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twstbookclub · 1 year

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Tickled Pink, But It's a Skill Issue

Summary: Idia is anything but thrilled at the soulmate mark on his wrist. After meeting his soulmate on one sunny day though, he's having second thoughts. POV: 2nd Person Pronouns: Gender Neutral Admin/Writer: Cressa 🦋 Tags: Comedy, Slight Angst, Romance, Fluff, Soulmate AU, Minor Swearing, Idia Gamer Speak, The Absolute Cringelord that is Idia Shroud, and Minor Book 6 spoilers

Word Count: 1,218

Idia Shroud stared at the words tattooed on his wrist with a grimace. Throughout his eighteen years of living, it still baffled him that the words he was born with cursed with, more like it were four words that made him want to shrink from embarrassment. Anyone else might have wondered about their soulmate once they saw their mark, but Idia might as well die from cringe.

“Your hair is pretty,” he muttered, shuddering. Really? Idia would rather have anything—anything, really—for a soulmate mark. What kind of soulmate’s first words to him would be about his hair, an untamed trail of flames and emotion? Emotions that made it obvious to anyone that he’s either angry or embarrassed? Emotions bearing impossible dreams, brutally crushed during his childhood? Idia would rather his soulmate curse or insult him for how much of a shut-in he is. If he was going to take the L and spend the rest of his life with this one person, at least make it believable.

Must be a normie hopeless romantic, Idia thought as he tapped and typed on his holographic screens. The type who dreams of a knight who saves them from a dragon for an RPG quest. Just like those prissy, trash-tier snobs at RSA. Just like a cliché romance plot in a B movie.

Idia knew he shouldn’t think of his soulmate like this before even meeting them. People his age already found their soulmates at this point. Couples holding hands in the park, sharing a drink in the restaurant booth, and all of the typical, mushy, lovey-dovey things people in love do. Well, people that aren’t the Shroud family. With how robotic they are, Idia doubts if the Shroud pair ever fell in love. He didn’t care to know about how his parents found each other. Even if he was curious as a kid, his parents never gave him the time of the day. Not when they were too busy to even look at their children who were going to inherit the fate of the Shrouds.

A faint crackle made Idia glance at the lock trailing down his shoulder. The orange tips of his hair shone like the beginning of twilight in his room, which was Idia’s cue to calm down. He huffed, subconsciously typing more aggressively than usual, and willed himself to forget his feelings. The thought of his soulmate always worked him up, or was it his parents?

“Who cares? I need to log in and do my dailies. I don’t want to break my log-in streak just because of this.”

Idia spent another evening in his room with nothing but his games, shoving ridiculous sentiment aside and waiting for Ortho to come back from class.

The next day was supposed to be ordinary, bleak, uneventful. Idia only went outside the comfort of his room to grab the newest video games and manga he ordered. Classes should’ve kept every NRC student busy. He could’ve slipped in and out of daylight without anyone noticing him.

“Your hair is pretty.”

Why is the Ramshackle Prefect here? Better yet, why did the universe give him a soulmate that was always surrounded by drama? Is he the main character of some sick comedy? Are the gods making fun of him at this point?

Idia Shroud, a stuttering coward in the crowd and a callous bastard behind the monitor, wanted to disappear right then and there. The tips of his hair flickered between fiery red and hot pink. His amber irises switched from the Prefect’s eyes, the cobblestone of Main Street, the Lord of the Underworld’s statue, and back to the Prefect’s eyes before he remembered that he shouldn’t be looking at them in the first place.

Maybe Idia should’ve worked on that drone to grab his deliveries for him. Maybe he could’ve avoided this outcome. Then again, if he couldn’t avoid his fate of being stuck as the Watchman, Idia could never run away from this even if he tried to.

He knew your name. Everyone does. You were the infamous magicless student in Night Raven College. You always found yourself in troublesome situations and with the SSR Epic Troublemakers. Riddle Rosehearts? Leona Kingscholar? Azul Ashengrotto? Does he need to list more of them to get the point across?

More importantly, you’re his soulmate. You. His. Idia’s mind was on the verge of a shutdown until he remembered that he should reply to you instead of standing like a spooked cat drenched in the rain.

“What’s a normie like you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be in class with the monster kitty?”

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why was his literal default being an asshole? His soulmate is standing not more than a meter in front of him, and he called them a normie. Brilliant. Can’t he level up his Charm stat just this once? Is he seriously having a skill issue right now?

While Idia was handling an internal battle with himself, you raised a brow. Oh no. He’s done it. Here comes the insult, the slap, the animosity he’s familiar with.

Except, you weren’t all those things.

“Did you just call me a normie?” You laughed, crossing your arms and grinning. The sound echoed in his ears, rattled his mind, and stole his every thought. Suddenly, Idia wanted to hear more of it. Honestly, this entire scenario feels like it was ripped out of a dating sim. This was getting into dangerous territory.

Idia’s hands hovered over his chest as he watched the magicless prefect. His shoulders visibly relaxed, but his fists clenched ‘til his knuckles turned ghostly pale. Well, that’s a first.

You kept going, undeterred by his insult, “It’s none of your business. I just wanted to say your hair’s pretty. Shouldn’t you be in class?”

You… didn’t know him. Idia didn’t know whether he should collapse from relief or cry about how invisible he was to you. Is this what it felt like to be a forgettable side character in a Triple-A game? Since when did it matter what you thought of him? Since when did he decide that you calling his hair pretty wasn’t cringe? Since when did his hair glow bright pink?

“Nevermind. I don’t have time for this.” You shook your head and walked around him. Idia almost grabbed your wrist out of instinct. As if this scene was straight out of a shoujo manga where the main character tries to reach out to her love interest before confessing. His hand shot back to his chest as if he was burned.

Oh great Seven, he’s turning into a walking cliché at the sight of his soulmate.

Idia’s heart jumped into his throat when you looked back at him with a knowing smirk. One that he knows will damn him for the rest of his life just because he wanted to get his video games and manga. Idia wanted to die on the spot at what you told him next.

“Look, you’re hot and all, but seriously? Pro tip: don’t insult your soulmate on sight. Make a better first impression next time, alright?”

Oh.

Idia will make damn sure that he finishes that drone before he sees you again. Otherwise, he’ll combust on the spot and the pink flames will be screaming his infatuation for you.

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basedkikuenjoyer · 7 months

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And now the big one. The first two as a set seemed like a good deal and worth trying, this one had me excited. It was a hunt to find it too! Even had some high drama for my young self. I think my brother stole some of the money I set aside for it, but I had enough spare change to make up for it. Nintendo Power mad the GBC rerelease look so cool, I could be a girl hero and there's a personality system that affects your stats? A human board game?

Now you're a party of four and aside from the main hero's special class you get to pick the other three! Leading to one of my favorite aspects of early Dragon Quest. The simple, elegant brilliance of its multiclassing system. You can start a character over at level 1 in a new class, with half stats and all spells/skills retained. A warrior who can double up on the handful of key buff spells. A speedy cleric. Making an absolute physical juggernaut out of the dealer/fighter. It's all possible and never that complex to get what you want.

Picking up from the first installment, this series may be simple compared to other RPGs but it is tight. As long as you are using your head a little, you can do wildly different strategies and they will all work. Maybe Dragon Quest games never have the massive spell lists counterparts like Final Fantasy do...but you know how those often have a couple dozen you never really use except once? That's not true in DQ. Most bosses will be susceptible to a status ailment or at least lowering their stats and the latter does it enough to be relevant. It might just be playing with numbers, and it's impossible to truly get without playing, but the design makes these boss fights have so much more of an exciting flow to me than more graphically impressive contemporaries and honestly what will follow for many years.

When you have rock solid mechanics like that, the game writes it's own stories. Like...last time I played a couple years ago I had a lark naming my party Kiku/Neko/Inu/Kawa(matsu). One dungeon that's never been iconic to me or anything took on new life as Kawamatsu was the sole survivor of the boss fight. Which meant my quick exit mage was dead. So Kawamatsu had to make a harrowing escape and it sticks with you. Or using my hero being Kiku as an excuse to try the Noh Mask exploit in the hero's solo dungeon. Now I'm going to say a word on the main story and the iconic twist, I'll hide for those who may want to try these.

I got to play these as a kid perfectly unaware of one of the most legendary twists in gaming. It blew my mind to finally beat Baramos and have more game left ahead...in Tantagel no less. Then we finally beat the real demon king Zoma only to find out I was Loto the entire time. This was a prequel, not a sequel. Which made the fact the world we started in reminded me so much of Earth even cooler!

That plus the legitimately good drama around the search for Ortega. It gets me when you come so close to a happy reunion only to have that dashed. What if you had been just a little quicker? Zoma was scary too if you're unprepared. Dragon Quest makes good use of buff spells and they're the golden strategy in this installment. So that iconic debut of the Icy Pulse ability that wipes them is backbreaking. Also love the Divine Dragon stuff in the post game for the remake. They went all out on that GBC re-release to a degree you didn't often see in those days.

#dragon quest #dq3 #draconic musings

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jmoriarty-221b · 3 years

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So I saw somewhere a post that talked about how some fictional characters just have a divorce vibe going on, like, at no point in time were they ever married but they just give off that feeling that they got divorced

And now I can only think of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor having that vibe

And I spent close to an hour talking about this to my sibling and how it would be a good idea for a new DC show like, you can make so much money off of just the main Batfam alone and there are literally so many people in there that it’s just an amazing idea to have them all in a show together but kind of like a Good Luck Charlie kinda thing because there’s more than enough angst in the world

But in the case of not having enough of a budget for so many characters in one show I turned to the Superfam (Batfam is Huge like, I don’t even know half of the extended family version and that’s like at least ten characters so I could see why it wouldn’t be entirely feasible to have a show that included everyone while still being good with nice character development without having a billion dollars for the budget)

The Superfam, in my personal experience, is composed of Ma & Pa Kent (farm vibes plus I refuse to have either of them die in my AU), Clark Kent (main Superman), Lois Lane (Lana? was Smallville Lois i guess??? But idk enough about her so she’s not here), Jon Kent (Superboi II), Kara Danvers (Supergirl) & Conner Kent (Superboi I)

Now I’ve stopped watching CW shows like, forever ago??? But my brother kinda keeps up with them and basically the gist is that the ratings of every other show suck Except for the Superman & Lois show (because it’s 💫new💫) and I saw the cover of the poster like “Ah, the werewolf dude. . . mmmhhmmm that’s Lois yes, yes that’s Johnny boi, and um is that???? Nooooo, they wouldn’t do that to Conner right???? Please tell me they didn’t make Conner blonde” and I was informed that the blonde teen is Chris???? Like

Whoms’t do ye speak of

I’m not even joking but the only way I even know of Chris is from a random fanfic I read where Dick Grayson gets his own super from an alternate reality named Chris, that’s my only point of reference for this character

But let’s talk about how Conner Kent (OG Superboi) was excluded

Now I haven’t seen any episodes of this and I probably never will (no hate I’m just really unmotivated to start new shows at all) so idk if they might mention Conner or even allude to him in one scene or something

But this was my main motivator as to my new Superfam TV Show Idea

Have Lex Luthor not be a Superman villain, he’s mainly a successful businessman, a little shady but who isn’t, and he doesn’t want to Kill Superman, he just wants to be able to have some sort of viable protection against a Kryptonian in case of an invasion (see Man of Steel + CW’s Supergirl) or suddenly having a mind controlled Superman on their hands (see Justice League series or just look up what Red Krytonite does) so he makes it like his side thing to figure out ways to neutralize or hold back a Kryptonian, Clark totally thinks that Lex is obsessed with finding a way to kill Superman because they had a bad end to their friendship in high school so he’s always suspicious of Lex, Lex hasn’t really ever tried to kill him though because 1. It’s not that deep Clark ok? And 2. He’s a busy busy man with a very important job position and a company to run so does he look like he has time to harbor an obsession over someone who rejected him back in high school??? You’re more of a constant side quest Clark, so stop trying to put him on the JL watchlist ( btw ik about Lena Luthor, haven’t forgotten her but she doesn’t really play a part in this AU so let’s just have her and Kara off to the side doing their own thing ok? Ok)

Lex, Bruce & Oliver all knew each other when they were kids and went to the same school, this is just an extra detail I wanted to happen because Lex and Ollie definitely know Bruce is Batman and absolutely HATE having to deal with Brucie Wayne because “I know you’re just doing this to irritate me Bruce, you just want to see if you can make a vein throb in my forehead but I will valiantly ignore your dumbassery because I know you hate being Brucie just as much as we hate having to put up with Brucie so suck on that you petty bitch” because they bonded in ye olden days, childhood friends so to speak

Anyway so Cadmus tries to get Lex to make an investment in their company, seeing as Cadmus is shadier than Gotham when it rains Lex is basically like ‘no ❤️’ and doesn’t make a deal with them, Cadmus gets mad at not having Lexcorp financially backing them so Lex has an ‘accident’ and they steal his DNA, then they steal Superman’s DNA somehow and *boom* a Superboi is formed

Because I don’t know much about how the Core Four became friends in the first place (Robin Tim Drake, Impulse Bart Allen, Wonder Girl Cassie Sandsmark & Superboy Conner Kent) I’m just gonna go with what happens in the show Young Justice except it’s the Core Four becoming the Core Four when they liberated Conner (who at this point believes himself to be a clone of Superman and has only been given Superboy as a name) from Cadmus, same shit goes down meaning that Clark is just straight up NOT vibing with Conner, Conner just wants a mentor please, and the Bats kinda give Clark a passive aggressive treatment for not taking Superboy under his wing or at least agreeing to teach him how to control his powers, especially Tim because that’s his Bestie so yes

Anyway, YJ saves ppl and is on the news or whatever and Lex finds out about Superboy’s existence that way, so he researches this new super on his free time, finds out that he came from Cadmus and claims to be a clone of Superman, yet doesn’t have the whole power set Superman has??? Wait, didn’t Lex reject Cadmus’ proposal and the got into a mysterious accident??? Long story short Lex goes connecting the dots, hacks into Cadmus’ files, finds out he technically has a son with Superman and decides to take Superboy under his wing (I’ll go more in depth as to why Lex would want to do this in this AU later but the abridged version would be that he wants a kid but doesn’t have the time nor interest in finding a wife??? Also the radiation that made him bald as a kid also affected his reproductive system so while it’s not impossible for him to conceive kids he would have a very hard time actually getting to father a kid)

Him and Conner, who still goes by Superboy at this point in time, meet up and Conner finds out that here is a parent figure that is both available and actively wants to be a part of his life, so he agrees to get to know Lex and the series would focus on them becoming a family, with a special episode when Conner asks Lex for help in choosing a name for himself and it ends up with him agreeing to become Conner Luthor, it would be heartwarming and Mercy would make sure it happens within a day (Mercy is Lex’s bodyguard/PA but they’re also besties and she becomes the Responsible yet Chaotic Aunt as Lex and Conner’s father-son relationship progresses)

Obviously Clark becomes super suspicious of Lex getting close to his ‘clone’ and when Conner decides to go public as Lex’s son he’s like *GASP* and calls up Bruce because we need to get on this Bruce, Lex is a villain and blah blah blah but Bruce would be over Clark’s shit and hit him with that “actually, Lex was also an unwilling genetic donor to Superboy, who actually is not your clone either, and has agreed to take him in, I’ve been on this shit since they first met and the kid is doing just fine so if you keep poking your nose in their business then that’s your problem but you better be ready to pay child support bitch . . . have a good day ❤️”

The series would just focus on Conner getting to have a good parent figure in Lex and go more into their civilian lives rather than focusing on the superhero thing, Conner, Bart, Tim & Cassie have a sleepover at Lex’s house at one point, Lex totally Knows what’s up but it’s all good because these are his baby’s friends and they’re good people who are more than willing to prank Superman for rejecting his kid and giving his baby self worth issues (Mercy supports them)

Anyway, that’s basically the idea for a new Superhero Show

#humor #superfamily #that’s new #focusing on Conner (the OG Superboy)#because they are always excluding him #so now Lex Luthor is a caring father to him #because yes #give this boy some love #conner kent #lex luthor #clark kent #bruce wayne #tim drake #superman #superboy #cassie sandsmark #bart allen #the Core Four is here too #Lex isn’t really a villain #he’s not evil either #finding ways to neutralize Superman is just like a side quest #because yes Superman is a paragon of good and Justice #but mind control exists #so pardon Lex for wanting to be able to protect himself from an out of control Superman #Clark totally thinks that Lex is obsessed with stopping him #because they had a bad friendship ending back in high school #but Lex isn’t aware of this ‘rivalry’ he’s supposed to be a part of #so it’s just Clark being suspicious of Lex and Lex not having a clue about this #or just not giving a shit because he’s a busy businessman trying to run a huge company #just a new idea for a new DC show focusing on the Supers

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gnomebud · 3 years

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i've seen u post about thatskygame a couple times on twitter and it looks really neat (fairies in a big forest? maybe?) could you tell me more about it? :O

cracks knuckles ohohoho yes i can!!!!!!!!! i am so sorry this is going to be so long i love sky a lot tysm emma

sky: children of the light is a free mobile (and soon switch as well!!) game about community and sharing and restoring light to the world, in sort of. the broader thematic strokes, i guess!! it’s by the same folks who made the game journey, thatgamecompany (hence why sky is usually tagged with thatskygame) and is very similar if you’ve played that one, but also a lot different!!! sky is much more collaborative and encouraging of interacting with other people — throughout the game you collect winged light (to grow your flying ability, like in journey) and candle light (to unlock friendship levels, spirit bonus cosmetics, etc) but Primarily you are visiting and freeing spirits, and playing with other people makes a lot of this both easier and more fun!

image description: my sky character, wearing a blue manta cape and antlers, stands in a grassy cave area watching one of the spirits, in a yellow cape, pose and glow brightly. /end id

there are lots of areas that require multiple players to unlock, it’s really easy to make friends or acquaintances with people, and also you can hug your friends in game. what’s better than that!!!!!! when you free spirits you get an emote that is unique to that character, and while sky has an in-game chat system you have to advance friendship with another player to use it, so you’re encouraged to find spirits & get their emotes to use at other strangers in the game to then help find other spirits or just explore together!!!! which is how u get people lighting each other’s candles and then just doing, like, crab emote at each other for a solid ten minutes. it’s also a nice low pressure way of interacting with people both across language barriers and without the stakes of Becoming Friends And Having To Talk

one of my favorite parts of the game is using candles (which you collect as you play) to unlock cosmetics (hairstyles, outfits, masks, different capes, instruments, etc) from the spirits you visit! it’s a very fun way to customize your character in this very specific way, and honestly i just love. getting on and deciding hmm what little outfit will i put my little guy in today!!!! what’s better than that!!!!! my current pfp is one of my favorite outfits in the game (as drawn by one of the friends i play with now, @/REVERIEQUE on twt) but i have a lot of favorite capes and hairstyles!! u can also get spells which allow u to change ur height, set off fireworks, wear a special cape, etc etc

image description: my sky character wearing a cherry blossom petal cape and antlers sitting under a small cherry tree in a sandy area. /end id

u don’t use candles for this, but unlocking spirits can also allow you different voices for your character — when you tap on your character in sky you Yell, basically, which initially is a sort of musical tone but you can change to be more like a high pitched bird chirp, or a warbly jellyfish call, or just. a fish. yelling in sky lets other people know where you are, tells you where to go if lost, helps butterflies recharge your light, and also recharges your friends’ light when playing with them! basically the game encourages you to scream

the big forest u are referring to is one of 7 main areas in sky- hidden forest! it’s a lovely little rainy forest area in lots of blues and greens, i also really like daylight prairie, which is a nice sunny field area that also features an island w geysers, and valley of triumph, which is this snowy/sandy obstacle course/colliseum type area? you unlock the different areas as you progress when you start the game! and every day there are four little quests to get bonus candles in one of the areas! tangentially relevant but movement is Such a delight in the game — flying feels cool, running feels cool, and you can slide down hills and skate on ice and different surfaces in a way that is SO satisfying to do

image description: my sky character, wearing a green cape with a blue backpack and an orange on their head, standing in a rainy, tree-filled river area. /end id

the music is also. fuckign gorgeous. volume 1 of the soundtrack was only released a bit ago and i play it Constantly it is such gorgeous orchestral music for a free mobile game.... it sets the tone of each area so well and also Slaps!!!!!!! it’s amazing

to an extent sky has lore, and sort of a plotline/story progression, but it also isn’t necessarily focused on Following A Story to play — there are very broad ideas and things you know happen, but mostly it is like. you exist in this world. here is what you are doing. have fun & make friends doing it. and i think that’s very neat!!!! i don’t know if i can parse in a understandable way what sky means to me thematically, but it deals a lot with helping others, honoring those who came before you, making friends and sharing experiences, sacrifice, and in general making the world a better place through kindness and helping others, even in miserable places, and i think it works wonderfully as very simple concepts conveyed incredibly well in game. the “”last”” area (eden) made me cry the first time i went through it because it was just. oh man!!! this is about connecting with people & helping them & doing it as many times as it takes to help as many people as we can, even when it is almost impossible. and it’s lovely! one of my best friends got me into it, and i usually play with them, and now i’ve successfully gotten @diapensia into it, and it is so fun to share with others too :’) like a little secret. here take this free game that is so simple and yet so beautiful

image description: two sky characters holding hands and glowing softly while floating in the boughs of a cherry blossom tree with glowing pink petals. /end id

ALSO one of the ways sky makes money is by doing seasons — usually two-ish month events that you have to pay to play and offer bonus content, new spirits, and new areas! the seasons usually have a cute little storyline — past ones have been about helping a little figure skater spirit train for a performance, the current one is about helping a kid and their friends build a treehouse in hidden forest! usually it’s like $10 for a pass or $20 if you get one for three people, but they’re lots of fun and usually the bonus cosmetics are Amazing! they’re doing a little prince themed season this...summer i think? that i am so excited for

i have talked about sky for so long so here is a few final fun facts. crabs will try to knock you out in the game and in retaliation you can just pick them up and hold them forever. there are jellyfish and manta rays and other fun ocean creatures. you can PLAY INSTRUMENTS IN THE GAME, which is how you end up with shit like hatsune miku songs getting covered in-game by folks with way more patience for a tiny phone key layout than me

#long post #i find it hard 2 talk abt things i want 2 share with other ppl in a non. markety way almost #but i love sky a lot it makes me very happy #also i will possibly try to edit in a read more on my laptop tmrw bc this is so incredibly long jfmrnckdkdkdkdkdkd #but yeah. that’s sky!!!!! it’s great and i love it #emma i feel like u knew exactly what u were doing asking this (wrt incoming infodump) and ily. if u ever check sky out and want to play #pls lmk i would love 2 hang out #answers #sky children of the light #thatskygame

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farchanter · 3 years

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Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition

The laws have always been the tools of whoever happens to hold all the chips.

There is nothing in this world I love quite so much as a good co-op game. My brothers and I still play something together every weekend. This love stems from, in particular, three action RPGs we played when I was in high school: Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (the remaster of which we’re playing next), The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (a sequel to which we’re long overdue for), and Tales of Symphonia. Thanks to the magic of Steam’s relatively new Remote Play feature, Tales of Vesperia became the first game in the series since which we could finally play together again.

The Tales games are set apart from traditional JRPGs by their signature “Linear Motion Battle System”. Players control one character of their party, and combat plays out somewhat similarly to Super Smash Bros.: you can advance toward or away from your target along an imaginary x-axis drawn between you and said target, jump into the air, attack, and block. The other members of your party are doing the same thing with their targets along their axes. Fights play out in real time— while the combat system isn’t nearly as precise or versatile as Super Smash Bros., I hope that comparison gets across the gist of what combat looks like.

Tales of Vesperia is largely the same as Symphonia in this area, with some cool quality-of-life improvements over its more celebrated sibling. In Symphonia, the combat camera tightly follows whoever Player 1’s character happens to be— meaning that it was inevitable for the other players to be in the unenviable position of trying to fight without being able to see what they were doing. Vesperia, on the other hand, will either zoom in or out depending on how far apart the player-controlled characters are. Vesperia also has a “free run” feature, which allows you to temporarily eschew the axis-bound fight system to reposition yourself as you see fit. That isn’t new to Vesperia, but wasn’t present in Symphonia. These two seemingly small things are big improvements. This being said: both Symphonia and Vesperia were made using the same proprietary engine, and it’s definitely showing its age. Strange decisions were made for button mappings— it’s seemingly impossible to give your AI teammates orders without first draining your Overlimit meter, which is particularly frustrating when an entire control stick went unused. It’s still possible to wind up in a situation where it’s impossible to advance on your enemy because of how they are positioned on the screen. The engine is finally being replaced for the eventually-upcoming Tales of Arise, and I hope that team can take the good things done here and apply them to the new Unreal-based Tales engine.

Tales of Vesperia tries to tackle many of the social, ecological, and political issues we see in the world today— and it’s not subtle about it. Working poor trying to get by on what they have while the wealthy feast, an elite crust of society seemingly immune to any sort of consequence, law enforcement brutality, a natural resource powering the world which is wreaking increasing environmental havoc— these are all less “metaphors” so much as “actually just the plot of the game”. The tension in the story is ultimately distilled into the tension between two characters— childhood friends from the poor district of their city: one a rising star in the Imperial Knights, the other a former Knight who grew upset with working for a system that desires to keep people like him downtrodden.

It is, then, a story about the conflict between revolutionary and reformist politics. However, Tales of Vesperia never really feels sure about or comfortable with that theme. The implications of that political motive are uncomfortable while still trying to portray the two characters as friends— the two philosophies are at odds with each other in time of crisis, and ultimately revolution will either need to be snuffed out or the existing system destroyed— and impossible to do while generally presenting their viewpoints as equally valid. The game presents a tragedy— that the two are on a collision course— but ultimately chickens out of that conflict. Because of this, the game frequently struggles to provide clear connections between story beats. Up through the end, we frequently asked “so, wait, why are we doing this?"— which isn’t necessarily a great question for late in a 70-hour RPG. What begins as a quest to restore the only source of drinking water in the poor part of the city escalates and escalates— though, importantly, it’s not always clear why. Perhaps because of its squeamishness about its central conflict, Tales of Vesperia instead ping-pongs all over the place. This disorientation is magnified by some, frankly, sloppy writing. For example, there is a massive war which makes up a big part of Vesperia's backstory: so long ago that none of the younger characters remember anything about it at all, and all of the characters who did fight in the war are now old men. Yet, the game also repeatedly tells us the conflict ended ten years ago. And, in the end, the story appeals to a Watchmen-esque deus ex machina— a cataclysm so serious that political difference becomes irrelevant and requires no further introspection— as a way to resolve that conflict without an actual fight or a real decision by either of the main characters. Because of this, neither of them really grows— which is disappointing at the end of what is, again, a 70-hour game.

This isn’t to say that Tales of Vesperia isn’t fun— we enjoyed it, and we did sink a full 70 hours into it. It’s perfectly satisfying as an action RPG. However: I would be lying if I said that any part of Tales of Vesperia, for as fun as it is, is particularly well-made. The story can’t really decide what to do with itself, the English translation is spotty and seemed to deteriorate as time went on, and the combat system is improved but still rough around the edges, but the biggest offender by far are all of the other game mechanics not strictly related to combat.

In Tales of Symphonia, there are relatively few rules. If you use your fire spell a lot, you eventually get a more powerful fire spell. It’s simple, but it’s fairly effective. Vesperia, on the other hand, squirrels its progression behind a slew of intersecting systems both poorly explained and hard to use even when understood.

Much of the game is like that, too. While I like it when a game doesn’t hold your hand through everything, Tales of Vesperia takes pride in explaining none of its complexities. We missed fairly important plot events because we weren’t told about them, and whole systems of the game were essentially unintelligible to us. It’s hard to master something when you don’t even know what it is you’re supposed to master.

Graphically, however, is where I think Tales of Arise will realize the most gains by moving to a new engine. Character renderings in Vesperia are awkward, and the system most shows its age when trying to show emotional cutscenes with lots of movement. However, there’s another type of cutscene— one where characters are reduced to boxes with their portraits in them. The game gets a lot of traction out of these limited animations freed from 3D renderings, and they were some of my favorite moments of character development. Why, then, the game didn’t rely more on them is somewhat of a mystery to me.

I feel like I’m complaining a lot about an experience I enjoyed, which is something of a shame and perhaps not an accurate representation of my feelings. My frustration stems from all of the pieces being present for something great, but none put together well.

This was our first experience with Steam’s Remote Play— while there were a number of technical glitches for this fairly experimental feature, it worked reasonably well. I’m excited that it opens a door to a whole spectrum of local-only co-op games.

#completion list #games #completed #ToDo #review #tales of vesperia: definitive edition #tales of vesperia #tales #tales of #bandai namco #rpg #knight #knights of nonsense #the quarantine list

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zertzertzhang · 3 years

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I Need a Hero Chapter One

Synospis: Seen as the demon bastard of his village, Nezha is sent on a quest to redeem his character. It was supposed to be simple. Rescue the maiden, marry her off to the viceroy, collect community service points, and done. He really didn't think one mission alone was all that it took to unravel his past, present, and future like an onion. When a cursed princess swamps him under a horde of secrets, he is faced with two choices; accept fate...or fight it.*A story loosely (or largely) based on good ol' Shrek with some other influences sprinkled here and there for giggles.

Once upon a time, in a palace far, far away, lived a maiden. Said to be the fairest of her kingdom, she was doomed to spend twenty years in solitude, locked away from all life. A curse was placed upon her, only to be broken by true love's first kiss.

If she was not saved by her twentieth birthday, then her soul would be claimed by the Dragon Lord of the East Sea.

Her true face was never seen by anyone, as the tower was guarded by a terrible dragon.

Many have tried to free her from this dreadful prison, from the warriors of the state to the princes of Agrabah. None prevailed.

Thus the maiden waited in her chambers, in the highest room of the tallest pagoda, still waiting for her true love...And true love's first kiss-

"What a load of bull!"

Nezha busted out laughing. It was a bitter sound that bounced off the walls, traveling at least half a corridor down the hall.

An ear-grating tear echoed from the rooms of Li Manor as a frustrated shout followed just seconds after.

The double doors flew open with a terrifying bang, revealing the youngest young master storming around his room in a fit of disbelief.

"People still read this shit?!" Nezha forced a harsh laugh that scraped at the butler's eardrums. "Bring me better reading material next time or else I'll send you flying to the nine levels of hell and back!"

His pointed finger at one of the butlers was enough to send the latter teetering over the edge of an epileptic seizure.

The poor butler could only sputter as he tried every method in the book to lessen his suffering "Y-yes! Young master! I apologize for my transgression! Next time-"

"There's no next time!" Nezha fumed. "One more stupid story from you and I'll take my leave to the village where I can actually have fun!"

A lopsided grin broke across Nezha's face while he uttered the last words, as if just thinking about seeing the horrified faces of the villagers could serve as ample entertainment. The dimwitted guards by the manor would be no match for him if he really wanted to leave.

It would seem that it was inevitable for a run in with the law that day. Paying no attention to the stuttering servant next to him, Nezha frowned, debating the pros and cons over leaving right then and there.

"Young master," the butler started, "how would you like to-"

Nezha interrupted with a swift wave of a hand. "Scram already!"

To add to his point, the young man snapped his gaze to the quivering butler, scowling for good measure. It worked, as expected.

The older man scrambled backwards, squeaking for mercy. But he didn't need to go far, for the subject of his terror had long left the spot where he had originally stood. Nezha was on the rooftops in a blink of an eye.

"W-wait!" The butler tried to climb over the decorative stones, only to find himself hanging by the sides of the ledge like a helpless kitten. "Where are you going, young master?!"

At the sight of such, Nezha smirked. He made no attempt to help the butler up to his level.

"You gotta try harder than that."

"But you can't go out the manor!" the butler wailed. "Master Li has specific orders that you-"

"Stay in for the rest of your life," Nezha cut in for the upteenth time. "I heard it the first time."

Cracking his knuckles, he let out an obnoxious yawn before looking down at the latter with utmost boredom. "But anyways, I'll see ya later!"

The mischievous smile never left his face as he hopped down from his perch, disappearing from the butler's vision just as fast as he did before.

It was futile to attempt to control Nezha, especially now that he had grown right into his adolescent form. Had it been a year earlier he would've still been a child no older than eight. Even then, the demon child was a living nightmare, but at least he could be consoled with a few magical trinkets.

The Nezha now was a bottle of raging hormones a few buttons away from implosion. His butler didn't want to entertain the idea of some unsuspecting villager accidentally triggering his fury, thus adding more to the Li Family's monthly bill.

There was still more renovation needed for the living room. Nezha had created a hole right in the middle of Li Manor square during one of his 'experiments'. And that alone sucked hundreds of pounds of gold into construction fees.

Putting two and two together, the butler slapped a hand over his hand, inches away from a mental breakdown. He had to come up with an excuse as to how he let Nezha slip away.

He had to save his own ass at least.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Not a lot of effort went into devising a plan to escape the manor. Hell, the word 'escape' never registered in Nezha's head over the two years since he began his daily avoidance from the manor servants.

In a second's time, he could turn himself into a maid. So a maid he did turn himself to.

With the excuse of buying the daily grocery, Nezha had no trouble in slipping past the manor guards. The duo of metallic chumps had no doubts, lifting the spell between the doors just enough for the disguised maid out the building.

If he could, Nezha would've been on the floor convulsing with laughter by now. There was nothing more hilarious than repeatedly fooling the same people around him with the same tricks every time, and still getting away with it.

Not bothering with another extra thought, Nezha made a beeline towards the main entrance of Chentang Pass.

The fun was just getting started.

Crunch.

His feet squandered a pitiful branch below him with a brittle snap. Nezha didn't bother with his usual surreptitious style of tormenting the villagers. Weeks of the same old pop and scream had taken to the boring side for him.

He wanted something fresh.

Like he predicted, heads snapped in his direction the moment his bare foot stepped into the street market. The stares from people were like an automatic feature the town had inserted for him.

All sounds of life came to a screeching halt in his presence. Even the leaves seemed like they had minds of their own and stopped rustling as soon as Nezha popped up.

Dead silence washed across the mass, readying its ugly fingers around their necks, urging them to scream.

The way his tendons popped as his slender fingers clenched to fists sounded akin to a bone-crusher readying himself for a new victim. It was of no help that the young man's inhuman mark glowed with his excitement.

Before Nezha, a man towards the front of the market opened his mouth. His distorted face combined with the growing tint of purple on his cheeks was a good indicator of the things that were about to spout from his lips.

It's the demon! Run for your lives! Get away!

Nezha waved lazily at them, their old scripts running through his head like a broken record. It was impossible to get them to think of something more enticing to say about his grand entrance.

For a moment, Nezha actually feared that the illiterates before him could only speak those three phrases. Crossing his arms, he allowed the grin on his lips to morph into a wolfish smile.

"You all know the drill right?" Nezha beat the man to the talking punch. "I don't need to say more than I have to."

The unified gasp was a good indicator that they got the message. Nezha scoffed.

"One."

All at once, sound rushed back to the village as screams shot through the air like a needle piercing through flesh. Under the dust of everyone shuffling at the same time, civilians stepped over one another in a frenzied attempt to hurl themselves into the nearest shelter they could find.

Soon, it was every man for himself. No place was barred from being taken up by bodies: pots, cabinets, closets, haystacks, and coffins, too.

"Four."

If the squawking chickens and kicking cows weren't a sight enough, a few villagers had somehow come to the conclusion that as long as they couldn't see him, then he couldn't see them.

"Eight."

There were times when Nezha wanted so desperately to capture the scene before him in his mind and replay it by himself in his room for shits and giggles. He wanted to memorize each and every wrinkle of terror everyone made, taking in the affects he could have on them.

"Ten." He uttered the last number with soft delicacy, but anyone with a brain could hear the restrained agitation seeping under the words.

Nezha was losing patience. Flinging an apple onto the head of a still running man, he marked the beginning of hide-and-seek with a screech from the villager.

The man skidded onto the ground in a thud, shivering uncontrollably. Something about the way he curled up into a ball, avoiding eye contact with him irked Nezha.

A grown ass man can't be that much of a coward?! I didn't even throw that hard!

Nezha scowled, passing the fallen civilian without as much as another glance.

He shouted into the void, "I hope everyone's gonna try harder than this! Ready or not, here I come!"

It was too easy; some failed to cover their mouths as they breathed in and out like a dragon in battle. Despite going on about it for over two years, the village never improved.

There was no point for Nezha to use his heightened senses to scope out the 'players'. They might as well hold up a sign that scribbled 'I'm right here!' at that point. Running finger along the cement walls in a haphazard manner, he whistled a jolly tune too festive for the tension around him,

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Nezha called. Lifting the lid off of an empty wine pot, he feigned surprise at the lack of shrieks.

He could hear the one person in the next pot over practically whimpering under their cover. The fear must've been great enough for the entire container to shake.

Nezha hummed to himself as he stepped towards the pot, twirling a branch in his hands. With a languid drag, his feet thudded against the dirt ground with emphasized force. A tiny squeak echoed from the container, officially giving away to the person within.

"Hmm." Nezha stroked the other pots besides it almost lovingly. "Now where did ya go?"

Fwip. The pot second to the left was slapped away. Each smash of a china elicited a shriek. If Nezha had a third eye, he swore he would see the fear radiating in the last pot of the bunch.

His smile grew; playtime was over now.

Reaching over, Nezha wrapped his fingers over the handles, breathing in the anticipated rush of adrenaline the shear horror from the man would bring.

Lips peeling back to reveal sharp canines, the young man readied his most terrifying expression. At the same time, the villager inside prepared himself to beg for mercy.

Funny enough, it would appear that his prayers were answered, because the lid never opened.

Instead, Nezha's eyes were glued to the posters nailed onto the columns over his head. The stark contrast of red against white caught his attention. A warrant of some kind had been posted all over the town square.

It had to be fresh; the last time he had been in Chentang's center, Nezha didn't notice such a thing. Littering the walls of restaurants and stands, the warrants were hard to miss.

Without a second thought, Nezha's arm shot out and tore off a poster. Even the ink smelled like it had just been stamped onto the paper.

"Viceroy of Chentang calls for any brave warrior willing to rescue his bride, the maiden of the East Sea Pagoda. If successful, the reward of one hundred thousand taels of gold and twenty acres of land..." Nezha mumbled out the information in a string of low growls.

Pathetic.

In a huff, he crumpled the paper, tossing it aside. It sounded like some cheesy bedtime story plastered into reality, and he couldn't help but remember the stupid fairytale he'd read earlier in the morning.

As much as Nezha appreciated the celestial aspects of life, sappy legends were very much barf-inducing, real or not. He had seen enough men who forced others to fight their own battles to not give a hoot for this dime a dozen opportunity.

Agitation spiked through his veins. He realized he wasted a good minute of his time mulling over a poster. It almost derailed him from his original plans. Speaking of which...

Nezha chuckled, eyes zoning back to the quivering pot next to him. Throwing all thoughts of the fairytale out the window, he cracked his knuckles.

There was still a town left to scare.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Li-Jing's voice boomed over the courtyard, threatening to take down trees had he been any louder. The deep baritone made matters worse, echoing off the buildings like an angry thunder god seconds away from blasting lightning to the ground.

"I am about done with you!"

The servants scurried back to their quarters, not bothering to deliver dinner. Though, it didn't sound like the Li Family was hungry either.

Clustered around the mess of a room, Li-Jing and Lady Yin were currently looming over a lounging Nezha, who clearly wasn't going to pretend to give them an audience.

"What must I say to make you obey me?" Li-Jing demanded. "The village's tolerance of you is waning! One more misshape and they'll be at your neck!"

The threat made no difference in aiding their argument. If anything, the fine lines between Nezha's brows creased deeper, forming harsh valleys contorting his face in the most horrifying way possible.

He snapped, "And why do I care? That's what they said last time. If they really had the guts, they'd be dead by now."

Venomous abhorrence spewed from the youth, matching the volume of his father's with no trouble.

Li-Jing narrowed his eyes, balling his fists at his sides.

Not thrilled to see another fistfight break out, Lady Yin rested a hand against his back, trying desperately to reel her husband back from the land of rage.

The general was at his limits. In spite of all the training with Taiyi in the past two years, the volatile nature never left Nezha.

Reality crushed Li-Jing with an insufferable amount of pressure that he swore his back would break if it got any worse.

"You're not helping!" the general argued. "The more you retaliate, the more monsters you have to slay to appease them. You'll be back in square one."

Out of everything Li-Jing said, one of the words seemed to trigger Nezha, because the latter was up in his father's face in a flash, teeth baring like a wild boar beaten to a corner.

"So what," Nezha hissed through gritted teeth. "That's for me and me only! I'm not slaying monsters to make them happy. Those ingrates could rot for all I care!"

It didn't take a grand scholar to see that Li-Jing wanted to slam his own head against the poles.

Chen-Tang's general, held to the highest standard of all citizens, couldn't even control his own son. It wasn't clear if the red tint on his cheeks was from anger or embarrassment.

Lady Yin, on the other hand, didn't appear to give up. "Please, Nezha. I'll stay with you longer tomorrow. Just promise mother you won't go out like that again."

Nezha let out a bitter chuckle. Her consolidation had long lost its meaning to him. After the thirtieth time she failed her promise, he stopped counting. The efforts to calm him only served as an insult to his wounds.

"I wouldn't dream of holding you back," Nezha slurred. "Save your pity party for next time."

He rose to excuse himself, but the arm of his father appeared in his way, blocking the exit. Nezha did a double-take, but he could feel the smoldering indignation rising at incredible speed.

"That's not gonna stop me."

Li-Jing sighed. "Son, I understand your frustrations. But what happened today happened, and we need to do something about it."

"No we don't." Adamancy was Nezha's strong suit.

"I know you better than you'd think," his father retorted. "You want them to accept you. But every time some villager gets to you, you go right back to your old self. It's not doing favors for any of us. We only want you to be happy. And you do, too. But you know you won't get any better by terrorizing them."

A slight twitch at the corners of Nezha's lips was a bigger sign than all else. He was listening, albeit begrudgingly.

Exhaling in relief, Li-Jing took the silent invitation to go on. At least he had a foot in the door now.

"There might be a few assignments we could give you," he continued. "They're not boring for sure. You might have to get physical with a few demons, though. But it could come in handy for training."

At the sound of demons, Nezha made a rigid turn towards his father, his pointed ears stood at attention. As long as he had the chance to put his two-years worth of training to work, anything was negotiable.

Li-Jing knew he had his son's full interest. He just had to give one more nudge and-

Bang!

A crash exploded by the doors, slapping all three Li's from their stare-down. Li-Jing groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. They had everything smoothed over, inches away from calming Nezha, and this motherf- just had to ruin it.

The general whipped his gaze to the dusty entrance, mouth open to unleash a slew of grievances, before his eyes widened at the sight of the guest.

Standing over the crumbles of what was left of the gates, Taiyi stumbled over his two left feet, mumbling something about wine and pretty women.

Nezha couldn't roll his eyes any harder. His master was undoubtedly drunk over his head, maybe even rejected by a few girls on the streets. The scene before him was too familiar.

Huffing, he glared. "Get lost, old geezer. I'm in the middle of something."

Taiyi ignored his demand, instead sauntering over in a giddy fashion like he just discovered the next best thing.

"Yohohoho!" The stench of alcohol escaped from the deity's mouth, gagging the poor audience around him. "Found the next adventure for ya, boy! I Overheard tha 'hole thing back there!"

Nezha growled. "You could've at least knocked!"

Taiyi snorted, patting his beer belly. "Can't a retired model relive his catwalk entrance?"

If he thought that was supposed to be funny, then he flopped hard. Nezha's previous agitation was on the rise once more, this time with full force.

"Spit it out already, old man! Can't you see I'm busy?!"

"Jeez," Taiyi complained. "Alright, alright! I found the perfect mission to repair your majesty's tarnished reputation, you little ingrate."

The deity grounded the last words in a whisper, trying but obviously failing to hide his distaste. Nezha's enhanced hearing caught it without a problem.

In light of his hammered state, Nezha stayed silent despite feeling a vein pop. There was always another day to light Taiyi's pants on fire.

"Spit. It. Out," he grounded.

Taiyi seemed to find amusement in twirling Nezha's mood, opting to wag a finger in front of the youth's face. The god knew his ass was going to pay for it later, but the petty in him had to take the opportunity.

Fumbling through his many pockets, Taiyi's face lit up with child-like jubilation at the sound of crinkling paper.

Nezha was not prepared to have a smelly and stained piece of parchment shoved into his face. He was sure if Taiyi had another pot of alcohol, he would've straight up crashed into him instead.

His master wiggled his caterpillar of a brow.

"Ya interested in some dragonslayin'?"

It took Nezha a moment to come back down to Earth. He snatched the paper, scowling at the deity before him. Focusing on the words of the parchment, the young man almost coughed blood at the sudden recognition.

It was the warrant for the princess.

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A/N: QUICK! Somebody insert Allstar in the scene! ;)

#shrek #shrek is love #nezha #nezha 2019 #ne zha: birth of the demon child #哪吒之魔童降世 #fanfiction #parody #ao bing #哪吒

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a-dandelion-dreamer · 4 years

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Word Wanderings Post #1 – The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

This is the beginning of a reread. I’ve loved this author for years and The Raven Cycle is a particular favourite of mine. Please note that if you haven’t read this book, this post will definitely contain spoilers!

The Raven Boys is the first book in a quartet and juggles a multitude of characters, including our four main characters (Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Blue) and our plus one (Noah). While it does have some external conflict, it is mainly driven by the characters and their relationships with one another. This book is complex and dense with detail, with a structure that is a little unusual. Most books or series have a driving hook that catches readers right at the beginning and is the selling tagline. For example, in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, it’s Percy finding out he’s secretly a demigod, which directly turns into monsters attacking him and his mom disappearing. In the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, it’s the existence of a game that forces children to fight to the death and then subsequently Katniss volunteering to take her sister’s place at the Reaping. In Six of Crows, it’s a crew of six misfits embarking upon an impossible heist.

Ostensibly, the hook of this book is that Blue is destined to kill her true love with a kiss. That’s what it says on the back of the book, and it’s certainly an overarching threat present for the rest of the series. Tied in as well is Gansey’s search for Glendower, a sleeping king Gansey believes is buried somewhere on a ley line. This is another whole-series thread. The real heart of the story, however, is the boys and Blue and their friendship and their interactions with the other messy pieces of their lives and their search to find meaning and happiness. This type of storytelling is not for everyone, especially those who might enjoy more action-driven tales, but it’s the kind of storytelling I love.

(And in writing and other personal creative projects, I think it’s important to let what you love drive you forwards).

Here are three points I took away from reading this book:

Point #1: Keeping readers interested by embedding small mysteries

The trick is to make your readers want to know what happens next. This is something I have trouble with and therefore I’m particularly interested in seeing how other books handle it.

Each chapter in this book is written from a different character’s perspective. I’ll include the first and last lines (which I think are brilliantly done) in the form: (first line/last line). Following that, I’ll describe some mysteries that the chapter raises.

Prologue: Blue (“Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kill her true love.”/”’You’re Maura’s daughter,’ Neeve said, and before Blue could answer, she added, “this is the year you’ll fall in love.’”) – pg. 1-4

We’re introduced to the idea that Blue will kill her true love if she kisses him

Which immediately raises the question: who is he? And how does she get from being determined not to fall in love to killing someone with a kiss?

We learn about Blue’s psychic family, which I think is super interesting

Blue’s half-aunt Neeve comes to town and really hits us with that: “This is the year you’ll fall in love.” Pay attention, that line says.

Chapter 1: Blue (“It was freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrived.”/“’There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve, Blue. Either you’re his true love,’ Neeve said, ‘or you killed him.’”) – pg. 5-16

Blue and Neeve watch for the future dead

Blue, the only non-psychic in her family, sees a spirit for the first time

The guy she’s destined to kill or fall in love with (or both)

His name is Gansey, and now we’re wondering who he is

Chapter 2: Gansey (“’It’s me,’ said Gansey.”/”’That seems obvious,’ he answered. ‘We find out who you were talking to.’”) – pg. 17-28

Brilliant cut to Gansey

This guy is very real and because of the previous scene, we want to know who he is

We learn about his quest, which adds another layer of mystery

Gansey also heard Blue, on his recorder, so now he’s wondering about her

We ask ourselves: how will these two meet?

Also, introduces Gansey’s friends Adam and Ronan

Ronan has a tumultuous relationship with his brother Declan

THEY HAVE A NUMBER FOR A PSYCHIC (guess who belongs to a psychic family)

Chapter 3: Blue (“Mornings at 300 Fox Way were fearful, jumbled things.”/”’Blue,’ Maura said finally. ‘I don’t have to tell you not to kiss anyone, right?’”) – pgs. 29-37

Introduces Blue’s house

Introduces Blue’s relationship with her mother Maura

Neeve scries and learns that something is strange about Henrietta

Again, we wonder how Blue and Gansey will meet. And also, is it possible to save Gansey from his fate?

Chapter 4: Adam (“Adam Parrish had been Gansey’s friend for eighteen months, and he knew that certain things came along with that friendship.”/”’Excelsior’, said Gansey, and shut the door behind them.”) – pg. 38-51

Introduces Monmouth Manufacturing

Delves further into Gansey’s quest (will Gansey find what he’s looking for?)

Adam is suspicious that someone is spying on their search

Develops tension between Ronan and Declan

Chapter 5: Whelk (“Barrington Whelk was feeling less than sprightly as he slouched down the hall of Whitman House, the Aglionby admin building.”/”It was possible that Czerny’s death wasn’t for nothing after all.”) – pg. 52-56

Adam was suspicious in the previous chapter and now here’s Whelk, being suspicious

What is this guy’s deal?

Whelk hears Gansey is researching ley lines and suddenly gets very interested

Who is Czerny and how did he die?

Chapter 6: Blue (“Blue wouldn’t really describe herself as a waitress.”/”Neeve had to be wrong. She’d never fall in love with one of them.”) – pg. 57-64

Blue goes to work at Nino’s, the same place Gansey and his crew are going

Blue’s mother calls: Gansey has scheduled a reading

THEY MEET! This is great. They meet and they both dislike each other. They immediately conflict and neither realizes the other is the person they’re looking for.

The dramatic irony is fantastic

Adam is interested in Blue and Blue is a little bit interested in him

How does Blue end up liking Gansey, who she currently hates?

Truly, a mystery

WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THE TWO MEET AGAIN AT THE PSYCHIC READING???

I could do this for the whole book, but you get the picture. There’s always something the reader is left wondering, even if it’s something small, or a future interaction they’re looking forwards to.

A note: this is particularly effective when it’s tied to personal agency. You want to see what your characters will do, and this means more if you have dynamic characters who make choices.

Point #2: Atmosphere and memorable locations

Another big strength of this book is the personality that it imbues its settings with. Take three examples: 300 Fox Way, Monmouth Manufacturing and Cabeswater.

300 Fox Way – the chaotic, full-to-the-brim house where Blue lives with her mom and her aunt and her mom’s two best friends Persephone and Calla and a multitude of other psychic women, all showcased through background details. I love this house and its aesthetic.

Quote: “Mornings at 300 Fox Way were fearful, jumbled things. Elbows in sides and lines for the bathroom and people snapping over tea bags placed into cups that already had tea bags in them. There was school for Blue and work for some of the more productive (or less intuitive) aunts. Toast got burned, cereal went soggy the refrigerator door hung open and expectant for minutes at a time. Keys jingled as car pools were hastily decided.” – pg 29

Monmouth Manufacturing – the abandoned factory that Gansey, Ronan and Noah have made their home. They live on the upper floor and the description of the space really doubles as a character portrait for Gansey. Use settings to reveal and further describe your characters!

Quote: “The high ceiling soared above them, exposed iron beams holding up the roof. Gansey’s invented apartment was a dreamer’s laboratory. The entire second floor, thousands of square feet, spread out before them. Two of the walls were made up of old windows—dozens of tiny, warped panes, except for a few clear ones Gansey had replaced—and the other two walls were covered with maps: the mountains of Virginia, of Wales, of Europe. Marker lines arced across each of them. Across the floor, a telescope peered at the Western sky; at its feet lay piles of arcane electronics meant to measure magnetic activity.

And everywhere, everywhere, there were books. Not the tidy stacks of an intellectual attempting to impress, but the slumping piles of a scholar obsessed. Some of the books weren’t in English. Some of the books were dictionaries for the languages that some of the other books were in. Some of the books were actually Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editions.” – pg 41

Cabeswater — a magical, sentient forest. I love this forest so much. I love the overall portrayal of magic in this series and this forest is my favourite example of that. The trees speak Latin, time is fluid and sometimes the very air manifests your thoughts, so keep a watch on them.

Quote: “The stream trickled sluggishly out of the woods from between two diamond-barked dogwoods. With Gansey in the lead, they all followed the water into the trees. Immediately, the temperature dropped several degrees. Blue hadn’t realized how much insect noise there was in the field until it was replaced by occasional birdsong under the trees. This was a beautiful, old wood, all massive oak and ash trees finding footing among great slabs of cracked stone. Ferns sprang from rocks and verdant moss grew up the sides of the tree trunks. The air itself was scented with green and growing and water. The light was golden through the leaves. Everything was alive, alive.” – pg 219

What can I take away from this? Using small, specific details to make a setting unique and memorable can add atmosphere to your novel, showcase characters and make a reader fall in love with a particular place.

Point #3: Evolving arcs

This story contains a lot of interwoven plot threads. This can be hard to balance (I know from personal experience) but I think this novel pulls it off. It’s very, very good at doing many things at once. The important thing to think about is a beginning, middle and end for different story arcs that you introduce. Here’s one example (of many) from this book.

Example 1: Noah

Oh Noah. Noah is a brilliant example of an arc in this book and also one of my favourite demonstrations of the fact that sometimes you can hide things right in the open.

First mention (pg. 26). Noah goes out for pizza with the crew, but there is no mention of him going to school or otherwise having a life. This theme will continue: while Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Blue have conflict and fleshed-out internal worlds, Noah is a static character. The first time I read this book, I was like Gansey. I didn’t notice how much Noah was missing until it was explicitly called out.

First line of dialogue: “I’ve been dead for seven years,” Noah said. “That’s as warm as they get.” (pg. 47) (IT’S RIGHT THERE, but yet I didn’t pick up on it. Clever, clever.)

Noah’s room is also described as ‘meticulous’. As in, practically unused.

“Noah, we won’t make you eat,” says Gansey. “Need some more alone time?” says Ronan. More little hints.

The character descriptions are honestly so good, worth a study all in themselves.

Noah doesn’t come to the psychic’s reading or the helicopter trip, which the other boys do

Somehow, he has a canny knack for knowing things and sharing secrets.

“Don’t throw it away.” (pg. 165) (to Gansey)

Gansey calls for Noah but he’s not there (pg. 233)

“Blue permitted Noah to pet the crazy tufts of her hair” (pg. 238). Not particularly arc related but SUPER CUTE.

The gang visits Cabeswater again and finds Noah’s old abandoned car, a red Mustang (not that they realize it yet). In the trunk is a dowsing rod, a sign someone else is looking for ley lines. Noah throws up (from the trauma of his murder).

Blue and Gansey visit the old church and find a body. “The face on the driver’s license was Noah’s.” (pg. 274)

THE BIG SCENE IN WHICH NOAH IS REVEALED AS A GHOST (what a brilliant scene)

“Adam,” he demanded, “what is Noah’s last name?”

“Tell me,” Gansey said, “which classes you share with Noah.”

“When does he eat? Have you ever seen him eat?”

“Does he pay rent? When did he move in? Have you ever questioned it?”

These are all questions Gansey asks his friends, but are also questions we must ask ourselves. We have been fooled in the same way as they have.

“I told you,” Noah said. “I told everyone.” (pg. 278)

“The question is: Who killed you?” (pg. 279)

Noah acts like a real ghost (disappears, reappears, knocks objects off desks)

“Maybe moving it off the ley line had stolen his energy.” (pg. 298) (in regards to Noah’s body)

Noah appears, using Blue’s energy. “I want you to know,” Noah said, “I was…more…when I was alive.” (pg. 305)

“You were the sacrifice, weren’t you Noah? Someone killed you for this.” (pg. 307). It turns out Noah, the friend they didn’t realize was dead, was killed in a ritual similar to the one that is attempted at the end of the novel by their Latin teacher, and is the reason Gansey is alive.

Remember: “Someone else on the ley line is dying when they should not, and so you will live when you should not.” (pg. 271).

It’s all very circular and interwoven and very good plotting.

Noah said, “But you already know.” (pg. 309) (In regards to who killed him) JUMPCUTS to a scene with Whelk

“I’m going to fix Noah. Somehow.” (pg. 335) (says Gansey)

She allowed him to pet her hair with his icy fingers. “Not so spiky as usual,” he said sadly. (pg. 353)

“Don’t throw it away,” Noah whispered. (pg. 371) To Adam, this time.

Noah warns Gansey that Adam is gone (he is now 100% a spooky ghost boy)

THE MURDERED/REMEMBERED SCENE (breaks my heart). They’re all in Cabeswater again for the climax of the novel and Noah, who doesn’t exist in bodily form, traces words into the dust on his old car

Noah’s funeral: “Please say something to them.” / “Mrs. Czerny, he’s sorry for drinking your birthday schnapps.” (pg. 406-407) (ouch, my heart)

They dig up his bones and rebury them on the ley line

“Can we go home? This place is so creepy.” … ”Noah!” Gansey cried gladly. Blue hurled his arms around his neck. He looked alarmed, and then pleased, and then he pet the tufts of her hair. (pg 408)

Broadly, the arc looks like this (look how actions lead to consequences which lead to further actions):

The boys have a friend named Noah, who is sometimes there and sometimes not

LOTS OF FORESHADOWING

They find Noah’s dead body

They confront Noah and find out he’s a ghost

The police move his bones so he starts acting like a real ghost

They figure out he was used in an attempted ritual and also that their Latin teacher killed him

The dig up his bones and rebury them on the ley line

Noah comes back

Given what happens later in this series, it’s very important to me that we remember Noah.

In conclusion

What this book does well:

Keeping readers interested by embedding small mysteries

Atmosphere and memorable locations

Evolving arcs

These are just a few things I noticed on my read-through of The Raven Boys. Stay tuned for further Word Wanderings posts and feel free to give suggestions for books you’d like me to analyze!

Personal Challenge: Pick a book you’re currently reading or an old favorite and try to figure out what keeps you reading, whether it’s little mysteries, character dilemmas or rising tension.

#the raven cycle #trc #maggie stiefvater #the raven boys #writing #writing advice #writers on tumblr #blue sargent #noah czerny #gansey #adam parrish #ronan lynch #word wanderings #my post

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Ghost of Tsushima Review: A Beautiful Homage to Akira Kurosawa

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Ghost of Tsushima is a daring departure for Sucker Punch, who since 2009 has worked solely on the Playstation-exclusive Infamous series. While those games were steeped in modernity, offering sprawling cityscapes players could explore from top to bottom via superpowered “conduits” Cole MacGrath and Delsin Rowe, Ghost of Tsushima’s open world is set in feudal Japan. It’s here that we meet young samurai Jin Sakai, who must defend his homeland, the titular island of Tsushima, from an invading Mongol army.

Right off the bat, the shift in time period and milieu to 13th century Japan is notable because Sucker Punch handles it so brilliantly, especially for the team’s first foray into the samurai genre. Japanese history and culture are woven into every single facet of the game so elegantly and organically that you’d think the team had been developing games set in feudal Japan for the past decade, not sci-fi superhero romps. More than anything, Ghost of Tsushima is a moving homage to Japan, its history, and its people.

The story opens with a massacre. A massive Mongol army, led by the cunning Khotun Khan, storms the beaches of Tsushima and is met by the island’s woefully outnumbered samurai contingent. When the leader of the samurai challenges Khotun to a one-on-one, fair fight, the Khan renounces the honorable gesture in gruesome fashion, literally setting the courageous samurai on fire in front of both armies. The rest of the samurai are obliterated on the beach, while Jin’s uncle, Lord Shimura, is taken prisoner by the Khan. Jin is also fatally wounded but is miraculously nursed back to health by a new ally, a thief named Yuna who needs his help in return.

These opening moments set the tone for the rest of the game. The philosophical conflict between honor and deception is the beating heart of the story and permeates the gameplay in riveting ways. As you fight to take back Tsushima from the Mongols, you can approach enemy encounters in two ways. You can choose to fight honorably, like a true samurai, and challenge enemies to a “standoff,” a quick-reflex mini-game of sorts in which you and one of the baddies face off one-on-one and see who flinches first before one of you slashes his blade through the other. You’ll then have to take on the rest of the enemies all at once, which is no easy task.

The other option is to fight like a “Ghost,” sneaking into enemy camps, killing the bad guys in their sleep, poisoning them, using intimidation tactics to scare them into fleeing battle. It’s an effective way of evening the odds between you and your foes, but it rails against everything the samurai stand for.

Countless games offer the player the option to approach combat either stealthily or head-on. This is far from a novel concept, and in this respect, the combat in Ghost of Tsushima offers little innovation. But what is innovative here is how Sucker Punch has taken the classic device of stealth vs. frontal assault and given it new life by expertly integrating it with the themes of the story.

Jin meets a handful of allies on his journey, each with their own multi-chapter story arcs that delve into their respective backstories. There’s sensei Ishikawa, a master archer whose protege has gone rogue and joined the Mongols. Lady Masako is a warrior and grandmother whose entire family was murdered by the Mongols, though she suspects they may have died after someone close to the family conspired with the enemy.

Each of the characters explores the honor vs. dishonor theme in unique and surprising ways. The dichotomy is most starkly represented in the clash of ideals between Lord Shimura, who is unshakably honorable and would rather die than gain an unfair advantage in battle, and Yuna, who understands that, to beat an enemy who fights dirty, you may have to put honor to the side for the sake of saving your people. Of course, Jin is caught in the middle and struggles to decide what kind of man he wants to be.

Aside from the ties to the story, the gameplay is fun and engaging. The swordplay combines parries and dodging with a more strategic approach to melee, as you try to find ways to build up your enemy’s stagger gauge. You can also use “ghost weapons” to give you an edge in battle, like kunai (throwing knives), smoke bombs, arrows, and more. There are also four stances to master, with each being effective against a different enemy type. Switching between stances is integral to combat and becomes second nature over time. There’s also an insanely cool fifth stance that I won’t spoil here, but it’s spectacularly badass.

Stealthing is strikingly similar to what you’d see in an Assassin’s Creed title (this is a compliment), and the game gives you myriad ways to kill enemies without raising alarms, like throwable wind chimes and firecrackers that allow you to manipulate their positioning or hallucinogenic darts that turn them against each other. Again, this is all stuff we’ve seen before, but it’s pulled off well here.

Release Date: July 17, 2020 Platform: PS4 Developer: Sucker Punch Productions Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Genre: Action-adventure

Unfortunately, there are little gameplay flaws that needled at me, especially in the later hours of my playthrough (it took me around 45 hours to finish the game). The swordplay requires quick reflexes, and mastering parries and dodging is absolutely pivotal to your survival. The problem with the swordplay is subtle, and a little difficult to explain, but I’ll say it like this: in most games that are particularly challenging, when I die, I feel like it was my fault because I made a mistake, I just wasn’t fast enough, I hadn’t mastered certain skills. But on many occasions in Ghost of Tsushima, I felt like I died because the game didn’t give me a fair shot, like it was the game’s fault that I failed, not mine. It’s possible that I just wasn’t very good at the game, but it felt at times like I wasn’t given a choice in the matter. Your mileage will vary with the game’s difficulty level.

There are other things that bugged me, too, like the unreliable climbing mechanics (I swear, sometimes hopping onto a rope or branch that’s literally right in front of you is way, WAY too difficult). But overall, I had a great time playing the game and felt super powerful by the time I’d filled out my skill trees, which is no surprise considering the game was made by the same folks who made Infamous.

On a nuts and bolts gameplay level, Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t feel all that unique — there is some very familiar open-world stuff here. But on a presentation and storytelling level, the game is out-of-this-world amazing. Visually, the game looks stunning. The late-stage PlayStation 4 graphics really deliver, and coupled with the strength of the art design, Ghost of Tsushima is a true head-turner. The character models look fantastic and can emote on a level that supports the drama of the story. And while the different suits of armor that Jin acquires offer unique gameplay perks, I honestly just collected and upgraded them almost exclusively as an aesthetic indulgence. They look so freaking cool.

But the real stars of the show are the environments, which look picturesque from every conceivable angle. The wind-swept, verdant hills of Tsushima are intoxicatingly pretty, to the point where I’d get caught up ogling for minutes on end at the smallest of details, like the way the moonlight bounces off blades of grass or the way Jin kicks up crimson-red leaves that have blanketed the ground over time. I could go on forever about the dynamic day/night cycle, the beautiful rendering of different fabrics and materials, the horse animations. But instead, I’ll just say that this is the most breathtaking game, visually, that I’ve seen in recent memory.

A lot of love also went into infusing the game with Japanese cultural references, particularly in how the developers pay homage to the samurai genre. Each mission, for example, is bookended by cinematic intertitles that evoke old samurai cinema, Japanese characters, and all. But without a doubt, the most obvious/most amazing homage is “Kurosawa Mode,” which presents the game in black and white, with one of the best film grain filters I’ve ever seen in a game, resulting in an experience that looks almost exactly like a film from the iconic Japanese auteur’s oeuvre, right next to Sanjuro and Seven Samurai. If you’re a long-time fan of Kurosawa, turning the mode on may even elicit an “I’m not crying…you’re crying!” response — it’s that pretty.

I initially intended on playing the entire game in Kurosawa mode but quickly realized that it would be problematic to do so for a few reasons. Some missions require you to “follow the (insert color) flowers,” which is obviously impossible in black and white. And in combat, blockable enemy heavy attacks are signaled by a blue glint, while unblockable ones have a red glint. Combat is tough enough as it is, so…yeah. I only turned the mode on when I was riding on my horse through the countryside and I felt like treating myself to some eye candy.

Taking time to smell the cherry blossoms and have a respite from the game’s many missions and side missions is crucial because Ghost of Tsushima is a long, long game. The missions aren’t overly repetitive — most of them feel really special actually, like when you climb a mountain in freezing cold weather and must race from campfire to campfire on your ascent, or one armor quest comprised of several one-on-one duels with straw hat swordsmen scattered about the map, each with a distinct personality. But 40-plus hours is 40-plus hours, and while the main tasks of infiltrating enemy camps, liberating farms, and searching for special gear can lead to questing fatigue at the tail end of the game, the nice thing is is that you can always slow things down and just enjoy the scenery to break things up. There’s even a nifty photo mode to play with, and if any game warrants a photo mode, it’s this one.

Jin’s story isn’t just a means to an end, or a lazy excuse to drag the player from gameplay scenario to gameplay scenario. The story is incredibly well written and profound in its messaging and imagery, so much so that I believe it’s one of the best modern entries in the samurai genre, regardless of medium. All of the characters you meet and the little tales that unfold across Tsushima are filtered through Jin’s inner struggle with what honor really means and whether or not it’s worth dying for, which gives the story an incredibly strong narrative backbone. Despite the game’s epic scope, Jin’s journey actually feels quite intimate and personal. The same could be said of Kurosawa’s best work, and that’s just about the highest compliment I can give.

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awfulcomingdown · 4 years

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Nintendo Switch Demos Review (Or, “Without a Paddle, I Might Add”)

Introduction

Over the past couple of weeks, or maybe months, I’ve downloaded some demos on my Switch that I’d intended to eventually play. And then I didn’t play them, which led me to believe that I might never do so.

And then, a couple of days ago, I found my self drunk, alone in the darkness of my sister’s home office, while her and her fiancee slept in another room. While drinking and staring out the window into the unfamiliar street, an idea hit me. I should play all those demos, right now.

And so I quickly walked down the hallway, as if afraid the inclination to really do this might dissipate as quickly as it’d formed, to my temporary bedroom where the Switch was laying on a nightstand, and brought it back to that dark office. I then proceeded to do it. I played all four demos, writing and becoming progressively more drunk as I went, until typing itself seemed an impossible, or at least undesirable, task. And then I went to sleep.

And now, I’ve taken those somewhat less than clear notes and formed them into a mostly comprehensible summary of my feelings on those games. And here they are.

The Touryst

I heard about this game for the first time in a Nintendo Direct, I think. It looked goofy. It looked too goofy for my liking. I planned to not ever think about it again. And then I didn’t for some time.

The next time I thought about it, it was because a Youtube video extolling the virtues of this game’s beauty and graphical prowess scrolled past my eyes on the Youtube homepage. I didn’t click on it, and I didn’t think much about it. However, I did think some about it.

Then I saw this demo, and I figured, sure, let’s try it.

This demo is very short. Well, at least, it felt very short to me, sitting in my sister’s makeshift home office, a couple of drinks in to what would eventually become a too many drinks to be having alone night. It flew by.

As soon as the game began, I was struck. It’s beautiful, in what feels like an extremely unique way.

It’s bizarre. The background is completely blurred, and you’re running around what feels like a tiny, static world that’s been put together by hand and pushed out to sea. It all feels very still. Apparently the people who made this game have been making video games since 1999. I feel as though they may have learned some very worthwhile things in that time.

The other thing that struck me as significant while I played this short demo was the fact that I had managed to ignore and look down on this game for so long. How was it that nobody was grabbing me by the shoulders, shaking me, and screaming “The Touryst is a fucking masterpiece, idiot. Just because the main character has a goofy mustache doesn’t mean this whole thing’s a joke. Play it. Fuck you.”

Now, that might not be totally fair. I mean, that Youtube video I saw about the game was literally titled “The Touryst is Stunning: Switch Game of the Year Contender?” which, to be fair, is a very funny thing to name a video. I would like to know who made the call on adding that question mark. Wild stuff.

And, again, to be fair, if you search “The Touryst” into the old Youtube search bar, you’ll come up with dozens of videos (okay I actually only saw three, but I didn’t scroll that far) making similar claims about the game’s greatness (funnily enough, all three of the videos I saw ended with a fucking question mark. That’s not a joke. Like, they really wanted you to be tempted to click the video just to find out if the game is, in fact, a contender for Switch game of the year. What a time.).

So my point is maybe less that there weren’t people talking (or, asking?), about this game, and more that it doesn’t seem as though anyone was giving this supposed masterpiece the respect that a masterpiece deserves. Which is to say, after watching exactly four minutes and 37 seconds of the first of those videos, I was able to conclude that not a single video on the entirety of Youtube had a single interesting or worthwhile thing to say about the game. And this seems...shitty.

If this game is a masterpiece (and sadly it seems as though we’ll never know, but, by god, we will continue to ask), then maybe it deserves something more than a Youtube video of a dude talking about its “tight gameplay” and “excellent soundtrack.”

Maybe we should do more than that. Maybe we should treat masterpiece video games with the same respect that a masterpiece film or album receives.

Maybe we should be writing thousands of words about the brilliance of said masterpiece, and actually attempt to discuss what exactly about the game makes it so noteworthy.

Maybe we should take the time to say whether or not it is a masterpiece, and not just ask the fucking question.

Dragon Quest Builders 2

As I finished the very short demo of The Touryst, I decided I would play the demos in whatever order they happened to be lined up in on my Switch homepage. As I scrolled to the right, I was struck with fear when I saw Dragon Quest Builders 2 was next up.

Despite being too drunk at the time to notice that the game icon literally says “Jumbo Demo,” I still knew, having learned from the Dragon Quest XI demo, that this demo could literally take the rest of my life to finish.

“Fuck,” I wrote. “I really didn’t want to play this one next. For all I know, this demo lasts eight and a half hours, and I’ll be here ‘till sunrise. It’s been loading for 30 seconds now, and I’m scared. Dear god.”

Some amount of these fears were quelled when the game finally finished loading, and the music began to play. Despite having never owned or really played a Dragon Quest game, I fucking love Dragon Quest music. Sure, it’s beautiful, but it’s not just that. Something about the music makes me feel as though the music has no idea as to how beautiful it actually is. It feels as though the music doesn’t know how profound it really is, and this only serves to make it that much more affecting. I feel this is a part of the charm of the series as a whole: Dragon Quest games never go out of their way to let you know that they know how brilliant they are.

Anyway, I grabbed another beer, bringing the Switch along with me to the fridge so I could continue to listen to the title screen music while I did, and began the demo. The beer was stronger and more expensive than anything I would’ve bought - and I doubt it was my sister who bought it, it was probably some bizarre house warming gift - and tasted to me like a mixture of apple cider and rock salt. It was palatable.

The game, DQB2, as it will henceforth be known, opens with a character customization screen. Now, I may have just been drunk then, and I may just be an asshole now, but the minimal amount of customization one can actually apply to their character struck me immediately, and continues to strike me now, as profound.

All that you’re allowed to change about the character is their hair colour, skin tone, and eye colour. Along with this, you’re also allowed to choose their name.

This small amount of change that you’re allowed to make to the character makes it feel as though you are inserting some very small amount of yourself into this pre-existing character. Like, the character you’ll be controlling is their own living, existing being, and you’re now just a part of that being. It almost feels like a tidy summation of what it is to control any character in any video game you’ve ever played. Which is to say, these characters always exist, having been made long before we gain control over them, before we come into contact with them, and as such we are incapable of actually fully putting ourselves into them. No matter how much character customization or character control they (the creator) allow, the player will always only be meeting them halfway, as the two of them work, isolated from one another, to create what is now a unique being.

Okay, I’ll stop now. But I’m serious about this.

Anyway, the opening of this game is pretty terrific. You wake up a prisoner on a large, monster-ruled pirate ship, and are immediately let out of your jail cell in order to help fix some things around the monster ship. You are enlisted for such duties as the result of your known designation as a “builder.” The skeleton pirate who frees you from your cage makes it clear that while you are a shitty, unimportant builder, that’s still enough for you to be capable of handling the small jobs they have for you. So, you help the monsters clean up the ship, and this acts as the first of what I assume to be many, many tutorials.

The dialogue during this opening section left me legitimately shocked. Nearly every thing that every monster said to me managed to make me silently laugh and/or over exaggeratedly look around the room as if to ask “Is anyone else seeing this!?” (nobody else was - everyone else was asleep and not thinking about video game dialogue).

In order to not write out fifteen different things, I’ll put here what struck me as the most clever of the writing. After asking the skeleton pirate who originally woke you up who he is and what you’re all doing on this ship, he answers:

“If you’re that desperate to find out how far up the creek you are - without a paddle, I might add - go and talk to those five monsters beneath the flag over there.”

This line in particular, along with the majority of the rest of the lines, led me to think about the absurd amount of time it must have taken for the localizers of this game to craft such a great translation. I mean, yeah, obviously the writing was terrific to begin with in Japanese, but the fact that they were able to translate that into such immediately brilliant English text is insane. I’d like to meet the people behind this translation, so that I could ask them what drives them to care so deeply about what they do.

The rest of this demo - or, at least, the rest of it that I managed to play that night* - was made up of me doing menial tasks (talk to monsters, learn to craft, learn to fight, etc.) until I finally decided that I simply could not play any longer, and left it at that for DQB2 for the time being.

*(note: I was really loving this demo, but decided that I needed to move on to another game, as it was already 1:16am and, as I wrote in my open google doc that night, I was “already pretty fucked up.” I played through the beginning of the demo again the next day while sober, and it took me about two minutes to get to where I made it to in like 45 minutes while drunk. Gotta love it.)

I’m mainly really curious about how a game like this gets made. I don’t know what the sales figures for this game were like in Japan, but as far as I could tell, very few people in North America really gave a fuck about it. The thing is, it seems really, really well made, and I know for a fact it is ridiculously large. I have questions about how something this big and seemingly great (and definitely carefully made), gets created, released, and then ostensibly immediately forgotten about. Art and commerce are weird.

Anyway, I doubt I’ll ever play this game. It is too big, and too chill, and I have too many other things that I need to be doing, or at least I often feel as though I do.

Ape Out

I literally can’t think about this game without referring to it as “Ape Escape” in my head. I’ve never played Ape Escape, but that is definitely a better freedom-seeking-ape based video game name.

Anyway, this game is beautiful, in a really jarring way. It’s beautiful in a way that I guess can’t be communicated through trailers, because something about this demo immediately struck a chord with me that no trailer for it had done.

This game is electric. You play as an ape, making your way out of a poisonous building, murdering any human who gets in your way (which is to say you play as an ape who is attempting to escape).

You can move with the left stick, aim with the right stick, grab with the left trigger, and throw/punch with the right trigger. And then you just fucking kill.

The music is an absurd mix of smashing drums and symbols, getting hit in time with your launching of men into walls, turning those men into limbs and torsos (which you can then pick up and throw at other men to stun them), and turning those walls into red paint splattered canvases.

Playing this game makes me really want to play the rest of this game, if only to see how far they can take this kinetic energy that pulses throughout the first three stages. How long does the novelty of having a drum hit perfectly coincide with a body hitting a wall and becoming a corpse last? Or, should I say, what did the developers (Gabe Cuzzillo, the game says, is the creator) do to make it so that fucking pulsing excitement deep in the players sternum lasts for the entirety of the experience?

I feel like this is a game that I could beat over the course of one delirious, sleepless night, though for now we can all only sit and hope that when I do finally purchase and play the full game, it forces me to do so.

Cadence of Hyrule

The music is so good. It sounds like you’re standing in an alternate universe Legend of Zelda elevator, a universe in which the Legend of Zelda isn’t a video game series, but is instead a religious belief.

Remember when this game got announced, and we were all like “What the fuck!?”? And then it came out, and some people were like “This is really good!” and other people were like “I like real Zelda better…”

Anyway. We should appreciate things more.

You know, I bought the first one of these games, on sale, for $5, and it really just did not click with me. Something about having to move on beat really bothered me. Like it was always the game’s fault, and not my own, that things were going wrong. It always felt like my Guitar Hero guitar was missing one battery, or like my Wiimote was miscalibrated, and that was causing all the troubles. It always felt like I was missing some peripheral accessory. It’s not a feeling that feels worth dealing with these days.

This just...isn’t as fun, and doesn’t feel as good, as any of the other three games I was playing. Specifically, I can’t stop thinking about The Touryst and DQB2. I thought that I didn’t like many 3D games, but fuck. Those got me.

The End (Closing Thought That I Wrote Immediately After Finishing These Demos)

This was cool, and this was good. We might even say that I “really needed this,” or, at least, “am really happy to have had this.”

But I’m sobering up, and a remix of some old Zelda song is playing, and I love it, and it’s time to go to bed. Tomorrow, one of my friends will come pick me up from my sister’s house, and I will return home, indefinitely, for now. Everything is fucking weird. But I’m going home. I can’t sit in the darkness of my sister’s home office playing Nintendo Switch demos forever, sadly.

After The End

I’m home now, and I’m tired. Everything is bizarre. I am definitely going to play all of The Touryst eventually, and I am almost definitely going to play all of Ape Escape eventually (I actually wrote the wrong name here by accident, and didn't realize it until now, a day later. They should have just named it Ape Escape. Fuck it.). As for DQB2 and CoHR, they were chill, and I will remember them, and the drunken night we had together, fondly. But I suppose this is the end of the road between me and them.

Anyway, I’ve got four essays due in the next 10 days, and then some online essay after that. I’m also playing through a very long and old JRPG right now, and I think I love it. All of that is to say that I won’t be playing any of these games any more for the time being. So for the time being, I’m thankful we all had that one night together. One night of repose, and of lonely drinking, in a house and a town I’d never been in before, in a room that was not my own, staring at a street that I couldn’t recognize. I’m home now, for some amount of time, and hopefully that time is good.

Goodnight.

#the touryst #dragon quest builders 2 #ape out #cadence of hyrule #nintendo switch

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animebw · 5 years

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Binge-Watching: Kekkai Sensen and Beyond, Episodes 4-6

Honestly, I’m running out of stuff to say about this show by now, so let’s just get this over with as painlessly as possible.

Wasted Moments

At this point, I feel like I’ve said pretty much everything I could say about Kekkai Sensen. I’ve laid out why it doesn’t work for me, where I feel it’s lacking, the issues it keeps running into that prevent me from enjoying it, as much as I want to. And unless something crazy goes down once the plot finally picks up in the back half of this season, I doubt the final six episodes will give me much more to discuss either. So while we wait for this show to be over so I can move onto more interesting pursuits, I want to touch on one more issue that contributes to my overall frustration with this show: incredibly poor storytelling structure.

See, it didn’t really occur to me until episode 6, where Leo has that flashback to Michella’s sacrifice, but we’ve been following these characters for eighteen goddamn episodes, and only now does our protagonist make any sort of effort to actually pursue his main objective: to save his sister from the curse she took on for him. That’s eighteen episodes spent on puttering around disconnected episodic plots and a disconnected larger plot with the Macbeth twins, none of which had any actual bearing on Leo’s quest for his sister’s eyes. There haven’t been any episodes dedicated to this plot thread, and we haven’t even had any indication that he’s been researching possibilities in the background, so it ends up feeling like Leo showed up in the first episode, said he was here to look for a cure, and then just... didn’t, for no apparent reason, until the show arbitrarily decided just now that he should start caring about it all over again. And even by the end of that episode, I have no reason to believe he’s actually going to make any sort of immediate progress towards that goal. For all I know, we could spend another two, three, even four episodes before Michella even comes up again. So not only are we spending every episode ungodly confused by a million details dumped on us without context, the one part of this plot we do have some sort of emotional investment in just completely forgets to even happen. And as a result, it feels like every episode is just one massive waste of time spent frittering over nothing while more potentially interesting avenues hover frustratingly untapped in the background, taunting us with promises that refuse to get fulfilled.

Chain Gang

Perhaps that might be a little more forgivable if the episodic plots themselves were of any interest. After all, Cowboy Bebop got away with spending only like 5 episodes out of 26 on major plot stuff because all the one-off adventures it went on were interesting enough in their own right to keep your attention. Sadly, no such luck can be found here, because Kekkai Sensen is just as bad at episodic storytelling as it is long-form storytelling. Generally speaking, a good episodic story ties every major story thread back to a greater overarching point, giving it a sense of cohesion. If a character’s going through an emotional crisis, the villain of the week should present a challenge that allows them to face and overcome that crisis. If we’re doing a deep dive into a certain character’s psyche, we should spend a lot of time learning how their abilities, tactics and outcomes tie back to who they are and why they do what they do. That sort of thing. But because there’s so little context given to anything that happens in this show, it’s pretty much impossible to tie any of the elements in any one episode together in any meaningful way. It’s just a bunch of disconnected stuff happening that only has the barest minimum of connection, to the point where you wonder if there was even a framing concept at all.

Like, take episode 4, which is all about Chain and her gang of werewolves. As an episodic story, this should be the perfect opportunity to get inside Chain’s head, find out what makes her tick, what her life is like, what drives her, how far she can go when pushed to the edge. But do we learn anything about Chain’s past? How she got involved with her feral werewolves? How they got their powers? Were they born with them, or were they inherited somehow? Did they need to train them at all? How does Chain balance werewolf work with Libra work? Hell, how does she even have a second job when Libra seems to take up so much of its employees’ lives? Are werewolves even a race in this world, or just a profession? I sure as fuck can’t rely on my previous trope knowledge of werewolves, because the vanishing assassins this show calls “werewolves” bear no resemblance to werewolves as they’re traditionally understood. I have literally no context in which to ground my understanding of what Chain even is, and the show doesn’t explain a damn thing beyond “she can displace her very existence to the point of being undetectable”. Which is a cool concept to consider, but all the effect we’re shown is that she just goes more and more ghostlike while her opponent goes more and more sensory to try and keep track of her, reducing such a cool idea to boring power levels. So all we really learn about Chain over the course of this entire goddamn episode centered on Chain is that she has a really messy room and gets embarrassed when people see it. That’s twenty-five minutes spent exploring a single character with only one reasonably interesting take-away.

And that what makes this show so mind-numbing to sit through. For all its impressive animation and strong direction and occasional ability to pull of a legitimately funny gag (Bulter Alf’s body popping like popcorn as his joints cracked got me good), it never feels like anything is actually happening. It’s all disjointed visual information that passes through the system without making any sort of lasting impact. Hell, even with Leo suddenly caring about his sister again in episode 6, the most impact that story thread has on the plot of the episode itself is that there’s a two-second moment where Klaus inspires him not to give up on trying, which doesn’t connect to the big monster they’re fighting or the methods they’re using to fight him or tie into the episode’s resolution in any way. It’s just one more disconnected element struggling for some sort of purpose without finding a single foundation to rest on. Never mind how we never see the girl who got trapped inside the bug mansion again, despite her safety being a stated priority that influenced the tactics of the team outside. We don’t even get confirmation that she died, she just vanishes into the ether despite having been built up as a noteworthy piece to keep track of. Any way you slice it, this is just bad, bad, bad episodic storytelling, unfocused and unfulfilling with so many setups that are just never paid off. Even goddamn Phantom World, though a much more insufferable show than Kekkai Sensen, had decent episodic structure that tried to tie all the elements it was working with together by the time the credits rolled. And when I’m comparing you negatively to the worst of Kyoto Animation, you know something’s gone seriously wrong.

Odds and Ends

-Oh hey, it’s burger kid! He’s a lot more annoying than I remember.

-I do love Chain’s character design, all things considered. She’s so sleek and expressive, cool while still able to be goofy.

-”For as witty as what you were trying to say was, that was painful.” Hard agree, Zed.

-”Sorry! You looked so compromised, I couldn’t help myself!” aksjdhaskjdhasd

-”THE LIVE PERFORMANCE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!” It’s at times like this I wish I was just watching Gintama.

-”I divide it up.” That’s... actually pretty clever. Good on you, Leo.

-In Soviet Russia, you don’t hit the bar, the bar hits you.

-I’m loving this butler’s morse code. You can tell how in synch these two are.

-Heh, I thought that was Daisuke Ono’s voice I heard as Phillip. He really has a knack for playing these kinds of regal butler characters.

-When suddenly, Redline.

-”I heard you attempted a headbutt but failed.” pfft

-”Would you two please knock it off?” This is the smile of death. Behold it and despair, mortals, for your time on this place has reached its end.

-Thaaaaat’s a lot of skeeters. Hoo boy.

-”You got something stuck to your head.” Aw, baby gremlins!

Well, six more episodes to go. Let’s see if anything interesting happens before it’s over!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #kekkai sensen and beyond #kekkai sensen #blood blockade battlefront

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whenimgoodandready · 5 years

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4. What’s the deal with the Blood Moon? Is it evil? Is it alive? Is it a “love potion” spell? Is it the reason Jarco didn’t work out? Is it why Tomstar is having problems? Is it a forceful urge to make two people physically impossible to stay away from each other in a non romantic sense!? IDFK!? Ever since Season 1’s episode of “Blood Moon Ball”, it was known as the BIG Starco episode what with the “Dance of Romance” trope and that beautifully haunting music by Brain H. Kim. From that episode on wards, we’ve been seeing the Blood Moon during major Starco moments, like it’s keeping an eye on them or something, like “Bon Bon the Birthday Clown” where Marco saw it while having his first kiss with Jackie and sensed Star might be in danger, “Face the Music” where it shined on a picture of Star and Marco in a heart for Stars Princess Song on Song Day where the whole world found out about her crush on Marco! And in “Booth Buddies” where they finally had their (controversial) kiss! Hell! It’s even in the f***ing theme song for crying out loud! But what.does.it.MEEEEEEEEEAN!? The anticipation stops here.

*Curse of the Blood Moon-Star and Marco have a midnight breakfast with their favorite cereal, Captain Blanche’s Sugar Seeds, just for funzies (although I think the candelabra was a bit too much for obvious reasons) and Star leaves two marshmallows in a bowl (so they won’t get lonely.Awwwwwwwwwwwww) and Marco can’t help but find it undeniably adorable as it’s getting harder for him to keep his feelings for Star inside. Poor baby.

He goes to talk about it with Eclipsa and she comforts him (nice to see him getting along with her now like it showed in “Butterfly Follies”), but says there’s nothing she can do to make the feelings go away :(. He then finds Janna,-WAIT! Janna’s there? Again!? Why!? I mean, I know she’s a fan favorite, but what’s her purpose!? What, like, is she too proud to admit it’s cuz she missed Marco or something!? Is it cuz she’s livin’ the dream of seeing all the creepy sh*t she loves so much!? WHAT!? She tries to use her hypnosis on Marco to make him forget about his feelings for Star, but not even her “powers” can work to help Marco. You know, in an underhanded sort of way, she’s kinda “helping people”. With that Quest Buy sloth she impersonated, Stu, from “Out of Business”, she said it was to “do him a favor” and with making Marco stop eating nachos, something he likes! Was for the good of his health. So I guess, she does have a purpose to be here? (shrugs). Marco decides it’s just best to admit his feelings for Star and how it’s killing him. Huh, I thought it was in “Booth Buddies”, but I guess they just needed to make it more evident.

Marco finds Star in her room and she’s with Tom. Her boyfriend. That she’s still dating from “Lake House Fever”. In a nice new outfit. Yeah, you could just feel the awkwardness in the room right now. And Janna’s eating it up like popcorn. Marco confesses his feelings anyway and Tom is soooooooooooo............okay with it!? He tells them it’s cuz he believes it was all done by the Blood Moon and explains how it’s power is to bind two souls together and how he failed to do that with Star and regrets it all cuz ever since then, all three of their relationships went to sh*t. He knows Star likes Marco too and it was evident when the two spoke in unison again like from “Blood Moon Ball”. This is why Tom was so cool with the possibility of Starco, he blamed it all on the moon!!! Star and Marco get freaked out by it cuz they didn’t know about it from last year. Guess this is why Tom didn’t bring up the Starco kiss to Star. Wait! Wait! Wait a minute! You mean to tell me Star didn’t know about the Blood Moons power!? She was there when it was announced! What!? Is she just stupid!? In order to fix all this, Tom says there’s a way.

They all go over to Toms place where they search his grandfather Relicors chambers on what to do about the Blood Moon and find out they can get rid of the spell by standing under its light for the next one!..............in 665 years! Plan B? Use the Severing Stone! The stone can help them erase the memory of their bounded souls and dance and all will go back to normal. It’s located in the very depths of the Underworld, so they go there with Relicor cuz he’s Toms grandpa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (Tom are you trying to sing the theme song after the “rainbows and puppies” part?) aaaaaaa and knows where to find it. They reach the bottom, but there’s a “secret test of character” challenge, run by a tower demon, where they have to pass through and then walk over the classically rickety old bridge to get to the stone itself. Marco goes on to point out all the obviousness of the whole thing being all genre savvy about it such as mocking what the demon would say, predicting the many failed attempts they’ll try and concluding it by saying it’s of course him and Star that are the “worthy ones” cuz they’re souls are bounded! (mic drop).

Okay, we’ll skip all that cuz it was too much for the (other) demon guy which was actually a fight to the death and he got annoyed. Yeah, we can’t have our two main characters die again people, C’mon! They pass the bridge, Janna fakes the other cliche of “almost falling” Blah, Blah, Blah, and they get to The Severing Stone! Before they could use it, Relicor admits he used it to erase the memory of the moment he fell in love with his wife a long time ago and had regretted it ever since (it was hinted in his chambers for those with an attention to detail cuz I noticed it. I think it’s obvious what might’ve happened to her). Star and Marco are positive they wanna go through with this since they believe it’s all the Blood Moons fault for cursing them, so they start dancing the waltz (and a callback to Toms, “That dance was meant for me!” quote for lols) and are magically transported to the memory of the Blood Moon from last year. Dressed up, demon audience watching, music playing, the whole Shebang! As they dance, they realize it’s all without Tom c*ckblocking it and how their dance is expanded and they really get into it, but then Star wonders “What if it wasn’t the Blood Moon”!? Cuz they don’t want their love to be magically induced by a magic moon and they loved their first dance together and they do like each other, but was it all from the moon or from themselves? 💔. Before they could think anything else of it, the whole thing ends and they become strictly platonic again. “Problem solved”? Oh yeah, and Janna severes her soul in half. Whatever. IDC.

So I took some time to process all this and at first I was pretty bummed out cuz of what just happened there and I know how all of you have commented on it and I don’t think there’s any need for me to express my feelings here. I mean, I know how some of you must’ve reacted like, “OMG! You mean to tell me that this whole time, Starco was all magically done! And we’ve been shipping a false relationship for the last four years!?” And that you’re also thinking, “Wait! Does this mean Jarco broke up for nothing!? And it’s the reason Star kept bringing up Marco for Tomstar!?” Yeah, I’m sure you’re all thinking that, but after a few days of letting it sink in and rewatching the episode, I’ve come to my own thoughts about it (sigh). I am all for Starco, the “Blood Moon Ball” is my favorite episode ever! It’s cuz of that dance, that beautiful Blood Moon Waltz track that I loved so much I put in my iPod! And the atmosphere of it with two young people dressed up all nice dancing around a bunch of demons. Also, I love red. Every time I look forward to the annual stargazing charts and see a blood moon coming up, I’ll always remember it as “that first Starco dance” with the music and the legend behind it and what not, but it’s sad that it turned out to be a set up for Star and Marcos future relationship problems! Then I thought, wait a minute! I missed something. Rewatching that episode, I realized, Star and Marco said they were gonna severe their souls from the stone by erasing their bounded souls and their first dance. NOT erasing their love for each other! Relicor said he severed the memory he fell in love with his wife, but Star and Marco only severed their memory of their bounded souls and first dance! I don’t think the Blood Moon was the moment they fell in love, they were probably just in the moment and didn’t want to look stupid under the light and just danced. From Season 1, before that episode, Marco was only into Jackie and Star with Oskar, so Tom must’ve assumed it was the moment they fell in love cuz he’s been repressing that idea for over a year now. Idk when the exact moment it was that Star and Marco fell in love, but I don’t think it was the Blood Moon moment. As Star said, “What if wasn’t the Blood Moon?”, cuz if it were, then it would’ve automatically worked instead of building it up for a year between them, unless it was a slow process, but usually love spells work instantly. However, if it was not, then why did Marco and Star sound “platonic” after the severing? I know they thought it was cuz of the Blood Moon they thought they were in love, but at the last minute, they thought otherwise. Were they just happy that they still remembered each other as friends or did they genuinely fall in love right at the last minute before the severing was done? So now Starco is back to being platonic again and Star will continue dating Tom while Marco starts something new with Kelly. I thought he would maybe go back to Jackie again, but I guess not. Since this episode is all done with, I guess the next anticipated episode will be “Beach Day”. Maybe we’ll know what obstacle Star and the gang overcame to make her so happy in that picture with Marco and who took the photo too! With all the trouble she’s goin’ through, I hope she solved all the problems to just finally get some well deserved R&R. Oh! And one last thing, whether or not the Blood Moon was a “love potion” thing, I’ll say this, just cuz Star and Marco don’t love each other anymore, doesn’t mean they can’t fall in love all over again 😉.

#svtfoe #curse of the blood moon #svtfoe curse of the blood moon

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lastdropfalls · 4 years

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The Witcher Appreciation Week - Day 4

Original post

Aight, let’s do this! I will try to keep this mostly show-related, but will probably fail miserably. Posts might will include spoilers for the books and or games, so read at your own discretion. I’m not good at drawing and I haven’t written anything in years, so I’ll just rant about how much I fell in love with The Witcher.

Day four: favorite scene

Show: the striga fight and Geralt and Yennefer in her tent. I’ve elaborated on the striga fight in my favorite episode post. And even though the dragon episode is completely different from the book, I still like it specifically for this scene and also Geralt and Jaskier’s moment right before G goes to Yennefer’s tent. (I am a sucker for soft Geralt.)

Books: I’ve touched upon this in my favorite character post, but I will regardless add the quotes from Time of Contempt here. Another favorite scene/moment is in Sygga when they’re going down the stairs and the Nilfgaardians storm in. From then until pretty much the time they leave Stygga. I also loved the imagery I had in the chapters right after that when Geralt and Yennefer were riding with Ciri through the Continent. Without further ado, ToC quotes: ‘Look through that hole again and tell me what they’re doing.’‘Hmm…’ Ciri bit her lower lip, then leaned over and put her eye closer to the hole. ‘Madam Yennefer is standing by a willow… She’s plucking leaves and playing with her star. She isn’t saying anything and isn’t even looking at Geralt… And Geralt’s standing beside her. He’s looking down and he’s saying something. No, he isn’t. Oh, he’s pulling a face… What a strange expression…’‘Childishly simple,’ said Dandelion, finding an apple in the grass, wiping it on his trousers and examining it critically. ‘He’s asking her to forgive him for his various foolish words and deeds. He’s apologising to her for his impatience, for his lack of faith and hope, for his obstinacy, doggedness. For his sulking and posing; which are unworthy of a man. He’s apologising to her for things he didn’t understand and for things he hadn’t wanted to understand—’‘That’s the falsest lie!’ said Ciri, straightening up and tossing the fringe away from her forehead with a sudden movement. ‘You’re making it all up!’‘He’s apologising for things he’s only now understood,’ said Dandelion, staring at the sky, and he began to speak with the rhythm of a balladeer. ‘For what he’d like to understand, but is afraid he won’t have time for… And for what he will never understand. He’s apologising and asking for forgiveness… Hmm, hmm… Meaning, conscience, destiny? Everything’s so bloody banal…’

‘A most deplorable sight,’ she said, folding her arms across her chest. ‘Someone who has lost everything. You know, minstrel, it is interesting. Once, I thought it was impossible to lose everything, that something always remains. Always. Even in times of contempt, when naivety is capable of backfiring in the cruellest way, one cannot lose everything. But he… he lost several pints of blood, the ability to walk properly, the partial use of his left hand, his witcher’s sword, the woman he loves, the daughter he had gained by a miracle, his faith…Well, I thought, he must have been left with something. But I was wrong. He has nothing now. Not even a razor.’

Games: I think that the third game was visually stunning and I loved a lot of moments from it. From the main story I really liked the scene where Geralt finds Ciri and thinks she’s dead. From HoS - pretty much everything from the moment he went to look for that purple rose until he got it. On a more lighthearted note, there are a few quests I enjoyed that always make me laugh and or make me happy. Equine Phantoms and Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Granite! fall into the making me laugh category, while the wedding Geralt/Vlodimir attends with Shani really makes me happy. Honorable mentions:

the romance scene with SyAnna. Never really liked her and I consider the option to romance her to be out of character for Geralt, but that scene was awesome nonetheless.

the bad ending.

#witcherweek

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ineverhadmyinternetphase · 7 years

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Steal My Heart (steal my whole life too) 28/28

Genre: Chaptered, fantasy AU, Prince!Phil, Thief!Dan, romance, enemies to lovers, angst and fluff, slow burn (like serious slow burn)

Warnings: some violence, mentions of death (no main characters), dark magic, descriptions of wounds/blood, some hints of sexual scenes (but no actual smut), murder, dangerous situations, stealing/thievery

Summary: Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of Morellia, Philip Lester has never been given the chance to find love. Instead, he’s run from a system that works to end class differences and improve equality for its citizens. Happy as he is to make the world a better place, Phil can’t help feeling bitter towards his ancestors for making it impossible for him to find someone who will actually love him for more than just his title, and strives instead for a life of justice and doing good - only to meet his match in the King of Thieves, a man who will change everything he once thought he knew in life. Together, they must depart on a quest to save the kingdom, and, in the process, destroy their differences and find their own form of love.

Word count: 240,000+

Updates: Sunday

Thanks so much to @botanistlester for betaing this giant monster, as she’s been super helpful and encouraging with her little comments and endless excitement. We couldn’t have done it without you <3

Disclaimer: In no way do I claim that this is real or cast aspersions on Dan or Phil

For reference, @snowbunnylester is Phil, @ineverhadmyinternetphase is Dan

A/N: And… we are here. Final chapter!! I’m honestly so emotional, this story has been such an incredibly long journey but one I’m so incredibly proud of and I know Elizajane is too. Thank you so, so much to everyone who has been along on this epic journey with us, to everyone who has left us feedback on AO3 or tumblr or even just liked a chapter, everything means so much to the both of us and the reception of this story has been fantastic.

Now, we have a slight proposition to run by you guys. This is the first story that Elizajane and I ever wrote together, and as such it is very close to both our hearts. Also, we spent so much time editing each chapter and piecing the story together for posting that it has grown into something we’re really very proud of, and us such, we have been considering possibly reworking this story into something we could self-publish together.

So we’re asking you, our readers: how would you feel about us taking this down to turn it into something we could self-publish? I know some of you have already said in the comments that we could do this, and this means the absolute world to both of us, but please be honest with how you would feel if we did this as your opinions are important to the both of us

And one final thing: the most incredible silentorator has made a cover for this fic!! The art is absolutely beautiful and we were both shocked and so so happy when we saw it, it’s beautiful and more than we could ever have expected. Please click on this link to go and see it: http://silentorator.tumblr.com/post/164372031120/a-cover-for-the-story-steal-my-heart-steal-my

And now, enjoy the final chapter!!

(AO3 link) (Masterlist)

Chapter 28

Four Days Later

Standing in front of the Royal Hall at Cornelia and Martyn’s wedding reception this time around was a very different experience. For one, neither Phil nor Martyn had been certain they would ever get here, and for two, Phil was very much so not alone for the first time at a public appearance.

Next to him stood Daniel Howell, proud and resplendent in the royal blue robes that Phil had dressed him in, hair styled back and face painted over in makeup that only enhanced his features, but changed none of them. On their fingers lay two matching pairs of rings -- the rings they had gifted each other, and the royal betrothal rings Phil had promised Dan they could get rid of once they were married.

They were two ghastly looking purple and green stained metals that were given to every Royal betrothal, and while neither male could wait to be rid of it, custom demanded that its presence be included if Dan or Phil ever wanted their betrothal to be taken seriously.

Phil’s mother had given them the two a mere few hours after they’d returned from their mission to save the Princess, offering them both a quick wink before scurrying off to take care of whatever else needed to be taken care of in the Royal City.

It had been an honest relief to receive them so soon, and while Dan had put up a fight at wearing them, he’d given in at Phil’s insistence and promise that they’d be rid of them soon enough. This way, no one could fight them on their status as betrothed, which Phil thought was secretly the real reason that Dan had given in so easily in the end.

Now, they were stood among all the finery of a royal wedding, watching on as Martyn and Cornelia had their first dance.

The last four days had truly been hectic, and Phil still couldn’t quite believe everything that had happened. The music around them was almost too cheery for all that Dan and Phil had been through, and yet Martyn and Cornelia seemed happy at least.

Having Dan’s hand in his was definitely helping to make Phil happy as well, even as he thought back to all that they had been through.

After Cornelia had been saved that night, much had happened. Dan and Phil had been rushed to Phil’s bed chambers for a much needed bath and a rest, and while they’d soaked together in the tub, relaxing for the first time in the last few days, a healer had come to look at Dan’s wounds. Dan had forced Phil to cover his private bits with some bubbles while he himself climbed out of Phil’s tub with no shame, bearing his left side to the healer as if it were the natural thing to do.

Phil had been relieved when the healer had reassured that there was nothing wrong with the cuts; no dark magic, poison, or infection, and they would heal up into three very nice scars soon enough, and might have dragged Dan into a rather enthusiastic and relieved kiss the minute the man was gone. Dan hadn’t complained, climbing into Phil’s lap in the tub, and having his way with him.

They’d retired to Phil’s rather large bed not long after, Phil’s mother sneaking in only once to drop off their rings for them, and then sneaking back out.

That night they slept fitfully, unused to the comforts of royal life after so long living out in the wild, and when morning came, they were thrown back into the chaos and mayhem of palace life.

Dan… had not been enjoying it very much just yet, not that Phil could blame him. Being in the Palace meant adhering to the Palace customs, and that meant no more parading around in his dark brown cloak, or scuttling up to the rafters whenever he pleased. No, this time, Dan actually had to attend to the royals around him, be polite to the people he’d been stealing from for most of his life, and make easy and polite small talk with them while Phil went about his business.

It was driving Dan crazy.

These were people he’d broken into the houses of countless times, stealing their most precious possessions and running off cackling into the night. Never mind that when Dan did reveal himself in public, it was usually to incite fear. Threats fell far more easily from his tongue than polite epithets.

But this was Phil’s world, now. And Dan wanted a place here. He was just going to have to learn how to be polite.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things was the change in his appearance, though. As soon as they’d finished their first bath and Dan’s cuts had been checked, Phil’s next order of business had been to sit Dan down and get to work on his face. He’d trimmed Dan’s hair and painted gentle patterns onto his skin, hiding some of the more visible scars, skillfully applying touches here and there to soften Dan’s face from the battle-wearied, sun-drenched life he’d led so far.

They’d also decided it made sense to let Dan’s hair fall in its natural curls, rather than Dan’s usual attempts to have it lying flat and straight. Much to Dan’s displeasure.

All in all, every time Dan caught sight of his reflection, he startled at this person he did not know. It also made him look younger, closer to his real age, and for a while Dan worried that people would think him too immature for this, not yet ready for Phil.

And yet, Phil showed him off at every possible moment, leaving Dan in no doubt as to his feelings. They were meant to be together, and if they had to put up with the occasional judgement of others, then so be it.

They’d hardly had a moment alone since they’d arrived home, far too exhausted by the time they went to bed to do much more than curl up together and share a quick peck or two, and it didn’t help that Phil had constant duties to attend to.

One of his first orders of business, however, was to set up the counsel to began dealing with the mountain people, explaining what had happened and demanding that something be done about the dragon before any more innocent lives were taken, sacrifice or otherwise.

With a newfound roughness from having fought on his own in the wild, there was something wild in his eyes that prevented any man from arguing against Phil’s case, and the King, Martyn, and Phil signed a bill into action declaring the dragon a national enemy.

Shetler would be given to the mountain people should they seek it, while the dragon was taken care of, and their punishment to be put off for a later time. First, Phil needed to make things right for them.

After that business was taken care of, Phil moved on to gathering his best advisors to start looking into the matter of the witch. Once the dragon was taken care of, she needed to be disposed of as well, though very little was currently known about her.

Phil was certain that it would get done, if he had to lead the head of the chase himself.

For now, though, nothing could be done until a lead was found and research was done, and, because of the nature of being a royal, the second Royal Wedding took precedent. As before, Phil was swept up in the planning, only this time, Dan came with him, and while Phil hated every minute of it, Dan made it that little bit more bearable.

After four days of nothing less than chaos that left Phil longing for his and Dan’s days in the desert, the forest, the mountains, they were finally here, at the Royal Reception, with Martyn and Cornelia finally married.

If nothing else, that was something to smile about, even if Phil was itching to finally go -- where? Anywhere but here, if he was being honest.

Tonight, after the reception, would be the first time Dan and Phil had been alone together in a long while, but before that, Phil had a toast to make, and a few royals to greet. Then, he could whisk Dan away.

As Martyn and Cornelia’s first dance came to an end, Phil smiled and raised his champagne glass into the air, Dan awkwardly following his lead, and shouted a loud toast with the rest of royals at the reception. Everyone clapped, and laughed, sipping at their champagne, until Phil brought it all to a stop by taking his spoon and tapping it lightly against the side of his glass to get the large hall’s attention.

Once everyone had gone silent, Phil grinned, and tightened his grip on Dan’s hand.

They were both still stood at the front, with the King and Queen, ready to sit down and eat as soon as the toasts were given.

"To my Brother, your Crown Prince, Martyn Lester, and my new Sister, your Crown Princess Cornelia Lester. May all the blessings be heard upon your marriage today. I stand before you with my newly betrothed, Mr. Daniel Howell, and seek your blessing in return, so that both our marriages will be praised and heard of over the whole of the Kingdom."

Hearing Phil proudly announce his betrothal to Dan, using Dan's own full name, had more of an effect on Dan than he had been expecting. He was so happy he thought his heart was going to burst. As much as Dan didn't feel much like himself -- not dressed up in these robes, with his face painted and the gaudy ring on his finger -- but despite all that, Dan couldn't help but beam.

The wedding was far more spectacular than Dan had ever seen, if a little boring. In fact, Dan had spent the majority of the service muttering under his breath to Phil, regaling him with stories of how often he'd broken into the houses of basically every one of the distinguished guests. Phil had snorted too loudly on a couple of occasions, which Dan was personally proud of.

Now, he was standing at the head table with Phil at his side, getting congratulated by all the other royals, as everyone cheered on the toast, screaming “Long live the Lesters!”

Turning to Dan with a large grin spread wide across his face, Phil leaned in close and pressed a kiss to Dan’s cheek, laughing when Dan’s cheeks went predictably red.

The King gave his toast next, and then the Queen, and Dan and Phil stood throughout all of it, raising their glasses of champagne and drinking when appropriate. All Phil really wanted then, however, was to sit and finally get dinner done and over with, so that he could retire to his rooms with his thief. He had a lot of lost time to make up for, at that point.

Finally, when all the speeches were done, Martyn and Cornelia joined the rest of the Lester clan at the front table, and everyone sat down to enjoy their meal.

Dan was on his best behaviour the whole time, thanking all of the royals gratefully and meekly, playing his role as commoner perfectly, as they approached the front table to congratulate both Martyn and Cornelia, and Dan and Phil. Dan didn't know much of the customs, but it was okay -- apparently, he hadn't lost his charm.

Dan was kind of itching to get back to Phil's room, though, so he was more than relieved when the feast finally came to an end, and they just had to say their goodbyes before disappearing.

Finally, finally, they were back in Phil's bedchambers with time to themselves for the first time in days. Dan wasted no time in shoving Phil down onto his bed and slowly but surely removing every single one of their rather posh Royal robes.

Defiling the Royal bed sheets was just as much fun as Dan had always thought it would be, as it turned out.

Phil didn’t once complain; in fact, he grinned so wide at the way Dan expressed his own eagerness for the very first time in pushing Phil over, and accepted Dan’s kisses with a very open desire of his own.

Somehow, this moment was so much better than the first time Phil had ever brought a suitor back to his rooms.

Afterwards, Dan lay back in his favourite place -- wrapped up in Phil's arms. He nuzzled at Phil’s hair, kissing him softly and sweetly and more happy than he'd ever dared to allow himself to be.

He'd caught himself a Prince, and Dan was loving it.

"So how am I doing?" Dan murmured into the peaceful quiet, stretching out luxuriously on the bed. "Is Daniel Howell a good enough mask to be your betrothed, my love?"

The romp in Phil's bed was a much needed, pleasant activity that had left Phil good and sore, but also pleasantly relaxed. His arms were once more securely wrapped around his thief's body, and he was pressing soft kisses all over the top of Dan's head just because he could, when Dan spoke up.

"Mm, you did wonderfully, Dan," Phil whispered, possibly still flying a little bit high on his orgasm. He was beyond glad to have been in a bed for all that Dan had done, taking full advantage of it, clearly.

His thighs ached with the love bites sucked into them.

"And your persona is definitely the perfect mask, my love," he added, unable to help himself when he giggled at the small pet name. "My love. You really are all mine, now, aren't you?" he asked, eyes wondering as he stared down at his thief. It all seemed so much more real, now that Dan had actually attending a royal function with Phil, and Phil had been able to announce his intentions towards him to, essentially, the entire kingdom.

All that was left was for Dan to cut the chains from his wrists and make off with him, and then Phil would truly feel like he’d accomplished everything he’d wanted to in coming home with Dan.

He was ready to be free.

Dan smiled up at Phil, dimpling, a reflex reaction to that look, those words. He reached up and touched Phil’s cheek just once, softly, staring straight at him and wondering again just when this Prince had stolen his heart so completely.

“All yours,” Dan promised softly, and leaned in for another kiss. “As you are mine, my Prince.”

They kissed a moment longer before Phil pulled back again, fingers threading gently through Dan’s curls. "And you looked amazing in that makeup, if I do say so myself. I think I did a pretty good job of cleaning up the King of Thieves," Phil teased for good measure, ruffling Dan's hair and laughing as Dan moved to look up at him, completely affronted.

"Excuse you," Dan huffed, mortally offended. He propped himself up on his elbows, leaning over Phil with a narrowed gaze and hard eyes. "I think you'll find the King of Thieves needed no cleaning up at all. At least, I didn't hear you complaining any of the times I've had you before, as myself." He nipped at Phil's ear, drawing the lobe between his teeth, and pressing his finger into one of the many marks he'd left scattered on Phil's skin.

"I hardly even feel like myself," Dan added, laying his head on Phil's shoulder after a moment and collapsing fully on top of him, despite the fact this bed had far more space even than their two giant forms could take up. "I had fun, though. Socialising with the people I've stolen from is really quite enjoyable."

Phil was still laughing even as Dan took his ear into his mouth and bit down playfully, trying to make a point of things as he also pressed one hand against a mark on Phil's rib cage. The sensation of Dan pressing into that made Phil's hips twitch, and he laughed again as he caught a very cuddly Dan as he fell back into Phil's arms, choosing to use Phil's body as his bed rather than the down comforter of Phil's actual bed. He didn't bother to complain, resting his arms around Dan's waist and just enjoying the way it felt to have their naked skin pressing together again.

"I'm sure you enjoyed yourself. You seemed quite pleased. It's a good thing the royals were looking for you to be pleased with yourself sitting next to me or I reckon they might have cottoned on with the way you kept smirking at everyone," Phil teased, but he didn't care what the people around him thought. Dan being smug and cunning was everything Phil needed him to be, and the royals would soon discover that with Dan at his side, Phil was a force to be reckoned with. It was good for them to see Dan so sure of himself already.

Dan glanced up at Phil, that same smirk back on his face. “Well, I don’t have to please your people. They already love you enough to accept anyone you tell them too, I think.” He chuckled, leaning into Phil’s touch and encouraging him to begin petting his hair, right where Dan really liked it. “I'm glad your parents seem to approve, at least." Dan's eyes softened further, growing almost melancholy. "My father would have loved you. And my brother -- oh, he'd have been so thrilled. A real Prince -- his dream come true. They'd be so happy for me, I think."

Phil moved one hand in a slow sweep up Dan's back, and dug his fingers into Dan's hair, scratching lightly and laughing when his thief immediately went limp on top of him.

"I would have loved to meet your family," Phil agreed quietly, voice going solemn. "I would have treated them with the greatest respect they deserved. I would have asked your father for his blessing before I asked you to marry me, and I would have made certain your brother had anything he could have ever wanted... I am truly sorry that they can't be here with us, Dan."

Dan stared up at Phil, more grateful than he could even articulate that Phil had answered in just the most perfect way he could have. In a different world, maybe Phil would have had a chance to meet Dan's father, to see his brother having everything he could ever have wished for and more. It made tears prick at the back of Dan's eyes, though he blinked them away quickly, instead leaning down to give Phil a long, affectionate kiss, trying to express all the emotion that he couldn't quite put into words.

"They'd be proud, that's all that matters," Dan mumbled, tilting his head into Phil's touch and nestling down against him. He'd never been this comfortable -- as much as he might not want to admit it, there was something nice about having an actual bed under them. That, plus privacy, was quickly making Phil's bedchamber one of Dan's favourite places.

"You know," Dan murmured into Phil's shoulder, "Somehow, you manage to be more comfortable than your bedsheets. I hope you know I don't plan to give up using you as a pillow just because you've got soft silken sheets here." This was despite there being a giant space next to Phil where Dan could be lying, but Dan was much happier curled up exactly where he was: on Phil's chest.

Phil closed his eyes and breathed Dan in, more thankful than he could say that, at the very least, Dan Howell had survived where the rest of his family had not. Phil didn't want to imagine a world without Dan, didn't want to imagine his life without Dan, and held the man tighter in his arms. He pressed another kiss to Dan's head once Dan had re-settled on top of Phil's chest, and went back to carding his fingers through thick curls.

Laughing happily, Phil shook his head. "I'll be your pillow for as long as you like," he agreed softly. "Whether there are silk bed sheets at our sides or not. I quite like feeling your presence on top of me," he admitted sweetly, glad to finally be alone with Dan again.

Planning for the first royal wedding had been no less stressful the second time around than it had been the first, and Dan had finally seen first hand why Phil hadn't been chasing him around and giving Dan the attention he'd begged for before the first wedding.

"So," Phil started. "On the topic of weddings," he continued, realizing belatedly that they hadn't been speaking of weddings, Phil had just been thinking of them, "How about ours, then?"

There was a brief moment of silence, and then Dan snorted with laughter, pressing his face further into Phil's shoulder. "Only you, Phil Lester, could sound so casual about something so huge." Dan shook his head, his voice full of fond, and his eyes soft and warm as he finally glanced up to meet Phil's eyes.

A wedding. Their wedding. Dan Howell, self-proclaimed King of Thieves, was actually getting married, and to a Prince. A royal wedding. Dan had found the first one dull enough, how on earth was he supposed to sit through a second? Even if it was his own. The only good thing would be formally tying himself to Phil, so that everyone could see that Phil was Dan's and Dan's alone.

He might have been enjoying watching all the hearts breaking throughout the Palace when they saw Prince Philip was no longer for courting, but, well, Dan wasn't planning on telling anyone that.

Dan's answering snort of laughter only made Phil grin fondly, knowing even before Dan had said it that he wasn't laughing at the idea of them getting married, Dan had already made it very clear that he didn't consider Phil's proposal a joke of any kind, and so Phil didn't fear that at all.

"Well," Phil replied, amused himself. "I am the Prince. Why shouldn't I be casual about my own wedding? The Prince gets whatever he wants, after all," he teased, shaking his head at himself to assure Dan he was joking. Dan's eyes were soft, happy, as he looked up at Phil, his dimple popping from the force of his grin, and Phil loved that look so much.

Phil reached up and cupped Dan's cheek with his hand, smiling sweetly back at him, intending to drag him into a kiss until he got distracted at the way the rings on his hand looked against Dan's skin. It was a remarkable feeling, that realization hitting him again that they were engaged.

"I think I can cope with a wedding," Dan whispered into Phil's skin. "Even if it is royal. As long as I get you at the end of it." Dan's eyes were bright, and he lifted a hand to cup Phil's cheek, leaning down to press another warm, loving kiss to Phil's lips.

Phil turned his attention back onto Dan, eyes going soft and bright as Dan leaned up to kiss him again. He sighed against his thief's lips, drew him closer with a laugh when Dan tried to pull away, and kissed him again and again. He'd never get enough of Dan, but his thief was swatting at his shoulder now, so Phil let him go.

"I'll tell you a secret, though," Dan murmured with bright, mischievous eyes, "I want to steal you away in the morning. Pretend it's some custom from my family, I don't care, I just know I want to whisk you away on a proper adventure -- one where we aren't fearing for our lives. Before your mother never lets me leave with all the planning she wants to do. You know she tried to discuss flower arrangements with me earlier?" Dan looked faintly disgusted. "There are more important things. And she didn't like magnolias, so I can't pay her at heed at all, I'm afraid."

Phil’s mouth curled into a delighted grin as Dan voiced Phil's thoughts exactly, and he moved to roll them over, ignoring Dan's very undignified squeak in response, to press his own body over Dan's.

"Yes. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes," Phil replied, the words muffled against Dan's lips as he kissed him again, laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. It was like Dan had just proposed to Phil this time with how jubilant he felt, and he pressed close mouthed kisses all over Dan's face as he drew away. He wanted those chains cut from his wrists so bad, wedding be damned, and Dan was going to give just that to him.

"I was hoping you'd agree to postpone the wedding," Phil finally explained, what with Dan looking up at him in delighted confusion. "I wanted to run away with you first. I want to see at least part of the world before we get dragged into more wedding planning and more speeches and long drawn out ceremonies that no one wants to attend. I just want you, to be with you, just you, before we both find ourselves drawn back into my world. I've had enough of my world. I want to be a part of yours," Phil explained and swooped back in to kiss Dan all over again.

"Besides," Phil murmured when he drew away just enough to speak again. "It's our wedding. If you want magnolias, we'll have magnolias," he determined, and then swept Dan back up into his arms for another delightful round of defiling Phil's royal bed.

"Definitely having magnolias," Dan agreed through a little laugh, until he rolled under Phil and was thoroughly distracted for the rest of the long, comfortable night in Phil's bed.

In the morning, the servants entered to find Prince Philip's room empty, the window open, and nothing but a note intended for the eyes of the King and Queen alone left on the desk. The servants were astonished, but took it straight to the Queen, who read its contents with a small smile on her face.

She resigned herself to waiting a little while longer for her second son's wedding.

At the same time, out in the desert, two cloaked forms were making long strides in the sand, hands firmly entwined, with the entire world spreading out before them.

#phanfiction #iwritephanthings #snowbunnylester #phan au #fantasy phan au #steal my heart

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its-just-like-the-movies · 7 years

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October 2017 Viewing List

Hi all! Sorry no reviews this month, but a very large paper I did on Arrival for class has been kicking my ass most of the month. As such, I’ve probably seen Arrival about four times this month, but mostly in bits and pieces. Hopefully a real review soon, or even more capsule things, but there is a Smackdown post on the way (where yours truly was quoted again!) and plenty of fantastic-looking releases coming out this November. Oh! And I got a job at a movie theater! In the kitchens, but still. Plenty of time to daydream about actressing. Now on to the main event!

A Ghost Story (17, B): Some peaks and valleys, but as a temporal, sonic mood piece, I think it works splendidly, though others love it more. - 10/2/17

The Little Hours (17, C-): Balances modern & period flourishes well. But craziness never feels that crazy. Loses steam as it goes, if anything. - 10/2/17

Savage Grace (08, B+): Mannered tale of moneyed perversion only more fraught by keeping us so very off kilter. Incestuous. Cannibalistic. - 10/2/17

No Country for Old Men (07, B): I like many scenes more than the whole, but still packs a punch. Third time least charming. Indelible sound. 10/3/17

Spider-Man: Homecoming (17, B): I couldn't believe it was so fun. And funny! Holland has charm for days. Standalones are really improving. - 10/4/17

Arrival (16, B): No tweet. Watch it. - 10/5/17

Girls Trip (17, B): More going on for its characters than a good time, but also the best time you could have. Thank you, ladies. Thank you. - 10/6/17

Battle Royale (01, B+): Hyperbolic take on insane premise frightening and funny. Keeps hold of its targets without mocking the students. - 10/6/17

Gaslight (44, B): Frequently commanding, missteps & wasted potential sitting with what's great. Odd start, uneven middle, strong end. - 10/7/17

The Ornithologist (17, A-): Thank God it's on Netflix. I need more than one trip to wrangle its everything. Impossible to look away from. - 10/9/17

Mars Attacks! (96, B): Sort of defines eccentric, often pretty fun. Wish it didn't belittle most of the characters it killed. Ack ack. - 10/12/17

Props to the Lisa Marie Smith sequence, Annette Bening, glittery capes & thongs, Brown & Grier, their kids, "Guess it wasn't the doves"

Blade Runner 2049 (17, B): Aesthetically dazzling on all fronts. Actors rarely imaginative. Not sure how worthwhile the story is. - 10/14/17

The more I think about it, the more 2049 seems like squandered potential by mostly ignoring replicant deviancy and mechanical autonomy.

Also why Ana de Armas feels like the only worthwhile performance. She blurs those lines, and by actually emoting - emphatically! - onscreen

Dragon Seed (44, C-): Ghastly casting, lamely executed. Barely hums along on own terms. I regret paying for it. I regret, well. Everything. - 10/16/17

(Talking to someone about Katharine Hepburn in Dragon Seed) I could not believe how bad the early going was. She barely looked anyone in the eye! I'm just grateful it wasn't worse.

Get Out (17, A-): How come Jordan Peele's amazing direction is barely getting play? Why isn't this a lock for Picture? How is it so good? - 10/17/17

The Death of Louis XIV (17, C+): Last third clicked, for some reason. Narcotic. But if this lets you craft each frame as tapestry, so be it. - 10/17/17

The lighting of faces and wigs and sets and fabrics, the blocking of actors, the texture of everything. So painstakingly styled to the art of its era.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (01, C-): No tweet. Not impressed. - 10/18/17

Faces Places (17, B): Starts out awkward, but grows real flair, deepening relationships between Varda, JR, and their subjects. - 10/19/17

The Road Movie (17, A-): First third blends absurdism, comedy, horror, spectacle so adroitly. Less funny as it goes, but never loses impact. - 10/19/17

Human Flow (17, B-): I wish I liked it more, but this feels weirdly distant, and vague around politics & contexts damning the refugees. - 10/20/17

Lightning Over Braddock: A Rust Bowl Fantasy (89, A-): Protests of dying town, dreams of con & director surprisingly well-suited together. - 10/21/17

Spettacolo (17, C+): Study of autodramatic Italian village fine by its present, & by unclear future. Oddly skimpy on long, flavored history - 10/21/17

Quest (17, B): Olshefski indulgent with close-ups and hand shots, but still emerges with a strong, often touching portrait. Great with PJ. - 10/21/17

Since You Went Away (44, B): Too long, but it got me good. Corny, but still plenty moving, with a surprisingly sad core. Colbert a gem. - 10/21/17

Mrs. Parkington (44, C-): Garson's charm can't carry through two shitty timelines, embarrassing dialogue, vile misogyny. Evaporates on sight. - 10/22/17

Cameraperson (16, B+): No tweet. See it! - 10/23/17

None but the Lonely Heart (44, B): Amazing that something where seams show so frequently, from all central parties, resonates so powerfully. - 10/24/17

So, Barrymore's gonna win the Smackdown right? I mean, Jones and McMahon are good, Moorehead's a hoot. But that last scene! My goodness.

Stagecoach (39, A): Even piecemealed for class, it’s power and velocity isn’t diluted in the slightest - 10/26/17

To Sleep With Anger (90, B+): Quieter and more quotidian than I expected, but still a potent and compelling experience. Actors a huge plus. - 10/26/17

Laura (44, A+): Perfect balance of baroque embellishments, unknowable characters, ornate style. A masterpiece, gloriously realized. - 10/28/17

Days of Glory (44, A-): Surprisingly full probing of guerrilla ethics, tactics, politics. Better made, directed, and acted than I expected. - 10/30/17

A lot of films look great next to Dragon Seed but this just overwhelms that similar kind of WWII story in so many ways.

The cast is great, especially the leads, who sell their romantic and political maturation beautifully. Stellar child perf from Dena Penn too

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (44, A-): Amazing that it exists at all, let alone in that year, with that tone. Cast, Sturges on fire. - 10/31/17

Marjorie Prime (17, B-): Multiply centered structure seems to play with ideas, scenarios without committing. Strong finish. Smith! - 10/31/17

Not as mighty a haul this month, but hopefully November will be a little more promising. Happy Thanksgiving all, and Happy (belated) Halloween from me and my aggressively red/pink hair!

#my posts #month logs #2017

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chloefraazers · 7 years

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ME:A post-game thoughts

I should be writing my essay, but here I am talking Andromeda, because I just finished the game and OH MY GOD. So there are definitely spoilers under the cut. If you haven’t finished the game, don’t click it. I repeat:

Do not click to read more if you have not finished Mass Effect: Andromeda because there are spoilers below.

For my first playthrough, I created Bellatrix Ryder. This was basically decided ages ago: for my first play (and my considered “canon” play) of the Mass Effect trilogy, my Shepard was named Andromeda. It was kind of by accident. I went with a space-themed name (my headcanon is that her parents named her after the galaxy because, after the First Contact War settled and spaceflight across the Milky Way was possible, they dreamed of how far people could go in the future), and then later I learned about the Mass Effect: Andromeda game and just laughed about it. When rumours came around that the ME:A Pathfinder would be named Ryder, I started thinking of names and of course the Black sisters from Harry Potter came up (Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa). Bellatrix Ryder actually sounded awesome, despite her HP counterpart being… uh… evil. ANYWAY. I apologise for the shitty pictures of my TV screen from my iPhone, but:

I had wanted to name her twin Jericho, but your twin is pre-named the default. Makes sense, since they have to refer to them throughout the game. I know Codsworth in Fallout 4 has over like… 300 known names for your Sole Survivor, but I think a game of this size would be… just impossible for that. So I’m not too upset, I guess. In the end what I decided was that each of the Ryder parents picked a name for a baby and decided not to tell each other what the names were until the babies were born. Papa Ryder actually picked out Bellatrix (come on, an N7 picking a name that means “female warrior”? Makes more sense than Sara lbr) and Mama Ryder picked Scott after a family member. Bellatrix was young, but obviously heard about Commander Shepard becoming the first human Spectre and kind-of idolized her, especially after she saved the Citadel from the Reaper geth attack. In some ways, she looked up to her more than her own father.

Speaking of youth: I loved Ryder’s characterisation. The Bioware team said the squad would be younger and less experienced, and I really felt that with Ryder. She was definitely green and had a spunky personality that came from youth. The characters all-around were excellent. Jaal was nothing like what I expected: I thought he’d be this hardened warrior, but he was such a cinnamon roll giant spacekitten HONESTLY. I went with him as a romance option and I regret nothing. Gonna be honest, I really wasn’t expecting that much nudity or graphic sex from Mass Effect. Not sure how I feel about it, but I’m more amused than uncomfortable. I can see why some people got a “manic pixie dream girl” feeling off Peebee, but I think she has enough personality to contradict the stereotype a bit. I feel like they could have done more with her, but maybe in sequels? Suvi was lovely, of course. I was worried about Liam, and though he, Cora, and Kallo were a bit weaker in comparison with the others, there was still enough to all of them that I wasn’t really annoyed or bored with any. I can’t wait to romance Vetra with a future fem!Ryder, and as always, I love a krogan. I really wanted to see what “Dating Drack” did, but not with this Ryder. Next one, I’m totally seeing what happens. Probably some quality comedy with my favourite salty space grandpa.

Overall, I fucking loved the game. All of it. Beginning to end. It did have bugs and weird facial animations, mostly near the beginning of the game. You could definitely tell where they spent more time on the details. But I’m okay with it, because they’re only going to get better. No game is ever going to be perfect.

And to me, that really didn’t matter as much as the rest of the game. ME:A had diversity, representation, strong story, and wonderful characters. It had mystery, twists, and gave enough answers to satisfy some questions but left enough open to leave me aching for a sequel. Among the humans alone, there were so many female characters - and female characters of colour. One of my favourite moments was on the Nexus, when the angaran was speaking to the asari liaison in the cultural centre and he asked about pronouns, and she said some asari prefer male or gender-neutral. Avitus and Macen weren’t explicitly stated as being in a relationship that I recall, but it was very obvious that they were definitely in love with each other - and I would love to know more about homosexual relationships among the turians. (I didn’t romance Vetra this round because… because Jaal, but maybe next time.)

My biggest fear with this game was that Milky Way species, especially humans, were going to burst into a new galaxy and just colonize the fuck out of it and have it… what’s the word… but basically have it be seen as this awesome thing that humans can bulldoze their way into a galaxy and take charge. I was worried that it would be… ignorant of the implications and negative impact of colonization in the past. In a way, my fears were expressed in the kett, but thankfully I had no feeling of it in the main storyline of the Pathfinder. At every step along the way, it was made clear we were there as explorers, and we weren’t going to make a home on a planet already colonized by the angara without permission (the exiles on Kadara might be… complicated, though). The fact that we didn’t establish an outpost on Havarl or Aya was super important in this respect. The angara welcomed scientists to Havarl, but it’s their home, not ours.

(Also - I’ve been light on spoilers so far, but here come some major ones. Last warning.)

In fact, further into the story and the reveal of Papa Ryder’s knowledge of Reapers almost made it… a refugee story? Almost. Not entirely, but in some small degree. Which is an important story these days.

Ryder fixing the planets because of SAM made sense, then, especially with the reveal that the angara were created. If the Jardaan created the angara and, as suggested in one of the post-game terminal emails, there may be “sleeper agents,” it might make sense that it would be somewhat “ingrained” in them to never try to create artificial intelligence, and therefore never interact with Remnant technology the way Ryder could. Convenient storytelling, sure, but if your playable character in a video game isn’t the hero, then… there isn’t much of a point, lol.

I don’t know if there are major things I missed - and I hope not. I’m hoping that there will be sequels with the Ryders. Mass Effect is so unique because of the ability to import previous game data, so playing another game in the Andromeda galaxy without being Ryder might be… strange. And they definitely set it up for a sequel. Like, I have to know about the quarian ark, and the Jardaan. Not to mention, Ryder has the upgraded SAM implant, so… that makes her stand out.

As for my personal theories, not all questions were answered - I don’t think? Unless I missed something fucking huge, we didn’t discover the truth about Jien Garson’s murder (my working theory is that she’s not really dead), and we didn’t find out the benefactor’s identity, though I’m 100% convinced they had Cerberus ties (not sure about the Illusive Man - seems like he’d want to be more directly involved in the project, even with his Reaper obsession). Did the Reapers have influence on the project itself? WHO KNOWS. Despite nothing actually… happening… I don’t fully trust SAM. I feel like the game tried to push in the direction of trusting him because EDI turned out fine, but… I dunno, I got a bad feeling off SAM. Wonder if I’m the only one.

For big decisions, I’m hoping I made some interesting ones. I chose to save the krogan over the salarian Pathfinder and her small team, and… this one may prove fatal, but I also chose Morda as the ambassador. In hindsight, I should have chosen the Moshae, but I fucking love the krogan and kind of had this feeling of “it’s now or never,” you know? Like, if Ryder didn’t nominate them to have a position like that, they would never have one because space racism. And, like, after the scene where you talk to Drack in the med bay, like… no way am I not siding with krogan. That scene had me in actual tears. I’m hoping my decision doesn’t bite me in the ass but the problem with playing a brand new game with no announced sequels is that you really don’t know the impact of your decisions. It’s great, but also stressful.

Every callback to the trilogy basically had me in tears, though. I will gladly let Bain Massani call me “little duck” all day, every day. Throwbacks to Project Overlord, Gavin Archer, the Illusive Man, Miranda Lawson, and Project Lazarus were so great. Seeing Papa Vakarian and hearing him talk about Garrus and Shepard, and hearing Liara’s logs… like, it was the perfect amount of references to the trilogy to acknowledge its relevance without overtaking Ryder’s own story. Really, really well done.

I do have some criticisms, besides the facial syncing and some bugs with additional tasks. Bioware got a bit better with hair options, but I felt like they could have had more for women of colour. I have four additional tasks I’m unable to complete (which is why I’m stuck at 98% and the completionist in me is distressed), but hopefully a patch will fix those. What I liked in this game is that no mission, not even the additional tasks, felt tedious. Like the side quests in Mass Effect got really draining after a while, and so did collecting minerals in ME2 - thank god that system was much easier in this game. Basically, I was invested in the entire game, which is really fucking great for a semi-open world game.

My biggest… complaint, I guess? Is the soundtrack. I felt like I was never really moved by music, even in combat. In this sense, the game felt a little incomplete. I don’t know if it was a time issue because I don’t know how this process goes in game development, but I was actually really disappointed in Andromeda’s music - or lack thereof. The suicide mission in Mass Effect 2 is something that has stayed with me since I first played the game, and the entirety of Mass Effect 3′s soundtrack was just… I mean, it moved me. From Leaving Earth, to Aralakh Company, to An End Once and For All, it hit every emotion and every drive. I just didn’t feel that with Andromeda. What was there was… fine. Like, it was adequate. But I felt like there should have been background music in places where it was otherwise silent (the love scene between Ryder and Jaal was a little awkward because all I could hear was their breathing, for example). I didn’t feel the “video game drive”, like the music was propelling me forward, that I felt in the previous games.

I really hate saying that, though, because I know the soundtrack people do work just as hard. I just feel like in this game… there could have been more?

(Edit to add: One other thing I missed… I loved the new dialogue options with the emotion wheel rather than paragon/neutral/renegade, but I do miss aspects of that system, like opening new dialogue options if you have enough paragon or renegade points. I’m not sure how to incorporate that into a game like Andromeda or if it would even work. Maybe it’s just nostalgia?)

On a final note, Movie Night was a blessing. If you complete it post-Meridian, I wish you had the option to bring Scott aboard to watch it, but that’s me being super nitpicky. This game really had an ME3 Citadel DLC feel to the squad, which shows that Bioware really listened to what the players wanted and loved and improved on that.

Definitely going to be playing this again. Weirdly, though, I feel like replaying the trilogy first…

Gonna do that.

#my me:a #mass effect andromeda #spoilers #i finished the game #and i loved every fucking second #bellatrix ryder #this got a bit long whoops

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