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So I’m rewatching the Arlecchino animation and they did something that reminded of a topic I wanted to talk about. I would love for the anime to actually go through how some characters decide to manifest their powers cause from a gameplay perspective it’s tied to their weapon; but any vision holder could more or less do the same tricks as another

Amber in the WEBTOON just uses her hand sometimes or ignites rocks. She even lit Jeans sword on fire which all seems pretty simple, but then in game text talks about how Barron Bunny explodes because she’s using targeted pyrokinesis to ignite the powder inside. How did that thought occur?

At one point did Diluc think “I can throw out a phoenix.” And at any point he can grab a bow if he wanted and do flame arrows. So many moves are teachable to varying degrees!

They can make swords and shields pretty effortlessly. I would love episodes of the anime where the characters just practice doing things because they saw someone else do it. You can’t tell me Bennett didn’t see Jean make a healing circle and think “Hold on…that’s a thing? Can I do that?” If I was Collei the first thing I’m learning is a dendro shield. It’s all fun and games until Sara just decides to lightning punch you in your throat because that’s an option.

#fic ideas #genshin impact #genshin meta

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Pro sex tip: Not only are "good in bed" and "bad in bed" subjective value judgements; they're also contextual — their truth depends on the day, the mood, the specific circumstances. "Good/bad in bed" is not a character trait or an innate property of a person: it's too situational to frame that way.

What I'm trying to say is that it's a "category mistake" to try to rate Qingque's prowess at makeouts, sex, romance, etc., as "good"/"mediocre"/"bad". At any given moment, she is exactly as good as she needs to be, and not an iota more.

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> continue towards Chihu Rock

No time for distractions. If you are fast, dinner may well be ready by the time Yun Jin arrives in a little over two hours.

A scruffy haired boy blocks your way and asks you if you'd like to buy the Harbour Gazette. You pick him up, place him down behind you, and continue walking.

A friendly dog smiles at you. You avoid eye contact in case it is trying to sell you something too.

A group of children are chasing each other around with wooden swords, blocking the path. You walk through their impromptu arena, ignoring their muffled yelps as they bounce off your legs.

Soon enough, you cross a bridge and arrive at Chihu Rock.

Popular outdoor grocery store Second Life is right there. You step close enough to hear the owner telling a customer that they're out of mushrooms.

Drat. You also know from experience that they don't sell flour.

There is another grocery store a few doors down. However, this one is indoors. There is a queue of people waiting to get in.

It will be crowded in there.

You need Mushrooms and Flour (or pre-made Noodles).

Still. It will be crowded in there.

Maybe you should meditate. Maybe if you meditate for long enough the crowds will go away.

(first | previous | #untitled shenhe game)

> head to a grocery store

Enough procrastinating. You are strong of heart. You will obtain your Noodles (and/or Flour), no matter how distressing the crowds.

You head towards Chihu Rock, where there are grocery stores with more sensible prices.

The smell of gailan and overpriced flour fades as you leave the fancy grocery store behind. (The smell of necrotic flesh and coconut milk does not fade. This is likely a sign that there is some carcass stuck to your spear.)

As you proceed, you encounter an obstacle. A wheel has fallen off a cart in the middle of the road. The crowd has slowed to a crawl around it, and some people are shouting angrily at the cart's owner. It is very difficult to get past.

(NOTE: "Go around" implies a detour. The other options are, of course, literal.)

#untitled shenhe game #genshin impact #polls

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oh any obsessive shit would definitely be subtle and deniable. Pulling strings to blacklist Shinobu from Tri-Commission work, sending Miyuki to courier messages down to Hanamizaka, etc etc.

It's just as well the Traveller showed up when they did. Another century and Miko would probably have stolen kidnapped the musou no hitotachi and fled to a remote corner of Teyvat to reenact the plot of Misery (1987).

Honestly I don’t get why hoyoverse decided to make Yae bully like all of the characters. Like with Ei it’s fine since it’s an (presumably) immortal character trolling of even more so immortal disaster friend but she like basically force-femmes Gorou which is weird, creepy, and not at all funny, normally Thoma’s line about her isn’t too bad in a vacuum but with how she treats Gorou it’s kinda not good. Of course there’s how she treated Scaramouche when he was basically just born. I didn’t actually know the Sara bit but that’s another strike against her.

It only really works when the character either a. Doesn’t realize they’re being messed with ala Itto or b. She’s battling wits with someone ala Kokomi.

They could’ve made her a tricksy girlboss without making her an utter dick

gorou force-femme thing is obv kink bait, so i dont even hold it against her. its marketing. its less about gorou and more for the subs self-insert to imagine her doing it to them, like lisa mommy bait with electrocution punishment on the side. i dont think its like, well done, but its playful and wink wink nudge nudge enough that like, whatever man.

everything else is kinda yeah. no one is getting off on that, thats just on her. and i don't think its wrong to write cruel petty characters, but the narrative doesn't really address it bc we need to keep her likable bc marketing again.

itd be much more interesting if we actually got into all toxic implication of being possessive ei's pet who immediately tries to remove anyone who can take raiden's attention, to the point of preferring raiden sitting isolated in a room for 500 years and country going into civil war, but yae is raiden's one and only friend and sooooo special

#yae miko #silly headcanons #maybe not so silly tbh #genshin impact

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Such a waste that her story quest wasn't about her attitude to Ei. Instead we got:

1) "The youkai are really important to Inazuma's cultural—" Yes but Miko doesn't care. She would rather organise a hagoita treasure hunt than actually talk to any of the youkai living in the middle of nowhere. (The only reason Kirara gets an exception is she's impressionable and naive, which makes her a toy the way the shrine maidens are.)

2) A single tell-don't-show line about her being lonely. Which is in character, but is that supposed to be news? Yae Miko drives other people away at speeds chuunis like Xiao and Kaeya can only dream of, of course she's the most isolated person on Teyvat.

3) Miko-typical gaslighting and humiliation play, which is what sells I guess

On further thought I'm amazed we don't have a subplot about Miko obsessively trying to bring Shinobu back under her control, that seems like the kind of thing she'd take way too personally.

Honestly I don’t get why hoyoverse decided to make Yae bully like all of the characters. Like with Ei it’s fine since it’s an (presumably) immortal character trolling of even more so immortal disaster friend but she like basically force-femmes Gorou which is weird, creepy, and not at all funny, normally Thoma’s line about her isn’t too bad in a vacuum but with how she treats Gorou it’s kinda not good. Of course there’s how she treated Scaramouche when he was basically just born. I didn’t actually know the Sara bit but that’s another strike against her.

It only really works when the character either a. Doesn’t realize they’re being messed with ala Itto or b. She’s battling wits with someone ala Kokomi.

They could’ve made her a tricksy girlboss without making her an utter dick

gorou force-femme thing is obv kink bait, so i dont even hold it against her. its marketing. its less about gorou and more for the subs self-insert to imagine her doing it to them, like lisa mommy bait with electrocution punishment on the side. i dont think its like, well done, but its playful and wink wink nudge nudge enough that like, whatever man.

everything else is kinda yeah. no one is getting off on that, thats just on her. and i don't think its wrong to write cruel petty characters, but the narrative doesn't really address it bc we need to keep her likable bc marketing again.

itd be much more interesting if we actually got into all toxic implication of being possessive ei's pet who immediately tries to remove anyone who can take raiden's attention, to the point of preferring raiden sitting isolated in a room for 500 years and country going into civil war, but yae is raiden's one and only friend and sooooo special

#yae miko #genshin impact #genshin meta

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remuria is so funny, story is like: ancient roman empire-coded civilization, brutal conquest and enslavement of "barbarians", turning people into golems and then erasing their free will through the programming control sold as "perfect harmony", death, blood, betrayals

exploration:

#genshin gameplay #genshin impact

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Let's just assume that v5.2 is giving us a highly desirable 5★ Pyro character who is at least Raiden levels of versatile, and maybe Furina or Nahida levels of "changes what teams are viable". (I'll be using female pronouns but let's also assume it's not a Himeko expy. Expectation management etc.) Let's also assume no new reactions / buffs, etc. Worst of all, let's assume the "Pyro is passion damage" truism holds.

4 potential Pyro kits that I hope we don't get (and 2 I'm okay with)

1: On-field Pyro DPS

(Why I don't like it: power creep.)

You know the drill. Big numbers, Pyro infusion, low enough ICD (or fast enough attacks) for reasonable XQ+YL reverse vape setups.

Less shield-dependent than HT+Arle, less poise-dependent than Yoimiya and Lyney, faster than Yanfei and Diluc, and, idk, stupidly high multipliers. ATK buff that scales on ATK because why not.

Example:

Press E to enter the Fiery Fire state, gaining a Pyro infusion increasing ATK by 50% of her current ATK.

Talent: after dealing a certain amount of DMG, deal a blast of AoE DMG.

Talent: when in the party in the overworld, if playing on mobile, all enemies move at 50% speed

2: Off-field Pyro DPS

(Why I don't like it: power creep.)

Example:

Press E to summon a Pyronado (20s duration 10s cooldown).

Press Q for a few hits of burst damage (Miko but 2× speed and homing), which simultaneously count as NA CA Skill and Burst DMG.

Talent: Elegy of the End

Talent: Alley Hunter

No ICD on anything.

When crafting Character Talent Materials, 50% chance to receive double the

3: fast weak off-field Pyro application

(Why I don't like it:) Burgeon is a niche, Thoma. I love and respect you but it's a very specific niche.

Example:

Press E to summon the Salon Des Dragons[...], which deals frequent Pyro damage and also coordinated attacks.

Talent: Burning can stack up to 3× damage and remains even after the Pyro or Dendro aura leaves. The Salon's attacks do not deplete Hydro aura. Overloaded pulls enemies in.

When crafting Character Ascension Gemstones, 50% chance to refund a portion of the materials used.

4: ATK buffer

(I.e. power creep)

You know, Pyro!Bennett. Less circle impact and more Navia's deal (or a Nahida sized circle). Swap the healing for damage prevention, perhaps, or follow Furina's footsteps and throw in some all-Element DMG% or Crit DMG% buff.

Green eyes optional.

5: Debuff (Pyro!Mona, Pyro!Lisa)

If Pyro is the "more damage" element and we don't want a Bennett 2.0, how about shredding RES better that Zhongli, or a less front-loaded Mona, or... all of the above?

Apply a debuff however we see fit. Nahida (E), Arlecchino (E), Mona (Q), Hu Tao (Q or E+CA), all have reasonable debuff triggers, as is a passive off-field effect. For wave clearing specifically(*), Yoimiya's target-jumping burst aura would also be pretty reasonable.

(*) after 4.1 (Peaks and Troughs) and 4.4 (Triumphant Frenzy) I think an endurance wave-clearing mode might be a viable endgame mode direction, RIP Nahida.

As for the debuffs, RES shred and/or DEF shred seem fine (the former being a nice boon for transformative reactions). Status curse that lowers enemy level if you want to be fancy :P

6: Off-field chip damage support

Consider our favourite leyline disorders, Smoldering Flames and Tracking Fire Ball, I guess this would... work? Arle+HT already do a little bit in the "DoT" niche but that's not their main deal.

E: Grant party a Curtain of Smolder. While under this effect, gain a Morning Star every 0.8s. If there are 4+ Morning Stars, consume them and launch a fireball at a nearby enemy (prioritising high HP) for stupid amounts of AoE damage. Whenever a party member under the Curtain of Smolder uses a Burst, gain a Morning Star. Whenever a party member deals DMG (max once per character per 1s), gain a Morning Star.

Q: oh yeah also all the enemies are taking ATK scaling Pyro DoT. Yeah it ignores defence. Yeah not removable.

Talent: While in the Curtain of Smolder state, the active character's attacks deal additional poise damage if they're not a Claymore user, additional fixed DMG if they're not a Bow/Catalyst User, and have increased ATK SPD if they're not a Sword/Polearm user.

When forging Mystic Enhancement Ore, 50% chance to receive 1 Primogem

#genshin theorycrafting #murata #genshin murata #genshin meta #genshin impact

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a tragic heroine

#furina #genshin impact

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i think it is important to recognize the ways in which your favorite thing sucks. i think it keeps u normal

#fandom meta #critical reading

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rkgk of everyone's favorite tianquan of the liyue qixing!

#ningguang #genshin impact

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Cosmic horror but reverse the emotional valence.

You thought you mattered? That your actions mattered, that you'd be able to save the world? You struggled and lost and kept struggling all this time, against all odds, because you really did think there was ever a way you could win? You really thought this all meant something?

...you poor thing.

Sit down, have some food, let me get you something for that nasty wound. Pay no mind to all those scars and old aches, don't worry about all the people you lost along the way - we can fix it all right up, your losses were just as insignificant as your victories. And as for the saving-the-world thing, we had someone who can actually make a change on it the whole time, so it's going to be just fine, okay?

Everything you thought you knew is wrong. Reality doesn't care about you in particular. You're a bug in a pair of tweezers: all you can do is keep struggling or go limp.

How about you take the day off, and then tomorrow we'll go for a nice walk by the lake. Would you like that?

#<3

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fluffy coat, fluffy coat

#kunikuzushi #“there. I'm 'warm' now . put the onesie away‚ Columbina.”

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> go over the obstacle

Your violent urges are very fair, treating friend and foe equally. The claustrophobic press of a crowd is therefore an unsuitable environment for you when you are in such a headspace. Which is always.

You call upon your Adeptal training. The Senescent Coiled Tiger technique sends you leaping into the air on a trail of frost. When your foot lands on a confused pedestrian's shoulder, your mastery of the Qilin Cloudwalk stance renders you nearly weightless.

“Ow! What—?”

...well, it renders you as light as a moderately pampered housecat, which is not weightless, but is considerably lighter than an adult human.

You spring forward, landing on a man's head. Your next bounding leap takes you over several layers of crowd, bringing you right beside the broken cart, balancing one-legged on someone's neatly shaven scalp.

You take a moment to examine the cart's contents. Fish, by the looks of it. No mushrooms, no flour, and the cart's armed escort has just drawn her sword and is shouting something at you, so it wouldn't be worth the trouble in any case.

You hop onto the swordswoman's head. You leap all the way over the cart. With a few more steps on heads and hats you safely cross to the other side of the crowd.

> continue towards Chihu Rock

(first | previous | #untitled shenhe game)

> head to a grocery store

Enough procrastinating. You are strong of heart. You will obtain your Noodles (and/or Flour), no matter how distressing the crowds.

You head towards Chihu Rock, where there are grocery stores with more sensible prices.

The smell of gailan and overpriced flour fades as you leave the fancy grocery store behind. (The smell of necrotic flesh and coconut milk does not fade. This is likely a sign that there is some carcass stuck to your spear.)

As you proceed, you encounter an obstacle. A wheel has fallen off a cart in the middle of the road. The crowd has slowed to a crawl around it, and some people are shouting angrily at the cart's owner. It is very difficult to get past.

(NOTE: "Go around" implies a detour. The other options are, of course, literal.)

#untitled shenhe game #genshin impact #polls

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Casual analysis of graphic design and composition (ft. a bit of colour theory) since I’m a bit rusty and haven’t thought about them in a while

Hm? Some shots in Al-Haitham’s and Kaveh’s demos share a similar composition…

But it’s interesting that the more logical one uses informal symmetry in his character title card and the more emotional one uses formal symmetry… So many rectangles in Kaveh’s card (‘course it helps that hanzi characters are in squares)… It’s kinda surprising, but still it brings out the flow of the illustration well. (Of course, Chinese hanzi can be read horizontally or vertically, so they’ve more freedom in typography, but I bet they changed the graphic layout a bit for the English demo…)

hah, yeah, I thought so. See how Kaveh’s cape can’t frame the center boxes anymore, and how there’s no space to the right of the synopsis in the upper right, and most of all how the two squares on the bottom left is now a quarter of the original size, leaving an empty space there (though if they rotated the words vertically it could fit into the rectangular space well).

Al-Haitham’s English title card isn’t bad, per se, but they could’ve put some shadow on the left side of the illustration so the text could stand out, and move the three green lines to the right side a bit more, so not everything is slightly to the left side when there’s no reason to. (The negative space on the two sides in the Chinese version is roughly the same size.)

These two shots are both long shots that show the character’s full body, but Al-Haitham is in a slightly low angle, and Kaveh is eye-level with the “camera”

This one’s another low angle full shot with Al-Haitham’s lower body, with a bunch of analogous colours. Also this one’s background uses formal symmetry again (even reflecting off the ground) while the placement of the characters are in informal symmetry (the large image of Al-Haitham balances out the small figures near the fountain)

#alhaitham #kaveh #genshin impact

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🤷‍♀️

#ganyu #keqing #cloud retainer #ganqing #genshin impact

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Dornman Port drops and we get an entire new Mondstadtian aristocratic clan who everyone knows about except Paimon and Traveller. This clan gets an entire AQ interlude serving purely to justify the existence of a Sacrificial Lance and are never spoken of again.

tbh i think the whole crimson moon dynasty worldbuilding is pretty faux pas, bc like we had years of khaenriah lore and never heard of it, but now they dropped the book that adds this whole ass royal dynasty and the convenient orphanage parallel just like one patch before arle release.

like did they have no idea what to do with house of hearth all these years?

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Ignoring lore justifications...

For reference:

#genshin impact #polls #sigewinne #genshin melusine