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rallamajoop · 4 months

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Translating the original RE8 trial scene storyboard

RE8’s bonus DLC concept art pack includes a couple of pages of an early storyboard for the trial scene, dating to back when Miranda was still going to be a foreign researcher rather than a village native, and Ada Wong was still part of the cast. Though the text is all in Japanese, I had a crack at translating it ‒ it makes for a fascinating comparison to the finished game.

Images and translations are under the cut below – but here’s the dot-point version of how this older storyboard compares to the finished one.

Instead of Miranda, the trial is overseen by a masked figure called only ‘shaman’ (祈祷師). Instead of lycans, the trial is attended by numerous villagers, all eager to see Ethan punished.

This may be the big one: the shaman claims an ‘Adam-sama’ has been angered by Ethan’s (unspecified) crimes. My best guess at this mysterious ‘Adam’ is that it might be a name for the megamycete. Whoever he is, all the 'Eve' connotations of Eva/Eveline (and even the Rose flasks) suddenly start to sound a whole lot more significant.

Even here, the trial is dominated by Dimitrescu and Heisenberg fighting over who gets Ethan – or at least who gets his body, after his execution. Dimitrescu still wants his blood, while Heisenberg presumably wants him for soldat-material. Moreau briefly makes his own bid, but he just wants to eat Ethan.

Donna’s one act is to apparently stop time at a crucial moment to speak directly to Ethan without anyone else hearing – though this seems to be an illusion she creates while contacting him psychically. No sign of Angie, who probably isn’t part of the game yet.

Rather than escaping through Heisenberg’s gauntlet, Ethan is rescued by Ada Wong (disguised behind a plague mask). I’m guessing Heisenberg’s role as pseudo-ally hadn’t fully developed while Ada was still supposed to be involved.

Conflict between the lords seems to be framed more as conflict between separate houses/families. Heisenberg makes a reference to ‘us Heisenbergs’ (perhaps this is from the time when his mother, father and twin brother were also supposed to be characters?) and Moreau to his ‘Kuku-family’.

Though the name ‘Heisenberg’ does appear, he’s mostly called ‘Geek’, while Moreau is ‘Half-fish-man’ (半魚人), and Donna is simply 'Spirit' or 'Ghost' (心霊). Lady Dimitrescu is the only character who is actually called that (though it’s mostly abbreviated to just ‘lady’). I could not tell you why a Japanese dev team would decide that ‘geek’ was a good moniker for their heavy-metal-Frankenstein-wannabe, but here we are. (Note that most of the game files associated with Heisenberg are still labelled ‘geek[something]’, so clearly this was a moniker that stuck. Donna’s files are almost all called ‘ghost[something]’. Moreau and Dimitrescu mostly get shortened/mangled into 'moro' and 'domi'.)

Heisenberg and Dimitrescu actually come to blows over Ethan in this version, with Heisenberg launching his hammer at her and seemingly killing her, or at least blowing her away. But I think we can take it as read that even in this version, she'll show up okay and be back to torment Ethan later.

Oh, and did I mention this little addendum at the end which hints at Miranda doing some kind of surgery on Chris? WTF?

Standard disclaimer for all my Japanese translations: I’m nothing like fluent, and rely on online dictionaries for a lot of harder vocabulary. Corrections from anyone better qualified are welcome.

Okay, on to the actual translations! I'll include the full pages as we get to them, but I'll also break them down into smaller chunks so I can share and translate smaller chunks as we go through.

Page 1

[Ethan wakes up to find he can't move because his handcuffs are chained to the floor]

[Ghost-nobles and villagers buzzing in the church]

[Banging noise as shaman bangs his staff]

Shaman: "Everyone, quiet!"

[Church falls silent]

Shaman: "I have heard from each of the lords. This man's crime threatens the very foundations of our family! Lord Adam is furious! To allow this man to live will bring disaster upon the village! Only his death will appease Lord Adam's anger!"

[Cheering from the crowd]

Lady Dimitrescu: "In that case, after the execution, the Dimitrescu family shall receive the victim. My daughters haven't had nearly enough blood to drink of late."

Geek (Heisenberg): "Oi, wait a minute. From what I've heard, you witches have had it your own way long enough."

["Geek" burns Ethan's hand with a cigar]

Geek: "Us Heisenbergs will be taking this one, got it?"

[Ethan shrieks in pain]

Lady: "Didn't you have several victims sent to you just the other day?"

[Half-fish-man (半魚人) walks up to the Geek]

Half-fish-man (Moreau): "Oh, grant him to my Kuku-family, I.. I want to break him open and eat his insides!" (Note: I think Moreau's actually saying something even more colourful here, but I'm having trouble translating it)

[He approaches Ethan, parasites emerging from under his hood]

["Geek" halts him, brandishing his hammer]

Half-fish-man: [Groaning noise]

Lady: "I will not allow you two to do as you please!"

Geek: "Hm, how to settle this?"

Half-fish-man: "Oh, oh…!"

[Rising noise of cursing onlookers]

[Geek raises his iron hammer]

Page 2

[The moment he throws his hammer at Lady Dimitrescu, a halucination begins and time seems to stop. Direction and focus of camera fits the spirit]

Ghost (Donna, in a voice no-one else can hear): "….(You… have summoned him… receive your reward…)"

[Reality returns]

[The hammer pierces Lady D. and blows her away, part of the church collapses. Panic as villagers fall or die]

Geek: "Don't worry. Your corpse will become my plaything."

[A mysterious masked figure appears and fires three shots into Heisenberg, five into the shaman]

Masked figure: "Run!"

[Cuts the chain holding Ethan to the floor]

Geek: [getting up] "..what the…?"

Shaman (still full of arrows) yells to the villagers: "What are you doing! Don't let them escape! After him!"

Masked figure: "This way!"

[Still handcuffed, Ethan runs through passages before finally making it outdoors]

Page 3

Masked figure: [while reloading crossbow] "Your daughter is alive. Go get her back, okay?"

Ethan: "What are you…"

[Masked figure sees someone coming from behind] "No time, go!"

[Ethan screams as he's thrown over the railing]

[And here endeth the storyboard]

Page 3 Addendum

This brings us to the latter half of Page 3, which contains only a single column of panels. Remaining space features an extra half-page of Miranda in her original foreign-scientist incarnation, pictured with what I assume were some of her experiments. There's some text on these too ‒ hand-written rather than typed, which made it a right bastard to figure out. But I had a crack anyway, because even at a skim-read it had me going, "wait, does that say the monster is Chris?"

Yep, it does. The captions (as best I could make them out) read "Miranda's paranormal organism experiment" (奇生体の実験) and "After plastic surgery on Chris' face" (クリスの顔に整形後).

This only raises so many more questions. Is Chris actually working with Miranda, or has she captured him for experiments? Is she repairing Chris' face after some horrific accident? Is she altering some monster to make it look like Chris Redfield? Or ‒ in a far more entertaining possibility ‒ was this meant to be an in-game justification for why RE7's Chris looks nothing like he does in RE8?

I have no answers for you, but you can really feel how much this game changed in development just from these little glimpses of what might have been.

#Resident Evil Village #Karl Heisenberg #Lady Dimitrescu #Mother Miranda #Donna Beneviento #Salvatore Moreau #Chris Redfield #Ada Wong #meta #RE lore #Resident Evil #cut content

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rakkiankh · 2 years

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So this is a sequel to this post I did about Claude's supports in Three Houses. I've been compiling as much information about his backstory as I can since it wasn't as fleshed out as Dimitri and Edelgard's, and with the release of Three Hopes a lot more has been revealed about it.

I'm also including things that were revealed in developer interviews and the Cindered Shadows dlc that I just never added to the previous post.

Claude's actual name is Khalid, and he is the youngest known prince of Almyra. Despite having at least one older sibling he's the king's chosen heir

Claude's only known sibling is his older half brother Shahid, who openly hates him

Claude's father is not named and is referred to exclusively as the King of Almyra

Claude's mother is named Tiana von Riegan

Claude's uncle was named Godfrey von Riegan

Claude's grandfather was named Oswald von Riegan

Shahid is clearly desperate to gain his father's favor so he can be the next king of Almyra, but through his poorly thought out strategies and blatant want to start a war with Fodlan its also made quite clear he's a bad fit

Nader says that the King is very obvious in his favoritism, and that Claude is his clearly his favorite son. It's definitely contributed to how much Shahid hates his brother

When Claude first showed up to Fodlan it was completely out of the blue and at minimum all he had was a letter to Judith from his mother asking her to take care of him. Whether Oswald knew where Claude came from is uncomfirmed

It is confirmed that when he left he likely only told his mother and possibly Nader where he was going, because according to Nader the reason why Shahid was able to attack the border without interference is that the King has been busy worrying himself sick trying to figure out where Claude went

According to Nader, when he and the King were younger they used to sneak across the border and travel around Leicester to have a good time

A nameless npc states there is a story of the daughter of a certain noble falling in love with an Almyran prince during one such escapade, who then abandoned her house to return to Almyra with him and become his queen (this npc also says she doesn't believe it's true which appears to be the general consensus)

Almyra's terrain is made up of prairies, deserts, and mountain ranges

According to a nameless npc, the majority of Western Almyra speaks the same language as Fodlan, and even lacks a notable change in accent. Eastern Almyra mostly speaks is own separate language

Almyra has giant merchant ships that they use to trade with other countries, while Leicester doesn't. The Golden Deer manage to use a few in the war because apparently Nader just stuck the paperwork in the King's face while he was half asleep and he didn't even notice what he was signing

@jugdraldefender pointed a few things i missed in the tags so I'm editing them in, along with some others I forgot

After the chapter where Claude either leaves or is killed (Azure Moon and Crimson Flower specifically) an assassin can be found in Abyss that will tell Byleth about how his target was a prince that either got away or was killed, depending on your choice

During an optional paralogue in Golden Wildfire, Claude tells Judith that he's the Prince of Almyra. She takes it rather well and even stops calling Claude 'boy'

While most characters believe Claude's cover story that he's an offshoot from house Reigan who just happened to inherit a crest, Judith, Holst, and Balthus all could tell he was Tiana's son and comment on it several times

Outside of the optional paralogue the only one who ever figures out Claude's other side of the family is Balthus, who researches it for Count Gloucester. He never shares this information with him, but he does get Claude to promise to reintroduce Balthus to Tiana so he can get some closure over his first crush in exchange for his silence. Claude comments that he wonders if his father will get the chance to kill Balthus before Tiana does it herself

#fire emblem #fire emblem warriors three hopes #fire emblem three hopes #fire emblem warriors #fire emblem three hopes spoilers #fire emblem three houses #fe3h #fe3hopes #fewth #few3h #claude von riegan #khalid von riegan

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miragold123 · 2 months

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spicy take time: Ace Attorney 5 is not THAT bad

Dual Destinies: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly -- An Opinionated Review (not spoiler free, hehe)

As I was progressing through the series, I noticed that fans really seemed to dislike Dual Destinies, so as I finished Apollo Justice, I was worried about what I was going to come across and, it wasn't terrible. I've begun to replay some of the game and compile some thoughts.

The Good

Characters

Whether it be the complicated, the quirky, or the downright enjoyable to be around, Dual Destinies has all sorts of new characters to fit this bill. Some of my favorites include:

Athena Cykes -- The newbie lawyer with a loud and colorful personality and a neat little game mechanic involving her being able to hear emotions Simon Blackquill -- The prosecutor on death row who's very… persuasive (why does he get to have a sword?) "Bobby Fulbright" -- The game's eccentric detective. While he's no Dick Gumshoe or Emma Skye, he actually managed to grow on me, making the twist that the final antagonist was disguised as him the entire time all the more impactful to me.

Some other characters that I really enjoyed: Juniper Woods Jinxie Tenma Aura Blackquill Orla Shipley (the orca)

And some of my favorite puns, for fun: Candice Arme Robin Newman Sasha Buckler

The Introductory Case

Case 5-1 is one of my favorite introductory cases after 2-1, AAI2-1, and TGAA1-1. Its twists and turns had me on edge the entire time. I've seen some crazy shit in Ace Attorney -- exorcisms, cross-examining animals, children that are victims of murder attempts -- but a terrorist bombing was not something I would expect, weirdly enough.

I also think it's fascinating how it's the only intro case to span over multiple days and the second to chronologically take place after the main filler cases (after AAI1-1).

And I really like how it ends by leaving these two questions in the back of my mind: "What's wrong with Apollo?" "Who exactly is Athena?"

Prosecutor Blackquill

Out of all of the prosecutors in the series, Blackquill has one of my favorite concepts. The idea of a prosecutor being able to continue his job while awaiting the death sentence for a crime he did not commit, but rather, took the fall for is just soooo… AAAAAAA. I love it. How he also utilizes psychological mind games opposite to Athena's own.

I was originally terrified of Blackquill and his unique "Silence!" callout, but as case 5 progressed, I actually almost cried learning Simon's true colors. How he willingly went to prison to protect a young Athena and Athena's mother, Metis', work, refusing to accept help despite Athena's and Aura, his older sister's, pleas. He was genuinely willing to be executed for the sake of protecting Athena.

Athena and Apollo's relationship, Apollo's Skepticism, and Athena's Trauma

Throughout the course of cases 2 and 3, it was demonstrated how Apollo and Athena grew to trust each other. To me, they gave off sibling energy, which was made even better by the fact that, in Greek mythology, Apollo and Athena are siblings (half-siblings, but siblings nonetheless).

So when Apollo started feeling skeptical towards Athena regarding the whole Clay situation, it kinda hurt, Apollo even willingly wearing a bandage over his eye to prevent himself from perceiving Athena's suspicious ticks. (I love this concept and wish more could have been done it.) And Athena had a past of her own that wasn't helping the situation that she herself wasn't even sure of, traumatized by the idea that she might have killed her own mother.

This is what I would say to be Dual Destinies' strongest feature.

The Phantom

Like I've mentioned before, the twist of "Fulbright" being the final antagonist really got to me. And his whole breakdown with him being in a mad panic, questioning who he really was before getting sniped, has to be one of my favorite breakdowns in the entire series (second to the exorcism)

Turnabout Reclaimed

The concept behind this DLC case is a fascinating one. The defendant being an… uhm… orca and the murder being an accident makes this case really unique.

3D Models

While the models take a bit to get used to, I think, ultimately, they weren't a terrible idea. I love the sprites but there are some things that the models did that the sprites couldn't -- and vice versa. And I believe it was a great gateway into what we got with The Great Ace Attorney and Spirit of Justice.

The Bad

Phoenix's Role

I have problems with Phoenix in this game in general. His model, his voice, but overall, I think the biggest downside about him in this game is his role. How him losing his badge was basically ctrl-z'ed and he's back to basically steal the spotlight. His role in Apollo Justice was great. He was there, but not on the front lines, helping Apollo from the side. I was hoping that, with the introduction of Athena, she'd get help from him like Apollo from Kristoph in his own game or Phoenix from Mia in the first game, rather than being essentially sidelined herself.

Yes. Dual Destinies is a Phoenix Wright game, but with how much focus it gives to Apollo and Athena and their… Dual Destinies… it's a bit frustrating with him in the picture as much as he is.

Turnabout Academy

I don't believe in the "3rd Case Syndrome" that goes around in the fanbase (4-3, 6-3, AAI2-3, and TGAA2-3 were pretty good). However… replaying Dual Destinies, I can't bring myself to replay this case. The concept was okay, but, that's all I can really say. The characters were… eh? I like Junie, Robin, and Mirriam, but Hugh is insufferable and what they did with Klavier was… (I don't wanna be harsh but)… ew. How Robin was treated before revealing she was a girl, was kind of gross (in the initial 2013 release). Overall, it was an… okay case. I don't really have much else to say about this case other than I didn't really enjoy it.

Turnabout Reclaimed

I love the concept, but that's about it. I had a bit of trouble staying awake while playing this one. It felt a little reminiscent of 1-5, which best sums up my feelings about it. The characters were okay and the idea is great, but this case is just… there.

The Ugly

Main Menu

That menu is boring. There's nothing... here. At least previous releases had the gall to put an image in the background, whether it be a courtroom or silhouettes of the main characters. I can't tell if that's supposed to be a bulletin board or a closeup of a basketball, but it's likely neither of those are right.

Voices

I understand replacing the older VA's because of cutscenes and all that, and I'm okay with Apollo's new voice, but when it comes to the other characters with NEW voices, they kind of miss the mark. Apollo and Phoenix sound virtually identical, Klavier sounds… wrong, and I don't think anyone told Edgeworth's VA that he's only 34 because he sounds twice that.

3D Models

When it comes to characters being translated into 3D, that's where the models miss. Apollo's, and Klavier's models are … not the best and Phoenix's is actually disgusting. They got a much-needed update with Spirit of Justice, but they don't compare to the beauty of their sprites.

-----

Overall, I personally think that Dual Destinies is one of the weakest in the series, but it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It's different and takes a bit to get used to, but it's fun :)

#had this thought in my mind for a year and decided to finally get it out #i am aa5's biggest defender #ace attorney #aa #aa5 #dual destinies #phoenix wright #apollo justice #athena cykes #simon blackquill #bobby fulbright #random thougts hehe

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praise-suns-and-chill · 27 days

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On another post a few comments, mine included, had a little chat about what Mashita's thought proccess could have been, during the Confession in the second game.

So I decided to write a little One Shot about it!

This includes Spoilers for Case 7 in Death Mark 2, as well as the DLC of Death Mark 1.

THIS?

"I'm not gonna be surprised by anything that comes out of his damn mouth."

Well.

Fuck.

He was really eating those words now, huh.

He could only stare with eyes ripped open as Yashiki explained, his words as trembling as his hands, his eyes avoiding everyone else.

In fear of judgement?

Probably.

Shame?

Definitely.

This was wrong.

This was wrong on every level.

He was never one to stick to rules but this?

MURDER???

Mashita couldn't even speak at first as Yashiki just continued explaining. No, there had to be something else, every second now he would mention that they did find that girl again alive, there had to be more, there had to be.

This was wrong.

But there wasn't.

There wasn't and he looked as guilty as ever. Having just confessed.

To murder.

"You must be kidding me."

Words uttered in pure disbelief.

This wasn’t happening.

There is no way.

"To think you'd kill someone..."

Actually, he didn't want to think about that. Not a single bit.

Yes, everyone had the potential to murder, he knew that better than most, but this was Yashiki. Compassionate to a stupid, suicidal degree Yashiki.

"Don't blame him for that! He was controlled by the Departed!"

Oh great, the brat was talking. Mashita glared at her out of reflex alone.

Why the fuck was she so defensive anyways? Nobody would react like that after their best friend just got killed, what kind of weirdo was this girl??

"Insanity or not, murder is still murder", he snapped back, before his eyes stared back at Yashiki.

He felt more like he was the one going insane, his mind completely elsewhere as old training just kicked in.

It was the only thing that made sense right now.

"Article 199, a person who kills another person is punished by the death penalty or life imprisonment or for a definite term of no less than five years."

He felt sick of even thinking of this as an option. He rattled down those words out of pure habit, as he had many times before, in the Academy back in the day and his job later.

"I'd slap the cuffs on you myself if I had them with me."

He should, but he wouldn't. Why was he saying that, he wouldn't, because Yashiki would never kill anyone.

God fucking damnit.

His heart was racing as fast as his mind, his entire body tense, ready to spring at the threat and yet violently rejecting the very notion that there was a threat to begin with.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong, wrong, fuck!

But Yashiki?

Everyone else, maybe.

He'd believe Shou, not planned but in affect, too impulsive. Ai too, stronger than she looked, against a stalking fan maybe. Daimon? Doctor, there was always a chance of malpractice. Yasuoka? That old hag definitely had a skeleton in her closet somewhere, if only because she dug it up once because the bones had some weird powers.

The man who watched the only friends he had get attacked?

The man who watched his friends get controlled to attack him?

The man who watched half his friends get cursed into a coma and nearly die.

The man who was nearly killed himself by the same goddamn spirit.

The same man who after ALL THAT, still trembling in shock and trauma, barely aware of his own body, STILL refused to think about himself, just for fucking ONCE.

The same man who looked at a dead spider, the remains of that goddamn spirit and still decided to show compassion to it before ANYTHING else-!

...

Oh.

Of course.

And his body instantly relaxed, as did his mind.

It didn't make any sense, possession or not. He would never do it. So he didn't.

"...Let me just say one thing."

It wasn't like him to get distracted. He had nearly forgotten what case they were even working on.

"The law only applies if the victim is human."

#death mark 2 #death mark #shibito magire

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alexissara · 1 month

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Sonic Fighting Game Dream Roster!

Me and My Metamore messed around to make a sonic fighting game roster and I wanted to share kinda like the roster and the thought behind it and stuff for fun since this was a silly little fun thing. Our limitations where only including canon sonic characters in the main roster, the roster was going to be 24 characters because that was the base Dragon Ball Fighters Z roster size at launch, we were assuming the game would be an another Arcsystem Works Tag Fighter. I elected not to go for an even gender ratio like I normally would since we were aiming for a realistic roster but obviously when between viable options I favored a woman. 10/24 of the base roster are women so pretty close to half and like do Mecha Sonic, Chaos or Omega even really have genders? This game would also be one that focused on a more modern control style given Sonic is intended for children but also that modern controls are becoming simply the norm.

The team play is important for this game since sonic is not really a fights alone guy. Since Sonic 2 Sonic has been a serious about working together to overcome evil and it's been that way since with Sonic 3 adding another playable friend, Knuckles Chaotics having a whole squad, leading to the eventual adventure games and that eras bigger rosters. Like Skullgirls you could pick between having 1, 2 or 3 people in your team and have the characters enhanced on the smaller team number but lose access to the full sweet of abilities being teamed up gives you.

It's one thing to make a roster but another thing to try and think about how the characters would play. I have minor concepts on many of the playable characters, one requirement we had for putting someone on the not DLC part of the roster was having an idea of how they played.

Sonic obviously establishes the Foundational parts of the game being a rush down character to stay true to the archtype but one with a bit more resilience, he'd have just a tiny bit of everything to teach people while staying true to the speed focus. Blaze gets a mild zoning game with fire balls but is more aggressive being more of a combo focused character with the ability to further her combo potential with her blazing blade super similar to Juri in Street Fighter. Surge would be a character who was able to damage herself to increase damage to others, reckless in her desire to prove her strength and get out of people's shadows. Metal Sonic would play like sonic with a few different moves and a tankier set up but lower combo potential. Shadow would have the most advance moveset of the rushdown characters. having tricky moves that result in high pay offs but require solid execution.

The Balanced characters present most of the games features in the movesets. Honey the Cat being from Sonic Fighters makes her the perfect character to be the most basic fighting game character having basically just Ryu's moveset with no frills but some additional girly flare to give her some personality. Trip is a transformation character like Hellsing from Blaze blue with her dragon mode providing her a more aggressive style but a bigger hit box and body while still working off the more fundamental gameplay. Tails would have a bit of it all but with a bit of a stronger zoning game as a charge character. Emerald being from Sonic's second fighting game and copying movesets would be like Seth from Street Fighter 5 and other similar characters giving them a diverse moveset using moves from other characters.

Amy Rose would be a perfect midrange character wanting to not be too close or too far, her hammer being the distance away she wants to be. Tangle would have some command grabs she could preform further away and in general she wants to be fighting with just a bit more room than the average fighter. The deadly six are summon type character who work at any range but average out to about wanting the same distance as Amy and Tangle. Each of the six bring different abilities to the table similar to Captain Ginyu in DBFZ.

Chaos is a tricky grappler with a lot of strange movement tools. Big the Cat is our big time joke character where he is just trying to find froggy in battle and your just in his way accidently getting boddied by his long distance fishing hook grabs and friendly hugs as Froggy is set up on opponents allowing Big to hit with bigger damage. Omega is a more classic big body, get the fuck out my way or I'll kill you zoner with a weak projectile it can use to discourage running away from him.

Rouge is our iconic trap setter allowing her to steal wins from opponents who aren't ready to deal with the puzzle game she throws before them which includes inflicting some debuffs that remove options from your opponents for a particular amount of time like tagging out. Starline has his warp topaz for movement allowing him a more zoner focused gameplay style with a command grab that is styled after his hypnosis and otherwise his inventions being little traps on the field to control where the foe is and their approach. Nights and Cosmo would be characters more focused on the assist role creating items that their team mates can use with buffs. Nights would have a higher risk reward where the opponent could also use them where Cosmos would be locked to benefiting the player. Finally Eggman is tanky with all the traps and annoyances of a zoner. He can't do big damage but he is hard to take down and there is probably a boss version of him that is even more annoying.

Fang/Knack had the name sniper, their an archetypical zoner. Whisper's whispeon allows her to customize her shots by switching which whisp she has loaded into the gun, this allows her a diverse arrow of zoning options allowing her to always keep her opponent guessing on what is the best way to approach her. It's no use trying to beat Silver when he can yet you away to keep his ideal distance having a weak command grab that allows him to toss his foe full screen and keep up the aggressive physic assault.

Cream is our Puppet character with a special twist on being a puppet character with a puppet that evolves over time from Cream to Cream + Cheese to Gemerald building a meter to have a stronger puppet to use but stage 2 having some reasons to use it over stage 3. That can be paired with one last appearance in her ultimate attack allowing her mother Vanilla to get mad at the foe for attacking her daughter and finish off the opponent in a motherly rage. Knuckles would function like most boxing characters only having punches and being a bit of a bully in battle who is hard to handle but his special ability to glide would allow her far more air mobility then most other characters in the game. Espio would be a classic ninja character with all that entails having lots of moving and plenty of tricks to serve. Jet wouldn't be fighting alone coming in swinging with his crew able to dive in from the air like a hawk and take opponents into large air combos where on the ground he is pretty lacking.

While this is typically the type of thing reserved for Youtube videos but I felt like idk writing out this kind of thing and if you enjoyed it please let me know. I had a blast doing it and I would love to make more dream rosters with my lesbian edge where I am gonna favor women. I think these are just fun ways to nerd out about a series I enjoy and I'd love to go even more in depth I stopped myself from being extra indulgent on this one but I'd have loved to go into how I imagine a single player mode would work, talk more about universal mechanics and everything else.

All I want is some feedback if you enjoyed it but if you wanted to I am always happy to get support on making my own original queer art over on Patreon and Ko-fi which includes my current ambition to make an SRPG along with my for sure going to happen TTRPG projects.

#Sonic #sonic the hedgehog #idw sonic #sonic the fighters #Sonic The Fighters 2 #Sonic Fighting Game #Dream Roster #surge the tenrec #whisper the wolf #tangle the lemur #knuckles the echidna #tails miles prower #amy rose #honey the cat #emerlad #emerl the gizoid

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emblemxeno · 4 months

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This ask is going to be kind of long, but your platform is really the only platform where I feel comfortable having this conversation. You don’t have to post this if you don’t want to, I won’t feel any sort of ways about it, but I’ve got to get this feeling out of my system. The way the fandom treats Fates compared to the other games in the franchise, makes them completely unbearable. I don’t think I can forgive the fandom for it even if they did somehow start giving Fates its overdue credit. Treating its fans like shit for almost a decade is unacceptable. I don’t know how so many people can justify their behavior in regards to this game. The fans of this game have literally done nothing to the fandom other than love it unapologetically, and we still get condescended to about it. You dare offer your opinion about a take in the series and it’s like, “You’re a Corrin fan, you have no right to talk about anything.” I have never seen a group of fans that have to literally HIDE the fact that they cherish a game in order to appease its larger community, it’s so disgusting. I don’t care if I’m being harsh with this ask because I have witnessed and dealt with this condescension for years. I don’t care to spare any feelings at this point, and I think the fandom certainly doesn’t deserve any of our grace either. Calling out the elitism, cliquish behavior, and hypocrisy is the right thing to do no matter how much some people soften/normalize these issues.

Hope you don't mind me posting this anon.

It's certainly an unfortunate situation. While Fates has its problems--I say this as a diehard fan--I agree in that it's in a singular situation where it's just met with derision initially and only given praise in backhanded manners. Think "Fates sucks but it does have great X and Y" and including an obligatory compliment towards Conquest. Which, don't get me wrong, Conquest is fucking amazing in the gameplay department, but half the time I'm just like... all right, I think you're just pretending to like anything of Fates just because you feel obligated to like one of the most acclaimed gameplay centered entries in the series.

There was just the perfect storm of controversy and unmet expectations that people had towards the game: the woefully inaccurate conversion therapy accusations, the romance options, the sales model of having multiple versions, the story not being liked, Corrin not being liked, the cast being seen as tropey, the fanservice hatred, etc. Its reputation from pre-release to nearly a decade after release is just a swamp of negativity.

And, in risk of sounding defensive and deflective, Awakening did most of this first. Awakening used being gay as a constant punchline especially in DLC (but people are reclaiming that now as something to be praised cuz of course), Awakening had problematic romance options (Nowi, any of the children but especially Nah, Donnel, Ricken, and Lissa are still underage, Aversa is technically your sister and she's written in the M!Robin support to tease that aspect, Tharja in her entirety), Awakening's cast was the de facto tropey cast before Fates, its story was criticized for the same things Fates was (poorly explained lore and world, pacing issues, convenient plot devices, pandering to a previous game, and had its exclusive issue of being inconsistent with Archanea's lore), Robin was criticized for being an all loved player insert with too many powers/importance, it started the oddly designed armor designs for fanservice reasons, and while it didn't have multiple versions, it was the first game with a ton of paid DLC.

Don't get me wrong, I love Awakening to pieces. But that game started pretty much everything Fates gets shit for. Yet it gets retrospective love or at the very least a pass cuz... Fates does it worse/more and because it was gonna be the last game in the series? Wouldn't it be fair then, to give slack to Fates for following in the footsteps of the most well received and successful game in the series by replicating it while trying to improve on what some felt were lacking? But I guess at that point, people think it utterly failed in improving on the story and characters so :/

I think you have a point regarding Fates fans as well. We're pretty much the only FE fans that get unironic negative labels, at least by casual aduiences. Apparetnly we're "coomer, porn brain freaks who don't know what good games are." Though, that's about it in terms of the elitism thing, otherwise I think it's just fans of older games being out off by the direction newer games have gone, and most make no distinction and criticize all of Awakening, Fates, 3H, and Engage. Still, Fates fans are the ones getting the most accepted flak.

To end this off, let's be honest: If Fates is the example most people give of the worst game in the series, FE fans have it pretty fucking good lmao.

#fire emblem fates #fire emblem discourse

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windchimesgames · 3 months

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End of Year Recap + Plans for 2024

Hey everyone!

Belated Happy New Year to everyone! I know this is a very late end of year recap 😂Unfortunately, the past week ended up much busier for me than expected, so I could only get around to doing this now that things have calmed down a little.

This is a crosspost of a public post I made on Patreon a few days ago, so if you prefer the formatting there, you can read the post at this link:

PS: I do free monthly devlogs / posts there on Patreon, so consider joining the free tier of the Patreon even if you aren't interested in the paid tiers!

For those who'd rather read the post here, I'll leave the extraordinarily long ramble in a Read More cut below!

Let's start with a quick recap of the highlights / achievements accomplished in 2023!

Okay, this one may be slightly cheating. While Emberfate only launched on Steam in Jan 2023 so the 92 positive reviews came in in the year of 2023, it was up on Itch.io since mid 2022, so not all 383 Itch.io ratings came in in 2023.

Still, I'm pretty proud of these stats! Perhaps the numbers are nothing compared to some other amazing games' out there, but it's still something I'm proud of. It makes me happy that my silly experimental nostalgic little game struck a chord in so many players — much more than I expected given how niche the topic was!

Now, unfortunately, I could not get Emberfate's DLC for Potato's route out by end of 2023 like I had hoped. Porting the game to mobile also ended up much more difficult than I expected because of just how much of the UI I'm going to have to redesign — and hence, programming to be redone — if I wanted to make the game fit a small mobile screen. So both plans are going to have to be postponed to 2024.

The other notable highlight of 2023 is that both Lyrissa's and Kierdan's routes for Reanimation Scheme were released for beta access! That put the game at 3/5 routes complete, with a total of 431,786 words for the script.

I recruited a handful of beta testers to test the three completed routes a few months ago, and so far, the feedback has been positive overall. That's been a huge relief and lifted a massive weight off my chest — due to the controversial reception of the demo, I've been extremely anxious that the game would be hated by the players, and I've done so many rounds of editing and honestly perhaps somewhat unnecessary and obsessive rewriting of the script, but none of it felt good enough 😂 So hearing the positive comments has been a huge motivation / morale booster. Perhaps I should have done beta testing sooner… LOL

There are two more achievements unrelated to a specific game project that I'd like to mention:

2023 is the year that I became more interested in and better at Ren'Py programming! Most of it is thanks to my amazing programmer friend and Ren'Py wizard, Feniks (whom you may know as the programmer for Our Life series), who sparked my interest in programming and helped teach me a LOT. While I'm by no means a professional now at coding, I feel much more comfortable navigating around Ren'Py code and setting up what I need to in the backend of the games I'm developing, which opens up new doors for me for future projects in terms of what kind of features (big or small) that I may be able to include! Though the side effect of that is I looked back at the code I did for Reanimation Scheme from previous years and was immediately horrified by how ugly and inefficient it was. 😂I did redo the backend code of the Gallery and Achievements system a bit, but the rest will just have to stay for now.

I made quite a few new connections within the indie VN dev sphere in 2023! I made a shocking discovery that there's enough number of indie VN developers from Hong Kong to fill half a minibus, and I was lucky enough to connect with them and share our experiences and learn from each other! Due to new project commissions I took on for $$$ (real life financial needs suck), as well as a couple of small game jam projects I joined as programmer to buff up my programming portfolio, I also made some new VN dev friends unexpectedly. It's been really nice, because honestly, solo dev can be a really lonely and isolating endeavor sometimes. I'm super grateful for the new connections I found myself making in 2023!

Looking Ahead: 2024

Okay, that was a lot of rambling for the recap. More than I thought I would write. Now let's move forward to what the future will look like for this studio in 2024 and what goals I'm setting for myself this year!

Priority #1: Finishing Reanimation Scheme

Of course it's Reanimation Scheme. As mentioned above, we're currently at 3 out of 5 routes completed (sans partial voice acting). So the biggest goal for 2024 will be to get the game done. and out. Finally.

I won't be giving a concrete release date until we're like, literally in beta phase for all 5 routes, just so I won't have to announce a delay and let people down. But given the current progress and pace of work, I'd say probably around mid-year — maybe Q3 latest.

I'll be keeping up with the episodic updates of Reanimation Scheme's beta build on Patreon (and Kickstarter) from this month onwards, beginning with Jori's route and then followed by Sebastien's.

The remaining Kickstarter rewards may take a little longer — but ideally, all of them (artbook / lorebook / short stories collections, etc.) will be done by end of the year as well.

Priority #2: Potato's Route DLC for Emberfate

Potato, poor Potato. His DLC had to be put on the sidelines until Reanimation Scheme is done.

Half of the art has already been commissioned and completed by the amazing Remnantation — we're just missing his selfie CG & his MMO character sprite! So the next step would be the script and then the voice acting for the calls part. I won't be able to start on the script until mid-2024 earliest, but given the fact that his route won't be that long if it's parallel in length compared to the existing three routes, it probably won't take too long to do. Perhaps 2-3 months for the development process of the DLC?

I'll likely be releasing his DLC early on Patreon, potentially also episodically as it's completed, like I did with Emberfate. So if you're interested, keep an eye out for it when the time comes!

Something Secretly Brewing in the Shadows?

If you're pledged to this Patreon on $10 tier or above, you'll probably already know what I'm alluding to.

I won't be announcing or talking much about this for now, since I don't know when I'll be able to start working on this project properly (i.e. I need to meet my above two goals first). For all I know, it might end up being not a 2024 thing but a 2025 thing. So I'll only tease it slightly for now here.

Bonus Goal: Market, for the Love of God

If you follow Wind Chimes Games on either Twitter or Tumblr, you'll probably have noticed the sorry state of my social media. I… really do not like marketing or posting on social media. I never know what to post or say. I'm too unfunny and uncreative to meme or write humorous captions that get engagement. 😂It kind of feels like I'm shouting into the void, and nobody really cares about what I have to say on my projects when there's so many cooler and more interesting things out there. So I always try for a brief period of time, and then I give up 😭

This year though, I really really need to take marketing more seriously. With two releases planned for 2024, marketing is going to be important if I want the games to sell more than like 20 copies LOL

So I guess, uh, hold me to it and call me out if I don't start posting regularly after all 🥹

Conclusion

If you've made it this far on this post, thank you so much for listening to me ramble. 🥹 2024 is going to be a very busy year, but hopefully, a productive one that will end with me meeting all of the above listed goals.

Thank you so much for joining me on the wild and bumpy journey that was 2023, and I hope you'll stick around for the exciting things to come this year too! Here's to a great year ahead of all of us!

#otome #visual novel #interactive fiction #dating sim #otome game #otoge #if #vn #english otome #english otome game #indie otome #renpy #lgbtq #english visual novel #amare #reanimation scheme #emberfate #announcement

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firedragon1321 · 4 months

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Welcome back to Kieran hours! This is Part 2 to a ramble on the DLC (part 1- Teal Mask focus- is here). This is readmored because it spoils all of Teal Mask and Indigo Disk. In which the real villain is actually the player, and Kieran shouldn't have apologized to them. This is a long read so get comfy.

Prelude- The Player and You

So first, I want to define "the player", because the distinction is more important here than in Teal Mask. I also call them some not so nice names, so I don't want to hurt people's feelings by accident. So-

You- the person reading this

The player- the canonical in-game character.

Your interpretation or an OC in that role is not the player

This post kinda sums it up best. Pokemon is a very linear, and your choices and feelings don't match the player's. Which if they don't, you are a good person. Because the player is kind of a dick in this DLC.

I Thought This Was Kieran Hours?

Yes it is. Honestly, he's no angel in this situation. I can't ignore his obsession with beating the player at the exclusion of other people's feelings. The way he treats the rando in his first appearance isn't very kind. But he's a monster the player created, and continues to build upon as the DLC continues.

At the end of the DLC, Kieran apologizes for his actions. The player is not given the choice to apologize for the legions of wrongdoings I am about to describe. There's not even a one-sided dialogue option. Carmine- who verbally abused him throughout Teal Mask- also gets away scot free.

Now let's rack up some crimes.

Teal Mask Review

I covered Teal Mask in part 1, but I'll do a speedrun here.

Carmine spends the entire DLC (and before it) verbally abusing and putting down her brother.

Kieran is the only one at the beginning with sympathy for the ogre/Ogerpon, likely because he feels like an outcast himself.

The player comes on a school trip and befriends him.

At the time Teal Mask was released, it seemed the player was his first real friend (BB Elite Four were not revealed to have previously known him until Indigo Disk- this is important for interpreting the story and character)

The player gets wrapped up in the mystery of Ogerpon. They learn the truth about her from Kieran's grandpa, who tells them- and Carmine- not to tell Kieran.

Despite this, Kieran overhears everything.

The player spends the second half of the DLC with Carmine. Kieran feels he's lost them as a friend.

The player whoops Kieran's ass in every single battle up to the climax. He challenges them once more to see who gets Ogerpon (notably, she wants to go with the player).

The player wins and snatches Ogerpon away right in front of him.

At no point does the player have a chance to properly apologize for any of this, including via giving Kieran Ogerpon (I will discuss "giving him a legendary" in more depth with Terapagos, who is a less defined character and more acceptable imo to "give away").

Feeling abandoned and disgraced, Kieran vows to become "stronger and stronger".

This is- at heart- a misunderstanding. But let's get into Indigo Disk and the player's laundry list of badwrongs.

Indigo Disk Part 1- BB Elite Four

Indigo Disk is split roughly into two halves. Part 1 occurs at Blueberry Academy and involves facing its league. It ends after the championship battle. Part 2 is the return to Area Zero, Terapagos, and the worst of the player's crimes.

Kieran pops in and out throughout Part 1. He's not after Ogerpon anymore. The player is his only concern. He's collected a powerful team to near completely replace his old one. The only returning member is Hydrapple. Recall it used to be Dipplin- a candy apple like the ones shared with the player at the festival in Teal Mask. Now- like the player's friendship- it's festered into a multi headed monster.

After beating the BB Elite Four, the player can challenge Kieran. He's become the Champion after dethroning Drayton. The champion doubles as the head of the league's club. This gives him the power to evict members, which he's seen using upon his reintroduction.

The other members worry about Kieran, who is tearing the club apart. Crispin notes he can't handle the complicated drama, while Lacey used the school's rules as a cover to keep the player out of things. Amarys puts the right to confront Kieran on the line in her battle. It's also implied that Drayton took the player under his wing to force Kieran out of power and to face reality. Even Carmine- the root cause of Kieran's insecurities- has concerns about him. Yet, she never apologizes, and will even go right back to her old ways in Part 2.

All of this comes to a head in the championship battle. The battle is public, and students flock to see it. This means when the player inevitably wins, Kieran is publicly humiliated, shamed, and abandoned. Is it karma? Perhaps a little. But given all the Teal Mask BS, it feels like overkill.

(An aside- it is possible to send Ogerpon against him, and he freaks the fuck out. You can see it in action here.)

youtube

This final failure drives Kieran to new heights of madness. He needs more power. A certain crystal turtle might be able to provide.

Indigo Disk Part 2- Area Zero

I'm not going to cover the lead up to Terapagos as it's not really important. But if you talk to Kieran on the way down, all you get is ellipses, urges to hurry, and rambles about catching the legendary Pokemon. All of these point towards the climax- meeting Terapagos.

Upon approaching the crystal, Kieran rushes ahead of the player. He condemns the player for their sins against him. If he can just defeat them, he can finally be at peace.

To me, this isn't about being the stronger Trainer anymore. That ship sailed- if it ever existed- when the player became champion. This is about control in a life where Kieran has none. His sister bullies him, the player offers "friendship" while lying to and humiliating him, and even Ogrepon- who he admired- left him in the dust. In his own mind, he may see the BB League as against him, since his obsession is all-consuming and they want to put a stop to it. He's completely alone by this point. Terapagos doesn't just promise power. It promises control and- with it- hope.

So he's totally justified in yoinking it from the player. They took a legendary before. An eye for an eye.

Another way to look at this scene is that Terapagos doesn't give a shit about the player like Ogerpon did. Yes the camera focuses on them as Terapagos walks towards them. But it just woke up. It could be investigating, or wandering in a random direction. This is my personal headcanon, though the canon is probably that it's drawn to the player.

But it doesn't matter. Whether you agree with my headcanon or not, Kieran only sees Ogerpon 2.0, and by Arceus he's not letting that happen. But when he brings Terapagos into its Stellar Form, the Pokemon loses control, destroys the Master Ball binding it to him, and goes berserk.

I have played these games since 2006. In any other situation, I would say it's a karmic punishment for his previous behavior. I'd say that's the intent here, too. Kieran's intentions weren't pure, so he can't keep Terapagos.

Except he's done nothing to Terapagos except command it in a single battle. He was never abusive towards it, nor any of his other Pokemon. His wrath is 150% on the player, who has wronged him time and time again.

This isn't a punishment for a bad Trainer or evil person. This is the universe kicking Kieran while he's already down. It's no wonder he reverts to beating himself up. Eventually, he musters up the ability to help the player. I can't say "strength" for a boy so defeated.

When Kieran did join my player, I stalled and let his Hydrapple and Dragonite finish the job. I had a Lv. 100 perfect Garchomp with x6 Attack from Swords Dance. The energy shields were down. I could have easily destroyed Terapagos in one hit. But I didn't. I gave Kieran a victory in the only way I could.

There is actually a choice not to catch Terapagos. Out of guilt and curiosity, I chose "don't catch". But doing that makes Kieran admit he can't have Terapagos. It has to be the player. The PokeBall menu appears immediately afterwards. This sickened me to the point I can't even look at my prize.

For that's all Terapagos is. Another trophy. Another bauble. Another thing to take away.

That last cutscene where Kieran owns up to his behavior and apologizes? Pre-rendered. No dialogue options. No "I'm sorry, too". The player just smiles and nods like an idiot. I wanted to smack her.

This is as far as I got in Indigo Disk. There's still something Briar wants to give me. I will likely never see what it is.

It's Been Going On All Along

I spent a lot of time thinking about why Kieran's story has hurt me so much. A Pokemon game has never made me feel so angry and sad before. Ultimately, I decided it's the inability to change the story. I wanted to be a good person, but the game would not allow it. I just took what I could, as in the stall during the Terapagos battle.

Kieran's case is not unique. It just comes with consequences. Player characters have been merrily stealing Pokemon, power, and dreams from NPCs since day one.

Blue doesn't get to be a champion for more than fifteen minutes. Wally's dreams are ruined by the same person who enabled them (I discussed this in-depth in Part 1). Rivals like Calem/Serena, Hau and Barry keep laughing every time you beat them. The closest the player has ever gotten to consequences with a rival is with Hop, but even he forgives them. Even Nemona in the main game is the player's cheerleader, who they quickly surpass.

It's not just rivals, either. Champions fall at the player's whim. This is the worst for Leon, whose entire identity was built around being the champion. N may have been manipulated by Ghetsis, but there was some truth to his ideals. The player ignores it, keeping the status quo of living creatures as trophies.

Then, there's what the player can't do. I've written an entire essay on Gladion, and how he deserves love and support. The player cannot give it to him. Nor can they offer support to the likes of Silver. These are enemies to be defeated. Yes, they're fictional. But they have complex stories of their own. These stories often include pain. Why should they be ignored?

The player is the rising star, the golden child. Nothing bad will ever happen to them. It's characters like Kieran who fall into their shadow. Who are pushed to the sidelines. Who are treated like the villain while the real villain has everything they could ever want.

And I get it. This is a kid's game, and we don't want kids to feel hurt while playing it. But Kieran takes the selfishness that's been there all along and exposes it like raw nerves. His pain reflects the pain of all the stepping stones in all the games before him and slams it in your face. He's not going to roll over and let the player walk on him until the bitter end.

And by the time he does? Who's really the villain?

#pokemon #spoilers #kieran #kieran pain tag #indigo disk #character analysis #tw abuse #i am so normal about him #player character is an asshole #goes into all other mainline games here and there at the end

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gaymer-hag-stan · 7 months

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So, the long-awaited and much-requested fan favourite Separate Ways campaign is finally being added as DLC tomorrow for Resident Evil 4... let's take a look at the promo for it

Out of a total of six (not counting posts that also mention Mercenaries or VR as Ada doesn't need to be the solo focus on those) posts across all Resident Evil social media, Ada is only featured in half of them, and they just had to shoehorn Luis in because he had to have a bigger role this time around for some reason. Oh but he's not alone. Wesker is also being promoted instead of the main character, including in the actual LAUNCH TRAILER for the campaign because...? Why is this happening exactly???

Ada is one one of the most popular characters in the franchise yet she's being cast aside for a throwaway side character and a villain who had barely any screen time in the original game. Would Capcom do the same to Chris or Leon?

This coming after a witch hunt that ensued for days over Ada's new voice actress, whom Capcom did nothing to protect and even continued to work with one of the streamers who were part of instigating the flame war against Lilly Gao, does nothing but to sour the whole thing.

I'm sorry if you're mad I called Wesker ugly yesterday but I also honestly don't care, at all.

Dozens upon dozens of posts about how "Leon should date Claire / Chris / Luis / My OC / Me (seriously wtf) instead of that bitch Ada" or "Ada sucks" or "Ada doesn't deserve Leon, Leon would be much better off with someone like me (...y'all need help) I would make him truly happy" are infuriatingly tiring to go through on a daily basis. And no, Ada's self worth as a character shouldn't be focused on her, very canon and very mutual, romantic attraction towards Leon and THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT.

This is supposed to be Ada's moment, not as Leon's sidekick, not as an afterthought but as the protagonist and extra Luis and Wesker screen time, both of whom are dead and will never be seen again in the series, takes away A LOT from that. This is not needed. This is not appreciated. This would not happen if it was the other way around. Ada's DLC would sell without the extra Luis and Wesker fanservice. This is NOT ABOUT THEM.

#resident evil #biohazard #resident evil 4 #ada #ada wong #separate ways #resident evil 4: separate ways #leon #leon s. kennedy #capcom #lily gao #luis #luis sΕrra #luis serrra navarrο #wΕsker #Αlbert wesker #video games #gaming

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dangerousbride · 7 months

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what are your thoughts on separate ways? i mean i am a little upset idk why but i read comments about how they are making Ada and Leon not canon this makes me feel ill lmaaaooo I dont think capcom would be that dumb right? Ada x Leon is the only couple I care on this game

My beloved anon please don't feel ill, I know reading so many negative comments can be very stressful but nothing has changed at all. First of all, Ada x Leon never really got to become canon in the og timeline. If it's about killing the ship, then Capcom's been silently killing both Ada and Aeon the moment they chose to never continue Leon and Ada's story after RE6 until this day, making 0 mention of Ada in the cgi movies they've made after that game either. If anything, the remakes brought Ada and Aeon back to life again. Do you think they'd have ever considered including Ada in RE8 if it wasn't because RE2R was a success?

Second, I don't see why there's so much surprise and disappointment that the new SW isn't similar to the og. Remake Ada was already different from the original so the DLC has to make sense with RE4r and RE2r, which it did. And speaking of the way both RE4/SW end, I love how in the new one Ada does not point a gun to Leon's head to retrieve the amber, asks him if he wants to go with her and disobeys Wesker's orders right in front of our eyes (bonus points for the fact they included the "one more kiss" ost, and for the way Leon looks at the keychain and says "cute"). Beauty's in the little details lmao And third, we could've had a DLC full of Aeon, and still it'd be worth nothing if in ten years from now the people in charge of remaking re6 suddenly chose they don't like it anymore, you know? so it's better to start praying the opposite happens. If there's something I've learn from shipping is that having the upper hand during the first half (and even longer) of the story secures nothing, so maybe it for the best that stuff seems more toned down this time.

#me: don't worry [proceeds to make things worse] dsksjkas

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wellthebardsdead · 5 months

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I genuinely, just, love, larian studios.

We’ve been fucked, so violently by the games industry into accepting micro transactions and ridiculous prices, for mediocrity. For so, very, long.

The only outlier I can think of to this, is skyrim. Which don’t get me wrong, is expensive still as a video game that came out years ago. But they’ve released, two dlcs so big they could constitute their own games, plus included the anniversary addition which introduced EVEN more dlc level content, all combined for less than half the price of most mainstream video game dlcs. Plus, the community is still thriving with mods, and Bethesda allowes said mod makers to get paid via the creation club!!! But even still, it’s not as perfect as what Larian is doing for Baldurs Gate.

A completed working game that is still being regularly updated, and cared for. Every bug report is taken into consideration, they listen to their community, and they’re releasing more and more content with each and every patch. And we haven’t had to pay a cent more than the price spent on the game itself.

The voice actors love it, the devs love it and the community built around it, love it.

I was heartbroken because I thought I couldn’t play beyond act 2 because the textures wouldn’t load in. And low and behold after the last patch, I booted it up and everything was running smoothly, the textures loaded, everything was as it should be.

We can get minthara without being evil now too because so many people love her but didn’t have the heart to hurt the tieflings or Halsin to the point we found an exploit that involved turning her into a sheep! And rather than remove the exploit they gave us minthara! Literally you just have to knock her out now and you can find her at moonrise!!!

I can’t remember the last time a game developer actually cared this much about their community and their game!!! Even all the way back during the early access you could see the love they’d put into it! You could see the makings of what was coming. And fuck, it was worth the wait.

#baldurs gate 3

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loveofdetail · 1 year

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a thing about me is that i very much fall in love with games in a mechanics-first way, with storytelling perhaps following later. i’m pretty sure i could talk for at least half an hour PER MISSION about just the gameplay and level design decisions in KoD/BW, without even getting to the narrative and themes and characters at all.

the transition from linear-leaning to open-leaning environments that occurs the instant you reach the slaughterhouse yard

the way the slaughterhouse interior combines both extreme verticality AND enclosed spaces

the fact that you can induce the hatters and guards into fighting each other in the second mission merely by manipulating the environment

the way the first part of the legal district specifically has many guards placed up higher than usual so the rooftops are not quite your playground they way they often are in dishonored

the one-way dumbwaiter (but with a specific floor’s dumbwaiter door left open) in Timsh’s mansion

if you draw the Statuesque corrupted charm early, it opens up a entirely different kind of stealth strategy

the expedient paths navigating Rudshore as Daud facing Overseers are quite different from the paths that were expedient traversing the same area as Corvo facing the Whalers

opting for the overseer outfit changes the entire beginning of the coldridge mission, including your spawnpoint

all the little opt-in npc interactions along the way (the rothwild laborer you can later meet at the textile mill, stopping Officer Thorpe’s execution, taking on Jerome’s little sidequest, the traitor witch in the final mission...)

in coldridge, they give you full granular control over opening any exact combination of cell doors your heart desires!

the intense foregrounding of the hatters/eels conflict, with jussssst the right distribution of breadcrumbs to foreshadow that the witches are here too and this is actually a THREE-faction level

there are three independent ways to retrieve the engine coil in the Dead Eels mission, and one of those methods renders an entire section of the level (the sewers) optional and skippable

things like restoring the water to the canal and destroying the slaughterhouse let your actions affect dunwall in a way that is unrelated to your main mission AND not determined by chaos level alone

the Outsider’s speeches at shrines and in cutscenes have more fine-grained chaos differences than anywhere else in the franchise

the final mission is arguably the most visually unique in all of DH1. after a whole game + DLC of traversing cityscapes you get lush greenery and sinister flowers that only serve to emphasize just how out of your element you are

and then the manor itself adds to that close quarters, a confusing layout, and teleporting enemies, to fully max out the disorientation as you near the final confrontation

#dishonored #long post #dh

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beantothemax · 4 months

Note

Bean

The time has come

The blorbo posts are moving out of tellius, who knows how long it will be until they break even the fe containment

CRAB BLORBO NR. WHATEVER I FORGOT!

ANNA!!!!!

Back to the basics, list time!!!

She is in literally every game except fe2 and it's remake fe15

I adore her little finger chin touch that she does in every game

Every iteration of her is actually a different person and they're all a big family of sisters

^this also has the implication that Anna has interdimensional travel powers (and also time travel)(this is also hinted at in engages epilogue)

I believe there's two eras of Anna, pre and post-awakening. With pre-awakening being more down to earth and existing a lot more as the menu and secret shop person, with post-awakening being more high energy, and I don't want to say one-note, but more, let's say focused on a specific gimmick, which in Annas case is being a cuttthroat buisnesswoman, and this often comes along as borderline psychopathic (/pos imo), but I don't think this was the intention. I love both versions

Post-awakening she's actually a playable character in almost all the games, including Awakening (Very fun to use, trickster class which is staves and Swords, she does especially well with Levin sword and that's always fun), Fates (haven't used her, dlc), Three Houses (kinda sucks and has no supports, also dlc and one of the other dlc characters is just better in everyway gameplay wise) and Engage (also very fun to use, uses axes at base and bows on promotion which is very nice, she also has great magic and can be very good as a mage)

Sells you drugs

So Anna huh, the most reocurring fe character by far, and I love reocurring characters. She's a shrewd buisnesswoman and always have been, but she's a pretty chill gal pre-awakening and just hangs around and gives you tips. And sells you drugs, don't forget about that. Then in awakening she returns once again, but now with a more, high-energy personality. The reason I called her borderline psychopathic is that she here begins to make a lot of quips and jokes about killing people in ways that are some kind of money puns in a very lighthearted tone, "prices aren't the only things i slash" for exampel. I personally find this kind of endearing (this holds up with my other blorbo Henry also from awakening). Then in engage she shows up as a child who has been lost from her family (her anna sisters) Here in engage she has a wonderful childlike feel when doing all her merchant things, while still having that dash of psychosis. And I find this very endearing as well.

She also has a boyfriend who is also reocurring, just not as much has her. Meet Jake! His personality and looks vary a bit.

Then there was the final dlc to awakening, bringing one final challenge to all who played the game. Apotheosis, featuring the final final boss...

Anna the merchant

This is an insane boss, probably the single strongest boss in all of fire emblem, with insane stats like 99 hp, 60 str, 50 mag, 70 skl, 70 spd, 65 lck, 55 def and 55 res. So insanely much.

But that's not even the worst part, her skills are. Counter dealing all physical damage back, Vantage+ to always attack first, Aether which is usually only a main character skill, dragonskin (????????) which halfs all damage dealt and RIGHTFUL GOD

RIGHTFUL GOD????????

rightful god gives 30% extra proc chance to all proc skills

BUT EVEN THE FACT THAT SHE HAS A SKILL CALLED RIGHTFUL GOD IS SCARY ENOUGH AND HAS SOME WEIRD IMPLICATIONS

yeah, insane boss

But overall yeah I just like her, great vibe tbh.

I think me liking her might also have something to do with that she reminds me a lot of an oc I made a loooong time ago with pie who has a special place in my heart.

Anyway finishing picture of all of anna

I find it extremely hilarious that Anna just. has time travel powers. The single constant of the fire emblem universe is the presence of silly capitalism gal

ALSO SHE’S A SUPERBOSS?????????? RIGHTFUL GOD?????????? WH?????????? WHY DOES THE FUNNY SECRET SHOP LADY HARBOR THE POWER OF THE HEAVENS

#10/10 silly girl #asks #crabknee #crab’s fire emblem primers

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thatcrazycrowgirl · 5 months

Note

🌹🌹🌹🌹

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

🌹🌹🌹🌹

🌹

You also get a bouquet of 🌹:) love you!

*happily takes bouquet*

@havatnah, my friend, thank you so much for sending me this a while back, and I'm sorry I didn't have anything presentable to share sooner. But looking through my documents, I did manage to find something decent from my 1888!Syndicate AU idea. It does feature my OC, Magnolia, buuuut despite that, I thought you'd appreciate some soft older!Jacob spending the morning in bed - so here you go! ;) Hope you enjoy this little WIP snippet! <3

A/N: For some context, this takes place post-JTR DLC, dealing with the repercussions of the events of the Autumn of Terror. (I think I wrote this up after watching a few episodes of "Ripper Street".) Features brief (not major) mentions of scars from wounds and a tiny bit of angst mixed with fluff - a word of warning, just in case?

Magnolia sucked on her bottom lip as she continued to look over the countless letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings with exhausted frustration. She hadn't bothered to rise from bed or even get dressed, as the contents of the papers distracted her not long after she woke up. But fortunately, despite the chill of the morning kissing her bare shoulders, the bed was still warm. Lying on her stomach, she crossed her arms and rested her chin on them with a huff.

"It doesn't make any sense!" she exclaimed in a louder whisper than intended.

"What doesn't…?" Jacob's voice, groggy and rendered even deeper than usual, due to just being roused from sleep, asked softly.

"All of this!" she responded immediately without thinking. It then occurred to her that she was no longer the only one awake, and that her outburst may have pulled her lover from his peaceful sleep. She glanced over at him sheepishly. "Oh. Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"Mmm…don't worry about it, love," he mumbled in return, still blinking the sleep from his hooded eyes. "It's probably time I got up, anyway." He attempted to stretch his muscles, and winced a little at the dull ache that still remained in some parts of his recovering body. Then, with as much effort as he could manage, he rolled over onto his belly and half rested himself upon the young woman's bare back. "Did you sleep well?"

She lifted a hand up and cupped his cheek in acknowledgement, her thumb brushing over one of his sideburns. "Yeah, just fine," she replied, throwing a small smile over her shoulder. "You?"

"Mmm-hmm…" he hummed, the tip of his nose dancing over her warm skin. He then grinned just a little. "You just about wore me out last night," he teased.

Sir Jacob Frye, the man who had barely a reason to smile over the last year, was now teasing - no - flirting again. Who'd have thought he still had it in him?

However, his smile faded when he didn't get much of a response back from his lover, and he looked up to see she was once again engrossed in the myriad of papers and pictures sprawled out in front of her.

He sighed.

He knew realistically that despite the Ripper now being deceased, his memory and the effects of his reign of terror over London wasn't going to immediately fade from the public's recollection. But that didn't stop the tiny, idealistic part of him that remained, even after all that had happened, to hope that he could settle back down to some level of normalcy in his life - including enjoying the company of his sweetheart in bed, without anything relating to the outside world bleeding in.

He pressed a gentle kiss upon her shoulder blade.

"Why don't you put those things aside for the moment?" he tried again, his lips still pressing kisses against her skin. "It's too early."

It was then that Magnolia seemed to finally catch onto Jacob's subtly needy tone, and she glanced over her shoulder once more. Seeing his eyes, when he lifted them to meet hers, she couldn't help feeling a little guilty for letting her borderline-obsessive need to piece things together to interrupt what should be a peaceful morning.

Her own eyes flickered with a hint of sympathy. ""Oh, Jacob…I'm sorry." She then gathered everything in front of her and tossed the pile onto the nightstand, not caring when some papers fell to the floor, before turning over onto her back and wrapping her arms around her lover's neck. "Come here…come here."

She gently pulled Jacob down towards her and met his lips sweetly. She heard him sigh contently into the kiss and she smiled a bit against his mouth. Deepening it, a soft moan escaped her. She wanted to him to know that he was still more important to her than her work. He had to know.

Nevertheless, he still pulled back momentarily. He looked a tad uncertain.

"You know, you don't have to do th–"

His words were silenced with another kiss.

"Trust me; obligation is the furthest thing from my mind," she then told him with a hint of a smile, before touching her forehead to his. "Thanks for bringing me back to the here and now."

A soft and relieved look surfaced in Jacob's eyes, and he brushed the tip of his nose against Magnolia's. "Thanks for being with me here and now," he cooed.

He kissed her once more before shifting his body somewhat to lay his head upon her shoulder. His nose now nuzzled against her neck, as she began to run one of her hands through his messy hair. Her other arm wrapped around his shoulders. Under her hand, she could feel the newly-healing scars on his skin and tried to ignore it. Now wasn't the time to be remembering their origins, just as now wasn't the time to be sorting through the pages that bore the name of the monster who inflicted those wounds. Now needed to be a time of quiet, of respite, of love.

She kissed him again.

#ask replies #I wanted to the snippet to be indented but tumblr was bring a butt about it so I'm leaving it as it (I'm so irritated)#I don't remember if this was supposed to be a 'single sentence' thing but I don't care #I actually took some time to add to and refine this this morning so I'm sharing all of this snippet lol #Jacob Frye x OC #AC OC: Magnolia #Jolie 1888 AU

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starlit-dreaming · 2 months

Text

when honestly you can’t recall (Baxter Ward/MC) p3

Rating: M

Romantic Ships: Baxter Ward/Original Character(s); Derek Suárez/Leandra “Lee” Last

Platonic Ships: Main Character | Jamie Last & Leandra “Lee” Last, Main Character | Jamie Last & Original Character(s)

Tags: Unplanned Pregnancy, Single Parent, Angst w/a Happy Ending

TL;DR: A self-indulgent Single Parent AU. Lee has a better relationship with my MC compared to Liz. I wrote this when the Baxter DLC was still in beta, so I opted to avoid writing spoilers (for now) and to avoid rewriting moments of the Jude/Scott wedding.

A/N: Cross-Posted on AO3 under the same title (@ Starlit_Dreaming). Originally this chapter was ~8k words, but I decided to split it when I ended up turning it ~10k when I was editing and kept on adding more and more to some of the scenes. I literally spent several hours just "editing" this chapter so it's a good thing I chopped it in half to save the rest for another day for editing rip

Obligatory Tag: @arcosoffireheart

Links: 1 | 2 | [3] | 4

Summary:

Everyone assumes that Gabby is exactly like her mother, but Rosaline will always see the traces of her daughter’s father. The shape of her eyes, how fussy she gets if there’s even a hint of conflict, every moment her daughter is calm and serene in her arms, the sweet and gentle smiles.

Her daughter does not have her black hair, either. Wavy hair, yes, but it was not fully black and her father has only ever dyed his hair.

It’s a miracle that nobody notices their similarities.

Including Baxter himself.

// In which Rosaline ends up becoming a single mother in the aftermath of her and Baxter’s summer fling. Some things change. Some things don’t.

——————————————————————

Part 3: just standing by blankly

——————————————————————

~1 Year Ago

Beginning of Summer

In-Between Steps 3 & 4: Age 22

———————————

“It’s just a dance,” she laughs as Cove starts to cry.

They’re in the living room, practicing their dancing — or rather, Rosaline was trying to teach Gabrielle how to dance, and Cove was watching. She was crouched on the carpet flooring, gently holding Gabrielle’s arms up to mimic a simple dance, guiding her daughter into a swaying motion as she giggled with glee.

Cove was sitting on the L-shaped sofa, recording everything with Rosaline’s phone as he observed their dancing. He’s taken to being a very doting uncle, diligently taking videos and pictures and crying over her daughter.

“Yeah, I know,” he sniffed, watching them with watery eyes and a shaky smile. “It’s just that… she’s just so cute! You even made her a cute poofy little dress, and it’ll be the first wedding she attends.”

“Cove, I literally made all of her clothes. This isn’t the first time I made her dress, and I’m sure our friends are going to get married sooner or later,” Rosaline laughed, shaking her head in amusement. “You know this. And she’s also the flower girl for Jude and Scott’s wedding, too.”

“I know, but still,” he sighed wistfully. “Why does she have to grow up so fast?”

She snorted, “Guess we know how our parents felt, huh?”

“It’s also hard since Gabby looks so much like you when we were kids,” Cove sniffed.

Gabrielle perked up at the mention of her name, looking over to Cove before she gasped and started wiggling out of Rosaline’s hold. Once she was freed, she approached Cove with a rather determined look for a toddler as she promptly patted his leg with a bit of a smack, making him twitch with a subtle wince.

Ah yes, the joys of toddlers going the extra mile.

“It’ll be okay, Coco!” Gabrielle exclaimed with determination, looking incredibly pumped up and sounding so much like Lee does when she’s trying to reassure Cove with endless patience and positivity. “Pain, pain, go away!”

“Oh my god!” Cove seemed absolutely delighted by this turn of events and possibly even more teary-eyed. “That’s so cute, Rosa…” he murmured, glancing at her before focusing back to the toddler. “I’m okay, Gabby.”

“But Coco is crying!” she frowned, looking up at him with a pout.

“Don’t worry, Brielle,” Rosaline laughed, walking over to sit down beside Cove and promptly scooping up her toddler. “Cove cries happy tears.”

“Happy crying?” her daughter tilted her head, purple eyes wide and curious. It’s easy most days, seeing her daughter and not seeing bits and pieces of Baxter so blatantly. Cove often says that she looks more like Rosaline anyway, but Rosa thinks that he’s just being biased for not really caring much for Baxter to begin with.

“Mhmm. Cove cries a lot,” she says, and Gabrielle nods in agreement. “People cry when they’re sad, but Cove cries when he’s happy, too.”

“Does mama cry happy?” Brielle tilted her head, eyes wide as if it were a groundbreaking revelation.

“No, mama doesn’t,” she smiled. “Mama only cries when she’s sad.”

“Mmm… it’s okay, mama,” Gabrielle nodded. “I’ll make pain go away!”

“Aw, thank you, Brielle,” Rosaline softly smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you, mommy!” she chirped.

———————————

Two Months Ago

Beginning of Summer

Step 4: Age 23

———————————

“I love you, mommy,” she sleepily chirped.

“I love you, too, Brielle,” Rosaline softly whispered, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s forehead as she pulled the seatbelt for her daughter. “And just like that, she’s already out,” she couldn’t help but feel calmer now, before closing the car door and moving to sit in the passenger seat. “Alright, space cadet, time to go home.”

“…are you sure you want to leave?” Cove asked, his brows knitted in worry as he looked at her. “I don’t mind waiting here for a bit.”

“…why would I want to stay?” Rosaline asked, closing her eyes as she relaxes into the seat. “The wedding’s pretty much done now, and everyone who’s still inside is just eating and drinking at this point. Lee and Derek already left for the honeymoon, and Brielle’s pretty tired.”

“Gabby interrupted you,” Cove murmured, sounding incredibly hesitant and unsure. “I thought that you still needed to talk to Baxter…?”

Of course Cove, out of everyone, noticed what had happened, that she was literally just finishing up a dance with the man in question. Still, the thought of him made her… well, she doesn’t quite know what to think of him right now. Thinking about him was starting to be too much of a common occurrence, but hopefully that all ends now that the wedding’s over.

If he were to need a dress designer for his clients, he wouldn’t need to talk to her again. There were other dressmakers Velvet Design Studios, and their sister buildings, Suitable Lenders and Lacework Lenders, were other viable options for renting dresses.

Rosaline crossed her arms, looking out the window to the sunset skies. For years, she’s been hung up over Baxter, and no matter what, it’s been the same thing over and over again.

She tries, he shuts her out, she gets hurt, and it repeats.

Again. And. Again.

“…”

“Rosa?”

“No. I’m… I’m tired.”

———————————

Several Months Ago

Beginning of Autumn

In-Between Steps 3 & 4: Age 22

———————————

“No, I’m… just tired.”

While it was true, she was actually exhausted for reasons unrelated to work (unless Baxter counted). She doesn’t feel inclined to correct that, though.

“Mmk, well, try to take it easy, Rosa,” Sonya said, peering at her with a concerned look. “I know you have a lot of work on your hands, and that you’re more than capable of handling it yourself, but don’t hesitate to ask for help.”

Sonya Chastain was Carol Amparo’s granddaughter and one of the few full-timers who was Rosaline’s age — most of their co-workers were usually in their mid-twenties at the earliest, thirties at the latest. She was a rather cheerful person with bright brown eyes and short blonde hair, with a bright smile that puts Cove at ease out of all her coworkers. It helps that she has a rather relaxed attitude in her interactions with everyone, which often puts high-strung clients at ease whenever she handles their fittings.

(Truthfully, Rosa was trying to hook her up with Cove in bits and pieces. Cove did think Sonya was cute, after all, and Sonya has had a major crush on him since the day they first met. Granted, she claimed it would pass, but it’s been a few years now.)

Her specialty mostly lay in beadwork than dressmaking, but she could at least do some basics and was much more adept with handling customers. Much better at it than Rosaline was.

Or at least, Rosa and Cass often pushed the customer service duties onto Sonya, since she was the youngest in their building.

The phone rings.

“Velvet Design Studio, otherwise known as Corsage Designs, Sonya Chastain speaking. How may I help you?” Sonya answered the phone with a fake smile, slipping right into character as she pulled up her tablet, bringing up the shared calendar. “Hello, Mr Ward.”

Rosaline froze, purple eyes immediately snapping over to her co-worker.

“Yes, Mrs Carol Amparo informed me that you were hoping to shadow one of our designers to learn more about our studio in hopes to be able to better offer our services to your clients.”

“What?” Rosaline hissed, earning Sonya’s confused glance. “Since when did Carol tell you that?”

“This morning,” Sonya whispered, hand covering the phone briefly before she continued to speak to Baxter and proceeded to blatantly lie because she did not plan on making any phone calls: “Yes, I was just about to call you myself to confirm a day. Will this Friday be convenient for you, Mr Ward? Lovely. You’ll be following one of our lead designers in bridal wear, Rosaline Winters.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry Rosa, you technically have the least workload scheduled this week since you’re focusing on a few personal projects,” Sonya whispered, looking apologetic at Rosa as she covered the phone for a brief moment before assuming her customer service smile as she refocused on the phone call. “Unfortunately, our lead suit designer, Cass Gardner, is busy at this moment in time—”

“—and I’m not?” Rosaline dryly grumbled.

“—but thankfully, Ms Winters will be able to walk you through the process of our work without an issue. Mhmm. Yes, our building is located right behind Lacework and Suitable Lenders, but if you’d like, just give us a call and Rosaline will be out to meet you.”

“I don’t appreciate how ready you are to volunteer me like this,” Rosaline muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“See you on Friday, Mr Ward!” Sonya ended the call and promptly slumped in her seat. “What’s got you so snappy, Rosa? You normally give people a walkthrough of the place,” she raised a brow. “I get that you’ve been tired lately, but it’s not like we’re pulling emergency all-nighters at the moment… plus, you love to show people around.”

“It’s worse than an all-nighter this time because Baxter’s my ex,” Rosaline groaned. “And you’re literally having me spend a day with him.”

“Oh…” she winced, opening up a calendar on her screen, typing in Baxter’s appointment. “Bad breakup, huh?”

“He didn’t think we would work out long-distance, so he dumped me,” Rosaline grimaced. “Suitor for the summer, he said.”

“Yikes,” Sonya cringed, slowly starting to organize the papers on her desk as she tried to smile. “At least you’ll only have to see him for only a day…?”

“Unfortunately no. He’s also Lee’s wedding planner, so I’m practically seeing him at least once a month if not twice a week because I’m her maid of honour and dress designer, so we’ll be in regular contact. Plus, he wanted to keep tabs on the dress progress — first time having a bride custom order a dress, so he wanted to know a little more.”

“For real?” Sonya looked taken aback at that, pausing in her organizing to look incredulously at her. “But Lee outright adores you, Rosa. Why would she deliberately put you into an awkward situation with your ex?”

“Derek was the one to set the meeting up, and Lee is super worried for me, but Baxter’s one of the best planners I know. It made sense that he became a wedding planner, and I knew that he’d go out of his way to make sure things go as perfectly and smoothly as possible. I told her to work with him, but I also didn’t really…”

“You didn’t really… what?” Sonya prompted.

“…I didn’t really think he would stay. When he figured out that it was Lee’s wedding, and that I’d be there, I just… I know him, y’know?”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I… thought he’d leave again.”

———————————

Two Weeks Ago

End of Summer

Step 4: Age 23

———————————

“I thought he would leave again.”

And all of a sudden, under the sunset sky, staring off into the horizon, it felt almost as if they were 18 again in the midst of summer. Lee could remember it easily — the way Rosa shed her mask and displayed her feelings out in the open for Lee, the way Lee reassured her, and the way things ended in the aftermath of it all. It felt so stupid, really, the way things felt as if it were just repeating in different sequences of events.

Before, Lee would’ve reassured her. She would’ve told Rosa that Baxter loves her just as much as she loves him. That he wouldn’t dump her unless he had a good reason to. But he did, he did, and he said he wouldn’t be back.

She wasn’t going to lie to Rosa. It didn’t matter if she sincerely believed in them back then, because Baxter leaving had shattered Rosaline.

And Lee would never forget the guilt she felt when Rosa called her, crying.

“Well… he hasn’t exactly given you a reason to think that he would stay,” Lee murmured, trying to sound casual only to wince at how bitter it came out instead.

Liz, Aunt Pam, and Auntie Lani all thought that Rosa never even dated the guy and were surprised when it was mentioned in passing. And still, they believed that Rosa took the breakup in stride because she never cried to them and never acted differently, so they were fairly accepting when he said he was sticking around after her wedding. Rosaline was hurt, but she understood that he didn’t want a long-term relationship when they ended things back then.

Lee told him to treat Rosa better than he did before, and honestly, she wants to scream countless obscenities at him. She wanted to get angry at him, to shout and scream and tell him off for daring to break her cousin’s heart. Hell, if Rosa hadn’t said anything, she would’ve dropped his ass and hired another planner. Derek had even asked her if she was sure about keeping the guy as their planner! And yet Rosa had smiled so serenely and kindly, and had reassured Lee that Baxter was trustworthy when it came to planning. How could she say no to her cousin, even if Lee was infuriated with the man?

But Lee shouldn’t lose her temper just like that, otherwise she would end up revealing all the painful details that she’s meticulously kept close to heart, everything that Rosaline had wanted to keep quiet about. Her feelings, the nights she spent crying alone, the way her heart shattered. No matter what, Lee refused to hurt Rosaline in such a way.

(And, if she dropped Baxter as a planner, Rosa would’ve been even more worried and stressed about the wedding, and despite her feelings on the matter, Rosa was significantly calmer and happier with Baxter on board.)

And, the worst thing about saying all the thoughts in her head, however, is that hurting him with words or a slap would hurt Rosa, too.

Why does her cousin have to love a guy like that?

“Yeah… that’s true.”

Lee walked over, standing beside Rosaline. She wondered what she was thinking so intently about, standing there on the sand. Naturally, it was about Baxter, a thought that made Lee purse her lips as if she had just tasted something sour.

Loosening her expression, she glanced over to Rosa before scooting over, bumping her shoulder lightly.

“What’s on your mind?”

“I’m absolutely hopeless, Lee.”

It didn’t alarm her — Rosa’s self-esteem did take a hit when she got dumped by the person in question, but it wasn’t a self-deprecating statement like before. In fact, she sounded amused more than anything.

“Hey, that’s my darling cousin you’re talking about here,” Lee said in a teasing tone, impishly poking her shoulder. “You better not badmouth her in front of me like that, or we’ll be having problems here.”

“I think you’re gonna have a problem with what I have to say, anyway,” Rosa snorted.

“You mean you’re finally going to talk about your desk at work? About time. It’s covered in fabrics and lace, Rosa. I think you should stick to dressing up people and not desks.”

Rosaline barked out a laugh. “You sound like Cass,” she shook her head.

“Yeah, and it made you smile,” Lee grinned.

“Thanks, I really needed that,” Rosa bumped her shoulder against Lee’s, a small smile remaining as she turned to look at her. “Thank you for always being there for me.”

“Of course,” Lee softened, reaching to hold her hand. “I’m always here for you… even if I think you’re making a big mistake.”

“I never stopped loving him, and I’ve tried. You know that better than anyone. I tried so hard to stop loving him, but loving him is as easy as breathing,” Rosaline sighed, tearing up as she looked at Lee with unsure eyes. “You said it before. He loves me as much as I love him. And… I know that it’s true, even if he tried so hard to keep me at a distance.”

And clearly, Lee made a mistake when she said that. If Baxter loved Rosa, then he should’ve said something by now. Especially when they have a kid together.

“Will you… forgive me? For getting back together with him?”

“You never have to apologize to me. It’s your decision on what to do,” Lee wryly smiled, reaching up to wipe away Rosa’s tears. “You can’t help who you love, but… I just don’t want you to get hurt again. I don’t want you to cry because of him, you know? I’ll always be here for you, but I won’t hold back if you call me crying in the dead of night again. I really will end up fighting him, even if he helped me plan the perfect wedding.”

“Yeah…” she whispered, crying as she smiled at Lee. “Thank you for accepting it. For being here when I need you, from when we were kids to even now. You’re my best friend and…” she shakes her head, not wanting to voice the thought out loud. Lee was the sister that she wishes she had, but she does love Liz, and Liz has always been her sister.

“I am pretty great,” Lee smiled softly, squeezing Rosa’s hands, understanding. “Promise me you’ll be careful,” she said, knowing that she can’t convince her otherwise. “Don’t let him break your heart again. Promise?”

“I promise.”

———————————

Two Days Ago

End of Summer

Step 4: Age 23

———————————

“I promise.”

“And you’re sure…?” Rosaline softly asked, holding his hands as she looked up into his brown eyes. “I don’t want casual relationships, so I’m fine with us just staying friends if that’s not for you. What I want is a relationship with marriage in mind.”

“I don’t plan on leaving,” Baxter firmly stated, expression serious as he looked at her with soft eyes. “I understand your hesitation, and for that, I don’t blame you. I truly love you, Rosaline. I’ve loved you since the summer we dated, and even when we broke up, I still loved you, and when you entered my life again, I realized that I have never stopped loving you.”

She stared at him, eyes watering before she threw her arms around him, hugging him tight with tears in her eyes.

“I love you, Rosaline,” Baxter softly says, holding her tight. “And… I would want nothing more than to be a part of our daughter’s life. If you’ll have me.”

“Really…?” Rosalina whispered, voice wobbling.

She feels him nod, “I know that it’ll take a long time to earn your trust again, especially after what happened. I’m here to stay. I swear it.”

“Can you… say it again?”

“I’m here to stay.”

———————————

Two Months Ago

Beginning of Summer

Step 4: Age 23

———————————

“I’m… here to stay.”

Rosaline pauses in the middle of her work, hovering over the half-finished dress for her daughter. It was another cute floral dress made for Jude and Scott’s wedding this time. She just needed to add more flowers to it.

“Are you?” her eyes flicker to Baxter for a brief second before refocusing on her work. “Whatever happened to this just being a professional arrangement? A done deal, where we both do our own things?”

“…despite claiming as such, and saying that we would go our separate ways after Lee’s wedding, I… never actually thought of it.”

“…okay.”

“Okay?” he repeats, and Rosaline could so easily picture the way his eyes would brighten up. She hates that she knows him so well, and that she can’t just be happy with this.

“What about Brielle?”

And it’s the silence that makes Rosaline’s heart clench.

Because Baxter is speechless. As if he doesn’t know what to say about their daughter.

She bites the bottom of her lips, feeling him stare at her from behind. What did he think was going to happen? She’s been letting him interact with Gabrielle in bits and pieces, getting him to, at the very least, be open to being in their daughter’s life.

Their interactions at Lee’s wedding were her own selfish wishes, but her daughter will always be her first choice.

“If you’re going to be in my life again,” Rosaline said, as if this were obvious. “Then you’re going to end up having some kind of relation with Brielle beyond just being a grown-up that we interact with as if we’re just an acquaintance. I want to establish what to expect.”

“Ah… I see,” Baxter simply says, more to himself than anything. “Your daughter should naturally come first, so I feel that there shouldn’t be any issues with that. I don’t necessarily think I could be considered family to her, perhaps just a family friend. If something were to happen to her while you’re hanging out with me, I’d fully understand that you would prioritize your daughter’s well-being and safety.”

She lets him stew over the thoughts, but she can’t help but feel heartbroken.

Your daughter, he says.

It was enough of an answer for her.

He doesn’t want to acknowledge Gabrielle as his daughter.

“Okay,” Rosaline shakily sighed, staring at the little half-finished purple dress in front of her sadly. “That’s fine.”

“Hmm?”

“Not everyone wants to be parents, so I understand,” Rosaline murmured, managing to mask her feelings as she turned, smiling at him. “Would you… prefer that I keep it a secret from her? Until she gets older?”

“I beg your pardon?” Baxter blinked, confused.

Rosaline frowned.

Or maybe Baxter just didn’t know?

“Baxter… who do you think is Gabrielle’s father?”

“I… was under the impression that Cove was Gabrielle’s father.”

“You… thought Cove was the father?”

———————————

Then

Mid-Spring

In-Between Steps 3 & 4: Age 19

———————————

“You thought Cove was the father?”

Rosaline, for the most part, looked incredibly unamused as she rubbed her swollen stomach. Cove looked flabbergasted at Derek, as if he had just said the strangest thing he’s ever heard. Lee, being one of the very few who knew the father’s identity and knew that Cove was part of the family, had burst out into a fit of laughter.

“If Cove was the father, he would’ve gone with me to all of my ultrasound appointments, and I would’ve scheduled them for a day when he could actually come with me, even if the thought of it made him nauseous,” Rosaline pointed out, rolling her eyes. “But I guess that’s a fair assumption.”

“What?!” Cove finally exclaimed, his delayed response finally kicking in and looking downright startled and horrified. “Rosa’s my sister!”

“I get that now,” Derek sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just that — think about it. Rosa only ever talks about you when it comes to the guys in her life. She’s pregnant, and now you’re moving in with her and helping with the baby whenever they get here.”

“I… I guess?” Cove frowned, brows knitted as he thought it over, paling at the thought. “Oh god… do other people think that I’m the father? Do my parents think I’m the father?!” he whips his head around to look at Rosaline with panicked eyes. “Do your moms think I am?!”

Lee, unhelpfully, is dying with laughter.

“No, none of them think that,” Rosaline explained, trying so hard to retain the semblance of patience she’s developed since childhood. Pregnancy hormones, however, were no joke, with how irritated she was starting to get even if Cove’s concerns were valid. “I told my moms that it was a one-time thing, and that I wanted to keep them when I found out. Also, they asked me if their dad was going to be involved, which, obviously, he’s not.”

Derek rubbed Lee’s back as she slowly started recovering from her giggling, her cheeks red from laughing so much and eyes shining with amusement.

“Dad One was happy for me, and he didn’t ask me about the father, but I’m pretty sure my moms already told him by now. Otherwise, he would’ve asked us about what’s going on with us moving in together with a kid on the way. Mom Three was pretty excited about being a grandma, and she already knew that you couldn’t have been the father, because otherwise you would’ve been there with me when I told her.”

Cove relaxed significantly after hearing that, placing a hand over his chest.

“Dad Two and Mom Four,” she continues, giving Derek a look, raising a brow as he smiled sheepishly. “Didn’t think Cove was the father, and were happy that I wanted to name my daughter after Gregorio. Although Nico asked, because he was just being curious in all honesty and since I was literally naming her after Dad Two, if you or Cove were the donor, which Mama Four was horrified about because it was possible, and she probably would’ve gone into a panicked frenzy even more thinking that she got a grandchild with your blood before you even got married, but I reassured them that no, it was just an ex-boyfriend.”

“Well, at least he’s less of a menace than when we were kids,” Derek snorts, shoulders relaxing from the knowledge that his parents knew the truth.

“I think Terry was the only one who asked if my daughter was yours, Cove,” Rosaline said thoughtfully. “But Terry was also the one to ask me a lot of questions about potential fathers. Liz and Miranda have never asked, but they both have this look like they might know who it is.”

“I’m glad that was cleared up, then,” Cove sighed, rubbing the back of his neck rather awkwardly. “Not that you’re not an amazing person Rosa, but…”

“Yeah, I get it, Cove,” she nodded, sharing an understanding look with the man in question. “It’s weird.”

“So uh… are you…?” Derek trailed off.

“Hmm?” Rosa looked over to him.

“Did you… ever tell the father?”

———————————

Then

Mid-Autumn

In-Between Steps 3 & 4: Age 18

———————————

“Will you ever tell the father…?”

Rosaline shook her head, looking at the vase of flowers on the table than at either of her moms. Lee is sitting beside her, holding her hand. She dreaded the question, she expected it, but the thought of Baxter had left her heart aching.

And… she still never really mentioned much of Baxter to either of her moms. All she ever told them was that he left, and they knew that she had wanted to keep in touch with him.

“Is he out of the picture?” Noelani asked, concern on her face.

She tried to contact him, but it’s rather pointless to when he won’t answer phone calls or text messages. None of it mentioned her pregnancy yet, but once she got the ultrasound, she planned on telling him that she was going to keep the child. If he still didn’t want to be in their child’s life, she’ll take his silence as enough of an answer anyway.

“…Yeah. It was a one-time thing, and he isn’t answering my calls or responding to my texts since we broke up. I’m the one who wants to have this child, and he’s going to be against it, anyway. I… don’t plan on getting him involved if he doesn’t want to be.”

Both of her moms shared a worried look with each other, an unspoken conversation happened between them. Pamela frowned, Noelani still looked concerned.

“It’s… a pretty big responsibility, Rosaline,” Pamela stated, looking at her. “Having a kid is wonderful, but it can be hard at times, especially when you’re still so young. This isn’t like having a pet, and there will be times when you have to put that child’s needs above your own.”

“I know,” Rosaline softly said, nodding. “I know it’ll be hard, but I want to keep them.”

“Well… we do know someone you could talk to,” Noelani said, thinking it over. “Your… your mother — your birth mother,” she clarified. Rosalina blinked, looking at her with clear confusion. “She had a friend before she passed away.”

Rosaline wasn’t ever interested in knowing more about her birth family. Not when she was a teenager and Liz had thrown a fit, and not even now. However, it was more for the sake of medical records that she should know, and when she entered high school and her parents talked to her about her birth family.

Not that there wasn’t really much to know. Her birth mother was an orphan, her birth father wasn’t in the picture, he knew, but wanted no involvement and had even signed away parental rights.

“While Cliff and Kyra would be able to provide insight on what it’s like to raise a child on their own, they did co-parent Cove,” Pamela said in agreement, thinking it over. “Mrs Amparo has regularly helped single parents get back on their feet or assisting single mothers who are on their own with no one to support them.”

“We will love and support you, of course,” Noelani assured, smiling softly as she reached over for Rosaline’s free hand. “But having a child can be difficult, and we want to make sure that you don’t feel alone in this.”

“Of course, we’ll help you whenever we can,” Pamela nodded in agreement. “I just want you to be certain. Are you absolutely sure that this is something you want?”

“I’m sure,” Rosaline murmured, blinking away the tears.

———————————

Then

Mid-Spring

In-Between Steps 3 & 4: Age 19

———————————

“I’m sure,” Rosaline reluctantly stated, trying not to let it get to her.

“And he really hasn’t answered back?” Lee pursed her lips, looking almost as if she had just tasted something sour.

“Yeah. I texted him, saying that I needed to talk to him about something important,” she shifted in her seat uncomfortably. “I did leave a voicemail saying that I was pregnant, but… still he didn’t say anything back.”

“I’m sorry, Rosa,” Cove frowned, wrapping his arm around Rosaline as he rubbed her back in a comforting way. She sighed, shoulders relaxing as she wryly smiled. Lee reached for her hands, holding it tight.

“Don’t be,” Rosaline shook her head, eyes softening as she stared at her phone wistfully. “Not everyone wants to stay together,” she smiles, almost weakly as she holds their intertwined hands up, “And… not everyone’s willing to take care of a kid with someone.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about doing this alone,” Lee softly stated.

Cove nodded, “We’ll both help you out as much as we can.”

“You guys are the best,” Rosaline smiled.

#wynter writes #fic: when honestly you can't recall #baxter ward #our life: beginnings & always #baxter x mc

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