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masterhandss · 4 years

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Hamefura Idol AU! (part 2)

Here’s a completely unrelated Katarina idol art by @Sangotofura on twitter!

This is a continuation of my first post, the one that is more of an overview of the original FL game and the original descriptions of the characters. I don’t know if I want to write a story for this, since again this is just an excuse to draw, but I’m really having fun with expanding the alternate version of the world of hamefura.

It’s a lot of fun to rewrite hamefura’s story to fit in an idol setting, so I hope you guys don’t mind if I write a bit more for my dumb au dhjgfjs

More tidbits about the ‘Game’:

The game’s name, Fortune Lover: Cinderella Idol! or “Fortune Lover”, is read as “for-tune lover” by the fans (get it? tune?? pls laugh). The ‘F’ of the name is written as a fortissimo.

In the setting for Fortune Lover, the entertainment industry is the biggest industry of all time, with music being the most popular form. It has been like this for decades, and as time progressed, people’s tastes and expectations of music evolved, leading to the creation and popularity of idols.

Idol-Producers are a new project that is testing the capabilities of a idol teen, observing how their involvement in their own success can impact how they manage their time and how they can bring the absolute best out of themselves, on their own. Maria is the first idol who will be testing this new style. She is still a producer to herself, the boys, and even Sophia and Mary if you choose to have them join you. Despite being an idol, they still call Maria their “producer” and treats her like one.

The characters in the game are in 3D CG, as the game includes the dance choreography or “MV Mode” if you perfect the score of the rhythm game.

While Katarina’s bullying isn’t really death threatening, it’s more in line with the petty kind like verbal threats, sabotaging Maria’s idol clothes and stage equipment, paying someone to mess up her tracks during performances, badmouthing her infront of tv show producers and hosts, and stuff like that.

Katarina’s bullying isn’t as bad as it is in the original otome game, but she gets shunned by the public because behavior like that is only supposed to be done behind the curtains. The public has such a pure and honest perception of idols that they never think of the idea that the girls who smile and sing on stage actually try to stab each other in the back when the stage lights are off. Some people think that Katarina’s character is just a persona, so knowing that she is actually an ignorant and arrogant rich girl idol-wannabe, her fans lose respect for her. Katarina’s harassment of Maria is one of the few cases that are brought to light by the end of the game, and because of how much the public loves Maria by that point, they are enraged by Katarina’s behavior, making her lose support on all sides

Katarina had been in love with Gerald ever since they were children, and while Gerald has always been a popular boy among both his peers, when she found out Gerald was going to be an idol, she disliked the idea of sharing her beloved Gerald to a huge audience of people, so she became an idol to stand alongside him and to make herself worth of him by charming him as as an idol and gaining a large following herself. Despite this, Katarina didn’t strive too hard to be a talented idol, as she was too confident on herself due to the pampering of her parents.

Even if the player doesn’t desire to romance any of the four boys, given how the game is written and how it is programmed, the boy with the highest relationship points with Maria will confess to her by the end of the game. It would be impossible to not interact and gain points with the boys, as you gain relationship points in most areas of the games (when you “practice” your characters, when you “play” their songs, when you “give” them new clothes, when you “converse” with them in story mode, etc.). In the event that there are two characters with the exact same amount of points, the game will choose a boy for you.

Sorcier Pro.’s current president is Geoffrey Stuart (for reasons that will make sense someday)

Katarina-Gerald and Mary-Alan aren’t engaged in this au, but are constantly in each other’s presence due to most powerful bussinessmen and celebrities being good friends with each other.

Each girl has a specialty in a certain area: Katarina with dancing, Sophia with singing, Mary with acting/drama, and Maria (according to the official description of her in the box) with fashion coordination. Maria can be seen as more of a jack of all trades though, as she does represent the player.

While any of the boys can trigger the condemnation event that will lead to Katarina’s social suicide, the event is specifically associated with Keith and Gerald due to the severity of her presence and bullying if you have high relationship points with the two. With Alan and Nicole, Katarina’s event only happens for a few lines, but for Keith and Gerald, it takes place in complete detail, with it’s own animated cutscene.

Gerald’s route is also the most popular among the fans, with community surveys reporting that 53% of the game’s player base had Gerald as their final chosen love interest ( 25% with Keith, 12% with Nicol and 10% with Alan)

Monkey Girl/Past-Life Katarina

Since Maria’s name can’t be change in the game, but you can give her a “nickname” that represents the username of the player, Past-life Katarina’s name in the game is “SaruP” (or “Monkey producer” lol)

Saruchan (Monkey Girl) dies before she could finish her playthrough of the game, and all of her knowledge is based on her idol-expert best friend Acchan. She’s a bit tomboyish, and she loves to climb trees and move freely without a hint of poise or shyness, and is friendly to all genders. Her love for climbing, running, gardening with her grandma, and never ending amounts of energy gave her a pretty strong, flexible, agile and energetic body.

In Saruchan’s world, idols do exist, but aren’t portrayed in the cutesy and exaggerated manner that fiction does. Though it’s no surprise to know that in her world, almost every girl had dreamed to become an idol at one point, even herself. Acchan doesn’t find the idea interesting though, as she only lives for the idealized version of idols that exist in fiction. Acchan explains that girls their age are being brainwashed by the idealized version of idols that are presented in the media that they consume, and that they should wake up and learn to enjoy the fictional idols as they are. Despite Acchan’s realistic disapproval of idol fantasies, she does love playing idol rhythm games and gacha games, and spends her allowance on getting DLC costumes for Maria in FL. Acchan even pre-ordered tickets for herself and Saruchan for an idol concert featuring the VA of the characters, that they were supposed to attend to on the day that Saruchan dies.

She dies the game way: on her way to school and being killed by a truck that runs her over.

The last thing Saruchan sees before she loses consciousness forever is the wallpaper of the game’s boxart from her phone screen as it flies out of her hands.

My Next Life as an ‘Idol’?? All Routes Lead to Doom!!!

As usual, Katarina ends up remembering her future as an 8 year old kid, and plans to prepare for her future “banishment” and humiliation. She learns to farm in order to provide for herself once she gets shunned and retreats to the countryside, and (unknowingly) meets all the characters in the game and gains their good favor before the events of the game begins.

Her head bump still happens with Gerald, but their encounter happened in a party rather than an engagement meeting, with her tripping over a rock as she decides to run to the young man in order to introduce herself. Such introductions never got past beyond their names and few exchanges of dialogue, as the bump occurred and Katarina was immediately brought to the hospital after he called for help.

Being a girl who wanted to be an idol at one point, Katarina wanted to use this chance to fulfill her dream of becoming one! But knowing the fate that will await her, (public humiliation, isolation, and banishment to some degree) she tries to figure out ways to avoid ruining her future.

While not as bad as death, Katarina is aware that the ending of the game implies that the blemished opinion that everyone will gain of her will lead to her leading a miserable life; one that will prevent her from gaining new allies and even studying in peace without being made fun of or called out for. It might even ruin her marriage prospects, for all she knows (it doesn’t but she’s too stupid to know that). The stakes of the bad ending aren’t life threatening, but it is personal, as Katarina always dreamed of becoming an idol as a teen and doesn’t like the idea of being able to enjoy it for a few months only to be dragged down to hell right afterwards.

The Claes is a wealthy family known for her father’s knowledge and skills when it comes to trades and business, and for her mother’s beautiful opera singing voice and celebrity presence. As usual, Katarina’s father adopts Keith for the purpose of gaining a direct heir for the business, in fear that Katarina’s future significant other might just to interested in her to gain it.

Katarina’s plan is to learn how to farm in order to be able to support herself after her banishment, give Keith lots of love so he doesn’t end up becoming a playboy like in the game, and to train herself in dancing and singing in order to not embarrass herself like the original Katarina did. After meeting Gerald again and realizes his weakness, she eventually prepares (or buys, since the setting is modern) toy snakes that she can use to surprise him whenever the condemnation event occurs, using his shocked and panicked reaction as a way to distract the media from the claims that will surely fall upon her (since no one would have expected the calm and collected Gerald Stuart to scream like a girl at the sight of a toy snake, right? That would stay in the headlines for weeks! maybe).

As a kid, she has private singing tutors, and takes more general singing classes when she gets older. She doesn’t have dance training as a kid, but she does like to exercise and move her body around, so it slowly turned into the stamina-filled flexible body that she is used to.

Katarina and Keith - Their meeting and impressions are mostly the same, which the difference being that Katarina used a display axe above a fireplace to break down the door, and Keith got her injured by accidentally pushing her off a pretty high cliff in the Claes grounds while they were both running and playing chase (rather than being isolated for dangerous Earth Magic, Keith as a child was a clutz who attracted danger to everyone around him, making his older brothers make fun of him for being “cursed”).

Katarina showers him with love, making him affectionate towards his step sister, in the same as he was in the original material.

When Keith finds out about Katarina’s desire to train to become an idol, he is very supportive of her, and decides to train with her in order to be able to stand by his sister on stage (as well as to generally gain the same interests as her in order to guarantee that they will stay close as they age). The contrast being that instead of becoming an idol to gain the adoration of millions of nameless faces, he now wants to become an idol to gain the love and attention of a single person, which is Katarina uwu.

Katarina and Gerald - Gerald eventually attempts to visit Katarina to apologize for the incident, expecting her to blame him for what happened, given the personality she showed him. He was shocked to find a scar on her forehead, farming while wearing a farmer’s attire despite coming from a wealthy and esteemed family, singing and dancing to a song as she waters her vegetables. He watches for only a minute, unable to look away from the girl who danced like deflating balloon and sang off key while almost drowning her small vegetable in water. She looked weird, but she was having the time of her life, and he could see and hear it from where he stood.

In a daze, thinking he might have entered the wrong house by accident or walked on the daughter of a maid doing chores. He walks out and leave the Claes estate without a word, and visits again after only a few days, as he couldn’t get his mind off of the oddity that he had witnessed.

He eventually realizes that it was Katarina on his second visit, as he finds the scar of the odd farmer girl on the same girl who boasted about her family’s wealth in the party. After giving formal introductions, Gerald offers to walk around the garden to get to know each other better, in order to continue the conversation that she had originally forced on him back in the party (it was done to be polite and respectful, rather than any interest to continue). In the garden, they pass by the area that Katarina had planned to turn into her farm, and Gerald was in awe at how unorganized and messy everything looked (there was dirt everywhere, the tools were left on the floor because she had to prepare to meet him, there was more bags of manure than what was even needed etc! Katarina internally cursed at her 8 year old delicate rich girl body for not having the same arm strength as her 17 year old self). It was then that it sunk in that the adorable singing and dancing farming girl that he accidentally saw really was Katarina Claes. She wasn’t the very definition of abnormal, but she was nothing like the daughters of his father’s friends that cried when not attended to or complained when not given the best dresses and shoes. There was no shred of worry about her family’s expectations in her eyes, nor expectations of him to act like his perfect and matured self whenever they met in parties, movie premiers or social events, which made him yearn for her company.

After finding out about Katarina’s desire to become an idol one day, Gerald secretly planned to do the same (and even have her recruited in his brother’s agency) in order to become closer to her through her love of entertainment and to have a chance to be constantly in her presence. When he found out about the charms that male idols have on their female fans, he also plans on using this as an opportunity to gain both her attention and romantic affection, by perfecting his (already maxed out) charms as male idol.

Katarina and Mary - The two met during a part hosted by Mary’s mother in the Hunt Estate, inviting all of her mother’s old opera acquaintances, sponsors and co-workers for a formal reunion. Katarina and Keith accompanied their parents to the party, leading them to be introduced to the Hunt Family’s daughters. As usual, Katarina had the urge to “release the chocolate shark” during the party and takes an elegant leave. She eventually gets lost in the estate and finds herself in the garden. Katarina was in awe of the garden’s beauty, and stood still as she watched what seemed like beautiful siren sing by herself near a majestic fountain, with a single rose in hand.

Mary was surprised to hear an aggressive applause after singing to herself. Katarina aggressively complimented Mary for her adorable yet elegant voice, and asked who she was seeing as a singing trainer. When Mary replied that she was not having any singing or vocal training, Katarina rains even more compliments down, claiming that “her voice was that of an angel!”. Mary denied it, so Katarina proceeded to sing the same song that she had sang, as a point of comparison to make her feel more confident in herself. Mary shyly and unexpectedly joins her, and they ended up having a small and quiet duet in the garden. Katarina’s voice sounded a bit rough and squeak-ish, but alongside Mary’s elegant and controlled singing, they didn’t sound bad at all.

When Katarina finds out that Mary is also the one who tends to the flower garden, she proceeds to shower Mary with even more compliments, and asks her to visit and help with her own farm garden. Being complimented for having a beautiful voice and a green thumb made her feel validated and appreciated, so she often visits the Claes household in order to be in constant presence of her first and dearest friend. The rest is the same.

When Mary found out about Katarina’s dream of becoming an idol, she started taking intense vocal training as well as various exercises in order to be able to join her in her endeavor. She slowly built a more brazen and tough personality in order to be able to join and protect her friend from the rumored cold and intense reality of the idol world, as well as due to the antics of her friends.

Katarina and Alan - From Mary, she eventually finds out that the event where Mary duets and falls in love with Alan occurred. Katarina realizes that duet must not have been that effective because she has done the same with Mary, but is confident that Mary is in love with him because Alan is a very talented and handsome individual. A few days later, the fourth Stuart son bursts into the doors of the Claes household, and demands to meet with Katarina. She learns that Alan had developed a small crush on Mary, and that he wants to challenge Katarina for her hand. Same shenanigans ensues, leading up to the piano duel where his talents in the piano was in full display to everyone in the manor.

Katarina knew how to play the piano (just the basics though), so she was in awe listening to someone who almost sounded like a pro! Alan runs off after Gerald compliments him, Katarina chases after him, and they got to talk behind a bush. Alan wouldn’t take her compliments, but Katarina aggressively insisted that his talents are nothing to scoff at.

When Alan says that he’s sure that his brother can play just as good, if not better than him, Katarina speculates that it wasn’t the case, because everyone had things that they are good and bad at. Not everyone is the same, no one learns at the same pace, and that she’s sure even if Gerald can play the piano better than him (and she doubts he can in the first place), no one can play the piano like Alan can. The scores in his heart are his alone, and that nothing is more beautiful than the melody that the heart enacts. Katarina knew that the score he played wasn’t an existing one, and knowing Alan’s character from the game, it’s probably either an impromptu score or one he had composed by himself. Her guess was correct, leading Alan to be caught off guard by her compliment, almost feeling emotional as no one had ever guessed and believed that the music he played was his own, until Katarina did.

She shows off the power of the toy snake to Alan, making him laugh and see his brother in a different light. He still constantly visited Katarina for their duels, but as time progressed, he lost the affection for Mary (as he saw her as a little sister now after interacting with her in the Claes Household) that made him want to challenge Katarina. They still followed up on those challenges, for fun rather than for sport.

When he finds out about Katarina’s dream to become an idol, he is determined to join her in order to be able to compose songs and melodies that she can sing, intending to bring out the absolute best of his muse’s voice with his own music. Someone his age might not be fit to compose songs for an idol, so he intends to become one as well in order to gain a reputation as a competent composer.

Katarina and Sophia - The two meets at an afternoon party hosted by the Stuarts, as a celebration for the birthday of the twins. Katarina had to “powder her noes” after a few trips to the buffet table, and leaves Keith and Mary. She’s chased down by a dog, climbs up a tree, and accidentally watches a group of kids and older bully a small girl who sounded like she was about to cry. The same events occur, up to their second encounter in the party. Katarina accidentally quotes a line from a novel that she was reading, and after realizing that Sophia understood her reference, she asked for them to meet again in order to discuss their similar interests.

Everything is pretty much the same, the difference being that somehow idols were brought as a topic of conversation, with Sophia revealing that she is actually a huge fan of idols. Katarina, feeling reminiscent of her idol-expert best friend Acchan, tells her that she actually wants to be an idol herself and insists that Sophia tell her about everything she loves about idols. Sophia, who is surprised to also find another idol fan who is as young as her, becomes even more excited and tells her all about her love for idols: how they are able to wear such adorable outfits onstage, how they sing songs that carry so much meaning, how they carry their fan’s dreams with them when they dance and sing, how amazing it is to be able to juggle so many occupations at once, and much more.

With both love of novels and idols, Sophia constantly finds herself in the Claes Household in order to talk to Katarina about books, idols, song recommendations etc.

When Sophia was first told that Katarina wanted to be an idol, she was very supportive of her and announced herself as Katarina’s number one fan. As time passed, she realized she wasn’t just satisfied with just watching Katarina from afar, she wanted to sing and dance alongside her! She wants to use her knowledge of romance novels and idols to help make herself and Katarina the best idols to ever exist! She wants to sing on stage about her feelings: about how much she loves Katarina, idols and their beloved novels!

Katarina and Nicol - When he found out that someone had invited his little sister to a small book club, he was very wary, thinking that she was one of the many other girls who tried to use Sophia in order to become closer with him. He was shocked to realize that that was not the case, and that Katarina had barely seen him at all, and had opened his timid little sister’s heart. When Sophia asked Katarina if she found her appearance creepy, Nicol proceeds to explain further, expecting to see a hint of guilt or displeasure from Katarina Claes, only for both of them to be met with unyielding determination to have Sophia as a close friend. Sophia went home that day in tears, thankful to have found a friend who truly wanted to stick by her side.

The Claes siblings often visits their home so the girls can have their book club, even bringing Mary Hunt with them occasionally. Katarina, while looking a bit flustered, is capable of having a conversation with him without averting her eyes, which was a breath of fresh air to the countless camera crew, staff, visitors and even strangers who couldn’t look him in the eyes because how of how much of a beautiful child model he was. It all leads up to the moment where Katarina compliments him with how blessed he is to have such a beautiful and wonderful family, which contrasted against the ignorant adults who pitied him for having parents who refused to abuse the potential of his beautiful face and for not being as beautiful as their son, as well as for having a freakish looking sister.

Nicol, just like his sister, desired to constantly be in Katarina’s positive presence, and visited her often, leading them to be acquainted and friends with the entire group that Katarina enraptured.

When he found about his sister’s and Katarina’s desire to become idols, Nicol thought of doing the same, in order to be able to continue to watch over and protect both Sophia and Katarina, as well to be able to continue being close with Katarina (as their lack of similar interests and age gap might lead her away from him, but tbh that is never gonna be a problem with Katarina). He also plans to use his influence as a child model to propel Sophia and Katarina’s careers, as a way of supporting his two favorite girls.

Notes

I’m not sure how I feel about Gerald’s backstory, I might rewrite that if anyone kindly wants to critique it.

Instead of Mary’s green thumb, it’s her voice that leads her to Katarina and Alan, but I still think Sophia would still have a better singing voice than her, so both her voice and green thumbs both play a part in her character. Mary’s high pitched voice gets a bit deeper as she ages, while Sophia’s voice stays very high.

I really like the idea that rather than the original ambitions and goals that leads the harem to become idols in Fortune Lover, now it’s the effect of Katarina’s constant insistence and declarations of becoming an idol that leads to everyone doing the same. In this timeline, the harem probably wouldn’t have thought of (or planned early) becoming an idol if Katarina never brought it up.

I’m writing this at midnight again, lol, but yeah I’m not planning on writing a fanfiction for this, I guess, but I do want to have an established plot so rather than chapters, I’m just writing a full overview for fun haha

When I mentioned that Sophia loved idols, I didn’t realize that I might have accidentally implied that she was just as an idol fan as Acchan was, but with actual idols this time, so I went with :DD

I’ll touch up on Idol Katarina, Anne, Maria, Sirius/Raphael and Fortune Lover 2 in the next one.

I’m really happy that there are people who actually read my previous post and said that they liked it! Feedback and suggestions are appreciated! I still need a final name for the units so help me pls hahaha.

I’ll rewrite this post when I feel like adding/changing stuff.

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in-tua-deep · 5 years

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things i think the Hargreeves should do post apocalypse:

Luther:

Any adult shop classes because I genuinely love mechanic!Luther and have been slipping that into like, all my aus where I can.

Goes to slam poetry nights because he genuinely enjoys poetry (hello space poetry from episode one about the comet or whatever) and maybe one day is confident enough to share his with other people

Gets some gym bros who all enthusiastically support him in a bro sort of way who are constantly getting their minds blown by how much Luther can lift and constantly going “YOOOOOO” while Luther tries to downplay things bc he’s embarrassed

I don’t know I just want Luther to have actual friends

Probably goes to every astronomy event where people have telescopes and is known in that scene so every time there’s some event at the observatory newcomers are like “what the FUCK” when this bigass bodybuilder comes in and starts gushing about which planet is visible I don’t know

Spearheads a lot of the family’s museum (that aren’t art museum) outings, especially if they have any exhibit that even vaguely relates to outer space or planets or the moon or anything.

Probably gets up at godawful hours on the morning to go hiking and see the sunrise because he really liked doing that on the moon and even though it isn’t quite the same he still loves to do it. (If he’s not hiking he goes up to Grace’s roof garden to watch it)

Diego:

He already does his fighting at the gym which is kind of cool I’m going to gently assume that he already has gym bros and if he doesn’t then he becomes somewhat more approachable after everything

(having your mother comes down to the gym and kiss your cheek or your teenage brother hop in to drag you away or you other very flamboyant sibling dance his way into the gym to fetch you doesn’t exactly do wonders for keeping a reputation going)

I do want to think that Diego takes up like,, whittling but I think he’d have to do it away from Vanya bc,, you know,, Leonard/Harold whatever was a woodcarver or something but idk maybe Vanya is cool with it - but just the image of Diego hunching over and carving at something and Klaus leaning over and trying to enthusiastically guess what it is while getting it super super wrong because Diego is a beginner and his starting pieces are all lumpy monstrosities makes me smile

Diego taking cooking classes so that he can surprise Grace by taking over dinner sometimes and letting her relax and do what she wants

I’ve said this somewhere before but Diego spearheading picnic events and forcing the family out of the house because he thinks it’s a nice thing for Grace to see the world and on god if any of his siblings fight him about it he will stuff their asses into a picnic basket himself because they are GOING

Gets dragged by Klaus into dumb ideas to “give ourselves a CHILDHOOD diego” more than any other member of the family. Which basically means that Diego is the one Klaus grabs to surf a mattress down the staircase and other dumbass ideas

Allison:

Probably ends up redecorating the mansion and completely redoing it to make it more modern and also less the horrible hellscape with taxidermied animals on the walls that it is. Her and Grace squad up to plan everything and then Allison makes everyone help when it comes to things like painting and building all the nice ikea furniture she just bought

Takes parenting classes as sort of extra credit for her custody case for Claire. I feel like eventually she and Patrick genuinely talk to each other, maybe at some kind of joint therapy, and sort of clear the air between them. They might never get back together, but they at least become sort of friends again. Mainly because I like the Patrick I’ve built up for myself in my head tbh

Occasionally attends craft classes with Klaus when she has a spare moment, because he goes to like,, all the local craft classes. She likes to spend the time with him. Is probably the only sibling who willingly attends with Klaus, but others get dragged along as well.

Probably takes up scrapbooking? She wants to have something physical to give to Claire so decides to go through like,, all the camera footage of their childhoods and pick out good images (because goodness knows they didn’t have cute family pictures) and maybe Grace uploads some of her memories to a harddrive with cute shit and they scrapbook together let me have this

on a related note buys a camera and starts trying to catch her siblings doing cute things for her scrapbook with the sort of determined energy of someone who has realized that she’s having to do her scrapbooking from security camera footage because their childhoods were fucked up

(she has a bajillion pictures of herself - thank you paparazzi - but all she has on her siblings is like... what, one of diego’s fighting posters and the two pictures of Vanya from her book and from the newspaper on the fucked up apocalypse concert??)

Klaus:

Genuinely goes to any and all craft classes offered at the community center and random places around town. Usually sort of a disaster, always a disaster when he drags along his siblings, and always proudly brings home his third grader worthy creations that Grace proudly puts on the shelves. He gets better at things the more he goes to them though, so there’s a progression of skill level in his crafts. Allison goes with him when she has time.

Has a knitting circle that he attends that is primarily made of little old ladies who dote on him. Five occasionally goes with but it often conflicts with Five’s other extra curricular activities.

Bakes at home a lot, with Grace’s supervision after some certain incidents that should remain unnamed. Tends to get ‘creative’ with the recipes but now that Grace is present to make sure it won’t be a disaster everyone is more willing to taste whatever comes out. Has, on at least one occasion, insisted on decorating cookies or icing cupcakes or whatever as a ‘family bonding activity.’

Goes with Ben to the movie theater frequently even to the gross horror movies that Klaus hates and Ben absolutely loves. Klaus always insists Diego come to the horror movies so that Klaus has someone physically there for him to hold onto when he’s scared. Five comes sometimes as well, but tends to critique the special effects - especially blood and blood splatter - which makes other people turn around to hush them.

Five:

I genuinely want to say he does gymnastics lessons. Mainly because I feel like he needs to do SOMETHING physical and get rid of his excess energy, and also I think it would be hilarious for him to be tumbling and teleporting and shit at the same time what a wild ride. Absolutely refuses to allow his siblings to come to any competitions or whatever, but they all end up showing up anyway.

Starts learning instruments. Asks Vanya for lessons on the violin so they can play together, it’s very cute. I also wants to say starts learning the piano because someone sent me an ask once about it and it was super valid. And Five can learn both because I say so and he doesn’t go to school he has the free time

Is on first name basis with a bunch of scientists and mathematicians online where they all yell numbers at one another. Probably in a super technical group chat with a bunch of people with actual doctorates who don’t actually know that Five doesn’t have a doctorate.

Actually you know what just let Five start actually going to college like let him go to the local community college or start taking college classes or something. He can get his GED or whatever. Let this boy get a DEGREE

Goes to art classes, first because drawing therapy was something Klaus suggested and he wanted to get his brother off his back. Later because he enjoys it. There’s a life drawing group he frequents - he’s the youngest there and new people always do a double take when he shows up but Five is very meticulous in his art and is actually pretty good. Grace goes with him as well because I say so and they deserve bonding time together

Ben:

I mean he’s kind of dead but let him do things with his siblings as well!!

Like I said earlier, a total movie buff and loves going to see things in theaters. And by movie buff I just mean he sees a lot of movies. Bizarrely into horror movies for how sensitive a kid he always was. He goes to the theater with Klaus for the most part but likes to watch movies with the family as well. Klaus makes him watch every animated movie with him in return for Ben dragging Klaus to watch horror movies.

Probably ends up with a youtube channel?? does movie reviews and game playthroughs whenever Klaus has enough energy to manifest him. Is pretty popular but half his followers are because of the bizarre shit that goes on in the backgrounds of his videos. People figure out Klaus (who is a frequent guest) is The Seance and then Five jumps in to tell them dinner is ready or something and they’re like “wait is that the Seances brother with the portal powers who vanished when he was a teen and still IS a teen” and the fact that ben probably has a username that’s some shit like “bentacles” that klaus set up for him everyone is theorizing that the channel is just. Ghost Ben and Five who are being manifested by the Seance to?? play games?

well. they’re half right.

it certain doesn’t help the rumor mill when Ben makes sarcastic comments about dying or how he can’t get arrested because he’s legally dead and shit like that.

“Yeah sorry I didn’t post yesterday Klaus’s knitting group ended up getting arrested somehow - I was there and I’m still not sure went down - so that’s why I didn’t manifest”

Vanya:

I mean obviously she plays the violin that’s her job. She also teaches Five how to play the violin when he expresses an interest!! She is very touched by the gesture

Swims to keep fit and is a frequent at the pool. Klaus once bugged her to let him come, but it’s really her thing that she just does by herself when she wants to get out of her own brain. She does promise Klaus that they’ll take a family trip to a water park one day though, which he enthusiastically takes her up on.

Attends a book club that she also half-shares with Ben. Ben doesn’t come with to any of the meetings, but she always buys two copies/borrow two copies from the library so that Ben can read along with them and he and Vanya discuss the books before she even goes to any of the meetings. Probably thought there would be more discussion of the books than complaining about their general lives, but keeps going because she lowkey wants an excuse to keep frequenting the bookstore where this cute girl works.

Her and Five steadily are making their way through all the coffee shops in the city (as well as through their menus) in search of the best cup of coffee. It’s just a fun thing they do together that the other siblings occasionally go with as well whenever they have time. Both Five and Vanya have notebooks where they record their ratings based on a variety of factors. Diego calls them pretentious and Klaus always gets the ones which are barely classified as coffee when he goes with (Five steals sips and makes faces but continues to do so)

Grace:

Frequents art museums and galleries! Supports a lot of beginning and local artists by buying their art and has a lot of rotating paintings and prints in the house depending on her mood. She got rid of pretty much like,, all the old painting that Reggie had up except for a few of her favs which she relocates to her new room that Diego put his foot down on giving her

Goes with Five to his art classes at first because, as a minor, he needed an adult to go with him for nudity reasons (it’s a life drawing class man). Grace didn’t expect to actually draw herself but Five insisted because he felt awkward with her just standing there. She prefers abstract styles herself (so many people at this art class have a crush on Grace you have no idea)

(actually goes with Five to most things he’s beginning for himself for at least the first lesson to sign him up as an adult because Five loathes having to ask his siblings)

Commissions someone to come and paint a portrait of the family that’s for them, where none of them are stiff and they’re all happy. She tips the artist fabulously for it and hangs the new family portrait in the place of honor above the mantle where Five’s portrait used to hang (they all destroyed it as a family bonding activity)

Keeps bees on the roof after one of the kids showed her an article about saving the bees. She can’t get stung and genuinely enjoys hanging out up there where she ALSO started a big garden because I say so and Grace deserves to be surrounded by flowers and bumblebees and happiness don’t @ me

#the umbrella academy #tua #yes i know i'm on vacation and shouldn't be posting don't @ me #the hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #number five #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #grace hargreeves #i have a lot of feelings #y'all should yell with me about this #i just love thinking about the hargreeves healing and doing things together #it's unsaid but literally all of them are in therapy #that's my condition #i mentioned it in five's post with him getting art therapy #but yeah in all their therapy the people were like why don't you try getting hobbies #or anything that exists outside of your trauma zones #do something new that you can do for yourself #or bond with a sibling over #honestly though i think they do share a lot of their hobbies with each other #like diego grudgingly goes with luther to the observatory and listens to luther ramble #allison and vanya awkwardly show up to watch diego's fights and cheer him on #(allison brings a homemade poster that Klaus helped with and spilled glitter everywhere)#the whole squad shows up for Five's violin/piano recitals #and also help Vanya organize recitals for her students in general #Allison appears on Ben's youtube channel

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an-american-teen-against-crime · 4 years

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Hi! So I’m conducting kind of a survey/study? Can you rank the games in order from best to worst in your eyes? A simple list will suffice

AHH sorry this took me so long to finally do haha but I finally got it done! (this was. extremely difficult . I struggle) (also sorry some of my notes got kinda long so you can just skip ‘em if you wanna)

1. TRN- it has to be. My list has changed so much over the years and SPY was actually here once, but I’ve realized that this is the one that has stuck at the top throughout the years. It’s just SO. GOOD. from the music, plot, characters, hardy boys, setting, mystery, AUGH it’s amazing

2. SHA- I know this one is quite controversial in the fandom (chores.) but this had always been one of the top for me. It reminds me of my childhood (rip) and I just adore every single setting in this game- the atmosphere is wonderful. I just really adore the plot as well as the Dirk and Francis storyline, as well as the old west feeling (still not over the cliff dwellings or Dry Creek). THIS GAME MAKES ME V HAPPY

3. MHM- this was tough, but this was not only my first game but also it still holds up for me. It’s super old but I just adore the setting and gameplay, the spooks are top shelf and I just adore the feeling of this game from it’s puzzles and storyline.

4. GTH- I have for sure played this game way too often, but I love it. The vibes in this game are TOP NOTCH, and I will never forget my first playthrough of this game. The story, the charACTERS, setting, music, is all so good. The puzzles tho are a bit of a draw back but I still love this game.

5. SPY- I felt weird about have two “newer” games in my top five, but I genuinely love this game. It’s moved down since I’ve realized I kinda dislike the puzzles, but the spy aesthetic and the story of Nancy’s mom PLUS the Revenant/Colony Operation is SO INTERESTING to me. Not to mention this game has a unique story structure in the fact that Nancy solving the mystery is actually helping the bad guys which is really unique. I feel like this game also characterizes Nancy really well which I adore.

6. CUR- So I actually thought this would be much lower on my list because I played this when I was much older than the other ones, so it has less nostalgia for me, but it still has some. (plus a lot of the game was spoiled for me before I played it because I watched a walkthrough of it. Dumb middle school Cambria WHY DID YOU DO THAT) The plot structure and just...the puzzles and how the whole game fits together is so amazing and the music/atmosphere/aesthetic is just SO AWESOME. Genuinely a spooky game and I adore it for that.

7. FIN- I adore this game, the plot, the timer/three days, the characters, setting, everything is awesome. I feel it’s pretty unique to the series which makes it even more special and its just SO GOOD. Plus it has Nick Falcone who is one of the best characters of all time.

8. DDI- the atmosphere, THE MYSTERY, the whole setting it’s all just. wonderful. I love BEING in this game, and I feel like it’s one of those mysteries that really represents the series as a whole.

9. TRT- Just like DDI I feel like this game really is a really good representation of these games as a series. It has everything that makes a good Nancy Drew game and it’s atmosphere is wonderful. I also love the history and while it’s way more treasure hunt like than mystery it does have good mystery elements and it’s a very cozy game.

10. SSH- I am shocked this game is so high, and I actually didn’t like it that much on my first playthrough. This is a game that gets better the more you play it because you uncover so much more- I love the museum and all the history, the social commentary, and the mystery IS SO INTERESTING. Like everything with Henrik trying to stop Sinclair and like you know there’s someone bad out there doing this stuff but you’re not sure who, and there’s all this information you uncover AHH. I know some don’t like the phone convos but I feel like tracking down all the different pieces opens up Nancy’s world so much and it makes it feel real. Also just the idea that you have to track them all down is so cool to me. Also the ending is freaky and gives me anxiety to this day.

11. SEA- this game makes me so happy, I adore Iceland, the setting, the story, the ship, the characters, ALL FABULOUS! Some of the puzzles are annoying but that’s a trend for the later games.

12. STFD- it shouldn’t be so high on the list probably but the mystery and plot line is always really fun for me. The whole premise, locations and iconic moments in this game are so special to me. I love just being in the game, it’s so simplistic. Plus, Dwayne Powers.

13. WAC- this is the game I always fall back on to play. It’s further down simply because the puzzles are a little annoying at times, but the setting is great and I adore the school feeling of this game. It just always has been a game that has stuck out in my mind ever since it came out.

14. CLK- clk is so nostalgic for me, I literally don’t care about the time travel bit because it reminds me so much of reading the books. I love the town, the mystery, and it’s one of those games I can just relax in. You can spend hourS in this game and seriously do nothing but fish, deliver telegrams and play golf. Maybe a game of bard bounce in there too.

15. SAW- I used to feel medium about this game, but as of my most recent replay, I’ve found I LOVE it. The setting is so freaky and I actually enjoy most of the puzzles. It just has this weird off feeling to it where you’re constantly being told everything is fine when everything is definitely not fine. I honestly wanna make a separate post just for this game, I have so many feelings on it haha.

16. DED- I love the feeling of this game, from it’s Tesla theme, to it’s puzzles, and also it’s a murder mystery which is super interesting. The mystery and gameplay is so fun for me, honestly not sure why.

17. CRY- I love this game’s atmosphere so so much, and a lot of the puzzles are really fun. The whole legend of the skull is fascinating and it has a great spooky vibe to it. However I feel like the plot is a bit weak and I am still salty Nancy doesn’t help Henry more. But also it has Henry Bolet.

18. TMB- I love Egyptology, I love archaeology, and this game is super fun to me for those reasons. the whole idea of the curse is spoopy and the puzzles are pretty cool too. I love both Dylan and Jamilla so that bumps this game up as well.

19. VEN- I have wanted to go to Venice ever since I played this game, I feel it does a perfect job of making you feel like you’re really there. I love the whole spy aspects, and while some of the puzzles are EXTREMELY annoying it’s a really exciting game.

20. DOG- The vibe of this game is off the charts, I love the history and the mystery is kinda weird but leads you to a treasure hunt which is pretty interesting. I love the puzzles in this game and while the characters are kinda annoying I feel like this game is just so grounded and interesting.

21. CAP- some stuff in this game is kinda dumb (PUZZLES. WHO PUT THEM THERE I NEED TO KNOW) but the whole fairytale vibe is great, and I love the fact that Nancy is trying to track down a cryptid. I also kind of hate the culprit motivation, but it is what it is.

22. ICE- this is actually a pretty well put together game, I like the location, and the mystery is nice. It’s one of those that I really question the whole idea of why Nancy is solving the puzzles? Like I get it that she’s trying to get into the needle it’s just...sorta convoluted. Also some of the puzzles are really annoying in this game haha.

23. LIE- pains me to put this game so low on the list, but I freaking hate the puzzles in this game. I like the museum puzzles, and that’s IT. The set has no. reason. to have that weird of puzzles. This is one of those games that would have been better with the treatment of having more practical puzzles like the older games. Anyways, I still love the setting, the characters, and the fact that it’s in Greece, in a museum and has a play about a greek myth makes me really enjoy this game. Plus, I do like the whole villain plot and the ending you start feeling really trapped and freaked out which is exciting.

24. ASH- I get why people love this game, I really do, but for some reason I always drag my feet to play it. It still is super interesting though from the mystery, characters, bad guy plan, and it has a good classic mystery vibe. I think I just have to be in the right mood to play it.

25. TOT- I actually do enjoy playing this game but the puzzles/chores can be really annoying, and I feel there needs to be more mystery. However I actually do enjoy the setting a lot and there’s something special about it to me. Plus I like to look at the clouds. :3

26. DAN- I like that it reminds me of Paris because it got that vibe, the history and locations are very cool, and I really enjoy being in the game. However the mystery is ditched for Nancy trying to solve the Noisette stuff which is annoying and weird and I feel like this game is a bit unfocused which bugs me. Plus I can’t remember a single puzzle right now other than that horrible wall clock puzzle.

27. MED- Yes, this game is a hot mess and I’m still upset about Sonny, but I actually really enjoy the location and puzzles of this game, it’s just really fun to be in. Also the reality tv show concept is fun. Wish the sheep were alive though.

28. HAU- I like a lot about this game but at the same time it feels very...small? Idk. I just feel like the whole game is Nancy running around on the moors solving random puzzles she just finds in the hopes of finding Matt. It’s weird. I do like the vibe tho and Fiona is a bit freaky. Plus, sheep.

29. CAR- peoplearegoingtomurdermeIwillbethenextjake listen I for some reason feel just meh about this game, idk if it’s just Joy, the location, or WHAT but for some reason it’s mostly meh for me. There’s bits that are fun and I always liked it when I was younger but for some reason it doesn’t do it for me. But I can get why people really like it!

30. SCK: The vibes are great, the ending is v exciting, and I feel like the school is very creepy and the diner is a solid location. The whole mystery of how Jake was blackmailing everyone and the drug plotline is super interesting to me and while the disk switching drives me NUTS I really like pulling this one out just to feel like I’m in the 90s.

31. CRE- I think this game is fun and has some iconic bits to it, along with the fact I could spend hours at Big Island Mike’s Immersion Excursions, buT the fact is the mystery is freaking weird and I don’t like bugs. But we did get Big Island Mike.

32. MID- Listen, this game is a good video game, but it’s a bad Nancy Drew game. I liked my first playthrough of this game, I really did, but theres just so many problems with it and it’s so upsetting to see what’s become of the series. You can tell that it wasn’t made by the same people and it doesn’t have the classic ND charm. There are a lot of plotholes and random stuff like the Hardy’s personalities in this game don’t make sense. However there are a lot of stuff that it enjoyable about this game and I will still replay it. It’s just kinda sad.

33. SCK Remastered: Lower than the OG because Beech is dumb and they changed the ending. Also some of the old magic is gone, and all the characters are way less likeable. However it did explain some stuff about Jake so there is that.

34. RAN- It’s still fun at times and I like the location but the puzzles will be a thorn in my side till the day I die. Also the mystery is just meh. And it needed more characters, that’s just a fact.

I guarantee that this will probably change by the time we are done with this playthrough, but until then this is my listing. I think it’s really a testament to the games though that there is no game I consider unplayable. SCK could be that game but I am willing to do the disk switching lol.

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vaguely-concerned · 4 years

Text

Ryder twins headcanons

Because I woke up this morning in a cold sweat going ‘I need to draw bb!Ryders RIGHT NOW’ and I need to channel that emotion somehow!

- alec used to call the twins (it especially stuck with sara) ‘tadpoles’ as an affectionate nickname when they were little, after they found some in the garden one time when they were like four or five and called him over to explain how frog development works. (this was one of my very first headcanons, actually!)

- scott is actually very smart under his self-effacing ‘aww don’t you worry about me I’m the dumb twin’ exterior and probably would have figured out the whole reyes situation a lot sooner if he’d been thinking with his head instead of his... well let’s be charitable and also sadly accurate and go with ‘heart’

- scott shares his dad’s mannerism of running his hand through his hair when he’s stressed or thinking. his hair tends to flop back down instead of sticking up afterwards, though.

- reyes does know how to dance properly and teaches scott with all the confidence of a man who habitually wears steel-toe boots for career reasons (to everyone’s surprise, especially his own, scott ryder does not have two left feet when shown how and gets pretty good at it!)

- less a headcanon but ellen and alec helping the kids learn how to control their biotics tho ;______; I like to think they had the least traumatic experiences growing up biotic than basically anyone and that’s why they don’t mention it very much, it was normalized in their household. I guess training in general would be where they had most contact with their dad, considering he gave them some N7 pointers.

- scott grew a beard not too long before the arks launched to try to look older and it actually worked; if he ever shaved a lot of people would lose their minds over his little baby face lol

- alec ryder is one of those dads who’re only funny when they don’t really mean to be (I will admit that helpless exasperated “They’d only ask for a refund” caught me off guard lol). Based On A True Story

- scott has tremendous older brother vibes with his crew (except cora because cora has too powerful Big Sister Energy despite being an only child) and immediately reverts to lovable little shit whenever sara’s around. once he finds out about kalinda he’s like ‘peebee I recognize that you’re literally more than four times my age but I’m your big brother now and if she tries anything I am ready to punch her at your slightest signal. standing offer.’

- sara reads whatever non-fiction she can get her hands on, scott reads almost exclusively fiction and has incredibly varied taste; trash or masterpiece, he’ll go for it. however they do share taste in movies and tv and bond over it, including the joy of watching bad stuff together. yes, they both unironically love blasto and can quote entire sections of the movies back and forth. also while trademark ryder snarky, sara is mostly earnest and socially awkward in her private life, and scott is jovially closed off but definitely the People Person of the family after Ellen was gone. between his sister and his dad he has a lot of experience trying to make up for other people unconcernedly committing social faux pas around him haha

I’ve had a playthrough for each of them (sara first and then scott, who’s my canon now tbh), and sara is more a natural fit for the scientist explorer part of being a pathfinder and scott is better at the being the face of the operation part and navigating the politics. (sara Does Not Care and only grudgingly gets into it for the sake of Science, much like her father)

- scott is incredibly soft for kids. I don’t think he’s ever imagined himself as a dad, but he is good with children and extremely protective of them. give it a couple of decades of maturing and he’ll probably end up adopting a bunch of orphans all in one day lol. *stumbles through the door with a krogan baby cradled against his chest while a turian kid clings to his left leg and one asari and one human toddler are sharing the right* “okay sara I know what you’re about to say and let me counter with all these reasons why it is in fact an excellent idea”

- it wasn’t until after the end of the game, when there was suddenly some time to breathe, that scott finally realized his dad was actually gone -- he won’t come back this time, no matter how long they wait, he’s not away for work, he’s not coming home ever again. thankfully sara was there at that point to hug him; as much as he’s getting closer with the crew of the tempest I don’t think he’d let any of them close enough to help him through that yet.

(it must be so strange and confusing to be presented with the possibility of getting your mother back just as you’re mourning the loss of your dad though. I don’t think scott ever really processed losing his mom either, so y’know he has a lot of shit to figure out)

- my scott just has such beautiful dark soulful eyes ;____; that is my son (too bad I can’t give him the longer curly hair he canonically has in my head. oh well normal ponytail it is in-game). I quite like how my sara looks too, it’s surprising how close I got to my initial concept for how limiting the mea character creator is!

- scott had his ears pierced as a kid, sara didn’t. she took one look at the piercing gun, went ‘haha nice try suckers you’ll never take me alive’ and ran, while scott was perfectly willing to suffer a bit for sparkly things. (when he’s off-duty for a good length of time scott does still wear an earring when he remembers/bothers to)

- sara can only get away with seeming sensible when she’s standing next to her brother for comparison and is keenly aware of this fact, using it for all it’s worth haha. however, fun fact: in most cases outside his questionable taste in men scott is in fact often the more reasonable between them, despite appearances! sara has just inherited alec’s ability of being completely bananapants without anyone noticing because she speaks so earnestly and with such conviction you forget what she’s saying is crazy.

(scott has inherited more of the ‘actually more like 15000 barely contained feelings in a trench coat than a man’ aspect of alec under the goodnatured sarcasm, though he doesn’t realize it. I like how naturally their shared traits with their dad sort of just... happened as I played them, actually, even before Initiation gave me more info. I’d love to have more stuff for ellen too but there’s less to work with there yet)

- the tempest crew is still rightfully skeptical of reyes, but they are also mollified by the way ryder keeps smiling dreamily for days whenever they set off from kadara.

- I can never decide if sara would get together with someone as the non-pathfinder twin (I didn’t romance anyone when I played her, I panicked at the last moment about how much painfully earnest emotion I had to be witness to with jaal lol). I think she might easily end up with either suvi or jaal, to be honest.

- scott sort of had a cute thing going on with a technician back in the milky way before he found out he was moving galaxies with his family, and it was an amicable breakup. one of the few uncomplicatedly nice men he has ever dated, but alas it was not to be.

#under the cut because it's probably not that interesting to anyone but me but I'm um having some siblings feels these days #mass effect #mass effect andromeda

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ocular-intercourse · 4 years

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4, 5, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22 for our new child!

Thank uu for making me think about them, ha. I’ve decided tocall them Raime (might have been watching ds playthroughs while drawing them*cough cough*), but Anathi is what their mom calls them as a term of endearment.

How much effort does your OC put in when it comes to giving presents tofriends?

None! Or a lot maybe,just by generally knowing exactly what people like, I guess there’s some effortinvolved in getting to know people so well. They don’t think much about it whenthey see something they know their friends would enjoy they just get it forthem, whatever it might be. That also makes them less of a person that wouldgive gifts on special occasions, more someone who just randomly hands yousomething that made them think of you. I don’t think they would feel the needto give a gift when it is generally expected, and would not feel embarrassed bynot doing so, they generally don’t care much for social rules and expectations.Their motto here is: Gifts should come from the heart and not on a schedule!

Does your OC have a role model or someone they idolize? How would theyreact to meeting them?

Okay now.. is it kinda upmy own ass making Gyo that person?? But here’s my reasoning: Being a soldiernow, lil’ Raime is obviously very interested in the military, so there you havethis highly decorated army general, a man that went from being sentenced todeath for murder, to selling his life to the army as a way out, to becoming aliteral war hero in his very first battle despite being a nobody without even aname except the one the army gave him, that made it to being proposed for theposition of general at an incredibly young age only through his deeds and onlythen revealing his noble background cause social norms would’ve never allowedhim to fill the position otherwise, that went to train the most specializedelite troop of the empire, that reached immortal status which is basicallyalmost unheard of??? [Who is now mostly being used as a babysitter which I’msure the other army generals find highly satisfying and amusing…] There is aHUGE legend being built up around Gyoubu some of it exaggerated but a lot of ittrue and it’s a story underdogs absolutely love cause it makes them think ofthe things they could accomplish themselves. So when Raime grows up and decidesto want to join the military for whatever reason (maybe even that legend itselfwho knows, they come from a very simple background and the only way to rise tothe top would be by their actions too so that should be inspiring) and ofcourse there’s a lot of admirable generals, all of them nobles of some kind,and to be fair so is Gyo (though the rumor is he is not really the person heclaims to be and Raime really enjoys that idea), but nobody’s quite asinspiring considering Raime’s background. So they train and train and train andgo through basic military training and then come to the point where they hit awall, where the others learn to supernaturally strengthen their abilities, asis custom for soldiers in and out of the empire to a certain degree, to enhancetheir reflexes and senses and speed and strength, Raime just.. can’t. Not likethe others at least, and these things are dangerous enough even when they suityou. Which is crushing their spirit cause how can they ever be as much of abadass as General Gyoubu now?? So you have a bunch of instructors justscratching their heads cause this kid somehow still managed to keep up with theothers to this point, where others that aren’t capable of the enhancement areusually weeded out and join provisions or whatever. But they still can’t reallyfigure out what to do with them, cause in theory they are inferior in any wayto any potential basic enemy soldier and nobody wants to be the person thatsuffers losses cause they put a weak link on some task. So they advise them tosay goodbye to their military career, at least in action, and look for anadministrative position or anything else off the battlefield. And then fuckingGeneral Gyoubu himself!! says ‘eh I’ll take them idk I’ll find something forthem to do’ which does not sound very heroic maybe but at least they can stillbe of use in a way they imagined as a child. So in their mind Gyo hasabsolutely saved them which is absurd to them cause the thought that Gyo iseven aware of their existence is wild and now he even sees some potential inthem even when nobody else does?? So when they first meet Raime very much plansto be all courteous and collected and stuff but in their mind Raime has made thisconnection between them as two people fighting the odds and ends up acting inappropriatelyfamiliar, which I think is already the way they cover up nervousness anyways,so they end up being a little too loud & close & booming, and I thinkthat is exactly what makes Gyo give them their job, cause of all the peopleunder his command they are definitely the last person someone would look at andrecognize their military training.

How well does your OC take compliments? Do they get flustered or try toturn them down?

I think that dependsentirely on the kind of compliment, and if they find it actually flattering orsomething they have never considered themselves. Compliment their martialprowess?? They’d laugh and grin and probably even agree, chest swelling withpride. If it’s something they are insecure or unsure about themselves thereaction would probably be a little more timid, but still accepting. Outwardlyat least.

How does your OC feel about their mortality? If they’re immortal, dothey see this as a curse or a blessing?

Ahh, frustrated I thinkwould describe it well? Maybe as a child they have imagined reachingimmortality, but they never really believed they could get there, so it’s notexactly like they sit there thinking ‘now I’ll never get there!!’ but more like‘I can’t even do the simplest step on the way there’ so it just reminds them ofhow hard they failed, even if they always expected to fail, they never thoughtthey wouldn’t even get to try. It is probably only the knowledge of thepossibility of prolonged life and immortality in their world, but they considerit vastly unfair to only have been given that short amount of time while othersget more. At the same time they don’t fear death very much, or rather they don’treally consider the consequence all that much, they just don’t think that farahead.

If your OC is trained in combat, what kind of opponent would they dobest against? What kind of opponent would they lose horribly to?

I think Raime’s entireadvantage in any situation is unpredictability. They do best against peoplethat are bad at reacting in the moment, people that think and plan rather thanfeel. They would do the worst against opponents that have fought them before oroften enough to know Raime’s tricks. Other people, in most cases, they don’texpect their competence, they don’t consider them a threat, they consider themdumb and believe they would fight straightforward only with strength andwithout much tactics. They underestimate that Raime is incredibly adaptable.They can look at a situation and instinctually end up with the best reaction.That makes them blend in very easily, pick up peoples habits and imitate them, charmthem, or act exactly the way people expect Raime to be to direct theirexpectations. Then they use the confusion in deviations to strike.

Your OC overhears someone talking smack about one of their friends. Dothey come to their defense or get involved in any way?

Oh yeah. Immediately andpassionately, loudly. Not exactly aggressive, but they make it very clear thatthat kind of talk is not going to be tolerated any longer while they are around.They might even drag them to apologize, if the friend is present.

Your OC’s neighbor is blasting loud music in the middle of the night.How do they react?

Electronics don’t existso it’s more like people playing instruments, having a party?? Lol Either way,if they really are annoyed by them Raime would have no problem to go over thereto shut the whole thing down, again, not aggressive but determined. Buthonestly in most cases I think they would probably just get roped up in the partymood and just join them?? They love having a good time, they mix easily withothers, unexpected party?? Hell Yeah!

How does your OC react to cheesy pick-up lines? Would they ever use one?

Uhm yes please, and yesvery much. What even is cheese? There are just pick up lines and Raime is bothvery fond of using them and fairly susceptible to hearing them. Raime isearnest and eager and honestly can’t see a fault in being cheesy, and I alsothink somehow they manage to radiate that they actually just want to say somethingnice or funny and are not trying to be skeevy, so I imagine people generallyreact in a positive or neutral way.

#mangosandchili #ocs #gyo #raime #casual gyo lore drop on the side #gyoverse

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bosmerbitch · 5 years

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Lemme tell you how I got into Skyrim. This shit is fucking bad, very very high up on the dumbass scale, so here we go.

Some backstory, so I have an excuse to why I’m so fucking bad at this

When I was growing up, I surrounded myself in Nintendo. My step brother was also a Nintendo nerd, so we didn’t stray all that much. The only time I ever heard Skyrim get referenced was by the douchebag Homophobic Dude Bros™ that were in art class just to try and get an easy grade, so let’s just say it left a sour taste in my mouth.

I moved to Nevada when I was 18 and all they had was a broken Xbox 360. My friend Chris thought I’d like Fable, and really, really did, because I literally finished it in just a few weeks. But when I tried to replay it (evil this time) I couldn’t even complete the first important task because I felt bad for being a horrible person. (the first Big choice you have is to execute some dude you’re supposed to be in love with or a group of protesters that are trying to feed their families).

So he goes, “look. Just try Skyrim.”

And I go, “no.” yaknow, like an idiot.

He wouldn’t believe me when I said I wanted nothing to do with it, because I did admit I had never, ever played it before. So he plays it in front of me for a good week or so. And as per his grand plan, I start to get curious.

And also fucking infuriated.

This dude snuck everywhere. He only used light armor. He never got close enough to an enemy to force him to draw a dagger. He wouldn’t use horses. His play style was his, no judgement—but yakno. it drove me up the fucking wall. If I had to sit through two more hours of this man slowly crab walking his ass up the seven thousand steps because he refused to walk like a normal person lest his sneak skill maybe possibility suffer by one point, I think i’d go full feral.

So I said fuck it, grabbed the controller, and started a new game.

I create a Bosmer character who looks like she could punch me and I’d apologise for my face being in the way of her fist, because i am gay. I then spend 3 thousand years on babyname websites, trying my darndest to find a name that fit her face.

Dumbass Mistake number one: I press A to input the first letter.

“wait. This isn’t a GameCube controller. Fuck.”

I actually press B.

As in. Save and exit.

Do you want to name your character Prisoner?

“what? No!”

I press A, thinking it’s B.

My name is now Prisoner.

Now I’m pissed, but I’ve spent way too much time in the character creation screen to warrant a re-do. I am stuck with a Woodelf named Prisoner.

This becomes part of her lore later on. She was raised in a prison and only ever referred to as “prisoner” when she was little, so she took it as her name but dropped the e for an o when she was learning to write because she was literally a baby who couldn't spell: Prisonor.

Dumbass Mistake #2: I’m so used to autocameras that follow the player and find decent enough angles without me having to jam the stick back and forth that I can not for the life of me fucking Look At Shit Correctly.

I almost died. Do you know how bad you have to be to nearly die in the opening tutorial? It was as if i’d decided to play with my fucking elbows instead of my hands, I was flailing about like a lunatic. All while Alduin moved around and threw rocks at people, too, and my camera work was so bad it looked as if Bethesda had actually made a good scene to convey the horror and terror of the situation. Fuck you Bethesda

Dumbass Mistake #3: heavy armor. This was, and will continue to be, my downfall. Kiss half my fucking carry weight capacity goodbye because this Bad Bitch Needs Those High Armor Stats.

Oh, what? You need to sneak into a cave and steal some shit? Well you now have too options, you absolute Unit. You heavy as fuck bone armor thicc thot.

It’s either: a) sneak as is and get detected the moment your big toe even twitches upwards or b) go streaking for a few in-game hours and stuff all that contraband.... Somewhere. Don’t really know where it goes, to be honest.

Naked but stealthy. Stealthy.... But naked.

Obviously I go streaking quite a lot at first.

As I got bigger and heavier armor and weapons, I started plowing through dungeons by sheer force alone. Mind you, Prisonor is small, angry, and has a huge axe, so it just works®

Mistake #4: no Stamina. We trudge slowly to shadowmere like a woman with infinite health and literally nothing else. I think I maybe slipped her one or two levels into Stamina, and absolutely nothing in Magicka. Actually,

Dumb of Ass Mistake number 5: no god damned Magicka. It became such a problem that i would tell Chris to remind me next time when I was leveling up, to possibly add to poor widdle Magicka pwease? And I never did, since we’d both forget, and hit “health” with a smug little smile in my face. Try and kill me, douches. I have 300 health and counting. Wait. Wait hold on I fucking forgot—

I gave her the first novice hood you find in the game, dusted off my hands as if i’d just solved all of humanity’s inherent problems, and walked. Away.

It’s now part of her backstory. She can’t grow her Magicka because her mother was a skooma addict when she was pregnant, and it fucked with a few things when she was in the womb. can you tell that her backstory is a little fucked up? Well hold on, don't have much faith in me yet, because i killed her adopted dad too lmao #hewasexecutedforpoliticalgainbecausehewasalargethreattothescoomatradeinhammerfell

Mistake #6: hello my name is Prisonor and I would like to tell you about the future of the Companions, do you have a spare minute?

Chris pointed at Whiterun as I sprinted, naked (for speed, because I am already trudging the path of Heavy Armor even at that point) down the hill from Riverwood and said, “you can become a werewolf over there.”

Oh? I can become a tormented, feral, roaring beast over there yonder? Well sign me the fuck up you funky little bitch.

So I completed the whole questline all the way through with no stops. I didn’t like the fact that nearly everyone was a Nord, but it had less context for me at the time so it rubbed me wrong less than I does now.

But hold on. You get something at the end of that quest, right? A huge axe with a lot of history I didn’t really delve that deep into at the time?

Yes. Yes I did build a heavy armor, no-archery, werewolf, Wuuthrad-wielding Bosmer named Prisonor my first playthrough.

She was the ultimate rebel without me even trying to be. To the point where her axe is more deadly to herself than to her own wife.

Dumb #7: I threw the Ring of Hircine in a lake thinking it was useless.

That’s it. I’m still mad about it.

In conclusion,

The hard drive in the 360 was shit, so the load times were awful. Sunk 80$ on a new hard drive and had to sit on the floor waiting for the saves to transfer for 3 hours.

Good game solid 7,000steps out of 5

#skyrim #skyrim oc #elder scrolls

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endlessnightarts · 5 years

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(A good classic monster)

CASTLEVANIA : CURSE OF DARKNESS PLAYTHROUGH PART 2

At some point I’ll do dumb doodles to go with this but for now we’re just gonna keep going. Because at some point I need to draw Depression Meal Hector, and Show Isaac wearing Game Isaac’s clothes.

This one shouldn’t be as long as the last one HERE WE GO

When we left off I had resolved to punch some stuff, which worked for a few rooms and yes, it is funny to punch a giant demon knight in full plate mail to death, but I switched back to weapons with actual reach pretty quick.

I do appreciate that when you get near a save room this orange icon shows up and tells you to go for it before the boss room basically

There were so many times in Symphony of the Night that I’d be exploring and accidentally pass the save room and walk into a boss fight that shit was brutal

Also the boss room doors are VERY CLEARLY marked so if you do walk in unprepared its kind of your own fault

(I’m sure everything I just said put me on one side of some longstanding Castlevania fandom discourse about difficulty in games and which ones are valid)

The first boss fight is a giant suit of armor, it spits fire and has long reach but overall isn’t hard. I beat him on the first try which is very different from my aforementioned SotN experiences

So far my strategy of mashing the hell out of attack seems to work just fine

I appreciate this snazzy chair for my spooky elevator, thank you, Hector is very tired

(pictured, when you’re too done with life to stand in the elevator)

New area, new music, thank god

It’s a shame those majestic mountains got eaten by this terrible draw distance. I feel like they could have leaned more into the foggy look of short draw distances for their spooky game so it wasn’t so obvious, ya know, like Silent Hill

Oh now this

THIS is a familiar

Sorry Boyden, I made a promise

Puck is banished, Dank is my new boy

guys I’m sobbign I love Dank so much look at him

(No I’m not using it)

The main event of note for this session is a cutscene introducing a whole new character:

..........Aeris?

It took me a moment to realize that this was not Hector recognizing someone but more just being astonished to find a live person here? But then at the end of the cutscene he says she looks just like Rosaly so I guess he does think he recognizes her but that’s boring.

Where on this bdsm travesty is there room for any kind of crest hector

i can only assume its tattooed on his back but honestly I wouldn’t put it past Isaac to have a crest emblazoned on his ass Are You Nasty style;

There’s a bit of back and forth where they both can’t figure out if they should be honest with each other, which is fair enough and probably the sort of caution/suspicion Show Hector will be picking up shortly :P

But ok this is Julia, she’s a witch and she’s down to help Hector out. She wears a bold amount of pink. We get an invite back to her house with the promise of potions.

*First woman we meet in the game* ‘Hey, I think our goals are similar and we can help each other out.’

*Show Hector*

I’m not into the ‘very image of Rosaly’ thing they end the cutscene with

They throw this in presumably to assure the player that things will eventually be very heterosexual

...what does this game have against spears???

I thought this might mean each area had a different cool Save Room but -

ok...I’m gonna assume this is a fast travel location or something then

Anyway, Julia’s house is up ahead and functions as a shop, I guess she’s ready to help save Wallachia but not without a down payment first. Which I get, girl’s gotta live.

Julia seems cool you guys

So sell some shit, buy a potion, move on, alright

I had places to be today tho so I stopped about here.

While checking the wiki for stuff I also got spoiled that Julia is Isaac’s sister and their last name is Laforeze so whomp whomp

(does that make the fact that she looks like Hector’s dead gf weirder? I think it might?)

#castlevania #castlevania curse of darkness #endless plays castlevania #spoilers

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tumblunni · 7 years

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And now onward to my dumb headcanons about dadtagonist Iggy!

The official ingame term for the character creator is ‘dadsona’ (lol) but I dunno, I’m just used to something-sona being literally drawing yourself in the style of the game. I did take some screenshots back at the beginning of making myself in the character creator, but I’m asexual so i kinda feel uncomfortable playing dating sims as myself. like.. I don’t like romance stuff for the same reasons, yknow? I like reading about other people’s love, it doesn’t mean I want it to happen to me. Its why i still really love Fire Emblem Awakening even though that game has a load of plot problems and some rather offensive anti-LGBT stuff. (And somehow even more in the sequel that added gay marriage?? HOW DID YOU MANAGE THAT) That game was like the only thing ever where you can pair up your party members with each other instead of just with the protagonist. I really liked that cos like.. they actually had more personality and it wasn’t just seeing one side of the romance with the protag being a blank slate and all. Tho it seems the dadsona in DD is less of a blank slate actually, which can be kind of a problem sometimes cos there’s stuff that’s canon that I’m just gonna have to ignore for Iggy. Like, for example, I didn’t realise that one line later on would say that the portagonist is bad with computers, I decided that Iggy’s career was in electronics.

OH YEAH LETS GET BACK ON TOPIC ANYWAY

So yeah, randomly I decided Iggy is a tech genius and computer repairman! I mean, the protagonist doesn’t seem to have a job or anything so I wanted to think of one. Also all the romance options had a slogan during prerelease materials, like ‘coffee dad’ and ‘sports dad’ and ‘bad dad’ (who was really more specifically ‘cryptid-hunting private detective with a funky leather jacket’ but I guess that didnt fit in a tagline XD) So I figured I needed to think up a ‘dad theme’ for my protagonist too?? But like.. he doesn’t have a particularly unusual personality or any hobbies or anything? He can’t be ‘shy dad’ because like half of all the romance options have some form of adorable shyness, even the bad dad!

Oh, and PERSONALITY! I probably should have talked about that first! Iggy is super shy and has self-confidence issues. He’s a big cuddly pushover! There’s actually quite a few dialogue options for the protagonist that let you roleplay this way, there’s some super funny and relateable social anxiety moments. Like one I saw during the intro was a big ‘ol hilarious rant about the complex process of visiting a fancy coffee shop and not knowing the Unspoken Social Rules of how to order something. Definately gonna screenshot that when I get to it in my own playthrough! But also its kinda unavoidable to get loads of sassy funny dialogue, its like the protagonist’s default setting in conversations that don’t have choices. So I liked imagining that as a neat kind of personality, actually! Someone who’s very witty and outspoken when he’s comfortable around people, but his anxiety keeps him from showing this side of himself all the time. Like a blossoming social flower! So mr shyman Iggy still has a super sarcastic internal narrator voice, and goofs around a lot with his daughter. Who will be the lucky man who loves him enough to also receive his amazing comedy? But I’m not gonna be picking any of the more reckless and outgoing dialogue options, canon dadtagonist is a bit of a rebel lol. A very complicated guy who can have all these personality traits at once, PLUS whatever ones you decide with your choices! O_O

Oh and also I ended up deciding his dad theme is Vampire Dad because.. well, why not? Who cares that I’m throwing random fantasy into this game, its not like its exactly down-to-earth and super serious. Plus seriously there’s just SO MUCH comedic potential! I’m thinking he’s just like.. super casual about it. Completely normal dad. Just happens to be slightly undead. Absolutely no angst plots or anything, it’s just like a disability he deals with. “hey old man don’t forget to drink your blood and take your pills” I can’t even think of a deep backstory about it, really?? If it’s going on the classic movie vampire rules of passing on via bite, then he probably just woke up with a hangover one morning and was like ‘hey these fangs are new, I guess that guy at the bar was a vampire’ *carries on life as usual* Or like if it’s on old myth rules of vampires coming from any improper burial or sinful corpse or whatever, then I think maybe the ‘grudge’ that brought him back from the dead was just determination to look after his daughter. Like “god dammit you already lost one parent, I won’t make you cry a second time!” *forces himself back into life through sheer willpower* Even though he’s normally cowardly, he can summon the courage to do anything if his baby girl needs him! Anyway, he just diddly deals wit it. Buys animal blood from the butcher, works night shifts. No biggie. And besides, turning into a bat is cool! (imagine him doing it to cheer up lil toddler amanda :3)

Tho lol obviously all the events of the game don’t take place at night. So like, either I switch the order of stuff around in my headcanons or I just say that that’s a weakness that doesn’t apply to vampires in this story. I mean, they’re like one of the least consistant myths across fiction, lol. If I recall correctly, wasn’t it like that in dracula, actually? Like he just lost his magic in sunlight, he didn’t die instantly. Ehh lets just say maybe Iggy’s on a nocturnal sleeping schedule now and sunlight mildly saps his energy. He doesn’t really have any magic to disable in the first place, aside from the bat thing. He’s like the most boring down-to-earth vampire. Also actually I think Craig’s route would be even cuter if Iggy’s going to even more trouble to do gym stuff with him. He’s not only not really interested in exercise, but also waking up at the equivelant of 2am and dragging his tired ass out in the sunlight where he doesn’t even have any superstrength anymore. Don’t want to dissappoint the bae! And lol from what spoiler stuff I saw about Hugo’s route, there’s a bit that would violate the whole ‘vampires can’t enter a home uninvited’ rule. I think it would be funnier if Iggy has like zero vampire benefits and all of the most obscure ridiculous vampire weaknesses! And that whole scene would play out even funnier if it was with him standing 20 feet behind everyone and yelling through a window XD ...though I’m imagining he’d be positively mournful if he couldn’t eat garlic bread, so lets swap that out for ‘can’t cross running water’. Iggy spills a glass of orange juice in the kitchen and traps himself in the corner til his daughter comes home and saves him. Probably does the same thing with a salt circle the next day. Yes, this is prime cuteness. All of the cutest vampire features!

#bunni plays dream daddy #I DONT CARE NOBODY CAN TELL ME NOT TO PUT VAMPIRES IN THINGS #DOMESTIC NICE GUY VAMPIRE IS LIKE ONE OF MY TOP TEN STORY CONCEPTS EVER #DOMESTIC NICE GUY VAMPIRE + ALSO A DAD = THE GREATEST #HOLY SHIT YO #oh and amber isn't a vampire but she's the one person who knows her dad's secret #he'd probably confess when one of the other characters becomes his boyfriend but like..#no angst plots plz #seriously just giv me happy vampire man who is happy #no wrestling with his humanity or anything #just like that vine of the possessed guy who's like #friend: what do you want for dinner #demon: THE SOULS OF THE INNOCENT #guy: a bagel #demon: NOOOOOO #guy: two bagels #iggy takes a left turn at any and all deep dark plotlines

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wombatlogic · 7 years

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Fear and Hunger review

a horror rpg/roguelike by orange-, demo available at https://rpgmaker.net/games/9476/

a review

Fear & Hunger bills itself as a rogue with horror and RPG elements, although the only thing roguelike about it really is an inability to save. The player controls the nameable protagonist "Mercenary" while attempting to survive the Dungeons of Fear & Hunger. The only narrative is the one supplied by the player -- the game's heavy on atmosphere, not plot.

This is a review of the teaser demo, which features four levels and about half the planned cast. The scope of the full game looks to be a lot bigger (five playable characters for one thing) but there's a decent amount of content here, maybe one to three hours. I played to the end of the maps, I believe, but probably missed some other content. The review is mostly spoiler free but I'd probably skip the last section.

Aesthetics

While visuals might be the first immediate draw of Fear & Hunger, the sounds is what jumps out first in the game itself. The intro has some really well-fitting music, and simple as it is, it sets the tone for the rest of the game. The background music might not be custom for the game but it sure is employed well. There's a lot of sfx, and as it turns out, just something like low chanting or drip ambiance can be as effective if not more than bgm.

As for the visuals themselves - the painting and pixels work together really nicely, with a unique pixel style I can't quite put my finger on. The special effects on the maps (dim lighting, fog, torches) all complement it well. With at least four distinctive settings, it's always rewarding to get to the next zone just to look at it. It's a compelling reason to keep pressing forward. The map layout itself has a neat feeling where the Dungeons of Fear and Hunger feel less like a series of interconnected maps and more of one big environment -- rooms link together vertically in many places, around curves, or at diagonals allowed with the painted environments. Not your blocky RM game.

The subject matter is a bit of a different bag. While pixeldick isn't exactly something novel in "dark" RM games, F&H includes multiple explicit sexual scenes, a mountain of corpses and guts, and sprites for the playable characters in various states of armlessness. The standouts are probably the interior of a toilet hole and a twenty person orgy, located about thirty seconds away from each other. I've played other games that have gone for this sort of thing as shock value (and yeah, there's some shocking stuff) but usually there are standout elements that come across as "this was done to be edgy" that break immersion. F&H feels like a coherent whole, if a coherent whole that I would want to stay far, far away from.

Gameplay

I mentioned there was a really appealing intro. I was less enthusiastic around the 20th time I saw it. My experience in my first game was to take a few moments to come up with a fitting character name (important in jRPGs and RLs alike!), wandered inside the first room, scavenged a pinecone, then got killed by a on-touch encounter with a prison guard. Then I watched the intro again. Next time I didn't spend so much time on a character name.

Expect to die in F&H. "Unforgiving" would be one way to put it, but this implies the player has to make a mistake to die. Let me break down the combat system: F&H advertises a "strategic" dismemberment system, where the player aims at a body part with each attack. I attacked the prison guard's right arm at first, destroying it. Then the guard's so-called stinger began pulsing, so I attacked it, destroying it. Then the guard approached too close, clinched, and instakilled me. This is how guards work -- kill them in two turns or face the prospect of immediate death. While I eventually figured out that attacking the head usually kills the guard (at the cost of one of my own limbs) there's still a 33% or so that in any fight with a guard I'd miss an attack or two and end up dead. The combat is more akin to a survival horror in that fights should be avoided because resources are limited. And with extremely limited resources, expect to live for two to four encounters... And it's not like they can be run away from either.

I play a /lot/ of roguelikes, so I want to expand on some of key shortcomings of F&H versus pretty much any modern RL. One core principle is that death is always the fault of the player. With an accuracy that feels around 60%, this is iffy to say the least. Not to mention the non-combat deaths. F&H is one of those games that likes to drop the player into unwinnable scenarios. "Climb into the toilet hole? Y/N? Oops can't get out." That one is probably my fault, but it's the equivalent of getting oneshot by an out-of-sight enemy. While it's technically avoidable, it has an unfair aftertaste.

Keep in mind F&H does not allow saving. This means every time The Mercenary misses a guard twice, it's time to watch the intro again, play through the same early game again (potentially getting unlucky and losing to the first encounter, again) and spend another ten to twenty minutes playing through an area of the game that rapidly loses its novelty. In a roguelike, after losing a character, the player is free to pick a different class, explore a different area, etc. In F&H, there is no redeeming grace here. Playthroughs are virtually identical. Loot is randomized, but this is actually counterproductive -- it's very possible to not spawn an early key to recruit the second party member (The Girl) or find any helpful items at all (maybe 80% I could find no use for). Enemies are vaguely randomized, but this is also annoying -- I would sometimes just restart the game if there were too many guards in the first area.

The way this adds up is that death turns into an annoying time penalty. Having this punishment for every action induces a sort of paranoia that negatively affects the game's core loop. Most RPGs have an explore vs exploit metamechanic built in -- once I've found an effective strategy, how likely am I to keep using a strategy I know works vs keep searching for a strategy that works better? F&H skews this. If I'm paranoid about combat, I will never aim for anything but the head, because I know this wins me the fight 75% of the time, so I'll never explore the depths of any limb targeting system. If talking to NPCs triggers a fight 30% of the time and that fight could cost me 20 minutes, I will never talk to NPCs. I'll never take a yes/no decision to touch some viscera (spoiler: unwinnable fight). After I found talking to prison guards and priests just gave them an extra turn to attack me, I never explored talking to any further in-combat NPCs because the cost of failure is just too extreme. F&H heavily penalizes exploration and favors exploitation.

Overall, the gameplay just feels arbitrary. If there's a strategy to the fights, I wasn't afforded the freedom to discover it (too afraid of dying and watching the unskippable intro again). The stealth system doesn't add much as enemies spot the player from out of sight, and I only managed to once or twice escape after being spotted. To drive this point home, F&H even features a visual onscreen coinflip. Call it right, and find critical loot, evade the guard, etc. Call it wrong, and find squantus, get oneshot by the guard, etc.

Themes

"Theme" seems like something dumb to call this section, like trying to look for the "moral," but the way the game is marketed doesn't shy away from posing moral questions. The gamepage seems to present at least two. First, the question of what is or is not suitable to depict in a game. It sounds pretty edgelordy, but I didn't get much of this feeling in the game itself, and was pleasantly surprised.

There was also another question presented -- what is or is not acceptable to do to survive? This is a little more interesting but almost self-defeating within the first few minutes of the game, by two elements. First, the prison guards that try to actively murder the player. Killing them is a matter of self-defense, not morality. Second, without any exposition, it appears that The Mercenary voluntarily arrived at the Dungeons of Fear Hunger. Combined with lore admonishing the player to "turn back now" and so on, it seems like a choice to continue exploring the dungeons. There is no escape or survival element, instead, the dungeons feel like a tribulation. What am I trying to prove by putting myself through this hell?

There was only one time I actually stopped to consider the implication of any in-game decision. At a certain point in the game, the player finds a magic circle. With the second character, The Girl, in tow, the player is asked to perform an "act of sacrifice" or an "act of love" to obtain favors from the old gods, or walk away with the girl unharmed.

The first time at this choice, I did nothing. Fine. I'll try to win without killing/raping people I rescue from a cage, thanks. Then I died to a prison guard and figured I needed an edge in combat to get anywhere and this was going to be one of "those" games where power comes at the cost of moral taint. Okay, fine. I sacrificed the girl. The screen went dark, she's beheaded, and Gro-Goroth granted me a virtual ohko-ing "Hurt" skill. After depleting my MP using Hurt once and then dying, twenty minutes later, I found the magic circle again, and casually chose the second option, "act of love." After a confirmation, the message simply said "No." And I was presented with game over.

That's probably the moment that's stuck with me the most after playing through the game maybe a week before writing this review. I couldn't get why the game would reward the player for killing her but punish the player for attempting sex with her. At first I thought F&H must have some inbuilt if questionable moral system -- they're both abhorrent acts, but F&H only wants to encourage a certain kind of abhorrentness. I did go back and question what exactly made me think it was permissible to take that second option, and it's probably the old explore/exploit question -- the skill from option #1 wasn't actually that great, so I chose option #2 in the sense of "I went left last time, this time I'll go right." Replaying the game so many times and freeing the girl from the cage so many times did a lot to cheapen her life. When I initially sacrified her, my thinking was that if this was the wrong decision, who cares, she'll be back in that cage in about five minutes when something else in turn murders me. That self reflection was probably the deepest thinking I got in this game, but it did stick.

But then after reexamining the gameplay, it became clear to me that outside of my reasoning behind making this decision, this whole sacrifice setup was just another cointoss. In F&H, punishment and reward are arbitrary, and life and death are arbitrary. Hell, the courtyard level consists of hanged men in one map and then an orgy in the next. What did the hanged men do differently from the revelers? There are bestial prison guards and ghoulish prisoners, but without context, no reason those roles couldn't be reversed. Maybe they failed a coinflip somewhere.

Moving forward...

F&H is just a demo, but at the moment it's hard to recommend. The game is a unique experience, which makes it a shame that it's so frustrating having to replay the intro so many times to actually access the stuff in the back. I'm sure I missed out on content because I ran out of patience with Level 1 and stopped engaging most NPCs or taking questionable dialog choices.

Was the demo successful? Well, it succeeded for me in painting a picture of a foul hellhole where life is capricious and death is up to fate. That's a compelling effect. Except it makes for a frustrating, ungameish game. There's dissonance between this master effect and the gameplay itself, no, but it's just not a good experience. Adding more content would just compound the problem -- adding just one more dungeon level would mean I have to spend twice as long replaying the rest of the game to get there. I haven't put much thought into what would improve the game per se, but it needs something altered in its core loop to make it actually fun and not an exercise. I really hope this game can find a synthesis with gameplay that is less aggravating but still supports its unique effect.

#rpgmaker #horror #game review

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destiny-smasher · 7 years

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I just keep thinking about the bay or bae choice but like in the context of the choice the beast gives Wirt at the end of over the garden wall. Like the tornado asking to choose between chloe and Arcadia bay and Max just responding with, "that's dumb" and choosing something else that saves everyone lmao

Haha, I’ve never drawn that comparison but that’s amusing. OTGW is one of my favorite stories in general at this point, though. Thinking on all of this led to an informal essay that helps me ground myself in my own mistakes with other fics I’ve worked on, All Wounds’ planning stages, and how I’m approaching its impending ending.

This one’s a bit of a doozie.

(I will be referencing elements of the endings to Over the Garden Wall, Life is Strange, Steins;Gate, and Oxenfree, in case you’re worried about knowing things you don’t yet want to know)

OTGW and LIS are very different stories dealing with very different themes, and OTGW can get away with a blunt and brusque resolution like that because it’s a dark comedy that’s in many ways subverting or teasing a lot of melodramatic tropes. LIS often introduces tropes and then peels back a layer and asks us to look deeper, which is a whole other sort of deal.

The problem, though, is that its own finale and final climax kind of doesn’t hold up, because it hinges upon a choice that really makes no sense – and a moral-oriented choice, at that, which makes it even harder to swallow.

With Wirt and the Beast, there’s a physical character within the world to confront. To call out. To vanquish or scare off or outsmart. Greg’s disposition can be broken apart and he can be released. The entire story is about mystery and, well

OTGW makes no allusions that its story isn’t supposed to quite make sense, it embraces its mystery, and it subverts things by making ‘reality’ a hidden element until the final act.

The story makes it pretty obvious that this world isn’t supposed to make much sense, too, which leads us to not really question things when it doesn’t.

Wirt is the elder brother, he’s supposed to set an example, he’s supposed to look out for his sibling, and he fails.

And while there’s a lot of darkness to this story, it is, ultimately, a comedy, first and foremost, and most resolutions with the various antagonists are resolved with some kind of clever or amusing tactic. It doesn’t want us to take it too seriously, and it’s often making fun of tropes in dramatic fantasy stories.

What’s happening with Max, Chloe, and the tornado isn’t so physical as being lost, as confronting magical beasts. It’s abstract and unexplained, yet the story wants us to take it seriously and tries (weakly) to ‘explain’ things. This falls short because there aren’t really any concrete, established rules, and yet we’re supposed to buy into everything being Max’s fault when we don’t even know how it’s her fault. This is tricky because within the context of the narrative, it makes the player assume the position and perspective the creators wanted:

Max Caulfield is supposed to choose between the greater good, or what she desires as an individual.

The premise of that choice is great, and it’s what the entire game has been foreshadowing and leading up to. The execution is just very iffy to me because of the dodgy attempt at explanation…without explaining anything. ‘Chaos Theory’ literally does not work the way the game alludes to it. The writers know none of this makes sense, which is why in the finale they unfortunately go as bluntly as to make Chloe say:

Pretty blunt cop-op that even made me squirm on my first playthrough. Lazy writing that was intentionally planted right before the finale scene to remind us as the audience to just…”ya know, just forget getting a proper explanation OK? We ain’t got one, so just stop waiting for it, all right?” It would’ve been better to just not draw attention in the first place. Not have Warren toss ‘chaos theory’ inaccurately, not have Max keep reminding us of how this is all ‘her fault’ somehow, maybe instead focus on how/why letting Chloe die would undo this.

In fact, the only reason we as the audience are expected to believe the Storm is her fault is because Max…says it is?

Why does Max feel this way? How do we know she’s not just internalizing things? There’s not really much evidence as to why random snow is falling, why the eclipse or the two moons happen, why the Storm happens…yet we’re told, over and over, how this is Max’s doing…somehow. And that wouldn’t be too much of a problem if the final climax didn’t hinge upon this nonsensical phenomenon. Plus, how can we be expected to assume Max is able to intuit her own powers properly, when time and again she’s illustrated that she doesn’t understand how they work? This element is sometimes played up for effective character growth, but in the finale it just works against things. We’re only supposed to believe Max comprehends her own abilities when it’s convenient to move the plot along?

It doesn’t even really add up that Max going back and letting Chloe get shot would prevent the Storm, either. That ending bothers me more than the other one because it makes the entire story basically mean nothing. Max has endured all of this psycho shit and no one else can understand it, no one else can get what she’s been through, because it hasn’t happened for anyone but her.

“Remembering something that no oneelse can is a painful thing. You can’t talk to anyone about it. Noone will understand you. You’ll be alone.”~ Okabe Rintaro; Steins;Gate

And what did Max do to deserve this? The cause of her powers is never explained, and thus it ends up just being a needless tragedy without any real purpose or cause. Was she supposed to learn to “let go” of Chloe? That’s a popular feeling, and I do love this concept of ‘learning to let go’ in other stories (and it’s one of the most common themes I write about) – except she’d already let go of Chloe before the story even started, having lost touch with her for five years. Why shove Chloe back into her life, only to rip her away again with none of it having technically happened?

Steins;Gate and Oxenfree tackle time travel and its consequences in a way that’s more rewarding, IMO.

With the prior, you have the protagonist making choices beyond his understanding, slipping deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, and needing to claw his way out, one step at a time; only to realize by the end that he’s wound up back with the same problem he had at the start (much like Max trying to save Chloe for so long, only to remember the Storm at the end).

Eventually, this culminates in Okabe needing to be clever, and outsmart himself, after having grown and matured through enduring the insanity of time travel. The story suffers from a lot of characters who are kind of one-dimensional anime tropes but at least it manifests chaos theory and time travel into a plot that’s rewarding. It’s a story about a character facing consequences for foolhardy choices and needing to make things right, coming out the other end a better person for it.

“Keep the past,for all intents and purposes, where it is.”~Okabe

With Oxenfree, it’s a different genre, and so it ends up being more of a thriller/ghost story with time travel looped around it, but even this story boils down to these core concepts in my mind: don’t fuck with things you don’t understand, appreciate the life you have and think before you act.

“Whatever. I’m sure it’ll be fun. It’s something to do. Right?”~ Alex

Alex ends up in her situation out of boredom, essentially. Is that fair? No, it isn’t. But the story doesn’t hide this, and Alex herself sometimes (depending on the version of herself) vents her frustration at how unfair her situation is. And yet, all the same, it’s a Pandora’s Box she did open, a choice she did make, due to her own aimless meandering and indecision – a desire to just do something over not doing nothing, and even if that led to bad things, it’s a much more interesting setup than just her being dropped into things.

Enough of an explanation is provided (and even more details if you are observant and explore!) to convey to the player, ‘Alex done fucked around with shit beyond her comprehension, and that’s not good.’ This isn’t to say that Alex deserves to be dealing with what happens in the game. Max Caulfield doesn’t deserve what happens to her, either. But Alex is still an active participant in these supernatural things that are happening, in multiple ways. There is an explanation for why she ends up in her situation, whereas for Max there is none. There is an external force outside of Alex’s control, working against her, with a reasonable and logical motive, if a selfish execution. There is an explanation.

Even if that explanation equates to “Well, she didn’t know what she was getting into” it still gives meaning to the ending, because she at least understood how she ended up where she did, even if it was unfair. This makes her choice(s) at the end more rewarding, because we have some idea of what she’s been dealt, and when you replay the game from the beginning, everything still makes sense and adds up within its own world, and you can see, plainly, how Alex got herself in a bad way, and influence her decision in how to deal with it.

With Steins;Gate, when you go back to the start, everything still makes sense, and it’s already obvious before you get to the ending in the first place why and how Okabe ended up in a bad way.

With Max, it’s sort of making stuff up as it goes (which is not always bad!) but when you get to the end and you start over, it’s like…you’re still confused. Why does this all happen? Why is it Max’s fault? What did she really do that triggered this situation, and how does it make sense? Why is she seeing visions of a Storm that she supposedly caused by mucking with time before she’s even made the accidental and inadvertent act of Rewinding in the first place?

If her vision in the very first scene of the game was supposed to be a warning, how the fuck was she supposed to heed it? It had no context, it made no sense.

Was it even possible for her to not have chosen to Rewind in the bathroom if the vision of the Storm happening was already a thing before that opportunity even presented itself to her?

Hell, by the time she even realizes it was a vision of the future, she doesn’t really have an opportunity to try warning anyone about it, because she’s too wrapped up in everything else. She has no way out of this situation without sustaining trauma and pain that she didn’t deserve or ask for, without any defined reason, opposing entity, or purpose. It’s unfulfilling.

Yes, life is indeed strange and sometimes things happen without an explanation, and that is fine. But it’s not so fine when the entire story’s conclusion is hinging upon a situation oriented around a choice (a morality skewed choice) that has no explanation and makes no sense. This leads to the audience becoming frustrated the more they dwell on it, because a glaring lack of explanation naturally leads the human mind to question things further and further, exposing more and more cracks and fallacies. But, provide enough of an explanation to the audience, and they’re much more willing to suspend disbelief and go along with it.

Wirt has to accept a situation that he and his brother mutually got themselves stuck in, and while there isn’t an explanation for how they ended up in The Unknown, the story bluntly tells us at the start that it’s…The Unknown, a mysterious place that doesn’t make sense. Right from the start. It’s a story about two brothers who got lost in a magical land, who are too young to really know themselves too well, and no real clear motivation at the outset.

The story’s climax does not at all hinge upon how they ended up there, or the nature of this place, but rather, how they’re going to get out. It’s all about being lost, and finding your way back home by never giving up on yourself or those you’re connected to.

By the story’s end, we’ve seen both brothers rise up to help save each other, be clever and outsmart fantastical creatures in their own ways, and in general realize that they want to get back home, that they don’t want to remain lost.

They act on that desire accordingly and are able to not completely lose themselves.

Okabe Rintaro has to accept his situation he got himself into, understanding how and why he ended up there, and knowing it’s kind of his fault, primarily (though Kurisu certainly works toward this bad decision, too, if out of curiosity more than anything). The story has a climax where Okabe must accept responsibility for what he’s done and make things right again by using his mind, and using his heart to stay vigilant and determined in the face of insanity. Along the way, he’s forced to confront that he focuses far too much on trying to build a false persona born from childish desires, rather than just…being himself. He’s forced to face that he’s been acting immature toward those around him and needs to grow up.

By the story’s end, we’ve seen Okabe realize how foolish he’s acted, the weight of choices on others, and he realizes his motivation is to set things back to the way they were, because the way they were was perfectly fine and he should’ve appreciated them in the first place.

Okabe is able to act on these realizations and desires accordingly, and is able to not lose himself – or those around him.

Alex has to accept her situation that she got herself into, understanding how and why she ended up there, even if it’s unfair, and knowing that the force at work actually has legitimate motive to be acting selfishly. The story has a climax where Alex confronts this external force that she’s known about for some time, and must simultaneously choose how to react to it while accepting her own part in opening such a can of cosmic worms.

Alex’s situation is more tragic – she arguably has no way out of her mess, but she can perhaps prevent someone else from suffering her fate, which she somewhat brought upon herself (if unintentionally).

She acts on her knowledge of what happened in the past to try to change things, both past and present; she tries to assist other versions of herself, her family, or just the friends she was with in the first place. She confronts her own part in things, accepts responsibility to try and fix them, and maybe, under the right circumstances, leave is possible, if only for another version of herself.

In so doing, Alex’s story highlights a fascinating element of being a human being through its tragedy – humans have the ability of foresight. They have the ability to leave knowledge behind for those who come after them.

Max, meanwhile, has to accept a situation that was pushed upon her without her understanding much of anything, and it’s unfair and arguably not even her fault (and if it is her fault, it was unknowingly and accidentally caused).The story has a climax where Max is forced to choose to give up someone she lost and found again, or give up the abstract “greater good” despite not understanding how or why this is even her responsibility in the first place. And neither choice leads to something inherently good, which can be a great device if the main character actively got themselves into a bad situation. But Max didn’t, she had a bad situation forced upon her, with no motive of her own, no motive of some external force, no logical lesson to learn, and thus no logical meaning to take away from it.

To make matters worse? Max’s entire driving force in the story is, at its core, protecting the women around her. Chloe, of course, but also Rachel, Kate, even Victoria, and other side characters who…had potential for deeper side stories, but they ran out of time/resources to flesh them out. This is such a great theme.

But –

This core value and character trait of Max’s – trying to fix things, trying to help others, trying to protect them – is given no final resolution, no climactic test, no illustration of value or even a proper examination of its double-edged aspects (though the Nightmare does certainly touch on this). This power, this core element of her character, is betrayed by an ending that forces her to accept that she can’t protect or save anyone, not really, and that it’s somehow all her fault when she didn’t do anything to actively bring this all about.

This is unsatisfying, to say the least.

It is nice for Chloe to be pushing at the end, here, to be trying to tell Max how awesome she is for trying to do good, and of course for saving her. That’s great – but even that gets a bit watered down by Chloe’s need to keep trying to insist that this was all ‘supposed to happen’ if the endgame is that she wants Max to undo all of it. There’s a lot of weird, forced writing right before Max’s nightmare, on the beach, where it’s like the writers just had no planned explanation of things so they tried to have the protagonists make up their own half-assed explanation. That’s cute for their characters, I guess, but unsatisfying as the moments leading to the climax of the narrative.

Let me be clear about something re: All Wounds: Other Max does not symbolize my own beliefs. She is a manifestation of Max’s anger at how unfair her situation is.

She also symbolizes Max Caulfield’s own self-projected fears, worries, and doubts, which have been propagated by an unfair situation that doesn’t really make much sense.

So how does she make sense of it? She blames herself, which is what human beings sometimes do when people around them get hurt without explanation.

Max and Chloe’s story could have culminated in a meaningful and rewarding lesson or theme regarding the tough reality of death and how we have to let go of people we love sometimes in order to move on. And for people who play LiS once and are done with it, that might still stick with them. But because things don’t add up, this invites more dedicated fans to dwell on how they don’t add up, and this leads to frustration. It’s good to present your protag with a situation that isn’t fair to them, but it’s not so good when they had no part in its creation, were not at fault, and have no way out of the situation. Nonsensical tragedy is a real thing, but a story is an intentionally constructed device. If you don’t take care and you treat your story as disposable, the people who really get attached will end up annoyed and pick apart at your story’s flaws, because we want stories that stand up, that endure, and if you’re building a temporary story without that foresight, it’ll fall apart quicker than you might like.

Max’s story does allude a lot to an idea of “myself vs the greater good” or perhaps “how I view myself vs how the world views me” and these are excellent themes for a young adult narrative. It’s a core aspect of adolescence, but the story doesn’t really add up to something that delivers on this message in a meaningful way, but one that is cheap and robs the protagonist of actual power in their situation.

If the story doesn’t make sense, it makes it harder for the audience to comprehend what the message was.

When I dwell on Life is Strange and why I love it, I am not dwelling on the ending, because it doesn’t add up and doesn’t really deliver on a concrete theme or message for me. I instead dwell on things that happen before The Storm, before Episode 5 (because, frankly, Jefferson’s motives and ham-fisted monologuing don’t quite add up with the character presented in eps 1-4, either), because LiS offered up many interesting and meaningful themes about dealing with real life problems and understanding real life people. Its strengths are not in its time travel plotline, at all, but in its humane and rounded treatment of its characters, giving them reasonable flaws and strengths.

Another pro that’s…also a con, actually, is how it’s a time travel-themed story that is very much about the protagonist not having any power at all. What little we can decipher about Max’s powers are more to do with what she can’t do, rather than what she can do, and this again culminates in an ending where she realizes she can’t do much of anything to resolve things. This was foreshadowed very well, and it creates a theme of “I can change things – but not really,” and it’s a nice contrast to other time travels stories that are about “I can change things – but I shouldn’t.” But, it results in a weaker endgame because Max didn’t do anything to put herself in this mess in the first place, plus the story is literally about her not having power to fix or change or protect anyone/anything, which…just isn’t rewarding or satisfying, is it?

Thus, the climax is disappointing, and that can lead to bitter feelings and a sense of “Well, what was the fucking point of all this, then?” And I see a lot of LiS fans experiencing this. It’s honestly my biggest issue with the ending(s) of Life is Strange, because there’s not…really a defined purpose or point. And copping out with ‘well life is strange and weird stuff happens and it doesn’t always make sense’ is a much easier pill to swallow when it doesn’t involve magical tornadoes appearing out of literally nowhere because of reasons.

[art by sketchingsands]

That isn’t life, that’s fantasy, and that’s OK! But you need to have it culminate in something rewarding, something satisfying, or something with meaning and purpose. Fantasy is fun because of how it can rebuild reality by creating alternate rules – and seeing how those alternate rules play out, or are bent or broken themselves, and how that creates a type of character development that can’t exist in reality is, really, what makes fantasy stories rewarding, IMO. Fantasy is interesting to us as humans because it’s about seeing characters do things we can’t do – but so much of Max’s story is about what she can’t do, which makes sense for a character who’s full of themselves and needs to have their ego knocked down a peg, but not much for a girl dealing with self-esteem issues and self-doubt. When Max actually finds out she can do something new, something useful and amazing, she’s almost immediately brought down by limitations, and her powers just make things worse. While this is a theme of time travel, pretty consistently, Max never asked to be put in this position, unlike most time travelers.

No matter how much you try to explain to me, “It’s about how Max has to let Chloe go” I’m always going to counter with, “Why does she have to let Chloe go in the first place?” (even apart from the unsettling context of queer romances not surviving mass media stories) Seriously. Why does Max need to let Chloe go? Because Chloe makes self-destructive choices that can hurt those around her? That’s kind of the only potential reason I can think of, but the story doesn’t really develop this concept enough for it to seem to be the intent. And Max has no reason to let go of Chloe the first time she encounters ‘modern’ Chloe in the bathroom. She doesn’t even know who that girl is.

For me, it’s about the journey more than the destination (which is why I still love Mass Effect even if the ending was dumb), but if you’re going to make such a big fuss of your destination, have it make sense, at least. This is usually a big deal in time travel stories – you create a loop, or you break the loop. Many time travel stories do this, and typically, there’s some kind of message there. And while I definitely can feel and relate with Ashly and Hannah’s feelings on the ‘Sacrifice Chloe’ Ending creating a powerful reminder of losing people you love, Max is not losing Chloe in a realistic way but a fantastical one, which, without an explanation or a purpose, really drains a lot of the power from it. If Max was supposed to let Chloe go in the first place, we needed some kind of context as to why. She didn’t even recognize Chloe in the very scene where she’s expected to ‘let her go.’ She only finds value in her relationship with Chloe because she chose to save someone she didn’t even recognize at first, supposedly acting in a way she ‘wasn’t supposed to,’ per this theme of ‘you need to let her go.’ If Max had ‘done what she was supposed to’ and let go of Chloe in the first place, she’d have no emotional investment, no reason to do so. But because she tried to save someone, tried to do a good thing, she developed an emotional investment that was punished but without any reason why.

ie it all doesn’t add up and doesn’t make sense, and that’s frustrating.

And perhaps, in the end, the entire point was to make the audience question things. Question themselves, question what matters to them, and why. And that’s great, and something choice-based games really have a way to facilitate. But if you don’t have a defined theme or message, you don’t have a climax that makes sense, it’s basically as if you’re being a bit lazy and asking the audience to define these things for you, when you are the storybuilder, and it is your responsibility to at least construct a frame to support those interpretations, those questions. Otherwise, again – what was the point?

When a protagonist (and thus the audience) understands how things led to a climax, it creates a much more rewarding conflict resolution, even if that resolution isn’t happy – because a character can’t make effective choices without understanding what position they’re in. This isn’t to say that the other three stories cited are inherently better than Life is Strange. But I would argue all of them have much more rewarding climaxes, because rather than trying to get a cheap tug at heartstrings, they make enough sense for the protag to be equipped enough to make a proper choice, and thus make said choice much more meaningful and valuable – and their climaxes recontextualize the entire rest of the story and add extra meaning, rather than confusion.

The human mind is hardwired to make sense of things. When it can’t, it tries to figure them out – failing that, it gets frustrated.

In other words, when a story makes sense within its own world, it is inherently more satisfying. This leads to willful suspension of disbelief, and without that, a story can lose a lot of its staying power.

I adore Life is Strange, but for its characters, not for its plot, and frankly, I kind of wish the game had no time travel nonsense at all, if it couldn’t be bothered to at least portray chaos theory accurately in its conclusion. ^^;; Have there be some horrible event that could only have transpired if Chloe was alive, something that adds up and makes sense. Problem would’ve been solved. But I guess that’s not as bombastic and theatrical as a tornado. Sometimes going big or going home aren’t the only options. Oftentimes, you can go just the right size, but it’s not easy.

Whew.

This…turned out way longer than I planned, and I’m not at all saying I never make mistakes or trip into these pitfalls sometimes. In fact, I openly admit that some aspects of All Wounds’ plot don’t fully make sense and have no solid explanation – because I have no canonical rules to build from, I’m stuck with a lack of logic and have come up with my own plot twists, but with no concrete rules to build from…it can be frustration. But I don’t have an entire development team, an entire animation studio (~glares at Legend of Korra’s lazy-ass cheap writing~), a publisher, or anything like that. When you do, when you have so many people helping you construct your vision, it really pays off to actually construct something that is architecturally sound, so to speak, and won’t fall apart when enduring the natural elements of, well, a critical audience.

In other words, you want to build stories, not just moments, that weather storms.

(PS if you wanna see how I’m coping with LiS’s ending you can play my visual novel demo here or check out the fic/art here.)

#Oxenfree #Steins;gate #OTGW #Life is Strange #Critique #LiS #LiS episode 5 #Episode 5 Polarized

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theareya · 7 years

Note

even numbers for the gaming asks!

Okay, its been 1000 years since I posted this gaming ask. But here are the answers!!!! I put most under the read more…

2. First game you played?The first game I ever played ever, in thehistory of forever, was Super Mario Bros. at my babysitter’s house, if mymemory serves me correctly

4. Longest consecutive hours you’ve played agame?Ohkay, let’s see. Without eating or bathing,but I did get up briefly to bathroom and drink water, I finished uncharted 1,2, and 3 consecutively in 120 hrs. Needless to say, I never did that again, asthe blood vessels in my eyes popped, I ate two bigmacs after, and my parentsyelled at me. Otherwise, without moving or tending to most of my basic bodilyneeds, 10 hours max as of late.

6. An underrated game from within the last fewyears?I don’t know, I’m probably biased and neverreally look online to see how the game was rated/how it’s doing. Oh! But! Ireally liked Battleborn, which was basically a game that came out like a littlebefore Overwatch? Or near the same time, actually. You also fight in teamsagainst one another with unique character abilities to obtain certainobjectives. Honestly, it is extremely well done and detailed, but very muchfalls in Overwatch’s shadow possibly due to similarity and budget D: 8. The game with the best atmosphere/scenery?I’m biased. I love Bioshock. But I also am ahuge fan of those apocalyptic, dystopia aesthetics. So, essentially, anythingalong the lines of bioshock, Fallout, and Last of us.

10. Prefer PC or console?I’ve always played on console. And I’m so bad atPC. You would think it’s a bit easier to aim a cursor to shoot at something,but I’m particularly bad at that.

12. Most bizarre game you’ve ever played?Most games are pretty… bizarre. Most of theactual weird ones I’ve only seen online on those “top ten weirdest video games”but maybe Katamari? There are definitely weirder ones… The Nightmare Within wasalso… strange. I don’t actually know what counts as bizarre anymore in thegaming world. Shrek party…

14. Do you watch playthroughs online?Sometimes, yes! If I know I am never going toget the game. For example, an xbox exclusive (I do not have an xbox) or if Ialready played the game and want to see others suffer, lmao. Or if I like thestreamer.

16. The best year in gaming you’ve experienced?… I don’t remember. I’m going to say 2011.

18. Worst game you’ve played?There are probably worse games, but I’ll go withthe most recent one I’ve played, which was Bound by Flame. It was kind of thisunfortunate mix of—attempt at—Dark Souls, Dragon Age, and other medieval games.Some parts of the gameplay were unnecessarily hard for kicks, with no way toovercome the boss aside from chipping away at the health by throwing a rock atit, while your single dead companion lay sprawled in the middle of the fieldten seconds into the fight. And of the one and a half romance options pergender you were allowed, none of them were very enticing. Spoiler** I overcamethe end fight by purchasing 10,000 potions to fight the dragon. I made itthrough just fine, only after using 600 potions. Strategy was little help, butheyo I made it through. 20. Favorite publisher and/or developer?…Sony? I don’t know… I’m terrible at thesequestions.

22. If you could turn one game into movie, whichwould it be?You know I don’t know, since any game thatturns into a movie makes me want to cry bitter tears of hate. I’m looking atresident evil specifically. But if I could turn Bioshock into a really goodmovie with the proper actors/actresses, storyline, extras, atmosphere, then …yeah.

24. Ever cried because of a video game? Whichone(s)?…Too many. Nothing gets me more invested andemotional than a videogame. I guess the only one that has made me actually cryvisible tears is Journey. The ending overwhelmed me in an inexplicable way.

26. How often do you play online? Co-op?Relatively often now, especially withOverwatch, and the fact that a lot of my friends have Overwatch as well. So,like, every other day, if not daily. Otherwise, I love co-oping with a friend mostlybecause the AI that they give to work with you tends to … suck butts. Lookingat Resident Evil… again.

28. Who got YOU into gaming?My babysitter. Haahaa. I used to hang out ather house all the time and I’d watch her play all sorts of games. She’s alsothe one who gifted me my purple game boy color :’D30. On average, how long does it take you in thecharacter creation screen?Could be up to an hour. But at least 30minutes. It depends on if I know what I want.

32. Do you cosplay?I do! But I’ve actually only cosplayed animethings. Most of the video game stuff I would like to cosplay is too hard and/orI wouldn’t do it justice. Also I’ve been parts of group cosplays generally, sowe gotta find a good match.

34. Favorite male npc?For some unknown reason, the only personpopping into my head right now is erandur, the dark elf companion, from skyrim.Like… he’s not my favorite npc, but…my mind is drawing a complete blank. And isjust repeating that name over and over in my head. Oh boy

36. Best antagonist?Albert Wesker. …Spoiler??** Look… if you gottathrow him in a volcano to get rid of him after 200 tries of “just survive longenough” fights, he’s pretty good to me. Please let him die.

38. Have you tried a game, hated it, then triedagain, and loved it?N….no? There are some games where I getfrustrated, then invite a friend to play, who is extremely over-leveled, andthen they help me… live. Does that count?40. Favorite voice actor?Okay, I love Troy Baker. How can one person beso gosh darn versatile?? For anyone who doesn’t know (I doubt that) He voicesJoel from TLOU, Booker from Bioshock, Sam Drake from Uncharted, to name theones that pop into my head. And he does like a million other voices, and sings,and is just very excellent overall.

42. A game you will never forget (in a bad ORgood way)?Resident Evil 5 in the respect that I justplayed it during a very happy time in my life with one of my friends. And itwas also when I learned that I really love co-op, as well it was a supertreasured bonding time with that friend. We legit screamed so obnoxiouslythroughout the whole thing, apologized profusely, yelled for help. Like thatgame brought out our full range of emotion while playing.

44. Do graphics matter?Not necessarily. They add a nice kick, butthere are quite a few games I can think of where the gameplay and story aremore prominent. Storyline is generally always the main thing I look for first.Storyline and characters. 46. Always, sometimes, or never use subtitles?ALWAYS. Even for NPCs. Like the setting thatsays “ALL SUBTITLES” one of the reasons is because it alerts me to enemiessometimes too as they whisper in the distance. Which is the closest thing to awarning from jump scares that I’m going to get.

48. A game you’ve always wanted to play but havenever gotten to it?Um. I’ve actually been pretty aggressive ingetting my grubby hands on the games that I want. EXCEPT. Nearly everythingthat came out after Kingdom Hearts: Chain of memories?? Like 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 5 ½,365/3 days idk there were too many?? AndI basically had almost every console except the PSP so I just kind of gave up??

50. How many games do you own?…uh… too many?? At least 200 if you total allof them from the dawn of my first game boy color.52. A game you will always stand behind, andsupport no matter what?..Fable. OKAY So, even though the game, alongwith the game company crashed and burned, I really loved that first game??Along with The Lost Chapters. I essentially based the experiences I had withFable 2, 3, Journey on how good the first game was. If I were to make someoneplay it now, they would probably think it’s pretty dumb, but I thought it was acleverly made game…54. A sequel you really want?… lmao Fable. AND/OR The Wolf Among us, becausethat’s been sitting there for far too long.56. Do you tell people irl that you play videogames?Yeah. If it comes up in the conversation. Or if…they have merchandise that I want.

58. Ever have someone walk in on a sex scenebetween you and you LI?N…o…60. The game you are best at?I know Bioshock inside and out… I don’t knowwhy I’ve played it so much, it’s a very linear game, but wuh. Also weirdly, I’mvery good at Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. And the only reason I’m obnoxiously goodat that game is because of the Chaos. I love those ridiculous little things andwould do anything to make sure they’re happy and healthy. And in order to dothat I had to play each stage multiple times to get the right power-ups andanimals to feed the Chaos…. There was a whole garden. And god.

62. Would you want to work with video games whenyou are older?I feel like if I start working with it I’llstart disliking it very much, unless I literally work as a tester… that getspaid a decent amount. Like seriously, walk in, sit down, play for… hours uponhours. Otherwise, I do not have the creativity or skill. lmao.

64. Describe your favorite video game using onlythree words?Underwater death city.

66. Game with the yummiest looking food?Final Fantasy XV. Okay, so I haven’t finishedthe game. I’m really not even that far into it, like… at all. I just saw thefood and got hungry. It’s so realistic and pretty.

68. An older game that you’ve just recentlygotten into?I guess… Fallout New Vegas was pretty old, butthen my friend bought it for me on sale, and I tried it out and it was supergood??? And now I’m really into the Fallout series.

70. Do you play any mobile games?I.. play Fire Emblem Heroes, and a variety ofother mobile games like.. Notice me Senpai, Zen Koi, Mystic Messenger, uhhh…whatever is recommended sometimes. .

72. Have any guilty pleasure games?Not really. I’m pretty prideful in every game Iplay, including my otome games.74. Which game has the best lore?…Once…. Again, BIOSHOCK. Idk there are just somany little things in the city that you can find that point to the history ofthe residents, and what happened to them. There are those audio messages and littlesecrets that everybody has in the city, leading to its fall. I just love it somuch. Skyrim is a close second, to be fair. It’s more immersive and I canroleplay more on there.

#augustussinclair #asks #ask #yay

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theinquisitivej · 6 years

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Character Predictions

Let’s take a brief detour from films and narrative analysis and talk about games, or rather a specific game. Or, I suppose, let’s do both at the same time, because the game I’m more excited about than any other this year is the latest in my favourite party game meets intense fighter series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

I apologise to those of you who have stumbled across this and have no idea what I’m talking about, because I’m pretty sure the next few thousand words or so will be impenetrable gibberish. But, if you’re riding the hype train along with me and share my passionate excitement for this series, or you’re still curious and want to know more, then read on.

Super Smash Bros. is an ongoing series from Nintendo in which you get to play as some of their most popular characters from their numerous iconic franchises as you duke it out with a group of other players in intense, frantic battles. For a series with a relatively simple premise, it’s gained a deep level of appreciation from fans of all backgrounds, as it draws players from a number of different fanbases of the different games it represents, branching out to even include characters from third party companies like Sonic, Pac-Man, Mega Man, and so on. Whether you’re a player who enjoys bringing the game out at casual get-togethers with friends and family, or you’re a competitive player who obsesses over knowing the game inside and out, there’s something universally exciting about seeing a game that celebrates so many franchises and their characters, settings, and music.

And now there’s a new game coming out, which means people are losing their minds over speculation concerning which new characters we might get to play as, and I am certainly no different. We’ve had a number of new characters already announced including Ridley and King K.Rool, fan favourite villains who players have been clamouring for since the days of Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2001. Their inclusion makes it feel like all bets are off; in the past, expectations and hopes were tempered by thoughts like ‘ah, that character would never make it in’, but now, if sodding Cloud from Final Fantasy VII can make it, then anyone can.

So, because everyone’s been making their prediction/wish lists and I’ve spent far more time obsessing over this game than I care to admit, I figured I’d have a little fun and throw together a list of my own character predictions. If you’ve been checking out other people’s theories and videos on the subject, then I’m sure many of these picks will sound familiar, and, on the one hand, I do worry that this post will look like a shallow attempt to regurgitate the same information that other people have gone over for the sake of jumping onto the bandwagon. But truthfully, I just wanted to make this list for the fun of getting it out there and seeing how many I end up getting right once we know the game’s final roster of characters. The way I see it, I’d be writing this list for myself anyway, so I might as well share it with anyone who’s interested.

This list is meant to represent likely candidates rather than necessarily my all-time dream picks. This is who I expect will make it in, not who I hope beyond hope to see in this game (otherwise the list would just say ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ ten times). Even so, there are one or two characters on the list which I will admit have less of a chance, and most likely got as far as they did in my considerations due to preferential bias. Nevertheless, there are enough points in their favour that I stand by dedicating a spot to them. And at the end of the day, this is my own damn list on the dumb fighting game about cartoon characters, so try not to worry about it.

*So how many more new characters do you think there’ll be?*

This is the question a lot of people who’ve been closely following news on the game have been wondering. Masahiro Sakurai, the series director whose dry offbeat sense of humour and difficult to predict eccentricity has made him just as beloved to Smash fans as some of the Nintendo mascots featured in his games, has gone on record to say that, since Ultimate’s remit was to bring every single character in the series’ history back for this ‘ultimate’ instalment, we shouldn’t expect too many newcomers. Considering the insane amount of content already revealed for this game, many have said that’s a fair deal, with a common sentiment being that the game could ship with just what we’ve heard about it thus far, and we’d still be over the moon with what it’s given us.

However, Sakurai is a notorious workaholic whose obsessive dedication to his work has led him to exceed our expectations time and time again in Smash’s 20-year history. Since making that statement, Sakurai has shown off 5 new characters, and hinted that there is more to follow. What helps is that Sakurai and his team have found a creative solution which enables them to include an impressive number of new characters without cutting too much into development time in the form of ‘Echo Fighters’. Echo Fighters, or ‘Echoes’, is a term coined by Sakurai to describe characters who are technically new to the series, but whose set of moves are closely based on a pre-existing fighter. This means we get the option of playing a slight variation on a classic fighter who, through a different surface appearance and a few of their own unique animations, feels like their own distinct character.

So, what this boils down to is that, while Sakurai may mean it when he says we’re getting fewer brand new movesets than we have in past instalments, we are nevertheless getting a good number of new representatives from different series through this time and money-saving measure. While I’m sure there are some critics of this approach out there, the overwhelming consensus on this is that it’s a win-win situation which takes some of the weight off the developers while simultaneously providing the players with more characters who may not have necessarily made it in otherwise.

To answer this section’s original question, I’m inclined to think that, on top of the 4 ‘newcomers’ (characters with brand new movesets) we’ve seen so far, we’ll get 2 or 4 more, as trends suggest it will be an even number. As for echoes, who we’ve been receiving at a surprising rate, I think we’ll see 4 or 6 more on top of the 4 we’ve already seen. This leadup to the list has taken long enough, and this thing is going to be monstrously big already, so let’s not waste any more time on the boring stuff and get straight to the list. I’m setting it in stone:

These are my final predictions for the rest of the characters we’re going to see in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Newcomers

#1: Decidueye

Artwork by R-nowong.

Pokémon is Nintendo’s biggest franchise after Mario, so it gets reps. The latest generation of Pokémon, Sun & Moon, did well with people and sold decently, and Decidueye, the final evolved form of the grass starter Rowlet, is arguably the most popular of the three Sun & Moon starters, much like Greninja was in the previous generation, who secured a spot in Super Smash Bros. 4. Decidueye also has the added bonus of embodying an elemental type that hasn’t been represented by a solo Pokémon fighter in Smash before – grass. On top of that, he’s got some ghost-type moves and a signature arrow attack in his toolkit which he can use, and with the added appeal of being a mysterious hooded owl warrior who can fly about, his potential moveset writes itself. He was even in Pokémon’s standalone fighting game Pokken, so yeah; he’s probably the safest bet on this entire list. On the other hand, that flame cat wrestling heel starter Incineroar from the same generation has also slowly risen in popularity, so I could see him also being a possibility. But my money’s on the spooky Robin Hood-in-feathers, Decidueye.

#2: Geno

Artwork by jordanewing.

You’re either completely oblivious to whoever the hell this character is or you’re rolling your eyes and saying you’re sick to death of hearing about Geno – there is no middle ground.

A wooden toy puppet given life by a … star spirit, I think? I’m not sure, I’m only halfway through my playthrough of the game right now. Anyway, Geno is a one-time character from a SNES Mario RPG game called, er, Super Mario RPG. The game was a collaboration between Nintendo and Square, and represents the spiritual beginnings of other Mario RPG series such as Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi games on handheld systems. Of the characters unique to Super Mario RPG, Geno stands out; he’s mystical and dedicated to his mission to reform the Star Road in order to make it so that people’s wishes can once again come true, meaning the point where he joins the party also introduces the player to the game’s central quest. With his innocent wooden doll appearance and contrastingly enigmatic cape, profile, and gun-arm weapon, he seems like the kind of character who’d result from a fairy-tale colliding with a Final Fantasy plot, making him a suitable representative for a game made through the collaborative efforts of Nintendo and Square.

Speaking bluntly, Geno has little-to-no relevance in this day and age, having only appeared once as one of several main playable characters in a game that released over 20 years ago. Even so, he’s a character with such appeal that he’s not only been a fan favourite request for Smash since the days of Melee, but he’s also someone Sakurai himself has wanted to include for a long time now. When people talk about Geno’s game, it’s always with a loving, nostalgic fondness, and, having made my way through a decent portion of the game, I can see why. Also, appearing only once in a classic game that came out decades ago has never stopped the Ice Climbers from being a series staple for Smash, so I don’t think Geno’s solitary appearance necessarily hinders his chances. Since Sakurai seems to be using Ultimate to grant some longstanding fan requests and finally include things he’s been meaning to do for years, I’d say the odds have never been in Geno’s favour more than they are right now.

#3: Bandana Waddle Dee

Artwork by rongs1234.

Weird name, I know. Still, Waddle Dee is the most enduring and recognisable enemy type in the Kirby series, and there’s been one Waddle Dee in particular who’s tagged along in Kirby’s adventures for several decades now, and he’s known as ‘Bandana Waddle Dee’. Donning a bandanna and wielding a spear as his weapon, he’s pretty much a perfect melting pot between Kirby’s adorable friendliness, Meta-Knight’s cool proficiency with an actual weapon, and King Dedede, being his underling / dogsbody who’s probably more competent and reliable than he is.

There’s not a lot of complicated reasoning as to why Bandana Waddle Dee is both likely and deserving to make it in. The Kirby franchise is a big part of Nintendo, and of the more prominent in-house series in Smash, it stands out as one that could do with a little more representation. Being stuck at 3 characters seems like a loose end in Smash, as you only need one more inclusion to have enough characters for a traditional 4-player battle. Bandana Waddle Dee makes the most sense for this series as he’s just a delightful recurring character with the potential for a unique moveset, and after Kirby, Dedede, and Meta-Knight, he’s the next most recognisable character in the series. It’s high time Kirby got another character, and Waddle Dee fits the ticket perfectly.

#4: Paper Mario

If Link gets three versions of himself in this game, then Mario can have a third one too, and darnit, Paper Mario has paid his dues! As far from grace as he’s fallen, he is still an ongoing property, and his first two … eh what the hell, let’s thrown in Super Paper Mario in there too and say his first three games are still wonderful and a part of Nintendo’s history that’s fondly remembered by many and stands out as something that is yet to be acknowledged by Nintendo’s flagship crossover series beyond a simple stage.

Admittedly, if one Mario RPG character were to get in, then I’d oddly expect the one-time Geno to get in over this character, even if he does have a series of games to his name. But I think Paper Mario as a series has enough unique qualities to its aesthetic and characteristic mechanics to distinguish itself from the rest of the Mario franchise, including the other Mario RPG games. As such, I think bringing both of them in would represent different properties well enough. If I’m being honest with myself, of the four proposed newcomers, Paper Mario’s the least likely to make it. Geno’s got the edge on him, especially if space is a premium for new characters. But then again, they have brought back the Paper Mario stage for Ultimate, so here’s hoping that Mr. Game & Watch has a new two-dimensional best friend joining him in the next Smash.

Echoes

#5: Isabelle

With Animal Crossing being unquestionably one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises today, eclipsing veteran series like Starfox, Metroid, and F-Zero, it’s frankly staggering that Ultimate, with a roster that currently sits at 70+ characters, only has one representative from this flagship franchise. I mean, I get it; Animal Crossing is a relaxing, peaceful game about life in a quiet village where the biggest conflicts are ensuring you make your appointment to see your dog neighbour tomorrow afternoon like you promised and paying off your debt to the local ruthless raccoon landowner. It’s difficult to envision any of the characters from this series engaging in battle with Solid Snake or an anime protagonist with a six-foot broadsword. But Smash is a ridiculous series that embraces cartoonish logic, so the incongruency of these series is a big part of the fun. And the fact that Villager is in shows that there’s precedent for a fun as hell character with a slice-of-life moveset that kicks ass.

Isabelle would be a terrific choice for a second Animal Crossing representative, and if character spaces are tight enough that she can’t make it into the fully-fledged newcomer list, then she could still easily incorporate Villager’s moves. There are a ton of mainstay Animal Crossing characters who would also be very fun to play as like K.K. Slider, Tortimer, and Tom Nook, but since New Leaf came out in 2013, Isabelle has been a prominent face for the series. She’s been heavily featured in Animal Crossing’s various off-shoots since then, as well as in promotional material and crossovers like the excellent Mario Kart 8 dlc. Plus, with Smash’s roster being so heavily taken up with male characters, we could really do with more female characters being featured. Isabelle is not only one of my most hopeful newcomers, she’s also one of the most likely to make it.

And to that one person who I know is reading: Jeremiah is lovely, but I’m sad to say I just don’t see him making it in … just yet.

#6: Black Shadow

Wolf’s back, DK and Diddy have K.Rool, Samus has two villains from her series to contend with now; bad guys are currently all the rage in Smash, and while I’ll admit to being completely inexperienced with F-Zero, Black Shadow seems like a suitable pick for a much-needed rival to Smash’s resident Captain Falcon. As a dead series that still receives a ton of love from fans yet only has one representative in Smash at the moment, F-Zero could do with a little push into the spotlight. Black Shadow’s design isn’t much to write home about by itself, but when paired against Captain Falcon, I think there’s some potential. His ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ look and pompous smirk could be a fun personality to play with, and I’m positive that Ultimate’s stellar team of animators could make him stand out. With Ganondorf becoming more and more his own thing, Black Shadow could honestly just take Ganondorf’s moveset from Melee with one or two changes, and he’d be a terrific Echo Fighter of Falcon that’s good to go.

#7: A Metal Gear Solid representative, most likely Raiden

I adore the Metal Gear series. Its outlandishly over-the-top military action and exaggerated characters, its cool-as-hell protagonists, and its legendary music make it a special series in games. Here’s the thing though: I’ve never played them. Well, I’ve played and completed the first Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2. Anything from Metal Gear Solid onwards, however, I’ve yet to play through. I was first introduced to the series when Snake was announced for Brawl, and since then, I’ve listened to many pieces of music from the series, enjoyed hearing passionate fans talk about the games, and learned and heard things about the series which make me positive that I’m going to love these games when I finally take the time to sit down and play them, ludicrous plot and all.

So, since Konami, the company who owns the rights to the series, have not only okayed Snake coming back to this upcoming game, but also allowed Sakurai to have both a newcomer and an echo from their Castlevania series, I reckon Snake’s chances of gaining an echo as a partner have gone up. The most likely candidate is Raiden, the protagonist from Metal Gear Solid 2 who has an important role in the franchise, but as I’ve yet to play a good portion of this series, I honestly can’t say for sure who would be the best echo. Maybe someone he contends with, to fit the theme of villains and rivals I mentioned earlier, like Liquid? Snake’s former mentor turned villain Big Boss would be cool too, especially if it’s him when he’s an old soldier, as we could do with some badass old characters in the game. My favourite pick, however, is Meryl. Her design is cool as hell, she seems to be a significant character in the series, and as I mentioned earlier, we need to even out the gender imbalance in this roster. At the end of the day, however, I would be happy to see any of these guys make it in.

#8 Tails…or Shadow, if we must

I know that the most likely second Sonic representative via echo fighter at the moment is Shadow. His assist trophy is nowhere to be seen, he fits Sonic’s model and moveset, and he’d fit the bill of the current trend of rivals / villains making the cut. But… really? Do we really want to go with the edgy teen version of Sonic that once starred in a dreadful game that took itself too seriously and filled a cartoon universe about fast-moving animals with realistic guns? …alright, to be fair, when that came out I unironically loved it, played the hell out of it, and I still have a soft spot for it, so I wouldn’t even be unhappy to see Shadow make it in as a true guilty pleasure of a character.

But come on, as much as I’m not the biggest fan of Sonic games from any era, I think that the character deserves to have his version of Luigi in, and that’s Tails. He’s been there since practically the beginning, has a design that’s always been appealing and avoided becoming dated (or as good as this franchise can manage), and despite nominally playing different to Sonic with his flying propeller tails, he moves very similarly to Sonic. Just make him a little slower on the ground, have him control better in the air, and shift some of his aerial attacks around, and you’d have a decent echo. Say what you will about the Sonic series, but it is iconic to the videogame medium, and Tails is a big part of the picture whenever you consider Sonic as a franchise.

But whatever, put grungy Sonic with guns in instead if you want, that should be good for a laugh.

#9: Ken/Akuma

This one is difficult to call. Ryu’s my favourite fighting game character of all time, and his inclusion in the previous Smash Bros. as DLC was a significant moment that I adored seeing come to pass. In his own series, he’s had no shortage of characters based off of him with similar movesets, so looking through the range of options for echo fighters from his series has yielded two likely options. Ken, as a pallet swap version of Ryu with more fire effects added to his moves with slightly different properties, is pretty much the perfect template for an Echo Fighter. He’s got a sweet musical theme that I believe was already in the previous Smash, and he’d be a ton of fun to play as.

Still, there’s one other person who has a chance of snagging the Rye Echo Fighter slot away from him: Akuma. A fan favourite and Ryu’s dark opposite with an ultimate move that translates to “Wrath of the Raging Demon”, there’s no denying that Akuma would be an impressive villain to include to Ultimate’s expanding catalogue of dark rivals. I’d be ecstatic with any new representation from Street Fighter, so calling this one is tough. I’ll go with Ken, as he just embodies the concept of an echo fighter perfectly. But, if I’m wrong and we get Akuma, that would be cool too. Or Sakura, she’d be awesome as well. Just as long as it’s anyone other than Dan Hibiki.

#10: Impa

Legend of Zelda is one of my all-time favourite game series, providing me with numerous all-time classics that have been some of the most formative games of my life. But despite its flagship status as a Nintendo franchise, and despite having 6 characters in Smash already, it’s in an awkward position when it comes to who else you could put into the game. The series has no shortage of striking, memorable, and well-loved characters, but the format of the series means that each game is more or less a fresh start, introducing us to a new version of Hyrule with a fresh batch of inhabitants and different iterations of a handful of enduring characters, namely Link, Zelda, and Ganon/Ganondorf. What this means is that, while you can have different versions of Link and Zelda from different games in Smash, there’s not a lot of options for character picks who have a lasting presence in the series beyond the one game they’re featured in. Of course, this sort of reasoning doesn’t necessarily have to mean anything, and Sakurai could have just said screw it and thrown in a fan favourite like Skull Kid, but it’s difficult to say if there’s much of a chance of that happening.

What I can say is that there is one recurring character in Legend of Zelda who has yet to be included in Smash: Impa. She’s appeared in many different forms throughout the series, and while I would love to see her old nurse / attendant to Princess Zelda appearance be the inspiration for a creative moveset, I think it’s more likely we’ll see one of her more warrior like iterations using most of Sheik’s moves with the occasional change here or there. She could resemble her Skyward Sword appearance, or her impressive design from Hyrule Warriors, but either way, I think she would make a great addition to the series. She’s more representation for not only Legend of Zelda, but for formidable older women as well, who I think could do with a lot more prominence in all areas of fiction, let alone Smash.

And that was my lengthy list! We’ll be back to film reviews soon, but if you’ve made it this far, thank you for indulging me and letting me try this out. If you’ve been absorbing as much fan speculation content on this upcoming game as I have, I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of what I’ve talked about today discussed in other places, but I nevertheless felt a need to write all of this down and put it out there. So, for those of you who have no idea what I’ve spent thousands of words going on about but have nevertheless read to the end, thank you so much! It’s always a lot of fun to try something new and different. In fact, if I was to narrow down what I love about Super Smash Bros. represents as a series, it would be how much it celebrates and delights in the endless possibilities of creativity. There’s so much to enjoy out there, and it’s all so different; it can be overwhelming at times, especially when you feel the impossible need to try and keep up with media, but it can also be immensely uplifting and inspiring to see just how many different experiences there are out there. I’ll keep trying to seek out those new experiences in all aspects of my life, because there’s so much art and content out there to inspire you, whatever your field of interest might be.

Of course, once December 7th rolls around, it’s quite likely I’ll turn around on that and play nothing but Smash. Ah well, we can but try.

#The Inquisitive J #article #game article #video games #nintendo #super smash bros #super smash ultimate #super smash switch #smash bros #super smash bros characters #the inquisitive j reviews

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