#there are no dialogue options so all the dialogue that doesn't take place during a shift i'm just. sitting there listening to them talk | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sylvaridreams · 2 months

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I'm going to try and word this better than I did at 1 am venting on cohost last night, and maybe slightly gentler. I haven't finished the SotO update from yesterday. I got home, played for a couple of hours, did some meta on the current map, triiiiied to get myself to go back to story... and I couldn't.

I was BORED. It was quite honestly boring. Any dialogue that matters is Peitha talking to her people. I am a stage prop that occasionally vocalizes expositional questions and fires arrows at grunt mobs.

I could physically feel myself losing any remaining interest in the story as I clicked "what does this mean? What do you think of Peitha's plan?" type questions (which offer a poor illusion of choice in conversation. Look! Dialogue options! You can click all of these in any order you like but you must click them all!)

Why should I care about this story? I'm being brought along as the muscle that Peitha doesn't really need. I'm not offering anything special I'm terms of skill. I'm not an invaluable resource. I'm not even being utilized as the leader that gw2 has ALWAYS made me! It's always been "You're out there leading the armies, commanding all the way from the front line to the supply chains!" Now I'm just kind of around. Run a few events and come back. Characters refer to me and I apparently have no in-game response. MY CHARACTER doesn't seem invested.

And so many new characters. Every drop, it's like, have a bunch more named people! I was learning names during drop 1, and know some of the Wizards off the top of my head, but honestly I’m not bothering anymore. Why should I? Even if Nexus isn't killed off in the next chapter I play, I'm never going to meet this character again after he stops serving the story.

And where IS the story? Where is the meat? Drop 1 was at least interesting to me. Secret society hiding demons from the Commander. Getting sucked into this strange and horrifying place. Getting the life beat out of Alba by a hulking, terrifying demon and crawling away in fear. Escaping into the arms of strangers and getting this unknown voice in Alba's head, talking to him, saying what he wanted to hear, teasing him. Him refusing to tell anyone she was in there, because he *trusted this unknown voice in his head over all these strangers.* The story lulled a lot and it wasn't like... prime gw2 content. But it had a few hooks. When in Amnytas, Alba GASPED "Peitha!" right outside of the next story step and said "I can *see* you," and I turned my camera and saw what I knew, what Alba had to have suspected, confirmed. That there was a demon using his mind as a lounge. THAT was a moment, it was SOMETHING!

At least it was fun at points, at least there was some small amount of intrigue and mystery. And from there it was all just, "take a backseat, Wayfinder. This isn't YOUR story." I'm getting nothingburger bites out of each new story drop. Oh we went into Nayos to take the fight to them and killed Peitha's model reskin cousin. Anything else that drop? Anything? No but next time we recruited some general to fight with us! Can I get a smidgen of story? Something to hang onto? The only thing this drop that hasn't been "Don't care didn't ask plus I've seen your character model elsewhere" was Alba being called "that ugly creature" by a kryptis.

That's all I've got. I'm not enjoying it. I don't like SotO. And it is not for lack of trying it, it's not because i just don't like change and don't wanna see something new and different! This expansion feels like an empty parody of Guild Wars 2, and it feels like a slap in the face to anyone who was invested in Tyria. Pre-release they really hyped up that "It's time for new places and new people! We're gonna get a new cast and explore a vast new world!" I CARED about that world, which we still had SO MUCH left to explore. Are the borders of the map even the ends of the world of Tyria or does it keep going? Who cares. There's shit going on above the clouds. I cared about those CHARACTERS. Does Alba get to see people that he loves and cares about ever again? Is he making it to the wedding? Does he get a chance to go home and see anyone? Like yes we are not chained up in the Tower between instances, we can still play the game in those old maps, but the characters have been written out of the story.

And frankly these new ones are shitty replacements. I don't care about these people. I maybe had some small amount of "OK cool its Zojja I know her!" but it's not like I had any deep care or feeling for her. Not personally. Peitha was interesting at first but being brought along as part of her nameless, faceless grunt entourage has made me lose a lot of interest. She's not going to be a core character post-SotO. She either dies at the end, or takes over as King, and at best becomes a very occasional callback. "Ah, King Peitha! It's been some time, how is Nayos!" She's not going to reclaim the throne and then ignore rebuilding her people's infrastructure to hang out in Commander’s brain all day or join them on quests. We are a temporary ally and a stepping stone for her story.

Which sucks.

In terms of the rest of the SotO cast, it again feels like a pale imitation of prior Gw2 content. Like they're saying "remember season 1, meeting all those people one by one who would become your best friends and allies in life? 🤔 " and then they didn't even do it that way. Season 1 was a gradual introduction to these characters that you were given time, story, and Reason to care about. If Braham, Rox, Marjory, Kasmeer, Taimi, Rytlock, and Canach had all shown up and said "oh we're the Best Friends Patrol. Come along with us stranger!" I would have felt like a tag along. Not an equal in the group. Instead we met on level ground. We became a team together, we became friends together, each of us a vital part.

Which is opposite to how it feels now. These characters have deep history going back AGES. I just showed up, no one respects me, I'm not privy to any information or details on who is who and why should I care, I don't Get story time to ACTUALLY hang out and meet these people and develop my OWN relationships with them. When I leave, they will not care. I'm just being brought along like a lost kid at this point, until we reach customer service and they can drop me off, or until I wander away and find another deep group to follow.

I don't like this story. I don't like the setting. I don't like the characters or the group dynamic. I don't feel like an EQUAL in this expansion, I don't feel like I matter. Anyone could stand here and ask supporting questions to drive the dialogue between the 2-3 characters that actually matter, which again, does not include me.

And FRANKLY I hate that no one can say anything that isn't glowing praise of GW2 and Anet and every little detail is just scrumptious don't worry I love it, without a bunch of vague posts filtering in about "so much Negativity, everyone is a HATER, you just don't support The Writers and want them to FAIL, well then stop playing the game and delete your account and blog and go away forever, REAL fans LOVE nothingburger" to shun whoever dared say "I didn't like some or all of it." I'm happy for you if you're liking SotO but I am not. I'm sorry if you don't understand that criticizing something that I've played for a decade doesn't mean I hate it. I'm sorry if you can't take the MILD CONFLICT of me or someone else saying "I love this thing that you love too but I don't like how the new part feels" but most of us learned about conflict in kindergarten or at least through children's picture books and TV, so idk. Maybe you just need to cope at that point.

As it stands I don't like the expac. I don't see Anet turning it around and blowing my mind with the ending. And I really don't even care how it ends. I was asked the other day "how are you going to handle Peitha?" (in terms of the canon that I write, which has already moved past the end of SotO.) And frankly I was like. I dunno. It doesn't matter to me. She's either dead or on the throne, I don't care much either way. We could get the huge plot twist at the end that Peitha was the big bad or Isgarren or WHOEVER THE FUCK, and I wouldn't care. None of this matters to me. I'm going back to Tyria with my writing. The rest is filler.

#soto spoilers #gw2 spoilers

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rose-sophia-isabella-rogers · 4 months

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A Steel That Went Through Hottest Fire: Chapter IV - The Iron Enters the Soul

Chapter Summary: You travel to the Fold, to see your skiff setting off on its first journey. But something goes terribly wrong and it returns soon after with many dead and wounded. Not everyone is dead only thanks to a surprising revelation. Back in the Little Palace many things change.

Pairing: Aleksander Kirigan/Reader, Ivan/Fedyor Kaminsky

Characters: Aleksander Kirigan, Reader, Fedyor Kaminsky, Ivan, Zoya Nazyalensky, Alina Starkov, Mal Oretsev, Marie, Nadia Zhabin

Word Count: 4137

A/N: This chapter contains plot and dialogues from episode one to four of season one. Inspired by prompt: https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/207306389089791935/

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@budugu

@intothesoul

@mizelophsun11

@pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy

@zeeader

@marrymonrich

@wonderland2425

@chelseyyouraverageluigi

@thehufflepuffavenger1

It takes a small thing for you to finally figure it out. Suddenly, you know what exactly is needed for building a lighter and faster skiff, and you know how to make it. You even impress the King with your idea. Albeit, you're sure he has no idea what you're talking about when you introduce your idea to him and just pretends to understand that, since other smart people in the room are looking at each other in astonishment. Still, it's not that you care. You have his permission to build it.

The next days are filled with planning, sketching, work and a bit more work. You're sleeping schedule is pretty much not existing. You sleep just enough to rest, so you could continue working. Most of the times you're on Alkemi's potions that keep you focused, awake and full of energy (some Durasts even say you have now a bit too much energy).

Aleksander is, of course, worried by it and tries to talk some sense into you. But after he tries to drag you to sleep, you actually hiss at him like a very angry cat with a murderous look in your eyes. Kirigan is sure he hasn't backed out from anything as fast as this time. Or hasn't been that much scared of anyone.

The day comes, however, when the skiff is ready. You actually cry when you look at it in all its glory. Out of emotion, but mostly because you're just so glad it's finally finished and your work with it is over. Now all that remains is to take it for the first journey.

For some reason, you're not on the list of Grisha that are about to come across the Fold on the new skiff. True, Durasts don't cross it usually, but you assumed that since you're the one responsible for creating it, you'd go and supervise how it goes. Not that you're complaining. You are, however, to be present during its set off.

You arrive on the day the skiff launches. Together with Aleksander in his carriage. You jokingly ask him if he's going because he believes your new ultralight skiff is going to be a shining success or a spectacular failure. He looks you seriously in the eyes and answers he doesn't take into account the second option, because you're the one that supervised the creation of it. You blush, shut up and don't speak a word until the end of the journey.

Once you're there, Aleksander gets out of the carriage first and then helps you out. Immediately, you look at the Fold warily.

'It's your first time, isn't it?' Kirigan asks. 'Seeing it.'

'I wouldn't mind spend my life without seeing it,' you confess grimly. 'It's… massive. Much more than I've imagined. I'm really grateful I'm not the one who has to cross it.'

'Well, thanks to you, the one who do, will do it much faster now,' Aleksander says. You smile at him. You quickly stop, when a Grisha hurries to Kirigan and whispers something to him.

'The skiff launches in twenty minutes,' the Darkling says to you. 'Shall we find a good spot?'

'Might as well,' you agree. Aleksander gives some orders. Then, together you go and take your places in front of the Fold. You watch how everyone assigned for the trip get on the skiff. Soon, the gate is raised up and the sail lowered. Zoya summons the wind and the skiff moves. You're sure your heart stops for a moment when it happens.

'Don't worry,' Aleksander says, grabbing your hand. 'Everything is going to be perfectly alright. You made that skiff.'

'And that's why I'm so scared,' you admit. 'If something goes wrong… it will be my fault. Deaths of the people will be on me.'

'They're not going to die,' Kirigan says. You smile sadly.

'You can't know that,' you say, shaking your head. In silence, you watch how the skiff sails into the Fold and is swallowed by it. You exhale slowly.

'Now all we can do is wait,' Aleksander says. You nod and follow him into his tent.

You're not sure how much time has passed when it happens. But you're sure it's not much. You're standing in the entrance to Kirigan's tent, looking at the Fold. General has given up on trying to get you to stop and go back inside. Suddenly, a burst of light is seen in the Fold. You hear shouts of surprise. Your eyes open wide.

'General?' you call hesitantly. 'Either something is wrong with the new source of light David has made… or something strange is happening in the Fold…'

Aleksander comes to your side at once. He stiffens, baffled. He frowns. Together you watch how the light disappears.

'What is it?' you ask, afraid a bit.

'I don't know,' Kirigan answers. 'But I'm sure we're about to find out.'

You wait. After what seems like forever, the skiff returns, hurrying out of the Fold with a crash. It's destroyed in many places. The mission was a failure, but at least some have returned. Before Aleksander can stop you, you hurry to the skiff, to find out what happened, what went wrong. If something was wrong with the skiff… whether it was your fault…

You pass people rushing around your creation. Shouting orders, taking the wounded to the medical… taking out the dead… You hurry to the skiff. You almost crash into your friend.

'Zoya,' you say, relieved to see her alive. 'What happened?'

The Squaller grabs your arms tightly. You look at her with surprise.

'It was not your fault,' she says sternly. 'You hear me? Not your fault. Not the skiff's. It's not on you. Okay?'

'Okay,' you say quietly, nodding. You try to break free of Zoya's grip and see to the damages. But she just tightens her hold.

'Don't go yet,' she says. 'Let… Let them clean up a bit. You'd only be in their way.'

You look her in the eyes. She looks away. You know what she's trying to do. She doesn't want you to see more of the dead, more of the wounded. She doesn't want you to blame yourself for what happened to them.

'Zoya-' you start, your voice low.

'Anyway, you should go back to General's tent,' she interrupts you. You frown.

'Why is that?' you ask. Zoya glances behind her back.

'Because in a moment they're going to bring there someone who I believe is… the Sun Summoner,' she says hesitantly. You stare at her blankly. You blink and ask:

'I'm sorry… the who now?!'

You and Zoya reach Aleksander's tent before the (alleged) Sun Summoner. On your way there she tells you what happened and you're left speechless. You look at Kirigan, but as usual, his face is a mask void of emotion in public. So, you wait.

Finally, a young girl from the First Army is brought into the tent by two soldiers and a Healer in tow. You can see the fear in her eyes when they fall on the man in front of her, Aleksander, who's standing with his back to her by the table.

'Bring her closer,' he orders. The soldiers take the girl a few steps closer and let her go. They back away themselves. Kirigan turns around slowly and assesses her.

'Closer,' he says. She looks around, unsure, and takes one step forward.

'Well?' General asks, raising his eyebrows.

'Well, what?' the girl asks and hastily looks down. 'Sir.'

You smile slightly, already liking her. Zoya gently elbows your side and you quickly become serious.

'What are you?' Aleksander asks.

'Alina Starkov, Assistant Cartographer, Royal Corps of Surveyors,' the girls answers and you see something in her eyes. 'They're all gone. It's my fault. That's why I'm here, isn't it?'

'Answer the question,' Kirigan says, raising his hand, and leans on the desk. 'What are you?'

'A… mapmaker, sir,' Alina answers, confused. Some Grisha laugh. You clench your fist. Zoya discreetly takes your other hand and gives it a squeeze.

'Quiet,' Aleksander orders and the laughter stops. 'So who actually saw what happened? Zoya? You manned the main sail.'

'We were attacked barely two markers in,' Zoya, on whom all eyes are now, answers. 'Someone lit a lantern.'

'And?' Kirigan asks, looking at Alina, who's clearly feeling uncomfortable under his penetrating gaze.

'The Volcra went after the riflemen and our Inferni first,' Zoya goes on. 'And then there was a searing light.'

'It was her,' a soldier from the First Army says, pointing at Alina.

'Our mapmaker,' Aleksander says and tilts his head. 'Is this true? Can you… summon light?'

Alina shakes her head, scared and confused. Kirigan mimics her gesture.

'Where did you grow up?' he asks.

'Keramzin,' Alina answers.

'Hmm. And when were you tested?' Aleksander asks, but Alina doesn't answer. 'You… don't remember? Well, let us just… make certain.'

He stands up as he says it and walks to the map maker. He places his special ring on his thumb. You can see fear in Alina's eyes.

'Lift up your sleeve,' Kirigan says to her. He clouds the tent in his shadows.

'What's happening?' Alina asks, her eyes darting around.

'Your sleeve. Please,' Aleksander repeats. The cartographer lifts up her right sleeve slightly. Kirigan takes her hand and rolls it up higher. He cuts her arm… and a burst of light shots out of it and cuts through the tent. Everyone looks up at it. Alina stares at it in awe and shock.

You're stunned, too, of course. You look at Aleksander. He and the Sun Summoner (it's certain now) are looking at each other. Kirigan is smiling. She is afraid.

Aleksander lets go of her arm. She takes a few steps back, gasping.

'Take her to the Little Palace immediately,' Kirigan orders. And just like that, Alina is taken away. You stay for a moment longer inside the tent. When you get out, you see the Sun Summoner riding away in Aleksander's coach. An injured soldier is running after it, shouting her name. She's also shouting something at him from inside the coach. He doesn't reach her. You feel tears in your eyes.

Mama!

[Y/N]!

Mama!

No, please, what are you doing?!

MAMA!

'[Y/N]?' a voice pulls you out of your memories. You turn your head. Aleksander is looking at you with worry. Your look hardens. He takes a step back, surprised. You've never looked at him with such anger.

'What is it?' he asks.

'You didn't even let her say goodbye to her friends,' you say.

'She's in a great danger now, there's no time to lose,' Aleksander says. You scoff.

'I need to check on the skiff,' you say. Kirigan frowns and grabs your arm.

'[Y/N]-' he starts, but you harshly pull your arm away. You glare at him and march toward the skiff. You vent your frustration during repairing it. Some people want to help you, but quickly scatter away after seeing the murderous look in your eyes. You only look away from your work once, when you catch a glance of Aleksander riding after Alina. You scoff, still angry at him, and almost break a mast.

When you're done, on your way to the Grisha's tents you pass the First Army. You stop, noticing the man that was running after Alina. You stop and look at him. He's in a bad mood, same as you. You hesitate only a moment.

When he and his two friends notice you, they quickly stand up from their seats. You stop in front of him. You both eye each other warily. There are no warm feelings between the First and Second Armies.

'She didn't know,' you finally say. The man blinks.

'I'm sorry?' he asks.

'Miss Starkov,' you explain. 'She hasn't been hiding this from you. She was genuinely surprised during the testing. She didn't know.'

The man purses his lips. His friends exchange a look.

'She also didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to you,' you say. 'Or explaining this.'

Well, you're not sure about that. But judging how she was shouting and pounding on the coach when she saw her friend, you're pretty sure that's true.

'Thank you,' the man says after a moment, nodding. You nod back and turn to leave.

'What's your name?' the man calls after you. You stop and look behind your back.

'[Y/N] [L/N],' you answer yourself and glance at your kefta. 'A Durast.'

'Mal Oretsev,' the man introduces himself. 'A tracker.'

'Pleasure to meet you,' you say, smiling slightly. Mal opens his mouth to say something, but he stops seeing Zoya marching to you angrily.

'There you are!' she says, exasperated. 'I've just found out. Seriously? Have you really been repairing the skiff on your own the whole time?'

You glance nervously at the soldiers and see them staring at you with shock. You shrug at Zoya.

'Not my fault everyone has run off,' you answer and beam at her. 'But it's alright now. All fixed. It should be ready to go when they decide to try again.'

'One day my hair is going to turn white because of you,' Zoya says after a moment and grabs your arm. 'Come. You need sleep. And then you're going after General. No discussion. I'm setting off right now, but you need to rest.'

You do try to argue. No avail. Apparently Kirigan has left specific instructions before following the Sun Summoner. You are to be taken to the Little Palace as soon as the skiff doesn't require your presence to be fixed. But since it's already night, you're going the next day. Every Grisha agrees on that. No one wants to disobey General. Well, maybe you wouldn't mind, but you're clearly outnumbered on this one.

When you arrive at the Little Palace, everyone is already talking about the Sun Summoner. She's already been introduced to the King, showed him her power and has received her own kefta. She's also have had her ass kicked by Zoya. All of that you know from the rumours that travel fast in the walls. It's almost impossible to keep a secret here.

You see Alina again during supper. As usual, you arrive as one of the last. David is pleased to see you and asks you all sort of questions about the skiff and the catastrophe. And some about the Sun Summoner. The girl in question notices your arrival and looks at you with a frown, recognizing you from Kirigan's tent.

'That's [YN] [L/N],' Alina's new friend, Marie, an Inferni, says and rolls her eyes. 'General's favourite Durast.'

'Or pet, as some say,' Nadia, a Squaller and another of Alina's new friends, adds. 'No one really sees what he sees in her. But everyone knows it's better not to do something to her.'

'Why?' Alina asks, not taking her eyes off you.

'Or the punishment from General will be severe,' Marie answers. 'Honestly, all that fuss about her and she couldn't even make that ultralight skiff right.'

'There was nothing wrong with the skiff,' Alina quickly says. 'What happened… had nothing to do with the skiff.'

Marie and Nadia exchange a look but don't say anything. They finish their meal in peace and stand up to leave. At the door they almost collide with you.

'Miss Starkov,' you greet her. 'I'm glad to officially meet you. I'm [Y/N] [L/N], a Durast.'

'Pleasure,' Alina says. She's well aware of the little smirks of Nadia and Marie. You ignore them and focus on the Sun Summoner.

'I… I hope you won't think I was out of line,' you start slowly, causing Alina to frown. 'But I spoke with your friend. The one who… tried to talk to you before you left.'

Alina's eyes go wide. Nadia and Marie exchange a look.

'Is he alright?' the Sun Summoner asks. You nod.

'He's going to be fine,' you say. 'I… told him you didn't want to go before saying a proper goodbye to him. And that you didn't know. About being a Grisha.'

Alina blinks away the tears. She tries to calm down her breathing.

'What did he say?' she asks.

'He… thanked me for sharing this with him,' you answer. 'He couldn't say more, because our duties called.'

'I see,' Alina says and suddenly grabs your hand. 'Thank you. Truly.'

'Anytime, Miss Starkov,' you say and smile. 'And I mean it. The door to my room is always open for you.'

'Alina,' the Sun Summoner corrects you. You smile at her, glance at her friends who have a decency to look embarrassed, and turn to go. Only to collide with Fedyor chest.

'[Y/N],' he greets you. 'General wants to see you.'

And here goes your good mood. You force a polite smile.

'And I want the moon,' you say and walk away, leaving baffled Fedyor, Alina, Nadya and Marie. Yes, you're still angry. So, you go to the workshop to vent out your frustration on some poor piece of metal. Which maybe wasn't a good decision, since it's the first place anyone goes if they look for you. Including one certain General Kirigan.

'You know, I don't think I've known anyone who has the nerve to disobey me so barefacedly,' he says, walking to you casually.

'You must have spoiled me with your attention,' you murmur, not looking at him.

'Maybe I have,' Aleksander agrees.

'Then you can go away and not give me your attention,' you say, waving at him to go away. He raises his eyebrows. Then, he sighs.

'What have I done?' he asks, spreading his hands. 'Please, tell me.'

'I already told you,' you say, glaring at him.

'Is it about not letting Miss Starkov to say goodbye?' Aleksander asks. 'I told you already. She was in danger and could have been attacked at any moment. And she was. She almost died. She probably would have if we had waited a moment longer.'

'Do you know how she felt?' you ask, turning to face him abruptly. 'In one moment, she finds out she's a Grisha. All her world has crumbled around her. Usually, people go to someone they trust in such moments. And you… you pulled her away from them, not even letting her talk to them one last time. Do you know how she must have felt? Because I do.'

Tears shine in your eyes. Slowly, realisation downs on Aleksander. He looks at you, horrified.

'Saints, [Y/N]… I'm sorry,' he says and gulps. 'I forgot. I'm sorry.'

You blink your tears away and turn away from him. After a moment you feel him gently put his hands on your arms.

'I didn't mean to bring this memory up for you,' he says softly. 'I'm so, so sorry. Please, forgive me.'

'I know you didn't mean it,' you say a minute later and turn around with a sigh. 'I'm sorry. I overreacted.'

'No, don't be,' Aleksander says and hesitantly pulls you in for a hug. 'I know how much memories of your father upsets you. Especially the one about him taking you away from your mother.'

You let him comfort you for a moment longer. Then, you pull away.

'I missed our tea,' you say. Kirigan smiles.

'That's nothing you can't make up for,' he says and takes your hand in his. You smile back and let him take you to his chambers. All is good again between you two.

Alina takes you on your word and often comes to you for advice. At first, you're baffled by her interest in you. You quickly suspect she has some ulterior motives and plans to use you for something. After all, everyone else does. But you realise that with understanding how she felt and talking to her friend, you gained her eternal friendship. You're still not sure whether it's a good thing.

At the beginning, you're happy that she wants to be your friend and seeks you out. She even comes to you after one particular training with Baghra. You listen to her and nod understandingly.

'Honestly, is she such a nightmare to everyone?' she groans at one point.

'I've heard she is,' you confirm. Alina looks at you with suspicion.

'You've heard?' she repeats. 'She wasn't a nightmare to you?'

'No, for some reason my lessons with her weren't as terrible as everyone around me were talking they were,' you answer, tapping your finger on your chin in wonder. 'Maybe I got her respect after I almost killed her with my powers.'

'You did what?!' Alina asks, astonished. You don't answer her and hurry away. She chases you, demanding to hear the story. She doesn't, but you're both seen later laughing hysterically.

The days when the Sun Summoner's presence is a blessing to you come to an end at some point. You think it happens when she finally finds what was blocking her and her training with Baghra finally has some effects.

It starts when you come for your daily tea with Aleksander one day. You're surprised he's not in his chambers. You do find Fedyor there however.

'Oh, [Y/N],' he says, surprised, but quickly understand. 'You're here for your tea with General? I'm sorry to tell you he's left.'

'It's alright,' you say and head toward the table. 'I can wait.'

'He…' Fedyor stops you, clearly uncomfortable. 'He's just left. For a ride with Alina.'

You're still for a moment. You force a smile at the Heartrender.

'Thank you for telling me,' you say and head for the door. 'If you see him when he comes back, tell him I'm in the workshop.'

Aleksander doesn't come to the workshop. You don't even know when he's returned. You go to your bed with a troubled mind that night.

Sadly, it happens again. And again. And again. You can't tell how many times you've come to your daily tea not to find Kirigan there and hear he's somewhere with Alina. At some point… you simply stop coming to his chambers. He doesn't speak about it when he sees you. Your heart clenches in pain.

One day, you get out of workshop to get some fresh air. You stop dead in your tracks, seeing Aleksander walking with Alina. They're coming from the direction of Baghra's hut. And they're both smiling. Your stomach turns.

'[Y/N]?' Ivan asks with a frown, stopping by your side. You've been standing still for a few minutes now, staring at the pair with a blank face. He already considers shouting for General, thinking you're about to faint or something.

'Are you alright?' the Heartrender asks. You're silent for a moment. You watch how Alina says something and Aleksander laughs. She grins. And you mourn.

'You never know how much you love someone, until you watch them love someone else,' you say quietly. Ivan looks at you with wide eyes.

'You…?' he asks, astonished. You turn to him with a sad smile.

'Wasn't it obvious?' you ask. Ivan looks softens (which everyone believes is not possible).

'You've hid it very well,' he says quietly.

'I'm glad,' you say. Ivan hesitates.

'[Y/N]-' he starts.

'I'm not the first girl to be foolish enough to fall for General,' you interrupt him. 'And I certainly won't be the last.'

Ivan has no idea what to say. He's not the one people look for to seek comfort. Fedyor is better at that. Actually, anyone is better at that than him. He can pat you on your arm but he doubts it's going to be much help. Should he hug you? Oh, Saints, he hopes not. He'd be so awkward at this.

'I'll be fine,' you say and force a smile, knowing your friend is worried. 'I already know how to deal with a broken heart.'

You turn and start to walk away. You don't want to meet Alina and Aleksander. Not together. Not while they're laughing and giggling like teenagers in love. You love them both and don't want to hurt them with harsh words your jealous heart would surely cause you to spit out. Ivan stops you by grabbing your arm.

'Will you distance yourself from him?' he asks, knowing very well how much Kirigan needs your company. You close your eyes.

'As if I ever would manage to do that,' you say. Ivan lets you go. You hurry away and back to the Little Palace, blinking away the tears.

Your torture continues. Alina grows stronger. Aleksander spends less and less time with you. You throw yourself at work to ignore the pain in your heart. But it hardly helps. Because while you're used to people breaking your heart, it feels different with Kirigan. He actually saw you and understood you. And now he chose someone else. Once again, you're left with metals and other substances. Alone.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts! Reblog, like and comment if you could.

This can also be found on Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52696933/chapters/133684612

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sea-owl · 21 days

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I LOVE THE OTOME AU SO MUCH I swear, the sound of excitement that came out of me when I saw the new post 🙈🤭 Already love seeing Colin fall for Penelope, they’re my faves

Aw thank you!

For this au I was thinking that things really kick off for the Bridgertons during the first night the spouses play the game. Everything starts out as normal. The Bridgertons get the screen in front of them that the game is loading and oh it's multiplayer! They haven't had that in a while, and eight players? Even more of a rare occurrence for them.

As the eight friends go through their character quizzes and building their avatars for the game the Bridgertons take time to study them. Something felt different about this group and they didn't know why.

Then the prologue before routes are chosen starts up, and each Bridgerton gets into place. As the group of friends continue to play the Bridgertons find themselves genuinely laughing and having fun after who knows how long. The real reactions that the Bridgertons can see through their screens are joys to watch, as are watching them choose which dialogue options.

Anthony can't help the smile on his face when Kate once again chooses the option that supposed to take away his love points.

"Kate you know you're supposed to romance the characters?" One of her friends will ask her.

"Yeah but this one," Kate would point at Anthony on the tv, "is aggravating and I will take him down a peg!"

Benedict knows he should be conversing with all the avatars in the prologue, but he finds he can't tear himself away from Sophie. He even went off script a little bit, which earned him a glare from Anthony, but seeing the real Sophie pause with a small blush made it worth it.

Colin was so thankful that Penelope got childhood friend with his family because now he doesn't have to make up an excuse to hang around her more than the others like his siblings would. It helps that real Penelope doesn't seem to be moving her avatar away either.

Daphne is having so much fun with Simon. Most players find Daphne to be the boring one of the sisters so her route isn't played as often and she finds herself being a support more often than not.

Eloise likes listening to Phillip when he tries to pick the academic options and then she gets to hear the real him go off on how that wasn't the real science. It's nice to have a player with a brain.

Francesca also doesn't get her route played much. Second chance loves aren't usually a route players want but the options that Michael picks when he's playing, that flirty style like he's unafraid has her blushing. Especially with how sincere he seems about it to.

Hyacinth and Gregory both found themselves laughing watching the team up between Gareth and Lucy. Oh were they fun! Nothing like the other players from before!

By the time the group of friends finished the prologue it was late and they agreed to pick the game back up in the morning. But first they lock in their routes.

The Bridgertons were ecstatic about the choices. They were even more when the friends fell asleep with the TV on. These players feel different, they make the Bridgertons excited to be a part of the game again. Could this lead to love?

They were going to find out.

When the group of friends woke up they were surprised to find themselves separated and in completely different style of bedrooms. As they went looking for one another, they realized they were in the world of the game they were playing the night before.

Uh oh.

#bridgerton #otome au #kathony #benophie #polin #saphne #philoise #franchael #hyareth #grucy

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subwaytostardew · 6 months

Note

how would the twins feel about the flower dance?

Ingo likes it! He's quite interested in the valley's customs. Emmet on the other hand...

Emmet hates it, but he finds fun elsewhere. It doesn't really matter if he likes anyone or not….. he's just nosey for the sake of it.

Joltik is having fun, too!

Their rejection dialogue was actually the first lines of dialogue we wrote for them... It took months to come back and finish writing dialogue for the festivals. We were originally thinking that they would be more reserved and reluctant to join, but they would have become more comfortable by then. The first Flower Dance they attend would take place after they've lived in the valley for almost a year, since the Railroad doesn't open until Summer 3. They both used to be tucked away in the corner... now they're spread out and Emmet is stalking people in plain sight like usual.

Rejection/marriage under the read-more.

- Rejection Lines - ▲ Ingo ▲

"I see… my apologies, but I will have to refuse. I simply do not know you well enough to embark on this cab with you at this event. Thank you, however, for considering myself as an option. Perhaps the other townsfolk may be more inclined?" ▽ Emmet ▽

"No. I am Emmet. And I am not going to dance with you. Talk to someone else."

- Alternate dialogue when married to Ingo -

▲ Ingo ▲

"You look as astonishing as ever, dear! If you would be so kind as to indulge me, I look forward to coupling with you upon the tracks of the Flower Dance."

"Embarrassing as it may be… ever since I had learned of this festival, I had fantasized endlessly about engaging in its customs with you."

"If you wish to head upon those tracks, it would be my pleasure to accept your request!"

▽ Emmet ▽

"Hey. You're here to dance with Ingo, right? He's been practicing. It was verrrry annoying when he first made me learn all the customs. It's funny now that I know how lovesick he is about you."

"I hope you're ready, too! I am on picture duty with Joltik. He wanted to preserve his memory with you forever. He's so cheesy like that. Smile!"

Joltik

"Emmet gave me a verrrry important task! I get to be on camera duty when you dance with Ingo!"

- Alternate dialogue when married to Emmet -

▽ Emmet ▽

"Darling! You’re going to participate in the Flower Dance, aren’t you? I will be your partner. Yup. Even though I don’t like the dance. It’s weird. My legs do not like bending that way. You know that. But I will still be your partner for it. Yup."

"You know my favorite part of the Flower Dance is watching the other townsfolk be nervous about rejection. I don't want us to be part of that."

"That doesn't mean I want you to try to get rejected by someone else. I can decline if you really, really want to do that part. We do everything together as a two-car train."

"I can't risk you coupling with someone else. Don't ask anyone to dance with you. I'm watching. Joltik is, too. They will be verrrry sad if you do. Don't try it. You don't need anyone else."

"If you don't want to dance here, we can dance at our terminal station. Later. Just the two of us. With more fun moves!"

"It would not be nice if you coupled with someone else… But I trust your judgment. I am here for you. We can dance, or we cannot. The choice is yours. I'm yours, too."

▲ Ingo ▲

"Though he may complain quite a bit, Emmet would indeed be pleased to oblige in your request to couple with him during the Flower Dance!"

"He has actually been quite nervous that you wouldn't enjoy his company as your Flower Dance partner… His train of thought is not headed in the right direction…"

"But I have confidence that you'll quell his unfounded worries once again!"

"Emmet will also not take kindly to your cab diverting tracks from him. He was never the fondest of sharing…"

"Please refrain from entertaining the idea of dancing with anyone else. If you do, I will not hear the end of it… There should be no need for me to console him afterwards."

Joltik

"Are you going to dance with Emmet? He put me on camera duty, just in case!"

"I want to use the camera! It's fun adding to Emmet's scrapbook! He feeds me batteries when we do!"

"It's okay if you don't dance! I'm taking pictures anyways! I'll get lots of batteries later!"

#mail car connecting line #subway to stardew #subway to stardew terminal station #submas #ingo #emmet #I'm sorry this took so long to answer!#EDIT I JUST RELIZED INGO'S PICTURES WERE OUT OF ORDER

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illithiddies · 4 months

Text

I just finished a campaign on an Astarion origin run where I'd:

Refused to tell anyone in the game about his vampirism whatsoever, for as long as physically possible

Refused to learn about the ritual or scars whatsoever, for as long as physically possible

I really just wanted to see exactly how many failsafes the game would have about this and what would happen if you skipped all of them.

So anyways here's how that went. (Spoilers obviously)

One of the earlier things I noticed that was pretty cool is that the "tell your companions you're a vampire" dialogue option seems to change, somewhere between Act 1 and 2. It's approval based! Don't know the exact trigger but it's somewhere between 10-70 approval to get the second version.

Version 1:

Version 2:

The way it works is kind of interesting. It adds a Charisma check in the second version, whereas if you fail the check you just get the Version 1 dialogue again but slightly bitchier.

The conversation that you get when you out yourself by biting someone doesn't change at all throughout the game.

If you enter Act 3, the game continues to keep it a secret up until the moment you leave camp and load into Rivington for the first time, during which the game will retroactively add a journal entry to Astarion's quest acting like he already told everyone a long time ago. If you approach the spawn or bite someone or do anything else it's all treated as if the companions already know. The game pretty much will not let you experience Act 3 with your companions not knowing he's a vampire. Boo.

So, in conclusion for keeping the vampirism secret: Not really any cool new dialogue and doesn't work past the end of Act 2, not super worth it honestly. But extremely funny for flavor.

As for the scars and ritual: I'd heard a couple early rumors that reading the Necromancy of Thay added knowledge to the ritual in Act 3, so I avoided it.

I also:

Ignored the Gur hunter in the swamp

Declined Raphael's deal to understand the scars in act 2

Ignored the trance scene he's given afterwards to potentially understand the scars on his own

Refused to talk to the spawn in Act 3

Refused to talk to the Gur encampment

Hurried through the lower city/etc without long resting so the spawn wouldn't come to the camp

So by the time I actually made it to the palace, Astarion had essentially no idea that he was actually being hunted by Cazador, had no idea that his scars meant anything, and had no idea that any form of ritual was taking place. He was just showing up to kill Cazador.

When you go up the ladder to enter the palace, you're immediately met with one of his guards asking why you're not at the ritual so he first learns about it there. There is probably away to skip it but I didn't bother. You're able to ask what the ritual is for. I ignored it.

In the palace, if you talk to any of the palace attendants they ask why you're not at the ritual. You can ask them what the ritual is. I ignored it. Godey probably has some dialogue about it if you talk to him, but I just killed him anyways.

Finally, in the actual ritual chamber, there's a scroll in Velioth's chambers that'll explain the ritual. I ignored it. Went through the dialogue with Sebastian and ignored any of the dialogue options explaining what it was.

So finally, finally, if you make it allllll the way to Cazador, you can approach him with absolutely no fucking clue what he's doing.

There's two opportunities to ask him about it, but they both lead to the same dialogue.

But doing the rest of the scene, honestly nothing is different whatsoever. You can still ascend and nothing is changed.

So, in conclusion for going into the ritual blind: You don't need to do a single thing in this game to enable the ritual, apparently. At least for an origin save, I don't know if it's the same for a companion Astarion. You don't need the Necromancy book, the Velioth scroll, or to kill Yurgir or anything. It's basically all flavor text. So if your end goal is to ascend, unless you're RPing you don't have to worry about missing out on certain events.

You don't really get any cool new dialogue for skipping out on learning about it either, aside from a few various people getting to explain it to you for the first time.

#sorry for only doing the vampirism reveal with gale but that would be. a LOT of screenshots jfghjkfgh #i still have the save files so i can check with others if ppl want specific ones! but idk if they might require approval #astarion #astarion meta #bg3 #questlog

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shadowshrike · 4 months

Text

Dark Side of the Spawn

So I decided to scrap a much larger analysis post because I think there are only a couple other people interested in how Astarion can be interpreted as an evil character with some redeeming qualities, regardless of his major choice regarding ascension. There's a lot of interesting stuff buried in various corners of mutually exclusive dialogs or missable scenes that can make for a unique experience which I don't think many have explored.

However, I can't resist sharing one line you might get in his epilogue during the Spawn ending for those who like the ending but also prefer a darker Astarion.

Astarion: Oh no, people can be quite meek after seeing you murder their former master. Astarion: And if they do step out of line, it just takes one or two brutal examples to remind everyone else of their place. Astarion: I'm not a tyrant, I do care for their well-being, I just can't afford to show weakness.

There are three things I find really fascinating about this:

It's a line that would sound completely at home with a villain like Gortash. Pretty much any powerful, evil noble who is tyrannical but willing to justify their behavior as 'for the good of their people'. Astarion also says that their ruins are 'no palace, but maybe someday it will be' which, combined with this, can sound ominously like he's fashioning himself as a new sort of dictator of orphaned vampire spawn.

It shows him as a man who, when given any power, will abuse it, regardless of ascension. He might genuinely not recognize that's what he's doing when he's making 'one or two brutal examples to remind everyone else of their place' because his life for the past 200 years has been following a master who only modeled similarly cruel discipline. He's had no time to personally grow or discover himself before being thrust into leadership (ironically, kind of like Halsin, and we know how that went). Keeping monsters in line requires being a monster, and Astarion isn't afraid to do that. Leading through fear, pain, and feigned strength is all he knows.

Spawn Astarion does much more rationalization and talking around his questionable behaviors than his ascended version. Lord Astarion is unmistakably evil, yet nothing he says about his plans sounds half so foreboding to me, perhaps because he's so unapologetic about his 'hedonism, clandestine deals, and the occasional disappearance' to 'build up my influence over those who matter'. The spawn version needs to hedge that he's not actually a tyrant because he 'care[s] for their well-being' (something heard from many a horrific authority figure), that anyone being eaten by a vampire is 'on them' because the spawn only eat people who attack them (directly contradicted by his idle dialogue 'If I get back and they've killed another gnome, I swear - someone's getting impaled.') or that he only murders the 'right people' which means no one cares in the Underdark (which given the warring drow clans and overwhelmingly evil races down there, doesn't exactly inspire confidence).

Note that this dialogue does not appear in every version of the epilogue and includes a lot of inferences, so this isn't me saying, "Spawn Astarion is definitely this way" or anything like that. Enjoy your soft, sweet, happy endings with this character. It's undoubtedly the intended reading of most of his possible epilogue lines.

I just think it's neat that they left in some tidbits for those of us who prefer him as a fundamentally evil-aligned character. Terrible people can be victims, too, after all. I like having the option of telling a story that says someone doesn't have to become 'good' to be worthy of helping within the bounds of 'goodness'. Also that taking someone who's been enslaved and tortured for 200 years and then making them responsible for 7000 people the second they get free, while also losing a handful of other freedoms, might have some unfortunate consequences.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #mini analysis #astarion

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bilbosmom-belladonna · 4 months

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Fic Writer 20 Questions

Thank you for the tag @insertmeaningfulusername! Sorry it took me so long, I was... well, I was adding more fics to my total 😂

1.) How many works do you have on ao3?

8 (hi, I'm new here)

2.) What’s your ao3 word count?

116,779

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

Currently I'm writing for Star Wars and Stranger Things. But who knows where the wind may take me!

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Maybe 10% Better, Stranger Things (Steddie)

Trying to Escape What You Can't Let Go, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (genfic)

Plans, Star Wars: Rebels (Kalluzeb)

Less Talk More Rokk, Stranger Things (Steddie)

A Flimsi Excuse, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Fox/Quinlan Vos)

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely! I love hearing from people and I love the chance to expand on my thought process during writing. It's like people showing up on my doorstep asking for a live director's cut interview (in the best way). I could talk about that stuff for aaaages.

6.) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That would have to be my Jangobi fic A Mandalorian Comes Riding, which is tagged Major Character Death for a reason! Which is funny because I rarely read stories like that but... I wrote one?

7.) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I mean, there are more than one. For Star Wars it's Trying to Escape What You Can't Let Go, and for Stranger Things/Steddie it's either Maybe 10% Better or my schmoopy Christmas fic, Our Kind of Advent.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

Uh, not yet?

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do! Though I haven't published any yet; stay tuned for January.

10.) Do you write cross overs? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No, I only write dumb crossovers in my brain. They never have a plot, it's just me going "wouldn't it be cool if..." and then agreeing with myself that it would, indeed, be cool.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge...

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet, but I am open to it!

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I have not! To be honest I have no idea how cowriting works in a practical sense and I don't know if I would actually enjoy it.

14.) What’s your all time favourite ship?

I have never been an OTP kind of gal, so I won't commit myself. I am changeable, like the tides.

15.) What’s a WIP you’d like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I'm pretty new to writing fic so I don't have a mountain of WIPs (yet?) but I have a Foxiyo fake-marriage fic that I kind of over-plotted in the outline and now my brain doesn't want to sit down and actually write the story. Maybe one day when I've forgotten enough about it I will get back to it.

16.) What are your writing strengths?

I think I am pretty darn good at writing dialogue in general and banter specifically. I love a flirty and/or teasing conversation.

16.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I feel like I have to work very hard to remind myself to include descriptions of places. And like, metaphors. I don't really do a lot of metaphors.

17.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've only done a smattering of Mando'a so far, but I'm open to it! I speak French so that's an option, though I don't see it coming up much in the fandoms I currently write in.

18.) First fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars: Rebels; I wrote Plans in 2018 and then just yeeted it into the sun and ran away. Took me until 2023 to start "really" writing.

19.) Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

I'm very proud of Meet in the Middle, the RexObi fic that kind of felt like it came to me in a fever dream and expelled itself from my body without my input. It's kind of a strange little story but I like that it's a weirdo.

No pressure tagging @sexysmeagolshitposting @sankt-jesper @brooks-skirata (hiii!)

#tag game #my writing #fic writing #fic authors

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ridhearts · 2 years

Note

Yuu really had it rough during the Halloween event. Not only did they have to deal with Magicam Monsters constantly breaking and entering their dorm at all hours, which made them lose enough sleep to make them red-eyed, they apparently got trampled on at least once, so there's no telling how many bruises and scrapes they ended up with. And since one of their dialogue options mentioned stomach cramps, they probably didn't eat much during that time due to all the stress they were under.

So Yuu absolutely has a right to be mad lol

GODDDDD ok listen. Normally I give everyone in twst a pass to be a bitch because its funny, and Crowley doesn't make me mad because I would be genuinely grateful for him for the basically free housing and food and education - even if its just the scraps. Like Ramshackle is run down but its a NICE house. And we have ghost friends and Grim!! So normally the antics don't annoy me. But THIS ONE???

Idk man its just. The others can retire to their dorm's dimension and unwind, but MC has to sit there in their house with doors you could easily bust down and wait for people to encroach upon their space??? Literal home invasion?? All day?? And they didn't even know Halloween was supposed to take place!!! WTF

Look at this response. But then Vil had to come in with THIS?!?!

Vil you are so lucky you're the blorbo

Because here's the thing: never once did Yuu or Grim accuse the committee of causing the breaking. We were just asking for help. Lilia may have meant he and Diasomnia felt guilty since they chose Ramshackle for their venue, but everybody else? They weren't remorseful because they did anything. They were sorry as a show of sympathy. When you say "I'm sorry for your loss" you aren't apologizing for killing someone. You're reaching out. And Vil and Jade were just like "🤷‍♂️ well what you gonna do prefect lol"

Which is ANNOYING BUT THEN THEY CARE ABOUT THE STATUES MORE??

God it just annoyed me sm fjcjskfks like sorry I'm upset over literal breaking and entering guys! Sorry some magicam monster could kill me in my sleep and nobody would even know until the next morning!

You would think vil would at keast care that Yuu and Grim were visibly distressed........anyway yeah fjfkskfi this is my first time I was FLABBERGASTED by their callousness

#ask

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megatraven · 9 months

Note

Hi, I actually have an Astoria question for you if that’s ok.

So the only Astoria routes I read in full were Astraeus and Medusa, where MC rejects her divine heritage (violently in the former and more amicably in the latter, but still, rejection). The fear always being that if she accepted it, therefore accepting Hera, she’d lose herself in the process and all that.

Anyway, I did read the first episodes of everyone’s season 4s because I wanted to see the kid sprites, and it seemed like in some routes she does actually become a goddess?

And I’ve just wondered about that for years, like what happened in those routes and how did it work? I know that MC fearing she’d lose herself in Astraeus and Medusa doesn’t necessarily mean it would have happened, but how does it all go down in the routes where she accepts divinity?

Hi!! That's perfectly fine, I love getting asks about Astoria!

But you're right!

Alex's, Hades', Cerberus', and Chimera's routes all end with MC taking Hera's power in some way. Hydra's, Medusa's, and Astraeus' routes end with MC remaining, for the most part, human.

In Alex's route, Hera is first awoken in MC at the end of season 2, where they discover that she's Hera's vessel, and that if she awakens, her body will become Hera's. Ares briefly awakens her in the season finale by forcing his aura into her, but MC fights and succeeds in regaining control. Hera, it should be noted, does NOT want to awaken again, and MC knows this.

Come season 3, Zeus finds out, and by the season finale, he has dragged her and Alex up to Olympus so that he can reawaken Hera, no matter the cost. Alex fights Zeus, and Hera speaks to MC as they do, noting that Alex will fight to the death for her, and offers her the choice to become a demigod like Alex, taking over her power in the process. MC accepts this, and Hera's power awakens in her; she becomes a demigod, and Hera passes on entirely.

(In the thrilling end, this is slightly different; Zeus channels his aura into her ring- Hera's ring- and beckons to Hera, awakening her. Hera then tells MC that one of them has to die because her power can't stay sealed anymore. She offers immortality to MC, and MC takes it.)

There's a little throwaway line in one of the specials that comes from choosing a certain dialogue option that mentions Hera's throne is now MC's, meaning she did fully inherit the goddess' power in that fight, and she's taken her place.

In Hades' route, she actually starts "becoming" godly at the start of season 3. That is, she's being kept on Olympus under the guise of preparing for her and Hades' wedding, while being there is bringing Hera's power to the forefront. (There's a line in the first episode iirc where MC states sometimes she actually begins to glow while on Olympus, because of Hera's power).

In his route, it's clearly stated and portrayed that in order to awaken Hera and bring her back, the gods must perform a ritual to do so, which is only consistently shown in Hades', Astraeus', and Hydra's routes.

Hades is searching for some way lost to the gods that would keep MC anchored amidst the ritual, so that she doesn't die, while the other gods are impatient and keep pushing to awaken her asap. The ritual comes about during the season finale, wherein every god speaks 'ancient words' and fills her with their power; she holds onto Hades, and its their love that anchors her in place, allowing her to survive and remain herself as Hera's power fully awakens, and she becomes a full-blooded goddess. All of the gods are exhausted afterwards, stumbling back into their thrones.

(In the thrilling end, Hades chooses to do the ritual by himself, hoping that doing it alone will secure her safety. He drains himself, pushing his aura into her artifact, and is visibly pained by doing so. It's also a MUCH more painful process for MC here, and she nearly loses herself to Hera.)

In Chimera's route, it plays out a lot differently. Typhon 'awakens' Hera's power in the season 2 finale, but as a last-ditch effort to help her and Chimera win in a fight against Prime.

In season 3, they face challenges from Echidna. During this season, MC starts experiencing symptoms, takes a pregnancy test, and finds it to be positive. She and Chimera assume she's actually pregnant, and Echidna accuses her of trying to babytrap him, essentially. They wind up arguing with her in the last two episodes of the season, and when her patience runs dry, she attacks them- but it does nothing, because Hera's power has fully awakened, and MC recognizes that she's become the goddess.

Afterwards, the gods ask if she's truly pregnant, at which point she admits to not knowing as she never took a proper test (human ones don't work properly when monsters and gods are involved), and she then discovers that her pregnancy symptoms were a result of her body changing into Hera's.

Meaning, she was in the process of becoming a goddess the entire last season without fully realizing it; she's not actually pregnant. iirc, there's no worry within Chimera's route that Hera will take over MC's body, and there's no issue with the gods seeking to awaken her themselves.

(Interestingly, though not much changes about the awakening in the thrilling end thanks to her acknowledging that awakening in the episode before, Chimera states, "The mere fact that she remains herself through this transformation..." which means that there WAS a chance of Hera awakening and taking over, though it was never something they actively worried about happening.)

In Cerberus' route, it's the most obscure of all, in that we don't actually see it happen. Season 3 ends with MC still human, and wanting to stay that way. Hades says somewhere in Cerb's route that MC will become Hera, and MC is like "mmmm no I don't think I want that" but clearly something changes, because come season 4, she's Hera. My guess is that something similar to Chimera's route happened- a false pregnancy that was a symptom of Hera awakening, unraveling inside of her. It feels like it was something that just happened without much fanfare, something that she genuinely couldn't stop because it Just Happens.

The biggest thing regarding Hera to happen in Cerberus' route is that Zeus tries to force her first into marrying himself, and then Hercules. Something about how Hera shouldn't marry a monster, which Hades fights back against, considering Cerberus is his son. They don't do anything to try awakening Hera though.

Anddd that's all of those guys :]

But since you didn't read Hydra's route either..

I'd just really love to say that when Zeus tries to awaken Hera in Deeandra (Hercules' wife, claiming to be the lost goddess in s2), he claims they need a human sacrifice to do so. Which is a completely different method of awakening Hera when no other route tries to kill a non-vessel to awaken her. (If your guess is that MC was going to be the sacrifice, you would be right, and i will endlessly laugh over how unlucky she is LMAO)

Following that, in season 3, Zeus tries to awaken Hera by flooding his aura into MC, but she's sort of "blocked" from using her artifact most of the season due to a head injury early on, so Zeus' attempt is fruitless. Also through this season, the other gods continuously try to convince MC to become Hera, and she refuses them each time. They don't force her, and ultimately accept her decision at the end of Season 3, after surviving a fight with Zeus.

#lovestruck voltage #lovestruck #astoria: fate's kiss #afk mc #afk hera #hera #alex cyprin #hades #chimera #cerberus #hydra #astoria #THIS UM. GOT PRETTY LONG. SORRY ABOUT THAT but i dont know when to shut up when i get to talk about astoria teehee #anyways thank you again for asking!!!!#the ways the different routes all go about Hera's awakening are so unique and interesting aughgnghhh #long post

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fantasyinvader · 7 months

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I think there's a very good argument to be made that Three Houses was meant, most of all, to be a childhood's end/coming of age story.

In Silver Snow, Byleth is the main protagonist. During White Clouds, they went from an emotionless mercenary, able to kill anyone for money, to not just gaining emotions but also a sense of morality. By default, they refuse to side with Edelgard in light of her actions throughout the story thus far, but even then Byleth doesn't want to kill her. It's only at the end, with her reactivating Amyr, that they accept that death is the only way to stop Edelgard cause she'll just keep on fighting. But there's also Byleth taking up leadership of the Church, the resistance faction against Edelgard's empire, which ultimately results in them taking on the responsibility of guiding Fodlan as it's new ruler. Byleth matures and becomes an adult in this story, while Rhea (if you go for that S support) also learns to leave her mother behind and being working to make things better herself.

Then there's Dimitri. After learning to live for himself, he's confronted by a man who was involved with Duscur. That man's lord viewed Lambert and his attempts to reform the Kingdom as tyranny, and if you're familiar with how feudalism works he does have a point. The system promised the nobility their places and privileges in exchange for their loyalty and service, and by taking away their power Lambert was violating his own duties. Dimitri learns to realize people can do horrible things not because they're evil, but because they think they're right. This leads him to having a parley with Edelgard, who exemplifies this. She believes she's doing the right thing but while ignoring the actual costs of her way, hence why Dimitri can't support her. Dimitri is left with no other option but to fight her, and his one last attempt to reach out to her in the end is met with a thrown dagger.

Now take Claude. Going through his supports, Claude's original goal was to unify all of Fodlan and then the world in order to create a world without outsiders. This is after he came from Fodlan to find a new perspective to bring back to Almyra only to find the same issue and blaming the Church for it. Claude, however, ends up disgusted by the lengths Edelgard would go to in order to reform Fodlan to suit her ideals, he can't accept the amount of innocents lost to her methods. He gets over his aversion to the Church, works with them instead, and begins to realize that his initial assessment of Fodlan was wrong. The Church and Rhea don't have to be his enemies, and he can even use them to help change people's minds. After this ends with a big power of friendship speech, Claude decides to leave Fodlan in Byleth's hands and returns home, reforming Almyra into a trading nation in order to help encourage cultural exchange. The border only disappears if Byleth and Claude marry.

Three arcs all about growing up, accepting responsibility, admitting that you were wrong, and that the world can be pretty complicated. Compare this to how Flower depicts Edelgard as a childish conqueror complaining about her responsibilities as emperor. How she subscribes to a very black-and-white mindset, you're either with her or you'll be destroyed, and as a result pushes for the deaths of both Claude and Dimitri (while exploration dialogue and Edelgard's own words make them both out to be good leaders). Edelgard doesn't learn anything, and as a result of joining her Byleth loses their growth from White Clouds.

It kinda makes sense why the Academy stage is pushed so much. It's supposed to be childhood, this time of innocence before the characters grow up. People always long for those sorts of days, but time doesn't move in that direction (albeit, divine pulse can to a limited extent). So, what's better, to cling to those days or accept that they are over and move forward?

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dupliciti · 3 months

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commentary first and then theory that i can expand on just a tiny bit more. before you click open on that read more, know that i finished all of the 2.0 missions out including sparkle's. this got longer than i intended it to be

yes, sa.mpo's english voice is still off even if not as deep as those newer lines that got added a couple patches ago ( which has since been "corrected" ) and evidently it's not just because it's sparkle pretending to be him in the main mission line. even the delivery on certain lines strays from how he's done things in patches before. it's just meh

edit: after talking with someone i came to the conclusion that he used to sound more lively over all and less gruff on certain deliveries

okay trailblaze mission:

like i had said, you're meant to know from the start that something is off with him. gait isn't as obvious in the in-game scenes, but speech is slightly off. normally he introduces himself with first and last name. and then mistakes firefly for march

the way firefly describes him though implies that sparkle had practiced being sa.mpo to an extent. the description is rather spot on, however him being 5'9 then looking at the rest of the cast's heights makes me feel weird so i'm keeping my headcanon height aksdjgh

hearing aha referred to as The Laughter was rather neat. i'm eatin that up

the only time we see a pre-rendered scene with sa.mpo is when the reveal happens. we clearly see sparkle's gait here

sparkle's perception of sa.mpo is rather interesting compared to what we have seen of him. enough to trick the trailblazer and perhaps someone who doesn't pay super close attention to his mannerisms. though, his use of "my dear" and related terms isn't frequent in the english VO. he's a bit more suggestive and "flirty" if you wanna go there. that and he apparently lied a bit about what happened on jarilo to sparkle, she says this herself.

world of adults, adult entertainment. listen. the implications of sa.mpo having his own VIP card and the things he frequents in pen.acony cannot be because sparkle has spent a lot of time as him. i wholeheartedly believe she's borrowing his stuff and status while masquerading as him. which HONESTLY, man someone needs to come have a drink with sa.mpo ajksdhg

the amount of out of context stuff and red herrings regarding sa.mpo being on pen.acony was amusing to see thru the trailers. because yeah the tat.alov thing was such a small section. going back to my previous statements though, it seems as if that dreamscape/dream was sparkle's own based on what sa.mpo might've lied about/embellished. which... is interesting that he would've said outlandish stuff rather than the truth. sparkle wasn't in on his reasonings for going nor what the bel.obog catastrophe might've been. giovanni might have been

i still think that at least based on what i have heard, the reveal scene in chinese is more sinister than what we get in english. maybe that's just me but i've always seen english sa.mpo more goofy, but this newer direction for his english VA is even goofier

i was DYING at the dialogue options you had to combat "sa.mpo's" antics.

"since when did i acknowledge you as my friend?" "the garbage king? you're the real garbage king!"

sparkle's companion mission:

once again we are met with sa.mpo. though this is a dream available to us so, how much is real and what portion in memory is this maintained properly?

we are led to believe that sa.mpo on penacony isn't actually him. and with good enough reason

in terms of helping sparkle to fake her own death and play along with the investigation. i'm wondering what kind of importance his own mask is considering he didn't have it for some time? based on their conversation at the end

my smol theory is just placing when this takes place. i've always thought it to be in the past, but from the sounds of things it's not in a FAR distant past, it's rather recent. at first i reckoned this happened during the period of time when the astral express was on the xia.nzhou or something like that. but it seems to be a bit before but not TOO long before

BECAUSE sparkle and black swan are there for the festivities and bl.ack swan also mentioning that sparkle mixed her up with another memokeeper. the invitations were sent right before the trailblazer mc being a part of the crew. in addition to this sparkle says "a show of unprecedented splendor is about to be staged in penacony" implying that the main story stuff hadn't yet unfolded in any way and considering how sparkle trails the MC rather quickly, i'd have to assume we aren't in the picture just yet.

secondly, sa.mpo when having that memory lapse mentions that their surroundings don't look like be.lobog. implying he's already spent time in belobog. it's implied that he's spent quite a while on jarilo just doing his thing, and since sparkle is here on penacony "early" i have to assume sam.po was on jarilo "early" on purpose as well, scoping out the planet and getting acclimated to then have an easier time befriending the astral express crew.

third, the reason i think this takes place just slightly before in-game events, before the MC is introduced and playable, is because sparkle asks sa.mpo if him needing his mask has to due with the be.lobog catastrophe. which based on the surrounding information shared in dialogue, MUST be related to the ste.llaron and the astral express showing up... not the IPC showing up ( at least not on their own, but sa.mpo isn't even really in that story line once that time comes until aetherium wars )

plus sa.mpo literally applies sparkle's line to the ja.rilo talk: "if you're too late to take the stage, you can work behind the scenes." and guess what sa.mpo said to an unknown person while on jar.ilo during the 4th wall break ? "aw, it was a close thing alright! good thing it dawned on me: hey sa.mpo doesn't have to be a protagonist, right? the likes o f us are better suited to... shadowy comic relief, huh?"

so the mas.ked fo.ols seem to be partaking in things that don't necessarily concern them for fun but then there's some underlying ulterior motive. bla.ck sw.an points this out about sparkle specifically, not sa.mpo on penacony

sa.mpo being able to admit that he likes to take the stage and make a fool out of himself to me implies that he doesn't mind wilder stuff, but it still depends on what he's doin. but he makes it clear that he doesn't like sparkle's methods/aesthetics "after all, the Elation that Miss Sparkle seeks... isn't something ol' Sa.mpo can stand by". and even told her to stay away from be.lobog in the same breath.

considering the aeth.erium wars convo between sa.mpo and giovanni... it's unclear what exactly giovanni knew about sa.mpo's involvement in anything. after all, sa.mpo does tell sparkle to tell him hi which implies they would've all known where sa.mpo was spending his time and what task he more or less did for sparkle...

though that brings me to my other point. why did sa.mpo trust sparkle with his mask? and is it actually his mask? did her having his mask have anything to do with her being able to disguise herself as him? sparkle's masks and such evidently have their own power/deal about them so i'm not gonna try and say that sa.mpo's mask would be like her's in the dreamscape without more evidence.

that's all i got for now. i'll probably write stuff associated with headcanon when i've got more time

#i don't know if this'll esscape search but man that was longer than i meant for it to be #( spoilers; )#( ◇ ᵐʸ ᵈᵉᵃʳ ᵃᵘᵈⁱᵉⁿᶜᵉ┊ ooc; )

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cosmogyral-cat · 11 months

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!!! Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain spoilers ahead !!!

Overall, I really enjoyed both games and played through them multiple times

But something I take issue with is the twist in Kara's story (DBH): I think it would've been more beneficial to actually have Alice be Todd's daughter than "just an android replacement for his daughter", so to say.

The reason why I think that is because the more often I play the game, the more I realize that Alice being a human child was the entire driving force of Kara's story: She had to provide her with a comfortable place to stay, food, clothes, heat, sleep. Except that all of that was completely unnecessary; Alice being an android and Kara pretending that she isn't is tragic, but it also creates a vast amount of plot holes (e.g. Zlatko not resetting Alice, especially given how experienced he is when it comes to androids and how much he seems to know about them)

The twist also serves the purpose of Kara and Alice staying together in "Battle for Detroit" when they are captured during the "Crossroads" chapter.

Additionally, the focus of Kara's story is never on Kara, but always on Alice. Kara is, in this sense, a character the player can insert themselves into, but doesn't have a lot of depth unfortunately.

Throughout the game, the player learns a lot about Alice: She likes to read books, she enjoys drawing, she wants to dance, she is deeply traumatized, she has a strong sense of justice (e.g. being upset about Kara stealing money/clothes, keeping the tickets at the bus terminal, etc.), she wants to be part of a loving family, she likes theme parks and carousels, she is ready to protect Kara as well (if you got the gun in "Stormy Night" and fail all QTE's, Alice shoots Todd), she enjoys playing with her plushie, and so on and so forth.

But we learn barely anything about what Kara wants aside from protecting and being there for Alice. All we know is, by the end of the game, that she lies to herself to perform the function she was designed to do: Taking care of children.

I think I would've liked it better if Alice had been human all along. It would've added an even sadder touch to the story that remains throughout the second playthrough when you already know how the story could end.

Additionally, it would've been interesting to see that the subtle hints that point towards Alice being an android before the reveal (e.g. her not eating or drinking anything for multiple days) could've been a way of making the player think she's an android even though her intention is not to inconvenience Kara with her needs.

Misguiding the player like this was something I really enjoyed about Heavy Rain. As the story progressed, I was more and more convinced that Ethan had some sort of second personality that was challenging him, and that he himself was the Origami Killer. It was a very decent setup that made him doubt himself constantly and filled him with a fear and feeling of guilt that he himself was responsible for his son being in a terrible situation.

In general, I would've liked to see more of Kara's wishes for the future. The only time she actually mentions something that doesn't include Alice is when the three of them are taking the boat to Canada and Kara is asked what she would like to do once they cross the border. The player can make a choice through dialogue options here, and one of the things she can say is that she would love to travel and explore the world through her own eyes, which is something she has never said before in the slightest and adds a bit more depth to her as a character

I want her to be more than just a caretaker, I want her to be someone who wants something for herself as well, and that should not be limited to that boat scene that always ends terribly in some way

TL;DR: Alice's dynamic with Kara could've been much more emotional without Alice turning out to be an android

#dbh #dbh kara #dbh alice #detroit become human #kara ax400 #heavy rain

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writingquestionsanswered · 2 years

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Hi! I'm writing a story set sometime during the mesolithic/neolithic period (8000-3000 BCE). My characters are all from this time period. I've run into a scene where it would make sense for a character to swear. Of course, modern swear words don't exist yet. What kind of words might they use instead?

More broadly, how should writers writing stories set in fantasy worlds or the distant past or future approach swearing and expletives?

Thanks for the help :)

Neolithic Swear Words/Fantasy Swear Words

The first thing you have to remember is that your characters wouldn't even be speaking the language you're writing in anyway. So, none of the words you're using to tell the story or that they're speaking in dialogue existed in 3000 BCE. But just as we don't write modern Viking sagas with characters who actually speak Old Norse, or stories set in Ancient Egypt where the characters actually speak Ancient Egyptian, you're not expected to have your neolithic characters using "neolithic-appropriate" swear words.

Now, I will say that if your story was set during a period with a known ancient language, like Old Norse or Ancient Egyptian, you could throw in some Old Norse or Ancient Egyptian vocabulary here and there to give the impression that your characters are speaking that language. This is the same method used when characters speak a different language than the one in which the story was written. An example would be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak which takes place in WWII Germany with German characters. In reality, Liesel, Rudy, and Max would all speak German, but since the majority of the book's readers wouldn't be fluent in German, it doesn't make sense for the characters to actually speak it. So, instead what the author did was use German vocabulary and slang to give the impression of the characters speaking German. For example, Liesel's foster mother calls everyone "saumensch" and "saukerl" which apparently along the lines of calling someone a pig. This is a useful method if you are fluent in the language your characters would speak, or if you can get help from someone who is fluent in the language. But...

The problem in your case is that we don't really know much about the languages that were spoken during the neolithic, much less during the mesolithic, so this is not an option that's available to you. Writers of stories set during the stone age have made up for this by doing a little bit of conlang, or in other words, constructing a fictional language. You obviously don't have to construct a whole language, but you can put some thought into the sound of the language your characters might have spoken. What letters are the most prominent? What sounds are prominent? Use these same sounds and words in your characters names and the names of places, too.

For example, let's say you're going to use a lot of B's, O's, H's, and S's in your language. You might have a character named Bo'sa, a character named O'hb, and a character named H'sbo. They might live in a village called Hahob'a. If you're writing your story in English, your characters will speak English on the page, but you can throw in made up vocabulary and swear words that match your made up language. Your characters might wear bone armor called Oohsh, and they might eat a seaweed and fish dish called Lo-bah. And your MC's favorite swear word might be th'oba meaning "shark shit."

And, "shark shit" leads me to how you can come up with fantasy swear words. Ultimately, swear words are pretty limited in terms of their meaning. Pretty much any world related to the bodily functions of humans or animals, body parts, and anything that's perceived to be offensive or unpleasant in some way (bad smells, bad tastes, bad textures, things that look ugly or weird.) So, think about what those things would be in your character's environment. I was imagining a neolithic village by the sea in my example, which is why I went with "shark shit" as a bad word. Maybe there are stinky monkeys around your character's village called N'olbos, so someone might say, "Shut-up, N'olbo-butt," as an insult.

And if you don't want to make up a language, just go with the regular words... shark shit, monkey butt, fish gut breath, whatever works.

I hope that helps!

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cutiecrates · 2 months

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Game Review: Nyakori's Rabbit Doll (no/minor spoilers, minor blood)

I wanted to start my "cute game review" series with a disclaimer. I play a wide range of video games, and games that appeal to me usually have a cute aesthetic/appearance, and what I view as cute might not not be viewed the same way as others. I want to talk about cute games, but I'd like to also like about some other games too now and then.

For example, I decided to make my first review on an rpgmaker horror I saw while browsing Steam. There's a handful of people I watch who play these types of games on Youtube and they never played or even mentioned this one, so I gave it a shot because it looked too cute to pass up!

"One evening, Nyarutoru wakes up to find Nyakori and her rabbit doll have gone missing. While searching for her sister, Toru is led to a mysterious home. She runs into Kori, but someone has stolen her rabbit doll, forcing the two girls to go deeper into the large building to reclaim it. Along the way, Toru realizes that Kori isn't acting like herself…"

Nyakori's Rabbit Doll plays like a typical Rpgmaker/point and click game (you can even play it like one, this game offers mouse and touch control). The goal is to get from point A to point Z by interacting with the environment to look for new items, clues or puzzles while keeping Toru out of harm's way.

The majority of the game takes place inside this building, with one section late-game taking place outside of it. However, the locations all vary and this game features all sorts of "flavor text" that make it a lot of fun to click on everything and see what it says. Some of it is obvious (like a basket might just say "basket"), but others might lead to a remark from the character. There is also text for inventory items, some of which provide hints or alludes to something else:

Dialogue/Text

You might have noticed on the Steam page or the corner of my images, the game's title is written in Chinese. Well, that's because this game was originally Chinese, which is probably evident with the grammar and spelling being all over the place.

I noticed at the beginning of the game it's fine, and there are a lot of places where the text is good. But then it seems like as the game continues, it starts to become more apparent.

Expect to see the word "wired" a few times. It's supposed to be weird, which they do spell right a few times, which further confused me...

There is this also glaring example, which pops up a lot:

You'll see it every time you get a new item. I want to assume this was just an oversight, but they translated the item names so I don't know what to make of it.

Even the Steam page is full of grammar issues, but I will say that it's not enough to hinder the game. It's still clear enough to figure out what to do or what was going on.

Difficulty

It's not really difficult at all.

It offers several save points and an autosave feature (optional), the 3 "mini-games" have an easy option if you fail it once and beats it for you (and this doesn't penalize you at all). There are also tips and hints in the form of text throughout the game, either provided by talking to Kori, observation, looking at items in the inventory or using the "cursed cat food". Supposedly, using it too many times does something? I don't know what because I kept using it in a separate file and nothing happened. But I didn't feel like replaying the game through a fourth time in a short time span, so I stopped after a half hour.

This game is extremely forgiving if you let it be. Any death I triggered was basically because of my own curiosity, it was very rarely due to messing up. There are a couple of cheap deaths but they weren't abundant, so I didn't really feel annoyed by them.

There was only one, real thing that I got stuck with during the game:

At an early point you come across this mirror that depicts a number. A few rooms later, a box asks for it. To some people the numbers might obviously be 8010. But for me... it went like this:

"I clearly see the 0... is the first number an 8? It looks like an 8 but it kinda looks like it could be a weird 5...or an S? That makes no sense. That third number looks like a 4... is that last number a 0 or 9?"

I kept getting it wrong. I tried entering all sorts of combinations and even flipping the number order. I couldn't get it, the numbers were too hard for me to make out. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but I had to look it up.

I'm not even sure if the puzzle was necessary to get the true ending. It just led to some extra scene and dialogue.

Horror

This game feels like a light-horror.

It provides a creepy atmosphere which brought to mind The Witches House while I played it, but the music itself isn't scary, even when it stops and switches to general ambience. It overall made me feel lonely, not scared or on edge.

The blood and gore is there (at times liberally), but it never came off as being "too much/forced/shoe-horned in for the sake of a cheap scare". The game doesn't even load with a warning screen like some of the others do, nor were there anyway noisy, in-your-face jump scares.

There were things that startled me because they were unexpected, but I never felt scared playing this.

What I disliked

There was very few things I disliked about this game, but I believe that these are smaller issues based on my own thought process that won't interfere with everyone's experience.

One being the mini-games I mentioned. All 3 are themed around controlling Toru a certain way until you beat it. But each one plays differently. They were short and sweet and didn't overstay their welcome, which I like.

My problem with them is that the game doesn't necessarily tell you what to do. You're thrown into a mini-game and you got seconds to figure it out before you get killed and have to restart. There is a little bit of vague text around each game, but I couldn't tell what they wanted from me without some trial-and-error.

What negates the issue with this, as I mentioned is that the game offers to help you. I had to have the game beat the 2nd one for me because I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I understood what to do after watching the game do it for me, but it too me 3 and 1/2 play-throughs of this game to finally beat it.

The only other thing I felt worth mentioning was the Kori interaction sections. You have to keep watching and talking to her until you can move on. You can't do certain things until she's in a specific spot/room, and the only way you would know this is if you just happen to see her do something, or opened the "cursed cat food".

This isn't really a big deal, I like talking to NPC in games so I tend to talk to everyone multiple times out of habit now. But it did get me stuck when I first played the game because I didn't realize it was a necessity- and I know there are people who don't care much for chatting up NPCs or playing the waiting game. These areas didn't last long though, which kept it from being a chore.

Oh, there was also the "developers room" after you beat the game. I love learning about unique trivia related to the game or what the makers of it went through. But here it felt kind of pointless. There wasn't anything to really look at, and you only learn one or two things.

What I liked

The art style! It's so cute and there are a lot of pretty scenes. This game has a lot of unique elements to it, it doesn't feel like the older rpgmaker games that featured generic text boxes and images, character rpg stats, etc (not that I'm saying those are bad). From head-to-toe, they fully embraced making this game as cute as could be!

Another thing I liked about the game is that the rooms are all unique and look really nice. They feel like they should be there. They aren't empty or pointless, nearly every room serves a purpose.

One of my favorite things is taking the time to backtrack to past areas. Some of them have trivial changes (or added death scenes), or feature additional content you may not have seen the first time. For example, here's one room during my first visit:

This is the same room after I returned a while later, notice the paintbrush on the floor and tilted picture (the one canvas gets knocked over too, but I came back too early for that when I was getting the picture). There is also a death you can trigger, but if you possess a specific item, you can avoid it.

There are also some extra cutscenes/dialogue you can find by observing certain things repeatedly. Playing as Kori also changes certain events, as does having her in the room with you when you observe certain things as Toru. There are a few items both girls can obtain too, and they have different dialogue for it. You can even skip one puzzle entirely by activating a hidden room you can find if you backtrack to a specific spot.

I love these additional elements x3 they show that the game has more depth to it than what's on the surface. Its beneficial to seek these things out because they offer more insight to the plot and characters.

Ending

In terms of endings, there are 4. The true ending, the normal ending, and 2 bad endings. According to Steam, the 2nd bad ending is the least obtained one, while the True Ending was the second least. But honestly, I got the true ending on my first playthrough. I'm not good at these games (I got the Platinum ending in Pocket Mirror), so I'm convinced it was just dumb luck that I happened to do the right things.

I replayed the game twice more to knowingly make the wrong decisions to get the 2nd bad and Normal endings. The 1st bad ending is the one everyone probably sees at least once, because it occurs earlier in the game and it's more like an extended death scene. You aren't locked out of getting the other endings or finishing the game if you trigger it. On top of that, I think you're required to go into the room it occurs (under certain conditions) to reach the True Ending.

I want to avoid saying anything too spoilery, so I didn't want to exactly go over everything to get said endings. But I liked each one, they gave good exposition to the overall plot and felt like they made sense.

Other Stuff

The length of the game on average is probably a couple of hours. Even when I replayed it knowing what to do, where to take shortcuts, it still took me around the same length of time.

There are 7 achievements in total for the game. 4 are in the base game, while the other 3 (one of which is a hidden achievement) is in the DLC story.

You probably noticed it in the very first image, but there is separate, purchasable DLC for this game! It's an after-story that offers more insight to the story, 2 more endings and some alternative gameplay.

I don't have it yet, because while I did buy this game a year or so ago, I only just recently replayed and beat the entire thing. I do plan on buying it though, and I'll probably make a separate post on it.

Conclusion

I really, really like this game. The art makes it a pleasing experience to the eye while the characters and mystery of the plot encourage you to keep guiding Toru to the end to find out what's going on. It's a fun and forgiving game, perfect for people who want a more relaxed, horror rpgmaker experience. I think it'd be a good choice for someone whose new to these types of games and wants to build their way up to the scarier/harder/more intense ones.

The more I played this game, the more it reminded me a lot of The Witches House. Numerous things made me think about it, like the room match puzzle, and how Toru's menu image changed after I triggered a specific death (I thought THAT was the cat food curse, until I realized why I couldn't progress at that specific part). This game is newer, so it might have taken inspiration from that one. I know a lot of rpgmaker games draw comparisons and influence in other ones.

I'm really glad I gave this game a chance, especially because I didn't know what to expect going in. I love a lot about it and even the things that I didn't like never made me want to quit playing. It's also very cheap, as is the DLC. You can even buy them in a bundle.

It is lacking in polish, but I'm willing to overlook it when the game itself plays very well and I enjoyed the experience.

Um.... thanks for listening to me ramble for a while. I hope if anything this review encourages you to check it out, here's a link to the Steam page if you're interested.

I'd love to do more of these, and I do have an idea for my next 2 reviews, but if you have any sort of recommendations for a cute game, or even rpgmaker games, feel free to let me know.

Until next time~

#cutie reviews #review #nyakori's rabbit doll #rpg maker horror

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netscapenavigator-official · 2 months

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I need to see the spreadsheet please

Also if CUR doesn't rank top 5 we are mortal enemies

I hate to inform you, but the reason I've been rather protective of the spreadsheet's entirety is because I know, for a fact, that I have some rather unpopular opinions on these games that the more dedicated fandom would probably not like.

Also, my rankings are very subjective, and they tend to come down to one thing: How stressed I was playing the game. A lot of factor's can contribute to this. For example, how often I got stuck and had to use a walkthrough guide to get unstuck; how rewarding the plot was; how intuitive the controls were; etc.

That being said, I'm a massive weenie, and spooky games tend to do unfairly worse in my ratings because they stress me out. Meanwhile, cozy and snowy games tend to do unfairly better, which only pushes the spooky games further down the list.

Having said all that, I regret to inform you that Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor placed 24/34. It placed below Treasure in the Royal Tower, and above Message in a Haunted Mansion. Here's the full spreadsheet where I also account for if I had watched Gab Smolder's playthrough beforehand and which order I played the games in. The more games I played, the more familiar with the series I got. It also doesn't help that the first UI had awful click-points and navigation arrows, but I digress. Here's the full thing:

Of course, this was all for my own personal fun, so nobody take this too seriously. If you wanna know why I ranked a certain game the way I did, you can always ask. I might not always remember, but I can try giving my reasons. I ranked them in real-time, immediately after finishing them, so while I have fondness and neo-nostalgia for a lot of the games I ranked poorly, they're often ranked so because my first playthrough was stressful.

Also, each of the red squares in the "Ranking" column is a comment I've added because something abnormal occurred during this game that affected its rating. I will post the red-square comments below.

Nancy Drew Ranking Addition Comments

The additional comments will not appear in the order in which they were ranked. Instead, they will be organized by the release number of the game.

Game 01 - Secrets Can Kill (Original Version)

I encountered a bug that softlockered the game, forcing me to start over from a previous save. It then happened again, and instead of loading, I saved over my previous save, meaning I had to restart from even further back.

During her second-to-last conversation with Daryl Gray, Nancy receives a note. Daryl mentions this note; however, if the player chooses two out of the five dialogue options and then doesn't end the conversation, the note is lost and broken forever. The game cannot progress until Nancy sees this note.

Game 02 - Stay Tuned for Danger

This game is notorious for being easily softlocked. The wire-cutters, which cause the issue, would've softlocked my game, too, if I hadn't been using a walkthough guide for the majority of the game.

Game 14 - Danger by Design

This game was previously "disqualified" because I softlocked it and was unable to complete it without restarting.

There is a book Nancy must buy from one of the merchants in order to escape the art vault. However, when diving in the catacombs, a rat will steal one item from the player. The rat stole this essential book, and I did not know it was essential. I had not opened or read the book. As a result, Nancy made no note of it in her journal. As a result, the game was softlocked because it incorrectly assume I had the information I needed. This game would've been the first instance a softlock would've forced me to start over, completely, if I hadn't used a walkthrough guide to cheat.

This initially made me so upset that I "disqualified" the game for it. However, in hindsight, The Deadly Device literally made me cry, and I spent four days on it. Still, though, Danger by Design is not a fantastic game and only gained one point.

Game 22 - Trail of the Twister

I managed to softlock this game. However, the problem was not the game, itself. Instead, it was Wine/CrossOver. I was playing the game via CrossOver on Linux, and for some reason, the entire game worked flawlessly except using the key to open Scott's desk. You have to open his desk at the end of the game in order to trigger the final task. As a result, the game was softlocked. However, when I moved my save files over to a Windows machines, the desk opened, no problem.

Game 33 - Midnight in Salem

This is probably the hardest rank in the entire spreadsheet. This is because the story and plot within the game were fantastic. This was probably one of the best Nancy Drew plots within the entire series. However, this game had serious graphical and performance issues. In addition, the navigation controls were a regression back to the original few games, with clickboxes that were not only difficult to find, but also led you to places that you didn't expect them to. Overall, the plot was fantastic, but the graphics were abysmal. I'd say this game looks even worse than STFD. At least that game has a somewhat neo-nostalgic charm to it.

#nancy drew #nancy drew games #retro gaming #ranking #ranked #spreadsheet

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