Leona and Diana Old Lore / New Lore. My take on it

Okay so, I am relatively new to the League community, with barely three years under my belt, but lore is one of the things that interest me the most about it. And well, the dynamic between Sun and Moon coded characters is one I never pass up in exploring. Leodia is arguably my favorite ship from League, but it's mostly the idea of it, with recent executions leaving me feel kinda... meh.

So apart from probably having read every single half decent fic under the Leona/Diana tag on Ao3, I have scourged the internet for their lore and have come across quite a few references of their old one. Never found the complete thing though. And possibly unpopular opinion, I like it better than their current one.

That is not to say that the old lore is any sort of masterpiece, and people could argue that it doesn't set them up to be lovers, but I think with a little bit of tweeking it can become really good. Many of my ideas are inspired from a fic I probably read like 2 years ago, also features an OC named Helena and has a side of Riven's inner struggle, Riven and Diana friendship and Rivelia. (I cannot for the life of me remember the name, I apologise)

My problem with the New Lore mostly, is that it's vanilla for a mountain of warriors and *cultists* it feels almost like High School AU but try to fit it into League, and yeah it's not it for me. Also the co-dependence of their ascension, and just Leona's whole thing kinda sucks. Like I can see how people might see it as romantic and poetic and whatever, that they ascended at the same time and Leona followed Diana up the mountain to keep her safe etc. etc. but that's kinda glossing over some issues especially with Leona's character.

Now the new take on Leona's character is really interesting, and a complete 180 from the old lore and actually the idea isn't so bad, if they ACTUALLY DID ANYTHING WITH IT. Now as a person that definitely doesn't overanalyze literature and fictional characters for fun, Leona's new lore is such an interesting take and could be taken many directions if someone chose to explore it and go a bit deeper that "genocidal close-minded bigot".

At first read Leona is really just that. She does what she is told no hesitation, no questions asked and turns on Diana also no questions asked. But let's take it a bit deeper shall we?

I have no intention to make it as though Leona holds no blame for her actions or that she is a paragon of virtue, cause she is not. But if we dive in her story a bit more we could perhaps understand how she came to be what she is. Because under no circumstance do I think she is that daft. Especially if she was with Diana for years. Some of that curiosity must have rubbed off on her. Then again she could have just ignored everything Diana said about the Moon and her research. I guess we'll never know.

I do not intent to ramble about Leona in this post. But I'll give you some clues as to why her backstory and the whole Targonian premise is important. She is born practically into a cult, or well a religion with really strict and particular disciplines. So already an environment with very particular ideas and particular ways to enforce them. She is the daughter of two really strict and proud parents in said cult, who seem to care more abt her achievements and punishments than anything (Grade A parenting), - She doesn't even send them that letter in the end - and she is the golden child of the Solari. So what do we have in our hands? An affection starved perfectionist suffering from gifted child expectations. NOw take that and put it in the Solari premise of religious fanatism and voila!

(I will probably at some point make a separate post abt this, because I really took a deep dive in Leona's character when writing my Ruination fic - that I wont ever post anywhere probably - and I have a LOT to say)

So in the old Lore the Rakkori are the warriors and defenders of the mountain, a bit heavy on the bloodthirsty side though, hence the right of Kor. A coming of age ritual battle to the death. (What else could it be). Leona being the only one that refuses to kill her opponent and friend, is sentenced to be executed, but before the execution could be carried out, she is claimed by the Golden Sister as the Sun aspect with a beam of golden light.

I feel that Leona's ascension in particular is really important in the old Lore, because in such a warlike culture she was rewarded for showing mercy. She was chosen because she chose mercy over mindless slaughter. Something that could potentially be really important later on, in a mountain where half its indigenous people have slaughtered the other half??

Point 1 I like from the old lore: The Sun chose Leona because she was merciful. (Or had a semblance of a moral compass)

Moving forward the lines kinda blur for Diana, mostly cause I am not sure what I remember is actual lore and what is related to that magnificent fic.

Her curious truth-searching nature is ever present. She discovers hidden texts, burned pages and embarks on a journey of knowledge that leads her to climb the mountain. Only she is in the company of an elderly woman I think? Anyhow, she finds - is lead to - an alcove, an old temple and the relics of the Moon Aspect. Overjoyed at her findings she dons the armor takes it all down to the elders, they call her a heretic, brand her, and intent to kill her, when she begs the Moon for help and ascends. Either her or the moon blast kills every elder in the room she gets blamed either way, and the chase begins.

Diana is at her core an academic and a researcher, that researches. She has her Indiana Jones moment in the mountain and there is a process a ritual to it, instead of I just climbed up saw unimaginable terrors and now I am the aspect of the Moon (over-simplified I know. The climb judges worthiness). There is something about her checking old dusty books, and deciding to brave the climb looking for answers. About her choosing to be helpful -kinda as a mirror to Leona sparing her opponent, Diana, the one that keeps to herself - apart from when arguing abt academics and scriptures consciously engages with and helps a stranger, guiding them up the mountain and helping them along the way when the trip became too arduous.

Point 2 I like from the old lore: The ritual of the process in Diana's research and ascension and the mirroring with Leona, minor though it is, that they ascended - sooner or later - after an act of kindness that contradicted what would have been expected of them.

Point 3 I like from the old lore: The brand. Like it just adds another layer to Diana's character. And is a much better explanation for its presence than Moon magic. Also the amount of complications this act has, its just delicious. I mean THE DRAMA. and ofc THE TRAUMA. I don't think she'd go near a fire for months.

Point 3 I like from the old lore: The independence of the ascensions. It gives us the chance to see them grow and evolve as their own people before the thread of fate that binds them together appears. We get to see one without the other, and that would later make their dynamic more interesting.

But How are Leona and Diana connected?

In the old lore they aren't. I think. Leona is like a blood hound that needs to kill the heretic.

In the fic, Leona's dad was one of the guards in the room when Diana ascended and was killed, which in the context of the story adds a layer of betrayal between them, as up to that point they were lovers. And you know what, I really like that idea. And I was thinking that perhaps we could try to get the best of both worlds. Though it might be difficult to fully develop the idea.

Lore Idea:

So the Rakkor ans the Solari are different factions. Solari = priesthood, Rakkor = Warriors. Leona's family are Rakkori, and they are simple people, her father works as a guard for the Solari Temple, something that is considered a bit of an honor despite that fact that the factions don't rly see eye to eye about everything. Right of Kor happens when they are around 15 (Yes I want to traumatize a bunch of teenagers that train to fight, kill and defend since they could walk) and Leona's story proceeds as we know it. She then gets taken to the Solari temple to be educated in their way and train to become the figurehead of their faith. (Like that Leona has already had the chance to develop some critical thinking, and to experience sth different.)

She gets there and all the acolytes younger and older look at her starry eyed, because the elders told them so and because they see her like a bit of a Messiah. (Plus I doubt a bunch of scrawny academics and priests to be have seen anyone their age with that musculature). All of them apart from Diana, who as always isn't particularly impressed by the paragon in training of the Solari faith.

Leona is relieved to get some normal person treatment, even if it is from the broody girl with her nose in a book half the time, and like the cocky 15year old meathead she is, she wants to show off a bit and perhaps win her favor. Shenanigans ensue and Diana unlike the other people that desperately want to befriend Leona, is not impressed.

Another point of similarity is that Leona - that has ascended already mind you - would have a few questions and oppositions to all that mumbo jumbo the Solari say about the Sun and the Moon. So after she flops exceptionally in one oration or sth class, with saying something positive about the Moon that has the students look at her with horror, and the priest fuming and screaming punishments - light ones, because the Sun chose that clueless miscreant, and he doesn't want to fall out of her favor - Leona manages unknowingly to win inquisitive Diana's intrigue - and favor, (but don't tell anyone about the last part).

A tentative bond forms. It gets solidified when Leona stops a few bullies from beating Diana to a pulp, and the dark haired girl in return helps her pass a class she was having an exceptionally hard time with. Diana - who in my head is a year younger - does eventually get charmed by the surprisingly goofy and sunny disposition of the Sun Aspect in training. (Don't get this wrong Leona will still act like a 15 yo that has had to train and fight every day of her life) Diana asks her countless questions about life outside the temple and they discuss theology together, either trying to help Leona understand, or trying to make sense of Diana's findings. (The Rakkori in my head are far more neutral abt Sun and Moon, more like if there is light and I can see I am happy, whether its the Sun or the Moon. "There was even that one traveler from some big city, Pilt - something was it, that even said that the Sun and Moon are like orbs in the night sky, one is a star rly close to us and the other is like a smaller planet or something, can you imagine?")

The become friends, the Nightless Eve happens, and then they become lovers. Leona starts suffering from all those expectations and the charade she needs to put up, she has more hours with classes and training she gets tutored by the priests, punished more severely when se speaks out of line or says something borderline heretical, yada yada. More people like her and she likes the attention. She doesn't abandon Diana though, and she always defends her. Things get difficult as the years go by but still they persist. (We could include some homophobic sentiment in the Solari, or even sth downright misogynistic, which would add complications with Leona's state as the Radiant Dawn, and the wlw relationships as they would not be seen as real substantial relationships - add asshole trying to flirt with Leona bc her relationship with Diana isn't real cause they are both women- DRAMA)

Leona is 18 passes her final exams, and Diana is 17 when Diana's arc happens. They have a huge fight about faith and contradicting it and if it is worth it. (No one wants to bandage their lover's whipped back that is practically a mosaic of scars at this point, or nurse them to health after sever dehydration - cause yes apparently standing naked in the sun for three days can do that). Diana storms off angrily. Finds an elderly woman in the base of the mountain that needs help going up (Silver sister in disguise). She helps her up, and when they are like 3/4 up and rest cause Diana's everything hurts the woman disappears. She looks around, finds the temple, sees carved proof that the Solari and Lunari co-existed gets the relics and climbs back down excited to show everyone her findings.

Meanwhile Leona has left for an emergency Solari mission or sth, and hasn't told Diana. Diana goes to the priests, they don't believe her, she invokes her right to be judged by the Aspect or sth, the priests pretend that Leona is still around and doesn't want to see or help Diana (Strike 1 of betrayal). Diana feels betrayed and hurt and fears for her life. The priests give the order for her to be branded and executed on the spot. Leona's dad who had been in the room and had met Diana, tries to plead her case from an outsider's perspective. One of the elders reprimands him and threatens him with death.

They brand Diana with the moon Symbol on the forehead, and are about to place her face down in the flames and / or slit her throat, and Iasur can't have her dying thinking that Leona betrayed her (A bit of family honor and afterlife beliefs - honor is a huge deal-, and a bit of a soft spot for his daughter's closest companion). He tries to fight his way to her, and gets killed in the process. Diana witnessing Iasur's murder prays to the moon for help, and seconds before breathing her last breath, she ascends. Pillar of Moonlight and heavenly fire burns everything to a crisp, and Diana remains alone in the middle of the room, barely breathing and clad in the garb of he Moon aspect. She takes one look around her and speeds away from the temple.

Leona returns three days after to find the council and her father dead, the council room in ruins and apparently Diana to blame. On top of that Diana is missing. Leona is presented with the case and believes Diana to be her father's killer. She vows to avenge him and kill the Scorn of the Moon, because her Diana wouldn't do that. It must be the moon spirit. and yes apparently Moon is bad because dad and Diana are gone bc of it. Leona is determined to save her lover from the Moon's clutches and set her free the only way she knows how, with killing her.

And thus their journey begins. Leona becomes more and more of a puppet from here and on driven by anger and betrayal and Diana feels abandoned and betrayed, with nothing left in the world but the glow of the branding mark on her forehead and the knowledge that her lover wanted her dead.

And as for their path to reunite again and achieve peace? Well Leona needs to be merciful, and Diana needs to guide and support someone through the right path.

Thanks for reading this huge ass post. Again MANY credits to that amazing writer on Ao3, if I find that fic I'll put a link here, cause its phenomenal.

Take care and see ya next time!

love language four

happy love language sunday. this episode brought to you by me having the 'another scorcher!' sears hvac commercial stuck in my head. (if she doesn't know this commercial she's too young for you bro!) there is a description in here for a 'confetti glitter cup' and i need you to know i don't mean the ones you know of today. i mean these ones from the 90s.

love language set list

sticky. melted popsicle on toddler hands hot. running to the ice cream truck hot. public pool day for the kids with some pocket money, home made sprinkler with the hose for the kids without it hot. every shriek of their laughter peirces your ears and you smile. you sit on an almost broken beach chair, the lounge kind, blue, green and white plastic suspending you in place. a trailer park duchess on her throne in her yellow polka dot bikini and cut off shorts. the tinny echo of the radio plays across the way where mrs. milly plays with her kids, beach ball in one hand over her head, baby milly on her hip in the other. her husband took the car for work so they couldn't have the pool day they wanted. you would've driven them if eddie hadn't been going to and from home depot all morning for parts.

in the cacophony of the tinny radio, the woosh of hoses, the bubbling laughter of kids, you hear the clang of metal on metal just a few feet away -- followed up by a grunt of frustration you knew all too well. that HVAC unit needed fixing at the end of winter but he forgot about it. forgot until it started to get too hot. kicking off the sheets hot. cold showers at night hot. 'don't touch me, it's too hot' hot. the moment you said it he knew it had to get fixed, the sun isn't gonna get between him and whats his. "you okay over there?" you ask, sipping your lemonade through a curly straw, the ice cold drink making condensation build on the confetti cup you inherited from your aunt. you cross your legs, losing a flip flop in the process. "mhm," he grunts. you look over, his messy curls tied up on the top of his head, tongue poking out of his lips. his tattoos glisten in the sun, covered in a sheen of sweat and sun screen. he's been stripped down to a pair of black jean shorts all morning and early afternoon, bandana dangling from the back pocket that he's been using to wipe off his face. the soft definition in his arms, back, and chest makes you feel girlish -- giggly. the park's mr. fix it -- all yours, all the time. until it's too hot. broken hvac during a heat wave hot. "do you want me to help?" you ask. you see his eyes peer over the top of the machine and give you a look that can only be understood as 'please stop talking'. you sip your lemonade again. mrs. milly's beach ball hits you on the top of the head with a soft 'bop!' and you laugh. you look back over to eddie holding back his own, desperate to stay focus and annoyed at the task at hand. if he giggles, the hvac will know and won't take him seriously anymore.

"sorry!" her four year old says, her seven year old waves his hands to get the ball back. you spike it over like you know how to play volleyball. you don't. another twenty minutes and the sounds of the park mix with your boyfriend's cussing, the clang of metal on metal, of wrenches and bolts being thrown against the side of the trailer. "hey, hey," you say, getting up off the nearly broken lounge, "stop that." you hurry over in your half way on flip flops, the strings of your bikini tickling your back. he takes in a deep breath through the nose and it's just too hot and humid for it to soothe him. you offer him your lemonade and he blushes over the sunburn pink on his cheeks. the ice cubes jiggle against the plastic, the confetti in the cup catches the light while he forgoes the straw and chugs it. he breathes heavy after, passing the cup back to you, empty. "thought i could fix it," he says softly between breaths, "wayne could always fix it. this stupid piece of shit." "fuck the hvac," you say with a smile. he laughs, taking the bandana out of his pocket and wiping the sweat from under his bangs, dampended and curly. "yeah, fuck it," he smiles back.

"fuck it!" you say again, giving it a little kick. something clicks and clinks inside of the machine and it roars to life. you both look at each other, eyes wide. the sun beats down on your both -- a reminder of the heat. 'can't believe a kick in flip flops fixed the hvac' hot. "you gotta be kidding me," he says, half mad, half surprised, "i've been out here all fuckin'' day." "maybe you did need my help," you smirk. he collects his tools, tossing them in the box, muttering an annoyed 'don't talk to me.' you head into the house, shutting the windows to keep the air in while you feel it start to fill the kitchen and living room. not quite cold, but the air flow was welcomed in the stagnant heat. you pour more lemonade for yourself and your mr. fix it boyfriend. your aunts recipe that just tastes better in confetti cups. he comes in, tossing the tool box on the table and sighs at the feeling of the air flow in the room. not cooled yet, not conditioned. just the flow. he sees your offering and smile spreads across his face. he's delicate in his sips now, using the curly straw you put in there, a clear blue -- shiny. "hm," he he says in relief, feeling the drink revive him now that the worst was over. he stalks over in his black cut off shorts, hands dirty, cupping them behind your thighs to lift you onto the counter. "hey," you protest, but not really. his fingers reaching behind your back to pull at the strings of your bikini, "s'too hot." "that's why i'm takin' it off," he smirks, knowing it won't be too hot in a half hour. you feel the scratch of his five o'clock shadow brush against your jaw while his tongue collects a stripe of sweat from your neck. lemonade and salt, margaritaville skin. "hm," you mumble at the feeling. "hm," he mumbles back. dirty hands on your waist. your relief at the blinds on the storm door being shut. too hot. neck kisses on the counter hot. bikini top on the kitchen floor hot. can't complain about it being too hot, hot. lemonade sips off your skin, hot. sticky.

Let’s Go Party! 💋

M-rated (but not quite explicit) excerpt from a super smutty, slightly cracky fic I’d been working on before we’d even started planning @genmaweek! But then, ya know, my autoimmune system effed me all up! 😅 So here’s a little (unedited) GenIno ‘oral fixation’ tease....

PS: mods @raizagabriel and @mrssakurahatake are 💯 partially to blame for this. 

-

She didn’t have to raise her eyes from the mirror and her painstaking contouring. She could almost hear his moping at the sight of the outfit she’d assembled for him.

“Genma, sex sells,” she snapped at his pouty reflection behind her. Sighing and closing her freshly-painted eyelids, she lowered her bronzer with a loud clack on the vanity. Blush would be next. “We agreed we’d do whatever it took to win. And we are going to win this time.” She pivoted slightly on her stool, staring him down over her shoulder. “…Aren’t we?”

He’d never admit it—not to a single soul—but he felt a chill run down his neck at her tone, the ice in her crystal eyes. Dammit. He bit down on his senbon. It’s like a fucking dojutsu!

She was right, of course. He’d known what he was signing up for over two weeks ago. …And he definitely owed her this one.

He wasn’t entirely sure how it had happened, but somehow Halloween had turned into a sort of grudge-match between the ninja elites, only growing more competitive with the years.

And his girl liked winning...and winners. Which was why his rather…lackluster…presentation at last year’s annual party still burned Ino. However, a chance at redemption had come early this year in the form of a costumed benefit ‘gala,’ complete with a singles and couples contest, of course.

He almost laughed aloud.

‘Gala’ was definitely too strong of a word, he decided, throwing another glance at his…costume…where it hung, trying not to cringe. Whatever it was, they had a little extra incentive to win at the event: the occasion had been Sakura’s proposal to raise funds to expand the hospital—which meant that Sakura was taking this challenge deathly seriously, …which meant that Ino was nearly salivating at the chance to publicly destroy her best friend.

Plus, he had a little public domination of his own to deliver. Genma had nothing against Sakura, but she hadn’t won alone last Halloween—Kakashi had looked so damn smug up on that stage! Not many people knew it, but the Copy Bastard had a bit of a penchant for dressing up…and photography­.

No way in hell would he let his best friend and his girl win twice in a row! His fists clenched at his side.

Fuck me, I’m spending too much time with Kakashi and Gai…. He shrugged it off. Winning was just more fun. And winning with his girl… Well… “Yeah, babe.” Genma smirked around his spike, stooping low to wrap an arm around her waist, to smell the floral shampoo on those platinum locks, and whispered on her ear, “We’re going to wipe the floor with ‘em this time.” He waited for her glower to melt away and her blue, blue eyes to land on his in the mirror, then bent closer. “Sakura won’t stand a chance. Not against my blonde bombshell.” She giggled as he swept away her bouncy waves, still faintly warm from the curling iron. It was such a pretty sound, he almost didn’t want to interrupt it. Almost. The laughter froze in her throat as he dragged his lips down her neck, letting the cool metal in his mouth roll over her hot, bronzed skin….  

Ino let out a shaky breath under his touch, a natural flush flooding her face, suddenly unable to stay focused on her pristine reflection. He deliberately closed his teeth around the taut, bright-white bikini string at her clavicle, watching her eyes widen, feeling her gasp beneath his lips before he heard it. He gave the strap a little tug, letting his senbon only just graze her chin, …before he released it with a satisfying snap!

She yelped and squirmed against his arm, but her writhing subsided a moment later: she finally caught a glimpse of his expression.

Genma’s smirk had returned as he rested his chin on her bare shoulder, leisurely swizeling his favorite piece of metal. His fingers toyed with the taut, magenta spaghetti strap of her v-neck dress as he gazed at her flustered face; waiting knowingly, patiently for her reaction to his dexterous goading. It had been no easy feat, after all—managing two separate items between his teeth—but he never could resist a chance to remind his girl just how talented he was with his mouth….

And she never could resist a demonstration: Ino sucked in a breath through her very pink lips.

Fuck bragging rights. He’d rather have Inoany day.

Sucking his needle to the far corner of his mouth, he pressed a kiss to the little pink welt he’d left on her. “Hmmm…” The mark wasn’t quite pink enough to go with the rest of her carefully curated theme. He could fix that. With a quick, sucking bite and a drag of his canines, …before quirking an eyebrow at their reflection, radiating self-satisfied suggestion as Ino let out the quietest moan she could manage. His senbon wasn’t the only thing that jumped at that noise….

But with the rosy tint to her un-blushed cheeks and the way she huffily unwrapped his arm from her stomach, …he decided she was sufficiently reminded she wasn’t the only one who could call up goosebumps like some kind of jutsu. Besides, he knew she’d murder him in his sleep if he made them lose by showing up late….

His Yamanaka could read his mind with just a look: “I will kill you if I have to start over on my makeup!!” Still flushed, Ino’s eyes returned to her reflection, blonde ponytail swishing dramatically with the motion.

“Alright, alright.” His cocky grin widened as he stood, bobbing his senbon dangerously. “You’ll knock ‘em dead, …doll.”

Recovering herself, Ino nodded. “Damn straight! Forehead won’t stand a chance tonight!” She snapped open the lid to her bronzer once more, now wearing a rather evil smile as she grabbed her biggest, fluffiest kabuki brush. She swirled the brush on the golden-tan pigment and unhurriedly pulled down the front of her dress, wholly exposing her sequined bikini top and cleavage. She didn’t have to look up: she knew he was watching her every move as she carefully ruffled the brush in the between her breasts, starting from her sternum up. The corner of her pink lips pulled up as she reached for her favorite pearly powder and lightly dusted it over her décolletage; slowly, carefully highlighting the bare crescents of her breasts. “Now go get dressed!” She tapped the brush twice on each collar bone before retiring it.

Just as he was about to utter a sarcastic, ‘Yes, ma’am!’ and head to clothes she’d laid out for him, her hand snapped up. Before he could blink, she had his senbon plucked up between the fuchsia nails of her middle and forefinger, brandishing it with her command, “Just for tonight, you’re going to have to part with this,”—she twirled it around, the vanity lights catching on her manicure—“…Ken.”

He gaped at his girlfriend, then at his costume, then back at his girlfriend. Was this the price of victory? Was beating Kakashi and Sakura really worth the sacrifices? He’d accepted that his dignity was gone, but what…what the hell was he supposed to do with his mouth?!

--

🚨⚠️ Spoiler Alert ⚠️🚨

(They’re Malibu Barbie and Ken...and yes, the title is indeed borrowed from “Barbie Girl”!)

Hope ya’ll enjoyed! I eventually plan on finishing this fic, I promise!! It’ll be a two- to three-chapter little ficlet with GenIno, KakaSaku, ...and even some GenInoKakaSaku. I mean, there are only so many "private” locales to choose from inside a crowded, rowdy bar, right? ...And sharing is caring. 😏

Thought I should write up my own thoughts on the MHWorld demo for a certain particular XBox owner.

Thoughts are quite positive, but I don't think that's a huge surprise. Definitely the biggest downer is that female armour still completely suuucks. 0/6 sets contain actual pants. Male Anjanath is basically male Pink Rathian armour (full plate, helm and all), while female Anjanath is basically Dalamadur's G-Rank armour (worn by the GS in the 4U demo). Basically a metal bikini with a big furry/spiky cape-thing. Great for a barbarian look, absolutely, and perhaps fits Anjanath's personality better. But, uh, it's a drastic design difference from the simple and understated male version. And if you wanna be a tankgirl, it's kind of a big ol' middle finger.

The new way skills work is about 40000x better and more intuitive. Every part gives a level in a skill, and every level has some value. I seriously wonder why it took this long to come up with such a simple and elegant solution. I believe that random charms, sockets, and decorations are all gone. I honestly wouldn't mind one bit.

Jagras (and most of the non-critical wandering monsters; Kulu Ya-Ku, not-Chameleos, and not-Lavasioth) were complete jokes. Like, less threatening than Great Jaggi. Barroth was a bit easy, but all-in-all, felt the most fun to fight. He certainly wasn't the towering, mud-spamming titanic jackass he was in Tri. Anjanath takes like 12-15 minutes to kill, and varies between hitting for like 20-30 damage and 110 damage (of 150, in case that wasn't clear). Rathalos likewise does 25-40 on basic nicks, but taking that fireball or homing claws to the face does 135 damage, and is basically instant death. It reminds me of the Hypers and Deviants having certain random attacks do absolutely ridiculous amounts of damage. It doesn't feel all that great, but it's probably more honest. It puts emphasis back on the big, flashy attacks, and them bumping you to death isn't as big a deal. Roars and Stuns aren't as impactful, but annoying as ever. I kinda feel like 'hey, why can't I move?' and don't really feel like what's causing it. Probably because Gen really kicked up the roar's effect, and with Earplugs, I used that all the time as my golden opportunity to fire out a big Hunter Art.

Noooow, weapon changes. I'm feeling pretty smug about the changes to the GS; it basically confirmed for me that my GS playstyle, and Guild Style for the GS, was the 'correct' method to use it, and all the people who called me a dumb c*** for not running away after every draw were wrong. ANd assholes. You can charge even more than ever, and Tackle you can do can stop you from getting ragdolled every four seconds.

I was pretty sure I'd be back to feeling rather lukewarm about the Lance, after losing Absolute Evade and Shield Assault for quick-sheathes and/or 'get-out-of-bullshit-free', but I think I like it more than ever. The decreased loss of Stamina completely makes up for its losses. Dashing for days and getting loads of free pot-shots on fleeing monsters is hilarious. Blocking also seems to be worth a damn, as not EVERY. SINGLE. attack causes kickback, nullifying your counter-attack, or does multi-hit, causing you to get murdered during your counterattack frames (Astalos notably did this on every attack). Or maybe it's just that most guys in the demo aren't that big of dudes. Getting joust & jump back is also great, and seriously might put Lance in the running for best mounting weapon. That said, mounting itself doesn't feel as good as it did in 4U/Gen. Maybe it's just the less clear interface.

I like to think that for Maces they took the Striker-combo (the version without a golf-swing) and made that the Circle attack, rather than a wholly useless side slap. I felt like I totally devastated Anjanath with it (who, unlike every other Brute Wyvern, is graceful enough to have his head low enough to reach with the Mace), but still timed out. Maybe I spent too much time wandering first (probable), or maybe the demo Mace is exceptionally weak, as it has Paralysis on it, and Gen's Para/Sleep weapons were remarkably bad in raw offense.

Easily the 'most improved' award goes to the Bowguns. Maybe not surprising, but having a decent second stick makes a lot of difference. More than that, though, is you can move and shoot; you're not a total sitting duck when multi-shotting bullets. I fought Barroth with a LBG, and got hit exactly once, and Barroth did pretty unimpressive damage, instead of the insta-kill it woulda been in the past. Thinking on it, I have LITERALLY never not seen a bowgunner NOT triple cart. Or at least double cart. The non-dedication of armour and defense boost involved alone makes them actually usable. The new bonus fire stuff is wacky. LBG's mines are hilarious; dump 'em on a downed monster, and you can get multiple melee punches in for 100+ damage. HGB has long-range mortars (they might not be new, though, TBH) and the machine-gun thing from the first trailer. It also has a sniping thing, but that seemed astoundingly unimpressive.

Switch Axe's explosive discharge now just freaking grabs you onto the monster, and between that very distinct confirmation and the numbers, actually feels great, and not the 'oh, did I miss? It didn't even react to my huge explosion' of the past. Previously, you could enter Sword Mode at 50%, and reloading it gave a full 50%. Add on Gen's Demon Riot and Energy Charge, and the Switch Axe half might as well not have existed. Now, while you can enter at about 33% charge, reloading only gives 33%, too, and it can drain kinda fast, so there's reason to use it in Switch Axe mode. It's weaker than Gen's SA, sure, but it feels like a far better weapon. It helps that the transformations now include attacks themselves, making Switch Axing mid-fight an actual thing.

Hunting Horn is improved enough just be seeing the notes like XX would've added, but the fact you can chain songs into each other means you always have ALL your songs active, all the time. It kinda feels less interesting, weirdly. You're like, 'oh, now what should I do' during the fight, instead of desperately going into the menu repeatedly mid-fight because you have the memory of a knat while doing sick flips off everything's back so you can play the notes in relative peace in midair.

Sword and Shield is more like Shield and Sword, having even better Shield attacks added again. The reverse-shoryuken after the leaping attack is kinda spotty and inaccurate, but the leaping attack itself isn't as important for re-positioning, either. The loss of Whirlwind Slash and Oils ultimately results in me liking World SnS less than the Gen version of it.

Katana has a couple more moves than just 'try to spam out Spirit, uh, whatsitcalled', but is still mostly the same. If you're not a fan of the Spirit Gauge, not caring via Sakura Slash is still probably the more fun version of the weapon. Bow is the same, but with one special attack that takes forever and a day to charge. It's still the best the Bow's been, but I'm still not 100% sold on it. Charge Blade has a weird slidey-thing and can charge the blade itself, too. Nifty, but feels like it'd be impossible to do within actual combat. Dual Blades are almost identical. I still don't give a damn about Insect Glaive and Gunlance.

Mantles and such are pretty much better, global, Hunter Arts with a more honest recharge time. Challenger is Mace's Taunt and the Healing spike is one of the generic HAs nobody ever uses. It's hard to get a feel for a Palico's value and options from the demo, but the fact you can personally tell it to heal/flash/taunt, rather than having to hope they don't do something stupid is a huuuge step up.

I saw you can save 140+ armour sets, so I can most certainly redo the 'save a set for every monster' thing that I did in Gen. Couldn't set items, but I imagine it's also an unreasonably high number. You lose out on that 4th excess item pouch that Gen/4U had, but instead, all ore and monster parts have a whole separate, even bigger bag they get dumped into. Mining is stupidly fast, and you get a whole whack of 2-5 mushrooms/honey in a single pick. Gathering for supplies in the middle of a rough fight absolutely seems viable. Potion drinking-and-moving is great, but all-in-all, it feels like other things even it out. Changing sets at camp could be stellar for multi-monster fights, or even just 'oh, face is busted, time to put away the gun, and stab it in the face directly'.

I'm sure there's other things I have to say buuuut somehow I've taken like an hour and a half to write what I meant to do in like ten minutes sooo that's probably a good reason to stop blabbing.