just a body to be used, but Gale also thinks he's worthless deep down, especially after losing the bulk of his magic. He's passively suicidal and thinks his abuser is worth sacrificing everything for, and needs the whole camp to yell at him for being stupid to realise he might deserve to live and even, get this, find happiness.

Shadowheart's story and ending isn't talked about a lot, but it is HEARTBREAKING, and both endings for her are the only ones that actually brought tears to my eyes. In a similar way to other characters, her bad ending gives away a lot about her character, almost more than her good ending, and without spoiling it, i'll just say: it's impossible to make her character evil. she will always be governed by a sense of good and justice, and the only thing that goes wrong for her is being misguided and unable to turn back. Whatever she does, she does it because she thinks it's good and just.

I can't go in depth about every character, although they are all incredible, but honourable mentions for me are literally all the villains. Gortash is instantly compelling, and how could he not be with a voice actor like That. Him and Orin are also incredibly visually interesting, as well as their personalities being so magnetic. Ketheric is deeply tragic in his own way, act 2 is practically dedicated to his shattered family and it's so fascinating to see the shards of a broken man scattered across a broken, cursed land.

Raphael has the best theme song by far, he's overflowing with charisma, he speaks in riddles and verse, he's the perfect devil. He draws you in, you almost start to like him, and then you arrive at the House of Hope and the illusion both shatters and builds even further, because his lair is by far the best map in the entire game. You find out he only ever wants to sleep with himself, but that he's terrible in bed according to his succubus. You see people's lost souls pop in and out of existence, and you can only watch them beg for reprieve, but cannot interact. You see debtors crawling around rabidly on all fours, or worshipping his toilet, or sitting in front of his budoir, endlessly bound to watch him and his succubus through the peep hole but never allowed to join. And then there's the final fight, with its incredible song that everyone should experience for the first time in game.

So many compelling characters and i could write an essay about each one. i've barely scratched the surface, and i haven't even mentioned all the origin characters. it's just insane to me how detailed every story is, how they all have their own individual arcs and motivations and they're all fully fleshed out, and feel so god damn REAL. Yeah, bg3 should get GOTY, but honestly that's not even enough. The voice actors need oscars, the composer needs a grammy, and so on and so forth. what a game.

#pythoria.txt #bg3 #astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 gale #bg3 spoilers

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satirates · 3 months

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I decided to watch Ninjago from the beginning again since it's being a while. Some of these episodes I haven't watched since 2012, but most of them I haven't watched since 2019 when I had my big Ninjago phase. Here's my thought on each season's from what I remember (I'm curious to see how it will change): Season 1: Good season with good characters. The final was PHENOMENAL and I watched it, like, 20 times. Baby me absolutely loved Zane and Hated Lloyd for some reason (I think it's because he was a brat) 9/10 Season 2 : I was not a big fan of the first couple of episodes or the city setting, but I again loved the final. It was so awesome! Still hated Lloyd for no reason, even has a teenager. 7/10

Season 3 (Rebooted): I strongly disliked that season, but for an excellent reason. I waited so long for season 3 that I couldn't wait any longer to watch it when it's release... in English... A language I didn't speak at the time. So my entire season 3 experience was trying and failing to understand the plot of a very confusing scenario that ended in my favourite character dying. I must tell that I wasn't a fan at the time, lol. 2/10

Season 4( ToE): I did wait for the French dub to watch season 4 and 5 so at least I could understand what's happening. I really liked season 4. Discovering new elemental masters was really fun, and they really nailed the tournament aspect of it all. 8/10

Season 5 (Possession): I didn't like this season when I watched it in 2015, but I loved it when I rewatched it in 2019. I think it's because I don't like scary things, so the ghost theming was too spooky for me when I was a baby. Strangely enough, this is the season that made me like Lloyd. I just needed him to be menacing, apparently. 9/10

Season 6 (Skybound): First season I watched in 2019 after giving up on Ninjago mid-possession in 2015. I knew at the time it was a very controversial season, but I LOVED it. It was my favourite so far. Not only did this season had very high stake, the Djin was also a very interesting villain. 10/10

Season 7 (HoT) : I'm not going to lie, I barely remember anything about the Hands of times other than it being focus on Kai and Nya and their parents. I don't remember disliking it, but it was clearly not my favourite. I don't remember/10

Season 8 (SoG): I'm going to say the same things for every season of this trilogy: I loved it! I liked the new design a lot, the animation looked amazing, and the scenario was the best we ever had. This was so cool. 10/10

Season 9 (Hunted): Same has the precedent season, but even better! Definitely the best season from what I could remember. I still own so many Lego sets from this era of Ninjago haha. 12/10

Season 10 (MotO) : I don't dislike this season, but it felt too short. I was really disappointed to see how the stake rise in the last episode without the emotions really landing that well. A miss in my opinion. But that final with the tornado of creation ? Fire! 6/10

Season 11 ( SFS) : I have weird feelings about this one. I do like what they did with the 11 minutes format in some cases (especially in the more humorous episodes), but it also felt like it prevent the episodes from reaching their true potential (haha). Everything has to start and end way too fast. I did like the Fire and Ice theming and both Asphera and the forgotten realm. If entertaining, this season was a bit underwhelming. 7/10

Season 12 (Prime Empire): Same critiques for the 11min format with this season (and onward). But I did like this one way more! The video game theme was really well-made and discovering the universe was really the selling point of season 12 for me. My biggest problem with it was that they just copied the scenario of Skybound which wasn't really original. 8/10

Season 13 ( MotM) : A Cole season! Yeah! This is the last season I remember really liking . The setting and scenario were fascinating, but a bit too simple for my taste. I think I was just happy to see my boy get a season to himself after 10 years . 7/10

Season 14 (The Island) : I don't really remember anything about this one. It was okay, I guess? It was just a really weird release. 5/10

Season 15 (Seabound: I officially dropped Ninjago after the first 10 episodes of Seabound or so. Not necessary because they were boring, but I wasn't invested in Ninjago anymore. I know Nya became the ocean since I was spoiled, but I need to watch this season to make my own decisions about it. 6/10

Season 16 (Crystallize): Haven't watched it, but oh boy did I heard bad things about it. This is on my list of new content to consume for a while now, so I need to watch it sooner than later. One day I will know/10

So yeah, wish me good luck! I hope I don't end up disliking things I loved as a baby, that would suck.

#ninjago #Time to watch ninjago!#again #boy it's been a while #But I need to do something waiting for DR season 2 or I will explode

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ac-liveblogs · 3 months

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FF7 Rebirth: 40% a good game, 60% a waste of my time

The short of it is that FF7 Rebirth feels like its just taking a longer route to get to the exact same places as the original, and while its highs are extremely high for the most part it's an exhausting game full of padding designed to mask the fact that there really wasn't enough to do to justify the decision to split this into three full-length games with a triple A price tags.

It didn't take its unique premise far enough to justify the changes it makes, and it deviates too far from the original premise to feel like a satisfying remake. The new elements feel half-hearted, the new stuff is great, it's a really mixed bag.

The long of it is this;

It took me awhile to figure out why I liked Scott Pilgrim Takes Off but had so many issues with Final Fantasy 7 Remake (and later, Rebirth). The two have similar premises; through what appears to be time travel, one (or more) of the main characters affect the timeline to try and get a different result than the one they ended up with. They're both kinda sequels to the original property designed to build off your pre-existing knowledge and give you a new but similar experience to the one you already had. So... why'd I like one, but not the other?

Eventually, it hit me. Because Takes Off booted the titular Scott from the main story, his love interest - Ramona Flowers - took center stage. The story had been disrupted in such a way that not only were events forced to play out incredibly differently, but because they did the characters were able to grow and address their relationships with each other in new, different ways - and we as the audience gained new or greater understandings of them because of it.

I like new characters I never gave a second thought to before because I saw different sides of them, and I feel like the original story was enhanced for having Takes Off as a kinda-sequel. Both of those things were only possible via the time travel plot - you could not have gotten the same effect by merely expanding the original Scott Pilgrim, because it would have made the narrative far more convoluted. Scott could not defeat Ramona's exes and Ramona could not have reconciled with them in the same plot.

So then the question becomes - are the time travel, flash forwards and alternate continuities in Rebirth worth it? Do I feel like FF7 is improved or enhanced for having them? Do I feel like I've learnt more about the characters, or that they've learnt more about themselves? Are 7 Rebirth's time shenanigans an earnest attempt to revisit the same characters through a very different lens under very different circumstances to reach a greater understanding of the original source material?

Well, no. The addition of those elements to FF7 Rebirth feel like the devs decided they had to do something different to the original 7's main narrative, but had absolutely nothing to say. They wanted to acknowledge that almost everyone knows their plot and wink at the audience over it, but didn't have the guts to go wildly off course. The main vibe I get is that we're taking more convoluted steps to get to roughly the same location - SE is jangling shiny objects in front of my face and throwing mystery boxes at me in the hopes that I'll open them, but at the end of the day despite all the whispers, the multiple timelines and the questions about what on earth Sephiroth's new plan could possibly be, I have reached no greater understanding about any of these characters or the original plot for having wasted my time on this.

And that has problems - Rebirth knows it doesn't have a lot of plot twists, so it assumes you already know what the Big Ones are and doesn't even bother trying to maintain the mystery or build an engaging narrative around them. You know Cloud thinks he's Zack, you know Aerith dies - why bother keeping them a secret when we could spend that time calling back to Crisis Core, bouncing in and out of 'the Zack timeline' or wondering if maaaaybe Aerith might survive this time? (Hilariously, it calls back to Crisis Core incorrectly - that is not degradation, that is not what degradation does).

Cloud really does end up feeling like a puppet - while he never had agency, Rebirth doesn't even bother pretending. Cloud's mental instability and Sephiroth's manipulations are dragged out over tens of hours instead of a few shocking scenes, so when the game tries to cash in the intended shock factor of those scenes I felt like I'd already seen everything in them happen in the game at least once before. If we really are supposed to have the illusion of being able to defy fate, surely Cloud attempting to kill Tifa could have resulted in some changes that might have resulted in a different outcome at the Temple of the Ancients...?

No, of course not. That would be too big a change to make, and Tifa moves on past Cloud's murder attempt with assurances she believes in him. She's absolutely fine getting into an enclosed space with him, alone, and still has no issue keeping the love triangle going. Was there any point to including a new murder attempt at all, beyond showing Sephiroth can control Cloud? The thing we already knew he could do?

At the end of the day, nothing really changes. Fate holds, and Cloud's story feels like a casualty in his own game. If Rebirth's plot deviated meaningfully enough from the original that the player figuring out what happened early felt worthwhile or meaningful that wouldn't bother me, but it doesn't - so it just feels like one of gaming's most effective rugpulls was dismantled so the player could get to see Zack and Sephiroth more often.

That's it in general - if I felt the plot deviated meaningfully enough from the original (and let me see new sides of the world and characters) that the changes felt worth it, like in Takes Off, I'd enjoy myself more and I'd be able to appreciate what 7R was trying to do. Given SE has already confirmed this will loop back into Advent Children and despite a splash of multiversal time travel paint over the top of events that played out exactly as they were supposed to in the original though - I kind of doubt that will happen. This weird middle-ground is just unsatisfying. Commit to the new plot or just do a remake. It feels like SE is too scared to do anything really wild beyond offering harmless fanservice, though.

But don't get me wrong - there's plenty of new content for a lot of old characters in Rebirth, and a lot of it is really good. Barrett, Nanaki and Yuffie have skyrocketed to the top of my 'favourite FF7 characters' list because Rebirth was able to expand on their personal stories and characters in new and exciting ways, and from Remake onwards I've been extremely invested in Rufus Shinra where before there were days I'd forget he existed. Aerith is a consistently strong character across the entire game, but she would be strong in the exact same ways with or without the time shenanigans. In general, the 'minor' main characters come out of this really well (if you're not Cid Highwind. lmao)

If you asked 'do these changes expand your understanding of these characters/their stories' about most of the time spent chasing our original cast - my answer would be yes. For the most part, I feel like the Wutai subplot benefits Yuffie and expands Shinra as an antagonist, the Gi's inclusion was awkward but could deepen Nanaki's character, the Temple of the Ancients was fun and sad in a way the original wasn't right up until Sephiroth showed up in person and the extra time spent in Costa del Sol and the Golden Saucer made me care about my party and their relationships with Cloud. There's a lot of good here.

Although, those changes were the result of modernising/updating and tweaking existing plot elements - these strengths were in spite of the 'time shenanigans', not because of them. In my opinion, the time we spend with the party, fighting the Turks or the stories in existing locations are the best parts of the game. I'd expect them in the remake either way, and if 7R didn't mess with the timeline I'd not expect them to be absent or have changed at all. They're completely divorced from Sephiroth's nonsense and stronger for it.

In two full priced games, I can explore less of FF7's world and I get less main character story than I did in FF7 disc 1. Several locations are missing - including Rocket Town and Wutai, which had to be saved for 'part 3'. The loss of Wutai is to be expected, since 7R is still seeding that conflict, but it would've been nice to be able to engage with it beyond Shinra execs discussing it in board meetings. The loss of Rocket Town has seriously changed Cid's character, including his reason for joining the party - he has a worse one, now.

7R's desperate attempt to cover up for the fact that you get less world map and less story than you did in disc 1 are the side quests, the extra filler dungeons shoved between almost every settlement and the massive open world. The side quests are a mixed bag and there's a valiant attempt to make the dungeons interesting by forcing party changes and changing the playable character, but too much of it in quick succession gets exhausting.

The real issue is the open-world, where the main things to do seem to be hitting various kinds of checkpoints to get lore your characters should already know, find items, upgrade materia or fight minibosses. The open-world is huge, but there's not a lot to do out there, and you've already seen every activity the open-world has to offer by the time you've cleared the first region. It strikes me as the sort of pointless time-wasting inclusion a game has when the devs commit to expanding a 40 hour RPG from the 90s into three full priced triple A games without bothering to consider if there's enough story content to justify the split.

Which there isn't. If 7R cut the bloat and packaged Remake and Rebirth as one game, I would probably have felt a lot less exhausted playing them. As it is, completing the side quests and exploring each region before heading to the next one feels like a chore. I feel like the split is not going to be justified by the end result - and the ~mystery regarding Sephiroth's plots, mysterious only because it's being split up over three installments, is not going to be worth the wait.

It's Time Compression. My dude is doing Time Compression But More Bigger and less relevant to his character concept, and with it my hopes of an 8 remake go swirling down the drain. No, seriously, they're just riffing 8. They're riffing 8 even more now. This is just Final Fantasy 8. Won't someone listen. They're remaking the wrong game-

There are other minor plot points that grind my gears in Rebirth, but they're all largely that - minor. I did enjoy the card game, at least.

So in the end, my main takeaway is that 7 Rebirth is an over-bloated game that tries to pretend it has more to say than it does, and while when this game shines it shines BRIGHT, most of the time it's an exhausting slog that has left me feeling more confused and disappointed than anything. I don't think the time shenanigans have actually added anything beyond fanservice, but the expansions to the existing plot points were largely really good. This game made me laugh harder than anything else this year, and it made me cry. It also made me frustrated beyond belief.

Red XIII is the best character in this game by a mile, Aerith is a close second.

I'm unlikely to replay this game - I don't have the stamina for that - but I might revisit certain cutscenes. That's about it, really.

#ac plays ff7r #ff7r spoilers #it might sound unkind to say its a waste of my time #but realistically the only things i'd want to replay are the rufus and turk fights. and the card game.

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