#mostly because i have been playing hades (game) and its making me think about hades (fish)

[spearxwind]

Some silly Hadesposting ft. @silvaerial's oc Asil >:]

#windyart #hades #shitpost #just a scribble #dan #well more like #shran #cooking that little beast <3 goodbye #i havent been able to draw anything in a hot second so you get these shitposts #i have been thinking of hades so much the past few days i love him #mostly because i have been playing hades (game) and its making me think about hades (fish) #anyways hades (both) is good #thanks for coming to my ted talk

[terranoctis]

I played Hades II a fair bit yesterday during my breaks and free time for Supergiant Games' technical test of the game. Part of me wants to keep playing today, but I got stuff to do and I do want to keep up the excitement for the early access. I wrote a rough, kind of unedited essay about it before I went to sleep last night though below, mostly for me to have record of my memories in written form. Some spoiler-y screenshots and random thoughts/analyses below if you want to read more. I mean it--there are spoilers and the most random long tangents because I like to analyze. (I do recommend playing first if you have a chance to)

First thing I'll say is that the game is pretty phenomenal and so damn fun. The experience reminds me of when I played Hades for the first time in their initial Early Access of the game years ago. Longtime Supergiant Games fan here (since Transistor release)! I remember running into a bug then and reporting it when I froze in-game, but I have not run into any noticeable bugs at all yet for Hades II. I've done some reports for minor bugs, but extremely minor ones that I actually feel bad for even reporting and adding to their list of messages to go through. Supergiant has their QA down, truly. I have so much respect for them and how they've developed the game. Darren Korb did an amazing job on the music again. It has that iconic Hades sound with the strings (that is not a guitar, I forget what it's called) while also being its own distinct soundtrack.

The 4th wall banter moments between Melinoë and Homer (who is revealed as narrator!) have been one of my favorite things about the story/narration execution. Her being cognizant of Homer does make it so there are rather funny moments, but also brings up the question of how that might shape the narrative later on. I'm so curious!

When I first started the game, I had a funny moment where I died almost instantly in the second room because I was testing out Melinoe's skillset and ran out of MP (?) and then got slapped because I wasn't actually doing damage when trying to use her bigger skills, heh. It did take me some time to get used to it, but Mel's skills and cast abilities are so much fun to use when utilized well. Her cast and its ability to hold your enemies for a time is one of the best upgrades to combat, in my opinion. For all I love the first Hades, I remember having to dash like crazy to escape exploding carts coming after me if I didn't have a good boon to mitigate or avoid that. With the cast for Melinoë, it'll change that to placing strategically some casts that can hold quick enemies or enemies that are very dangerous if they get close to you (wailers in this game are one such enemy). In terms of boons, Demeter's, Hestia's, and Apollo's have been some of my favorites. Aphrodite also has a phenomenal one for casts that will gather your enemies into your cast, making it an ideal combination with some devastating other boons that can easily damage groups of enemies all at once. Hephaestus also has a pretty fun one where I think he can explode in a certain proximity with your special or attack, I forget. I do wonder if they'll have to rebalance some of these boons because there are certain ones I can annihilate enemies with--but then again, maybe that is needed for later sections of the game.

The numerous references to the moon in the game are a nice nod to Melinoë's lore in Greek mythology and poetry too. Though she's more associated with being a goddess of ghosts (I find it a nice touch you can salute shades you meet in the Crossroads because of this) and nightmares (I don't think it's a coincidence Hypnos is the only other survivor of Hades' inner sanctum), Melinoë has at some point been referenced as a moon goddess as well of the underworld. Selene is the moon goddess and Artemis has also become known as a goddess of the moon in mythology in addition to being the goddess of the hunt. So that connection between the three and the friendship they share in the game is pretty cool in that regard (Selene calls you the "Silver Sisters.")

Having Artemis become your friend in Hades II, something akin to a friendly rivalry like Thanatos was to Zagreus, is such a fun story--and then you have Selene added into that mix as well. From the few runs I've done, I've gathered that Artemis and Hermes are the first of the Olympus gods who knew of Melinoë's existence in her youth as Hecate's pupil. She helped Hecate hide the truth of Melinoës survival (at least from the Olympus gods)--and when Melinoë was ready, it was only then that Artemis leaked through Apollo that Hades' daughter was coming to fight Chronos and had survived the fall of Hades. So the boons you get are because the twins, Artemis and Apollo, played a role in connecting you to Olympus for the fight against Chronos. There seems to be more in this background that I'm curious to learn about. Just from their banter, it's clear Artemis has spent much time with Melinoë and Selene in some form. I don't know if they have duo boons in this game (or boon-hex? Selene gives you a hex), but I'm curious to see what these two's duo boon(s) would be if they have them.

The game also does that thing the first game did so well of shifting the world as you progress and have changes in the relationships about you. Nemesis is one of the new characters in Hades II who doesn't seem to like you very much initially, but with your dialogue with Odysseus nearby, you get the sense that it wasn't always this way. When you gift her a nectar, Melinoë subtly starts calling her "Nem," and you can tell the two of them are very slowly mending whatever it is they have (Odysseus chuckles nearby probably seeing the progress). You also meet Doom Incarnate (Moros) and have to unlock having him at the Crossroads by invoking him, which is also pretty fun in terms of letting you slowly do more runs and experience the world more in order to gather enough "resources" to call him. It allows a natural progression of characterization and getting to know the people around Melinoë, in my opinion.

Dora's also one of my favorite character already. There's something so funny about Melinoë encouraging Dora as she tries to scare and haunt her as a proper ghost, but then also rather touching that she just accepts that Dora just likes to hang out in her room and not go out much. I love Arachne too, and how she's just chillin' like, I'm bored and alone and just spinning webs, so here Melinoë, have some clothes I made.

This game makes me love it as much as I loved the first one. In some ways, in terms of how they executed establishing background and connections between Melinoë and her companions (Odysseus' calls her a "little goddess" as a child! Hecate plays hide-and-go-seek with her!), I think they've started out much stronger than they did in the first game. And this one already starts with a sort of high-stakes situation from the get-go. Melinoë's entire family has been taken by Chronos and she grew up apart from them. The game does well of letting you step into the world even if you haven't played the first one--and playing on your affection for Hades, Persephone, and Zagreus if you did. After all, considering how hard you worked as Zagreus to bring back together that family in the first game, the second game logically comes back with a vengeance with Melinoë at the loss of such a family and a need for vengeance against Chronos for ruining it. The world feels familiar, yet the cast of characters are so different.

And the designs of all the new gods! And the new designs for the old gods! They're all extremely well-done. I've been a longtime fan of the artists for the characters and the environments. They've done stellar jobs on it again for this one, and there's more touches to icons and designs of the UI I like too. The dialogue log is one of my favorite things too, as someone who might miss a piece of dialogue here and there when I take off my headphones. The voice acting in this game is also a whole notch up from the previous game. Not to knock anyone from the first Hades, since I think they did a great job, but I do feel like the voices have been more professionally recorded this time around. Or something about it is a little more polished. Kudos to Supergiant for another game that's an A+ in my book thus far. Ahh!

I could keep going, but honestly, I think it's best to have people experience the game in Early Access. I mostly just wanted a record for myself to look back on for being a small part of Hades II's journey and share some of my excitement and the random analyses I had. It'll be fun for me to look back on how I read some things and how I felt when the finished version of the game comes out eventually.

#personal #hades 2 #hades ii #hades ii spoilers #readings and ramblings

[devotion-disorder]

HI OMG now that i have ur attention (kinda) w the last ask about dol can i just say that ur blog is one of my favs FR FR!! your artstyle is perfect i wish i was U!!!! smooch smooch smooch chuu chuu chuu x1000000000 chuus i hope you have the best day of ur life everyday!! and that little kylar chibi is so cute :3 in the time that i’ve sent that ask he has since kidnapped me!! <33 i ignored him the entire time though bc why would he do that!! (he’s cute but i can’t let him get out of hand) and i escaped dw :3

okay and note about dol; UR SO RIGHT i love the grind of getting money it’s so rewarding!! i’ve became a little sexy spa girl to entice customers into givang me monay…. ohohoho. but now idk what to do with all of it, what do you spend money on other than baileys weekly payments?? i avoid giving them money HEHE ( but i do pay them once a month though so robin doesn’t get shanked))

love u love u great artist and author and everything!! multitalented starshine!! + + + + + Love

also. what’s Hades… ahaha… ur my game plug

omg anon you are being too nice what the FAWK....im jus your game plug.............asudhaiudhawiudawhiad😭😭😭😭 <- im morphin into this emoji in real time. sentencing you to ten thousand smooches NOW

i also loved to grind for cash in dol LOL but it was mostly just for the millionaire vrelcoin achievement. because theres nothing i love more than meaningless achievements in viddy games😔then once i got it i just spend it on literally anything because money just becomes a non-factor lol

but also thanks for giving me an excuse to talk about Hades. you will regret this. under the cut cause da post is long:

Hades is an indie roguelite game released a couple years ago! and literally I cannot find a single bad thing to say about this game im being serious rn. The storyline? Fucks. The music? Fucks. The art? Fucks. The characters? I need to fuck everyone so bad. The gameplay? I've never been more addicted to dying. and this game is fully voice acted like WHAT?????

In the game you play as Zagreus, son of Hades, and youre trying to escape from your house because you hate your dad and also to find your mom. but theres also tons of other characters with their own sub-plotlines AND there's a dating mechanic. there's honestly so much goddang content and the writing + voice-acting is totally solid!!

i'm not much of a Gamer™ myself and im usually pretty shit (or mediocre at BEST) in action-heavy games, but even i found hades to be super enjoyable :oo it did took some getting used to in the beginning, but after getting the hang of it and because of the game's natural progression it does get significantly easier. I think the game is really well-balanced, and no matter what weapon or boon you use its still really fun.

if i remember correctly back when the trailer dropped it caused quite a stir on twitter/tumblr because it looked so good. And guess what!! they're making HADES 2 BABEY!!! but that comes out in early access next year i think.

so yeah. check it out if you want! or maybe later if you have finals. because I will admit that sometimes.....when i couldve been drawing or doing something productive. i was not. because i was playing hades. so um. sorry guys.

#anon #ask #long post #can you guys tell i love this game #surprisingly ive only had 82 hours in it #like i expected it to be more #picked it back up recently because im trying to grind my way to the epilogue #oh and theres a fishing minigame #and u can pet dogs #man what doesnt this game have. tf. #also Hypnos is best boy sorry i dont make the rules.

[iiota]

my unasked for hades 2 overview for no one that asked

first off im gonna say this game is so much fun and wildly different than the first game which doesnt make it feel as repetitive as i thought. a lot of hades 2 focuses on longer range attacks which definitely will take a while to get used to as someone who replayed hades 1 a bit before playing thinking itd be similar playstylewise

the main new introduced gimmick is charged attacks and a change cast that is a circle placed on the ground over a launcher which i LOVE now but the weapon charge attacks are really hit or miss for me. im also a tad disappointed with the weapons i like the staff and the skull but the axe and twin flames arree kinda difficult to use with how i play. the sickle im neutral on and i think theres one more i dont have unlocked

the environments are gorgeous. end tweet the only time i remember im playing an early access game is coming across placeholder assets.

a bit of the combat feels like itll get rebalanced later but its not the Worst. its not really buggy besides like 3 really minor things most ppl wont notice (my timer turning off when i reopened the game, sometimes damage numbers dont show when i hit hecate, not being able to change my monitor in settings)

i do not like how you cannot trade ur tools once you get into a run..i forget what i have sometimes..the tarot card upgrades are a cool concept and fit the witchy theme

i feel..less attached to a lot of the characters than the first one which is funny bc i didnt really care too much about them in the first bc the story writing in 1 is awful but character interactions were fun sometimes. melinoe's design is. not Bad but its not really great it feels a bit too disconnected from..like everything when it feels like shes supposed to be a mix of hades but with evidence of being raised by hecate but the orange and blonde hair............girl i do not like it are they allergic to giving a woman dark hair (minus like.. nemesis) (in trying to make melinoe the opposite of zagreus they kinda just made her into a very bland Woman she should have been a slob too idk shes kinda just like..perfect)

I DO like nemesis more than i thought. much more fun to have some woman come antagonize you other than just helping. but dora is the best character so far..my weed smoking shade roommate. i feel like my feelings on the designs are obvious but i will give a pass to chaos because i do think its a bit of a slay but i cant help but laugh at the bishounenification

scylla's songs are way better than all the vocal tracks from hades 1 like no contest in the blood sucked

the story is fairly non existent atm mostly bc i havent beaten a run yet..its..fine i guess. better than 1

the nude headshots from the bath cutscenes are so scary they need to back the fuck up

#i havent beaten a run yet but i got like super close so i feel like ive seen quite a bit #ive done like 19 runs? i wanna do a couple above to get materials

[twisted-tech]

Twst Worldbuilding Theory/HC

Half-merfolk Idia/Ortho & The Island of Woe

⚠️(Book 6 minor spoilers)⚠️

Within the game, we see many different kinds of people: humans, beastmen, fae, and merfolk. Sebek is canonically half human and fae, and as a result he does not have pure fae traits (no pointed ears).

Idia Shroud (& Ortho) are who I want to focus on. Other students seem to identify him as human, but he has some very inhuman traits like his “shark” teeth and bright, yellow eyes. (Edit:) His lip color and eye bags are also natural and not cosmetics.

Though other human characters have sharp teeth, Idia’s are far more exaggerated than any human or beastman’s fangs. The only people with teeth like him are Jade and Floyd, who are merfolk.

While many other humans have unnatural eye colors too, Idia’s yellow eyes are yet another thing he has in common with the Leech brother’s. (But this is a weak link since Jack, Chenya, Cheka, & Trey also have yellow eyes).

These similarities made me begin to wonder if Idia perhaps had some merfolk ancestry, but 2 things in common are not much proof. Now though with the release of book 6, we’ve been provided with some supporting points.

(Spoilers start here) In book 6, we finally got to see the Island of Woe, Idia’s homeland. It’s a completely submerged, secret city beneath the sea.

The Island is from the time of the gods, thousands of years old, and still has architectural remnants from that time to prove it. While it may be possible to hide such an enormous structure from the above world, it would be harder to hide an underwater city from merfolk for millennia.

STYX does have the ability to erase memories, but if merfolk run into this city often, it would be easier to instead work with a select group of merfolk who are in he know and have them keep others away. These merfolk could also make ideal workers for outside the dome, especially before technology made underwater travel easier.

STYX and the Island of Woe are an insular community. If they consistently live near/work with merfolk over the course of thousands of years, I imagine those relationships would result in many hybrids. With the mixing of species over this long time period, and with the community remaining small and seldom getting newcomers, then the Island would almost form its own new species of half human/merfolk; most of the population (of not everyone) would have some percentage of mer ancestry.

This would explain why Idia, who’s family has lived here since the start of the city, has unusually sharp teeth and yellow eyes. He would generations of merfolk ancestry that doesn’t get very watered down, resulting in prevalent merfolk traits.

This same logic can apply to other nations. Countries seem to often have primarily one species, like mostly human (Scalding Sands), beastman (Sunset Savanna), or fae (Briar Valley). Others, like the Queendom of Roses, are implied to have a fairly diverse populace.

This could suggest that characters with pointed teeth are descendants of non-human races, which I think could be fun to play with. Here’s a chart by @twiceasfrustrating on what teeth characters have!

Headcanon: Hair and Eye Colors

Getting more into headcanon territory, I do think that it would be cool if the more inhuman hair and eye colors were a result of magic. Even if mages are rare, the world is certainly full of magic. That alone is probably enough to irradiate people with magic and cause some fun changes in their physiology.

Finally, as a disclaimer, I know it’s likely that the only reason Idia and Ortho have sharp teeth and other inhuman features is because they are twisted from Hades who did as well, but I like to think that their homeland is more dynamic and caused their unusual looks. I also mostly talked about Idia since Ortho is a robot (even if he’s based on a real person) and his features might not be accurate to his true appearance, and I didn’t bring up the hair since that’s explicitly stated as part of the Hades curse.

#twst theory #twst headcanon #twsisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland theory #idia shroud #jade leech #floyd leech #ortho shroud #twst worldbuilding #twst merfolk

[stygiusfic]

hi styg !! i'm really curious about 14 and 15 for those end-of-year writer asks if you feel like talking about it 💖 !!

hi friend!! <333 thank you for the ask!!

14. a fic you didn't expect to write

I haven't posted this yet, but the question doesn't say it has to be posted, so. Inspired by my re-read of The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells this summer, I've written 40k words (and counting) of a Critical Role C2 fanfic trapping one of my favorite characters of the campaign, Essek, on the island that steals people's memories away and makes them slaves to the false god in its volcano. (Currently titled The Island of New Beginnings; I have a CR sideblog @bug4bread-sideblog which is where I'll share when it's done.)

It's not Hades, which is all I've posted in the past couple of years, and it doesn't mean my Hades days are over, but man, I'm having a blast playing in this new sandbox. It's also an experiment: I've only mentioned it to a few friends, and plan to start posting only after I finish. I want to see if multi-chapter is easier for me that way. So, unexpected but good!

15. something you learned this year

Feels like I learned a lot! Or gained more confidence in my process; probably a mix of both. (Under a cut because it got long!)

Overall, in the long long years I've been writing, I've written mostly short stories or one-shots, and I've always struggled the most with finishing the initial draft. There's always that perfectionist urge in me that wants to get all the themes and plot elements and character arcs in the right arrangement from the get-go, and if I'm feeling dissatisfied with my direction it's hard to stay motivated.

This year, maybe because I've recently wrangled with longer works, I feel like I'm building some endurance in that regard! You can get lucky with a one-shot and push it out in a day, and get a first draft that’s near perfect, but that’s just not possible with multichapter, for me, and I’ve finally started to accept that.

It's still hard to let go of the urge to polish right away, but I feel like I understand now more deeply that my process relies on multiple passes to get where I want to go. Especially for 20k+ stories, this is what I'm learning to accept as the process:

0.5 — Outline: In-depth outline of the whole story with its ups and downs, with a list of scenes too, and I'll usually outline each scene before I write it. (Who's in the scene? What do they want? How are the things they want out of the scene opposed?). The overall outline will be thin in the second half because I still don't know enough about my story, I'll find out what I'm actually getting at when I start writing it; I’ve learned that This is fine.

1. — First draft: Sometimes inspiration works miracles but waiting for a miracle is not a process. I really feel like this year I got a step closer to accepting that my first draft can and should be rough. It's a draft. It's sinking in that, when I look at my artist friends' progress videos, of course I don't expect them to make a perfect painting without sketching basic shapes first, so why do I keep expecting the writing equivalent of that from myself?

1.5 — Heart Notes list: This has been the game changer in 2022. It's a list of things to fix in a later draft, and/or think about on my next walk. When I'm drafting and dissatisfied with something (why would this character do this? why does this pacing fall flat? etc) or introducing some new element halfway through that I will need to rewrite earlier scenes to set up, I just put it on this list. And I don't think about it anymore for now. I used to compile these notes after the first draft was done, but those issues weigh on me enough that they would often discourage me and keep me from finishing the first draft at all. The list lets me mentally set down the weight of that problem, knowing I will address it later, so I can keep drafting now.

2. — Second draft: My beloved. Here is where I will do the larger rewrites based on my heart notes and rearrange stuff how I need it to be and just generally feel terribly relieved the first draft is behind me.

3. — Final draft: Just tweak some sentence-level stuff to make it read better and clearer, and we're done. (This is what I have always foolishly hoped the second draft would be, which meant I needed the first draft to be close to perfect already... and that’s how I got stuck.)

I still have a long way to go in terms of learning to let the first draft suck as much as it needs to, but I've been feeling a lot more secure in the idea that sucking is part of the process. I struggled a lot with writing in the first half of 2022. It's been getting better, and I think giving myself more leeway to suck at first and then seeing it work out in the end has helped a lot.

I hope 2023 is a good writing year for you (and in general too)!!

#answered ask #coffee-writes #fanfic wrapped meme #this turned out very long but I know you're one of my fellow writing sickos so I kept it all

[winns-stuff]

Something about LO that's never sat right with me was... I'm not sure how to say it, but it's lack of identity? Like, obviously there's heavy ddlg themes with Hades and Persephone. From Rachel's concept art to the comic frames themselves. And despite taking the dynamic too literal (making Persephone a teen and Hades middle aged, improper power dynamics, etc), there's nothing fundamentally wrong with that trope. Doms and subs are consensual, even in every day life. But my problem is, instead of having mature adults in this setting with this dynamic, Rachel somehow also wants to make it a coming of age story with feminine empowerment? Showing Persephone doing buissness for her mother, hyping her up as the dread queen, etc, yet making her useless whenever her love intrest is on screen. Not to say H and P can't be equals, but it always walks such a fine line of 'yes, this woman is the bad bitch, EXCEPT when it comes to her screen time.' Boiling H and P down, they seem so shallow. Sure, there's the friendly banter in previous episodes (thinking back to the chess game), but there's nothing tying the twos stability together. Persephone mostly seems to be lavishing in Hades body/money. Buying flashy outfits, lusting over his abs (I'm not counting 'Pers made her own money in the mortal realm by taking up Demeter's place' because we didn't see it and its never used again). Again, being a sugar baby is fine, but empty promises of 'tell don't show' makes it seem empty. Pers is supposed to be the queen of the underworld, and yet she wasnt present at all while Hades went to speak to Kronos? Didn't even know about it? Playing with sticky notes? Really? And with Hades, it's a mix of lust and emotional trama. He sees Persephone as a caretaker. Maybe not physically, but in the relationship, Persephone is the one whos literally compared to his own mother. Someone who's kind, nurturing, the embodiment of motherly. As long as Hades pays for everything (like he was doing with Minthe), he gets the perks of coddling. Besides that, what common interests do the two share? They both run buissness? Pers isn't working alongside Hades for buissness, aka Kronos. Thats legit the only reason I can think of. Pers can care less about the mortal realm, Hades sees the underworld more as a wallet than a realm of passion. It boils down to the show don't tell point. 'ill add spesifics to show that you're WRONG (Pers having her own place)! But now that I've won, I don't ever have to show it again! (Pers lack of independence being shown in the rest of the comic).'

Yeah, honestly LO feels like it doesn’t exactly care about the actual character development and storyline. There’s a reason why romance related movies, shows, and books have something to offer the reader other than romance. If you just have two characters always coming together no matter what with little to no development at all except for their shared shallow views of how the world works for over 100 episodes many people will get tired. There’s a reason why slow burns are so loved, because once the characters actually see the other romantically the audience and readers start to feel rewarded, they’ve waited this whole time and have been patient with the climaxes of the story for so long and now their patience is paying off, and they finally get to see their ship sail. With LO it’s like it tries to create some sort of slow burn tension but it’s all ruined because it’s not actual tension. There’s nothing keeping HxP from happening, they could be together completely no matter what without any other obstacles if they want but Rachel continues to drag it out as if Hades and Persephone just can’t possibly be together. She’s been doing this for a while now and it’s reasonable why people are no longer there for their romance anymore, it’s not written in a way that there’s a reward. You don’t get a reward for your patience, there’s nothing that you’re waiting for so you just feel empty the entire time you’re reading.

I’m very over LO being marketed as a feminist story though. Don’t get me wrong I’m utterly and completely a feminist, I support women until it’s clear that I shouldn’t (and no, that doesn’t mean I just blindly trust women either that sentence just means that if there’s a situation where it’s a crime against a woman, I’m going to side with her if there’s not obvious evidence that she either manipulated the situation, lied, or was the aggressor in the crime) but I absolutely see nothing aligning to feminism with LO. It’s honestly criminal how little the comic has to do with feminism, I feel like it got put in there because a woman was the “main character”. But it’s just depressing how LO is getting all of this fame for this so called feminist retelling yet there’s way better feminist driven stories out there. You know how many female main characters there are on webtoon who have depth, complexity, actual power, and other amazing qualities being showcased on webtoon in their own respective comics? I feel like everyone hates to say it so I will but because of the decline in storytelling and overall art of LO I feel like it’s time to at least congratulate people who still have passion for their work. I know writing webtoons are stressful, I hate even saying this cause I feel like I’m undermining Rachel’s work but it’s getting to a point where I don’t see as much effort anymore. I just wish more people were able to have their work appreciated, it’s not fair to them.

#lo critical #anti lore olympus #anti lo

[intrepidradish]

Media: Disco Elysium

Year/my age: 2022-23/32-33

Another long one!

What drew me to the media:

My husband, again, had been trying to get me to play this game for three years, but I'm not a gamer. Games make me stressed out and I'm bad at them. (He tried to get me into Hades, and I entered the first battled screen, and moaned "I have to fight things in this"? ... I did. :C Do not like.) Generally games give me panic attacks, and then when I'm bad at them, I get really sad about it. DE is nice because you don't fight anything. It goes as slow as you want, and even in hot moments there isn't a timer. Thank you DE.

What also drew me to the media was a dildo enthusiast Thongria on instagram loved the game, which as a follower, blew me away. Like hello?? What? How bizarre right?

At some point in the spring of last year a lot of DE fanart started appearing on tumblr too. Ustalabo appeared with her comic, which is incredible. I gave up. I was spending all day oscillating between watching my newborns nap and feeding them, which was in two hour cycles into the night. I was tired. I was really bored. I was really stationary (mostly on the couch) and I was really lonely. (I don't have family where I live, I had no job, and I was new to the state)

So I decided to play a game.

What made me a fan:

How could I not become a fan after the game? It's a really incredible story and its delivery is phenomenal. But ultimately, I think I became a fan because of Harry, the amnesiac cop you possess. On my first playthrough, I was very timid and horrified by the character. I ended up a moralist because of my unwillingness to say anything accusatory or polarizing (hahahahaha! so true to life!). I only drank and did drugs when Kim wasn't around, because his observational judgement made me uncomfortable about my addiction (AAAAAA). I tried to please him too but ultimately failed because of how I organized my skills (I did an empathy run but badly, so badly). It was also deeply cathartic for me as a child of an addict, who struggled throughout my childhood with the question of 'why can't you prioritize loving me over your addiction' and as I am not yet an addict, the game gives you an opportunity to live inside a deeply troubled man and maybe...maybe help him? You aren't entirely sure what the future holds for him.

At the end of the game, I was positive he was still going to detonate. I didn't like Kim/Harry, the default pairing, because I thought that Harry still had so much work to do! One week of forgetting your life doesn't fix you! Having a friend to rely on doesn't either! And Kim has his own host of issues that the game only touches lightly. So many post-game questions!

I've come around on Kim/Harry because I've thought about it a lot. I think in the face of addiction and pain, having a friend really does matter (having the right friend too). Dealing with isolation is a big theme of life (not just DE). No one is perfect either. All relationships are a bit codependent when you are in a depression cycle. That doesn't mean they are bad/good/ideal/not ideal/something to work around/something that shouldn't happen, just tread lightly right?

But also the world of Elysium is fucking incredible. It's enormous. It's got everything you want in a new environment. It's depths are unfathomable. It gives you a framework to both interact with canon, deeply, but also inject some of your own bullshit headcanons like they are the only real opinion to have. Haha it's great. The amount of material behind single sentences in the game, throw-away lines, are enough to fill an world-specific encyclopedia (and there is the skill Encyclopedia too to make it oh so much WORSE).

Have I written fanfiction for it? Why or why not?

FUCK YEAH. I'm sort of taping off now a year later. I wrote so much fucking stuff last year. It really saved my life. I was finishing up some other fanfics too but I wrote about 250K words which is wild.

My most popular story is definitely my longest. Schlep is my masterpiece at the moment. I wanted to explore Kim and Harry's relationship while recognizing they aren't necessarily perfect for each other, but that's okay. Surprisingly, even with all the kink and the unhappy themes, it was smash hit. I really enjoy reading it. That was my second fanfic for the fandom.

Final Flight was first. It has some problems for me, but I think the concept is really fun. The romantic notes were wrong though in retrospect. I was being timid. What is surprising about this fandom too is being timid doesn't win you points being a little unhinged does. Nice. 100%

I wrote a smattering of other shorter stories. Jean/Harry, Jean/Harry/Kim, Harry/Dora, Kim/Harry. I wrote a lesbian story for Dora/Klaasje, which apparently inspired a really good writer to write more lesbians! Thank you!

I think in this period my fav is Cold Front which I wrote while worried that my grandfather was going to commit suicide (he's 96, and my thoughts on it are complicated). I don't often write bittersweet fics, but I think this one hit the notes I wanted.

I also really like The Tide at my Door, which is the Dora/Harry. No one wants to read their train wreck, but I wrote some truly beautiful passages in that one that shock me to this day. Like, hello:

"In the far end of this, whatever time is, whatever this is, you’re going to break each other, but you, a woman, will be the weed in the cracks and he, the man, will be the backed-up gutter. You cannot stop this. This is what happens in gendered society, and even if the sky falls on Revachol, it will take harsher earthquakes to shake that truth."

I started and finished a failed case fic for Jean/Harry's church raid, which I'm only posting now. And I picked up a secret santa that amazingly requested a Western AU. This was in the fall of last year, and both are about 50K words. Insane. Just insane.

Another smash hit, which surprises me, is my Halloween crack fic, Kim's Disco Inferno. I wanted to introduce Kim to the skills, and I wanted it to be a horror theme so its a blend of Silent Hill, Dante's Inferno, and more. It received some amazing fucking fanart from Shower, which got 4K likes on twitter (*giant eyeball emoji*)

It remains a tremendous pleasure interacting with the fandom through fanfiction. Everyone has been very very kind and supportive.

Opinion on the fandom:

I love this fandom! It's basically made of transmen, nonbinary folks, and beautiful lesbians, which is exactly the space I want to be in. It's also made of people interested in discussing leftist politics, the gross (sensual) side of sexuality, and the effects of poverty, addiction, trauma, and disability on people. Sign me up!

I've made some lovely friends who I talk to daily around the world.

Right now the fandom is embroiled in discourse about a lawsuit at Za/um the company that released the game and will eventually, possibly release a second game. It's a very hot topic and people are very impassioned about the issue. We, the fans as outsiders, don't really know much of what is happening outside of press releases and its quite difficult to get a bead on what's going on. People are still hot blooded to point fingers and shout as always.

I'm pretty on the fence about it. My husband bought the game on sale for $10 3 years ago. I haven't dropped a cent on it since and won't until they release (if they do) a second game. Even then I probably wouldn't pay full price because I'm a cheapskate (I'm poor). I also write fanworks for free about it, so I'm very glad the original game exists but that's sort of where my interactions end. It has brought a lot of joy to my life.

I popped into the official discord to say I'm excited about the collage maker for storytelling reasons, and got called a bootlicker (which is hilarious to me since DE made me recognize I like degradation and I'm well known for writing kink porn around boot worship. Peeps gotta come up with a better accusation against my proclivities, sorry bb). That's my contribution to the discourse.

However! I will say of all the fandom discourses I've witnessed, this one is the most justified. Some shit has gone down! It's very poltical. There is money laundering involved! Share holders! The original writers are cast out! Did they get paid? Were they forced out? A guy kicked this whole thing off from a mental institution.

Things I can say for certain is, I don't like that guy, but I don't feel like I have a strong enough understanding of IP law, Estonian millionaires and criminals, or the office politics at Za/um to really know what to make of it. People are definitely throwing themselves on the train tracks about this shit though. I hope everyone gets some time outside touching grass, because it is just a game. A game we love, but ultimately, not super important.

Would I read it again?

Oh yeah. I have such a backlog of stories I need to read from DE.

#my personal take

[jellyluchi]

La Squadra x Gamer!Reader + spice

A/N: I’m not much of a gamer but I have been playing a few video games lately that gave me this idea. Edit: this was drafted mooonths ago when I was still playing Hades which I haven’t touched in a hot minute...

— Genre: nsfw, minors DNI

— Warnings: suggestive content, mentions of oral, fingering

Risotto

Tries to understand and play some of your video games if you decide to teach him, depending on the type of game he’s either really good or he sucks

Prefers to watch you play in either complete silence or let you talk and explain what the game is about

might ask you questions here and there because he’s a good boyfriend who takes interest in his partner’s fav hobbies!

enjoys relaxing decorative games or puzzle games the most. Also horror for aesthetics and good stories.

depending on whether he can tell if you’re in the mood (and yes he can tell) might tease you as you play

it starts with very light touches while you’re concentrating on the game and before you can even tell somehow you’re squirming!

very good at being stealthy when it comes to teasing his partners physically

might even use metallica to heighten your experience! your game is soon forgotten and you can’t remember if you beat the level or not

Prosciutto

Most likely to have you already on his lap when you’re playing if it’s his day off and he’s relaxing

a grandpa who won’t even try your video games unless you can somehow convince him with like.... a 45 slide power point on why he’d enjoy it, otherwise it’s just not to his taste

however, in the occasion that you do convince him, it’s truly a sight to see! This man is as intensely competitive as he is shit at games LOL (running in an fps looking at the ground with no camera control rip)

prone to giving up very fast unless you really walk him through it! Even then might not enjoy it unless it’s an interesting story or concept

will be more partial to games that tackle ethics and morals or are darker themed

But his favorite game is teasing you, you’re already on his lap and he loves giving you cuddles and if your having fun with your game why can’t he have fun with his?

It will be such a sensual and soothing experiencing you won’t realize when it even began before you’re panting a bit.

The best outcome is when you willingly leave your video games to go play with him instead

Pesci

Not big on gaming on his own but enjoys them very much when he plays, loves it if you invite him to play something!

Enjoys building and open world exploring type games the most (especially if the latter has some sort of fishing mini-game)

He likes to be creative with his building or wants to get immersed in some fantastical story

Is also chill with listening to you explain your games to him if he’s unfamiliar and loves watching you play

Now if you want some ‘video games and chill’ type situation you might have to be the one to initiate.

Whether it’s hinting at it verbally or physically he would need that confirmation

But once he knows what you want he’s not afraid to support you under the desk if you know what I mean.

Likes to hear your moans overpowering the video game music because it lets him know he’s doing a good job 

Formaggio

He’s already your video game buddy most likely, and he gets playfully competitive to boot

Likes FPS the most, especially if it’s multiplayer because that means he can go against you and keep score who got most kills

But if it’s a story based game he’ll goof off and sabotage missions on purpose to see how he can mess with the game (gfx, mechanics etc.)

Also just generally a fan of shooting things in game because it’s satisfying plus he has really good aim wit all his practice

when he’s not in the mood to play he’ll comment on your gaming and get close to rub your thighs slowly

if you don’t get the hint he’ll get bolder with his touches until they’re on your ass and interrupting your concentration

likes when you get frustrated from his touches and considers it a victory if you drop your game to make out with him

Likes to make bets like ‘if you score ___ I’ll dive between your legs’

Melone

Not partial to gaming but definitely has gaming experience, mostly with rhythm games rather than traditional console or PC ones

He really likes to know the details of games from you and can listen to you for hours explaining your favorite parts 

Gets into Sci-fi games the most, he loves the world building and the creative fictional technology that they come up with esp for space travel

His skills with the computer didn’t give him much gaming skills but it did allow him to get used to the controls quickly and he gets better with time

Touching you is something he’d rather do, even if its got an interesting concept because nothing is better than seeing you try to fight your moans

If you’re concentrated in gaming or explaining something he won’t interrupt you, but will invade your personal space till you get the hint

If you don’t, he will only inch closer till he’s touching you, first in innocent spots but eventually between your legs or your chest

Loves giving oral during gaming sessions, if you need support under the table he’s your man

Illuso

Never been much of a gamer but he loves to watch you play, especially when you get riled up. He’ll make lots of teasing comments about your gameplay to make you angry or irritated on purpose 

He pretends to look down on your gaming skills only because he knows the anger fuels your hormones

He gets bored quick when asked to play, is more into the avatar making section of the game than the actual game 

The type to run around in game going through the surrounding talking to random NPCs than actually playing 

His boredom from the games usually leads to other ideas, abandoning his console he, very sneakily, gets behind you. Like a snake he’s quickly wrapped around your body before you realize

You would only notice when he’s making quick work of your clothes, he’ll stop if you ask but if not, and usually you don’t, he’ll tease your inner thighs 

Doesn’t really putting his fingers between your legs unless you give him your undivided attention. If you whine, he just asks you what you want (may or may not give it to you depending on his mood) 

His goal is to make you sexually frustrated enough to abandon the game and let him finger you instead

Ghiaccio

A competitive gamer himself, you may find yourself actually challenged when playing with him. More likely to play FPS than the rest. 

He’s definitely vocal and focused when playing, comments on your every little move like you’re making the worst decision of your life 

Thinks bets are stupid (because he’s gonna win, obviously right?) and accept whatever challenge you throw at him 

Is super smug if he wins, but if he loses and you make him do something he hates he’ll be a sore loser and curse up a storm saying he’ll get you back for it 

Ghiaccio takes things at face value, he’s not going to think you’re here to fuck unless you actually say so (in which case he goes very red not realizing your intentions) 

If he’s particularly pent up though, he will wonder about the possibility of but won’t initiate it, you really have to be the one to rile him up well 

if you play your cards right, that is, letting him win, handling his attitude about it, getting him flustered enough, he will be open to letting you sucking him off, courtesy of winning the game 

the other much more fun route would be to win against him, tease him to hell and back and just saying “shut up and fuck me” in which case he will be more than happy to oblige after the stunt you pulled when playing 

Sorbet & Gelato

These two are actually pretty accustomed to old consoles such as the n64, having had grown up during it’s time however you will still have to help them navigate any gaming interface properly 

Most likely not used to PC gaming just yet but it’s terribly fun to have them watch especially if you’re playing horror and Gelato delights in the jumpscares while Sorbet really has no reaction 

Very much likes the morbid games psychological horrors with gore, their favorite characters are always the unhinged ones 

They’re both prone to comment if they’re playing themselves and it’s fun to watch as they’re barely phased by the atmosphere or general horrors of the game

Neither of them have much fun just observing you play your game, it’s more likely Gelato will get bored and whisper something lewd into Sorbet’s ear who smirks and they move into action

The plan is simple, they just want to see you squirm, won’t it be so much more fun to play if you’re taking Gelato from behind while Sorbet goes down your throat? 

Sure, in that case you’d be in no position to play by yourself but in perfect position for them to play with their little plaything

they’re really not much for subtlety and two of them and one of you, it doesn’t take much convincing nor man power to get you on your knees. 

#la squadra #la squadra x reader #la squadra di esecuzione #risotto x reader #prosciutto x reader #pesci x reader #formaggio x reader #melone x reader #illuso x reader #ghiaccio x reader #sorbet x reader x gelato #asks #suggestive #prosciutto #risotto #formaggio #pesci #melone #illuso #ghiaccio #sorbet #gelato #n sfw #just in case #clearing my drafts ooof #sid writes

[lady-of-the-spirit]

I still love LO (I have a soft spot for most things Hades x Persephone related 😅), but I really wish Hades' obvious special treatment of Persephone was actually treated as such. Not even neccesarily by Hades and Persephone, but just make it clear that Hades is in the wrong here. You know what would be funny? If or when Persephone is put to work again, she actually proves to be so bad at it that Hades finally sees what everyone else has been telling him this entire time.

Also, the age difference. Sure, they're gods. But given how shocked Hades was that Persephone was only sixteen and not sixteen hundred, they clearly have established age limits. I think I saw this in another Hades and Persephone comic too. Point is, why not just go the Rapunzel route and just make Persephone into a very sheltered adult? Or just not bring up the age thing at all.

And Persephone looking like Rhea... Oedipus complex much? Unless it's just a visual thing, which doesn't really help, either.

Honestly, out of all the things in this series I'm most annoyed with, it's actually a pretty minor one and that would be with how Hestia has been portrayed so far. Everyone else more or less has something in common with their original counterpart in one way or another, but Hestia is just made out to be hypocritical and borderline condescending. Even as someone who tends to separate myth from adaptation, it doesn't make it any less annoying. Hestia is an incredibly minor character in general and I'm not even a devotee, so it shouldn't bother me this much, but it does, and I! Don't! Know! Why!

One thing this did make me realize though is that I don't mind Athena being in a relationship since I literally thought nothing of it when her being with Hestia was confirmed (or maybe I'm just desensitized to it at this point), it's her having children is what I have a problem with (looking at you, CHB!). Although, you would think that if any of the virgin goddesses were to be in a relationship, it'd be Artemis and now I kinda want an AU where her and Athena are either pining after each other from afar or are secretly dating and Hestia is just completely oblivious to it either way.

Sorry for the rant, btw! I just have a lot of feelings right now!

Always feel free to rant in my inbox anon! I welcome it.

ESPECIALLY BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING.

(my own rants below the cut)

Persephone was hired without a proper interview and without knowing how to use a computer or the software her job required. That just SCREAMS special treatment. I've said before, while Persephone may have won the job "fairly" through the chess game, I HIGHLY doubt that Hades would have given anyone other than Persephone the chance to play him.

Really, the fault of Persephone being underqualified for the job lies with Hera, Hecate, and Hades - Hera for forcing Persephone to go to the job, Hecate for not making sure Persephone knew what she was doing, and Hades for letting everything she does slide. Her lack of qualifications mostly had to do with her not knowing how to work the software. She did get Minthe to show her how to use it, but I don't think we got the chance to see if she became better at her job afterwards. so it's anyone's guess if she can actually do her job now.

I would not have a problem with the special treatment Hades gives her if the narrative didn't go out of its way to show that it wasn't special treatment. Persephone is a paid intern and Hades says himself he does not pay the other interns. This is BLATANT favouritism but it's never brought up. Instead we get Hades being all "this isn't special treatment I'm just doing this with her bc blah blah blah" and it's BULLSHIT.

I'VE BROUGHT UP THE AGE THING BEFORE AND I SAID THIS EXACT SAME THING. The age thing didn't need to be a factor at all! Like, they're immortal gods, we don't need to know their physical ages. Why should we care? They're immortal and they're GODS. Persephone could have passed for a very small woman.

The Rhea thing bothers me SO MUCH. She and Persephone could pass as mother and daughter more than Persephone and Demeter. Add that to the way that Hades is called "a spitting image of Cronus" (and the parallel between Hermes saying his mom deserves nice things and Hades saying Persephone deserves nice things) sets off some warning bells. Also? Rhea should have been green and purple instead of Demeter. Hades takes Cronus's colouring, Zeus and Poseidon get Rhea's colouring. Automatically makes way more sense and gets rid of the weirdness of Persephone looking exactly like Hades' mom.

Anon I agree SO HARD with you on Hestia. I'm also not a devotee or worshiper or anything, but I always liked Hestia most out of the pantheon ever since I was little, and her portrayal in LO offended me almost on a personal level. Like, she's a goddess who just wants everyone to be kind and avoid family drama!! She doesn't even get any big myths!!! why'd LO do her so dirty?!

also I want that pining au now. someone get on that. someone give Artemis some nice things, she really needs them.

Yeah, overall I still enjoy Lore Olympus enough to not cut myself off from it entirely, and I want to see how things work out, and I’m not immune to cute HxP moments, but jeez does this series have a lot of problems. I don’t think I was this vocal about this series until after I became more critical of it lmao

#ask #anonymous #lore olympus critical

[inspiringraisin]

Disco Elysium and No Truce with the Furies

It took me way too long to realize that Disco Elysium’s in development name, No Truce with the Furies, is a reference to the three Fury Sisters in Ancient Greek Mythology: Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto. From what I understand, they torture souls in Tartarus, the depths of hell basically, for the crimes they’ve committed in their waking lives.

From Disco Elysium’s perspective, however, it never fully rid itself of its Ancient Greek inspired roots with Elysium in its name. Elysium is the highest plane in the underworld, where important souls, like kings and warriors, lay to rest. However, it’s also kind of purgatory, where souls can forget their past? Which ties into the themes in the game, because Harry’s in literal purgatory/hell in Martainaise with his memory loss.

There’s a lot to unpack with Harry’s feelings and struggles in purgatory, but I want to look at it from the perspective of the Furies. I’ve also been playing a lot of Hades recently, and it was the game that I played after beating Disco Elysium, so that’s mostly what got me thinking about Disco Elysium. I also have this entire rant about Elysium in Disco Elysium but also Xenoblade Chronicles 2 if anyone else is interested.

Anyway, who are the Furies? As I said before, they torture people in death. But what about in Disco Elysium? I thought about it for a while, and it can mean a few things:

The three Krenel mercenaries. I think this is the most likely, because there’s three of them, and they want to basically torture you and the other characters for the death of the Hanged Man. It is also the focal point of the entire game, and where the most action happens; everything you’ve done in that game leads to this point. The ‘no truce’ part is also of importance, as there’s no way to get out of that confrontation without violence, or avoiding it in the first place. With the Furies' focus on torturing people, and therefore using violence, and Harry being in purgatory/hell, there’s some weight to it.

There’s the quote back when you’re handling the body for the first time to name the case No Truce with the Furies, even before you learn about the rest of Krenel. Which puts a bit of a wrench in this theory because you don’t know about the three guys out for your blood. I know it’s a reference to the original title, but there could be more to it that I'm not sure about.

The three main political factions. I know there are four, but it’s mostly based on the political climate of Revachol: fascism, libertarianism, and moralism, in respect to each of the main characters involved in each. I.e. Rene Arnoux, Evrart Claire, and Joyce Messier. I know communism is also present, but you don’t meet the Deserter until the end, after the tribunal. But anyway, this is more prominent for Evrart and Joyce, but you really have to play by their rules to succeed in the game. Grovel by Joyce’s feet for money, while kicking out poor people from their houses to make juvie, basically, for teens to find your gun for Evrart. There’s no way to talk them out of their political views, in the same way that you can’t talk a truce with the Furies to stop them from torturing you. I don’t think they’re necessarily torturing Harry, but they’re making his life more of a mess.

A slightly different version of the main political factions with Dolores Dei, Kras Mazov, and King Frissel, three main figures with political ties that still have significant holds on the world. I know there’s the Ultraliberal faction, but that one doesn’t really have a figurehead associated with it in the same way.

With a focus on the Fury Sisters, there’s definitely something with Dora/Dolores Dei in there and could possibly relate to Harry’s internal misogyny. Or relate to Elizabeth, Klassje, and Rose, three prominent female characters that all betray Harry in some way.

Could be a reference to the three main archetypes in the game. That there’s no way to fully tap into all three of them at the same time, and you can’t have a ‘truce’ between Harry’s thought demons in his head.

I think going with Disco Elysium was the better choice for the name of the game, but I still appreciate No Truce with the Furies still showing up in some way. Disco Elysium still gets across a name that basically doesn't make any sense, which really reflects the feelings of the game. No Truce with the Furies sounds more like a name for a side quest, rather than the name of a game, but it still has significant weight backing it.

I also had the realization while writing this that Harry losing his memory is likely a reference to the River Lethe in Elysium, where if you drink from it, it wipes your memories. But that's also its own post. God.

#disco elysium #disco elysium analysis #ancient greek literature

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. ok but thats also i think i dont get? because without the series or character names, what of any of the promo images or banner or anything else give away it's supposed to be a greek mythology story? they just look like people with weird anatomy who are colored like highlighters. at the very least some iconography should be on them, but there's not? like even percy jackson stuff makes sure to give him a trident and have water flowing around him.

2. rachel made three times where persephone could have made the choice to be with hades willingly and didnt do it each time. first time she was drugged and put into his car, where he phsyically handles her unconscious body and puts her in his bed (ew). second is her working for him, which was hera forcing it. third was her going to the underworld not because she wanted to, but because she was hiding from the law/apollo and he found her. where exactly is her agency in all of this?

3. LO seems like the fast food of webtoons. because there's no room to speculate or theorize, you just read an episode and move on, the bright colors distract that it's a rushed and lazy product over something with high quality and effort, the characters are flat and boring, and the plot has no substance. it's meant to be consumed in a rapid binge, because if not you realize what low-effort and what little you're actually getting from it when you slow down and actually think about it.

4. i mean rachel does have some logic to her fancasting, the problem is it seems the only people of color are either demonized for being hypersexual (aphrodite, eros until he's with psyche) or are literally r//pists who are out to harm her white-fa casted persephone (apollo), so yeah, there is logic there, it's just pointing to rachel being (hopefully unintentionally) racist

5. It pisses me so much that I work over time  (using references and looking at paintings and reading history for ideas for interesting character motifs) so that any of the ancient greek characters I draw look cool and authentically greek, and yet fucking Rachel Smythe, who can't even be bothered to do more than 5 seconds of research to learn that not all ancient greek outfits were shitty, minimalist off white and eggshell, gets to be revered as an artistic revolutionary. It pisses me off so. Fucking. Much. Not just for me, but for everyone else like me who absolutely ADORES greek mythology and wants to draw accurate portrayals of these characters! To whoever is reading this, stop. Stop rn and go read Sleep and His Brother Death (a comic on webtoons), go play Hades (the video game), go read The Song of Achilles (a book by Madeline Miller). Those are beautiful pieces of fiction about Greek mythology that deserve your attention more then Rachel and her shitty pink highlighter self inserts.

And a sidenote, I know that this is kinda like a modern AU for the gods. I am aware. Does not change that fact that anytime any character is drawn in ancient greek fashion it's always the SAME. SHITTY. CHITON. Maybe with a.cape or a scarf, but for the most part? It's just the same stupid, off white chiton.

6. oh, i thought you guys were joking persephone is now stuck with red eyes. is that seriously what look we're stuck with now? does rachel know it looks really ugly?

7. i feel like the lineart less style actually hurts LO in a way. way too often you can look at a panel and it becomes really murky where something starts and ends, and it looks even worse on a phone screen, because on an even smaller screen the images look even more compressed, making it even harder to tell stuff apart. this wouldnt be as bad if the comic took back up its more high contrast look from the begging, but now it's all one flat shade and im not sure why.

8. im really confused over the marketing of LO, tbh. like the ads are all hxp focused, but the series name implies its not about them, but focusing on the 12 olympians, but then the synopsis is general mythology and at the very end randomly mentions its about persephone? but then you read it and nots sure whether its a teen romance, a comedy, a serious drama, and can't stay straight with its messaging and timeline? and persephone is not there for a chunk of time. like whats actually going on?? 😭

9. Chapter 173 is like 50% filler. It gives more questions that answers, and not just from the reporters. Like the reporter stuff was mostly filler, and the Persphone and Hades stuff was like yeah we know dont need to drag this on.

My questions are WHAT ARE THE RED EYES? Is it when she’s mad? Horny? Sad? Happy? I feel like the red eyes just show up whenever RS wants to draw them

Flying? I feel like Persphone has always been flying like it wasn’t a bug moment at all. She flew home when Minthe and Hades kissed. But apperently Demeter didn’t know? I guess I don’t remember her flying in the mortal realm but her flying didn’t seem like a big moment, none of the other characters seemed surprised by it.

“Answer mine first!” When i got to that line I reread some of it just to find where the question was. That line normally matters when you’ve already asked the question not if you haven’t gotten there yet. Like of course Demeter is gonna be worried and ask a million questions.

I know the pomegranate pin is gonna be important but I felt the focus on it was a little too much, like an excuse not to cover more this chapter. Because honestly it felt like 5 minutes of the plot was covered in this chapter. 

10. So uh, whats up with Hades weird ass comments... Like "Persephone you look beautiful and if someone says otherwise they can go play on the highway" ???

Because Persephone looking good during a murder trial is clearly the most important thing here.

Also, Perse's response to the reporter who asked her about her friendship with Hades. I mean, on one hand Persephone is right, her "friendship" (or whatever it is they have going on) is nobodies business but her own - but at the same time, its kinda also the underworld denizens right to know in the sense that their future leadership could be affected so they might want to know whats going on if their getting a new co-ruler / Queen that they will be subjects of. They probably will want to know who Persephone is, should she and Hades get married because it's very likely that when (cause lets be real its a 'when' not 'if' they get married) they do get married that Persephone will inherit half the title.

So, eh?

#anti lo #anti lore olympus #lore olympus critical #lo critical

[sparklingchan]

Chapter 3|| Stormbringer- Stray Kids Demigod AU

Pairing : Reader(fem.) X Felix

Word count : 3.3k+

Warnings : A fight scene but it’s just practice XD

Genre : Romance, Demigod AU, fluff, angst.

Description: An unexpected incident brings you closer to Felix, but there’s one person who’s not very excited about this blossoming friendship. 

A/N : Things start getting interesting from here *insert the moon face emoji* Enjoy!

SERIES MASTERLIST ||  Click here for introduction to the story and glossary and here for the Stray Kids demigod diaries!

"A near miss, y/n."  Felix whispers in his deep, raspy voice sending shivers  through your entire body.

You blink awkwardly at him for a few seconds before he gets off of you and offers you his hand to help you stand up.

You hear the Aphrodite girls whispering behind you, giggling.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Your eyes are looking everywhere but at Felix, the heat from your cheeks making your whole face warm.

"It's alright, " he chuckles, "Are you hurt anywhere?" His freckles look even more gorgeous up close, his toothy smiles reminds you of bright skies and beaches and picnics and fresh fruits. And when the warm afternoon sunlight falls on his eyes, his brown orbs turn into a gentler shade of golden. Breathtaking.

"You're beautiful." You blurt out, involuntarily,  loud and clear so everyone hears you. A loud chorus of gasps run throughout the dining hall.

And you decide to run away back to your cabin with the little dignity you had left of yourself.

And there you are, once again thinking back to yesterday's events while polishing your precious arrow heads as you sit on the Zeus cabin's verandah.

You sigh, "It was the Aphrodite effect, right? It has to be!"

You've been pep talking to yourself all morning long, making up excuses for the way you behaved yesterday. You're too embarrassed to face your friends or the other people at camp.

"I mean he is good looking, but why did I say it out loud. Does he have powers? Like that of Hyunjin? Maybe he can charmspeak. Yes! That's probably it!" You mutter to yourself.

(a/n: Charmspeak is a rare type of hypnotic ability that Aphrodite kids possess)

Or perhaps he'd induced a new sense of adoration in you, like how Aphrodite kids usually can. But then again, they cannot actually induce these feelings. They can only manipulate them which means they'd have to exist in the first place.

You put the arrow back into it's case.

"Ugh!" You let out a loud groan, covering your face with your palms.

The image that you'd spent years to portray in front of everyone is all destroyed in the blink of an eye. Now no one's going to respect you as an only child of the Big Three, they're going to see you as a girl who gets smitten easily and not as the headstrong person you always acted like.

All because of that Lee Felix!

(a/n: big three refers to the three major Greek gods namely Poseidon, Zeus and Hades)

You stand up from the floor, not being able to handle the bombardment of thoughts in your mind, and decide that practicing sword fighting is the right thing to now.

So you find yourself making your way from behind the Athena cabin (where you can clearly hear Seungmin and another Athena kid debating over mortal politics) and then through the Jasmine fields that Apollo personally tends to and down the hill to the weapon practice arena.

"Hey, y/n."

Oh no, no no no.

Why is it that when you are trying to avoid a person that exact person is the one who keeps popping up everywhere? Why is it, you tell me, that Lee Felix happens to be in the practice arena just when you arrive there?

The Gods must be having a nice laughter up there, especially your father Zeus.

"H-hey!" You try to reply with fake enthusiasm.

He has his bronze sword in his right hand while he jogs up to you, his messy blonde hair shining like the sun.

"Did you sleep well?"

No, you hadn't.

"Yes, I did." You laugh awkwardly, "Slept wonderfully."

Felix laughs back, eyes hooded with a hint of shyness that hadn't existed till yesterday afternoon.

He tucks his bottom lip in between his teeth, "Hey, um about what you said yesterday-"

"Do you wanna duel with me?"

If you cannot escape him, you might as well divert his attention.

He looks at you like you'd just punched him in the face. His smile threatening to disappear any moment.

And that’s when you realise asking him to duel with you might not have been the brightest ideas, and not to mention how you'd called him beautiful in front a hundred other demigods last afternoon.

"I'd love to!" He replies, with an excited voice, "Swords?"

You open your mouth to reply, but only air slips out so you subtly nod. He doesn't have to know you're a nervous mess that's lowkey about to pass out.

You walk up to the armory and grab the first sword that you lay eyes on. Truth be told, a sword wasn't really the best choice of weapon for you. It's always been a bow and arrow for you. Bows make you feel at control, like you know what you're doing and you'd always been good at archery, without even trying to.

"Do you not have a sword of your own?" Felix asks almost as if reading your mind.

"No, I don't. Actually I'm more of an archer." You admit.

"Ah, of course. I remember how you killed that Cetus in a single shot. I must say, I was very impressed."

Your cheeks heat up at his compliment. It's not like people haven't complimented your archery skills before - they have, in fact they do it all the time yet you wonder why is it so much more meaningful to you when coming from Felix. Has your biggest fear finally come true?

You shake your head mentally, no, it cannot be.

"Thanks. You're not very bad with your sword either."

Felix acknowledges your compliment with a smile. He then stands up straight, the sword in his right and bows gently, a silly smile playing at his lips.

"Oh we're following the courtesies?" You whisper to yourself, copying his actions.

The both of you stand facing each other, a silent understanding flowing between the two of you while you take your dueling positions.

You expect him to attack first but he doesn't; instead he watches you with a smirk, as if trying to make you flustered.

(It was working but you'd rather never say that out loud)

So he attacks first. He aims his sword near your abdomen but you quickly jump to defend yourself, blocking his attack with your sword. The metallic clang of your swords ringing throughout the otherwise quiet arena. He stumbles back, a surprised gasp leaving his lips as your sword brushes swiftly past his neck while he's still catching his breath, barely touching him though. 

Of course, hurting the opponent isn’t the aim here. Disarming them is.

"She's not bad with the sword." He thinks to himself, a little proud.

He then retorts back, swinging his sword right in front of your face, missing by merely an inch.

Your heart does a backflip, both out of excitement and fear.

You don't waste a second, gaining back your balance, thrusting your sword in the space between his arm and abdomen. Your sword clash together as you try to push his sword back with yours, yet this time he resists, putting in all his energy to make you loose your grip on the sword.

And it seems to have worked because the next moment, he sees you losing your strength, your face scrunched in concentration as you let out a few grunts. He takes a single step towards you while applying more force on your sword with his, and there goes your sword, falling onto the ground gracefully, like a martyred soldier.

"Do you accept defeat, miss y/n?" Felix teases through laboured breaths and you only have enough energy to roll your eyes at him, hitting his arm in response.

Felix passes you back your sword, as he walks over to the bench and slumps down.

Your body is too tired to worry about Felix bringing up yesterday's incident, so you follow him and sit by his side. Neither of you say anything, your fanning breaths and thumping hearts and the buzzing of insects are the only sounds in the arena. You'd never experienced this kind of peacefulness in the camp before, at least not unless you were by yourself.

When you recover from your momentary exhaustion, you look over at Felix and softly begin, "I was wondering..."

He glances at you with a smile.

Does he ever stop smiling?

"I was wondering...since Hyunjin already told you about the game, would you like to be my partner for the capture the flag game next week? I usually go with Minho but he's a referee this time." You say.

He is taken aback for a second - mostly because he'd never thought someone as cool as you would ask him to be your partner. Team games are very important in camps and its important  to make sure that the teammates do not turn out to be poor players. It somehow makes Felix very happy that you'd have such faith in him despite having known him for only two days.

He nods, "I'd be honored to do that."

Your heart beats furiously as you suck in a deep breath, "It's a deal then."

Gosh y/n, what has gotten into you!

*

You decide to take the longer route back.

Felix left early after finishing the duel so you spent the next hour practicing Archery alone before deciding to head back to your cabin.

Your thoughts are all over the place as it is, but the quietness of the woods help you to sort things out with yourself. You feel rather uncomfortable, experiencing emotions that you'd not felt in a long time, past insecurities and memories fighting their way back from the dungeons you'd locked them up in. This was ridiculous, wasn't it? How Felix comes out of nowhere and just flips everything up?

The sun rays fall on you from the gaps between the tree branches and as you listen to the birds chirp around you, you start to slowly hum to their tune.

"Wow, who hurt you, y/n?" A male voice calls you from behind, the sound of leaves getting crushed under a pair of hooves indicate the approaching entity.

"No one hurt me, Eden."

Eden is still as handsome as ever, you wonder to yourself everytime you return to the camp, with a sturdy upper body and beautiful grey eyes and two strong goat limbs instead of normal human legs, yet he's so much more alluring than any satyr you'd ever seen. (Then again, maybe you're just biased because he’s also your childhood friend) He flashes you a handsome smile and you immediately pray to the gods that he doesn't see you blush.

(a/n: Satyrs, also known as Fauns by Romans, are creatures with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a goat as well as goat horns, and the pointed ears of a goat. )

"What's up." He stands in front of you and kisses you softly on the head, "I had gone out yesterday so I couldn't come see you. Hope you didn't miss me too much."

You hit his chest, "You're so full of yourself, goat-boy." You continue walking back towards your cabin, Eden following right behind.

"Woahh. Using Minho's nicknames now, are we?" He snickers, "One of the kids told me that you had a little hormonal outburst last afternoon?"

An embarrassed sigh leaves you lips. The camp kids really couldn't miss out on one day of gossip now could they?

"I don't wanna talk about it." You mutter as yesterday's events flash into your mind. Felix, his face, his voice and your words. Oh God.

"Hey, no judgment here, okay? If you like the new Aphrodite boy then I support you. Do you want me to play wingman?"

You turn around and smack his chest once again. "I do not like him." Yet.

"Okay, okay. I get it." His tone falls serious, "Anyway  I heard about Poseidon's trident. It scared me, I won't lie. Something as powerful as that trident has never been forged in a millennia. And I can only imagine how powerful one has to be steal it. Are you sure only nine demigods are enough to find it?"

"It has to be, Eden." You say, "We don't have too many options. It's either this or we all drown and die or get killed by a monster. I'd like to choose the former."

Eden nods at your words, patting your head encouragingly.

You are about to speak up again when your eyes fall on a woman sitting on a log of wood just a few meters ahead of you.

"Is that one of the Aphrodite girls?" You whisper to Eden, only for him to shake his head in response.

The woman sits with her back facing you, a beautiful white dress adorning her small skinny frame and her brown hair tied in a tidy floral braid. Either the woman is a daughter of Aphrodite's or a Nymph, you conclude.

Without thinking much, you approach her, "Um, hello? May I know who you are?"

A startled gasp escapes your mouth when the woman turns around and looks at you with a very familiar smile playing at her lips - you'd grown up seeing that smile on Hyunjin and very recently on Felix. It's the very same smile, a Xerox copy of it.

"Aphrodite?" You mutter and she nods in response.

"Hello, y/n. Mind if I have a word with you?"

*

"So you were out with y/n? Dueling?" Changbin asks for the umpteenth time this morning, his usually playful eyes now focused seriously on Felix's body language.

"Yes, Changbin," Felix groans, lying flat on his fluffy bed, "Can you stop making a big deal out of it?"

Chan chuckles at the conversation, his eyes though focused on the book in front of him but his ears are on his two best friends' conversation. Chan knew Changbin wasn't the kind to trust people easily, especially Zeus' children so it's not surprising of him to be suspicious about you but what does come as a surprise to Chan is how oddly giggly Felix has been since last afternoon. After that awkward encounter with you. Could it be that Felix..?

"Do you like Zeus' daughter?" Changbin asks even before Chan can finish his line of  thought.

Felix's eyes widen, but the tips of his ears are bright red, "Dude I just met her. Can you not act like a love guru out of the blue?"

"Hey, you're the love expert here. Literally. So, I should be expecting a better answer from you, no?"

"No, I do not like her. Okay?" Felix groans, "But she did ask me to be her partner for the game next week and I'm telling you beforehand Seo Changbin, do not say or assume anything that would make her uncomfortable. "

The warning comes off as rather cute to Chan since he’s always seen the Aphrodite kid as his little brother while Changbin finds his words a tad bit alarming. A Zeus kid is not to be trusted this easily.

"Fine." Changbin mutters, his lips pressing into a thoughtful line, "But just be careful because  I - "

"Don't trust the Children of Zeus easily, yeah we know. Come on, Bin. Let him have some fun and make new friends. You should do it, too. We're not on our own anymore." Chan pipes in to save Felix this time and Felix secretly sends a thankful wink to him in return.

"Okay, okay." Changbin gives in.

The door to Felix's room creaks ever so slightly and the three of them turn their heads in anticipation of who it might be.

"Hey. Sorry to disturb you guys but we're being called for dinner." Hyunjin says, still getting used to having three new demigods around in the camp.

Chan closes his book, "Oh, come on, Hyunjin. You're not disturbing us. Come on in."

Felix gets up to greet his half brother with a fist bump and when he stands beside Hyunjin, the two older guys find it hilarious how terribly small he looks. Almost like Hyunjin were his father.

Felix almost as if reads their minds and narrows their eyes at them, "Dinner is ready guys. Can we move?"

"Shortie." Hyunjn whispers incoherently and makes a run towards the door.

"Hey, come back here you piece of -" Felix dashes right after him.

Changbin and Chan chuckle at their tactics, a foreign feeling of calmness settling between them. "This feels like home, Chan. We're finally home." Changbin admits, almost emotionally.

"Yes, Bin." Chan adds, "And I hope we never have to leave again."

*

"Aphrodite said what now?"

You sigh, running your index finger mindlessly along the lines of the wooden dinner table.

"She wants us to take the new demigods with us to find Poseidon's trident. Especially Felix." You look at your friends, "And she asked me to specifically visit the island of Sicily when we go on the quest. I asked her why but she said she doesn't know it herself."

Hyunjin grunts, almost irritated, "Y/n, I don't know how much you can trust my mother. She's known to cause drama for her own entertainment. "

Well, you do agree with what Hyunjin says but you cannot deny that Aphrodite didn't seem like she was purposely creating drama this time.

"Listen, y/n, you have to go to The island of Sicily. It will lead you to the trident, trust me." She whispers as if she is afraid of someone overhearing your conversation, "Take Felix with you. You'll need him. He'll need you."

You shudder at the memory of her unusually spooky tone.

"What do you think, dad?" Jisung turns to Apollo who has ever so naturally claimed a spot at your usual dinner table tonight, "Do you think we should let new demigods on a quest?"

"I don't think Aphrodite is playing this time. We should listen to her." He taps his finger against his chin, deep in thought, "We need as many people as we can get."

"Well, yeah. That makes sense." Minho says and you nod, "Yeah, Eden can talk to the three boys. He's always been good at all that."

The lack of protests from your friends indicate their approval and after talking about the quest for a few more minutes, Apollo leaves your table.

"So," Jisung chimes in as soon as his father is out of sight, "Our Y/n has been dueling with Lee Felix?"

You let out an exasperated growl, "Oh God, Jisung! It was just today!"

Jisung snickers and sticks out his tongue, rendering your words useless. Minho raises an eyebrow at your banter while the other boys giggle, "Eden tells me you are already smitten."

Eden! God, that Eden, you mentally vow to punch that smirk off of Eden's face the next time you see him. Why does he keep pushing ridiculous ideas into other people's head!

"I'm not smitten -"

"Who are you talking about?"

Your blood runs dry.

Please tell me Felix didn't just overhear this one conversation which includes me having a crush on him.

"Hey, Lix." Hyunjin laughs, "Took you three long enough to get here  I went to your room like an hour ago."

Felix rubs the back of his neck, guilty, "Changbin spilled water on my favorite sweatshirt. "

A short guy - probably Changbin - slaps Felix's back. "Ouch!"

"Liar!" Felix rolls his eyes, turning to speak with you, "Anyway, y/n, I'm assuming you're the only to not have met my brothers yet."

"Yeah, i think so." You reply with a small smile.

Felix pats the back of the two boys on his right and left respectively. "Chan, Changbin, meet y/n, she's Zeus' daughter and y/n, meet Chan, he's Poseidon's son and Changbin - Ares' son."

Oh wow that is a new combination.

The guy introduced as Chan has a kind smile and messy brown hair while the Changbin dude has jet black hair and very intimidating eyes. He looks up and down your form, as if checking whether you were worth being Felix's friend - vibe checking, if you may.

"Hi, I'm y/n."

With the introductions done and dinner served, your group of old and new friends enjoy this peaceful evening together. The loud laughs and sassy remarks and friendly banters make you feel somewhat calm, but a part of you knows this isn't for long.

It’s like the calm before the storm.

"So, are we meeting for practice tomorrow too?" Felix whispers into your ears when he finds the others too indulged in conversation.

Your heart picks up its pace but you manage to nod with pink cheeks, "Yes. Same time as today."

A few seats away from you, Changbin overhears your conversation and decides that he doesn't really like you.

*

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#skz #stray kids #skz felix #stray kids felix #skz au #skz scenarios #skz imagines #skz angst #skz fluff #skz felix au #stray kids au #stray kids fanfic #stray kids fluff #stray kids fantasy #skz x reader #skz felix x reader #stray kids x reader #skz lee felix #lee felix #skz ff #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #skz x y/n #kpop au #kpop ff #skz kpop #skz fantasy au #stormbringer

[playernumberv]

Returnal may be the best game I’ll probably end up leaving unfinished

But wait, I hear my imaginary audience ask - if a game is that good, how and why would I possibly leave it unfinished? And indeed, when I leave a game unfinished, it’s usually because I don’t have much good to say about it, and no longer deem it worthy of my time. I left Assassin’s Creed Valhalla unfinished after 30 hours in it, for example, because it just kept dragging on and on and on and I just got incredibly bored. That’s not the case with Returnal at all. 

In what has been for me a relatively lull year in games (with nothing having reached my personal standard for being a GOTY contender yet), Returnal has been the most compelling and fascinating title I’ve played. It is just utterly stellar. I love how intriguing the sci-fi psychological horror/thriller setting is, and while sparse, the little narrative there is compels me to want to find out more about Atropos and Selene. The third-person shooter combat is visceral and fluid, and is a mad rush of pure adrenaline and exhilaration that is complemented by an overwhelming smorgasbord of eye-melting visual effects. Audio design can only be described as majestic, with thunderous combat soundtracks that catalyze the already sky-high intensity of the game’s combat, and the deafening roar of enemy cries truly tear right into you, making you feel as if you were truly confronted by terrifying alien monstrosities. Level design and art design are similarly masterful, creating an alien world that genuinely feels alive and horrifying. And have I mentioned how indescribably good the dualsense implementation is? You can feel the pitter-patter of raindrops; you can feel the kinetic rush of dashing; you can feel the recoil of gunfire. If Astro’s Playroom was a technical demonstration of what the dualsense could be capable of, Returnal is an applied demonstration of how the dualsense can truly elevate gaming experiences. Every aspect of this game comes together and just oozes an unprecedented level of quality in the level of immersion it achieves - it bombards you with near-endless bursts of visual, auditory, as well as sensory feedback, and in so doing creates a truly next-gen gaming experience that feels extremely immersive. Short of VR experiences, I daresay no other game has ever come close to such an immaculate level of immersion, so much so that can say unironically that the game actually makes me feel like I’m stranded on an alien world.

Again I hear my imaginary audience ask - this makes no damn sense, if Returnal is as magnificent as I claim it to be, why would I leave it unfinished?

And to that, my answer is this: Returnal is simply far too punishing and inaccessible. For a working adult who—I’m ashamed to say, despite my immense love of games—isn’t especially skilled at gaming and who has relatively limited time and energy for gaming, Returnal simply demands far too much. It’s utterly soul-crushing. To begin with, I am not a fan of the repetitiveness of roguelikes, and even a roguelike as polished and well-designed as Hades did not especially impress me, as I mentioned in my earlier review of it. Yet Hades’ roguelike is, ironically enough, heavenly compared to the genuine hellishness of Returnal’s roguelike, where permanent upgrades are extremely scarce to the point of being nearly non-existent. Virtually everything resets with each death. Your weapons: gone, reduced to ashes. Your suit upgrades, health upgrades, all gone. And that may have been fine were the game itself not nail-bitingly hard—it’s not uncommon at all to have to spend an hour or even more on preparation, only for one small mistake to be severely punished before you even manage to reach the boss, and to have to restart from zero all over again. Furthermore, as is standard of the roguelike genre, there is a fair bit of randomness—and so how successful each run is may in part be determined by whether you luck out on obtaining the desired suit upgrades or your desired weapon. This randomness further compounds the amount of time that needs to be spent on preparing, failing, being unlucky, and trying all over again. That may have been fine once in a while, but repeat this cycle enough times, and Returnal becomes a miserable punishment. It’s utterly soul-crushing to have to waste hours on preparation, only to fail and have all the preparation completely reduced to nothing. And this isn’t even accounting for how gruellingly tough the boss fights can be. Returnal makes you squander hours upon hours—it severely punishes failure, to the point where its rewards, majestic though they are, become overshadowed by its punishment.

Yes, yes, I can already hear a portion of my imaginary audience chanting. ‘GIT GUD’, they say, and I don’t deny at all that I am not good at Returnal. But I am certain that there are other gamers, who like me, do not play games to be punished, challenged, and pushed to our limits—we play games for entertainment, for relaxation, and for escapism from the stresses and difficulties of the real world, something that may be especially important in the broken, pandemic-stricken world we live in currently. Returnal is the utter opposite of relaxation, and if a (mostly) healthy, able-bodied person like me finds it inaccessible, I imagine it to be even more so for a huge proportion of others out there. To be fair, I hesitate to call any of this a ‘flaw’ on the part of Returnal, and I do understand the sentiments of the ‘git gud’ crowd—there’s a strong charm to Returnal’s unflinching adherence to its vision, and its insistence on having an identity of relentlessness and challenge is in its own way very respectable and charismatic. I also do understand the immense elation and satisfaction of surmounting a seemingly-impossible challenge—beating the bosses of the first and second biomes of Returnal filled me with a raw euphoria no game has given me in ages. In part, having no recourse towards an easier way out is part of this charm. Knowing that one cannot simply choose an easier option, for there is none, truly does magnify the immense satisfaction of conquering a challenge.

With all that being said, I cannot help but think that sacrificing a small part of that charisma and charm in the noble pursuit of accessibility is a worthy cost. This need not even involve sacrificing the roguelike genre in favour of a more generic third-person action-adventure style of gameplay—although admittedly, given my general disdain for roguelikes, this would probably have been a better fit for me. I do have to say that the roguelike genre is perfect for Returnal. Its central narrative theme of being stranded on an alien planet where the main character returns by death—wait, wrong series—provides perfect ludonarrative harmony when melded with the roguelike genre, and this harmonious complementation between game-play and narrative is truly brilliant. Even maintaining its roguelike genre, I sincerely believe that Returnal could have been made to be substantially more accessible and less punishing, and to shift the mechanics away from randomness and towards granting more player control. Having difficulty options provide a convenient way to accomplish this, but I do believe the roguelike itself could also learn a number of lessons from Hades. For example, even maintaining its present difficulty levels, a larger number of permanent upgrades would go an incredibly long way in making Returnal’s roguelike far more meaningful and palatable. More forms of permanent suit or health upgrades, as well as more permanent weapons—being stuck with only a pistol at the start of every run is extremely unwelcome—would be immensely appreciable as well. Implementing these changes would indeed compromise some of Returnal’s unflinching and unrelenting vision. But would it not be a worthy trade-off if a greater number of people can experience the utter majesty of what Housemarque has accomplished here in terms of audio design, game design, art design, and narrative?

I truly am impressed by Returnal, and when awards season comes by at the end of the year, I think it unquestionably deserves every accolade it will almost surely obtain, be it in audio, narrative, or gameplay. It is the best game I’ve played this entire year so far, and even as I type this, I feel a rush of sheer awe at just how unbelievably excellent Returnal is. Unfortunately, my affections for Returnal feel unrequited. My circumstances and my relative incompetence as a gamer make it near-impossible for me to ever experience in full all that Returnal has to offer, despite my great desire to be able to. So, it seems, despite my deep affections for Returnal, I may never finish it, and I will think back to this years later with deep regret, wishing that I were in more suitable circumstances, wishing that I were a better gamer, and wishing that Returnal could have been more accessible. Alas, these wishes were not to be.

#returnal #housemarque #playstation #playstation 5 #ps5 #sony #gaming #games #accessibility #roguelike #roguelite

[marigoldthoughts]

rent free pt.11

wifi

[on discord call] y- you k- kenma

K- Hello gardener

Y- picking weeds is fun you're just lazy

K- somethings wrong with you.. i just know it

Y- ITS RELAXING!!

K- TO YOU!

Y- whatever, you probably have like tense ass shoulders since you don't like to relax

K- my shoulders are incredibly un-tense, thank you very much gardener

Y- you're welcome mister uh… stress

K- PFFT- mister stress?

Y- SHUT- let's just move on 

K- hm alright.. So how have you and Kuroo been?

Y- oh yeah.. that's not… a thing anymore

K- oh? I thought you really liked him? 

Y- yeah I did, I thought I was playing around but I started to fall for him

K- so why aren't you talking anymore?

Y- well... you know what happened last year, and looking back at it now its not really a big deal, but I really don't want it to happen again.. especially since we aren't in the same grade and live 5 hours away from each other

K- you shouldn't compare the two.. The only thing they have in common is that they’re older than you

Y- I guess, but it doesn't matter anyway, I saw some girl comment on his post and it seemed kinda flirty.. I don't want to be  just another girl that he's entertaining, and I really don't want to get played again..

Y- hey why'd you stop running?

K- hm? Oh uh my friend texted me I just have to text him back real quick

No one texted Kenma, well the volleyball group chat was probably going crazy, but he had muted them as soon as he got added. Kuroo had also texted him about an hour ago… eh it's fine he'll text back eventually. The real reason Kenma had stopped playing was to check Kuroo’s instagram. It's not like Kuroo to text a girl at all, so texting two was out of the question. Hm.. that's weird, there's nothing there. The only comments under his recent post were from the guys on the team and his sister. God, you could be really dense sometimes, getting upset over a comment from his sister. If you had taken the time to look through her pictures you would've seen a family photo that Kuroo is tagged in.

 Kenma noticed that Kuroo hadn’t been on his phone as much recently on the ride home, mostly because he kept pestering him while he tried to play his game. He never planned on meddling in yours and Kuroo’s relationship, if anything he wanted to stay far from it. He loves you both, but the fact that his closest friends had started talking to each other made him anxious. Most of this worries about your relationship came from the possibility of you discovering that he’s applepi. Sure he’d like to meet you eventually, but for now he's content with the way things are. Whenever Kuroo begins to talk about you he makes sure to keep his answers short and simple, nothing out of the ordinary really. Putting a name and a face to the person he's told his worst insecurities to was odd, there was a sense of comfort in the anonymity of it all. At least his identity was still a mystery to you. 

He thought that if you and Kuroo stopped talking he'd be relieved, the chances of him meeting you would drop significantly. Selfishly Kenma wanted to change the subject, you’d forget about Kuroo eventually right? It wasn't a big deal anyway… So why did he feel so guilty? He could tell you right now that Kuroo isn't flirting with anyone else, that he talks about you nonstop, shit he's even asked Nekomata about setting up a training camp soon so he could see you again. But then you’d know who he really is, you'd be able to put a face to the late night talks, the secrets.

Y- ohh okay i thought you froze 

K- please, my wifis not as shitty as yours

Y- okay it cuts off SOMETIMES but that's not my fault

K- our definitions of sometimes are drastically different 

Y- you are SO dramatic it's not that bad

K- huh? Sorry i can't hear you, i think your shitty wifis acting up again

Y- no its not

Y- ..hello..

Y- ...hellooo..

Y- aw shit..

K- gotcha 

Y- YOU ASS 

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A/N: theres only a few chapters left🥺🥺 i’m 🥺🥺

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[argisthebulwark]

OH MY GOD THE BOYFRIEND DUNGEON THING! So I actually own it & have played it multiple times cuz its fun and the whole drama around it really pisses me off cuz its a really inclusive game!! And you can do so much in it!! But everyone's mad cuz there's LIGHT stalking and unwanted advences (yes they happen, but, as someone who playd the game, I don't think they were that bad and at the most were just very uncomfortable. They mostly happen over text but I just never answered that charaters texts so I never really HAD to interact with him unless he was there as a part of the plot) AND THEY WARN YOU BEFOREHAND!!!! THERES LITERALLY A HUGE WARNING RIGHT BEFORE YOU PLAY THE GAME!!! You can't get mad about the light stalking and unwanted advances IF THEY WARN YOU ABOUT THAT BEFOREHAND!!!! AND because there is ONE gross incel-y character every1's having a little baby hissy fit about it which just!! AAARRRGGG!! IT MAKES ME SO MAD!!! Cuz like i said i've played it & u can tell there's so much heart behind it and it makes me mad its being held to these impossibly high standards. The creators put their blood sweat and tears into this game and people are mad because.......there's a problematic character??? Like, have you ever heard of a villain?? VILLIANS ARENT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKABLE!!!! YOU'RE S U P O S E D TO HATE HIM AND FIND HIM CREEPY AND GROSS!!!! So yeah, the drama surrounding it is BULLSHIT that makes me VERY ANGRY but I've just been avoiding it cuz it is a REALLY fun game and Isaac the estoc has completely stolen my heart. But yeah, I havn't seen much discorse about it here, I think it's all mostly on twitter, and that place is a fucking disasterzone anyways. Anyways, you should check it out of you want and if anyone reading this wants to talk about it please come to my inbox this is my new favorite game and im dying to talk to someone about it. 

(God, I'm so sorry this got so long, but I saw that thing you reblogged about it and wanted to come tell you about it but I didn't mean to go off like that oops) 

ok yeah i've read a lot online about it and it does seem like the reactions about it are really. inflammatory. i bought it literally the day it came out and haven't played it yet because i can only be obsessed with one roguelike at a time and hades has me in a chokehold. i recently played dream daddy, a game that i was admittedly hesitant to play because of the reactions. i purposefully sought out the scary ending using really specific instructions and was pleasantly surprised when i got big ol content warning. i don't really use twitter for anything other than keeping up with melee events lmao so luckily i haven't seen much discourse. i think the only reason i'm aware of it is because of some article from kotaku or some similar publication.

#beloved mutuals #discourse