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secret-diary-of-an-fa · 3 years

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God of War (PS4) Review: Kratos’ Postal Grief Beard Versus Norse Mythology

Once upon a time, a man was born by the name of Cory Barlog and thus a coin was flipped. Would he become a videogame developer or would he take up guarding the Mines of Moria by pulling wizards into a precipice? Those really are the only two options with a name like Barlog. Anyway, apparently the Mines of Moria were a bit of a commute, so the world gained a talented Auteur developer with a unique vision for a game series about going postal in ancient Greece. Fast-foward a number of years specifically calculated to make you feel old and ancient Greece is a distant memory. Norse mythology is where all the cool kids hang out nowadays, and that’s where we’re going in today’s review.

As you might have guessed, I’ve just finished playing God of War (PS4), which is fun to say because it rhymes. It’s a very good game that should be a very bad game. When considering modern media artefacts, I’m often prompted to ask the question ‘what went so wrong?’, but this may be the first time I’ve had to ask the question ‘what went so right?’.

Let me explain: God of War 4 (I don’t care that they don’t put the number on the box art, that’s what it fucking is) makes a single, monumentally stupid creative decision that should ruin the entire enterprise, but doesn’t. And that creative decision was- wait for it- a stab at maturity.

The last time we saw Kratos- the world’s angriest mythical being- he was finishing his battle with the Greek gods in God of War 3. There was a moment in that game which, to me, typified what was so great about the series. If I recall the sequence of events correctly, you kill your way through an ocean of expendable goons and critters who are just trying to defend their home on Mount Olympus, dripping with blood and screaming furiously, then wander into the bedroom of one of ancient Greece’s sauciest goddesses and play a sex minigame that you win by fucking her so well that her handmaids orgasm too. Then you toddle outside again and, head cleared, solve an incredibly complex and cerebral puzzle involving non-Euclidean geometry and perspective manipulation that takes bloody ages. That, in a nutshell, was the core identity of the original God of War: a gleefully unrestrained and immature approach to sex and violence coupled with a grouchy willingness to make unsuspecting players feel like fucking idiots for no reason whatsoever. It was awesome. In contrast, God of War 4 picks up many, many years later with Kratos hiding out in Midgard of the Norse mythos and, for once, he hasn’t got a nark on and he’s not trying to stick his cock in someone with cartoonishly huge knockers. He’s just sad because his missus has passed away, leaving him and their young, impressionable son alone in a big, scary world full of trolls and ginger psychopaths. ‘Sad’ isn’t a completely new emotion for Kratos, but, up until this point, he was usually sad in a way that resulted in five hundred people getting their spines broken in a very colourful manner. Now he just wants to cremate the remains of the woman he loved and carry her ashes to the tallest peak in the nine realms so he can scatter her in accordance with her final wishes. And that’s what he does, with son- Atreus- in tow. It’s a twenty-plus hour game in which the objective is very simply to honour someone’s preferred funeral rites- nothing more, nothing less. It’s very modest by Kratos usual standards. Remember that his stated goal in the previous game was to punch freakin’ Zeus so hard that his face would go all concave and then repeatedly stamp on his corpse.

We never actually find out much about what Kratos was up to between games or how he met his wife. However, he’s a bit thiccer than in previous instalments and seems to have lost the use of the ‘jump’ button outside of context-sensitive environments. On that evidence, I choose to believe he’s been running a small but successful family restaurant called ‘Kratos’ Potatoes’ and enjoying it all a bit much. And why not? He beat up Zeus- if he just wants to create and sample homely yet exotic Greco-Norse fusion cuisine while growing a ridiculous straggly dad-beard, I say let him crack on. Actually, is it a ‘dad beard’ or is it a ‘grief beard’? I think they send them to videogame characters in the post whenever a loved one dies so they can signal to the world how sad they are through the medium of angsty facial hair. But where was? Oh yeah: cracking on with it.

Y’see this is where the plot comes in: the Norse gods won’t let Kratos crack on. They’re determined to make him bow before Odin- especially Baldur, who is way too invested in having a fight with Kratos for reasons that won’t become apparent until very late in the game. They just keep turning up and trying to break Kratos and his increasingly like-him-but-not-as-good-at-it son Atreus. This time around, our heroes commit heinous acts of violence to defend themselves, not enact revenge, as they travel, inexorably, to the top of a lonely mountain through landscapes of stunning natural beauty and many, many hostile creatures.

Of course, Kratos taking his son on a hiking holiday with added troll-murder and the occasional slap-fight with Norse mythology’s biggest killjoys doesn’t sound as interesting as the original games. After all, those were basically a production of Kill Bill in which the part of Bill was played by a guy with the power to summon lightning bolts and access to a seemingly unstoppable army of monsters and demigods. The ‘fun factor’ even seems to have taken another downgrade, in that Kratos no longer operates with the entertainingly demented passion of the insane: he has been tempered by time and love and managed to turn himself into a paragon of serious self control. So why is God of War 4 so bloody good? Partly, I suspect, the answer lies in the constantly evolving relationship between Kratos and Atreus, which gives the story an unbelievable amount of heart and always manages to feel very organic. Kratos never learned how to be a parent, and we essentially watch him do it in real time, forming a bond with his son that seems impossible at the start of the game and inevitable by the end. Partly, the games greatness lies in the characters you meet along the way, who range from bickering dwarves to talking, decapitated heads who prattle on like laid-back tour-guides. Partly, it’s in the beautiful, epic landscapes that make the journey across the Realms to the highest peak feel epic and significant, even while it is small and personal.

But a videogame is nothing without gameplay, and it is here that God of War 4 really shines. I loved the original God of War trilogy (especially the third instalment), but I rarely felt like I was playing as, y’know, a god of war. Kratos might not be an uncontrollable whirlwind of fury any more, but he feels truly powerful for the first time in the ongoing series. In fights, every punch feels like it could crack stone; every axe-throw like it could rend the sky; every chain-whip like it could legitimately start a forest-fire. Out of combat, Kratos moves around the environment with the stolid grace of a man who knows his movements are inevitable; irresistible; an imposition on the environment that can’t be denied. You climb and complete elaborate, complex traversals knowing that the satisfaction you feel isn’t just the satisfaction of finding the correct route or solving an obstacle, but the satisfaction of a being forcing his way through a landscape that resists him at every turn but cannot stop him. The puzzles- of which there are many- strike the perfect balance between conceptual trickiness and ease of execution to remind you that Kratos is smart as well as determined; that his mind is as indomitable as his body. Then there are the little touches involving heaving huge stone pillars and similar unnecessarily over-the-top efforts. In short, the gameplay is interwoven with who Kratos is- with what he is in way that seems completely unprecedented. Even the RPG elements feel appropriate: they reflect the protagonist’s growing confidence in a skillet he hasn’t used in a long, long time.

Do I miss the uniquely juvenile, over the top identity of the old games? Absolutely: I’m a great fan of gratuitous gore and scantily clad women with big fuck-off swords. Usually, I find the desire for maturity in games to be a silly, pretentious trend that foolishly eschews anything obviously ‘fun’ for no reason other than courting the respect of people whose respect isn’t worth having. But I don’t think that’s what’s going on here- at least, not entirely. The developers of the God of War games are clearly artisans and craftsmen of extreme talent: their attention to detail is superb and their ability to weave a good tale from a simple premise is actually a little daunting for someone who considers himself a bloody good story-teller. It’s worth remembering that the de facto head of the studio, Barlog, became a father himself before commencing work on this game about a father learning to bond with his son. It feels personal and meant because it is. Other games might reach for superficially mature themes like family and redemption for altogether cynical reasons. God of War 4 does it because such thoughts are clearly much on the developer’s mind. I asked already ‘Do I miss the identity of the old games?’ and the answer is still yes. But that question deserves a follow-up: am I willing to embrace the identity of this new, quieter God of War anyway? And yes, yes I am.

But if we could have a few more women with enormous knockers and Kratos going properly batshit just once or twice in the next sequel, that would also be welcome. I mean, let’s try to strike a balance here, people, for pity’s sake.

#Secret Diary of a Fat Admirer #God of War #God of War 4 #god of war sequel #Kratos #Zeus #norse mythology #greek mythology #videogames #game review #games

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danwhobrowses · 4 years

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AEW Double of Nothing 2020 - My Thoughts

Well that was a long night, it’s tough watching USA PPVs in the UK. But Double or Nothing is in the books and since I have free time I thought I’d talk about some stuff I liked and disliked I’ll have to note, I’m not a sole AEW fan, I like stuff from WWE, NJPW, Stardom, TJPW and DDT Pro too, dabbling in ROH, Impact and NWA from time to time and reminiscing fondly over the time Lucha Underground was great. But I say this because I don’t want people quickly pointing fingers at me accusing me of being a stan for AEW or WWE just because I like or dislike something they disagree with, I’m not playing bias I am literally working on impulse and sleep deprivation

Spoilers for AEW Double or Nothing 2020 obviously, watch, enjoy, look at some gifs maybe and come back here

The Buy-In:

Private Party vs Best Friends (Winner is No.1 Contender for the AEW World Tag Team Championship) Winner: Best Friends via Pinfall (Strong Zero to Marq Quen)

For a pre-show match it was fine, the Buy-In stream did start way too early and streaming and audio issues would plague both Fite and BR Live streams throughout. As for the match, it was a tad sloppy at times but it is worth reminding people that PP haven’t been wrestling in a while. And they weren’t terrible botches, just a few overexersions, people can’t be as crisp as Rey Fénix every match, especially since there’s more margin of error the more people involved in the spot there is. The match was very back and forth at times, and the highlight has to be the G9, PP (and Big Swole) had been wearing SG armbands in honor of Shad Gaspard, who tragically died in Venice Beach due to a rip current submerging him, I had been a big fan of Cryme Tyme (and PS4′s God of War which he did motion capture of Kratos for) when they were in WWE, so the nice homage of using their finisher was a nice touch. As for the result I didn’t mind either way, I had backed PP due to their ongoing BTE feud with Hangman Page, but the Best Friends have definitely been consistent enough to challenge and possibly even win the titles, it would be sensible for them to win it too since they have lingering feuds with TH2, Death Triangle, The Superbad Death Squad and Butcher and Blade.

Main Card:

Intermission build for Casino Ladder Match

It was mostly people explaining how and why they were gonna win, but I did have to make a separate mention for Jimmy Havoc, dressed to fucking drip. Man looks like a bond villain.

Casino Ladder Match (Winner is No.1 Contender for the AEW World Championship at Fyter Fest) Winner: Brian Cage An early point I wanna make, I think AEW are spying on me because I had much earlier thought up a similar idea of a ‘Bargaining Chip’ to work as a guaranteed contendership boon. If Tony Khan wants to pick my brain all he has to do is call, I still think all non-title ‘Double or Nothing’ matches should be worth 2 wins/losses in the spirit of the PPV name. I also didn’t mind the giant chip, would’ve been silly if it was regular sized. AEW has a winner with this format I think, the battle royale format was good for introducing a group of new faces, but in a more condensed format the Casino rules for a Ladder match work two ways, the early people have less opposition to win while the last people are fresh, the red ladders were a bit much for my tastes though. As for the match, it was still a bit messy but there were 9 people plus interferences to deal with, also since Fénix was pulled from the match we have to give benefit of the doubt in terms of the match narrative changing. It was an odd choice picking both members of SCU to start but we may be setting up Superbad Death Squad vs SCU tensions as well, adding Darby in the halfway mark was a good burst of energy but you really do wince with the stuff Darby ragdolls through. OC was his usual hilarious self, the low-effort reach attempts, the brief pause with Cabana. The frenetic energy of Janela resumed the pace from the comedy segment until the super heavyweights came in; I did find that Luchasaurus did prioritize a fight over the match itself, but it worked for his heavyweight mentality and after being undone by Allin’s sunset bomb, gave us the space for the final entrant. Brian Cage, I love that man he is just nonsense talented, his moveset is unique and malleable and his power is insane. What a way to debut as well, completely ripped apart a ladder, murdered Allin with a ‘F-5000′ (Props to Excalibur as always) and was running roughshot - aside from OC, who almost hilariously piggybacked a win - until most of the competitors basically flattened him under a bunch of miscellaneous objects and a giant poker chip. This gave Luchasaurus some time to have some fun as the ‘Big Man’ too, really did enjoy the Marko mini-ladder and OC channeling the Hurricane with the chokeslam attempt, I do appreciate that Best Friends and Jurassic Express still have that rivalry, also Janela’s running DVD to OC on top of the pile of miscellaneous objects was a great spot, but it was all leading up to Cage bursting out and squaring off with the Dino, more of this! There was a bit of wobbly knees but the powerbomb on the ladder with gnarly, and we are due a hoss match for Luchasaurus since his feuds with Wardlow and the Butcher fell through due to COVID. But this was Cage’s time, I thought Allin was gonna sneak it for a moment but then I remembered that Cage winning was much more story-based. The ladder spot was brutal and a bit too much for the finish but the result I am still quite happy with. Before Fénix was pulled I backed him to win because I felt that the world title picture needed some speed after the methodical match with Hager, but Cage does have the speed and the power to put on a good show, he’s a proven world champion at Impact and he has been on AEW’s radar for a long time, injury keeping him out.As much as one can complain that this was just a gratuitous spot fest there was storyline; the faction conflicts of SCU, Superbad Death Squad, Best Friends and Jurassic Express was apparent but the main story by the end was the story of Allin and Tazz, Tazz was angered by Darby’s hostile response to his offer of managing him after his loss to Cody, so he’s taken Cage under his wing to enact some payback. It’s a solid looking pairing too, using the legends as managers is something AEW does well and using Tazz as Cage’s manager with his promo skills and their physical similarities is an interesting combination.

Jungle Boy vs MJF Winner: MJF via Pinfall (Modified European Clutch) This was one of my favourite wrestling matches on the card. The back and forth between MJF and Jungle Boy had some great athleticism and technical wrestling. This can easily be a top tier feud between the two later down the line, they are like two sides of a coin. The match had great storytelling in the fact that MJF worked Jungle Boy’s arm, which allowed him to escape situations like the crossface and hold on to the final pinfall, MJF was pulling great heel works and trickery while trying to work Jungle Boy into the Salt of the Earth finisher, the knee injury fakeout was great. But Jungle Boy also rallied with the babyface resilience, the explosive anger in the face of MJF’s undermining and proved his strength. I appreciated the finish as well, MJF won clean but Jungle Boy looked excellent, and it avoided Wardlow ex Machina. MJF continues to look more and more like world champion material and I can see him stealing it from Moxley.

TNT Presentation with Mike Tyson

Okay, I don’t like the belt. I’m sorry, I know it’s unfinished due to COVID so there’s room for improvement but it just looks too simple on the main plate. It seems like every other belt AEW releases is a bit lacking. The World and Tag titles are sublime but the Women’s title is far too small and the TNT title just lacks detail, it’s also hard to not think it looks like the WWE Raw Tag Titles mixed with the 24/7 title, I have never been a big fan of plastering the name in BIG DISTRACTING LETTERS in the middle. Granted, I get why silver was used for a midcard belt, and not every title can be Big Gold, Winged Eagle, NXT UK, IWGP or the ROH world title, but it could’ve taken more inspiration from the IC white strap, NXT NA title, AWA Southern Heavyweight or even the NJPW US title if you’re so adamant about the bright red strap. Frankly I was just disappointed that AEW presented such a weak design.

TNT Championship Tournament Final Winner: Cody via Pinfall (2 Consecutive Cross Rhodes) The finals for the match started off impressively, Archer looking like a total monster even bringing in some poor sod to decimate in front of an entertained Tyson before striking early with his finisher on Cody. Cody fought from under Archer’s offence to get some licks into his core. Sadly not all the cuts to Tyson were great, the one that’ll dominate media being the one where he was caught yawning. Before smarks jump at it, people are allowed to yawn, it’s not always a sign of boredom, given that Tyson is 53, has been hitting the gym hard and it was past 10pm, every other time they went to him he looked like he was loving the match, especially Archer’s heel intensity. The match didn’t have enough of Arn and Jake for my liking, given what was hinted at during Dynamite, I didn’t mind them being ejected especially since Arn was playing dirty too. Cody did pull out some storied offence with the Stringer Splash and Dustin’s Final Reckoning, but the ending kinda felt like the wrong result. After Jake was scared away by a Ripped Tyson from bringing his snake to the ring, Archer just became undone by Cody wriggling out of the Black Out and nailing two Cross Rhodes (third of the match) for the W. It was a bit iffy, I mean Cody has used the double Cross Rhodes to win a few matches already, so it felt like for me if Cody was to win then he’d need to pull off something extra. One Cross Rhodes made Archer kick out at one after all. Many people will use this as ‘Cody is an EVP of course he books himself as champion’ trying to liken him to Triple H or Jeff Jarrett, but while I disagreed with the result, I don’t think it’s bad that Cody wins a midcard title. He is never going to win the world title, he’s been a consistently great babyface for the company too and put MJF and Jericho over, as a wrestler you can’t have Cody not win a title ever. But that being said, I think defeat did hurt Archer, he was so in control of the match and just came undone right at the end, there was a heavy contrast to the Archer that started the match and the Archer that finished. It doesn’t mean he’s lost his aura completely, but winning the title would’ve done him more favours than it would have done Cody at this current time.

Intermission: Britt Baker Injury Update To prelude the Ford/Statlander match, there was a small bit explaining the nature of Britt Baker’s injury. It was kinda decent to still sell Britt’s gimmick by the doctor admitting that she’s being a handful, but the 6-8 week time frame is a shame, that’s only competing though, it’ll be interesting what they do with her on next Dynamite, she may get herself an enforcer too (Nyla could work, or Sadie Gibbs since she’s due a re-debut).

Penelope Ford vs Kris Statlander Winner: Kris Statlander via Pinfall (Big Bang Theory) While Penelope only had brief involvement in the Casino Ladder Match (she did have a weird space of just standing there for a bit as OC started to use 0.5% of his full power), hers and Kip’s entrance did put a smile as Kip sold the ladder match hard, as did Kris’ booping to the crowd and the joyous reactions of Nakazawa, Austin Gunn and Suge D/Pineapple Pete from it. The match itself was okay, this stage felt like a palate cleanser if anything. Ford and Kris did work pretty well, there was a nervy suicide dive where Kris’ head almost went into the barricade but we also got some great strikes, a good hurricanrana from Ford and a solid end as Kip tried to break the pin using his crutches. Ford has been lowkey great for the women’s division, her surprise win over Riho is proof of that, but Statlander was due a win. I felt like against Britt she was due a loss but now it feels like we can expand on that feud a bit, it’s good signs from AEW’s weak spot and it just needs a bit more faces - which of course is limited by COVID but I do really miss seeing Bea, Allie, Swole (who almost every heel in the crowd seemed to wanna rile up), Anna Jay, Shanna, Riho, Emi Sakura (who streamed her reactions of the show) and personal favourite Yuka Sakazaki in the ring, as well as hoping for returns from Ivelisse, Jamie Hayter, Sadie Gibbs and Awesome Kong for the Women’s Division, also maybe bring Vickie into the fold as a manager, she was a presence in the crowd.

Dustin Rhodes vs Shawn Spears Winner: Dustin Rhodes via Pinfall (Final Reckoning) Sadly this was the weakest match on the card. Started pretty well though, Spears was heeling it up a la Booker T in KOTR when Angle wasn’t cleared to compete and still demanded that they be counted out. There was also the HBK Montreal music fake-out which was pretty good, but he did wait a bit long to pull off the smile. Brandi halted the count allowing for Dustin to pull a sneak which was made great by the camera movement but from there it started to devolve into a weak spot. Comedy matches are fine, but times and place work for it, and Shawn Spears’ continued pursuit against Cody should not have been a comedy match in my opinion. I never dig the strip bit as well, there’s only so much you can suspend disbelief and Shawn being stripped to his boxers that have Tully Blanchard’s face on them is over that line. If Dustin was to win then I wished it wasn’t this way, sadly Spears has been hit with a revolving door of gimmicks, the Chairman was good but lacked intensity, the needing a partner looked to be going somewhere until COVID limited his options (and sank Brandon’s push) and this new anti-Cody gimmick has suddenly became a joke, it’s not a good spot for him especially when he had a pretty good match with Cody in the TNT tournament. We know through MJF that he can do comedy, but the key to comedy is timing and Shawn’s character should’ve been looking towards him contending for Cody’s newfound TNT title rather than being humiliated ass-cheeks out on TV...at least Peyton has something to giggle about at home though. Pre-Match Tribute to Hana Kimura (1997-2020)

I was glad that AEW took a moment to tribute Hana’s death. After the homage to Shad in the Buy-In I was hoping that they would reference her before the women’s title match and my hopes were realised. Reading the headline of her death yesterday morning put a horrid pit in my stomach, I had always felt that Hana was one of the most talented women in Stardom, as ‘Dark Hana’ in Oedo Tai, ‘Rave Hana’ when feuding with Kagetsu, ‘Death-Hana’ when teaming with Yama and of course as the TCS leader, I easily saw her in a few years time being the face of the company, her faction was on a high, she partook in Stardom’s first ever Tokyo Dome match at Wrestle Kingdom, she had wrestled in guest entires for DDT Pro and ROH, and I also hoped to see her in an AEW ring one day (Brandi had Stardom ties after all). Her dedication to the business was palpable as she even went into a reality show to try and get more eyes on wrestling, and yet cyberbulling drove her to feel so sub-human that she likely took her own life. It was a horrible, horrible thing to read about, and I really wanted to vent this out yesterday but didn’t due to the fact that I didn’t tribute Shad’s death and didn’t want it to appear that I only cared about Hana’s death. Shad’s death was sad of course, he nobly prioritised the rescue of his son and sadly time was not on his side against the elements, it’s obviously terrible that he died and the world is poorer for his loss as well, but Hana’s death hit me harder for different reasons. For one, she was 22, 5 years younger than me, her career was bright and her smile wide, and yet anonymous sadsacks were able to torment her enough for no reason other than so they could bring a young woman down to make themselves feel better, as a person who underwent a lot of bullying at a young age - I was forced to eat dirt once in primary school - this did hit hard for me, because despite both deaths being tragic: Shad died because of the elements nobody can control, Hana died because of people, sad, despicable people and even though I never knew Hana or would’ve even been able to reach her, it sucks feeling that there was nothing we could do to help her. In conclusion, bullying sucks, and Excalibur put it aptly as many others have, it doesn’t cost a thing to be kind and if you’re struggling there’s people who’ll be there for you.

AEW Women’s Championship (No DQ or Count-Out) Nyla Rose (c) vs Hikaru Shida Winner: Hikaru Shida via Pinfall (’Three Count’ Knee Strike) Perhaps one of the best women’s matches AEW have put on, I was very looking forward to this matchup. I am not one of those people who disliked Rose winning the title, she (yes she, grow up) was a good, dominant heel and I bloody love that jumping knee strike. But I also love Shida, she’s been a consistent force in AEW, being a part of most of the Women’s Division’s best matches, also she as a person is very likeable. I have to add a note that while I’m not too familiar with Final Fantasy (Tumblr seems to think I am mind you), I did like the small Tifa Lockhart cosplay in Shida’s attire. In general the fancy entrances and attires were sadly limited by COVID, but when you did see them it did make it a little special because of its rarity. The No DQ stip was a good one, I did worry it would lead to Shida’s downfall but the storytelling revolving around Shida’s tenacity, Nyla’s brutality and the coveting of the kendo stick all really meshed together well. There were some solid spots and some proper brutal strikes. I appreciated the attention to the fact that Nyla’s arm and Shida’s leg were weakened and that came into play as they landed their big moves to a near fall. The finale though was good, following a beautiful sequence of an Avalanche Falcon Arrow and the weak-legged ‘Three Count’ at two, Shida’s resiliency proved too much for the native beast as she laid her out with a Kendo stick to the head and one more ‘Three Count’ for the eventual namesake. While Nyla’s reign was long, COVID did sadly prevent her from defending much and that was a shame, her only real defense being against Statlander, but it was the right call to pull the trigger on Shida. Like Asuka in WWE, she has been a consistent fan favourite with star aura, being No DQ also aided Nyla in saving face; Shida only won due to her Kendo strikes and out-of-ring spots, so it made her strong that it took that stipulation to bring her to her limit. I do welcome the type of storylines they’ll have to build opponents for Shida too, with Britt in recovery it gives her time before they can renew hostilities, which grants a platform for other heels to develop and challenge. Also do appreciate that the top titles were carded back-to-back, speaking of which...

AEW World Heavyweight Championship Jon Moxley (c) vs “The Exalted One” Mr. Brodie Lee Winner: Jon Moxley via KO by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) While the build to Moxley and Brodie started abrupt, one had to appreciate jumping at this matchup sooner rather than later. Both men were lacking a strong feud to go with since the Inner Circle were still involved with The Elite and SCU were being preoccupied with the TNT title. The Dark Order had gained a resurgence with the mystery of the Exalted One, and with some impressive squashes by Brodie and Preston Vance impressing as his new protegee ‘10′, things were looking decent for the faction, but this still remained a risky angle. For Brodie this would be a make or break moment for his character, he had already gotten some disdain as people compared his gimmick to a Vince McMahon caricature and questions rose on whether he was ready for this spot, if he wasn’t then the Dark Order would’ve fell to square one. But that didn’t happen. From the moment Brodie came out with his horde he exuded a brilliant amount of heel smugness, feeling as if being champion was already a certainty (I do also love how previously he had a minion carry the belt for him like a boxing entourage), the mind games already on display before the bell even rang. Moxley also looked raring to go, his usual swaying self with a bit of purpose and a lovely gold sprayed jacket as he strided to the ring, separated by a row of security to sell the animosity between the villain and the antihero. The match was very strong, a really enjoyable world title match that meshed the brawling styles of both men, the advantage going to and fro as Brodie used his power to gain advantage while Moxley used his unconventional assault - even grabbing Lee’s beard for a headbutt - and the outside of the ring with a lovely Paradigm Shift through the ramp that brought some believable (in the context of the spot) colour to Brodie’s face. The finish increased the pace in brilliant fashion as Brodie shockingly kicked out of the Paradigm Shift at one, from there Moxley looked desperately to put Brodie away before he could rally, hammering at the head wound before cleverly bringing Brodie down with a Rear Naked Choke. I was surprised a lot of people didn’t like that finish, it kept Brodie strong that he didn’t tap out and a rear naked choke is a great finish, it has legitimacy since it ends many UFC fights, it was smart as well because Brodie was bleeding, so on top of blood loss making him light-headed Moxley cut off his blood flow to his head to knock him out. You also have to appreciate this incorporation to Moxley’s moveset, adding submission means there’s a new way he can win and it comes from the MMA background of Hager, like the Gotch Piledriver adopted from Minoru Suzuki (and I have to say Kaze ni Nare whenever I see him do it), seeing Moxley adapt his moveset is a nice little tidbit that helps Moxley feel more studied in his experiences. Also side bar, god bless Leva Bates. In the past two matches she kept in-character and rescued a laptop from destruction. Her wrestling does need a bit of fine tuning but her character work is undeniably great. Overall, like Jungle Boy vs MJF, it did help the match not to have interference, it was two people decking each other to see who’s best and Moxley proved himself more ferocious. Brodie showed himself as a main event quality wrestler who looked good with the title on, pushing through assault multiple times to only be eked into defeat (unlike Archer). Hopefully his story furthers in either respecting that even he must strengthen or lashing out because of his weakness.

Stadium Stampede Match Winner: The Elite, ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy & ‘Hangman’ Adam Page via Pinfall (One-Winged Angel on Sammy Guevara) Well, that was surely something. Not to be outdone by MITB, the storied rivalry of The fractured Elite, Hangman and Matt Hardy against the Inner Circle went hilariously wild and creative with the Stadium Stampede and I loved every single second of it. I’ll try to remember everything in the match to praise so here goes; the Inner Circle’s entrance like an NFL team was great fun, would’ve liked them to jump out of a paper symbol of the Inner Circle but it didn’t take away from the entertainment value. The Elite started without Hangman as they charged at the IC to meet in the middle, some fighting in the ring and some out. Hangman won the entrance game though by ominously strolling on horseback as Sammy Guevara quickly read between the lines and bolted, only to have shaken off Hangman to return for a missed shooting star press on Matt and then a very nearly uncaught one out of the ring too. Not to be outdone, Matt Jackson - broken ribs and all - pulled off a crisp moonsault off the goal post of the stadium while the Bucks tussled with ‘Le Sex Gods’, Santana and Ortiz tussled with Omega and Hardy and Hager went to search for Hangman, who had since dismounted after locating the lobby bar. Kenny had a rough double powerbomb table spot which was quickly cut to replay in order to mask either Santana and/or Ortiz losing his footing on the table and fell off it, but the cut allowed that moment to be skipped as the tag team focused on Hardy. Broken Brilliance would ensue as the team would try to drown Matt in a swimming pool(!?) that happened to be a pool of reincarnation, surfacing Team Extreme ‘Classic Matt’ and then ‘V1 Matt’ with graphics of ‘MATTer of Fact’ that Santana and Ortiz hilariously acknowledged with confusion, all the while an underwater cam would film Matt still happily doing his Team Extreme/V1 hand gestures while drowning. Damascus resurfaced from the pool to deal with the duo, sending both through a table, immobilizing Ortiz by ringing a bell with his head inside and taping him to a ‘chair of wheels’ and then getting his own back by locking Santana in an ice box. I will have to say, while this was great fun with Matt, I do worry a little for Santana and Ortiz. The former LAX were one of the best tag teams in the world leaving Impact and I had hoped they’d take the tag titles in this feud, but they’ve been kept from it like the Bucks have, between the Lucha Bros, SCU, Best Friends and rumours of FTR, the pool does have a lot of strong teams and it’s easy to get lost in the fold. But back to the action, Hager finds Hangman enjoying a whiskey, after a brief ceasefire to drink the bar brawl hits the right notes of great western tropes, including cue stick strikes, Hager dragging Hangman across the bar stand and table spots. Hager looked really strong here, taking on Page and the arriving Omega before being sent wobbly by multiple bottles of bubbly to the head, followed by a V-Trigger and a Buckshot Lariat over the bar as Kenny platformed for Page’s flip, a nice resolution as the tag team get on the same page, sharing a whiskey and a milk. Stories returned to the stadium as the Bucks and Jericho had their own mixture of creative spots and comedy; Matt did a ‘100 yard’ chain of Northern Lights Suplexes onto Guevara while Jericho demanded a VAR replay on a 2 count from Aubrey Edwards (I love how involved Aubrey gets as well), Le Champion also sent Nick through a Jaguars jaguar head’s mouth and did a Judas Effect on the team mascot while Matt was penalized after his touchdown dance referencing Alan Wright, leading to the ref being Superkicked. The Bucks then were able to isolate Jericho and lay him out with Nick doing a bonkers splash through a table starting from the steps of the stadium all the way down to the field, added insult to injury following as Hangman drove over Jericho with a chalk liner But the star of the match had to be Guevara. That kid is a literal star, his expressions and delusion is so on point as well, Spanish gods bless him and his 1000+ lives. After recovering from the 100 yard suplex run, he collapsed onto sprinklers which turned on, his mindset loopy as he started celebrating thinking he won, his face slowly dropping perfectly as the return of the Golf Kart gave him flashbacks of a past death of his in the Tag Street Fight on a previous Dynamite. Sammy was a little wiser and faster though, escaping into the seats out of the Kart’s reach, he slowly ended up being cornered by Matt and Kenny as the Bucks and Hangman watched below, Guevara fended off Matt, but was distracted by Vanguard-1′s reincarnation, NEO-1, for Kenny to daze him. The finish coming as Kenny One-Winged Angel’d Sammy off the ramp to a crash mat below at an incredible height, Aubrey needing to climb a ladder to count the win. Afterwards, the Elite celebrated with Matt and Hangman, hinting that Hangman has reconciled with the Elite as graphics appeared again on the stadium, closing out the PPV. Fantastically bonkers match, but once again this match had a great story in the terms of how the Inner Circle lost. For weeks, the IC ended consecutive Dynamites with the advantage due to their masterful use of the numbers game, but in the Stadium Stampede they are defeated because they split ranks, together they were strong but alone they were broken down, it’s only when the likes of Hager, Jericho and Guevara were isolated did the Inner Circle begin to lose the tide. There was also the recurring elements of the Icebox, Matt’s Broken character, Nick’s prior injury by the IC, Kenny bringing the broom and Hangman’s Cowboy Shit and strained relationship with Kenny and the Bucks, not to mention the many deaths and PTSD of Sammy Guevara. Say what you will about the Elite favouring spots, but you cannot deny that even in this Inner Circle feud, they have made stars out of Guevara and Hangman, it isn’t just self-indulgence. I will say though, I was surprised not to see FTR make a jump, we already had the IC and Elite have graphics on the Stadium so I hoped that the final one would be FTR, but maybe they’re saving it, after all, Blood and Guts is still waiting to be used.

Final Thoughts Outside of the matches itself it was unique that foley crowd sounds were added in to add to immersion, if it weren’t the Empty Arena era of course it would be a down but under the circumstances it made the PPV feel bigger having at least some white noise. The roster as a crowd continues to be good as we saw various personnel react but not steal any spotlight. We do have to appreciate that AEW acknowledges some shortcomings such as the TNT title’s unfinished model and the injuries to Fénix and Baker. Production issues should not have persisted as long as they have, and while it may not all be AEW’s fault due to COVID and the alternate streaming services they must be aware that this will continue to be treated as a blemish, unfortunately whatever AEW does will be compared to WWE - like the Women’s and TNT title have or the respective pushes to select wrestlers. While the current wrestlers are doing well and Dark is providing a platform for local talent - some like Jay, Suge D, Vance and Angels capturing the eye of AEW - it’s worth not forgetting the roster still there; Janela, Kiss, Swole, Avalon, Leva, and practically anyone in the crowd of shows should be able to compete right? All of personnel are tested for COVID so I do appreciate the attention to safety but from a fan’s perspective you do hope that talent get proper exposure. I will also say that I think we’re reaching a threshold of ‘Legends managers’ for the singles men’s roster, we’re fine for now but you don’t want to overdo it. But, overall Double or Nothing was a solid and enjoyable show, had some fun moments and strong matches. While I found the Archer finish and the Spears match disagreeable, it wasn’t too much of a down to ruin the show, the highs still outweighed the lows and there was still a good amount of variety, decent pacing due to good card positioning and nothing overstayed its welcome. We’ve got intriguing directions now too as we build to Fyter Fest; a feud between Moxley and Cage, Cody and the TNT title, fallout for Brodie and Archer’s losses, Best Friends in the tag title hunt, Britt Baker on promo and new champion Shida waiting for us in anticipation of the next show.

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darkhymns-fic · 5 years

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Magic Swordsman, Expert Tailor

Lloyd has to come to terms with Kratos being his father... Luckily the detailed cloak he was wearing made this a lot easier to deal with.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters: Lloyd Irving, Kratos Aurion, Colette Brunel, Dirk Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: Inspired by @moldy-mold‘s cursed/blessed art. Forgive me...just wanted to make something silly and it’s been so long since I tried writing Kratos. Also since this takes place during the Kratos route, certain deaths can’t be avoided whoops.

---

“Lloyd,” came a voice that lingered in the air. It made him turn.

“Did…Did someone just call my name?” Lloyd asked no one. He had been so distracted by the falling snow outside his window that the voice had made him jump. He felt a little embarrassed about it… but also that voice was very familiar.

So with little time to spare, he left the inn room, walked down the halls and out into the balcony where the stars hovered bright in the sky. Sound felt muted in Flanoir, so hearing that voice so clearly had caught his attention and curiosity.

No one was outside however.

“Huh. Guess I was just hearing things…” Also, it was really cold outside. He hadn’t brought a cloak with him or anything…

“Lloyd.”

He turned, already expectant to find him, and he did. The first he saw was Noishe, his great ears flicking with each snowflake that fell over his green fur, his tail wagging with excitement. Then next to him was Kratos… looking… kind of similar?

Wait… what was he wearing?

“I apologize for calling you out here, but I deemed it was probably the best time.”

Kratos was wearing a cloak, one that was a mixture of light and dark green. That wouldn’t have been so weird if the color hadn’t been arranged in patterns that were exactly like Noishe’s fur. And as if to make sure Lloyd wasn’t imagining things, the hood of Kratos’ cloak was shaped like a certain dog’s head… complete with long, fringed ears, the tuft of dark green fur at the top, and even buttons that served as the eyes and snout…

“Uh,” Lloyd said – it was the only thing he could say.

Kratos seemed to understand his son’s speechlessness. He pulled at the collar of his hood, looking away and giving a small cough. “The snow in Flanoir can be cumbersome. My own clothes are not sufficient enough for it. Speaking of, are you not cold yourself?”

“Uh,” Lloyd repeated, staring at that hood. How did he get it… so detailed? The question finally registered. “Oh! Um, I’m not really cold. This jacket’s good enough! It’s all well-insulated and stuff!” At least that was what his dad would say…

It was so damn weird seeing Kratos look at him with the usual serious expression while basically wearing a cloak version of Noishe’ face. He had never seen Kratos wear this before? Had he always had it?

…Could he get the same kind of cloak if he asked?

Kratos walked up to the balcony next to Lloyd, and started to talk about his reasons for staying with Cruxis, how he knew Lloyd to be his son, and even, with obvious pain in his voice, related the death of Lloyd’s mother. But through all of that, Lloyd still could not take his gaze away from the hood of that cloak.

He got the ears perfect. Did Kratos make this? At times, he had to switch from looking at Kratos to Noishe, who was still standing in the snow, tail wagging and panting, despite it being cold.

“…And then, I killed her,” Kratos said, closing his eyes as he relived the terrible memory of slaying his past love. “After that, I fought off Kvar and his men, but couldn’t find you. I thought there was no way you could still be alive.”

“…Huh? Oh, y-yeah, that’s great,” Lloyd said off-handedly. It was way too hard to pay attention to anything that he was saying right now. “Hey, uh, could I like… how do you have that?”

Kratos raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”

“Like, do you sew or something? You even got the eyes right!” He was pointing straight at Kratos’ head, before realizing he was talking kind of loudly.

That and Kratos was staring at him – still wearing that cloak.

He lowered his hand. “Er, sorry.” Then scratched the back of his head. “It’s uh, kind of cool, I was trying to say.”

He saw a hint of red in Kratos’ cheeks – probably from the cold. The man looked away for a moment. “I’ve lived for over four millennia – much longer than any human should live for – and I’ve learned a few trade skills along the way. It helped pass the time, so to speak.” He cleared his throat again. “So I learned tailoring, and I seemed to have enough of a talent for it. It was something I learned slightly during my thespian days.”

“Your wha?” Lloyd was gonna ask him about that because it was really confusing him… but he shook his head, still pretty impressed at Kratos’ skills. Kind of a coincidence to have another dad that could also make stuff! Dirk could do a little tailoring too but not on this level…

“Thank you for liking my work, Lloyd,” Kratos said then. Was that pride in his voice?

“Oh! Yeah, you’re welcome! I want one of those now!” Man, how cool would it be to get a cloak like that to match with Noishe? But he realized he was acting kind of excited for what should have been a very serious conversation. He rubbed his hair, dispelling away any stray snowflakes from it. “Heh, just being silly.”

Kratos smiled at his son, looking probably more happy than he ever did. It was kinda strange, especially with the Noishe-cloak on him…but Lloyd was finally starting to understand the man who had been his mentor, and now father.

“It is no trouble at all, Lloyd.”

---

After their conversation, Lloyd had gone back to his room at the inn, a little tired, and actually pretty cold. He had a feeling his jacket wasn’t supposed to be that insulated, more meant for chilly nights back home and not a snowstorm. So with a sneeze, he waved goodbye to Kratos and instantly collapsed on his bed.

When he woke up the next morning, he found a letter enclosed with a pendant – one that housed pictures of Kratos… and his mom, along with himself as a baby. He stared at the important item in silence, feeling so moved that Kratos would give something this valuable to him.

Then his eye caught the sight of something else to the right of him that was on a chair… something green.

"Whoa..." Lloyd breathed as he instantly went over to grab the Noishe-cloak in his hands. Did Kratos actually make more than one of these?!

Lloyd worried it might be too big, but when he put it on, fitting the hood just over his head, he found that it was the perfect size for him. But how? That was when he saw another letter placed beside the cloak, and quickly went over to read it.

Lloyd,

I must confess to you that I had worn this style of clothing on what you could say was a hunch. This design I had made while living with your mother. I would wear this while letting you ride on my shoulders and you always seemed to enjoy it. You were particularly fond of the ears and kept pulling at them. It put my stitching skills to the test so that they should no longer be prone to tearing. I made one for your mother as well, but it was unfortunately lost on the night of her death.

I also once started working on a similar cloak for you when you were young. I have adjusted it accordingly to fit you as you are now. Please accept this.

Sincerely,

Kratos

After reading the letter, and carefully putting the hood to fit better over his head, Lloyd had only one thing to say.

“Man, this is the coolest thing ever!”

And of course, right after getting it, he had to show it off to everyone as he made it down to breakfast. Sure, it made people wonder just where he got it from… but he couldn’t just hide this away! Also it was still kinda cold in Flanoir!

“Lloyd! That looks so cute on you!” Colette was saying, starry-eyed, hands clasped as she looked over the cloak. “Did you make that yourself?”

“Well… I’ll tell you later!” he said quickly as Genis stared suspiciously. “And this makes me look cool, not cute!” He politely corrected her on that, hands on his hips, chest swelling with pride as the wind tugged at his Noishe-cloak’s ears.

“Oh okay! Yeah it does look cool on you!” Colette was hopping on her toes. “I wish I had one too…”

Hm, maybe Kratos could make one for Colette? But he’d have to find him again… “You can borrow this one later if you want!”

“Bud, that looks awful,” Zelos was saying, his tone a little harder than usual. “Where’d you even get something like that?”

“It’s not awful! It’s really cool!” He stood proud, the wind pulling at his cloak dramatically, or so he thought it must have.

Presea was tugging at the hem, looking at it curiously. “There are no paw pads,” she simply stated, then turned away.

“I think paw pads would be weird on this,” Lloyd tried to explain. Noishe came up from behind to bump his large head against his back, whining slightly, but tail wagging at rapid speed. “Yeah, you also think it’s cool, don’t you, Noishe?”

And though he would never admit this out loud ever… sometimes, he thought Kratos could be really cool too…

---

In the Tower of Salvation, Zelos laid in a puddle of his own blood as Lloyd knelt to his level. He was panting after the fight, having long ago let go of his swords. “Zelos…”

“Hurry and get to Colette,” Zelos was struggling to say. “You don’t have long… Heh, neither do I, I guess…”

“Come on, don’t talk like that!”

Zelos faced Lloyd again, at the friends that surrounded him… then glared sharply. “You really had to keep wearing that during our fight, didn’t you?”

Lloyd blinked, absentmindedly tugging at one of the ears that flopped against his face. “Well, you didn’t give me time to take it off! And Colette liked me wearing it earlier…”

“Uh huh…”

“Also, it really matches well with my jacket, doesn’t it? It’s not even that heavy! Were you wanting one too?”

“…Bud…”

“You kept staring at it before! Is that what this was all about?” He looked expectantly at Zelos who now decided to not answer at all this time. “Hey! Zelos!”

“Uh, Lloyd?” Genis said, standing next to Lloyd. “I think he just died.”

“…Oh…”

---

In Torent Forest, the group came upon Kratos who was seated on the ground, looking deep in thought, clasping a bright red sword between his hands. He looked as somber as ever, and it set the air with a tension that Lloyd could feel all around him.

Raine sighed, saying in a whisper to an equally frowning Regal. “Is he really wearing it too?”

“For old time’s sake,” Kratos said, hearing the whisper clearly with his attuned hearing. He got up to his feet, the cloak shifting in the breeze, along with the long ears. “I see you had a similar idea, Lloyd.”

“Well, yeah! Why wouldn’t I?” Lloyd was saying, shocked that Kratos thought he would be any different! He turned back to his group that was full of confused faces. “Everyone, leave this to me.”

“You’re going to fight alone?” Kratos asked, face half hidden in his hood, the sun catching the beady eyes of the cloak.

“Lloyd won’t lose!” called out Colette, eyes bright now that she got to see two of the coveted Noishe-cloaks! “Especially not when he’s wearing something so cute…”

Lloyd had long ago came to terms that at least to Colette, the cloak looked cute on him, but he still stood tall, as cool as he felt! “And while I’m wearing this, I’m gonna show you just how much I’ve improved since last time!”

Kratos said nothing at first, merely readied his sword, eyes narrowed. “I’m not gonna hold back this time.”

Lloyd readied his own weapons, his expression also serious and tense. “I know… I won’t either.”

Genis groaned. “Guys, are you not worried that you’ll tear these up during your fight? I thought these were important for some reason!”

“But we have to!” Lloyd turned to his friend, looking more sure of this than anything.

Kratos nodded once more. “Please respect our choices.”

Raine facepalmed. “They are so goddamn similar it’s giving me a headache. How did I not see it before? It’s so obvious.”

Colette clapped her hands excitedly at now seeing two of the cloaks in action. “You got this, Lloyd!”

Noishe, who happened to be beside her, barked at seeing the familiar attire, while whining at the upcoming fight.

Few of the others could bear to watch…

---

At Dirk’s home, Lloyd carried the weight of his new sword set; one of the deepest azure, the other a bright crimson. A gift from each of his fathers.

“I’m sorry for putting everything on you,” Kratos said, feeling small as he stood next to the dwarf named Dirk. But Lloyd looked at each of them proudly.

“I have great dads. One made a ring for his son using the lost arts, and another risked his life to protect his son in secrecy.” Lloyd closed his eyes somberly as he thought on his words, then opened them with brightness. “That and now I not only have two cool swords by both my dads, but also two outfits! I’m so lucky!”

As he was, of course, wearing his usual red outfit – originally made by Dirk, numerous buttons and all – with the Noishe-cloak right on top of it.

Dirk looked at Lloyd with amusement, then shook his head with soft laughter. Kratos had long put away his own cloak (Dirk had offered to wash it with the next load of laundry), but he was sure Kratos probably wished he could wear it right now. “Yeah. You’ve got great parents!”

Now with two swords and two treasured outfits, Lloyd truly felt he was twice as strong as before!

---

And yet, after everything, it had been time to say goodbye. Lloyd looked to the sky where he had sent Kratos off for a long time before he headed back home, wondering on his decisions before he could finally settle with it.

“Are ya alright, Lloyd?”

Taking a deep breath as he turned around, leaving the grave of his mother to face Dirk, he smiled. Colette was standing next to him, with a similar look of concern on her face. face.“ I’m fine now.”

“I’m glad Kratos got to leave you a present in the end,” Colette commented, referring to the cloak he still wore. There was also the sword, Flamberge…. But she was totally talking about the cloak. He didn’t mind. It really was so cool!

“Heh, yeah! Me too.” Fixing the clasp to be a bit tighter, he stopped in mid-action. “Oh, I forgot some other stuff in my room. I’ll be right back and then we can go!”

“Okay!” Colette said cheerfully, while Dirk shook his head with a gruff smile. Lloyd went off in a flash of red and green through the door and up the stairs. He even felt faster with this cloak on! Well, Noishe was as fast as the wind, after all… maybe some of Noishe really was in this cloak.

When he went into his room, seeing the pack he had missed bringing back downstairs, it was then he saw something else – something that was placed on his bed.

Something that was a familiar green.

“No way…” Eyes shining, he reached for it to confirm it was real. And sure enough, it was another Noishe-cloak, just as well-made as the one he wore! But he could tell right away that it was a bit shorter? Not by much, but…

He saw a letter on the bed too, which he went immediately to read.

Lloyd,

I will have most likely left to Derris-Kharlan by now. But I wanted to finish making this for your partner during your journey in gathering the Exspheres. I’ve seen Colette stare at your cloak… Forgive me for assuming, but I had wanted to present this as a surprise.

Take care of each other. And don’t die before I do, my son.

Sincerely,

Kratos

Lloyd held both letter and cloak in hand, already imagining a certain familiar blonde-headed figure within the hood. She always seemed to love the ears specifically, and they had just the right amount of fringes on it – just like the real thing.

Hearing Noishe’s bark travel up the stairs, he was reminded he needed to hurry. He had the perfect reason to do so now.

“Colette! Look what I got!” he was already shouting, rushing back down the stairs, excited to see Colette’s happy smile on her face.

And as they both traveled down the road later on, donned in flowing patterns of green as Noishe followed along behind them, Lloyd couldn’t help but think, Kratos really can be cool sometimes…

#tales of symphonia #kratos aurion #lloyd irving #colette brunel #tales of #fanfiction #one shot #im gonna get these cloaks for my colloyd plushies and they're going to look amazing

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marika-kurohime · 5 years

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Tales of Vesperia: “Yuri is The Morning Star “her” self as “she” should be” theory (11/26 complete)

First of all, sorry for BAD English here.

Previously I’ve tried to post this on youtube, but... here is the full version of it.

We all are confused at the moment by Tales of the Rays storyline and Vesperia’s postgame situation especially.

It's crazy for NO JOKE. Let's do this. If you're fine to think of Vesperia as something simple with yaoi/yuri ships - for now you can STILL do so, but

you have to see optional dungeons of this game: "Labyrinth of Memories" with Kratos Aurion in it and "the Necropolis of Nostalgia" (Patty got the key to start that VERY HARD and annoying dungeon (enter is in Zaude) which explains the whole "Сhildren of the Full Moon" thing and this world's past), open up all the skits and so on... It'll rise A LOT of questions, believe me.

This is where you can read this

I'm NOT fine with yaoi/yuri ships and there seems to be the one and only RIGHT way to understand all this mess, but it's crazy.

I don't want to write the theory before we have at least some facts, So, I'll only warn you for now that:

1)Yuri is with Raven ALL THE TIME in ALL worlds: Link, Asteria (chapter 4), even Rays where we have Estelle with us... you will read something... strange... (yeah... "strange" is a good word for it) between Yuri and RAVEN all the time.

2) It seems that Yuri and Rita have some sort of connection to Iria's and Luka's (Tales of Innocence) god-powers.

To sum this up: or this game is just plain and stupid or it has a different gender system. Think about this:

Rita's dresser scene, and also, how Yuri lived his life before and after his attempt to join the knights (some skits hinted this... and we got THIS dirty card of him for New Year)

I can't say any more right now, we all want some facts regarding, well, his gender, current behavior and his postgame relationship with Raven and Estelle,

BUT one thing for sure. HE IS NOTHING close to what you'll expect of him even if you ship him and Flynn together.

Maybe, from now on (Tales of The Rays arc 3) this line will be shown for the first time, I don't know... thanks to PXZ2 I'm afraid to know...

There is more to this. In his True Knight outfit,

he has pointy ears for some reason.

And to top it all: so-called fanservice in the Rays' special anime just killed me on the spot.

NO NORMAL explanation for THIS. He is not only nothing even close to a human (half-elves included) and can BE confused with a woman as with Leon (Tales of Destiny) and his sister (Leon is only 16 years old ), ALL NORMAL men see Yuri THIS way at his... well he is 21 at the beginning of the game and 22+ by the end.

No facts. They've been MESSING with us for two years before DE's worldwide release. And It gets waaaay more serious from now on...

JUST LOOK at...him(???) from the God Eater collaboration trailer...

No, no, no, I don’t think that I’m seeing things...

And so, to make a long story short: 360 version was incomplete (or "censored" by Namco themselves is a better way to say it) to the point when you can't get this story at all.

Are you sure you want to know more?... for a joke, it went tooooo far somewhere after we left Heracles,

but what I'm reading now... makes me split my tea and think of dropping it all for good because of Yuri and Yuri alone.

Tales of Asteria made it even worse. In chapter 4 we have 3 lines about returning memories to a person, who the character holds dear: Jude-Milla, Collette-Lloyd, AND Raven-Yuri...

guess which one was mature, tragic and romantic the most?

And he wasn't called Yuri in the title of his Chapter. It was something like: "The fate of the Morning Star". Just like in the at least two tracks from OST of the original game. This and that one too. And who the hell is this so-called Morning Star???

Well...

So... basically, the main character here is RAVEN.

And it's a story how he got himself our dear "hell of a goddess"

for a...

sorry... for a friggin substitute of his lost love

(and Yuri resembles her greatly to make it worse).

Tales of the Rays arc 2 was HELL of a read for me because of Yuri alone...

He is living with Raven, нe worried sick for Flynn's wellbeing,

he constantly shakes off Estelle on Rita...

FOR a friggin YEAR! Main Vesperia's story explains NOTHING

of what you really need to know.

You need to 100% clear this game only to get some dirty hints and a mind blow trying to put all this mess together.

If you know Japanese, then Drama CD's help as well.

Update: And yes, THIS was some anniversary to add the fuel to the fire. And as I feared, it is NOT only Asteria’s problem for sure.

So, we love Tales of Vesperia only because people do not bother to find out, what “VESPERia” means.

“Vesper” means Venus (or Astar/Astarte, Morning (male form - Anunit)/Evening Star) GODDESS OF LOVE and justice, yeah, yeah...

... and prostitution,

homosexual relationships and war and a lot more). Goddess, damn it...

Remember this statue at the Baction Shrine?...

Update: actually all this mess isn’t just about him being who he is, the main problem is THIS map

which is clearly our Mother Earth and not their Terca Lumieres AT ALL! Add to this what The Morning Star himself tried to say in Project X Zone 2:

Sooo... does it mean, that he got his reputation in our Earthly mythos simply living out his life to the fullest on some sort of “vacation trip” and is remembered by two names

(as Shamash and his twin sister Ishtar)? Daaaamn,

as if Judith’s novel wasn’t bad (I mean great) enough...

And now goes our final mythos based theory: Yuri isn't exactly a goddess, he is just a very high-ranked and powerful anunnaki. And he has THIS level of mental disorder separating Shamash

( light: True Knight in the heart, kindness (love), and justice)

“ His friend wasn't a knight, he was part of a guild. His friend didn't believe in "justice" and "virtue" but rather "resolution" and "morality". ” About Yuri from Flynn’s biography in the Tales of the Rays.

Although often cynical, he has a strong sense of justice and possesses an earnest desire to aid the weak and the powerless. (c) Crosspedia PXZ2 (2015)

and Ishtar...

sorry, not this one. Ishtar (Anunit, The Morning Star)

(dark: a whore to the bone, love (means sex) & war) parts of his personality. That means that both of "them" aren't whole and...

well, it’s better to stop here for now and see how bad our Dark Venus with a hero syndrome:

will be from the point when...

when “She” gets (regains?) “Her” full self-awareness...

*PXZ Project X Zone (sorry, spelled it wrong, but I’m too furious, you see, to check small details. I hate so much I even had to write all this about MY favorite MALE character I mistook “HER” for... to begin with. Hate the very thought people still didn’t know WHOSE Anniversary it is. If Namco wouldn’t give proper explanations, or they will be worse than what we can assume now... well, I did everything I could for HIM... before all the HELL this body really is for

breaks out. because It’s impossible to continue like this

and Yuri himself already understood that even Flynn saw him in a different light for all his life.

Update:

and with a new skill like that (by-the-books Lightbringer to me), it all will be confirmed/over in a few months at best.

Gods!

...this is not fun even for me anymore. I'm starting to pity "her" for real. DE isn't even a remake, you know...

It's PS3's remake but PS3 and 360 are NOT one and the same. What did we do to deserve this ten years after? (5 for me) ...Oh, what a mess.

It can only be compared with Estelle's new dress.

Screaming "dawn"+"bride" 100% Aya (as a silly child in her dreams to make it the worst situation possible for her for Aya has no info about her in the mythos so you can imagine on whom she is based on personality-wise from now on).

And the whole Namco's Universe is Unus Mundus based. This much is obvious from Anima&Animus + Ix's-zerom connection thing as they have shown it.

So... Vesperia's story so far (all with "probably" before every statement):

1) Something horrible happened to right-handed "HER" before he is shown left-handed 7 years old boy. (Luke and Schwann are both left-handed, Damuron, Raven, and Asch aren't).

2) Something horrible happened to HIM after the movie resulting in a second kinda split of what should be The MORNING part

into what I call Shamash and Anunit "twins". Damn.

3) Something truly horrible happened to "them" atop of Zaude for he has a blastia and that "survival" of his now....looks really fishy.

4) And a TOTAL SHIT happened in the end atop of Tarquaron. for "their"'s body is Istar's avatar kinda thing and we got that Brave Vesperia "star" smashed in pieces, so it is a spirit now... and you can imagine what we have in the Rays in addition to “them” (total four of them: Shamash for Estelle, Nergal for Judith, Ishtar for Flynn and Anat for Raven...

or even more) and “their” problems... This gonna be a once in a lifetime experience if our dear author is bold enough to drag ISTAR (Sirius star WOLF GOD) here to play the Fenrir's part not just our poor Anunit (Nanaiya) "girl" based on goddess Sakuya.

And what in the world was 360th Yuri then who earned 8.5. years of love, respect and admiration of the fans worldwide before Claw bitch in Asteria ruined EVERYTHING “he” сould for him? Who suffers so much from the mistreating he gets from everyone at their Dorms?

Hah... just a half of something really close to Luke's kind of existence

...without his own body.

This whole Rays "story" is a ONE BIG MESS meant to explain THIS.

AND this gonna hit really hard even those of us who are well prepared because Duke’s event and info from the near future were unexpected and crazy enough for me to get shocked despite all this lore digging. Then I did even more lore digging and dropped it all for good after chapter 9 of FR arc.

I just want to see how people will react if all the shit you just finished reading here about our favorite world and character

will be proven as even HALF-right in the near future as the story in the Rays progresses.

This still looks too simple for me. The real deal SURE is worse. I’m 100% positive only concept-wise mostly because of how he will look in GEREO’S world,

because he doesn’t look human at all and the symbols on his outfit are clearly Istar’s. I’m not bold enough to write how I think the real story will turn out...

, but our CONCEPT-based theory is enough for me to drop it all until it is over... and remember HIM

as he was AND by Shamash’s name only.

P.S. translated Rays’ screenshots are from Lol’s Youtube channel

#tales of asteria #tales of the rays #tales of vesperia #yuri lowell #tales of

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barbosaasouza · 6 years

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Who is the Stranger in God of War?

The God of War series often plays host to bold and unusual characters, and the latest entry is no exception. A mysterious figure known only as The Stranger shows up within the game's first chapter and immediately makes his strength and skills in combat known, giving players a good reason to wonder who he is and what he's capable of.

Those who have made progress into the later missions in God of War will come to know more about The Stranger; likewise, players who don't want to spoil any of the game's secrets can simply wait to have the game explain the Stranger's significance at its own pace. For everyone else, we're happy to provide some details below — just be warned that this information will contain spoilers.

Who is The Stranger?

The initial boss battle encounter with The Stranger will leave some players reeling, concerned about whether or not the man is truly invincible. He's clearly skilled in battle, plus he definitely seems to be taking a specific interest in Kratos. Naturally, there's good reason for that.

As it turns out, The Stranger is actually a moniker for the god known as Baldur. He's based on the god Baldr in Norse mythology, the offspring of Odin and Frigg, brother to Thor, said to have been so fair in appearance that he cast a light from his body wherever he went.

Things are a little different within God of War — in the game, Baldur is eventually revealed to be Freya's son. He keeps popping up throughout the adventure for a number of reasons, most of which are obvious. After all, Kratos is a renowned godslayer, and his presence in the Norse realms surely spells disaster for those who stand in his way.

More than just another powerful figure to fight against, Baldur's role also ties into the game's themes of fathers and sons and the loyalties they share to one another. Freya provides assistance to both Kratos and Atreus, but Baldur is determined to take them out — a directive that's eventually revealed to have been given to him from Odin himself.

Now that The Stranger's identity has been revealed, learn even more about Kratos' latest adventure by heading over to our God of War walkthrough and guide hub, full of stories detailing missions, collectibles, and more.

Who is the Stranger in God of War? published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

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mukyoucom · 7 years

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God of War: How Santa Monica Studio Defined the Game’s Norse Direction

From Playstation Blog USA

As we journey towards early 2018, we want to bring you behind-the-curtain of God of War’s development with stories you may not hear anywhere else. This is a new beginning, and a deeply personal quest for the franchise and Santa Monica Studio. We’re very excited to bring you into the heart and soul of our process. Follow us @SonySantaMonica to always stay informed.

A freezing blizzard roars while shadows of wolves can be seen in the distance. A seemingly mysterious mountain looms in the distance while a broken, gigantic statue sits in the middle of a quiet lake guarded by a large creature lingering beneath. These embers of our new Norse universe describe the rich, visual areas Kratos and Atreus will experience in God of War. How was the visual look and feel of our take on Norse mythology defined? It all centers around one defining piece of concept art from acclaimed artist, Jose Peña.

The Visual Foundation

Jose worked as a concept artist here at our studio at the outset of the new vision for God of War. Excited and wide-eyed at the opportunity, he and our Creative Director, Cory Barlog, immediately connected on the new direction, but leaving quite a bit to Jose’s imagination initially.. Unbeknownst to Jose was the immense challenge that would be set before him: create an original defining piece of artwork to set the visual tone of the new direction for God of War. Cory remembered clearly how their first conversation went, “The inception of this very first concept art was from a one paragraph write-up and a phone call with Jose, talking about the mood and the tone. I think I threw a bunch of stuff at him with buzzwords like more grounded; the fact that his son is not a burden; the fact that Kratos and Atreus are together battling a very hostile world. And he was just smiling at the other end of the Skype call, and because of the new direction, we weren’t able to provide him with exact ideas.”

The call ended, and Jose took a deep breath. He immediately started working and delivered several key concept art pieces to the team within the span of a few weeks. Jose made sure to center his first concept art piece on a familiar but older Kratos and his son, Atreus. Little did Jose know this concept art piece would be one of the most valuable and foundational pieces for the new visual direction of God of War.

Cory remembered how amazed he was when he saw the art piece for the first time. He remarked, “The way Jose was able to capture exactly what we were looking for was astounding. He has a grounding in historical illustrations and a desire to dig deep and understand the most about each individual piece. There was so much humanity on top of the mythology and to capture it the first time out was ridiculous.” There was a consensus amongst our small team at the time, Jose had struck gold. Cory said, “This artwork truly became the beacon and lit the path for us. Everything we did – we referred back to this piece.”

Principal Character Artist, Rafael Grassetti was also there the day Jose’s artwork was shared amongst our studio – he was stunned. “This art piece was definitely what everyone had in mind,” Raf commented. “It was a big inspiration for everyone who joined the project and saw this. Jose was the first one to get what we were doing and what we were making. Even on the final color correction, we kept coming back to what Jose was doing here and integrating every single part of this to try and get it closer to what he did.”

Decoding the Artistic Details

Take a second look at Jose’s concept art: what stands out most to you? There are so many layers of intrigue and detail all over the piece to decode. For our team, one central theme immediate to us was defining the relationship between Kratos and his son. Raf explained his perspective on the importance of seeing these two characters framed in Jose’s art, “The first time you see Kratos and Atreus’ relationship, you get it. This artwork sells the connection. You see many other elements, but it’s not the main focus. This is more of a piece between the father and the son.”

“This artwork truly became the beacon and lit the path for us. Everything we did – we referred back to this piece.”

Cory, nodding his head in agreement, pointed to the significance in the characters’ positioning and stances. “You look at this piece, and you see the idea of Kratos protecting the kid,” he said. “Kratos puts himself in between harm and the son as he wants to take the brunt of the first blows. Atreus needs his father, but he also looks capable. You show the son connecting and holding onto Kratos’ arm, but you also see the kid with his knife out. It’s the idea of this parental yet distant relationship.”

The change in landscape and adversaries also presented unique challenges Kratos and Atreus would have to face. Raf noted this particular theme as, “a fight against Kratos’ enemies and adventures.” He commented, “In the artwork, you see the challenges ahead and the goal up top. Everything you do to have to protect the son is an integral part of this adventure. Jose played with the focus of the image to have us, the viewer, understand everything going on yet still have lingering questions about the world.”

Cory looked intently at the falling snow, feeling enraptured by the visual cues that alluded to a different yet somewhat familiar journey. He commented, “The idea of this unforgiving world and the visual tone with the snow, it just makes you feel cold. And there is this adversity between you and your destination at all times. Yet there is this building of unknown origin guiding you to the top of the mountain. That is the promise of adventure in every God of War game, and it still rings true here, even in this different setting.”

“In the artwork, you see the challenges ahead and the goal up top – everything you do to have to protect the son is an integral part of this adventure.”

Tying all of these elements together was the distinctive visual style that made for a fantastical yet grounded filter. Even though this new land may be full of strange, incredible creatures, Jose made the world feel tangible. Cory again reflected on his adoration for the style and its implementation in Jose’s concept art. He stated, “This visual style borrowed from that pre-digital era where everything was optical, like all of those awesome fantasy 80’s movies. They all had this sort of classic, storybook vibe without the super crazy over-saturated colors. There is an element of this storybook fantasy quality in the concept art that you don’t often see in video game visuals.”

From Past to Present

As Cory now looks at Jose’s artwork months and months later, he reflected on the original inspirational art piece of God of War 1 (pictured below). Here, a very early version of Kratos looks out into the desert landscape. Cory contemplated the differences yet also surprising similarities between the two games. He said, “Looking back on God of War 1’s original concept art piece and our current God of War concept art piece, there are these fantastic creative similarities that I think our studio inadvertently shot for but at two different angles.” Cory pointed to the first God of War concept art piece and commented, “Initially, our team wanted this very real and mature take on Greek mythology. But even in that original image, you can see a fantastic destination; a chasm seemingly uncrossable that is preventing you from getting there; and the hostile, iridescent environment against you. And then this warrior looking off into the distance.”

At the same time, Cory noted the key differences between the two art pieces: a maturation of not only the series but Kratos himself. Cory said, “Although the hero’s journey is present in both of the images, I do think there is a sense of growth when you put those images side by side. You see Kratos starting in his youth in the God of War 1 art piece, and in this current concept art, he is now moving towards his middle-aged self – the idea of Kratos taking on this responsibility of parenthood in a different way. He was perhaps too young and impulsive in his early years, which made him make bad decisions, so you see this change and transition in Jose’s art.”

The Journey From Art to Game

A fascinating aspect about game development is the evolution from concept art to gameplay… For instance, Kratos and Atreus’ clothing have been reworked multiple times before final. Raf commented, “The costuming was awesome to see in Jose’s concept art and that they lived in this universe, but when you put that in the actual game, it’s actually hard to see because of the high-paced combat in the game. We wanted to make sure we stay inspired from the piece in terms of the clothing. It was one of the biggest initial challenges we had after seeing the piece and translating the artwork to gameplay.”

Cory pointed out another challenge – Atreus’ hair. In Jose’s art piece, Atreus’ hair is grey, which constantly fluctuated throughout the production. Cory joked about some of the different iterations they played around with since then, “At one point, we went from the grey hair to an interesting render of Atreus having no hair at all. And I was like, ‘Oh, I kind of like that. Very interesting.’ But I think people thought Atreus suddenly looked like Mini-Kratos and was too ridiculous.” These drastic changes to Atreus’ hair, however, were quickly finalized by Jose with the ‘haircut’ into what we see today.

Other aspects of the artwork evolved from the original piece, such as Atreus’ arm tattoos. Although he did not have his bow and arrows just yet, the first signs of his tattoos were shown here, and as Cory described it, “actually allows the kid to have steady aim with his future bow.” Also, Kratos’ base axe model was born from Jose’s concept art. Cory remarked, “Our approach to keep things simple at first allowed us to really hone in on what feels really cool. With the axe, for instance, we started with the straight handle before later adding a curve onto it.”

“Kratos is now moving towards his middle-aged self: the idea of taking on this responsibility of parenthood in a different way.”

The enemies that made it into the final game were heavily inspired by Jose’s concept art as well. Raf created the Draugrs specifically for the first E3 2016 trailer and remembered how much the original artwork helped with those designs. He reminisced, “We did a lot of work on those guys, and when we finished, we went back to this particular piece and thought, how do we make it look more like this? How do we capture of what’s happening here?”

A Journey Like No Other

For Cory, Jose’s concept art reinforced a consistent theme: always strive to make quality work with some of the best creatives in the industry – a thread that has run through all of the God of War games. “If you look back towards the inception of Santa Monica Studio,” Cory said, “we have always been fortunate to have the right people at the right time, like the concept artists that have come through the studio. Each of them have made an impact on this franchise. Their styles were perfectly meshed with where we needed to be and where we needed to go at that time. We’ve had that kind of evolution throughout simply because people were constantly able to look at things a little differently.”

Cory added his sentiments about the entire studio and the leaders he has been fortunate enough to work with. He commented, “All of these guys have had such a tremendous amount of impact on the lens that we see his world through. You really can’t make anything today of this scale without having visionaries like that. So for me, the best part of this whole project is that we’ve been lucky and fortunate enough to find the right people – to find the ‘needle in the haystack’ so to speak.”

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