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g3z0 · 4 months

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Rich stupid Highschool Kids P13

P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12

Summary: The Sturniolo‘s. Their kids are rich and spoiled, stupid brats. You hated them. But you hated Nicolas the most. The way he looks down on everybody and thinks he is better than everyone else just makes your blood boil. You’re a drug dealer - selling drugs to those rich dumb kids, trying to earn some money. Who would’ve thought this would be a love story?

Warnings: smoking, cursing, mentions of SA, drugs

-g3z0

Nick‘s POV

„Nick.“ I hear Matt’s voice outside of my room as he knocks at my door.

I sigh and roll to the side on my bed, my back facing the door.

My room lightens up a little as Matt opens the door. He sighs „do you wanna go to school today?“

I swallow and stare at my wall, not answering him. „Nick.“ he says again. „still?“ I hear Chris voice. „Go to the car, I’ll be right there.“ Matt mumbles to him.

I can hear how Chris walks away. „Do you want me to stay home?“ Matt asks softly. I shake my head „no..“ I whisper.

„Alright.“ he sighs „love you.“ he mumbles before he closes my door again.

I close my eyes and sigh, bringing my hands up to my face.

God, I hate this.

I roll onto my back and stare at my ceiling.

He didn’t even gave me a chance to explain. If I could‘ve explain-

I feel my eyes start to tear up again. I close my eyes and bite my lip.

The way he looked at me with disgust in his eyes. He never looked at me that way. Not even when we hated each other.

I feel sick again just thinking about it.

Y/n‘s POV

„He’s such an bastard.“ max mumbles, shaking his head while he takes a drag from the joint.

I lean back in my car seat and close my eyes, sighing.

„You‘re not innocent.“ I mumble as I open my eyes again, taking the joint out of his hand.

Max frowns at me as he exhales the smoke „what do you mean?“

I lick my lips „you cheated on your girlfriend.“ - „ex girlfriend.“ He says harshly. I sigh „ex girlfriend.“ I correct myself.

I bring the joint up to my mouth and take a long drag.

„I didn’t know you two fucked.“ max says as he stares at me.

My grip around the joint thightens and I exhale the smoke slowly.

I shrug with my shoulders and look down on the joint in my hand „I didn’t know you two fucked either.“ I whisper.

He lets out a sigh „I wouldn’t have-" he starts but I cut him off „it’s okay, max.“ I mumble as I roll the tip of the joint between my thumb and my index finger.

„It’s not like it was anything serious.“ I say as I open the door of my car, getting out of it.

Max does the same and I take one last drag of the joint before I flick it away, grabbing my backpack out of my car after.

I close my car door and walk towards the school building, max next to me.

„Still.“ he says, shaking his head. „Im happy that it doesn’t affect our friendship.“ he smiles at me as he pushes the front door of the school open.

I swallow a little and nod, looking away from him again. „Yeah.“

„Do you wanna come to Nate’s party this weekend? You know, distracting yourself.“ he asks.

I lick my lips and shrug with my shoulder „I’ll think about it, thanks.“ I say before I walk into my class.

The whole class- no. The whole fucking day, I can’t get him out of my head.

Constantly replaying the moment I screamed at him in my head.

Im so mad at him but still- fuck I miss him so much.

I bump my knee up and down as my thoughts consume me.

I can’t even sleep. Smoking cigarette after cigarette and joint after joint in my room as I’m just staring at my ceiling, thinking.

„I really like you..“

Did he really mean that? Or was it just part of his stupid game?

I clench my jaw.

I need a cigarette.

I raise my hand „can I go to the bathroom?“ I ask the teacher and I stand up as he nods.

I walk out of the class, out of the school building.

I put a cigarette between my lips and pull out my lighter of my pocket.

I bring the lighter up to my cigarette when I’m suddenly being pushed away, stumbling backwards and falling onto the ground.

The cigarette falls out of my mouth and I frown confused as I look up at Chris, who’s standing infront of me. Matt behind him.

„What the fuck did you do?“ Chris yells at me. Matt grabs his arm and pulls him back. „leave it.“ Matt says through gritted teeth.

I scoff and stand up „what did I do?“. Chris pulls his arm away from Matt „nick won’t leave his fucking room since Saturday! He fucking broke down after you left!“ he yells at me, pushing me on my shoulders back.

I clench my jaw. Guilt fills my chest. No, y/n. Nick deserved it. He fucked it up, not you.

„It’s not my fucking fault.“ I snap back at Chris, pushing him away from me.

Matt grabs Chris arm again, getting between us. „I said leave it.“ he snaps at Chris.

Chris shakes his head and scoffs, pulling himself away from Matt and taking a few steps back. Matt shakes his head and looks back at me.

„Max isn’t the one you think he is.“ he sighs before turning away from me, grabbing Chris arm again and dragging him with him into the building.

I frown as I watch them leave.

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

I clench my jaw and bring my hands up to my face. This whole thing doesn’t make any sense.

Nick‘s POV

I groan as Chris pulls the covers off my body.

I lay my arm over my eyes and squeeze them shut.

„Get your ass up.“ he says. I sigh, showing him my middle finger, rolling to my side.

„Matt.“ Chris sighs. „Nick, come on.“ Matt says. I feel his hand on my shoulder.

„Fuck off.“ I mumble, burying my face into my pillow.

Chris grabs me by my feet and pulls me out of my bed, causing me to fall down on the ground „Owh!“ I whine, kicking his hands off me.

„Take a shower and put some clothes on.“ Matt says as he starts to pick my dirty clothes off the ground.

I roll my eyes „im not going to that fucking party.“ I snap, standing up.

„You will. It’s Nate’s. He’s gonna be pissed if you don’t come.“ Chris says casually, shrugging his shoulders.

„I don’t care.“ I say, grabbing the clothes from Matt’s hands. I start to pick my dirty clothes off myself. „y/n won’t be there.“ Chris mumbles as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

I sigh and look at Chris, then at Matt. „Nick.“ Matt licks his lips „you can’t rot in your bed forever.“ he shakes his head and lays a hand on my arm „come on, it’s gonna distract you, hm?“ he smiles softly.

I let out a sigh and look down. He’s right. „Okay..“ I mumble, nodding a little.

„Finally.“ Chris groans. Matt punches his shoulder wich causes Chris to let out a whine „Owh!“ he screams.

„Cant you fucking shut up once?“ Matt says, grabbing the clothes out of my hands. I smile a little and shake my head.

Chris rubs the spot over his arm „im just saying the truth..“ he mumbles. Matt rolls his eyes and looks back to me. „Take a shower and get ready. We‘re leaving in a hour.“ he says before he walks out of my room.

Chris nods „yeah, cause you stink.“ he says sarcastically, poking me into one of my sides before he walks out of the room.

„Im gonna fucking kill you.“ I sigh, walking into my bathroom.

Y/n‘s POV

I walk into Nate’s crowded house, music blasting loudly.

Max greets some people I don’t know and starts a conversation with them.

I sigh and walk into the kitchen, grabbing the vodka bottle that stands on the counter.

I grab a solo cup and pour some vodka into it till it’s half full. I bring the cup to my lips, looking up.

My eyes meeting his.

My heart sinks into my stomach. I clench my jaw and look away from him. I can’t do this.

I walk out of the back door of the house, putting a cigarette between my lips. I light it and take a long drag, inhaling deeply.

Everything in my mind screams at me that I should run back inside to him, hugging him and apologize for everything I said.

But I can’t. Even if I would, it wouldn’t change anything. Because he doesn’t want me. He lied to me, he doesn’t fucking like me.

„Hey.“ my body shivers at his voice. I stare at the ground and take another drag. Nick sighs and plays with the rings on his fingers. „Can.. uhm- can we talk?“ he whispers.

I exhale the smoke and lick my lips.

Everything in my mind tells me no- to tell him he should fuck off and to punch him in the face. But my heart- fuck. It’s like I crave him.

„Im listening.“ I say as I look up, meeting his gaze. He licks his lips and looks around at the people who are standing nearby „here?“. My gaze stays on him „alright, then no talking.“ I say, walking past him.

He grabs my arm and pulls me back „y/n, please..“ he breathes. I clench my jaw and look to the side.

Don’t get weak, y/n. Don’t.

„Okay..“ I sigh, pulling my arm away from him.

Fuck.

„My house isn’t far away, we could-" - „I know.“ I cut him off. He bites his lips and nods a little.

I shake my head and sigh. I kinda feel bad for being such an asshole right now.

„Okay.“ I nod a little „lets walk to yours.“ I mumble.

He nods and starts walking, I follow him.

The walk to his house is awkward and uncomfortable. No one says anything.

We walk into his house, he leads me into his bedroom. I bite back a smile when I see Trevor laying on nicks bed.

„Do you want anything to drink?“ Nick asks me as he sits down on the edge of his bed. „Cut the bullshit.“ I say as I look down at him. He stares up at me. He sighs and looks to the side.

„I don’t know what do you want to talk about.“ I sigh, shrugging with my shoulders. It hurts to be here. It hurts to be in front of him.

He looks back up at me.

I shake my head „I get it Nick, you had your fun with me, played your little games.“ I take a deep breathe and look away from him. I can feel how my eyes start to tear up and I close them „so please..“ I breathe „please, stop fucking with my head.“

„Y/n..“ nick says as I feel his arms wrapping around me. I lean my head against his shoulder, squeezing my eyes shut.

„Im so sorry..“ he whispers „y/n, I love you. Please let me explain.“

I shake my head and press him away from me „don’t say shit like that.“ my voice breaks. „Don’t say shit you don’t mean.“ I whisper, shaking my head.

He lays his hands on my cheeks, looking up at me „no, y/n. I mean it.“ he shakes his head. I press my lips together and close my eyes.

„I mean it.“ he whispers, stroking my tears away with his thumb. I take a deep breathe and hang my head down, shaking my head.

He lets out a shaky breathe „just listen- please. Me and max were together, he cheated on me and then broke up-" he starts and I frown, looking up at him.

„What?“ I cut him off, taking a step back. He stares up at me and shakes his head „I swear y/n, I wanted to stop.“ his voice is shaky and his eyes begin to fill with tears „he didn’t let me, I didn’t want it, I said no and he-" his voice breaks and he looks down, laying his hands into his face.

I stare at Nick as he crys in front of me. He’s lying. Max would never- he wouldn’t.. I shake my head. The weight and sadness in my chest is gone. Now it’s just anger. Suddenly it’s hard to breathe.

„Nick.“ I say, pressing his hands softly away from his face. I cup his cheeks and make him look back up to me. „Nick, what did he do?“

He shakes his head and sobs quietly. „Oh I’m gonna fucking kill him.“ I mumble, letting go off him.

„Y/n, please.“ nick sobs as he grabs my hand. He shakes his head „j-just stay, please..“ he whispers.

I take a deep breathe and run through my hair with my hand, closing my eyes for a second.

I pull him close and wrap my arms around his torso. „Im so sorry..“ I whisper as I lean my forehead against his.

He wraps his arms around me and closes his eyes. „Im sorry I said all those things..“ I mumble. He shakes his head and leans his head against my shoulder. „No, I’m sorry..“ he whispers.

I place a kiss on the top of his head and hold him close to me. „Do you still want to be my boyfriend..?“ he mumbles against my shoulder.

I let out a little laugh and nod, pulling his head up so he looks at me. „Yeah..“ I whisper, kissing him softly.

He smiles into the kiss and lays his hands on the back of my neck.

Fuck, how I missed this.

We deepen the kiss a little before he pulls me onto the bed with him. I break the kiss and laugh a little, kissing the side of his face. „We don’t have too..“ I whisper.

He shakes his head „shut up.. I want to.“ he smiles before he kisses me again.

I lay my hands on his waist and pull him closer to me.

He breaks the kiss again and presses Trevor off the bed „get out.“

I smile and lean down to kiss his neck „you‘re so mean.“ I mumble.

He smiles and kisses me again.

#sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #matt sturniolo #nick sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #nick sturniolo x reader #sturniolo triplets x reader #nick sturniolo x you #nick x reader

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rontra · 4 months

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persona enjoyer alert!!!! i’m so glad to hear that someone i already follow is also into it. i haven’t played p3 yet so this is my first go of it but i’m really enjoying it so far. what’s this game like from the perspective of someone who played one of the other versions?

HIIIII god i'm so excited for you...imagine getting to play p3 for the first time...<333

i'm so glad you're enjoying it thus far...!!! 🥰 it's my beloved game. WELL all of my thoughts on Reload are obviously extremely skewed due to my pure attachment to this game's story and characters, so i can't give a very "objective" comment on... anything... but i'm not finishing this replay of p5 any time soon to put it that wayDBHFJKM

basically what it's like is., its everything to me. heart

i'm nowhere near done with P3R yet obviously (i keep putting it down to rest my wrists or draw stuff hahsahbd) but so far it's been such a treat for me. i'm very happy 🥺

to ME, persona 3 is (and will probably always be) The Peak... nd the remaster is running more or less the same script (i think it's based on p3p's script??? i forgor 💀) just with, yknow, new graphics and voicework and stuff. so it's hard to really complain about it when it's more or less been "persona 3 running on the persona 5 engine" 😭

like that sure is My Game! with extra Unreal Engine Motion Blur (<- LOL)

it's hitting all the beats in the order it should what more can i ask for. the music has been remixed a bit (as always huh) but it's still recognizably homey to me. like even if i keep getting thrown off by changes like "new lotus juice verse about going to bed early" (Iwatodai Dorm) i'm still just vibing along lmao. i cheered out loud when i heard Deep Breath Deep Breath

SO FAR my "complaints" have been pure, yknow, "unreasonable superfan nitpicking", so they aren't actually worthy of being called reasonable critique. it's all shit like "they rearranged the order of shots when remaking this cutscene, and the original sequence was stronger...TO ME"

STUFF THAT NO NEW PLAYER WOULD BE THINKING ABOUT...

and of course neutered Tactics is a no-no. i'm gonna be huffy about that forever but c'est la vie, it's what the franchise has settled on... but as a Certified P3 Tactics Gamer i'm basically obligated to be a lil miffed about this Post-Tactics World we live in. and like cmon man you introduced baton pass but my AI teammates can't even see it...even though the "recommended move" scan logic CAN....!!!

^^^ but this one is ALSO at its core a complaint that new players won't have comparison context for (because the Tactics in P3R is not the Tactics we once had). and . also many newbies will never even rub up against it if they prefer Direct Command to begin with (which lots of people do) so like. who cares . it doesn't ruin the game for me i just dearly miss the Epic Highs And Lows Of P3 Tactics HAHBDS

on the upside, adding more content for party members who didn't have SLinks in the original is Very Good. i'm really very much enjoying those new scenes and it's needed badly. sweet treats for diesel...❤ AND TARTARUS LOOKS SO GOOD HOUAHHH

AND that UI...so shiny.... ough... no i lovie. i really do

like at the end of the day i admittedly could never love P4, and while i did really enjoy P5 (and P5R) it was always "but it's no P3". so asking me for my thoughts on P3R is mostly incoherent nodding and pointing bc its very much My Game reincarnated. i'm glad all my friends have an easier way to play it all gussied up and shiny now so i can finally foist my old rpg upon them... 🥰

peace and love on tatsumi port island.

#i hope you continue to enjoy it....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#i LOVEEE this game it was so deeply formative for me at age like . god. 12?????? 😭 AND IT SHOWS

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mickcedesagenda · 1 year

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04.03.2023 | BAHRAIN QUALIFYING

I couldn't watch FP3 yesterday and missed almost all of Qualifying live because the power went out, but I was able to watch it on replay :)

I couldn't believe that a piece of bodywork had blown off Charles' car, and they couldn't even give him an answer.

I'm surprised that Lance was able to get out of Q1 in the final minutes, considering his condition. But he was awesome all the same.

Another one that surprised me was Pierre, because why is Pierre P20 with a damn Alpine?

Curiously, the three rookies were eliminated in Q1. It makes sense, but at the same time, I was hoping that at least one would go into Q2 (Piastri, specifically). Logan was so close. It was bad luck, I guess.

It's a pity that Kevin got knocked out in Q1.

This was a really interesting Qualifying, compared to last season at least. I like that the competition is closer. I hope the season is full of this.

I have to say, it bothers me so much that Alex didn't make it to Q3. I'm convinced that he genuinely would have done it with enough time.

Lance's pace is impressive, as he has moved into Q3 at the last moment again.

That being said, Lando ended up eliminated (I feel everyone was celebrating haha). McLaren is bad and is a shame for the drivers. It's still interesting that last year they focused a lot on how Daniel was outqualified by Lando, while Lando narrowly missed Q3 this time. I hope it makes them realize that the biggest problem is the car. They need to accept their mistakes in order to improve.

I don't have much to say about Max, just that he's a beast. 1:29.897? What? Incredible, simply incredible.

I'll admit that I don't really want to see Red Bull dominate because I'm more interested in seeing a fight between two or more teams (The Big 3 + Aston Martin), but the way Max and Checo dominated at the last moment was awesome.

Now Charles. God. 1:30.000 is very impressive, and it wasn't enough. But that's not my problem, my problem is that he had to retire. According to them [Ferrari and Charles], he withdrew to be able to use softs tomorrow, but if it's a strategy, why did Charles react like that when he got out of the car? They say it's not a mechanical problem, but I don't believe them, sorry.

I love Carlos, but his pace has not been the best this weekend, much less in Qualifying. I want to think it's because of a new car that's not at its best, but… P4 is a good place anyway, as long as you're not Carlos Sainz and George Russell is not behind you.

FERNANDO ALONSO WAS INCREDIBLE. I know he got P5, but considering that Aston Martin was struggling and the Alpine was uncooperative last season, P5 seems unbelievable. Fernando was great all weekend and is known to be great at overtaking. Starting further back is no problem for him.

You know what? I don't even want to talk about Mercedes. Which is weird because I always want to talk about Mercedes. They haven't had a good pace in qualifying, even in the first round of the season, and that's worrying. Hopefully, it's just Bahrain, but I'm not expecting much from them anymore.

Lance and Esteban were great. They did really well.

Hulkenberg? In a Haas? In Q3? They deleted his lap time, so he was down to P10, which is still kinda impressive, but oh well.

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6loodlvstt · 3 months

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DBD is really fun but hard to get into as it’s really overwhelming with its mechanics but I love it! also I love the creature designs from dead space, especially the suit the main character wears it’s so cool.

I was told to play dead space by a friend of mine as they said it’s kind of like one of my favourite games, Bioshock. I highly recommend playing it if you get the chance! :) what other games do you play?

-🦴

issac does look really cool i agree, i love him so much!

i like harder games so i might as well learn how to play it !

OHH I LOVE BIOSHOCK i so need to replay it again, i never put two and two together but yeah! dead space is if like bioshock and resident evil and alien had a baby and out came dead space LOL

i play a shit ton of games ive got a ton of different consoles/systems to play them on and i do (since my whole family is just gamers/nerds)

i can tell you a few games i havent mentioned i owned though! i own (for persona games) p3p, p4g, p5, p5r, p5s (i used to own p1 and p2 but i dont have my psp anymore :[ ); needy steamer overload (100% might i add, my proudest achievement); stardew valley; slime rancher; bg3; the binding of issac; silent hill 1, 2 and 3; corpse party (i plan on buying the rest of the series eventually); splatoon 2 and 3; danganronpa 1, 2, 3; inscryption; omori; outlast 1 and 2; dark souls remastered; i plan on getting the dmc, the rest of the re games im missing, yakuza, and mgs series when they go on sale lol and the last one ill name for now is bloodbourne! i really play a lot of different genres but as you can tell i have a preference for darker games lol

#⋆ ♰.˚🩸⌗ d a r l i n g s ˎˊ˗#╰┈➤ 🦴 anon

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monasatlantis · 1 year

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Final Fantasy X (10) Finally a review for my favorite game of all times!

So the times has finally come! It is long overdue that I write a review for my absolut favorite game of all times and the (for me) best Final Fantasy game ever made. Final Fantasy X. And there is no better time for me to review it then now, after I just replayed it over Christmas. As I had to use the ingame-cheats to be a bit faster (as I was on a schedule) I have to use previous experiences for a few parts of the review. But do not worry. I played the game on 3 different Consoles (or 2 consoles and the PC) so I have enough experience playing the game without the cheats.

So... here we go! (Spoiler for everyone who hasn’t played the game yet - be ashamed of yourself!) Interview-Style!

1. Why is FFX your favorite game and your favorite Final Fantasy?

This game has EVERYTHING I want in a game. A wonderful love story, strong female characters, an intriguing plot, a hot guy and a wonderfully beautiful word and even tho it is an older game at this point, graphics and music are to this day, still very beautiful. The Linear-way the plot goes is also very much to my liking and I also prefer round-based-battle-systems. So it really is the perfect game for me. The length (with around 2 to 3 weeks) is also very nice. And if I compare it to other Final Fantasy games (no matter if older or newer) non of them can match what FFX gave me and I am honestly not sure if there will EVER be a Final Fantasy game like this ever again.

2. Slow start?

The Intro is definitely amazing. It doesn’t hide anything, but doesn’t really give you any other information then that this is this boy's last chance to tell us his story, while he is looking over a destroyed City and his team seemed to be somewhat devastated, while sitting around a fireplace. Many questions arise immediately. Where are we? Why is this place just pieces of dirt and rubble? Who are these people? Why do they look so devastated? Why is that team so wildly mixed? And why is this the boys last chance to tell us his story? What happened? So it raises all the right questions in a good amount of time. It can not match the P5(R)-Introduction as the bit of action and coolness and panic was missing from it. But it was definitely a good start. Sadly... that only goes for the introduction-sequence, before we actually take over Tidus. As per se, starting out not knowing who you are, what kind of sport you play and while we are talking with what is apparently a Ghost and so on isn’t so bad either. Running around that Street, fighting monsters with Auron after that surprise-attack was also still... okayisch. Not exactly exiting and all, but as you are as confused as Tidus is, it will do for a first time. However, everything that happens after Sin drags you into Spira and until you reach Besaid, is mostly boring stuff you hardly need. Especially until the AlBhed find you. It would have been much better to wake up at the temple, the game giving us a short moment to be able to recognize that this is a temple when we are further in the game and then the AlBhed should have found us immediately. Not sure how much of the part with the ruins was necessary, either. But I get that what it is there for, they just could have made it a bit more exiting. As a Newbie of course, its irritating enough to keep you mostly interested.

3. You’ve played this game many times, does it make the game less good in other parts then just until you reach Besaid?

I feel like you pay more attention to Logic-mistakes and stuff like that, because you don’t pay as much attention to other stuff anymore. For an example, when you are stuck in that temple at the beginning of the game, you find “dry flowers”, this part of the game is kind of scary and you just want to get out of there as soon as possible, when you play the game for the first time. You are also fascinated by this temple and how it is half underwater and still not full of water. You have no idea were you are and what will happen next, so if you play this game for the first time, you are totally occupied and hardly pay much attention to the fact that you find DRY flowers in a place were water comes in from EVERYWHERE and thus it is definitely impossible for this place to have DRY flowers, as it would be far too humid in there for that. But you only pay attention to stuff like that after you stopped paying attention to the other stuff and that usually only happens after a few playthroughts. So its really stuff like this, that suddenly starts to bother you. But it isn‘t much of a problem, its just making you feel frustrated sometimes, because you REALLY actually don’t want to be the person who points out stuff like this in a game that you actually really love.

4. After so many times playing the game, did you ever find ALL the AlBhed-Primer?

Sadly... no. Even at the end of this playthrough, I still seem to miss at least one. Tho at this point, I am missing mostly letters that rarely used, so its fine.

5. Sphere-board instead of leveling up, is it good or bad?

I think its a mixed blessing. On one hand, it gives you A LOT of possibilities and freedom when it comes to your characters weaknesses and strengths and that IS a great thing that not many games make possible. However... it sometimes also can be over complicated and I do still to this day usually get lost at some point XD Its not something that will ruin the game for anyone, but it can sometimes be a bother, especially as it takes some extra time usual “level-up” - games don’t take - although some other Final Fantasy games still do it in some shape or form. Including the newer game FF7R. But I do have to say I do not need to see a system like that EVER again XD

6. One thing you hate about FFX?

That you can not skip the tutorials. I’ve played this game like 10 times at this point. I do know how to make weapons and Aeons stronger, god-dammit! XD

7. Rate the overall plot!

As I said before, I do absolutely and unconditionally LOVE it. It's rare to find a game with a plot that is like this. First of all, the plot is really well-balanced. It gives you action, love, drama and happiness. Even your occasional “WTF?!” - moment as well as the teeny tiny bit of frustration that every game should draw from you at some point, just for good measure XD The game starts with lots of questions and only slowly, but surely gives you the right amount of answers at the right amount of time. It gives you emotions that you didn’t see coming, sometimes when you don’t see them coming. Its ending is a rollercoaster of emotions and fits the whole theme of the game very well, as happiness and sadness isn’t very far apart throughout the whole game. The plot of the game gives you a bittersweet love story with a great cast that is just the right size and just the perfect mix of different personalities and backgroundstorys that intermingle sometimes. And just when you think you had the plot figured out, they change something or do something unexpected. Going through this masterpiece of a story is a joy (even tho it sometimes hurts) and its almost perfect. It's actually the closest to perfect a game can get with its story I believe. People that dislike the plot of this game, are usually people who dislike romance. So 10 out of 10 points for the plot - yes, even tho it is just “almost perfect” but as you know, there is no such thing as perfect. So “almost perfect” is really as good as it can get.

8. A few words about the cast?

As I was saying the cast is a good mix of characters with different personalities and backgroundstorys, reasons and motives behind their actions. None of them is without fault and its a joy as a player (at least for me) to feel like you are part of their team.

Tidus as the main character is quite the fun guy to play. He never makes you wish you would have a different maincharacter. He gets introduced to you as a starplayer who is a bit overconfident in his abilities, and yet finds the time and will to interact with his fans. He has daddy-issues, but they don’t just actually make sense for once, he also overcomes them eventually, as he grows and matures throughout the story of the game. He is sincere, he cares and even tho he goes through a lot throughout the game, he never wavers and always does the right thing. Furthermore, he even does what he ultimately had to do, even tho the results will be that he looses absolutely EVERYTHING. It was a joy to play him and I would listen to his story again and again and again.

Yuna is the female main character and despite the fact that she seems almost too perfect as she is nice, polite, humble and caring and puts others ALWAYS before herself, she never feels like that character that is just not realistic. She seems perfect, but she is still human. She keeps secrets, causes others to suffer because of her way of dealing with problems and she is fascinated by something so simple as whistling. And even tho she was basically born to be a summoner and always knew what was coming and always ready to do it, unable to stop her wish to save the people of Spira even in the darkest of times in her journey, there is that small moment where she gives in to the wish of imagining a “normal” and “happy” life, which really finishes the deal of making sure that everyone can see and feel that despite everything, she is just a human being. A remarkable one, but a human being no less.

Lulu is probably one of my most favorite characters of the game. She seems cold and mean at the beginning, but a lot of what she is doing is just hiding her pain and despair, and you come to see and understand that, as you go with her through the game and learn more about her story, her feelings and her needs. She is never mean to Tidus, always explaining things to him, open to possible things beyond her understanding, never judging the AlBhed and when she is mean, it is usually towards Wakka and throughout the course of the game you see what is behind that and learn to not judge her for it. She is a great “big sister” for Yuna and a wonderful travel-companion for Tidus and I love her gothic look XD

Wakka is quite the complicadet character. When he meets Tidus, he seems extremly naive and absolutly desperate, given that he invites a total stranger to be part of his team, despite Tidus pulling the “Zanarkand-Abes” - Story on him. Wakka is extremly religious and he clings to his religion desperatly to endure the life and what it had put him through and yet, when Tidus breaks the rules to “save the summoner” he isn’t angry at him at all. Wakka is desperatly trying to putting the blame for things he can’t explain on someone and he usually choses the AlBhed, even when there is no way in hell that they are to blame. But in the end, Wakka is all in all just a really sad man. When he came up with the “maybe Chappu isn’t dead and he just got transfered a 1000 years into the future”, even tho Lulu confirmes that they have found his corpse and he didn’t just vanish or anything like that, you can see that he just has trouble getting over his little brothers death and that he struggles with the question of how to continue with his life. He and Lulu both offer to become the final summoning readily relatifly quickly, showing that they do not cling to live or what it has to offer for them. However, despite some moments were Wakka seems unlikable because of the way he deals with Rikku, he redeams himself really quickly and is overall a fun character.

Kimari is by far my least favorite character of the team. Its not like I dislike him or find him annyoing, its just that I do not feel much for him. I am glad he wasn’t killed in the fight with Seymore and that he could make up with his family, before they died and all, but I just don’t have strong emotions for him. But he does also grow in the story, it is just not as easy to see, because of the fact that he was so quite for so long. However, I still think that the game would not be the same without him.

Auron is my one true love in all the Final Fantasy games XD I am usually not into older man, but I really like this guy for some unknown reason that I can not even explain properly. He is strong, he is cool, he has been through a lot and yet, even tho it sometimes seems that way, he isn’t cold and he does care, even tho he tried to hide it sometimes. I love how he took care of Tidus for 10 years in a foreign land and yet he complains like an old man, how hard it is to guard a young summoner when she is at least in his own homeland, just as if he never dealed with a young person before XD He tries to be the hard one sometimes and his desicions seem cruel at times, but there usually is a reason behind it that you will come to understand over time.

Rikku joins the team relativly late but is a fun addition as likely the youngest member of the team and she brings that “I don’t care what Yevon says” - attituede to the team that was really necessary, after Tidus was forced to addapted to the rukes of Yevon. It was also good to have someone who was just as desperatly thinking about saving Yuna as Tidus did. And yet, it spoke for her that despite everything, she was willing to support Yuna until the very end, because that is what she wanted and Rikku wanted to be there for her. I find it a bit sad tho, that they never really say much about the fact that Rikku is actually Yunas cousin, but they bring it across quite well through their relationship, I think.

9. The “best”, greatest, most painful and most surprising moments in the game?

I love how when you enter the boat to Killika, you never think something bad would happen. Its quite early in the game and there is no way in hell that Sin is showing up again so early, right? WRONG! I think the scene were Sin attacks Killika is one of the hardest ones to watch in the game, but it is also very well done, because it did not just come very surprising its also showing you full force what Sin does. He does not care if he kill woman, children, elderly people or even an innocent baby. He just kills and destoryes and his attack is so powerful that as the player you can not help but wonder how the human race even survied until that day, given that in that attack, 4 children alone were killed in one single attack.

The scene, were Yuna dances on the water to send the souls of the dead, is just simply amazing. Visually it is just so beautiful and it really captures the essence of the game. Beautiful but also sad.

The Mihen-Offensive-Mess. The game doesn’t even give you the feeling that it will work out. It wouldn’t make much sense for the game anyway and yet, they drag you there to watch all those people die infront of the boy who just recently found out that Sin is his father. And there is a small moment, were you actually have some hope. Were you believe that MAYBE they can at least do something to weaken Sin. To make him stop attacking for a while or something. Anything. This scene was purely to show us part of Yevons true face. It was cruel but different then the destruction of Killika. While in Killika this was a surprise scene to show you what Sin can and will do, Mihen was purely to show you that stopping Sin without the High Summoning seems hopeless and that Yevon allowed those people to die, just to show that and keep the faith strong.

The Wedding. This hole ordeal with the wedding, from beginning to the end was just a freaking n,ightmare. For you as a player, it doesn’t really make sense why Yuna should or would marry Seymore. How would that bring the people joy, knowing that Yuna was going to die a short while later anyway? It shows you how desperate Spira is for good news, even if they are odd and hardly long lasting. It also makes you question Seymores motives. And it gives you A LOT of emotions you don’t even want to say out loud XD HOWEVER, when the wedding suddenly happens, with a man who should be dead because we freaking killed him, this gives you a whole different kind of feeling. This is freaking it. A wedding in Final Fantasy and yet again it is NOT the one we want to see. Beautiful visuals and all and once again, not the OTP getting married. Why Square Enix? Why? XD

The Kiss. Beautiful. Very well done and absolutly stunning to look at. Me loves. (I also have to say that I love the innocence of that scene. We have an underwater kiss scene. That could have easily turned into a hot makeout-sessions, sratching on the border of what the PG allowed, but insteak, we have them kissing and caressing each others faces as well as holding hands. Absolutly adorable and truly wonderful.)

The truth about Zanarkand. From the moment we saw the wall of the ones being used to summon Tidus Zanarkand to the moment where we find out all there is to know about the ruins of the real Zanarkand its a rollercoaster of emotions that are hard to place anywhere. First you think that you might lose both Yuna and Tidus and then we might also lose Lulu or Wakka and then things happen and suddenly you don’t know if the game won’t end on Sin actually killing you, because is there really a way to kill him and why hasn’t no one thought about it in the past 1000 freaking years? It was a great turn of events but it was also very exausthing.

The goodbye as well as the after-credit-scene. We get to that in the next question tho.

Honorable Mention: Tidus finally telling his father “I hate you.”

10. What do you think about the ending?

I usually see little of it, because I cry my eyes out every freaking time XD But seriously, its the bittersweet ending the game deserves. Hard to watch but still somewhat satisfying all the same. I love how the music changes the moment Tidus starts to fade away. I love how Yuna want to hug him and I adore how the while time, Tidus is crying. I can not even put into words how painful it is to watch Yuna stand there whistleling or the moment when she tells you to never forget the dreams that have faded. But I can also say that the moment in the “after credits” - scene, were Tidus comes back, immedeatly turns your tears of sadness into tears of joy. And in all honesty? That is where the game should have ended.

The game gets 9,5 points from me. I feel like despite everything, I can not give it full 10 points. There were a few small things the game didn’t do right and they add up at the end. Still the closest to a perfect game for me.

#Mona plays #Monas Spiele reviews #Mona plays FFX

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jossambird · 3 years

Text

The scent on your coat P5

Summary: Otto spends time to reflect on his life and his encounter with you and decides to go find you… Only to meet someone else.

Otto Octavius x F!Reader

Word count: 1.9k

Warning: Fighting, mentions of bleeding, NS/FW Subjects, Doc Yearning, Doc Jealousy,

AO3 Link for Previous Parts or on my masterlist!

For the next few days after your encounter, Otto couldn’t shake the feeling inside his stomach after seeing you again, heart beating happily as the image of you sprawled out for him reappeared in his mind. Just how long had it been?

Nearly a year had he been forced into a life of criminality, and no matter how much time would have passed, nothing could have ever changed his ever growing love for you.

The stars over his head remained hidden, just like he had been after his accident. The memory of it all felt fabricated, like a story out of the newspapers, but it wasn’t, and here he was, tentacles and all, no longer living the same life as before.

The night he had broken into Oscorp, everything had felt much too nostalgic for his taste, yourself included. You weren’t supposed to be there, served like a decadent meal on display for anyone to see. But you had been, and now, that image would remain forever ingrained in his memory.

Seeing you again in his lab, panting and touching yourself had caused him to feel all kinds of emotions all over again, mainly jealousy coursing through his system until he heard his own name escape your lips as you came.

“Ive only ever wanted you.” The very words replayed in his mind, heart beating faster at the thought. Did you also harbour a deeper emotion for him, just like he did for you? During your employment together, becoming close to you had felt like heaven, your smiles and gentle accidental touches always making his days better.

Otto sighed, eyes turning back to the endless black sky, and wondered if you were looking up too.

The state of his marriage to Rosalie had laid heavy on his mind, long before your employment as his assistant. Otto could still remember the moment he knew it was done, knew that his heart had stopped beating for Rosalie: You had smiled at a successful test, a simple little thing really, but the beauty in that moment, witnessing first hand your joy, had gotten him.

The love he had once felt for Rosalie had long since passed before that moment, just as her love for him had as well.

He had always felt jealous when Harry would come and see you, touching you innocently infront of him and everyone. Though, the very act of watching you always reject Harry Osborn’s advances left fire in his veins, pride radiating off him when you would turn back to him, smiling shyly as Harry left. Oh how he had always wanted to push you against his desk and take you right there, show Harry who you belonged to.

Now, in hindsight, he regretted becoming distant after the whole Harry hug ordeal, remembering how you would try to talk to him afterwards, worry painting your beautiful features with each passing day.

Most of all, he regretted not being able to properly tell you how much he had missed you, and just how much he loved you…

He started moving in seconds, claws burying themselves into the brick and steel of buildings, making his way towards the hideous Oscorp building. Perhaps, you would be working a late night shift again, and perhaps, you would be open to speaking with a villain and old colleague once more.

‘Speaking’ was perhaps not the right word to employ for what could potentially transpire between the two of you after his previous promise to you but he held no expectations, excitement coursing through his veins at the mere idea of seeing you again.

As he approached the Oscorp building and scaled up to the roof, he was met with a bizarre sight, momentary confusion equally held in the other man’s eyes.

Before him, on the very top of Oscorp Industries, sat Spider-Man. In seconds, Otto launched himself at the younger man, frustration rolling off of him in waves at the idea of not being able to see you tonight because of little Peter Parker.

A few moments passed, attacks flying left and right, yet… Something felt off, Otto thought, watching as Peter merely deflected his attacks and stood out of the way, never stepping forward to actually harm him or to the tentacles. He was taking the hits alright, but never retaliating, only receiving, as if to punish himself-

“S-Say Doc Oc- Doctor Octavius, can I ask you something?” Spiderman stuttered out, barely standing in place, face turned away from the older man. The younger man paused, mind jumbled while the villain remained still before him.

Otto didn't know what to do with this bizarre turn of events, looking at Parker in confusion and suspicion. He must have hit the boy on the head, or perhaps he was drunk, using his name for the first time in ages. Otto huffed out in annoyance, he’d much rather go back to trying to throw him across town then answer whatever stupid questions-

“If you loved someone… TRULY loved them, and you found out they loved another… Would you let them go?” Peter cut off his train of thought, making the elder man freeze at the intimate question.

Otto Octavius, renowned Scientist and villain, felt speechless. Of all people whom Peter Parker could have asked… Why him? Was this why Parker kept missing his attacks, barely avoiding his claws, tumbling left and right like a drunk? A broken heart?

“Yes, I would set them free.” Otto uttered without a beat, instantly regretting opening his damn mouth at the sight before him.

“How am I supposed to do that?” Peter tried to let out, a loud sob escaping as he staggered to the rooftops ground, mask in hand while the other hand furiously wiped his tears away.

Otto suddenly felt as if he were back in his old apartment, answering all of Peter’s questions, laughing and thinking just how bright and kind this young man was. But now, it was another woman roaming the halls of his apartment in his mind, another woman turning the corner to see him, your brilliant eyes shining as you smiled at him.

“Sometimes, to do what's right… we must be steady and give up the things we desire the most. Even our dreams.” Otto threw back the boy's own words that he had told him ages ago, knowing that despite everything, it was true. It was hard not to remember just how human they both were, and just how young Peter Parker was.

His eyes landed on the younger man once more, watching as Peter tried to regain a sense of decorum, despite the sobs that still shook his shoulders.

“Are they the one who told you they love someone else?” He asked after a beat, mild curiosity coursing through him as he tried to remember who Peter Parker had been interested in except that poor Mary Jane. The younger man let out a wet chuckle, surprising Otto as the boy smiled widely, fondly.

“She didn’t need to, she's always loved him, even if he didn’t know.” Peter uttered but shook his head, unmasked eyes turning up to look at the villain.

“She- she worked with him. They were pretty close.” Peter swallowed, sorrowful eyes turning away from the man.

“He left, and never came back, for her or his work. I'm the one who helped her pick up the pieces.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, our wedding is in a few days.” Parker smiled softly as if reliving a memory, eyes and skin blotchy red from his tears. He lifted his hand in the air, wedding band shining in the moonlight.

Silence reigned between the two men, a gentle breeze caressing Otto’s cheek as his mind ran wild, trying to discern who Peter kept alluding to, eyes turning towards the city around-

“You know, she loved you. Really love you.” Peter whispered with a laugh, but it didn’t matter, Otto had heard him loud and clear, body freezing at the younger man's implication.

“She loved you, waited for you. But you never came.” Parker continued, taking the man's silence as an invitation to be quiet.

The silence felt all too stifling, until a tentacle shot out from behind Dr Octavius, grabbing Peter by the throat and throwing him against the brick wall beside them. Emotions swirled in Otto, thoughts and memories flashing before his eyes as he imagined you with Peter Parker, imagined you under the boy, moaning Peter’s name instead of his own. Soon to be married, Y/N Parker.

The very thought of it all and the thought that Peter had had you under him caused liquid hate to course through the Scientist’s veins, wondering if Peter had ever been able to make you cum just as he had, remembering the way you’d gripped his hair and moaned HIS name, crumbling so beautifully under his tongue.

A growl escaped him as he launched after Peter, tentacles whipping right and left to try and catch the little shit.

Most of all, he imagined you disappearing forever, married to a boy, never to see HIM again. Never again would he hear you moan, never again would he hear you say his name, and most of all, never again would he see you smile for him. All of the dreams he had had of a life with you, ripped away because of Peter Parker.

Otto blinked, looking up to see the tentacles enthusiastically attacking Peter of their own volition, reacting to his jealousy, anger and sorrow. Though the scene before him took Otto Octavius by surprise, watching as Peter barely avoided the Claws, taking each hit that landed.

Otto watched the young man for a moment and decided, upper right Claw clasping itself around Peter’s throat, dragging the boy forward. Blood trailed down Parker’s mouth and nose but his quick hands reached out and grabbed Otto’s coat, hazy eyes focusing on his ex-Mentor.

Suddenly, Peter’s blue eyes sharpened, mouth opening to try and speak.

“P-Please, tell me… Could you love someone, be IN love with someone, as you are now?” Peter whispered, coughing up blood as he ground out his words, red splattering over Otto’s black turtleneck and leather coat.

“Pardon me?” Dr Octavius bite out, faltering for a moment at the way Peter watched him, as if trying to discern something important, shaking hands firmly balled in his coat.

“If you had that one chance right now, to tell her- to tell the person that you love that you want to be with them for the rest of your life and make them happy as you are now, tentacles and all, would you do it?” Peter asked, and in the brief second that followed his question, no matter how jealous he felt at the fact that Peter Parker had had you first, images of you coursed through his mind, your voice repeating every sentence you had ever told him. Peter’s little blunder had also not escaped him, the word ‘her’ ringing in his ears.

“In a heartbeat.”

Peter remained still under the claws hold, visibly debating something.

“Sometimes, to do what's right, we must be steady and give up the things we desire the most. Even our dreams.” The boy repeated once more, and even though Peter had thrown those words at him once before, now, it seemed the words weren’t for him. No no, instead, they were for Peter himself. Tears rolled down Peter’s cheeks once more but a smile appeared, tired eyes looking up at Otto.

#Im not feeling very sure how these chapters are landing #otto octavius x reader #doc ock #doc ock x reader #otto octavius #doctor octavius #jossambird fic #the scent on your coat fic #opinions and thoughts would be marvellous #doctor octopus

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patchesthegothictramp · 3 years

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Feather Seeker and the Okinawa Jail

So anyone who’s been talking to me knows Feather Seeker is a game that’s perked my interest from the get-go, and I’ve been thinking of talking about it for a while. Now that I’ve been able to replay Royal and play Strikers, some other things have come out in the meantime and I’ve been paying more attention to additional media, I want to make a meta post about Feather Seeker, the Okinawa jail from Strikers and it’s connection to Akechi specifically. Be warned, this ended up being a very long post.

Let’s start with just getting a few questions out of the way:

Isn’t it just a mini game made to raise your stats?

Yes, absolutely, it’s optional and honestly if you don’t care for playing the video games it’s easy to miss. I don’t think it was honestly intended to be some massive breakthrough on a character’s backstory but rather an Easter egg that gets you to think about it.

It’s just about Neo-Featherman, there’s references to it in all persona games, so why is this one different?

It’s not different. There’s been plenty of times when Easter eggs have led to something bigger in this game, even specifically featherman ones. There’s an episode of Featherman that describes exactly what happens in the 3rd semester, where a character loves another so strongly it brings them back to life. Now whether you want to apply that to Futaba and her mum, Ren and Akechi or whoever it still fits- there’s an entire semester where at least one character loves another one and wishes them back to life through Maruki’s power. So having another piece of media, like the Feather Seeker game, be another allusion to something else isn’t entirely unjustified.

Feather Seeker is just detailed cos it’s about Featherman, why are you comparing it to other games?

See, here’s the thing and why I needed a second playthrough to make sure I was right about it. Feather Seeker is the odd one out. All of the games have some kind of plot or something going on (except for Golf sim but y’know... it’s a golf sim), but they’re all very, very basic things. Train of Life is just board game with very simple characters, the Goemon game has you just walking through hell but doesn’t really go more in depth with characterisation. Whereas you find out so much about what’s going on with Gray Pigeon and Osagiri in Feather Seeker that it feels a little… weird to simply ignore it. Do I think that the simplest answer, that they just wanted some plot in there for fun, is the right answer? Honestly I think that’s highly likely. But it’s the boring explanation too, it’s easy enough to just write any kind of intrigue like that, so whether what I’m writing about was intentional or not, I still want to discuss Feather Seeker and see people’s own thoughts on the possibility that it could be more than just a basic game.

So with that out of the way… let’s get into it.

First, there’s establishing who’s who. I can pretty confidently say that Gray Pigeon is Akechi in this entire metaphor. This one is the most obvious for multiple reasons, first of which being that it’s the exact same costume Akechi gets in the featherman outfits DLC so there’s the direct correlation there. Beyond that, Gray Pigeon is a character who awakens to a new power and wants to become a hero of justice, just like the feathermen, the hero’s he’s heard about before. Ring any bells?

Also the final revelation of Feather Seeker is that actually the Feathermen see Gray Pigeon as their enemy, who ends up sacrificing himself so they can keep fighting.

Which brings me to discussing who Osagiri and the Feathermen are. Given the timeline presented, I don’t think it’s possible for them to be one specific character or even group of characters. I think these aren’t supposed to be characters, but rather the major influences in Akechi’s life. Osagiri is a scientist (possibly Wakaba, I’ll get into that later), but also the one who pushes him to do bad things. Osagiri starts by training Gray Pigeon to become one of the Feathermen, the good guys, but eventually ends up manipulating Gray Pigeon into trying to kill them. Osaigir at the bare minimum has to be two people- the cognitive scientists who were able to uncover more thanks to Akechi’s escapades in the metaverse and the people who pushed him to commit crimes- the conspiracy.

The Feathermen, at the end of the game, have to be the Phantom Thieves- they’re the ones Gray Pigeon/Akechi ends up sacrificing himself to save but… that can’t be possible. Gray Pigeon’s journey starts with him gaining a new power and wanting to use it for good like the Feathermen do and of course the Phantom Thieves weren’t an inspiration for Akechi to do what he did. I think then the Feathermen are what Akechi aspired to be- the heroes of justice who fought the bad guys.

I can’t lead myself to believe that at 15, Akechi thought of this overly convoluted plan where he would help Shido to become prime minister only to then ruin him, there’s way too many factors in this that could change. I think originally Akechi wanted to avenge what happened to him and his mother, make sure that the man who wronged him would face justice. That’s what the Feathermen would do, right? They fight bad guys. Translating it from Feather Seeker, Akechi was angry, furious even and that rebellion woke hm up to Robin Hood, the embodiment of justice for him.

There’s plenty things that point to Robin Hood being first, his placement when Akechi awakens to Hereward on 2/2 being in the same spot as everyone else’s, the fact that for all of the other Thieves their third tier personas are different versions of their initials personas and that applies to Hereward/Robin Hood and that the trend of initial/second awakening personas is that the first is a fictional who was considered a criminal (Robin Hood) and the second is described in game as a ‘mythological trickster’ (Loki).

Here is where I want to get to the Okinawa jail and why I didn’t post this theory/metapost sooner.

I mentioned earlier that Osagiri could have been in some part Wakaba, Futaba’s mother, and when I initially wrote this I didn’t have all that much to go off of. There’s concept art in the original p5 artbook of Wakaba experimenting on someone. There’s no context given and it’s sort of the odd-one-out. Of course, human subjects would have been necessary to study the cognitive world but this research is so under wraps it seems it’s almost impossible to get. There’s no military connotations anywhere so why is it such a secret? Well, illegal human experimentation would certainly be a good reason to keep this away from the public. They must have figured out somehow that killing a shadow can cause a lot of damage, even death, to a person, we know that from the research notes, but Wakaba was a scientist, working in a lab, she must’ve done experiments that weren’t entirely legal.

Here I wasn’t sure because accusing Wakaba or anyone of illegal human experimentation was a pretty big reach but the Okinawa jail in Strikers shows us that illegal human experimentation is something that was used for cognitive research. I don’t think that Akechi was experimented on there or that was where Wakaba worked, there’s no indication of it but… Konoe and Owada seemed to build on the work that Shido and his scientists began. That being said, I think the Okinawa lab is a continuation of that human experimentation, with whatever lab Wakaba worked in being its predecessor before Shido probably shut it down to prevent it from ever being discovered. Which is also why he had Wakaba killed- the research was only meant for him and no one else.

Beyond what we see in Feather Seeker of Osagiri/sometimes Wakaba experimenting on Gray Pigeon/Akechi, we’re also told (albeit this is of course biased information), that he only targeted people he deemed deserved it but… Wakaba is the odd one out here for the most part. Okumura was hardly a good person and the principal decided covered for a sexual abuser, most of the others were survivors except for accidents which are mostly uncontrollable and unpredictable. Wakaba however, like Kobayakawa and Okumura, were targets that were supposed to die, Akechi intended to kill them. How then was Wakaba a bad person? Illegal human experimentation would explain that, especially if it was done on Akechi himself.

So then, Akechi was experimented on by Wakaba. I don’t think he was fully informed about what he was doing either. Gray Pigeon certainly wasn’t. Akechi was still trying to be a good person, using his power for his own vengeance yeah but I don’t think murdering random people was part of his initial plan at all. I think that Feather Seeker also emphasises just how little he knew about what his actions were doing. How would he know what his effects of shadows are on the real world? He could only know that from the scientists, from Shido. Of course he did find out, eventually, and that rage he must have felt about being used and lied to gave him the power to awaken to Loki, as Futaba puts it, the representation of his anger. It’s only then that he forms his plan, to get back at Shido for all of this, not just him abandoning him and his mother but for using him for his own means as well.

And we know how the rest of the story goes.

The overall story presented in Feather Seeker, as I see it, is this: Akechi awakens to Robin Hood, and realises that his anger is no longer a hopeless endeavour, he can use it, show that he’s useful and get acknowledged by his father. Shido sees this, sees that he can use this power and subjects him to experimentation, as someone who can actually survive the cognitive world and even have an impact on it. Wakaba sees what he can do, tests him but he’s never told what he’s done. He’s manipulated through praise and lack of information. One day he does find out, he realises this wasn’t getting him any closer to vengeance or getting acknowledged by Shido, he’s just another test subject being used by them. He’s angry, he awakens to Loki and now with the unique power of psychotic breakdowns, Shido recognises him and hires him as his assassin.

Granted this is all just my own theory, I think there is a lot pointing us to at least something similar but of course I also think this is wishful thinking as well. At this moment, my biggest wish is that Atlus makes a game that actually delves into what happened to Akechi. All the explicit information we have is given to us from biased sources, ie. Akechi himself, and it’s really the only question I have left for persona 5’s continuity.

#p5r spoilers #p5s spoilers #p5r #p5s #akechi goro #goro akechi #metapost #theory #p5a #proof of justice #persona 5 #persona 5 strikers #persona 5 royal

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panda-noosh · 6 years

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Action!{P6}{Lance x YouTuber!Reader}

Words: 5498

Summary: Being a YouTube guru is hard enough without the added stress of living with Lance McClain, the man who insists on bombarding into every YouTube video you try to film. His viewers love him, and so do you.

Pairing: Lance McClain x YouTuber!Reader

Notes: p1 – p2 – p3 – p4 - p5 - p7

The beeping had become unbearable.

It was echoing by the first hour. A constant tinge in the back of your head, begging for an attention you didn’t want to give it. But that was how it had been for the past five days – everything was begging for an attention you didn’t want to give it.

This was different, though. This was Lance’s life. This was no longer you just trying to get him out of your life. This was him leaving for good. This was him leaving everybodies life. This was him, with internal bleeding and a swollen brain and clotted blood vessels.

This was your best friend of three years, and whether you wanted to or not, the sadness and despair pulling at your chest was giving the situation the attention you so desperately wanted to pull away from.

Your thumb nail was lodged in between your teeth as you stood over him, the sunlight streaming in through the large windows. You had slept in the waiting room overnight, unable to leave without some confirmation that he would be alright, and even now, as the sun rises over the horizon to signal the start of a new day, you were yet to receive that confirmation.

The doctors were beating around the bush, giving you a load of ‘maybe’s’ that were about as reliable as a six year old telling you the same thing. Pitied glances your way, some people raising their eyebrows sceptically at Lance’s unconscious body – he was the crazy, drunk guy who had been hit by a car in downtown LA. Most people probably thought he deserved it for being so stupid. A lesson.

They didn’t know the half of it, and their prying eyes bothered you to no ends.

And yet you stood your ground, standing over his bedside, inspecting as much as you could. You waited for him to move. You waited for his eyelids to flutter or his breath to hitch or for his head to move – anything to signal that there was still something going on in his brain. Anything to tell you that the possibility of him pulling through were increasing rather than decreasing.

But nothing had happened. He was still – pale skin, tubes being sliced through his skin to keep him hydrated in his incapable state. Every now and then a nurse would come in, take one of the tubes out of his arm, wait a moment before shaking her head and putting it back in – testing to see if he was breathing on his own.

He had yet to do such a thing.

You hadn’t spoken during your time at his bed side. You had seen the movies, how the victims always woke up and recalled exactly what a visitor had told them, replaying the sweet words like they had suddenly grown a photographic memory in their time under. You weren’t as open minded as that. You saw the whole idea of can you hear me a little bit far fetched, thus making you stay silent.

The door opens for the first time that day, a doctor giving you a warm smile as he waltzes into the room, looking fresh and peachy. You can’t help but scowl, feeling something burst in your stomach. He had most likely had breakfast with his doting family this morning. He could breathe on his own. His life was in tact by the looks of his smile.

“Good morning, Miss L/N,” the doctor cheers, walking around to Lance’s bedside. “I’m just here to check on the swelling.”

You grit your teeth but nod in response, placing your thumb nail back in your mouth as you watch him do his job. He places a machine against the side of Lance’s head, a picture immediately flashing up on the screens behind him. It’s all in black and white, and you can’t decipher anything upon it, but judging by the way the doctor purses his lips before detaching the machine from Lance’s head, things weren’t looking so good.

He tries to leave. Not another word or another look in your direction. He just gets up and heads towards the door, stuffing his hands in his pockets but you can’t take that. You can’t take his silence for an answer any more, and before you can agree with your better judgement, your hand has snapped out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him from walking any further.

He turns to you, eyebrows raised. “Is everything okay?”

“You haven’t told me anything,” you seethe. “I don’t even know if he’s going to live or die yet. Is there anything you can tell me about his condition?”

The doctor purses his lips, giving you a look of pity that you know for a fact he had practised with a long line of pitied girlfriends before in the past.

“I can only indulge information to his emergency contact list or family,” the doctor informs you. “And you are neither. As far as the hospital is concerned, you’re a visitor.”

“I’m the only person in LA with him right now!” you bark and your voice is rising before you can stop it.

“That doesn’t make a difference, Miss L/N. His parents have been informed and have told us they are on their way. If they want to share the information we tell them to you, then that is their decision, but we are not authorised to give you any information before his emergency contacts have been informed of his condition first.”

You close your eyes, your fingers going slack against the doctors sleeve before falling to your side completely – shrivelled, weak feeling.

The doctor sighs, placing a firm hand on your shoulder that you immediately shrug off. “Perhaps you should get yourself some breakfast. I don’t think I saw you down in the canteen at all today.”

“I’m not hungry,” you grumble, turning on your heel and walking back into the hospital room.

Back towards the beeping. Back towards the echoed sound of nothing but beep beep beep, followed only for a minute by the sound of the door clicking closed.

Silence ensues once again.

It was weird. You slumped down in the plush chair next to Lance’s bed, and you realised just how unfamiliar this situation was. Lance and you in the same room in complete silence. Lance and you in the same room with nothing overactive going on, nothing big, nothing extra and loud. It was just silence. A dark, heavy silence that weighs down on your shoulders like a million boulders stacked one on top of the other that you can’t seem to shrug off.

The weight is a mix of uncertainty, confusion and fear. Fear that Lance won’t make it. Uncertainty about why you’re here in the first place. Confusion as to why you were worried, why you cared so much.

But the answer was simple and undeniable. Lance could hurt you ten times over and you would still be sat by his side right now, because he was your best friend and he had been close enough to a saviour for you for three years straight.

Sure, you still felt angry. You had every right to be angry at him. But the anger didn’t overtake the feeling of responsibility you still got whenever he was in need.

You don’t remember falling asleep. You only remember waking up, your neck jerking upwards at the sound of a door clicking closed, a pain spiralling down your spine due to the position you had fallen asleep in in the first place.

You rub at your eyes lazily with the balls of your palm, pulling yourself up in the hospital chair. One glance at Lance tells you everything – he hadn’t woken up. He hadn’t even moved, though now he had an oxygen mask placed back over his face.

You’re too invested in looking at his fragile state to notice the people standing by the door. That was until one of them cough, taking you by immediate surprise.

Your head snaps around, eyes widening whenever they meet with Francesca and Averall McClain, Lance’s parents.

You stand up far too quickly for your food-deprived body to handle and end up having to catch yourself on the wall at the side of you. The tipsy-ness doesn’t stop you from stumbling over to the two adults, though, one hand out stretched which the shake with vigour.

“Mr and Mrs McClain,” you breathe out, half tempted to apologise for being caught sleeping in a time so crucial. “You got here fast.”

It’s Averall who replies. One glance at Francesca tells you that she is in no right mind to be replying to comments just yet.

“We heard the news and immediately got on the first express train,” the man explains. “How is he?”

You stuff your hands in your pockets, turning to look at Lance over your shoulder. “He hasn’t done much and the doctors won’t tell me anything. I’ve kind of just been – keeping him company.”

Francesca lets out a sob that immediately tugs at your heartstrings. Her dark brown eyes aren’t even taking your presence in – she’s barely even glanced at you. Her eyes are glued on to the boy in the bed, a shaky hand covering her mouth as words fail to come to her. You find yourself thankful for that. You aren’t sure how much longer you’d last upon hearing her shaking voice trying to form words in this moment.

You duck your head down, nibbling on your bottom lip. “I’ll leave you two to speak to him if you like.”

Francesca throws herself forward without giving you a direct answer. It’s like something has finally snapped in her – realisation, patience, you aren’t sure. She escapes the confines of her husbands grip and tosses herself towards Lance’s bed, crumbling onto the seat you once occupied as she scrambles for his limp hand.

Her wrinkled, veiny hands take his and you have to physically hold your breath at the sight. Lance had always been like his mother – big eyes, hopeful features and a bubbly personality. Francesca had always been the one who told her kids to be themselves, and she had taught them that being normal was boring, that being true to yourself was always the way to go.

It was absolutely soul-crushing to see her now, all hope drained from the eyes which used to mimic Lance’s in the way they held so much happiness and hope for everything to come. Now, it was like somebody had placed a wall in front of her that she could see no way around.

Her son had a possibility of death right now. She could very well out live one of her children.

You inhale deeply and turn back to Averall, wiping at your eyes with the sleeves of the jacket a nurse had given you to drape over your dress which you had no chance to change out of from the night before.

You duck your head down, ready to skid past Averall to escape into the hallway, but his hand reaches out and grabs your wrist before you can do so.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” he asks.

You frown but nod in response. The two of you walk out into the barely-crowded hallway and immediately Averall sighs, digging the pads of his thumbs into his eyes.

“Is everything okay?” you ask.

Averall shakes his bald head. “I just – I want to thank you for staying here with him. The nurses told us that you didn’t even go home last night. It really comforts us to know he wasn’t alone. Lance always hated being alone.”

Your chest constricts and you feel dizzy, like you could throw up any moment now. Instead you smile, nodding your head. “It was really nothing, Mr McClain.”

“Tell me another thing,” Averall continues. “What happened last night? Lance hardly ever gets drunk, and he’s never this careless. Something had to have been wrong.”

These it was. The question you had been dreading because the answer stirred so much guilt within you that it was difficult to extinguish once ignited. You remember Lance looking down at Shiro’s hand around your waist, the way his eyes lit up in a rage you had never seen him hold before, the way he had stepped out even though you were screaming at him to stay where he was.

You still remember the sound of the car breaks screeching, the millisecond of Lance’s screams as the pain hits his body, only to be cut off by him falling unconscious against the tarmac. All of it only lasted a couple of seconds, and yet your brain had managed to grab every single second and remember it clear as day.

You swallow thickly, leaning your shoulder against the window to keep yourself from falling over. “I don’t – I don’t know, Mr McClain. I wasn’t with him. I didn’t even know he was in LA until – until I saw him outside of the museum.”

The lies are acidic. You are looking directly into the eyes of a grieving father and telling him that you have no idea why his son would act up in the way he did, why his son was going against his strong personality. You knew full well why he had been drinking. Lance had told you outright himself through slurred words and heartbreak.

You watch as Mr McClain’s face falls and the first few tears make their appearance. He had been trying to stay strong. He had been trying to keep up a tough persona, and it was crumbling right before you. You didn’t know what to do, what to say because you yourself were feeling the same way.

You shoot a glance through the window of the hospital room. Francesca has her head bowed, her hand still wrapped in her sons own, and you can see her mouth moving as she prays for Lance to just wake up. He’s too young. Not him, God, please.

“And he can’t breathe on his own? Was the hit really that bad?” Emma asks.

Her voice sounds muffled through the speakers of the cell phone you have pressed against your ear, the slight wind of LA causing even more disturbance as you stand outside of the ER, fresh air pelting at your sweating skin.

You hadn’t realised just how good the feeling of sunshine could be after a long day of being trapped behind closed curtains.

“I don’t know,” you reply. “I really don’t know. I’m just worried he’s not gonna wake up, or he’s gonna go from unconscious to being in a full on coma.”

You hear Emma sigh. “I know you’re worried about him, babes, but you need to get home eventually. You’re still wearing your heels, for Christs sake. Your feet must be non existent at this point.”

“You’d be surprised just how long I’ve been sitting down.”

“That’s not the point. It’s not your job to stay at his bedside, okay? His parents are there now, so he won’t be on his own.”

“I wanna be there when he wakes up.”

“Why, though?” Emma sounds almost whiney now, and you can imagine her throwing her head back and groaning at how easily you had fallen back into routine. “I don’t mean to sound morbid, but you do remember what he did, right?”

“I’m not going to hold that against him now,” you grunt. “He’s on a bloody breathing tube, unconscious and it’s all my fault.”

Emma is silent for a second. You hear her breathing become shallower, her intaking a sharp breath as if you had just punched her square in the face for no absolute reason.

And then, “Y/N, don’t you dare start this. Lance stepped out in front of that car on his own accord – you couldn’t have stopped it.”

“The only reason he was crossing the road was because he saw Shiro and I,” you reply. “I just wanna wait until he wakes up so I can clear things up.”

“You think he’ll be in any state to talk about your relationship straight after he’s woken up from being knocked unconscious?”

You purse your lips. “We’ll see. Look, I’ll talk to you soon. Get yourselves back up home. Don’t wait for me.”

“We’ve already told you this, Y/N. We’re not leaving LA without you in tow. We can book an extra few days if need be.”

You can’t help but softly smile to yourself, looking down at the floor as you scrape your foot against the warm concrete. “You guys are the best.”

“Yeah, tell us that with cash whenever you get back. We’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You hang up. The phone feels warm in your hand. Everything feels warm. The dress you are wearing is sticking to you uncomfortably. Your head swims with hunger and your stomach growls, but you know for a fact that there is no way you’d be able to keep food down if you decided to finally eat. Your stomach was in knots, a swirling mess of emotions that you were struggling to process.

You had left Francesca and Averall to speak to the doctors on their own, have some time alone with their son. You didn’t want to leave. You felt an odd attachment to the room you had been cooped up in whilst waiting for their arrival, though you had to admit that the fresh air was a nice change and it certainly woke you up a little bit.

Not to say you felt fresh in any way. You still felt the piercing pain in your gut – guilt, sadness, confusion at your own emotions. It was all still there and you weren’t entirely sure when it would go away.

You sigh and stuff the phone into the pockets of your jacket, opting for leaning against the wall of the hospital for just a minute longer. You wanted to be okay for just a minute longer.

The entire sixty seconds doesn’t span out before the hospital doors are sliding open and Averall has popped his head around, spotting you immediately. You give him a tired and warm smile – anything to make him feel at ease. You know it can’t be easy having to tend to your dying sons medical needs.

“You okay to come back in?” he asks. “Francesca and I have a few things to go over with the doctor, and Fran doesn’t feel comfortable leaving him on his own. Lance-”

“Never liked being on his own,” you finish for him, pushing yourself off the wall with a nod. “Of course I’ll sit with him.”

He still looked sick. He still hadn’t moved. You still couldn’t quite believe it.

You were holding his hand for some reason. You don’t entirely remember the moment you decided to pick his hand up off of his chest and intertwine your fingers with his, but it had happened and you weren’t pulling away. Even after his parents had left the room to go and tend to things elsewhere, you still kept your fingers wrapped around his, held it close to your lips, looked down at him in half-awe and half-horror.

Because he was still sick, and he certainly didn’t look to be improving. His skin had gotten paler overnight, veins protruding from his wrist from the amount of needles that had been stuck in his skin, unknown to him. You knew that if we woke up – when he woke up – he would be absolutely mortified to find out he had been pricked and stabbed with needles whilst he was asleep.

He would probably scream. He certainly wouldn’t be calm about it, and you could imagine him now, making a big deal out of it, waving his arms around his head and asking you repeatedly how you had let them do that to him.

It would all be in good fun, but you would still roll your eyes at him and tell him to be quiet, and then he’d call you old and you two would bicker.

You would do anything to hear him call you old right now.

Nobody ever understood just how much the two of you balanced each other out. You would scold him for being too loud and he would tell you to go to hell and you two would argue as you walked down the road, but it kept you grounded. It helped you deal with things better, situations that you used to lose your mind at.

Like right now. Sitting at his bedside, clutching his hand whilst his parents got what was most likely the worst news of their lives. Perhaps Lance would be brain dead when he woke up. Maybe the doctors had failed to get the swelling under control and his brain was permanently damaged from the impact. Or maybe his health was deteriorating and they could find no way to bring it back.

Maybe they were telling them that they should say their goodbyes because there was no hope left. The impact had been too much. He had shattered too many bones, made too big of a mess of himself for them to do anything with him.

Were you going to have to say goodbye to him?

The thought has you standing up, nervous energy spiking through your body at one hundred miles an hour and you just need to punch something. Because you’re so confused. You’re so utterly, completely confused and guilty and mad because Lance of all people didn’t deserve this.

He had done something bad to you, something you knew you couldn’t forgive him for, but that could all be sorted out when he was healthy. He should be healthy. He should be okay. You two should be dealing with your drama right now – just like you should have done from the very beginning. Maybe you could have heard him out, understood his side of the story.

Now you weren’t even positive you were going to get the chance to hear him out. You had read the interview, but words on paper didn’t always mean what they sounded like. Their could have been something behind them that Lance was tried to explain to you last night in his drunken state but you just hadn’t let him.

The thought aches. It nips at your chest and makes tears cloud your vision which you quickly swat away, groaning into the quiet room to find some release from the menacing thoughts of self-hatred and the memories of the car that spiral through your mind in this moment.

Maybe if you had led him out of the museum yourself, you could have ensured he got himself home safely. Maybe if you hadn’t left him to fend for himself when he was in a state of clear incompetence, you could have stopped this from happening.

You bite down on your lip, groan past clenched teeth as your hands trail through your messy hair, gripping at the roots. A few days ago you were so ready to drop him. So ready to let him leave your life without a goodbye to send him on his way, and now you were losing yourself in his hospital room because there was a risk that he would no longer be by your side.

You could be as angry as you wanted to be, as angry as you needed to be, but at the end of the day, this was Lance you were talking about. You would never be able to sit back and watch him struggle without feeling compelled to help him.

“Please don’t do this,” you whisper into thin air, not even facing his bed but the words are directed at him. “Please don’t leave. Not yet, Lance. You said you’d be with us forever. We used to talk about growing old together, being the two idiots in the care home. Let’s make that happen, yeah? We can only make that happen if you wake up.”

You turn to look at his bed finally. He hasn’t shifted. His eyes haven’t opened. His body hasn’t moved. He just lays there, immobile and still and completely frozen in his daze of pain. You grit your teeth, tears flooding your vision all over again.

You grab the pillow from the seat you had once been sitting on, throw it back to the floor with a yell of anger emerging from your lips.

“Lance, come on!” you exclaim. “I know you. You aren’t a bitch! Remember? You used to say that to me all the time whenever I got upset because I hurt myself. You used to say man up, Y/N. You’re not a bitch. Take your own advice this time, okay? Just this once. Please. The world needs a Lance McClain. Heaven can wait. We need you here with us, now-”

Your words fall short whenever Lance’s neck jerks.

The movement is far from swift. It isn’t like how it is in the movies, where their fingers barely move and suddenly it’s like the light of God himself is shining down on the main character. This movement was choppy, almost painful looking as his neck slams back against the pillows. It looks like he’s trying to swat a fly away from his head without the use of his hands.

You narrow your eyes, mouth running dry. “Lance?”

His chest heaves upwards out of nowhere, rising up from the white quilts which confine him. You jump back at the sudden movement – the sudden movements, because that’s not all. All of a sudden, his entire body is jerking left right and centre beneath the quilts, small grunts escaping his mouth, spit dripping down the corners of his lips.

The machines wail around you, clearly thinking that he’s woken up and is trying to pull the needles from his arm.

“Nurse!” you scream, throwing yourself towards the door only to be thrown backwards as the nurses and doctors scramble inside, immediately grabbing his shoulders and holding him to the mattress. He doesn’t stop jerking as they grab at him, his body jostling from side to side.

You had never seen anything so heartbreaking, and you have to look down at the floor to stop yourself from getting dizzy.

Francesca and Averall bombard into the room, Averall immediately having to hold Francesca back. The nurses are yelling, telling you and Averall to get her screaming form out of the room whilst they calmed the situation down and got Lance back, but not even Averall seemed adamant to listen. He was holding his wife back, but his eyes were glued onto the fitting body of his son and his feet weren’t moving.

You wanted to pull them out of the room. This was no sight for a parent to see. But you can’t even move yourself. You stand behind the door, gripping the door frame tightly, your feet unmoving and your heartbeat speeding up.

“You scared me.”

Lance’s usual reaction would be a scoff and a soft shove of your shoulder. He knew you never meant it. Lance could never scare you – not when he was conscious.

But he had scared you and he didn’t even know about it. He wasn’t even awake to see it, and maybe that was for the best. You had no doubt in your mind that he would feel bad about it if he was awake. It was best kept private.

Nonetheless, those three words were the beginning of it all as the moon rose up, coating the halls of the hospital in a thin sheen of darkness that hid the tear stains on your cheeks from the onlookers walking past. The most they could see of you right now was your bowed head and your hands which were tangled in Lance’s, not wanting to let go, not wanting to leave.

You were talking to him as a last resort. The seizure had been induced by the swelling in his brain, and the doctors said it wasn’t a good sign. You wanted to at least give this a try.

“I don’t know if you can hear me right now, but you scared me. It’s okay. I forgive you. I know you didn’t mean it, because you’re a big softie, really. You’re about as scary as a Kumamon plushie.” You smile lightly, tracing circles on his knuckles. “I meant what I said before – before the seizure happened. I know you probably don’t remember, but it was something along the lines of don’t die. And I’m sure I called you a bitch somewhere in there as well. I’d love it if you proved me wrong. Proved to me that you weren’t a bitch by waking up.

“Your parents are here, too. I’ve been keeping them company and they’ve been keeping me sane, I guess. Your dad made sure I ate this morning because I was on the verge of a melt down.” You chuckle lightheartedly. “It’s good to know he hasn’t forgotten about me. He loves you a lot. He was talking about how you used to hang up Christmas lights when you were younger, and you were always the kid who got tangled up in the lights and ended up looking like a big, Latino Christmas tree at the end of it. You never told me about that. I wanna hear the full story whenever you wake up.

“The doctors also said you were going to be going under observation whenever you wake up, so I want you to be ready for that. Maybe they’ll quiz you. You’re good at quizzes, aren’t you? Especially the ones about the celebrities. We found a bunch of those in a magazine one night, remember? And you actually won for the first time. I don’t think I ever congratulated you on that. I just huffed and walked off, but you know I was proud of you, right? I’ve always been proud of you. I’m proud of you right now. You’ve made it very far and I know you can make it even further.”

You swallow the golf ball sized lump in your throat, looking down at your intertwined hands. His fingers were still limp around yours, but you refused to let go. It was a nice reassurance for you to feel his presence at the side of you, feel his skin on yours.

You felt stupid speaking to him. You highly doubted he could hear you in the first place, but it was nice to speak. It was nice to speak and feel like your words were making a difference, even if they weren’t. It would give you something to look back on whenever you got out of here.

The door to the hospital room opens again and in walks Averall and Francesca. Francesca looked a little shaken up, eyes big and her hands shaking around the paper coffee cup she was holding in her hand. Her brown hair was sticking up around her head at all angles, her smile missing from her features and replaced with a grim look of worry.

You offer her your own smile, though it’s nothing special. It falls just as soon as it makes it’s appearance, you too tired to put in much effort right now.

“We got you a coffee for the road,” Averall informs you in a hushed voice. “We can take it from here. Thank you for everything you did today.”

You nod gently and go to reach for the coffee he is holding out to you. You shift your arm, ready to get up to grab for it, but you stop whenever you feel a slight tingle on the tips of your fingers – something trying to grab for you, but being too weak to do so properly.

You whirl around midway from standing up from the chair, eyes darting down to look at Lance’s hand. His fingers are twitching, trying to grapple for your fingers before you can pull away.

Immediately you fall back into the seat, grabbing his hand in yours, assuring him that you’re still there and that you don’t plan on leaving if he doesn’t want you to.

“Lance?” you whisper. Francesca and Averall look on with baited breath, eyes wide and hopeful. “Lance, are you okay? Are you waking up?” It takes a second. A second of excruciating silence, breath held and hands becoming clammy, heart beat racing.

And then a groan as Lance tilts his head back, fumbling around as if he was trying to get comfortable.

He speaks so quietly you can barely hear him, but you catch onto what he’s saying at the last minute.

“I’m not a bitch.”

#voltron #voltron headcanons #voltron fics #voltron fanfics #Action!#Lance x Reader #Lance McClain #Lance voltron #takashi shirogane #shiro voltron #voltron au #pidge gunderson #pidge voltron #hunk garrett #hunk voltron #keith kogane #keith voltron

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sillyfudgemonkeys · 6 years

Note

U R entitled to your own opinion. but still what could've been so messed up for you to hate it? I remember you fangirling about Anne back when only the Japanese version was released back in 2016.

Summary (and incomplete list) of my problems.

Yeah as I played the Japanese ver the first time I was focusing on the positives.....after I finished I...it felt off......tbh it felt off while playing it but I didn’t notice/refused to listen to it cause I was waiting to see things unfold. And while I understood what was going on, there was some crucial information (at least crucial for me to process it correctly) I knew I was missing cause of the language barrier.

After a 2nd time through I saw it..... I saw how all the antagonists were.....not well written besides Kamoshida and Sae (and even Sae could’ve used some tweaks to her motive, tho not as much tweaks as the rest of the game I think needs). I saw how there was a lot of similarities between P4....and not the good time......it felt pretty copy paste....and tbh if it was going to copy and paste one of the past game’s formula.....it should’ve been P3′s.....But hey...that would’ve mean that Atlus would’ve had to write more overarching arcs in P5 like they did with P3, and we can’t have that kind of effort...... The lack of overarching arcs really hurts Anne, Ryu, and Yusuke (who, even in my first playthrough, I felt he literally dropped off the face of the earth after I finished the dungeon, not his arc where we see Madarame’s confession, I literally forgot Yusuke was there right after I finished the dungeon with like a month to go before the confession). Haru and Goro get screwed in their own way. I felt like the game relied too much on Makoto and Futaba to do stuff (it felt like they were doing everything, barring the MC of course). It didn’t feel much like a Phantom Thief game (tho it takes a bunch of the story cliches without any of the fun). I never felt like I had freedom.....which is a problem when the game’s theme is freedom. Not with the MC’s dialogue, he has like one personality to choose from (which for the most part feels like it’s mostly “jerk, sassy-jerk, funny-jerk” like it’s worse than the PQ options). The endings suck in terms of freedom of choice, it’s like 5 steps backwards from P4 which is wrong since they should’ve at least taken a step forward from P4 considering P5 is next gen and P4 was made on a shoe-string budget. The dungeons...oh my gawd..... Give me P3/4′s any day. Yes I like the randomly generated one’s cause it gave me more choice than P5′s. P5′s were good the first time through, but they are such a slog after that. It’s not that P5′s are big, but it’s that they aren’t bigger! Give me an option on how I want to approach the treasure! Give me a short route, a fast route, an easy route, a hard route, a long route, a medium route, and make it so I can back track and go through all the routes if I want. Give me incentive to take the longer/harder route (better weapons, loot, items but of course it’s harder, higher risk means higher reward), give me the short/fast route so when I’m replaying for the 53rd time I can just skate through that without having to spend an hour going through a dungeon I’m destroying (it says something when the dungeon is so long that it’ll take someone an hour to run through the dungeon on NG+ on safety, while it takes maybe 10-30 min to speed through P3/4 on NG+ regardless of difficulty. Like...god....thinking about playing P5 NG+ on the hardest difficulty must take them like 2 hours a dungeon or more @.@). But yeah I never felt free in the game, the characters never felt free in the dungeon setting (AND THAT’S WHAT ATLUS WOULD SAY IN THEIR INTERVIEWS! The characters are suppose to feel more free in the Metaverse! WHY IS IT THEY DON’T FEEL LIKE THAT WHEN I PLAY?????)

Actually bouncing off that, I hate the characterization inconsistencies. Anne and Ryu get the worst of it, but this also applies to comments on Anne/Mako’s thief outfits too. I love Anne I do, but Atlus screw her and everyone over so bad. She’s suppose to speak out against sexualization but then gets sexualized in her own game. And not even in a “I’m being confident and am being sexy cause I want to” fanservice it’s always “someone is looking at me and I’m uncomfortable and don’t want to be looked at” fanservice...... And the former seems to be what they might’ve wanted to do, the artbook stating her short skirt as a reason.....but then the rest of the game is just her hating her outfit and it’s like “WHAT?!” And it doesn’t help the Devs were like “oh yeah we thought that’d be cute.” NO! NO IT’S NOT ATLUS! I’d give you a pass with her wearing it the first few times and then getting used to it and owning it (cause that’d be growth), but no.....not for 98% of the game...... And then Ryuji, he’s all “protect women’s honor” when it comes to Anne being creeped on by random guys, but as soon as he gets the chance to be a creep he takes it. And it really just messes with his values, or how we see his values in that regard....all cause Atlus wants a cheap laugh. Same goes for the MC, the whole reason he was in that mess was cause he was protecting a woman, and he also creeps on Anne a little (tho not as enthusiastically as Ryu, and you could actually be dating her by those times so you could say that Anne’s actually fine with him doing it). And then Makoto.....her’s is minor but it also deals with her outfit, tho iirc it’s only really during the Mementos convos (and Anne’s does too, but it also happens outside in that and her arc’s theme in dungeon one is also a big factor in why it’s bad), but it’s still there. Anne and Makoto’s views on their own outfits muddles how the game address why they are dressed that way. We get “it’s your will of rebellion” but we have a variety of reactions. Ryuji’s was what I expected everyone to be like aka “mine’s pretty cool, but your’s is strange” kinda thing....cause they seem like it’s tailored for them......And yeah you can say “oh the big bad had some influence in it” but.......that’s just.....weird and it really muddies something that could be easy to grasp.....I mean the outfits kinda do a good job at reflecting their Personas! And, at least with Hashino, everyone seems to like their Personas.....WHICH MAKES SENSE! SO WHY NOT MAKE THE COSTUMES MAKE SENSE EVEN THO THEY ARE ALIGNED TO MAKE SENSE AND lkfelnfsd;aknfal;f AHHHHHHHHHh!!!!

Sorry that’s all I can go into for now. You don’t have to agree with it of course but......it’s just......a lot of things....piled on......and....why....why is it like this..... @.@ ;w;

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sternbilder · 6 years

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the games i played to completion in 2017, ranked in order of how much i liked them

mostly for my own reference and i’m gonna try to keep this out of the tags but read on if you want to read about me getting super excited about video games i guess

p/ersona 5 - look i know this wasn’t a perfect game like there are Several Large Complaints i would like to file regarding plot and pacing and premise even but this was. still my favorite game of 2017 and just such an enjoyable 120 hours to have spent holy fuck?? like everyone’s always talking about how stylish p5 is and goddamn are they right like it’s such a gorgeous game!! the loving detail they put into every aspect of the UI, the beautiful character sprites, that effortlessly cool contemporary tokyo vibe that oozes into every aspect of the game!! and the gameplay (which i played on normal difficulty, being a series beginner) was both challenging and rewarding and both the dungeons and the school life segments (considering the sheer variety of Shit You Could Do not to mention all the charming-ass characters with compelling sideplots) were just. an absolute treat?? plus the soundtrack to this game was just killer so there’s also that

n/ier: automata - SPEAKING OF GAMES WITH GR8 SOUNDTRACKS. i think this game’s soundtrack probably ranks up there with my favorite video game OSTs of ALL TIME FOREVER like seriously. it is so so good. anyway friends it took me four (4) days to beat this game and another full 24 hours just to process this game like. y’all know i’m always a slut for sad robots and BOY HOWDY did this game have that thing. not only is the game itself gorgeous but i’m pretty much in love with the Entire cast (but especially 9S, who is my special son) and i’m crying,, eternally,, about the c/d/e routes and even though it probably wasn’t the Most impressive and best written game Ever it had a lot of good twists and revelations and a real sense of weight and suspense esp. in the later playthroughs which i am ALL ABOUT. not being much of an action RPG person i never really fell in love w/ the combat but it was fun enough even though it got kind of repetitive and too hack-and-slashy for my taste after a while?? actually fuck the bullet hell hacking minigame tho if i’m gonna be real

f/ire emblem fates (birthright, conquest, and revelation) - listen i know this game was like objectively garbage but i’m still trying to justify having spent a literal 1/3 of my year playing it so bear with me for just 2 hot seconds. first of all hi yes there’s a running theme here bc i dig the shit out of fe14′s OST?? also even though the plot was kind of a mess the characters and supports still grew on me a lot after a while and actually the gameplay was really fun?? maybe it’s bc i played it on hard/classic (as opposed to fea which i played on normal/casual) but i really enjoyed the combat a lot more in these games than fea--actually i do think there’s actually a lot of actual improvements here, especially with all the new classes, the improved dual guard/dual strike rules, and no fucking weapon durability, etc. as well as a lot of the more unusual victory conditions (in conquest and revelation, not so much in birthright) like i feel like there were a lot of highlights and i genuinely enjoyed the battles in fe14 a lot and sure the whole waifu nintendogs concept is creepy as hell and babyrealm is a fucking joke but i still thought this was a Pretty good or at least enjoyable game so you can fight me on that front

d/anganronpa v3 - ok let me me the first to admit that i honestly?? don’t really like dr as a franchise very much and the only real reason i got into it in the first place is to fill the ace attorney-shaped hole in my heart in between releases thereof (as well as superficial similarities to other games i like, like ze) and while i still enjoy the gameplay and investigating and mystery-solving parts of it and those aspects i still find very enjoyable and well-written a lot of the rest of the games really kind of fall flat for me?? like tbh i’m not a huge fan of the art style, the sense of humor and localization don’t really do it for me, the characters are cute but kind of over-the-top and not super relatable to me personally, and honestly the whole ~evil mastermind did it for the lulz~ trope being played super straight disappointed me a lot about the first game especially?? that being said i know this is a bit of a base breaker but i actually really liked the direction that sdr2 took with its ending and it made me hopeful for the sequel, which brings me to drv3 which surprised me in a lot of pleasant ways?? like personally i think it’s the best dr yet and while i can see why people would be disappointed with the ending and feel like it may be a cop-out i think it was still clever enough that i appreciate it for trying?? or maybe it’s just bc i didn’t like the original so much and the departure from that felt like kind of a breath of relief but that’s just me idk

f/inal fantasy x - guess who was late to the party and played her first final fantasy in this year of the lord 2017!!! it’s me!!! honestly i was expecting more from this game overall in terms of plot just because it’s such a Classic and all but fwiw i still liked it?? i didn’t super love any of the main characters and the story was a little predictable and even though i played the remaster it’s still an obviously dated game but NEVERTHELESS it was still just a solid RPG and i genuinely enjoyed playing it!! i should play the sequel sometime but. i’ll get to it after i clear out this massive backlog i have currently as we speak sobs

the witness - i don’t talk about this game enough bc honestly it isn’t the kind of game that can have a real fanbase (no real characters or plot, etc.) but i still enjoyed the fuck out of this, holy hell. i mean it’s i guess kind of an open-world exploration-slash-puzzle concept which sounds kind of boring but the world is gorgeous and the way the game presents these puzzles for you to solve and teaches you the rules in a way that’s entirely self-explanatory and intuitive but still super difficult and ultimately rewarding is just so gratifying and i was just so so impressed at how creative they got with these puzzle designs and the way the world seems to unfold itself the more you unlock its secrets?? anyway i know this is near the bottom bc i do love me a video game story and this particular game doesn’t have that but PLAY THIS GAME IF YOU LIKE PUZZLES IT IS JUST SO COOL AND FUN AND GOOD

the n/onary games (999 only) - this is a replay but still worth mentioning i think?? obviously 999 is one of my favorite games of all time and i was super pumped about the remake and while i didn’t quite enjoy it as much as the very first time i played 999 on my DS it was still a good game!! tbh i mostly just played this game for the voice acting which i was pretty impressed with, and also i got to pick up a lot of the bilingual bonuses i obviously missed while playing my localized copy of the original game which was cool!! i wasn’t as impressed with the updated sprites unfortunately, i felt like their quality was inconsistent and some of them looked like kind of a rush job to me but ymmv i guess?? i think overall i still prefer the DS version even with improvements like the flow chart in the newer version, mostly because 1. i actually appreciated having to literally replay parts of the game in the former bc i feel like it’s more in the spirit of the game if you know what i mean, and 2. some details near the ending that they changed, which you definitely know what i mean if you played the game. still, i appreciate that it’s made the game more widely accessible and if you haven’t played the game pls go play this game i’m literally begging u,,

u/mineko (question arcs only) - ok the only reason i have this 8th on this list is just bc i haven’t technically finished it yet and BOY am i the kind of person who lives entirely for that sweet sweet payoff but there really isn’t THAT much i can say?? like thanks to the ps3 patch the art is pretty decent i guess?? i’m liking all the characters so far?? there’s a whole lot of Bullshit that doesn’t make any sense at this point but i’ve been promised metagame and mindfuck in due time so i guess i’ll just have to see?? yeah this is more of a tbd review than anything i don’t really know what to say besides i’m just so eager to play the other half of this game and get the answers to all these gotdamn MYSTERIES already

braid - i mostly just played this bc i knew it was made by the same person?? studio?? as the witness and while i liked braid and i really enjoyed the puzzles it was just too short for it to have really made an impression on me?? like i know that there is a story and a Twist but it didn’t really do much for me with how abstract it was and just in terms of sheer volume of content it doesn’t quite compare to the other games on this list like don’t get me wrong it was still good!! and if you need a way to kill an afternoon i still highly recommend it but it just wasn’t as memorable to me as p5 or nier was unfort

#/#//#///#////#/////#cam thoughts #if i just play one more i'll get to a nice even number.........what should i play #what should be my last game of 2017

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recentanimenews · 6 years

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Crunchyroll Favorites 2017: Video Games

What a wild year it's been for gaming. Nintendo has thrown down the gauntlet with the Switch and its unbelievable roster of exclusives but they're far from the only company mixing things up and putting out some astounding exclusives. Following Part One about our favorite anime and manga, Part Two will cover our favorite video games from the plethora of hit releases in 2017!

PETER FOBIAN (@PeterFobian)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: The obvious choice (get used to seeing it on this list). Breath of the Wild probably impressed me more than any other game this year, taking Zelda and the open world platform to new heights in the most clever, brave way imaginable. This game lets you do whatever you want, giving you access to an immense number of tools to drive you to solve problems in ways the designers probably never thought of. Or, at least, you might believe they hadn’t if the world wasn’t brimming with small interactions we’re still discovering to this day. Even the story is a clever take on the usual defeating Ganon formula. I felt Nintendo was slipping during the Wii U days but they easily dominated this years releases.

NieR: Automata: Or, at least, I say that, but now I’m gonna talk about a bunch of PS4 titles. NieR was quite the narrative journey and did some immensely cool things with its story you could only see in a video game, replaying the same events from different perspectives then building upon them into brand new arcs. The game had its aesthetic sense on lock, complete with one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard. The glimmer of hope residing at the end of such an oppressively sad world was a tremendous conclusion. I just wish there had been more. There are elements in the game where I feel Yoko Taro teasing DLC content that he knew would never come. That asshole.

Horizon Zero Dawn: Another open-world game that was willing to invest in its setting. The world of HZD is awesome, aesthetically, functionally, and narratively. It also feels complete. Rather than the usual fetch quests you can expect in this sort of title, every mission has its own story and serves to expand your understanding of the various cultures of the world. The main plot is a wonderful dive into the history that brought this world about featuring a partnership of convenience between two characters whose arguments I could listen to for hours. The relationship between Aloy and Sylens is fantastic. The gameplay is fantastic. The world is fantastic.

Nioh: This game got a lot of flak out of the gate for being a Souls-like but it’s risen to that challenge and done some great things all its own with a deeper combat system featuring a variety of stances, combos, tools and unlockable techniques. The aesthetic is also spot on and, while it doesn’t have the same cinematic approach, delivers a cool environment with enemies just as frustratingly hard. If I have one complaint, it’s that the game went for a more numbers-heavy approach featuring RNG drops and complex crafting system that kept me in menus while I’d rather be exploring. All-in-all the game felt great to play and never felt like it was slowing down. You could even collect pokemon!

ECHO: I feel like I’ve been waiting for the release announcement for this game for an eternity since I first played a demo at PAX two years ago. This game touches on all my favorite aesthetic hallmarks, taking place in a nightmarish superstructure that is equal parts Giger and Blame!, alternating between immaculate palaces and criss crossing walkways over a dark abyss. The story is a particularly satisfying space opera and includes a unique gameplay mechanic controlling the enemy AI that feeds right into the horror of the setting. It’s a horrifically beautiful achievement and a MUST. PLAY.

Persona 5: My first experience with the Persona series has been memorable and I definitely now understand the obsessive following these games have earned. P5 has a crazy awesome sense of style and a great cast of characters with individual stories that build up to some seriously anime cathartic moments. Pretty much every characters unmasking was a memorable highlight and synced up nicely with the games through line of defying oppressive authority. I wish they’d gone a bit further, done a few things better, and loosed up a but on what players can do in the game. All the same I’ll be right there with everyone else in 2117 when Persona 6 comes out.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice: I love this game not only for what it is but what it represents. Long time fan of Ninja Theory and this game makes me a diehard. Hellblade's aim to release an “independent AAA game” is just what the industry needs right now with franchises and studios falling victim to microtransaction based monetization and getting gutted by major publishers. I hope to see a ton more of these in the year to come. The game itself was well-worth the price tag, a fascinating descent into hell that had a few clever tricks and an interesting representation of auditory hallucination that added to the atmosphere. More of this, more Ninja Theory.

Guilty Gear Xrd 2: Everyone has their fighting game and mine is Guilty Gear. The franchise went through a notable low point releasing Guilty Gear Xrd without Baiken, but thankfully ArkSys recovered and is back with part 2 and the good content. They’ve tightened some of the bolts from the previous releases along with character specific changes. I’m loving the new kits on all my main. ArkSys’s 3D/2D style continues to set the visual standard for 2D fighters. The only thing I’m not crazy about is Millia’s hat. If they add ABA then this will truly be the perfect game.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus: Although I’d never played Wolfenstein before this year, I was understandably attracted to the marketing efforts of Bethesda to promote this title. I was wholly unprepared for the over-the-top narrative experience it provided, coming closer to Saints Row levels of ludicrous plot twists and characterization without compromising it’s blood-in-the-dirt aesthetic. The writing walks a razor's edge between horrific and hilarious while fearlessly drawing similarities between the Wolfenstein world and modern day America. It’s wild that Blazkowicz feels so real, even melancholic, with everything that surrounds him.

Uncharted 4: The Lost Legacy DLC: Lost Legacy solved what was incontrovertibly the biggest problem with Uncharted 4. No Chloe. It pulled one better by bringing back the best new character from the main title, Nadine in an unexpected partnership that worked better than I could have imagined. Rather than a fun side mission, Naughty Dog spent a lot of time using past events to build a compelling narrative around both characters and their unlikely partnership with all the same cinematic highlights as the main title. It wasn’t quite the unforgettable experience as Uncharted 4, but it was quality DLC that barely exists in a industry chopping up IPs to sell them in pieces.

RENE KAYSER (@kayserlein)

Persona 5: There are three titles that I carry as the triumvirate of “Games that changed me in who I am”. One of these three is Persona 4 which helped me get through the worst part of my youth. And while never got tired of Atlus’ spin-offs of that title like some people did, I certainly was hyped for the new entry in the series. It didn’t quite hit the mark for me that 3 and 4 did but it gave me an absolutely fantastic 99 hours of thievery and intrigue. I just wish they’d given us more Social Events to hang out with the entire group …

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NieR: Automata: It’s quite something to not only get one but two sequels to life-changing games in a single year (Number Three in my triumvirate is Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII which introduced me to Japanese games in general). The original Nier broadened the horizon of what you can do with videogame storytelling for young 16-year-old me and while Automata didn’t hit me that hard, it still managed to let me reflect a lot on my actions as a gamer (I still feel bad for getting *that* trophy). I just hope that Square remasters the first game one day so I can reunite with its characters once more.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: No franchise in the world means as much to me as Zelda. I went through every single entry (not counting the CDI ones - I’m no maniac!) and know almost every dungeon by heart. BOTW has recaptured that old magic of (re-)conquering an entire kingdom and sucked a whopping 120 hours out of me before I knew it. It may have certain weaknesses (mainly in the story department) but that doesn’t take away from the utter magnificence Nintendo has gifted us with. I only wish they’d tell us something definite about its timeline placement (My money’s on the Convergence theory).

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony: Kazutaka Kodaka is a goddamn genius. He, Kotaro Uchikoshi and Ryukishi07 are probably some of my favorite writers ever and in the newest entry of his murdery series, he once again presents us with this unique mix of comedy and horror only he can concoct. Its second and third case slow the game down a bit but the final two will turn anyone’s brain upside down and put it through the blender in a way you’ll never forgot. To write anything more, would delve into spoilers but if you haven’t gotten into this franchise until now, you’re definitely missing out!

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus: I have a long-standing love for fictional (!) nazis. Part of it is certainly due to the gruesome part of German history which lets you easily villainize them without any need for characterization but also a remaining excitement of of the forbidden (all nazi content is stripped out in the German version of the franchise, so I have to resort to imports). Shooting nazis itself would be fun enough but Machine Games’ reboot trilogy somehow still gives it one of the best and most moving video game narratives in years which leaves me yearning for its final chapter. The cherry on top of the already delicious cake is the German dialogue which was voiced by fantastic German actors (who were sadly replaced by less fitting ones in the local version) which enhances the atmosphere tremendously by not copping out with using American actors with a funny accent and no actual dialogue like every other game with nazis. Even if you’re not into shooters, you should give the Wolfenstein reboot a try - it might really surprise you with its story.

Super Mario Odyssey: Here I go thinking that Nintendo just put out something that they can hardly match again for at least half a decade … and they do it within the same year! BOTW was already great but Mario Odyssey cemented 2017 as the year Nintendo returned to form. Not since Mario 64 did it bring me this much fun to play as our favorite plumber (though he did quit that job) and I find it highly possible that his newest game might even go down in history as being superior to his first 3D outing.

The Nintendo Switch and basically everything on it: This list of mine already carries two Switch games on it - but I could easily put down everything else on the system. While its portability might seem like a gimmick to outsiders, it opens up every system you play on it incredibly. Even if you’re mostly at home and work from there (like me), the comfort to pick it up and play another 30 minutes in bed before you’re sleeping adds so much to the experience that I can hardly put it into words. Skyrim, Doom, Xenoblade, Stardew Valley, Splatoon 2, Resident Evil - the list goes on and on and each week I’m overwhelmed by new announcements of both indie games I’ve been meaning to check out for a long time but also ports of bigger titles on this hardware. Not since my PS One have I been so in love with a system itself and with how things are going, the Switch might easily become my favorite gaming console ever created.

KARA DENNISON (@rubycosmos)

Resident Evil VII: This game messed me up something fierce -- in all the best ways, of course. I can understand why opinion is divided in some cases, but it’s so atmospheric and so entrenched in its own lore that it’s just fascinating to get lost in. And I love a game that blurs the line between gameplay and cutscenes to the point that you’re not even sure what’s under your control anymore. That’s some good horror.

Doki Doki Literature Club: The first release from indie studio Team Salvato, an OEL dating sim with a poetry-driven storyline. And -- funny story -- it just magically appeared in my Steam gifts. I still don’t know who sent it to me. But whoever it was, I owe them big thanks because it was just the kind of VN I love. The art is absolutely gorgeous, and it’s got a great story you’ll want to explore multiple times. High points of the game: hanging out with Sayori, a long weekend with Yuri, and finally getting some time alone with club president Monika!

Fate/Grand Order (US release): Of course this was going to make my list: I can build an army of nothing but different female King Arthurs. The story is entertaining for history and folklore buffs, and it’s also a great (read: inescapable) entry point to the Fate franchise.

NICK CREAMER (@b0bduh)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: From the first moments I started playing Breath of the Wild, I realized this game signaled the end of one era and the beginning of another. Through its gorgeous world, incredibly rewarding base gameplay, and infinite secrets to discover, Breath of the Wild redefines what we can expect from open world games, solving the issue of vast yet unsatisfying worlds in one definitive strike. I can only hope that future games steal as much as they can from Breath of the Wild’s bountiful innovations.

Nioh: Nioh’s appeal is pretty simple: place the satisfying, skill-intensive combat of a Dark Souls-style game in the circular loot-grind context of a Diablo-like, speed everything up by about thirty percent, and let it fly. The end result is likely the most successful riff yet on the Souls/Bloodborne subgenre, a game that can happily stand beside its spiritual inspiration.

Nier: Automata: Automata is undoubtedly the messiest game on this list, containing a vast number of minor gameplay failings and larger issues of overarching pacing and structure. And yet, no other game I played this year can match Automata’s narrative ambitions, or its soaring dramatic heights. Automata brings you to your lowest possible point in order to drive home that even at the end of everything, hope survives. Technical issues aside, a message told this creatively and well deserves all the accolades it can get.

Persona 5: Persona 5 was also messy in a variety of ways, like its occasionally unsatisfying dungeons, and especially its frustratingly conditional perspective on society’s “outsiders.” But from its endlessly endearing cast to its utterly best-in-class art design, Persona 5 also offers a vast array of astonishing strengths. I’ll still be thinking fondly of my time with the Phantom Thieves for a long time to come.

Resident Evil VII: Sometimes saving a franchise means going back to the drawing board. So it was with Resident Evil VII, which ditched all the bloated excess of the franchise’s recent entries in order to zero in on the fundamentals of horror: intimacy, isolation, implication, and, uh, insects. Lots of gross insects. Vast segments of Resident Evil VII play out as a horror experience so tightly composed that it really feels like you’re trapped in a beloved horror movie. It’s like twelve straight hours of opening a door that you really, really, really don’t want to open.

THOMAS ZOTH (@ABCBTom)

NieR: Automata: Nier: Automata isn’t my favorite Yoko Taro game, but it’s the one that has established him as a creative voice and given him the tools and funding to keep delivering punishing Drakengard games for me, so I am beyond thrilled by its reception. Taro is truly a gaming auteur who enjoys playing with the expectations about what videogames must do and must be, frustrating and infuriating players with his obtuse cruelty and making them love him for it. Once you’ve finished Automata, play Drakengard 3 and the original Nier as well.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Xenoblade sneaks in just under the line, and I haven’t made it very far, but both Xenoblade and Xenoblade X were my favorite games of their respective years, so it’s safe to say I will love this one all the way through. Not as big a fan of this game’s more kawaii artstyle, but the story is still willing to go unexpected places and allow you to explore gigantic, overwhelming worlds. Plus, the game’s awful map system is getting a patch so I have no real complaints. Xenoblade is my favorite modern RPG series and one that’s not to be missed.

Super Mario Odyssey: A game that feels like the direct sequel to Mario 64, allowing for the feeling of exploration Sunshine and Galaxy lost. I love the possession mechanic, I love the bizarre uncanny valley situations where Mario interacts with humans, and I love New Donk City’s Festival. I’ve cooled on Mario platformers a lot in recent years but this reminded me why I spent so much time collecting 120 stars in Mario 64.

Persona 5: I know all of the problems with Persona 5, gameplay-wise, narrative-wise, and character-wise, and I agree with all of it. The game is massively flawed, and could have been so much better. AND YET… AND YET the fundamentals of Persona 5 are so strong that even with this burden it’s still one of my favorite games of the year. The gang of misfits that made up the Phantom Thieves are my family and the music is divine. I hope the game spawns all of the 100 spinoff cash-ins that Persona 4 did, because I will probably get them all.

The Legeond of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: I hate open world games, because they always present a procedurally generated landscape of vacant mountains and palette swapped ninjas. You are free to go anywhere, but there is nothing to do. Until Breath of the Wild, that is, which has a marvelous curated world made with the help of the wizards at Monolith Soft. The game has three problems. When it rains, you can’t climb. Running depletes stamina, making it hard to fast travel. There are horses, but riding a horse is pointless, because you have to leave it behind to go exploring. That’s it: Everything else is perfect. Play it.

JOSEPH LUSTER (@Moldilox)

Super Mario Odyssey: Odyssey is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise Super Mario 64 made over 20 years ago. As much as I loved the Galaxy games, Nintendo went even further on Switch, providing the ideal playground for Mario and his absurdly athletic abilities. Taking control of enemies is always a pleasure, and I still haven’t uncovered half of what’s hidden within Odyssey’s jam-packed worlds.

NieR: Automata: Yoko Taro is a genius, and NieR: Automata deserves all the success and acclaim it has received since launch. There may be moments where some things don’t click just right—including the fairly repetitive combat and some dull locales—but the whole is so delightful that it’s tough to really care about those faults. The immense soundtrack is icing on this introspective, humanity-questioning cake.

Resident Evil VII: The latest entry in Capcom’s storied franchise is a return to form in many ways. Despite the perspective switch and an ever-so-slightly more grounded setup, things get buckwild pretty fast. Throw in classically stupid objectives like finding three dog heads to open an old rural house’s door and you have exactly what I want from survival horror.

Nioh: Team Ninja is back! Nioh gave me the first good taste of their sweet, sweet take on action games since Ninja Gaiden II, all with a heaping helping of FromSoftware inspiration on top. Nioh is much more complex than it appears on its surface, so even the most dedicated of players should have their hands full unraveling the various systems and making them work in each increasingly challenging scenario.

Horizon Zero Dawn: Guerrilla Games’ PS4 hit is hands-down the most gorgeous game I played all year. While the main story is worth pursuing, the thrill of the hunt is at the core of Horizon Zero Dawn. It’s always exciting, and occasionally frustrating, to run into a mechanical beast you have no hope of toppling… only to emerge triumphant! Those moments never get old, and the variety of locations makes this one the poster child for Photo Mode.

ISAAC AKERS (@iblessall)

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey: My pick for game of the year isn’t one of the big JRPG titles, but the second in a trio of understated games from Gust commemorating the Atelier series’ 20th anniversary. I was inspired to pick up the game thanks to a beautiful article written by a friend of mind, and I was delighted to find one of the most expansive, relaxing, engaging, and rewarding game worlds I’ve ever experienced. Firis isn’t the flashiest game of the year, but the way it allows you to just sink into its comfortable rhythms astounded me.

NieR: Automata: I’ve got my reservations about Automata as a story, but one thing I can give it uninhibited praise for is its ability to create vivid experiential pockets within its world. Automata is not just rich in its colorful conceptualization of its world, but also in ideas, and the blend of themes, incredible music, beautiful locals, and its tendency to bat for the emotional stands resulted in some moments that stand out as truly stunning amongst my gaming experiences of the year. The ability to create those moments, whether they last a few seconds or a few minutes, ought not to be overlooked amongst Automata’s other strengths and flaws.

Uta Macross: To balance out my unusual engagement with actual console games, I must of course return to the place I spend most of my gaming time: mobage (which I found out this year is pronounced “mo-ba-ge” and not “mob-age”). A Macross rhythm game has been a wish near to my heart for years, and with the 35th anniversary providing a clear justification for it, it finally happened. At last, I can tap my phone screen to the rhythm of “Ikenai Borderline,” “POWER TO THE DREAM,” and “Universal Bunny.” It actually wound up being a little less exciting than expected since I already listen to Macross music constantly, but a long-standing wish fulfilled is nothing to sneeze at.

Tokyo 7th Sisters: On the other side of the spectrum is a mobile game I’ve been playing for longer than I can remember – Tokyo 7th Sisters. Although I played quite a bit during the year (it was my game of choice in my hotel room during long work trips), the most rewarding part of being a fan of the game came with a wholesale update of the whole thing, from the actual rhythm game to the way gacha points are handled. All those changes have gotten me back into the game in a big way, and excited for what mobage BS the game will give me in 2018.

CALLUM MAY (@CanipaShow)

Persona 5: In 2014, I bought a custom t-shirt based on the original teaser trailer of Persona 5. It had 4 chairs on it with balls and chain attached to the legs and one white chair in the middle. It was a bit of cool symbolism for the game’s eventual themes and I was so impatient that I didn’t want to wait for the official merchandise, I wanted to make my own. When the game was released in 2017, that t-shirt had faded beyond recognition and is now just a red t-shirt with a white chair on it. Everything I love about Persona 5 has probably already been written above, but despite how many times the game was delayed and despite how much that shirt faded, it still became my favourite game ever.

Danganronpa V3: Never have I wanted a game creator to kick me in the shins more than Kazutaka Kodaka. He wouldn’t do it upon prompt, instead he’d kick me down at the most ironic and heartbreaking of times. He never does anything in halves. It’s always better, crazier and more dramatic than ever. I often promise to myself that I will pace things out, that I will try to balance work and playing through the trials of Danganronpa. But in the end, I always end up engrossed in an ever expanding spiral of mystery that delights, confuses and surprises me, sometimes even up to the early hours of the morning.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: I’ve steadily been warming to the Xenoblade Chronicles combat and world design over the past two entries, but Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the first time I’ve felt like I really need to see this through to the end. With a large, but manageable diverse world set atop titans wading through a sea of clouds, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 exists and strives with its own set of distinctive rules. The sea is made of clouds, the cloud level rises and dips because the Titans are always moving and if you’re a main character, your outfit is ridiculous. All very important rules that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 sticks to. Existing as a more streamlined version of previous iterations, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a brilliant adventure that succeeds more than it fails at keeping you on track.

NATASHA H (@illegenes)

NieR: Automata: What to say about a game where already so much has been said? Nier: Gestalt was one of my favorite games of all time, so I had big expectations for the sequel, and it easily surpassed them. Haunting, nihilistic, melancholic, and searingly human, Nier: Automata encompasses so much of what I love in a good post-apocalyptic story about androids and robots. And yet it’s so much more than that, constantly evolving on nearly every structural level possible and delivering an emotionally exhausting but satisfying game about empathy, violence, and what it means to be human. Aided by a stunning soundtrack, beautiful visuals, and fantastic voice acting, this game will hold a special place in my heart for years to come.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: I’ve always liked Zelda games, but BOTW surpassed all of my expectations for what the game could be like. Rarely has a game felt like it was tailored for me while also respecting me. The amount of things there are to explore, to experiment with, and to interact with are beyond me, and yet, 70 hours in, I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. The game invites curiosity in ways I’ve never seen, and I’ve got plans that may take up months, if not even years, of gameplay. There is something so delicately beautiful in Breath of the Wild - a world worth exploring and saving, and I can assuredly say that it’s my favorite game of the year (if not many years) alongside NieR: Automata.

Final Fantasy XV: I wasn’t sure what to expect of a game that’s been in developmental hell for almost a decade - at one point I was fairly convinced it was never going to happen. But happen it did, and while Final Fantasy XV is filled with flaws, technical and story-wise, it also has some of the most emotionally intense highs I’ve seen in a Final Fantasy game. Square Enix easily sold me on these four boys and their friendship, and I shed many tears along the way of their tumultuous and strange journey. They’re good boys, Brent.

Cuphead: I have only two things to say about Cuphead. One: The animation is sublime. Two: It is absolutely infuriating(ly addictive).

SAM WOLFE (@_Samtaro)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: I know that just about everyone else contributing to this article is going to write about this game, and rightly so; The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was spellbinding. After being delayed from 2015, to 2016, to “when it’s ready”, Breath of the Wild had a lot to live up to and yet still surpassed almost everyone’s expectations. Nintendo took a very big risk in deviating from their standard Zelda formula to give players a game that trusts them to be competent. In the first few weeks of release, I kept hearing the same thing from my colleagues playing the game “this one is really hard”, “the combat is like a puzzle,” “it’s so difficult!” Breath of the Wild doesn’t pull any punches, it expects players to meet it at its level. It allows you to get lost, it allows you to make mistakes, it allows you to wander around Hyrule for hours doing whatever you want, yet still somehow results in you having made progress.

Breath of the Wild’s bleak setting is also fresh to the Zelda series. You, Link, the hero of whatever timeline this game takes place in, have woken up one hundred years too late; the party’s over, and the bad guys won. While the NPCs you encounter still have the same Zelda charm you’d come to expect, they’re all a little fatigued. Almost no one believes you are the hero you say you are, and nobody expects things to get any better. It’s a cynical world that only you have the power to fill with hope again.

More than anything else though, Breath of the Wild rewards players for how much time they spend in the world. I think the simplicity of the final scene is brilliant, calling out players who may have sprinted towards the ending. I won’t spoil it, but I will say that when you get to the final cutscene, it’s short, it’s simple, and if you’ve spent enough time in Hyrule to remember why you started this crazy quest in the first place, it’s satisfying.

Hearthstone: Kobolds and Catacombs: Hearthstone dropped three big expansions this year, but none were as impactful and fun as Kobolds and Catacombs. A love letter to Dungeons & Dragons, Kobolds and Catacombs introduced the Dungeon Run, a solo experience where players get to build a deck out of the coolest cards the game has to offer as they progress through the kobold empire. In addition to a slew of new cards, this new way to play was made available for free, meaning you can download the game and start playing with some of the most exciting cards the Hearthstone team has ever created, all without spending a dime. Thank you, little kobold, I will take that candle.

Sonic Mania: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is one of my favorite video games. Period. The bullies who say there are no good Sonic games have simply forgotten the glory days, and who can blame them? Sonic hasn’t been doing what he does best in several years. Sonic Team themselves even forgot, throwing a bone to fans of the original games, effectively saying “if you think our Sonic games are no good, why don’t you do it?”

So they did. And it blew everyone away.

Sonic Mania is a love letter to Sonic’s Genesis era. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles returned in spectacular fashion, reminding everyone of a simple truth: it’s fun to go fast. With exceptional level design and music you’ll bop your head to, Sonic Mania succeeds where almost every Sonic game in recent memory fails: it’s fast, it’s fun, and it keeps you coming back for more. I’m not sure if a Sonic Mania 2 is in our future, but if it takes us another 13 years to get there, I’ll still lace up my running shoes when the time comes.

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That's it for Part Two of our three-part series! Be sure to check out Part One and stay tuned for PART THREE: EVERYTHING ELSE! If you're still in the mood for past CR Favorites, check out the previous years' features here:

Crunchyroll Favorites 2016 Part One Part Two Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2015 Part One Part Two Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2014 Part One Part Two Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2013 Part One Part Two Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2012 Part One Part Two Part Three

Crunchyroll News' Best of 2011 Part One Part Two

What were your favorite video games of 2017? Comment below and share with us! Remember, this is a FAVORITES list, not a BEST OF list, so there's no wrong answers!

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Peter Fobian is an Associate Features Editor for Crunchyroll, author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight, writer for Anime Academy, and contributor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

0 notes

ladytitanium · 7 years

Note

1,2,7 to 17, 19 to 23, 25 to 70

OKAY SO this got suuuuper long and I’m gonna answer it under a readmore but thank you so much for asking!

1. First game you played obsessively?

Definitely Minecraft. I got it around 2012 and played it whenever I could, although shortly afterwards I moved on to playing a lot of TF2 with some online friends.

2. A game that has influenced you creatively? Writing, drawing, etc.

TF2 and Portal 2 were the first things I ever wrote fanfic for, so I’d say those two are big and important for sure. More recently, though, Transistor and Pyre have been inspiring me to pursue more art and music.

7. Any games you have multiple copies of?

I have Portal 2 for xbox 360 and PC.

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection?

I had a copy of Link to the Past in great condition, but my ex stole that and my entire SNES so :/

9. Most regrettable purchase?

No Man’s Sky is the obvious answer but I think I have some steam games lying around that I bought and played once, or just never touched. Not sure which ones, though. Usually if I’m going to spend actual money on something, I try to make sure it’s good first.

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours?

No, but I’d like to someday.

11. Have you ever made new friends from playing video games?

Not in the sense of meeting people in an mmo or anything, but I’ve definitely bonded with people I’ve met over a mutual love of games.

12. Ever get picked on for liking games?

Nah, not really. I’ve been picked on more for not having played enough games, honestly.

13. A game you’ve never played that everyone else has?

I’ve never played Overwatch or most online competitive games, or any MMOs aside from like 5 hours of gw2.

14. Favorite game music?

Anything Darren Korb, the composer for Supergiant Games, has made. Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre OSTs will always have a special place in my heart. Honorable mention goes to the Portal 2 soundtrack.

15. If it was a requirement to get a game related tattoo, what would you pick?

I……. have a triforce tattoo…….. on my left wrist……………

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL?

I tend to like watching people play games rather than doing competitive or couch coop type things, so it’s hard to say. I used to hang out with my friends while we all did playthroughs of the Mass Effect trilogy, though, which was wonderful.

17. Ever lose a friend over a game?

Nah. Had some arguments over the Souls games, though.

19. Favorite handheld console?

3DS, definitely, although I do have some nostalgia for the good ol’ GBA.

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand?

Portal 2, although it’s been a few years since I’ve played so I might not be as familiar with it as I once was. Barring that, Stardew Valley.

21. Game that you didn’t like or understand as a kid but love now?

I can’t think of any, honestly, since I almost never played anything as a kid.

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories?

The occasional Zelda t-shirt, and my old Aperture Science tanktop. I’d wear more if I owned more.

23. The game that you’ve logged the most hours into?

TF2, I think? I used to play for hours every evening.

25. Were you ever an arcade game player?

Sadly, no. My mother thought arcades were giant wastes of time and money and would corrupt me and make me stupid.

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries?

No, I don’t get competitive much.

27. Game that makes you rage?

Any kind of roguelike makes me angry just thinking about it. I hate losing progress. Really difficult platformers make me frustrated and angry too.

28. Ever play in a tournament?

Dear god no.

29. What is your gaming set up?

Currently, none. I have a shitty, half-broken laptop.

30. How many consoles do you own?

I own a Switch and a 3DS. I have access to an XBONE though.

31. Does the 3DS and/or Virtual Boy hurt your eyes or give you headaches?

I’ve never tried a Virtual Boy, but leaving the 3D on high on my 3DS is something I’ve only done once due to the nasty headache it gave me.

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic?

I don’t think so, no.

33. Did you ever have any bootleg games or plug-n-play games?

I had a Sonic handheld game from a happy meal, does that count?

34. Do either of your parents play video games?

My dad does, a lot. Mostly MMOs. I think my mother did too, but mostly Civ, some ancient Egypt themed MMO, and Guild Wars, from what I can recall.

35. Ever work in a game store? Or do you have a favorite game shop?

I worked in a game store for about six months late last year/early this year. It’s the best job I’ve ever had.

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game?

Oh, tears, absolutely. Plenty of games have made me cry. FFXV, Persona 5, Transistor, Portal 2, the list goes on.

37. Have you played E.T. for the Atari 2600? Do you think that’s the worst game ever, or do you have another nomination?

I actually have played it! Perks of working at a game store that sells Ataris. I was utterly baffled by it, so I think “worst game ever made” is a fair title.

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like?

I really enjoy all the walking simulators/art games I’ve played. I know a lot of people say they aren’t real games or whatever but I think most of the ones I’ve played are genuinely enjoyable experiences.

39. A sequel that you would die for them to make?

...Portal 3, but with the same writers+VAs+team in general. I know that’ll never happen now but I need it like I need air.

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls?

Motion controls can be hit or miss. I think they need to be integrated well and very functional to be enjoyable. Like, wii sports and stuff? I loved it. Those tilt puzzles in the shrines in BOTW? Absolutely horrendous. As for VR, I really want to try it someday. I think it’s neat.

41. A genre that you just can’t get into?

Roguelikes, Souls-like (where the only purpose of the game is to be as difficult as possible so people who master it can be snobs about it), and any realistic online-only FPS things like Call of Duty are the three main things I will never, ever touch.

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness?

Pokemon Ruby, absolutely.

43. Ever play games when you really should have been concentrating on something else?

All through the second half of high school, tbh.

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters?

I’ve never actually gotten to play arcade games much.

45. How are you at Mario Kart?

I’m only decent at Mario Kart Wii, because I played it a lot.

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon?

Absolutely! Animal Crossing New Leaf and City Folk are games I love dearly and have spent a LOT of time on over the years.

47. Do you like competitive games?

Almost never. I only ever played TF2 with friends, and that pretty much extends to any competitive game I might play. Only with friends, and only sometimes.

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character?

So. Long.

49. In games where you can pick your class, do you always tend to go for the same type of character?

Yeah, mages are kind of my thing. I get jumpy when I have to do a bunch of melee so I tend to prefer to stand back a little. I always went full biotic in Mass Effect for that reason.

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create?

That’s a tough one. I’ve had a few concepts over the years, but none that have really stuck with me.

51. Have you ever played a game for so long that you forgot to eat or sleep?

Yeah, definitely. I lose track of time really easily if I’m absorbed in something.

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid?

All Pokemon games from gen 4+5.

53. What’s your opinion on DLC these days?

Any DLC that adds characters or plot necessary for the full enjoyment of the game should be free imo. Skins/weapons/maps/non-essential quests and missions can be behind a paywall. Like, ME3′s From Ashes DLC should have been free, and I go back and forth between whether it was cool to have Citadel and Omega DLCs behind paywalls, but all the weapons/armor/alternate appearance packs I’m totally fine with being paid DLC.

54. Do you give in to Steam sales?

Only when I have money.

55. Did you ever make someone you hated in the Sims and did mean stuff to them?

I never played any Sims games.

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests?

Never played Roller Coaster Tycoon either.

57. Did you ever play a game to 100% or get all of the achievements?

Minish Cap, I think? I tried to 100% Super Mario Galaxy but I couldn’t ever quite do it.

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick?

Oh, shit. Uh. Animal Crossing New Leaf, Pokemon Sun (or Moon), and... I can’t pick a third one. Probably something with multiplayer.

59. Do you play any cell phone games?

Yeah, but most of them are just little time-wasting puzzle games.

60. Do you know the Konami Code?

Yes!

61. Do you trade in your games or keep them forever?

I’ve never traded in a game but I might if I bought a physical copy of something I didn’t like.

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game?

Does the Switch count, since till Splatoon 2 came out I only had BOTW on it? I’ve considered getting a PS4 just for P5 and Horizon Zero Dawn.

63. Ever go to a gaming convention or tournament?

I went to GenCon a few times when I was really young but I barely remember it, and I’ve tagged along to a handful of Warhammer 40k tournaments with my dad, but that was also like 10 years ago. So no, not really.

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming?

I’ve never bought a TV or monitor myself.

65. Ever have a Game Genie, Game Shark or Action Replay? Did it ever mess up your game’s save file?

I had an Action Replay for shinies in X and Y.

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it?

No, my first phone was a Windows phone when I was 14 because my mother hated technology and wanted to control me so a phone was way too much freedom and entirely out of the question :/

67. Do you have a happy gaming-related childhood memory you want to share?

I remember the first time I beat Portal 2, sitting on the floor in front of the TV and crying tears of joy. That was pretty great.

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool?

I wanted to, but didn’t go to arcades enough.

69. In your opinion, best game ever made?

Transistor. Can’t think of a single bad thing about it, honestly. Persona 5 and Horizon Zero Dawn are near-flawless too.

70. Very first game you ever beat?

The first game I beat was Pokemon Ruby, but idk if that counts since I shared with my brother, and I think my dad had to help us beat the Elite 4 because we were young and didn’t grind enough. I took turns with Portal 2, too. Portal 1, maybe?

#anonymous #goodsola shh

0 notes

bidickgrayson · 7 years

Text

i’ve been really loving persona 5 so far, but i’ve been too busy playing it to actually write down my thoughts so far lol

i think persona 5 is going to be the first persona game i actually finish!! amazing. i got like, 65-75% through both persona 3 and 4 and haven’t played them in over a year lol....probably going to go back and restart them after i finish p5 so i can finally finish them a couple years after starting them. i can barely even remember what happens in both of them lol

the palaces are surprisingly fun?? also i’m super duper glad that safe mode is a thing, my enjoyment of the game went up a lot when i finally switched. dungeon crawling in p5 is fun, but i’ve never been all that invested in the actual fights themselves in any persona game, and to me they’re just annoying obstacles in the way of all the other stuff about the game i’m a whole lot more interested in. i honestly doubt i’ll ever play a persona game on a difficulty higher than easy

i’m also really impressed by how different each palace is?? i really thought after the first one that they’d all follow that same basic blueprint of like, you go in, fight enemies, find the items you need to progress, and you’re done, with different aesthetics for each one. but each palace has kind of a new gimmick/puzzle, so it’s not just finding the right order to pull levers or whatever, it’s figuring out how to beat an unwinnable game or interrogate a guard the right way for a password. it’s all so fresh and different and never feels like a slog because of that. and i love the connections between the palace and the person’s cognition, like “oh, this is that way because this person thinks of this thing like that”. lots of cool connections that way, lots of cool explanations for why a palace is a certain way

this game feels so cool??? cool isn’t even the proper word for it, because i don’t think it conveys the my strength of feeling enough. like, everything about the game’s design and the whole phantom thief thing makes me feel cool and competent as hell. infiltrating a palace by sneaking in and solving puzzles and beating up or sneaking past guard and making thieves tools and taking cover and jumping up and across obstacles and sending calling cards and assigning different tasks in the middle of a boss fight to accomplish something and hearing the awesome music after you’ve sent a calling card and getting contacts to help with various aspects of thieves’ work....everything down to the menus and loading screens, the whole game is just a whole lot of fun and looks rad as hell and makes me feel rad as hell playing it. it really feels like a group of thieves planning a whole involved operation, and that’s awesome

related, but damn, pretty much everything about the protag is cool as hell, he’s so slick, and i went from thinking his mask was kinda goofy to thinking it really suits him and it’s great

i love the group a lot. like, a lot. and i know that because i don’t want the game to end, and also because i’ve been listening to the (awesome awesome awesome) ost, and there are some endgame songs that make me almost queasy with how much emotion i feel from them, which is directly related to how much i love the group. and the last time i remember that kind of feeling was in me3 and the batfamily lol

like i said, i don’t remember much from p4, but i like morgana a helluva lot more than teddie lol. which i mention just because they’re basically equivalents in the role they play, and also because i genuinely very much like morgana

i love the confidants. it’s hard for me to think of a confidant i don’t like (although i haven’t done them all). i like that they’re all likable people, and i love that so much of the game is about the thieves finding commonalities/connections with each other and with other people. i can’t remember a lot of p3/4, and maybe i’ll change my mind when i replay, but i feel like at least in p3 there were some social links for people who.....i didn’t really like a whole lot. like maybe they were interesting or whatever, but not really good people. which is totally different from my experience with p5 for me, because basically everyone is a good (misunderstood/unfairly judged) person (with some problems too probably, sure)

related, but i feel like this game is very sympathetic to its cast of characters, which i really love. like with futaba and her extreme social anxiety. the game/characters don’t shame her for having a hard time with people and needing time/whatever (and they praise her when she does something hard for her that’d be easy for others, like going out in public!! love it) and that’s really nice. i feel like there’s a lot of compassion for the victims of the story, which in a game that’s all about questions of justice and doing right or whatever, really makes the story a lot better and more compelling to me. it’s not just about going and beating up the bad guy, it’s going and beating up the bad guy so there is justice for all the people the bad guy has abused. and characters can be angry at their mistreatment! really like that too.

like, there are legitimate reasons to kind of question the power to change hearts how they want, and the morality of that, but i liked that it was never like “these poor people whose hearts we changed didn’t deserve that :(”, it was more like “these villains fucking deserved whatever was coming to them, but is this the right way morally to handle these situations of injustice?” i liked that they never let abusive people off the hook for being abusive, no matter their reason

it’s been nice playing because i feel like i feel the things the story wants me to feel. which is a roundabout way of saying the game has good writing lol. i like that the game doesn’t just say “these are the good guys and that’s all there is to say about it”, i liked that there were questions of whether the phantom thieves were right or not, and while they’re the protagonists and clearly who you root for, there’s also an understanding for why some people might find it questionable that there’s an option to change a heart arbitrarily. and like, i hated when they were uber popular (and being set-up), but in-story, the characters were also a little bit wary and overwhelmed, and there was some evidence that maybe this overwhelming popularity wasn’t the best. and now that period of popularity is over, and the characters are like, yeah, that....wasn’t good, and i’m like, thank god i wasn’t the only one who thought so. there are dozens of other examples. like now that they’re back to being distrusted/ppl not believing in them, they’re all like, this is actually kinda better, and i’m like, YES, i love you best when you’re doing good things in the dark basically

and my final worry on this point of matching what the game expects me to feel versus what i actually feel was finally put to rest today! yay! i’ve pretty much always disliked akechi, and i fcking called that akechi was the gonna be a baddie (or at least not who he pretended to be) from back when he said something about pancakes when he shouldn’t have understood morgana saying it, and i’m relieved that i was right. persona loves to throw in little things that are just weird enough to make me ask “now why did that happen that way” and figure it out, which makes me feel smart when i figure something out 60+ hours before it’s revealed in game lol. and persona loves the “this seemingly benign character is not what they seem!” and that makes me 3/3 on that character in each of the persona games i’ve played. which i like, honestly. i like that the clue is there, enough so i can grab it, and feel clever for it. it’s why i like the puzzles in the game too--they’re not super challenging, but figuring them out usually makes me feel pretty clever and competent without getting frustrated, which is a great feeling

ALSO!! ALSO!!!! i love it when something the game has been teasing and building expectation for for a while turns out to be even better than i was hoping for. (which last happened with olivier in sora no kiseki sc). and the whole operation where protag gets caught and interrogated by sae?? SO MUCH BETTER THAN I THOUGHT. i fcking loved their whole ridiculously complicated and involved plan, and them figuring out akechi without him knowing, and i loved all the tiny details, and i loved that once again, hours before it was actually revealed, the game gave me enough of a hint for me to realize, oh, they were wanting protag to get captured coming into this operation....(when makoto asked sae very specifically about the interrogation room in the basement). it was really frustrating to watch the phantom thieves get set-up in the badlands of september/october, but it’s gonna make it even more satisfying when the phantom thieves outsmart their enemies (which they’re already largely have so far, and it’s GREAT!!!). shido and akechi are good villains, they’ll be satisfying to beat

because i’ve never beaten an persona game, i have no idea what to expect for the ending. are we gonna go all the way through march to finish the year? is it going to finish at school or something (??) or with a big final boss?? is the protag gonna leave after his year is up and (presumably) his name is cleared? i don’t expect the game to end in december after they take shido’s heart, because the cruise ship doesn’t really feel like a final dungeon, and i think akechi is gonna have more significance than they’re giving him right now. but idk, maybe i’m wrong! i’m kind of dreading the ending just because i want to keep planning heists and playing indefinitely, but if the ending’s anywhere near as satisfying as the whole plan to get joker captured, i’ll be happy. i’m gonna really miss the phantom thieves and the feeling i get while playing no matter what tho

#the tl;dr of this is p5 is a game about a bunch of vigilante heroes wanting to do good and help people #and that's my number one weakness forever and ever amen #('heroes are forever')#but here's this post with like a thousand words elaborating on some of my thoughts on the game so far #persona 5 spoilers /#up through november #katherine plays persona #talking to myself

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monasatlantis · 4 years

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Persona 5 Royal Final Review

After 108 hours of gameplay I finally finished Persona 5 Royal. (P5R from now on.) And it is time for my game-review. Usually, if I replay a game, I don’t review it a second time. But I think the Royal version deserves its own review.

Of course, spoiler for P5R are under the cut!

I don’t want to drag that review too long, but there are certain things that need to be said and that is what I am going to do.

First of all, my overall feeling for the game was, that I enjoyed playing it a lot more then the original P5. The things that were changed or added be it plotwise or in the battle- and gamesystem seemed small in the beginning but overall made for a better game experience and made the game more enjoyable and fun.

Of course, knowing almost all of the characters and the overall plot helped a lot to find yourself right at home relatively fast.

I really have to give a huge praise for the prologue to Atlus once more. Because damn do they know what they are doing. The one from the original was already perfect. I mean, I’ve seen my fair share of Prologues in JRPGs and also my fair share of the “This is were you are, now work your butt off to actually reach this point in the game” - ones. But none has ever be as good as the one from Persona 5. So here I was, starting P5R expecting to see the same great prologue again and got slightly panicked the moment I realized something was different. When Violet showed up, I feared it would ruin the amazingness of the original Start of the game by giving to much focus on her. Instead, the scene made the start even better. Because... at this point, we know nothing more about her then that she is the new female character from P5R and she just swoops in, saves Joker and reminds him of a promise we know nothing about. Casually mentioning she is not a part of Jokers Team too, so that at the end of this scene your like: “Okay... who are you, what kind of promise did you have with MY Joker without my consent and why are you a persona user but not part of my freaking team?” Which adds questions to the beginning of a game we actually already know. So in case you’ve watched that Prologue from the original P5 so often, that you are tired of watching Joker jump out of that window like the showoff he is, now you have a new scene that makes the beginning of the game interesting all over again. Really good job Atlus!

Now... let me tell you about my greatest fear about P5R. I know you all don’t want to hear that, but this game was literally Atlus milking the Akechi and the Akira/Ren x Akechi Fans. They knew they could sell a game twice for the same price, with relatively small changes that could have fitted into a DLC, if they just give all those fans more Akechi and more Akechi x Akira/Ren interactions. And for those who dislike Akechi and/or the ship they added Kasumi/Sumire as an alternative, being a new, interesting female character made to fit Joker in the weirdest possible way. So my greatest fear was, that P5R would be full of fanservice and nothing else but that. I feared that the Akira x Akechi ship was pushed to the absolut max (with Atlus still refusing to allow Joker to date him or any guy despite that...) and also pushing Kasumi/Sumire as the female love interest for the other side of the fandom.

Did Atlus do that? Lets say it that way... my fear was for nothing, but it was still a slight bit of fanservice for Akechi and pushing for Sumi (Kasumi/Sumire) there. It was kept in moderation tho (honestly, I’ve seen worse. Much worse. Seriously. Play Cold Steel, then you get what I mean XD) and as every game would use a trump-card like that as a selling-point at least a bit. So I do not blame Atlus for doing so as well, since, once again, it was kept in moderation.

So... about Akechi, Sumi and Maruki and what they add to the game and how they got included in the game and how it works for the game... I have to say, I think they did a really great job with adding those 3 character to the game. (Or in Akechis case, making him a real confidant...) Most of the time, when characters are added in a later version, you often can feel that those characters didn’t originally belong there and they feel like someone cut out a piece of a cake and tried to make the cake look whole again by adding a piece of a different cake, that has the same size, but still doesn’t really fit. Atlus didn’t cut the cake, they put cream on top of it XD

Lets start with talking about the good and bad of making Akechi an actual confidant. But before that, let me complain about the time-limits set for those 3 confidants. They were stressing me out! And with those time-limits, you are basically forced to focus in maxing those 3 first, so that you had barely time for your own teammate. And you have to max them, for the true ending and the third semester. So... I would have wished that wasn’t the case, but I get why it had to be... Now... please tell me I was not the only one facepalming when Akechi gave Joker a headshot and his confidant-level rose in the original game. Because it makes all those “Joker loves Akechi killing him” - jokes a lot less questionable then they should be ^^’ I felt a lot more comfortable playing billiard with Akechi instead - although I have to admit that it felt slightly weird and I was a bit uncomfortable at first. But you get used to it. And I think it also improves one certain part of the story greatly. And that is the part were the game wants to tell you that Joker and Akechi have such a great, strong, special bond. Because in the original game, they hardly ever do anything together, besides those short encounters every now and then. This time, it felt much more real for Akira and Akechi to be close, because they took the time and made the effort to actually spend time with each other and get to know each other. It also gives the player more chances to decide what to do with that traitor. And I guess new player were even more shocked now when Jokers favorite friend suddenly shot him in the head without even hesitating. It really makes the game better in a way. Especially with Akechi suddenly throwing his glove at Joker, telling him he hates him all of the sudden, when you are reaching level 8 of his confidant. It makes everything more round, when it comes to Akechi and his complicated relationship with Joker. There are no “bads” about Akechi becoming a real confidant. It was a good choice and made the game better. So in a way, Atlus wanting to make money by giving fanservice, benefited the game greatly.

Now to Maruki. He seemed to be... relatively unimportant. Honestly, if I didn’t knew I need to max him for the third semester, I probably wouldn’t have done it. Because he is just some random counselor how apparently finds Joker interesting - as many other characters do - so why should I care? Now imagine all those “blind” playing players who didn’t google how to get the third semester and true ending and wondering what they did wrong when they didn’t get it just to find out they had to max out some random confidant guy like Maruki. Those poor souls. So... is that a bad thing? No its not! You are supposed to be shocked and surprised in the third semester when you find out that this sympathetic but relativly boring confidant actually was the guy behind the fake reality. Especially after making it look like it was actually Sumis palace at first. I do have to say tho... he gave me “traitor-vibes” immediately, so I somehow saw it coming. But that is just me being wary of characters in lab coats thanks to certain games... They really made great work with that man tho. Every member of the team had counseling with him (Akechi aside) giving him the knowledge of most of their dreams and wished and problems and also making him look more sympathetic for being so friendly understanding and helpful. Even as the ruler of the fake reality, he actually had “good intentions” at the end, they were still egoistic, but he truly believed he would help people, making it hard to totally hate him and making it also understandable that the other characters didn’t hate him. Even after you want to despise him for what he did to Sumi, she herself said that without it, she might would not have made it, making it hard to hate him for it. The way he was added to the game, felt whole and never gave you the feeling that he didn’t belong there. So once again, good job!

Now... on to Sumi. She has her first encounter with Joker relatively early on in the game and you keep having scenes with her throughout the game, even if you do not do her confidant. Actually, whenever I was a bit sad that Kasumi wasn’t there, she suddenly showed up. Be it at the end of the Hawaii trip of the great scene from the school festival or her running towards Joker in Leblanc after he faked his death. You never have the feeling that she shouldn’t be as close to Joker as she is, because the game makes sure to let them have lots of interactions and encounters with each other, even outside of her confidant-scenes. They did give a hint or to of her true story too. So I wasn’t surprised when the truth came to light in the third semester. Overall I have to say they really overdid it a bit with the drama of her story, but it adds up to why Sumire is the way she is, after you force her to be herself. I was certainly sad I could only have her as my teammate so late in the game tho. Her powers are really great. And it it also a bit depressing if you want to date her (whish the game obviously wants you to do...) and have to wait until almost the end of the game to finally be able to do so. For a month at best no less. all those dates you missed... oh well, dating her is cute at least. I do have one big complain about her character tho. In this totally awkward scene were she was sitting in a Café with Joker and Akechi (or was I the only one feeling awkward sitting there with Boyfriend on the one and Girlfriend on the other side? ^^’) when Akechi - that sneaky bastard - asked her about the Phanthom Thieves she said she doesn’t think its right to count on them, that people should solve their problems themselves and not rely on others so much. Which is right on one hand. I mean, it was great foreshadowing. At some point people really just expected the Phantom Thieves to solve all their problems making way for their great downfall when they couldn’t meet the high expectations. BUT Sumi was the last of all the characters who had the right to say something like that. From the beginning as Kasumi, to the End as Sumire... she always relies on Joker for giving her strength, hope, motivation and a reason to fight and live and get stronger. I doubt she would have managed to overcome her trauma without him. So how did she solve and of her problems herself without always relying on others? I am sorry, but she was not the right person to say that. (But at least, after realizing Akira/Ren was Joker she immediately felt bad about talking not so nice about his team infront of him - although Mr-Sneaky-Bastard set this up on purpose so he should be the one apologizing here...) Anyway. Aside from the scene were the PT fought the god, were she was missing for some reason, she was added very well into the story and made a good addition to the team at the end. She earned her place in the game and made for a nice alternative dating-partner.

Finally... I wanna talk about the damn third semester. Because after all the work and stress we went to to get there... it was a bit of a letdown for me. Tho the start was a shocker with everything that happened, it dragged on and on and on and on and on and on and on. You go into the palace after having absolutly no real freetime between the final boss from the original game and this new final bosses palace. Here in this palace, you lose Kasumi, then you are forced to go out of the palace, just so you can walk around to watch your friend be happy for days with the game making it unnecessarily hard and time-consuming for you by refusing you to use insta-travel for no apparent reason. Then you go back to the palast, save Sumire and are forced to get out of it again. Then you go back in, are forced to go back out again, then you are forced to go to Mementos and go through all the new stupid levels there because otherwise you can’t continue with the palace. Then you go back to the palace AGAIN which seems to never end and has many strong enemy immune to physical attacks because saving SP is a total unnecessary thing in this immensely huge palace. And when you finally almost reached the end of the damn palace you are forced to make a stupid puzzle. URG! Now, you are finally through with the palace, now you have an immense amount of freetime, which still isn’t enough to max many more confidants especially not if you also want to use this last chance to max Sumi. And at this point, it just feels like enough. The game is going on for too long. It has to end. And yet, the final boss, just like this final palace and the third semester goes on and on and on and on and on. Every time you think you have beating him, he rises again and again and again and again. And was that fist-fight with Joker really necessary at the end?

Now that we are officially talking about the third semester... lets also talk about Akechi (again) and also some plotholes. So Akechi is like... having multiple personalities in the last part of the game. One time, he is an absolute bloodthirsty asshole and the next time he is your worried teammate. I mean... how did we go from: “Save your girlfriend yourself, Joker, because if I handle this, she will end up dead.” to Akechi stopping Sumi from running towards Dr.Maruki to keep her save from falling debris? I guess in the end being part of Jokers team finally got to him XD So... Akechis existence in the third semester is a huge problem for the plot. Despite the intentions of the true ending, Akechi is believed to be dead and only lives on because Maruki brought him back so he can have a second chance for a happy live with Joker. That would mean that he was made up by Marukis fake reality to fulfill either Jokers wish or Akechis wish. BUT the moment everyone else of the team realizes they were in a fact reality, that what they had and did wasn’t real, it was gone. Mona becoming a cat again. Futubas mother was gone. The moment both Akira and Akechi knew that Akechi wasn’t real, he should have vanished, but he didn’t. Now lets say the reason he didn’t vanish, was because he was actually still alive in the real world (maybe in some sort of coma or something, which would explain his memory problems, because then he wasn’t made up by Maruki, but just got pulled out of whatever state he was in in reality...) then it is still a plothole why nobody, not even Maruki himself didn’t wonder why everyone elses true reality came back when they realized the truth but Akechi still stayed there until the fake reality was gone. I think in the end, Atlus didn’t fully think that truth and messed it up a little bit. Also... in Kasumis case. It is said that when people called her “Sumire” she just heard what her changed cognition wanted to hear, which was that people called her Kasumi. BUT if only her cognition was changed, why didn’t she end up in a psychiatry after claiming that her little sister Sumire is dead and that she herself is Kasumi? It doesn’t make any sense, if only her own cognition changed. Once again, not thought through in the end, I think.

Anyway... all in all it was a really good and enjoyable game. I gave it 9 out of 10 points.

#p5r spoilers #P5R mona version review

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