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panigamermauser · 8 months

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Cut stuff thoughts part3

Tav vs Dark Urge. Plus Minsc and Orin stuff.

I already ranted how hollow and non-existent Tav feels compared to Dark Urge or Companion Origins playtrough.

Companions and Durge all have deep story ties to main plot. Tav has zero anything. Like, I get the concept of Tav as blank self-insert, but... it's D&D, and any half-decent DM will find a way to include your backstory in the campaign. I know I am spoiled by my amazing DM who has been DMing since 80s. Still, very few DMs will not use their players' backstories against them! And game writers are our DM in this case.

Yes, you can say you are a [Baldurian] on some occasions, but it never amounts to anything in the game.

Your character was gone for a month or so, and suddenly they are clueless about city, and not a single soul knows you?

Amnesiac Shadowheart has some things to say about locations. She has graffiti on the wall to mark her existence in the city. Has a quest.

Astarion comments a lot about locations. Has a quest.

Karlach was gone for 10+ years. People still remember her. And she is tied with the main story.

Gale is not a Baldurian, but he still knows a lot about the city and has exclusive content there.

Jaheira and Minsc has always been part of the city, as they should.

Wyll is Duke's son, with all that it means for the plot.

Hermit druid of Halsin had cut content that tied him to city plot. It was cut, but at least it was planned, you know? And there's still a chance they will put it back in.

Lae, who is a literal fucking alien, has more content the city than Tav who supposedly lived there all their lives and was gone for about a month only.

It was said in act1 that it is about ten days of travel between Grove and Baldur's gate in normal circumstances. So I added all the long rests I had to it. It ended up being barely over a month for me.

So why could not Tav (at least the one who consistently chose Baldurian dialogue options) start with a map with all points of interest already marked, at least? They surely would know every major location and at least some stores instead of 'discovering' them by stumbling there. Why no one knows Bard/Performer Tav? Or Folk Hero Tav? Or Noble Tav? Or even criminal Tavs?

We have several quests both with cops and criminal organizations for Criminal to be mentioned.

There are taverns and a music shop where Bard Tav could have gotten 'hey I heard you perform before'.

Noble Tavs could have gotten 'an honor to serve someone of your family' from vendors in Lower City.

There could be banter for Folk Hero with Gur or Hag victims or even Harpers.

Clerics and Paladins Tavs could be recognized in churches.

Even non-Baldurian/Outlander/Hermit Tav could have some background banter with opinions on being in major city.

And yet the best you can get is a generic inspiration point you share with your companions who already have more content than you?

You can kill every single companion on sight, and the game will still care more about them than Tav. They are/were an objective part of the world even if the PC never talked to them.

Even Durge still existed in the world of Tav. You can find their corpse in Orin's bedroom. so everything in Durge's backstory objectively happened. They existed and mattered!

But if you do not play Tav - there's simply no Tav in game's world. And never were. Tbh at this point I want to make Astarion's, Wyll's and Durge's Guardian to be Wysteria. Just so she could exist in the world and be remembered by game characters. Like, they could see a sexy bard perfown and think 'WOULD' at least once.

But apparently Tav was not meant to exist originally. So it explains it.

I wonder what made them decide to implement castrated Durge character as a separate person. I just want to know why, that's all. It is too late to change it now anyways.

I wish they either committed to Tav and Durge being different people and added proper unique content only Tav will see. Or just not bothered with Tav at all. I hate half-assed approach.

If they wanted to avoid spoilers of Durge being Bhaalspawn during early access... Why? First two games had Bhaalspawn main char. Literally no one would be surprised it's Bhaalspawn again. It's the whole fucking THEME of the series.

Also, the second they said on stream that Durge suffers from severe case of homicidal ideations, literally everyone who knew a single thing about Baldur Gates games said 'and here's our Bhaalspawn'. So what was the point in secrecy?

I just want to know _why_ at this point. Hope writers can explain what they were thinking with making worse Durge as a separate char.

And it would make so much more sense that they planned Minsc to be in Act1 too because of it. Like, imagine Minsc comforting Durge. Being an angel to Butler's demon.

Butler pushes you to commit crimes. Minsc is there going 'Resist! I used to have a friend just like you. It can be done!' That would have been so good!

But ofc it all would be pointless for Tav, who for all gameplay intends and purposes never existed in the world. So I get why they changed it.

And it's a shame. Having Minsc since Act1 would have been wonderful💖

Same goes for Orin's cut content. Imagine her hounding you since act 1. Because she realises she screwed up and her Bhaalsib is still alive.

Also, her vs gith'yanki would have been an amazing story arc overall. Like, Big Bad Three control an illithid elder brain. Which does make gith'yanki their enemies by default.

And it would be even better for players who keep Lae alive (or play gith'Tav!). Like, it would make kidnapping Lae in Act3 so personal! And the amount of psychological torture she could dish out to Lae/gith'Tav by tadpoling the dragon! Would have been so delicious!

Please put this part back in! 🙏

#baldur's gate 3 spoilers #mausertalks #mauser talks cut content

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godspeedwarrior · 1 year

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I fond myself lately in a state of melancholy.

Like an animal trapped in a zoo.

In my time, I wonder and reflect on the life I've lived. The choices I've made, the friends I've let and lost, or the very lack of care towards the world I'm living in.

Since my youth I've always been posed the question, "What do you want to do with your life?" As if I had some grand understanding of the world and how it functioned. As a child, I didn't like brown potatoes. I didn't understand why, only that I preferred red potatoes, boiled and mashed. Now as a man, I recognize that there's very little different between the two, but in my naivete there was a clear and discernible difference that somehow made red potatoes better.

Potatoes are- well, small potatoes compared to deciding on a goal that you will pursue throughout your entire livelihood. It was like being asked to order at a restaurant you've never eaten at, and they don't have a menu. You don't know what's good or available to try.

I recall my sister changing her answer every other year. She wanted to be in a high well-respected position or something that paid incredibly well. In the end, she tried to go out for sports. Found she didn't dedicate her life to it early enough, fell back on medical training, and is now working a completely unrelated job with a useless degree.

I'd say, "Oh! How the mighty have fallen!" Yet it's the funniest damn thing. Our grandmother did almost the exact same path. She wanted to be a pro-athlete, found she couldn't fill the job, fell back on teaching, and found she was too old to be a gym coach.

History repeats itself, yet we disconnect from these life lessons out of a desire for independence.

I am left-handed. While it's truthfully nothing special, I put a great deal of stock in it over the simple fact that there were very few like me. I was an oddity and took comfort in that it make me special. But much like Rudolph, being special requires special circumstances to shine in. Imagine looking like your average guy, but you think yourself unique only because you prefer to write with the opposite hand. The fact that I feel alienated from fictional characters simply because we don't share common hand orientation is ridiculous. Yet it does.

It was a dark day for me when they made Link from the Legend of Zelda right handed. Nintendo was dead to me for making, what was to others, only a small change. Fellow lefties I've met in my time didn't care either. "It's only a game," they'd tell me, "So what?"

Despite the logical reasons I gave in those moments, the truth was: I related to Link. We share a resemblance, sure, but what's more is Link lived a life of adventure. He was a man of action, despite having little to say, he had much to do. I related to Link because of his diligence and desire to do good for all those he encountered. While I know now that he was written as nothing more than an empty vessel for the player to insert themselves into, I felt an unbelievable connection to the life he was leading.

Unlike most my age, the original NES Legend of Zelda was the first game I had ever really played. My father and his best friend bought it back in college. By the time I was old enough to play the Super Nintendo was out, yet I happily played away my days on that old NES. I had killed the original Zelda cartridge in a bathtub incident, leaving me with Zelda 2 as my only option if I was to keep playing in Hyrule. So naturally I played Duck Hunt instead.

That sense of adventure never left me. It wasn't long before I was all over the neighborhood and into yards and fenced areas that were off limits. Anything is permittable if you don't get caught. So I became skilled at being unseen. I didn't want any trouble, so it was best to simply pass through. Leave no marks, take not a thing. The world can be a very beautiful thing if you're just willing to look.

But just seeing places is basic tourism. Leaving no marks also removes any sense of accomplishment. What have I really done if there's no evidence? And even worse so, that's not a job one can make a living off of.

After deep thought, I concluded that what I needed was experience. Much like singling out brown potatoes, if I never tried them, how could I know that I didn't like them?

Sadly, such wisdom didn't come to me well after I had dropped out of college after a miserable year and a half. I've never liked school. Hell, my idea was to enter the work force after high school on the grounds that school work was bullshit. But my mother convinced me to try, and I still failed all my classes on account of throwing away my homework. Why the hell am I taking work home if I'm paying so much to learn in a class setting?

I was always told that my only job growing up was school work. Yet my parents never brought work home. Work was at the job, so how is it fair that I'm doing more work well after I've left what was supposed to be my job? I wasn't even getting paid for my work. So what was the point of earning some arbitrary letter for filling out redundant worksheets that I was already doing in class?

Was this what I should expect from life? Nonsense questions on standard printing paper with no imaginative design or real-life practicality to it? It blew my mind to find out I had been picking all of my classes in school, but because of how the question of phrased I took general electives just so people would leave me alone about it.

I felt like I was wasting my time because it was true. But I have to wonder, if I was to do it all again, what would I pick different? How could I have been more invested in my life when I wanted nothing to do with the society I was living in? The fact of the matter is that I wasn't living life. I have no idea, and even worse was finding that neither did my parents.

My entire upbringing weighed on the hands of two social outcasts with no idea how to raise children or interact with the very society they were living in. Considering the two were practically total opposites, it's no surprise that they got divorced when I turned 4. Mind you, I have an older sister. She is not mentally right. And I'm beginning to see where the problem stems from.

All my life I've been alienating myself from society because I've never experienced how to properly mingle or socialize. The first time my father ever rode a rollercoaster was when I was a sophomore in high school, and the best I could talk him into was a small carnival ride. He has the same friends group he had since high school. They talk about the same things, do the same stuff, and are generally unmoving.

Now, everyone has A.D.D. to some degree. Personally, I think it's the part of our brains that are constantly active, like motor functions. But it's better to argue that Attention Deficit is the part of our brains that need stimuli. Something that engages and motivates who we are as people. When you have a deficit, that length of interest is cut practically in half. If it doesn't get you thinking, you move on to the next activity. Considering the laws of diminishing return, doing the same thing everyday is fucking purgatory.

Long story short, my Dad is basic.

My mother on the other hand is a traumatized chaotic mess that's so self absorbed in her own personal hell that I'm begining to wonder if my habit of analyzing people stems from actively working over justifying her many inane choices over just the course of my lifetime. Fucking hell the run-on sentence that just happened.

My mother has never been boring. She's incredibly dramatic, quick to emotional response, and in most cases socially- has no idea what to do. I've never seen another human being so incompetent over every social situation. She claims that, "Her mind simply moves too quickly," but in reality, she only listens to respond. In her life time, my mother has developed the social behavior of a lawyer. Everything is a debate, every since is said in the interest of establishing her knowledge.

But she couldn't stop and tell you what the purpose of the conversation was for.

So here I am. Having spent my entire life on just trying to understand the people who raised me, that I can learn more about another person than I do myself.

I find people fascinating only in the sense of how much of a mess they are. But I'm now stuck with an answer that brings no solutions. After all, you cannot help those that do not seek help first.

I wish to understand me, but I lack experience and cannot see myself without a mirror. I desire to be understood, yet fear there is little to understand about me. Or worse, will be unaccepting of what I will be told.

I willingly isolate myself in crowds despite my desires to be included. I want to be the center of attention, but feel as though that's narcissistic and something I'm incapable of fulfilling. I seek to inspire and be inspired, yet by what I cannot say. To what interests me, I fear is limited.

I'm trapped in my mind with idea after idea. But to what end do I think of these things? My obsession with super powers began with the shows I watched on Saturday morning. My power fantasy to help people and do kind to the world through might quickly found it's wall.

Power Rangers were a beautiful combination of style and power. They were masterful in their execution and I was dazzled by their performance. When I was old enough to realize that it was nothing more than a show, I met my first round with denial.

Power Rangers was fake, but maybe I could make it real some day? Perhaps I was special enough that the universe would pick me to become the first real power ranger!

Life went on as normal. No monster attacks, no strange alien devices found their way into my possession, I didn't even have the decency to come visit from the future. Life was normal.

Years continued on, I wanted to do good, but it was only ever the small things. A kind word, leading a helping hand, it wasn't glorious or with flair. And I'm starting to wonder if I could have made it that way.

I wasn't ever socially normal, so who would have cared if I was that weird kid that made up his own catchphrase and tried to make doing the right thing fun and interesting?

But I don't know if I ever did anything, or if it was this morally ambiguous "right". I was a selfish kid who only ever focused on unrealistic things. If my friends had problems, I'd do my best to be there for them. However, I honestly can't say that I knew what was best for them. I remember being vented to along and giving what insight I could, a lot of the time it was just stupid stuff that needed to look at the bigger picture.

My mother tends to say, "you've always been good at looking at things from a different perspective. Seeing things from an unbiased view." But does that perspective have any real meaning coming from someone who's entirely self-focused? Every friend I had growing up I'm no longer in contact with. The longest I had interest in a group was 5 years. Sometimes I'd just stop coming around, other times it was a huge fall out.

Considering they were all socially outcast people, I'm not surprised that things are as they are. But that doesn't stop this deep gut desire to have a reliable friends group.

Which brings me to my next emotional conflict. I don't care. I find very little meaning in anything that I can't be an active member in. I've done a great deal of work to suppress the urge to speak during medium focused activities. Movies, panels, games, if there can be commentary, I instinctively have something to say. After all, my brain is constantly rolling over subjects, mulling things over, and forming conclusion based on what's present/relatable/funny.

I want to be understood, so it makes sense that I would want to be heard first. It makes me feel like I'm a part of things when I can input my insights. Be engaged in the situation. I'm sick of feeling like I can't interact in my own story for fear of stepping on toes or upsetting someone.

I mean, fuck those guys anyway. They're usually never brave enough to confront you over it in the first place. So why should I let such minor people be the major in my life?

Although, if I can't be considerate, how will I make friends? It's just one step forward, two steps back. Am I getting in my own way to find what I want? Do I fear making mistakes so much that I'd rather do nothing at all than take a chance?

Certainly. I'm reminded of my first real crush. I met her at the new church my Mother started going to freshman year. I was deeply depressed at this time, so many of my actions were dictated by fear of failure.

I can recall the first time we met. I had noticed her immediately when we first arrived. She was skinny as a rail with large dyed hair in an emo cut. Her bangs were blond, but the rest was dyed black.

Unsure of the new place, I took a seat in the lobby. That was when she approached me. She had sparkling blue eyes, a cute dimpled nose, and the most lovely lips I had ever seen. We exchanged names, and I foolishly told her my persona I had been indulging for sometime. Her name was Emma, and for no other reason than her beauty and her kindness, I secretly gave her my heart. She asked me to sit with her twice and in my naivete, I failed to see that perhaps she actually had interest in me. But since I feared failure, I barely spoke to her. And I think that gave her the wrong impression of my opinion of her.

2 years went by of this silent crush, she eventually left our church for another. By the time I had developed enough courage to talk to her, she would be in a relationship. Never having learned at that point that friendship was the true key to any relationship, I kept my distance. Waiting for my time to reach out to her. I was a fool for not learning that the right time was then and now.

I never got to truly know her. It's only in hindsight that I can truthfully admit my love for her was superficial. Only desiring the ideal of who I thought she was.

She's the only woman I ever purely desired. Even as a horned teenager, I kept the idea of her pure in my mind. I wanted to know her and hear her interests. I wanted to find her doing something she loved and join in to make fond memories together. But what I wanted was a specific situation that came into play instead of just taking the initiative and talking to her.

I have to believe that my fantasy ruined my chances in reality. If there was ever really a chance at all. Remember, I glorified this girl. I wasn't thinking of her as just another person with their own life and problems, she was a walking dream that came into my life and would make it better.

She could have seen me for the troubled teen I was and was only trying to help out of kindness. After all, she did approach me first many times just to lightly socialize. I'll never truly know what she thought of me. And all these years later of just dealing with the cringe of my own behavior, it's probably for the best that I never ask.

Every now and then I'll hear a bit of gossip from her family at the church. Bias opinions on her husband, her social views, how they're worried about her. But at the end of the day, it's not my problem. I'm not her hero. Hell, I was never actually her friend. Yeah, it reminds me of how cringy and narcissistic I was. But my best move forward is to let it be the past and work on my social skills without thinking beyond friendship.

Even though it's probably just my ideal version of her talking, I like to think she'd want that for me.

If the gossip about her is even slightly true, I wish the same benefit for her.

Geez, anyway, that's enough from me about the past. I know looking forward requires reflection, but I feel like I got a bit too personal there.

But at the same time, I did focus on the problematic foundation of my social skills. Followed by a time that such skills failed me at what felt like a crucial time in my life. I've done my best to be honest about the reality of the situation and even came to what I hope is a healthy conclusion to the experience going forward.

-H

#journal

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thatgamefromthatad · 3 years

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Mobile Game Review - Helix Waltz (Recommended by @raimi)

🎻 What is this app? Helix Waltz is a dress up game with an elaborate storyline that heavily involves character interactions. On the App Store it’s described as a “thrilling ballroom drama set in Baroque style dress,” which I think accurately reflects the sort of vintage European court-style setting the game takes place in. The setting also has fantasy elements, including characters of different “races” such as elves and people with animal ears and tails called Orens.

The game follows a main storyline as well as various side storylines and has a large cast of characters with their own personalities and preferences, all of whom you can build up your relationship with, which will affect their interactions with you depending on the level of favor you have with them. Rather than playing out in a linear set of stages or chapters, the story progresses as you accept and complete missions and attend balls where you have the chance to encounter other characters attending the same ball. There’s a bit of freedom in that sense where you can attend any of the available balls you want and encounter any of the characters that are there without necessarily following the main storyline, building up favor and getting to know anyone you want.

The dress up part is structured somewhat similarly to other dress up games I’ve played - there are various items in different categories (hairstyles, headwear, dresses, shoes, different types of accessories, etc.) with different attributes and rarities that will affect your “chic” level at any ball or other outing you attend, as well as how other characters perceive you depending on their preferences. You can have “beauty contests” with other characters you encounter at balls that compares your outfit’s chic level to theirs and there are other parts of the game where your outfits can compete with others players’. You can gain new dress up items through completing quests and through a gacha-type mechanic where you draw from different sets of potential items.

📝 Review Summary: The sheer number of different characters you can interact with in this game is very impressive, and it’s definitely entertaining getting to know them all and try to build relationships with them. I definitely found myself getting invested in certain characters and wanting to progress through the storyline so I could learn more. The art in this game is also very beautiful, which includes both the character designs and clothing items.

The follower who recommended this game noted that there is queer representation, including a trans character, which is a positive aspect, but I noticed there was not a lot of BIPOC representation, specifically a lack of characters with dark skin and limited options to have dark for your own character. The default character you play is white with very pale skin, and from my understanding from doing a little research, skin color changes are included as makeup items which definitely seems wrong, not only because you have to get your hands on the right item to have darker skin but because skin color as makeup seems to imply blackface, even if that’s completely unintentional (the makeup items in this game aren’t technically just makeup - they also change the shape of facial features). I definitely think this game should add different base skin tones, as well as characters who aren’t all super pale.

Full review below:

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👍What’s good about this app? The enormous cast of characters in this game and the multi-faceted system involved in gaining favor with them and getting to know them are definitely this game’s biggest assets, in my opinion. Each character has their own unique personality, backstory, style, relationships and role within the in-game society, but what’s really enticing is the fact that the story tends to build up a bit of mystery and intrigue about different characters and families/factions, which motivates you even more to get close with certain NPCs and learn the different secrets they hold. The game is pretty immersive that way in the sense that your goal of building up enough trust and prestige to gain access to the most interesting intel/gossip aligns with the main character’s goal of integrating and positioning herself strategically amidst higher society.

That sense of immersion also comes through in the way the game is structured to allow you to interact pretty freely with the characters rather than following a linear path from one encounter to another. You encounter other characters similarly to how you would if you really were a young noble in this sort of society - by wandering around ballrooms or other settings and seeing who you run into or seeking out those that you already have some level of relationship with. You can even get letters from them! You can choose to follow closely to the main plot, or pick your favorite characters and go out of your way to interact with them, or a mixture of both. This game really focuses around character interactions in a way I’ve never personally seen before, and it’s very impressive - and fun!

Another great aspect of this game is the art, which of course is an important aspect for any dress up game. I’m not very well-versed in fashion in general, but I can say from an average Joe perspective that the clothing items and outfit sets are overall just very pleasing to look at and give me that sort of mouthwatery fashion-p*rn feeling whenever I see some extravagant “look” whether it be from real life, a game or any other sort of media. You could say I’m easily pleased though since I can say that about just about any other dress up game I’ve played or been widely exposed to (Love Nikki, Time Princess etc.). One thing I think is especially cool in this game is the perfume category which I can best describe as creating a kind of animated aura around your character that differs in appearance depending on the perfume. This works well with the fantasy-type setting of the game and gives a little extra magical oomph to the outfits. Other outfit pieces can also be animated, like jewelry that sparkles for example, which is also a nice touch.

The last positive thing I’d like to mention is the theme song of this game that plays in the main menu (and pretty much everywhere else except outings), it’s so beautiful and I love it so much I added it to my Spotify playlist I listen to every day lol. The song is Sans Toi by Sarah Natasha Warne if you’re curious.

In the video below you can see a perfume item in action creating a galaxy-like aura around the character, and hear a short clip of the song as well.

[Video Description: A screen recording showing a fully dressed-up character wearing a luxurious red white and gold robe over an ornate black and white collared top with a red vest and loose-fitting brown pants that have two golden stripes at the end of each pant leg. They are holding a sword, have long blond hair tied in a high-set ponytail that drapes over their left shoulder and have a large, circular golden ornament position behind their head resembling a sun or halo. They are wearing dark stockings and black high heels, and there is a sparkling, swirling aura around them with streams of light changing color from blue to purple flowing toward them. The rest of the character and clothing is still except for jewelry and accessories that sparkle and glow and some golden parts of the clothing that shimmer.]

👎 What’s wrong with this app? There are a few minor flaws with this app such as a glitch(?) I experienced a few times where I was talking with one character and another character suddenly appeared and then disappeared, which I’m pretty sure was a glitch because after it happened for some reason I wasn’t able to complete any of my goals at the ball. Also if you don’t have a great internet connection it can be very frustrating because the game will freeze often, although I can’t criticize this that much since my internet connection just sucks and I’ve experienced this with other games before that are just highly reliant on having a constant internet connection.

Probably my main problem with this game is the lack of diversity in skin tones, both in the cast of characters and in your options for your own character. Like I said there are dozens of characters in this game but from what I’ve seen so far they almost all have pale/light skin. I don’t really think the setting of this game is an excuse considering it’s a fantasy setting and there are definitely characters from different regions or backgrounds but they all just happen to have very light skin. Another reason I think there should definitely be more diversity is that there are definitely themes of racial discrimination in the story - some characters will spout stereotypes and hateful comments about other races, in reference to fantasy races or other social groups in the game, and I’m definitely not saying the targets of those comments should be dark-skinned, I just feel like if you’re going to touch on those subjects but have little to no representation of the people who experience that kind of discrimination in real-life, it seems a bit hypocritical. As a disclaimer I am mixed-race (East Asian and white) and semi-white passing with pale skin so I’m not an authority on the skin tone issue specifically but my opinion as someone reviewing this game is that there’s no reason to not have more diversity in the game, even regardless of whether it involves the themes that I mentioned.

Below is just a handful of the NPCs but as I scrolled through the list pretty much everyone had pale/light skin, Gedanh is the NPC with the darkest skin tone as far as I know:

As far as a lack of diversity in selecting a skin tone for your own character, that didn’t specifically stand out to me at first considering the main character is a pre-established character and not as much of a self-insert as in other games like Time Princess, but the fact that you can change your facial features using “makeup items” and skin tone is also locked to certain makeup items doesn’t seem fair, since it makes whiteness the default and limits darker skin tones to these specific items and corresponding makeup looks. I’m not sure what adding diverse base skin tones would look like from a programming perspective for this game but with everything else this game has going on that is so complex and impressive I feel like there’s not an excuse in this day and age to exclude something as basic as different skin colors.

While the lack of diversity is definitely my biggest criticism of the game, I’ll just add that another flaw is that many aspects of the game can be confusing and despite a pretty lengthy series of tutorial quests that teach you about different parts of the game, I still have some confusion after playing for a while. For example I’m still not even completely sure if winning a beauty contest against a character strengthens your relationship with them, and I had to look at the Helix Waltz wiki to learn how to investigate NPCs’ preferences and exactly how remaking clothes works etc. The wiki and other players are a great resource, but having more guidance in-game, even if it’s in the Help/FAQ section (which I checked and still didn’t have all the info I needed), would be an improvement.

🪞Full list of features (there are a lot but I’ll try to cover them to the best of my ability):

Storyline (main plot, side plots that unlock when you strengthen your relationships with characters and event plots)

Quests (there are quests that go along with the plot or events as well as daily quests. The daily quests are more simple such as “talk to X amount of NPCs” or “attend X amount of balls” while the other quests involve having interactions with specific characters, wearing specific dress up items to certain events, etc.)

Dress up (you dress up for every ball or other outing you attend. Each ball will have a different clothing attribute, such as a certain color or style, that increases your chic points if you wear items with the corresponding tag. Different characters also have style preferences but you need to investigate to find out each character’s preference. In addition to dress up before events, the mirror section of the main interface allows you to make whatever outfit you want with the items you have, which will be the outfit your character wears during scenes outside of outings. There are different categories of items corresponding to different parts of the outfit and for some categories you can wear more than one item from the same category, such as wearing a different bracelet on each wrist)

Balls (this is one of the two main ways you will interact with characters and complete quests. There are a few balls you can choose to attend at any given time, hosted by a specific family or faction, with specific characters attending that you can check before you enter the ball. Once you enter the ball and dress up, you can choose to approach a certain character if that option is available - I think you can only approach characters directly if you’ve already talked to them at the ball or if you are wearing an outfit they like but I’m not sure about that part - or you can choose “wander around” and have the chance to encounter different characters who are attending)

Other outings (in addition to balls there are other places in the game where you can encounter other characters, such as the slum and the tavern, and these outings work similarly to balls in terms of character interactions)

Conversation (for basic conversation you pick from a selection of topics and you can gain favor with a certain character by correctly picking the topic they prefer. There is dialog to read for every conversation although these are stock conversations that repeat so you’ll usually want to just speed through them. When you increase your relationship with a character you can unlock special conversations with them that are more unique and tied to the plot)

Q&A (sometimes a character will ask you a question and depending on if they like your answer it can boost your favor with them)

Beauty contests (while conversing with a character sometimes you can have a beauty contest against them comparing your outfit to theirs, and if you win you get points that I believe go toward earning in-game currency - another thing I’m not 100% sure about. I think you can only have a beauty contest with female characters but there is at least one male character I’ve been able to have a beauty contest with. Sometimes a character will immediately force you into a beauty contest when you encounter them)

Dancing (sometimes when interacting with a character at a ball you’ll have the option to dance with them which opens up a short memory-based minigame. I think completing the minigame correctly yields similar rewards to winning a beauty contest. I think you can only dance with male characters as I’ve never had the option come up with female characters so far)

Gathering intel (intel is a resource in the game that is used to learn more about characters and that can be exchanged with characters for rewards. While wandering around a ball you may have the chance to eavesdrop on characters and gain intel)

Gift Box/gacha mechanic (The Gift Box section of the game is where you can draw from different gacha-type pools for items and resources. Different pools take different currencies and have different sets of items)

Remaking, dyeing and enchanting clothes (you can change the style or color of some clothing items if you collect the right resources, which changes both the item’s outward appearance and attributes that go toward chic points/gaining favor with different characters. You can also enchant clothing items, which changes their appearance and increases their chic points)

Events (there are limited-time events such as events that offer limited-time items/gacha pools and limited-time quests)

Illusion Contests (one way you can compete with other players in the game rather than NPCs. You are given preset clothes items to choose from in order to put together an outfit, and can give the outfit a name. Your outfit is scored based on a voting system where two outfits are shown and players can vote for one or the other. You get rewards based on how many votes you get and you also get rewarded for voting on other outfits)

Championship (another way to compete with others players using your owned items rather than preset items. I have not participated in the championship myself yet but from my understanding you make one outfit to defend against other players challenging you and then make outfits to challenge other players’ defending outfits. The players you have the option to challenge will be the same rank as you so the competition is balanced and I believe this competition is based on the attributes of your items and a theme set for the current championship cycle, a bit more like a NPC beauty contest than the voting-based Illusion Contests.)

⭐️ Overall Rating: 4/5 (this would definitely be a 5/5 game if they fixed the racial diversity issue but it’s unfortunate that a game that’s otherwise so complex and engaging - and has LGBTQ+ representation - drops the ball in this area. I definitely hope they at least add the ability to have different base skin tones in the future.)

I really enjoyed this game so thank you to @raimi for suggesting it! If anyone else has any game review suggestions feel free to send them 🥳

#helix waltz #dress up games #dressup games #mobile games #baroque #full game reviews #fashion games #lgbt characters #game characters #interactive fiction #recommended #court games #fantasy games #game music #image descriptions in alt text #long post

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masterhandss · 4 years

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Hamefura Idol AU!

No one on tumblr really knows it but... I love idols, like idol animes and games are my childhood and has eaten away at my very soul. I like drawing and imagining idol aus for pretty much any show I get into, and sadly hamefura isn’t gonna be an exception to that :P

(i’ve yet to draw for my dumb au so have a placeholder image from an upcoming anthology by @/relaxmakoto)

Instead of being isekai-ed to a bootleg PS4 otome game, our monkey girl gets reincarnated into “Fortune Lover: Cinderella Idol!”, an idol-production rhythm game (help me i’m bad a choosing names).

(Long post, I’m basically gonna retell the entire game in an idol setting lol. I only wanted to draw for this au, but thinking about plot and gameplay was too fun so I wanted to share it)

The Game

The original game’s story follows Maria Campbell, the main character of the game who applied for a job in Sorcier Productions after seeing a wanted ad online. By some luck, she gets hired as a temp-producer for the famous male idol group “Fortuna”. After a few hours of gameplay involving producing the male idols (Gerald, Keith, Alan and Nicol) through the game’s tutorial (introducing various aspects of the gameplay like “Choosing your Idol”, “Getting Relationship Points”, “Rhythm Game Concert Mode”, “Idol Produce Mode”, “TV Drama Mode” etc), the game reveals the plot twist of the game: Not just the male idols, but you get to also idol-produce yourself!

By the outcome of various events, Maria ends up performing in the stead of another idol during a mini concert that she escorts the boys with, and immediately stole the hearts of the audience by her beauty and hidden talents! M.C. is actually the first idol in the “Self-Produced Idol” project, one that aims to determine and bring out the full talents of an idol by exposing them to all the in outs of the idol world. Maria ends up becoming quite known very quickly, being rumored as a “Cinderella” of the idol world (In sports, the term Cinderella is used to refer to situations in which competitors achieve far greater success than would reasonably have been expected, rather than the typical meaning of Cinderella which means “damsel”). This rumor leads her to the anti-hero rivals for Maria (who ends up joining you in the game as idols you can produce), the perfect idol Mary Hunt and the “rarely appears publicly despite her talents” Sophia Ascart.

They start out as rivals for the game but ends up becoming friends with you and becoming produce-able idols like the 4 boys. You can even form a trio unit with the girls if you have enough relationship points (when your trio unit “Amour” is unlocked, you get more events, songs and outfits for you and the two girls!). But the true antagonist of the game is Katarina Claes, a boastful and prideful newbie idol who joined a few months before Maria, who earned a fan base thanks to her confidence and mature style. She doesn’t have the best voiced or is very skilled at dancing, but her confidence and ideals draws people to love her for her unique character. Katarina lacks self-awareness though, and thinks that she is the jack of all trades when it comes to being an idol, thus leading her to have an unbelievable amount of self confidence when it comes to her popularity and skills. She despises Maria Campbell because of how much the articles praise her for her charm and adorable singing, as she thinks that Maria is nothing more than a wannabe that doesn’t know the harsh reality of the idol world (the irony of that is an important aspect of the game’s story, since Katarina is overly reliant on her producer Anne, and Maria is the one who works both as an idol and as a producer).

Maria doesn’t really play much into the “self-insert” protagonist, more like an involved protagonist like Izumi from A3 that plays an important role into the story. The player does get to choose Maria’s (and everyone else’s) songs, schedules, outfits etc. by the guise that you are Maria, working as both an idol and as a producer.

The game does have a “relationship points” system, which means you can actually date one of the boys form Fortuna (secretly). Even if you don’t intentionally date anyone, the game already does play the “you, the main character, are so important and they wouldn’t know what to do if you weren’t here” agenda that most games have, so the game already makes all the love interests seem interested with you regardless of whether you actively target Gerald, Keith, Alan or Nicol.

Katarina’s Bad End

(Rather than the life threatening doom flags of FL) In the game, Katarina Claes constantly sabotages Maria’s events and performances, creating the conflict in the “story mode” and the “events” of the game. Near the end of the game, the character who has the highest relationship points with Maria will reveal Katarina’s awful treatment of Maria in public, ruining Katarina’s reputation and causing her to lose public opinion and fans

Sabotaging fellow idols is actually quite common in idol stories, but the extent that Katarina goes for her bullying is terrible, which shocks the public because that side of the idol world had never been put into the forefront before. While Katarina does have an arrogant and prideful personality, learning that she, who didn’t have the cleanest reputation in the first place, has been harassing the darling of the idol world, meant that shows, programs, radios and events didn’t hire or invite Katarina anymore in fear of loss in sales or public outrage, leading to her eventual downfall.

The final event of the game, the Idol Queen Tournament, Katarina performs despite her ruined reputation, and was met with almost no response from the audience. Realizing that her life as an entertainer is ruined, she quits and vanishes from the public eye.

It is said in the epilogue that she moved into the country side, by a small farming field, shunned by her parents and the public for her embarrassing behavior, in order to repent and look back on her actions, much to her anger and disapproval.

The degree of Katarina appearances and story events differ depending on which male idol love interest Maria has the highest points in. Katarina is most active if you are closer to Gerald, as she is madly inlove with him and only became an idol to be by his side (as Gerald won as the “Idol King” of that year, and Katarina aimed to be his “queen”). Katarina is also frequently present in Keith’s events and interactions, as she makes fun of the both of you for being a disgrace as idols. She also appears on Alan and Nicole, but not as much.

“Fortuna” and “Amour”

Fortuna, the most popular male idol group during that time, and Amour the all-new girls idol unit, are the “produced” characters of the game

(i’m bad at thinking at idol group names so those are placeholders lol)

Gerald Stuart is a child actor known for being a perfectionist. Even as a child, he had a good face, pose, fashion sense, perfect memory, amazing acting talent and charisma to carry himself infront of a crowd. He became an idol in hopes of escaping the endless sea of acting offers he gets, and to just starve off a bit of his boredom and free time. He ends up becoming interest in their new producer Maria, due to her unique circumstance and how hard working and earnest she is. Idols are known for being prohibited from dating, but in the Gerald Ending Epilogue, he proudly announces Maria as the woman of his affections and deeply apologizes to all his rabid fans and supporters, and hopes to gain their support for his feelings for her. The two are crowned the “Prince and Princess” of the idol world for that decade.

Keith Claes is an adopted son of the Claes Household. He was bullied by his sister and mother, making him feel alone and isolated as a child. In his teens, he became a handsome playboy that easily caught the hearts of a female crowd, leading him to be scouted by someone in Sorcier Productions. He accepted, wanting to use the love of a huge fanbase to drown himself with praise and adoration and to fill the hole in his heart from years of trauma and loneliness.

Keith attempted to flirt with his new young producer, but gets constantly rejected due to the idea that idols can’t date (and bc Maria is just so busy), making him crave Maria’s attention even more. He ends up respecting her diligence, intelligence, beauty and honesty, making him slowly fall inlove with her. In the Keith Ending Epilogue, Keith confesses to Maria and wants to date her, but knows that he can’t just let go of the fans that he gained from his playboy persona, so instead he gives her a promise ring, telling Maria that when their whole “idol” thing is over with and pass them, he hopes to be able to date her (and even marry her) for real one day without a fanbase that might attempt to seperate them.

Alan Stuart is the twin brother of Gerald, who is often compared to his twin brother due to his lack of acting and entertainment skills. Alan does however, have a deep love for music. He might not be as good with instruments as his brother, but unlike Gerald, he truly loves composing and performing music and finds solace in the melodies that he can convey. Alan ends up becoming an idol due to his love for music, with the desire to one day use the connections he can make as an idol to become a full-time composer and song writer (as well as to generally learn how to sing bc he secretly likes that too). Alan also wanted to be an idol as a way to compete with his brother in an area that he is more knowledgeable on.

Throughout Alan’s encounters with Maria, he ends up rejecting Maria’s friendship and praises due to his inferiority with his brother. Through time, Maria’s constant praises of Alan’s music and singing ends up resonating with him, leading up to her telling him that he shouldn’t compare himself to his twin brother and there are only things that he is good at, like his music. Maybe a line like “Not even Gerald can recreate the melodies that you write and compose, Alan! These scores are very Alan-like, and there’s nothing I’d rather listen to; nothing that warms my heart more. This is something only you can do, as Alan and no one else” does him in.

In the Alan Ending Epilogue, he admits that his heart isn’t ready for a relationship yet, but declares that he wants to be with Maria forever and that from the moment Maria started to make an impact in his life, she had become the “Aria” of his music, and that he wants her to know that he will always write his music with his love for her in mind. He wants to be able to convey his love for her through song one day, and he hopes that she will continue to love him until he finds the right words to sing.

Mary Hunt is the daughter to a famous businessman and politician, who has connections to the Stuart Family. She met Alan by accident, during the dinner party in her house for his father’s birthday. Mary was hiding in her beloved garden, and had encountered Alan who had done the same, before she could retreat to her safe haven. She was in awe as she watched Alan play and sing a song in his small guitar, almost thinking that the song was for her. They ended up singing in a duet, with Alan complimenting her voice, saying that she should develop it. Mary instantly fell inlove with Alan, and had trained herself in the same musical arts that Alan loved, especially the voiced that he had complimented, in order to one day become worthy of performing by his side. She had originally assumed that Alan wanted to perform for an opera or musical, but when she found out that Alan wanted to become an idol, she auditioned to Sorcier Pro. as fast as she could.

In Alan’s ending, Mary was very heartbroken to know that she could not be the one to stay by her beloved Alan’s side, but silently thanked Maria for breaking Alan free from the inner turmoils that Mary knew was an impossible job for her. Despite her feelings, she still wanted to sing by Maria’s side and congratulates the two with all of her heart.

Nicol Ascart is the son to the esteemed Ascart Family, owner of the Ascart Inc., one of the major sponsors for Sorcier Productions. Nicol has been a child model and was popular since childhood because of his beautiful face. He doesn’t talk much, so when someone has filmed him singing to himself in the hallways in highschool, it immediately went viral, causing various scouts to offer him a role as an idol. Nicol had only accepted his request due to the circumstances of his little sister, Sophia.

Sophia Ascart is born with unique features, leading to her being bullied and made fun of in public due to her stage appearance. Sophia has always loved idols, being envious of their ability to enchant a crowd and sing songs about their feelings out loud. She had a sweet voice and an adorable face, but her hair and eyes caused people to think of her as a freak. She wanted to become one, but knew it would impossible for her. Nicol decided to use his popularity to jump-start Sophia’s possible idol career, by trying to brainwash/persuade his fans to also love Sophia (when she first joined and started as an idol). It didn’t work on everyone, but he was determined to help his sister.

When Maria befriends and even starts a unit with Sophia, Nicol eventually fell for the woman who made both his and Sophia’s wish come true. There’s also the fact that as their producer, Maria became a true friend of Nicol’s, one that didn’t look at him with obsessive desire and only wanted nothing more than to be a friend and an ally.

In the Nicol Ending Epilogue, he quits being an idol due to his desire to eventually join his father in the family business, much to the disappointment of his fans, but promises to always watch Maria from the side lines. He would always send bouquets almost everyday, with small cards giving the declarations of love that he normally wouldn’t be able to vocalize. He thanks her for supporting both him and his little sister, and promises to jump to her side once she is done being an idol.

Bakarina

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

I’ll write the rest of the plot involving reincarnated!Katarina next time lol :P

This au is obviously heavily influenced by a lot of the Idolmaster console and mobile games, Ensemble Stars, A3, Vocaloid Project Diva games, Aikatsu etc lol. Thanks to anyone who gets to read till the end. Feedback (and name suggestions) are very appreciated! Hamefura is still a small fandom so idk if i’d write for this au, but it’s a good enough excuse to draw the girls in cute idol clothes so i’ll take it XD)

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teaandgames · 4 years

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Tale of Two Farmers - Stardew Valley Vs. My Time At Portia

Generally, I think it’s pretty bad form to compare two games directly. It feels like a disservice to both; like you can’t really put into words what you like about it, so you just refer to something else. In this case though, the comparison between My Time at Portia and Stardew Valley is pretty damn apt. Both are gunning for the exact same thing, though both do it in different ways.

Make no mistake, I’m not here to say that one game is better than the other. Instead, I want to compare the core elements of the two titles, to help you decide which one you should pick. Both are great games that diverge in special ways.

The Story

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley’s main story threads are kept in the background, for the most part. It begins with a man or woman working their life away in a soulless office job, which does hit home pretty hard. That all changes when their grandfather passes away, leaving his old farm and house as an inheritance. Our player decides to drop his job and move out there to start a new life as a farmer. From there, the plot moves more towards the aforementioned soulless corporation, Joja, which has a supermarket in place, ready to take over Pelican Town.

Your decision is then to help them or to beat them back. Should be an easy decision, if you have a heart. The story only really starts to creep in after a few years though. Until then, it’s mostly business as usual. Better if you just want to be left alone to farm in peace.

My Time At Portia

Portia’s story starts much the same way. Our builder gets a message from their father, who leaves them with a sizable present: a workshop and a plot of land in the town of Portia. From there, the story begins to unfold as you help the town and build up your land. Portia is built on the remnants of an old civilization, which was brought down by its overreliance on technology. Understandably, people are pretty hesitant to start building up again.

The plot mainly comes in the form of commissions, which open up bits of the world and introduce new characters slowly. It’s definitely a more hands-on story than Stardew Valley, especially as some of these commissions have timers attached. It’s better for those that want to pick away at the world more.

The People

Stardew Valley

Pelican Town is stuffed full of people to talk to. Indeed, one of your very first quests is to meet and greet the whole lot of them. Stardew Valley has gotten a lot of well deserved praise for its cast of characters. All of them are interesting in their own right and have their own reasons for staying in Pelican Town. Though some actually want to get out. Unfortunately it’s not always that easy to uproot. You can also marry a good bunch of these NPCs, once your relationship with them is high enough.

The only downside is that, aside from giving them gifts, there’s not much to do with these NPCs on a daily basis. There are events that kick off when you get to certain relationship points but for the day-to-day stuff, there’s not a whole lot to do. That and, to build up these relationships, you can just give people the same gift over and over. It’s a bit odd, but worth it to learn more about the residents.

My Time At Portia

My Time At Portia plays much the same as Stardew Valley in this aspect. Portia is packed to bursting with people to talk to. Excluding the group of people that are all palette swaps of each other, they are all unique and interesting. I spoke about Phyllis in my review and she remains as strong as ever. All of the characters have something going on in the background and getting to know them takes a bit more work this time around.

You can go on dates with your NPCs of choice, taking them all around Portia. You can do everything from going on the swings to just sitting down and talking about your lives. It’s a little bit more involved than in Stardew Valley, though the practice of gift giving remains the same as ever.

The Farmer and Builder Stuff

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is more concerned with the growing and selling of things than anything else. As such, it’s up to you to make the most of the plot of land you’ve been given. Gains at the start will be small as you slowly open up your field and plant more and more. Plants require a fair bit of care, which sprinklers can help you out with, and by the end you’ll be rolling in melons and cauliflowers.

There’s a fair bit of variety too. Not only are there different crops depending on the season, some of which grow normally while others require poles, but there’s animals to take care of too. You can be the farmer you want to be. You can even gear your farm around catching fish, if you’re some sort of freak that enjoys the fishing mechanic. There’s no denying the immense satisfaction that comes from harvesting a big batch of high grade vegetables.

My Time At Portia

Actually, all of these things are in My Time at Portia as well. Though, they tend to come secondary to the main event: the building. You can get a coop and individually pet each chicken, which is indeed as fun as it sounds. But the main bulk of the time is going to be spent hoofing around lumps of metal and installing them into blueprints. It’s pretty fun, to be honest; it’s like a proper project. You stick up the blueprint on the assembly station, then look through the list of everything you need.

Refine everything at the various other stations around your workshop and hey presto, you’ve got a water tower, or a bridge part or whatever else is on the menu. It’s bit more involved than gardening, as most plants are content to do the hard work themselves, which makes a difficult construction a lot more fun. It’s really the main event, so if you’re more of a construction fan then Portia is the one to look at.

The Mining

Stardew Valley

Mining is one of the bigger pieces of side content in these titles so I felt like it needed something of a section of its own. Mining in Stardew is the best way to get some of the more useful minerals. With them you can upgrade your tools, making everything just that bit easier. The deeper in the mine you go, the better the things you find. Getting right through to the end will net you a special prize. If you get through all the beasties that lurk there, that is. Best to keep a sharp sword handy.

The mines are okay, but the energy mechanic bites a bit harder in Stardew compared to Portia. As such, clearing floors can take a few tries, particularly as you can only skip down to set floors. At least the good doctor will come fetch you out if you get injured. The townsfolk even pick you up if you fall asleep. Now those are some good folk.

My Time at Portia

Portia’s energy mechanic is a lot less restrictive, but the mines are essentially split into two parts. The main mining takes place in the ancient ruins that are dotted around Portia. Mining is a lot more free form than in Stardew, mostly because it’s in 3D. It follows almost a Minecraft pattern, as you carve out chunks of the landscape with your pick. It’s a lot more simple, as you look for the right coloured vein and mine it, which gets you the expected resources. Scattered around these ruins are special relics which, when put together, give you special bonuses.

The other half of these are the hazardous ruins. No mining to be done there, but that’s where all the monsters are holed up. Combat is a bit more involved than the blind swinging of Stardew, and you get more weapons to choose from. These ruins are the best way to get rare items too, though it does get a touch repetitive at times.

The Other Stuff

Stardew Valley

Stardew tries to make sure that every new thing you accomplish gets rewarded. It mostly does this through the community centre, which gives you rewards for inputting certain items. It’s a good way of getting the player to explore the whole of Pelican Town, as to complete it you’ll need to fish and mine as much as possible. It also opens up new bits of the world for you too, ensuring there’s always something to do.

You can visit the desert for one thing and even find your way into a casino there. Outside of that, there’s the usual activities to take part in. Fishing, making friends, cooking, all these different kinds of things. It’s what you insert into your day while waiting for your crops to grow.

My Time at Portia

Portia has a little less free time on its hands, thanks to the myriad of times attached to all the different quests, but it still finds time for other activities. The bulk of the exploration will be in one of the two ruins up there but there are side activities such as fishing that you can use to fill up some of your limited free time.

It also has events that happen on certain days of the year. They’re all marked on your calendar so you can set some time aside ahead of things. These events are small, repeating tournaments. My favourite is the martial arts tournament, where you just batter the hell out of other residents. Good times. These run throughout every season and do spice things up.

Conclusion

As you can see, Portia and Stardew are two games shooting for the same goal in different ways. It’s up to you to decide which flavour you prefer. As I see it, Stardew Valley is a lot more relaxed. The goal is to make enough money to truly expand your farm and live your best life. You’re mostly left alone to do that how you want.

My Time at Portia on the other hand is a lot more hands-on. The plot makes itself known throughout, and the timers on all the quests keep you on your toes. I’d say Stardew is more relaxing but Portia is more exciting, particularly with the better combat. Either way, both are good games. I recommend reading about both of them and deciding what kind of game you’re looking for.

#Stardew Valley #My Time at Portia #Gaming #Video Games #Tea And Video Games #Article #Games

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roses-are-blue16 · 5 years

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Novels-Random order

Novelupdates.com for more info about anything -> Back to Masterpost

Fave: 5/5

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/Mo Dao Zu Shi

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Historical, Mystery, Romance, Shounen Ai/Yaoi Other Unofficial tags: Smart Protagonist, Shameless Protagonist, Smart ML, Love interest falls first, Devoted Love Interest, beautiful couple, power couple, wuxia, interesting supporting characters

Status: Ongoing

Art: 1 2 3 4 5

Other things: there is an Manhua & Donghua out, all posts tagged by name here

Official Summary: As the grandmaster who founded demonic cultivation, Wei WuXian roamed the world in his wanton ways, hated by millions for the chaos he created. In the end, he was backstabbed by his dearest shidi and killed by powerful clans that combined to overpower him.He incarnates into the body of a lunatic who was abandoned by his clan and is later, unwillingly, taken away by a famous cultivator among the sects—Lan WangJi, his archenemy.This marks the start of a thrilling yet hilarious journey of attacking monsters, solving mysteries, and raising children. From the mutual flirtation along the way, Wei WuXian slowly realizes that Lan WangJi, a seemingly haughty and indifferent poker-face, holds more feelings for Wei WuXian than he is letting on…

My Thoughts: First chinese novel I stumbled upon and I fell in love with. To me everything about this story is absolutely perfect, from characters, to plot, romance, mystery and worldbuilding...everything was so unique and beautiful. And the translation group Exiled Rebels does an excellent job portraying it in english as best they can. There are some hurdles tho: for example if you haven’t read any chinese novels before you have to adjust to terminology a lot- especially names (everyone has like three names). So if you’re like me who stumbled into it with no idea what expect you’ll probably get confused a lot but if you stick out you’ll get used to it and rereading the first few chapters later after adjusting is probably a good tip. Unlike other BL/Yaoi stories that I’ve seen (mostly japanese manga) the romance actually blends and makes sense; and not fetishized or forced, even if you don’t like the genre it won’t get in the way of the story (especially with china’s censorship).

2. The Legend of the Sun Knight

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery Other Unofficial Tags: Shameless Protagonist, Anti-Hero Protagonist, Strategy, Hilarious interactions, War, Neocromancy, Leader, Loyalty, Elemental Magic, Black-Bellied Protagonist, Demons, Sarcasm abound

Status: Complete Other things: Manga-(Discontinued?)

Official Summary: I am a knight. To be precise, I am the Church of the God of Light’s Sun Knight.The Church of the God of Light worships and serves the God of Light, and theirs’ is one of the three largest religions on this continent.As the whole continent knows, the Church of the God of Light has the Twelve Holy Knights, and each one has his own unique personality and features.To be the Sun Knight is to have shining golden hair, sky blue eyes, a compassionate nature, and a brilliant smile.“The benevolent God of Light will forgive your sins.”I must have said that line at least a million times in my time as the Sun Knight.However, the greatest wish in my life is to be able to stand before the entire continent and roar, “Damn your ‘the whole continent knows’! This Sun Knight just doesn’t feel like smiling! I just don’t want to forgive these human trashes! I just want to pepper my sentences with ‘f***’!”Unfortunately, even to this day, I continue to wear a smile as I say, “The benevolent God of Light will forgive your sins.”

My Thoughts: Actually read this years ago (5-6?), and I always thought it was a japanese novel but I guess it isn't(?)-anyways not important. This story was absolutely hilarious, you won’t meet a more entertaining guy. The contrast between how he’s forced to act as the leader of the religion- belevont, kind, smiling, pure- is the total opposite of his real personality so much so that it gave a shock (of pure delight) cuz of the drastic inner and outer faces. There’s 12 knights in total ,each is totally unique and you get introduced to them super fast. There is different conflicts that occur, that fall on Grisia’s ( the mc) shoulder to solve as he is the leader and while it starts off lighthearted, in the end some serious stuff occurs. This is a very warm hearted story about brotherhood i think overall. (Also heard that Grisia falls into the legendary trinity of shameless protagonist: Wei Wuxian from GDC is one of them and I agree lol). Very unique storytelling, it twists all kinds of classic tropes and plays with them, overall a very fun read.

3. Eight Treasures Trousseau

Genre: Historical, Josei, Romance, Drama Other Unofficial Tags: Arranged Marriage, Calm/Lazy Protagonist, Ambitious ML, Politics, Power Couple, Royalty, Doting Love Interest, Beautiful Couple

Status: Complete

Official Summary: Everyone in the City of Jing thinks that bestowment of marriage between Xian Junwang and the daughter of the Yi’an Marquis House is to insert a fresh flower into manure.Xian Junwang was that fresh flower and the di daughter of Yi’an Marquis House was that manure that was not liked.It is said that what is heard is false, seeing is believing. Who knows what the truth really is?

My Thoughts: A really nice story set in Ancient China, and in my opinion the best one written. The story has both the female lead and male lead on pretty equal field in terms of their relationship, you won’t see any weak-willed person in this couple. This story also portrayed realistically the difficulties of living in Ancient China as a woman, by showing us many different kinds of people. The villains make you feel complicated emotions even when you hate them, which shows you great storytelling. No-one is excessively stupid and the mc is just stomping over them with her “cleverness” in this story which I liked. The MC is actually very lazy and this gave the story a very relaxed feel, which lead to time just flying by. I’ve just recently reread it which rare for me to do.

4. A Slight Smile is Very Charming -Side Stories

Genre: Romance, Comedy,Josei,School Life, Slice of Life Other Unofficial Tags: MMORPG, Gamers, College/University, Power Couple, Beautiful Female Lead, Handsome Male Lead, Smart Couple

Status: Complete

Other things: Adapted to a drama: Love 020

Official Summary:What is it that makes a man fall in love with a woman at first sight? Appearance? Aura? Wealth? NO, when campus prince and gaming expert, student Xiao Nai first saw Bei Wei Wei, what made him fall in love was not her extraordinary beauty; but her slim and slender fingers that were flying across the keyboard and her calm and composed manner!!! Embarrassing, no?At the same time, gaming expert Bei Wei Wei was on the computer methodically commanding a guild war, and won a perfect and glorious victory despite being at a disadvantage; completely unaware of the fact that cupid is nearby.Soon after basketball player; swimmer; all-around excellent student; and game company president, Xiao Nai, uses tactics both on- and offline to capture this beauty’s heart. Therefore this romance slowly bloomed.

My Thoughts: This is a very quick, lighthearted story. It gets straight to the point with no drama, if you just want a nice, quick romance to read then I highly recommend. When I was debating whether to read it or not, one of the reviewers on novelupdates said it had a drama, and I usually hate drama’s but they recommended it, so I went to check it out before I started reading and I surprisingly loved it. I usually hate cheesy but they managed to pull it off real well, so I was squealing and cringing at the same time (lol), it’s probably because the actors are really good looking so you can’t help but let it slide. The drama added some drama not a lot but some to the story. When I went back and read the novel I realized how quick it was compared to the drama. I recommended both honestly, if you’re looking for some fun.

5. Rebirth of a SuperModel

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Yaoi Other Unofficial Tags: ShowBiz, Transmigration, Black-Belly Protagonist, Love Interest Falls First, Clever Couple, Talented Couple, Power Couple, Celebrities, Acting, Media

Status: Complete

Official Summary: In his past life, Ming Yu struggled in the European and United States fashion circles, eventually becoming the well deserved king of the catwalk.After dying from a serious illness and being reborn, Ming Yu was surprised to find: Huaxia stars shone brightly, there were successful names everywhere!In this better world, on a more vigorous and brilliant stage, the first supermodel tries to reproduce the glory of another world! Interviewer: May I ask Mr Xi, this year Ming Yu said he would surpass you. As the number one global supermodel, what is your opinion on this? Xi Ze: This is a bad question. My family has very strict rules. Home Owner Ming Yu: ……. The pair of black-hearted husbands will sweep the fashion industry, conquering the world.

My Thoughts: A really fresh story, I never got bored. It focuses more on the MC and his rise as a supermodel, and sprinkles in the romance with ML. While reading it (before it got completed), it felt like me and other readers were cheering on the MC as fans as well, which was a lot of fun. I’ve read some other showbiz transmigration stories but I got annoyed or bored real fast, this one I found real fun, no matter how many days until the next chapter you could pick it up and feel happy. Some things people might not like: there a lot of photoshoot scenes (he is a model) so some might get tired of that, but they go by pretty quick. While MC was the number one model in his old world, it doesn’t make him OP, he has his own flaws and he grows a lot which makes him more interesting.

6. Sansheng, Wangchuan Wu Shang

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Josei, Romance, Supernatural, Tragedy Other Unofficial Tags: Goddess, Gods, Mythology, Heavenly Tribulations, Honest Protagonist, Protagonist loyal to Love Interest, Reincarnation, Beautiful Couple

Status: Complete

Official Summary: This is a story that follows the courtship between a stone from Hell and a god from Heaven that begins in the underworld and spans for three lifetimes in the mortal realm.

My Thoughts: Honestly was suprised how much I liked it. Despite the MC being naive, and ready to throw it all away for the ML, you can’t hate her. This a very fast story (about 15 chapter and 3 bonus stories), which adds to its charm. If it was longer I might have not liked it as much. There are overwhelmingly positive reviews about this story on novel updates which made me give this story a chance and I agree with them. If you like romance definitely check this out.

6. The Earth is Online

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Shounen Ai/Yaoi Other Unofficial Tags: Game Elements, Thriller, Survival Game, Special Abilities, Calm Protagonist, Clever Protagonist, Slow Romance, Modern Day

Status: Complete

Official Summary: Six months ago, tens of thousands of black phantom towers appeared all over the world, floating above the cities. Chemists, physicists, religious people… all of them could do nothing.Six months later, people became used to the towers and no longer paid them attention.One day, Tang Mo saw a flying insect crash into it instead of going through it. The next day, a sharp and clear child-like voice issued an announcement to all humans. “Ding dong! November 15th, 2017. The earth is online.” The black tower’s three iron-clad rules: 1. Everything is explained by the black tower. 2. 6 o’clock to 18 o’clock is the game time. 3. All players, please strive to attack the tower.

My Thoughts: You won’t find a story more unique than this. I doubt there’s anything similar to this story. Something that might come close might be the manga Tomodachi Game, but that's only the doing games for survival bit. I don’t know how the author came up with this, the games are so smart, that you may feel like you’re getting smarter by the end of it or that you’re IQ is hopelessly low. And it’s not the fact that rules are ridiculous and don't follow logic either, when the answers are revealed they make sense.. Honestly reading this I’m glad something like (probably ;) ) won’t happen because I doubt I would survive. I have a real admiration for the author for coming up with this. The story is good at keeping you wary and on edge that something is going to happen at any moment. Some issues?: The romance was so so slow burning that it became a background character, and there wasn’t a big payoff moment like the author gave us this weird analogy when they finally did the deed, that I was burning with indignation, just thinking about it pisses me off, but it probably has to do with the censorship in china. Also there were too much straight explanations that kinda got annoying but could be ignored. I think with how well the author set up the survival element that you could ignore the flaws pretty quickly. So glad I found this novel.

7. Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil - Side Stories

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Yaoi Other Unofficial Tags: Acting, Apocalypse, Artificial Intelligence, Episodic, Mob Protagonist, System, Virtual Reality, Cunning Protagonist, Devoted Love Interest, Possessive Characters, Hacker

Status: Complete

Official Summary: A top hacker was chosen by the Lord God to be reborn into countless worlds, always as an expendable villain.With no free will, every world became a dead end. Every one of his lives ended tragically. Finally, after wresting control of the Villain System, this ace hacker decided to enact revenge. Even if his very bones were rotten, he’d choose to occupy the very heights of morality, if only on the surface.Thus, he would change his fate as an abused slag.

My Thoughts: If you’re on novelupdates you’ll hear about this story at some point, it has become infamous on the site. And for good reason, this is the top written System transmigration into multiple world stories, or just system stories. There a multiple worlds and each one has it’s own flavor you’ll definitely have your favorites. It’s a very fun story to read and if you’re new to system stories like I was when I read this, you’ll inevitably compare all others to this one.

8. The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage

Genre: Historical, Josei, Martial Arts, Mature, Romance Other Unofficial Tags: Betrayal, Politics, Military, Royalty, Scheming, Revenge, Beautiful Female Lead, Handsome Male Lead, Cunning Couple, Slow Romance

Status: Ongoing

Official Summary: Shen Miao, the Di daughter of a military lineage, pure, amiable, quiet and yielding, foolishly in love with Prince Ding, threw herself into the role of a wife. After assisting her husband for six years, she finally became the mother of the world (Empress).She accompanied him to fight for the country, flourished the country’s territory, took risks to become a hostage in another country. When she returned five years later, there was no place for her in the Inner Palace.The beauty in his arms smiled brightly, “Older sister, the country is stabilized so, you should retire.”Her daughter met with a violent death and her son the Crown Prince was deposed. Her Shen family who sacrificed themselves for the country and the Emperor, not a single one of them were lucky enough to escape. With the change of one dynasty, everything was overturned. Her clan perished and she had to mourn for her children.Shen Miao never thought that being a married couple who have gone through trials and tribulations and mutually assisted each other was just a stage joke to him! He said, “Seeing that you have followed Zhen for twenty years, Zhen will grant you an intact corpse. You should thank this kindness.”Under the three Chi (1 chi = 1/3 meter) of white silk, Shen Miao made a malicious vow: In the time to come, she will take part in each and everyone’s end!Upon rebirth, she returned to the time when she was fourteen, when the tragedy had yet to occur, her family was still alive and she was still the pure, amiable, quiet and yielding Di daughter of a military lineage. Relatives hiding a black heart, Elder and younger (female) cousins are ruthless and malicious, the new Yiniang is like a tiger watching its prey and the disreputable man who wants to repeat the events?Her family must be protected, the huge enmity must be avenged, the Imperial seat of the country must also be a part of the trophy. In this lifetime, let’s see who can beat the others!

My Thoughts: I’ve tired to read numerous novels with the reincarnating to get revenge trope and I’ve never been able to complete them for variety of reasons but ultimately it’s because they end up sucking. This novel however is like a ray of light for this trope. Whatever way you think she’s gonna resolve something you’ll never guess right. I’m always pleasantly suprised. That’s something I can say for the whole novel it’s always surprising even with the current chapters with story almost at a close we readers just got shocked yet again. You’ll definitely experience a variety of emotions watching the story unfold, right now I’m pulling a napkin between my teeth (please author put us out of this misery already T.T). I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Great:

Everyone Thinks that I Like Him

Genre: Comedy, Romance, School Life, Shounen Ai/Yaoi Other Unofficial Tags: Uni, Dense Protagonist, Slow Romance

Status: Complete

Official Summary: From infancy to maturity, what Ye Zhou dislikes the most was “two”.The reasons were: he was ranked second at home, he had been forever ranked second at school, no matter how diligently he worked and tried, he couldn’t shake off that “second” curse. What was more exasperating was that, at University, not only was he ranked second, but even his appearance that he was proud of had to be classified as second best! Why can’t I obtain the first place!The eternal second will rise!Then, Ye Zhou, after his vigorous efforts finally rises and the result was… the first became his boyfriend.This is the story of a man who has been forced to be “second” and how he became the first, most popular.Protagonists: Ye Zhou, Shang Jin.

My Thoughts: Cute, Fluffy, Funny. As you can see there is no drama tag so if you’re looking for an explosive story this is not it. But it is a very realistic story especially in regards to the acceptance of the couple how it differs for the younger generation vs. the older generation. The story is very natural and the characters believable. If you a cute story this is it.

2. Empress with no Virtue

Genre: Adult, Comedy, Drama, Josei, Mature, Romance, Smut Other Unofficial Tags: Arranged Marriage, Bickering Couple, Politics, Misunderstandings, Politics, Royalty, Imperial Harem, Power Couple,

Status: Complete

Official Summary: The free-spirited and brutally honest Ye Zhen Zhen was unwillingly chosen as Empress to the playboy Emperor Ji Wu Jiu. Their very first wedding night, she kicked the Emperor down from their bed and he sought out his concubine instead. This completely disastrous start was only the beginning of their eventful life together.

My Thoughts: Although not especially memorable, I enjoyed reading it. It was fun watching the couple act petty to one another. Honestly their relationship reminded me of boys pulling on pigtails to get the attention of their crush. There are a lot of funny and fluffy interactions, made for a fun read.

tbc.... Posted 2/13/19

#check out novelupdates for more details for more details and reviews #in no particular order but my feelings #novels #Mo Dao Zu Shi #Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation #legend of the sun knight #eight treasures trousseau #novelupdates #quickly wear the face of the devil #the earth is online #empress with no virtue #the rebirth of the malicious empress of military linage #rebirth of supermodel #novel #recc #recommended #updated 2/13/19 #my post #chinese novels

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calliopesquill · 6 years

Text

A Year in the Life - Chapter 4

Okay, I couldn’t resist. I was going to wait until tomorrow to post the next chapter but I have been going so hard working on later chapters today I had to post it early.

Thank you all so much for your support and all of your wonderful comments. Talking with you and getting your feedback has really made my week. I know a lot of readers are leery about oc-inserts so I really want to thank you for giving Nell a chance. One of the most comments I have gotten is how much you like her and how well she fits in the canon world. That is something I work really hard to achieve in my characters so I am so glad that you all like what I have done with her.

And now without further delay, on with the story!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 4: Once Upon a Time

Miguel spent his lunch hour that monday in the library. After discovering that they didn’t have a particularly wide selection of graphic novels he turned to the internet. Nell had said that she’d done a webcomic as well. Maybe her website would help him figure out who he was dealing with. Just because Nell seemed decent so far didn’t mean she actually was. His experience with Ernesto De la Cruz had taught him that. Hadn’t De la Cruz been kind at first? Hadn’t he saved him from drowning? But behind the smiles and dramatic persona was a selfish, self-absorbed creature who was more than willing to kill to get what he wanted.

Not that Miguel thought that Nell would be anywhere as bad as De la Cruz had been, but he wanted to get a little more background on her before he decided to tell her anything else.

A quick Google search had given him the basics. Penelope Rey. (Miguel snorted at that. Penelope? No wonder she went by Nell.) Twenty-five years old. Born in Kelowna, Canada. (Okay, so she wasn’t American, but he’d been close.) Published her first stand-alone graphic novel at twenty-two and recently released the last volume of the trilogy she’d been working on. Most of her books were of the urban-fantasy sort, or contained some hints of “other”. The webcomic, which she’d started while she was in university, was about a magical girl who discovers that she has inadvertently been working for an evil power the whole time, and sets about on a quest of redemption to make things right.

Not really his thing (he was more into the masked-crusader/folk-hero/luchador genre) but the splash pages and banners on the website intrigued him enough that he clicked the link that would take him to the first page of the comic. Right away he was hooked. The art-style was dramatic but not cluttered or overdone, and her heroine spoke like someone he would meet on the street, with only a minimum of cliche comic book-style dialogue. Her characters were diverse and compelling and her villain…. Miguel shuddered. Oh she was so creepy! Sly and manipulative and calculating under a veneer of support and encouragement. You didn’t even get the hint that there was something wrong about her until you were over a year into the plotline.

He had just gotten to the part of the story where the main character discovered she’d been played when the five-minute warning bell rang.

Miguel jumped, almost falling out of his chair. How had the lunch hour gone by so fast? Quickly he closed the browser, logging off of the computer as he grabbed his book bag, then took off out of the library to get to class.

Miguel’s talk of alebrijes stuck with Nell, and after a few days of independent research she decided to approach approach one of the craftsmen from the plaza.

Sebastien Berardo had been in the business for many years. Some of his earliest memories were of sitting with his father in his workshop, watching him work. He learned the craft at his father’s side, how to shape and sand the wood to bring out the fantastic creatures inside, and the types of paints and glazes that brought out the best color. He also learned how to deal with the public, from the closest of neighbors to the loudest of tourists.

When Nell first started asking questions he started with the basic history of the craft.

Alebrijes had first been created by the artist Pedro Linares in the early 1930’s. The story went that he had become very ill, and had dreamed of a beautiful forest populated by incredible, colorful hybrid creates that called themselves alebrijes. Horned roosters, winged snakes and donkeys, a thousand creatures of infinite strange and wonderful combinations. Inspired, he began to create carnival masks and religious figures of these creatures to sell in the markets of Mexico City. His unique pieces had attracted the attention of a prominent gallery owner who wanted to showcase the pieces, and even Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo sought him out for commissions. Now most alebrije figures were carved from copal wood, in the pre-Hispanic woodcarving tradition of the local Zapotec culture.

“And you still make all of these by hand?” Nell asked, crouching to take a closer look at the delicately articulated figure of a winged snake that was coiled upon the table.

Sebastien nodded proudly. “Each piece is crafted in our family workshop. My son Filipe, he is studying art in university. He painted many of these.”

“They’re beautiful. I love the colors.” It was like seeing an entire summer’s worth of color condensed into a single small figure. “At what point did they started becoming associated with spirit guides? By some of the descriptions they are kind of similar to the Aztec nagual.”

“It is possible,” Sebastien conceded with an uncertain shrug. He’d never really considered that, but there were certainly some similarities.

Nell liked the idea. After Miguel had first brought up the idea of spirit guides she’d ended up going on a bit of a research binge on the topic, compiling a series of notes about guardian spirits in world mythology. She’d been particularly intrigued by the the concept of the nagual, the Mesoamerican spirit guide or spiritual double. Depending on the myth, the nagual functioned as either a reflection of the self, or as a separate spiritual advisor. According to some of the myths that she’d found, a person’s nagual could even go wandering while they slept.

Or in other words, they could astral project.

There were also stories about shapeshifters but Nell was reasonably sure that wasn’t going to end up as part of her skill set.

After a little more discussion on the history and process behind the art and history of the alebrije figures Nell decided to leave Sebastien to his work, but as she turned to leave one of the figures caught her eye. A small, brightly-painted bird.

She couldn’t have stopped the grin that spread over her face if she tried. “Señor, how much is the crow?”

Over the next few weeks Mariachi Plaza became the unofficial meeting spot for astral hang-outs. By this point Miguel had learned to successfully project while awake, and was confident enough in this new ability that their occasional late-night chat was often more friendly than lesson-like. Honestly it was nice just to be able to talk to someone and not worry about letting something slip and having them think he was crazy. He’d already made that mistake once with friends at school, and had had to play it off as a weird dream.

At least will Nell he didn't have to worry about that.

He grinned when she appeared across the plaza. "What, you couldn't sleep either?"

"Nah. Finished some book planning and wanted to go for a walk. Then I saw what time it was and thought.... yeah this way is better."

Miguel chuckled. He knew what it was like to get wrapped up in a project and lose all sense of time. How many times had he stayed up late working on a new song, forgetting entirely that he had class in the morning?

“How was school?”

“Fine,” he shrugged. “Annetta came to visit my music class yesterday. That was pretty cool.”

“She’s the trumpet player, right? The one the violinist has that debilitating crush on.”

“That’s the one. She played for us during class, then did sort of a tutorial session with the other trumpets.” God willing, they’d actually be able to stay in tune from now on. “You get any farther on your book?”

"A bit, yeah. Started doing research on alebrijes and I found some really cool stuff.” She answered excitedly, eager to share what she’d found. “You know the Mayans and Aztecs had stories about spirit guides too? And some of the magic users in the old myths could astral project, just like us! So of course that turned into a crazy research binge. I swear I filled up an entire flash drive just with ideas for character alebrijes."

"Sweet!" He grinned. "You'll have to show me later. I can tell you how they compare to the real thing."

"The real -- Man, you've been holding out on me," she groaned, dropping onto the step of the gazebo to sit next to him. "You see alebrijes too?"

Miguel shrugged. "You probably have too. They just look different this side of the bridge."

"Different how?"

"Different like.... You know, normal."

That was interesting. She hadn't considered that guides could take different forms between worlds. That was something she'd have to think about later. "So there's a lot of alebrijes on the other side of the bridge?"

"Loads," Miguel told her. "And they're huge! Well, some of them. I used to think they were just a myth, like vitamins--"

"Vitamins are real, Miguel."

"People keep saying that but I really don't think they are. Anyway," he continued. "They're, like, everywhere! Some people have them as, well not exactly pets, but they have ones that stay with them. There might be some wild ones but I didn't really see any."

Oh God the curiosity was killing her. She wanted to respect his boundaries and not ask questions that he wouldn’t be comfortable answering, but she also really wanted to know what had happened. But just asking how the bridge worked wouldn’t hurt, would it? "So you just found the bridge and walked over?"

Miguel gave a sheepish smile, rubbing one hand over his forearm in a nervous gesture. "Not exactly... It was an accident. Well, the first time was. I kind of....stole something."

Nell stared. "You what? Damn, kid, what did you steal? Some cursed ancient idol or something?"

"HA! No!" He laughed. "No, no, no. Nothing like that. It was a guitar."

“A cursed guitar?”

“No! The guitar wasn’t cursed. Nothing was cursed. I mean I thought I was for a while, and then I actually was for a while, but no.”

Now she just blinked at him. “What… What? Okay. I am officially confused. You stole the guitar and it took you across the bridge. And then you got cursed?”

“No. Taking the guitar got me cursed, but I crossed the bridge after. It’s… kind of a long story.” But maybe it was about time he told someone the truth. Miguel sighed, brushing one hand distractedly thought his hair as he hunched forward, bracing his arms across his knees. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about what happened, someone who would actually believe him.

“I didn’t mean to steal it,” he told her. “Well, I did. But I was going to bring it back. I just wanted to play it once, here in the plaza.”

It all came pouring out, the reason for the Rivera family’s ban on music and the events that led to him believing that Ernesto De la Cruz was his ancestor, trying to steal the guitar, and the curse that resulted.

“Hold up, hold up,” Nell interrupted, holding up her hands in a ‘stop now’ gesture. “Your great-great-grandmother told you that if you didn’t give up music that she was going to let you die?”

“She didn’t mean it that way,” Miguel said defensively. “She thought she was doing it to protect me. That music was dangerous. And I kind of did almost die three times that night.”

“What?!”

“Anyway, so I thought, fine, if the rest of my family refused to give me the blessing, I’d track down the one family member who might understand.”

“Ernesto De la Cruz.”

Miguel nodded.

“Except he wasn’t your grandfather.”

“Gracias a Dios.” Now that would truly be a nightmare, now that he knew what De la Cruz truly was. “But I didn’t know that at the time. So I ran off and tried to find him.”

He told her how he met a shabby-looking skeleton who claimed to know De la Cruz, and how he disguised himself with shoe-polish so he wouldn’t stand out. Their attempts to find the man, which took them all over the city (and he met FRIDA KAHLO! HOLY CRAP!), and their quest for a guitar that took them to Shantytown. Nell listened raptly as Miguel continued his story, snickering to herself when he told her about Hector singing “Everyone Knows Juanita”. She wasn’t familiar with the song but she could certainly guess what word “knuckles” might have been meant to replace. And even though she knew full well what kind of awful human being De la Cruz was, hearing first-hand how he’d murdered Hector back in 1921, and then tossed both him and Miguel into a cenote to rot in the Land of the Dead, had her clenching her fists in helpless anger. She wished she could cross the bridge herself so she could punch that creature in his stupid face.

“And then Mama Imelda and Pepita showed up and pulled us out! Dante had found them and helped track us down. Turns out he’s an alebrije too.”

“Wait a sec. You are telling me that you were being followed around what is quite literally the afterlife by a dog who turned out to be your alebrije, and you named him Dante.”

“Yeah?”

Nell snorted with laughter. “Oh, that is perfect. Absolutely beautiful. I love it.”

“Um...why?”

“Look up Dante’s Inferno at school when you get the chance. Let’s just say your dog is really appropriately named.”

“Um… ‘kay. Anyway…”

He took her through their infiltration of the Sunrise Spectacular with the entire family in Frida Kahlo cosplay, right up to their final confrontation with De la Cruz when he threw Miguel off the top of the building. Thank god for alebrijes that were large enough to ride on. Pepita had earned her chin-scritches for eternity that night.

“And then...they sent me back,” Miguel finished. “I ran back home. Mama Coco… I couldn’t let her forget him. She’d had problems with her memory for so long but I had to try. But when I played their song, it was like it all came back somehow. She’d kept everything hidden in her drawer. Hector’s letters, some of his song drafts. And the corner of the picture that had been torn away. We taped it back on and put it in a new frame. It’s on the ofrenda now but… I don’t know if I made it in time.”

Tears stung at his eyes but he wiped them away stubbornly.

“And you’ve never tried to go back, just to see?”

Miguel shook his head, giving a watery chuckle. “I think Mama Imelda would have killed me for real if I tried. I thought… For a moment last year I thought I felt him, like he was playing right next to me but…”

“Then I’m sure he made it,” Nell told him, resting one hand reassuringly on his shoulder. “You would know best, right? My great-grandma passed away when I was ten and I will swear on whatever you want that I still feel her in my grandparents’ house, so if you say you felt Hector playing next to you that night, then you did.”

He let out a shaky sigh as a feeling of relief washed over him. He didn’t know how badly he needed to hear that until that moment, for someone else to have such absolute faith that what he felt was real. Hector had become one of his best friends even before they’d found out they were related. The fear that he had been too late had been eating at him for so long…

They sat in silence for a moment as Miguel collected himself. Then he sighed again. “Thank you.”

“Any time,” Nell smiled. “Seriously. And hey, we could always try an experiment this year.”

“What kind of experiment?”

“Projecting during Dia de los Muertos. I’ve never tried it before but who knows, maybe you’ll be able to see them.”

Miguel’s face lit up like a christmas tree. “En serio? We can do that?”

“We can try,” Nell promised. “All the old stories say that the veil is thinnest that time of year, so if there’s any time it would work, well it’s worth a shot right?”

The boy jumped to his feet, letting out an enthusiastic grito that would have woken the entire town if he’d been in his physical body.

“I take that as a ‘yes’ then?”

“Yes! Absolutely yes!”

Nell didn’t sleep well that night. She wanted to, oh how she wanted to, but one thought kept circling in her mind. There was something about that guitar. She couldn’t help but feel that there was more to the story. Miguel had said that it wasn’t the guitar that was cursed, but if it was nothing more than a harmless musical instrument, Nell was a fire-breathing monkey. There was just something way too coincidental about it.

Annoyed with herself, she rolled over to scribble a reminder to herself on the notepad she kept on her bedside table in case of midnight bursts of inspiration. She would look into it in the morning. Surely somewhere on the internet was stories of haunted instruments.

Apparently, as Nell found the next morning over breakfast, stories of haunted or possessed musical instruments were not uncommon. There were even long-standing legends cultural legends related to the phenomena, and when Nell came across the myth of the Japanese tsukumogami, she knew she’d found what she was looking for. Though there was no cultural crossover of this type of legend the correlation of events was just too close.

Immediately she opened up a new document on her laptop and started to take notes.

In old Japanese culture there was a belief that if an object was owned for over a hundred years, it would develop a soul of its own and become self-aware. Musical instruments were particularly common tsukumogami because they were often crafted with great care and carried great monetary value, so they usually ended up passed down through generations. But the descendants of the masters who once owned these instruments were not always musically inclined themselves, causing the instruments to fall into disuse and become resentful. And Hector Rivera would definitely be classified as a “master”. Between what Miguel had told her and her own research, Nell could see that this was a man who put his heart and soul into every note he played. That was a lot of emotion for an instrument to absorb in the approximately three years that he had owned it. A lot of love. And for him to be betrayed, murdered for his music, and the instrument stolen and paraded around by the murderer? Someone who only played for fame and attention? Nell figured that would result in a pretty pissed-off guitar.

And the guitar itself was a freaking showpiece. Hand-made and perfect to the last detail. That kind of love and care being put into its creation had to leave a mark as well. Nell wondered how Imelda had been able to afford it.

The writer sat back in her chair, biting absently at her lip as she contemplated. Another quick google search had her frowning. Hector had died in November of 1921, at the age of twenty-one. Ernesto De la Cruz had been crushed by a falling bell during a performance in 1942, almost exactly twenty-one years later. No way in hell was that a coincidence.

And according to the date stamp on the video taken that night, the date of the concert was… the second of November. Dia de los Muertos.

“Well… holy shit.”

Nell scrubbed her hands over her face, almost dislodging her glasses. That was a hell of a kick for an instrument that hadn’t even hit twenty-five years yet. It didn’t hit one hundred until 2017. Displayed like a trophy in the tomb of the man who murdered its master until some kid breaks in and steals it. A kid whose motivations might not have been entirely pure, but who had a musician’s heart, and who happened to be a direct descendant of Hector Rivera, its original owner.

Most stories of cursed objects just dealt with bad luck and deadly accidents. She’d never heard of people being shoved into astral planes and being taken to the Land of the Dead. She could only concluded that the guitar wanted Miguel to meet Hector, wanted him to find out the truth. Had it known that Hector was being forgotten?

When Miguel returned at sunrise the first thing he did was run to his grandmother. The guitar would have known her too. This was the child that Hector had loved so dearly, who he had played for every night. It had held onto that love, those powerful memories for all those years, and Miguel said that when he played for her she came back somehow. Nell’s own grandfather had passed away when she was in university. Over the last few years of his life, dementia had robbed him of most of his memories. The last time she had seen him, he thought she was her mother. To bring someone back from that was nothing short of a miracle.

“Okay. So. The guitar might be sentient.”

After some thought she found she kind of liked the idea. It was reassuring in a way to feel that treasured things could love people in return. And if they developed spirits of their own, could they be considered alebrije too?

Nell grinned, reaching for her tablet and plugging it into her laptop, breakfast entirely forgotten. A sentient, haunted guitar. It looked like she finally had a real plot for her new book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so ends Chapter 4!

Researching for this fic has been really educational for me. I've tried to stick as close to the known facts about the history and culture that I reference as possible, though I may have had to use a bit of creative license to get everything to mesh properly with my plot. One of those details was the date of Ernesto's last concert. It was never really specified in canon, but based on the stage design and how when the scene was originally planned for the opening number and how the introductory song was about Dia de los Muertos, I went with that being the date.

One of the most fun things about writing Nell for me is getting to play with all of the meta storylines and fan theories that I can't get to fit within the regular plot. I want to give a special shout out to @im-fairly-whitty, whose incredible discussion of the sentient guitar theory (found here) has inspired the basis of Nell's novel.

Thanks so much for reading! If you want to see any more fun content or fanart, please follow me! Send me your asks, your fun theories, or any comments you have! I can't wait to connect with you!

#coco #disney coco #coco fanfiction #pixar coco #coco 2017 #fanfiction #A Year in the Life #miguel rivera

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pokemonruby · 6 years

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so i hear you have a fanmade pokemon region... 👀👀👀

this has been sitting in my ask box for… several weeks, and i apologize that it’s taken me so long to reply, love! i’ve been nervous about sharing my fan-made region simply because… well, i thought no one would be interested. but you know what? it’s important to me so i’m going to talk about it anyways!

i won’t go… too into depth or else this will end up becoming a novel. but i will cover the basics! the region itself, gym leaders, the elite four, and most importantly: story! which i’ll briefly sum up, since it’s very lengthy and complex in comparison to the usual stories told in pokemon. except for like, b&w…. truly, that’s what i’m going for. those games were a masterpiece.

the region has gone through several name changes, but right now it’s known as the “fairel region”! why? well, the region is inspired by popular fairytales and myths.. while the landscape is comparable to that of a studio ghibli film. vast, and needless to say – breathtaking the fairel region is known for its immeasurable species of pokemon, a majority of them ones that are considerably “rare”. i’m still working on the various towns, cities, and other locations… but i assure you, i’ll make them as unique as humanly possible. after all, the region itself is like magic – it’s even believed that it could be on another field of existence, due to the limitless phenomenons that occur on this, specific soil. but i’ll get more into that later…

meanwhile, the… hypothetical player characters would be lydia and jack respectively – at least, those would be their canonical names. like x/y, they would be a tad older than your usual protagonists… around 16-17. their adventure begins in a seaside town known for its hospitality and love of the neighborhood pokemon, except for the player’s foster father… who, because of trauma, hasn’t allowed them to own one yet. in the meantime, however, they’re the assistant of the local professor, professor evergreen. her research lies in, you guessed it – the myths and legends surrounding the pokemon world, as well as the fairel region’s own unexplained phenomenons. one day, her research notes are stolen by whom the town considers a “delinquent”: finn, the rival, who’s basically a combination of silver and hugh… as finn also happens to be the player’s best friend. at the moment, it’s unknown why he took the professor’s notes … and he isn’t willing to give a straightforward answer, either. instead, after the player has obtained their starter (an eevee, since i’m not the best at creating fakemon & it’s a suitable starter imo) and defeated him, finn will simply leave, saying, “i hope you’ll understand one of these days, (insert name).”

afterwards, the player’s guardian obviously learns that they obtained a starter… however, he’s not angered. instead, he apologizes… because it was wrong for him to have kept them from their long-awaited journey. once professor evergreen entrusts them with the pokedex, the player is tasked to unravel the mysteries that surround fairel… as well as record every rare pokemon living within it! of course, they’ll also take on the fairel region’s league… which is much more challenging in comparison to the norm.

i’ll be brief with the plot from here on out, since it’s still in development! as the player travels throughout the region, collecting badges here and there… they eventually stumble into main conflict: a team, known as “team relic”, is attempting to reawaken perhaps… the most destructive, most powerful pokemon in history – you guessed it, the one and only “arceus”. how? well, in my world… which is different from the main series, i can already tell you… the azure flute can only be played with a specific melody, comprised of four tablets. the tablets, in which, are guarded by the members of the elite four… but as for the azure flute itself? i now introduce, the fairel region’s champion… victor! a famous explorer/archaeologist who aids the player on their journey, all while trying to put a stop to team relic’s nefarious scheme.

for now, i’ll hold off on explaining the rest of the plot… unless there’s people who are actually curious to know how everything plays out. let’s talk about the gym leaders now, instead! in order, it’s… grass, water, steel, ghost, ground, fire, dark, and flying. i’ll also put off describing the gyms themselves, or else this will become exceptionally long… perhaps i’ll make a seperate post about it! at the very least, i could give a bit of insight as to whom the gym leaders are.

wisteria is the grass-type leader, a kindhearted, older woman who cares deeply for pokemon and is the caretaker of an immense garden. clarissa is the water-type leader, the youngest and a bit cocky, but has a soft spot for her fish companions. arthur (who’s my personal favorite) is the steel-type leader, who is passionate about theater and is quite literally, dramatic, but also strong-willed and mature. the ghost-type leader is geoffrey, a seemingly gruff, unsoicable older gentleman who not-so-secretly cares for the town’s children and even tells them folktales from time to time. the ground-type gym leader is nala, a headstrong and independent person who usually lets her fists do the talking. adrian is the fire-type leader, a hot-tempered and competitive, young man who’s always up for a challenge. pandora is the dark-type leader, a soft-spoken and somewhat aloof individual who is a good friend of victor’s, because of their shared love for myths. and finally, makani is the flying-type gym leader… who is a bit flighty, but also sweet and lovable.

and now, the elite four! aka victor’s self-proclaimed “squad”. olivia is a psychic-type specialist who is fun-loving and a bit eccentric, but is very stragetic – making her a tough opponent. raymond, on the other hand, is a normal-type specialist that’s described as unwavering and tough, a fatherly figure, as the eldest there. juno is a fairy-type specialist, a bit socially awkward and isn’t taken seriously due to their “cutesy” team… but trust me, they’ll quickly have you in a tight spot. finally, there’s hawke – a dragon-type specialist and the son of johto’s very own champion, lance. now, his pokemon are simply brutal… when hawke himself is actually timid. hawke is also victor’s boyfriend so jot that down.

okay, well! i’m going to end this explanation of my region here, for the meantime – but seriously, if anyone is interested, please feel free to ask more about it! it’s very dear to me & i’ve thought of a thousand things for it, trust me.

#i'm such a loser i'm SORRY #long post #ask

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pleasinglytherandom · 6 years

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Soul Split Drabble #2 kinda sorta

Okay, some context here. In the manga, a month period happens before the gang goes to Egypt to send Atem off to rest. While driving home one day, I remembered this and had the random thought--”What were they doing in that period?” And for some reason, the first thing that popped into my head was the idea of this drabble. Realistically, the most I would do is reference this time period in story and come up with something relevant. But it definitely gives some good material and leeway to write with. I actually debated on writing this for a couple of weeks and finally decided “ to hell with it” and wrote this in 4 hours (with distractions) lmao. I figured this would still fit in the au, so eh. Why not? So...fair warning, this is absolutely raw and unedited, so ignore any mistakes. Because chances are I won’t go back and edit it on here lol. (I reference my past work a lot to see what mistakes I have made and try to better at it)

Still can’t tell if I made myself cry while writing this is or good not

Enjoy!

~~~~

Yugi and Jonouchi walked into an arcade one late afternoon. School was finally over for the day and they had no tests to study for. There was also no immediate concerns for them. Battle City has ended, Atem has retrieved his memories, and they have all the necessary items to send him back. The only thing that is to do is to make the trip to Egypt. In a fortunate way, making the money will take some time for the group to make this trip, so that meant more time to spend with Atem. The group all sat down and planned it out of how long it would take to create the funds for them to all go, and the answer they came to was a month. In that month, they all made plans to hang out whenever possible and split the time up as fairly as possible.

Today, it was Jonouchi's day. It has been a long while since either of the boys have played anything else that wasn't a card game. It has been a long time since they stepped inside an arcade in general. The changes were startling to both of them; nevertheless, it was a scene that was familiar to them. The sounds of buttons clicking and joysticks clacking, the sound effects of various video games going off from every corner of the room, and the ocassional whooping from some kid who beat a high score. Not likely Kaiba's high score, but a high score of some sort.

“Alright Yugi, where to first?” Jonouchi asked as he put a few yen into a machine. The machine dispensed a handful of coins and he pocketed them into his jeans. “Check out the newer games or go for ‘ol reliable?”

Their “ol reliable” was the typical beat 'em up games. They used to sit on the stools for hours, fighting each other with their favorite fighter. Sometimes they would even see who was the better Bruce Lee. Yugi would always win, but they had fun regardless. It was a simpler time.

“Let's go check out the newer games first,” Yugi answered as he retrieved his own set of coins. “But I also promised Other Me that he gets first play on whatever we decide to play.”

“That's cool and all, but no cheating! Don't help him on the controls or anything!”

“Ha ha, I can't promise anything Jonouchi-kun, we do share the same body after all. I can only promise I won't tell him anything myself.”

“Man, the one time I might be able to win at something and you can't even promise me you won't cheat...”

“Alright, alright, how about this? I promise on my honor I won't help Other Me or help him cheat as far as me telling him is concerned. When it comes to my body and muscle memory, I can't help that.”

“Better.”

Despite their competitive bicker, they were smiling widely and laughing as they passed all of the machines. Any outsider wouldn't be able to tell anything was amiss in their lives. If one really looked hard enough, they could see the pain behind the glint in their eyes and grins. For the moment, they could forget the weight on their shoulders. They could have normalcy for a day.

That was all they really needed.

Yugi and Jonouchi looked side to side in the aisle of the games, noting which ones were new and which ones weren't. They rounded a corner and spotted a shiny pinball machine with bright colors and lights. It had a comical mascot dressed up in a princess dress and being carried away by some sort of monster on one half, the other half with another mascot dressed in a hero's outfit giving chase, a sword and shield in hand. They stared at it, attempting to make sense of the story the images told. A light layer of dust covered the glass, making it difficult to see the visuals clearly.

Yugi gave a pitiful smile and walked up to the machine and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the dust away. Clearly it hasn't been used, but it was still taken care of to a certain degree. Jonouchi walked up behind him with curiousity, looking over his shoulder. Upon closer inspection, yellow letters was written to tell the player the point system and how many coins to insert per turn. At the top in between the mascots, bubbled characters was bolded with what the machine was called.

“ 'Save the Princess', huh?” Jonouchi read it out loud with minimal amusement. He shrugged and leaned against the wall with one hand, looking back at Yugi. “Not very creative title. So you decided on this Yugi?”

“Yup,” Yugi nodded, a more genuine smile appearing on his face. “Every game deserves a play. What do you think, Other Me?” Yugi titled his head back and looked over his shoulder, the question directed to the spirit. Yugi smiled even more and laughed, then cradled the Puzzle in his hands and shuts his eyes, like he normally does to switch places with Atem.

Jonouchi couldn't see him, but he can feel his presence there. He used to not be able to tell, but after the Memory World escapade, Atem felt even more like of a separate entity that inhabited the Puzzle. He isn't entirely sure why, but he suspects that seeing him in his own body had something to do with it. Did it reaffirm the fact that he indeed was someone else? Is it because he emits the aura of a regal being rather than the aura of a different Yugi? Is it because he is confident of his own identity and it shows—or rather, oozes?

Jonouchi shook the questions out of his head and came back to the present, seeing Atem now standing there in Yugi's place. He jingles the coins in his hand while looking at the game, his eyes narrowed in contemplation. He looks at the contraption from side to side, pressing one of the buttons with his free hand, an eyebrow shooting up. He pulls on the knob that shoots the pinball out, then releases it. The thud from the action made him jolt in surprise, but his face turns into amazement right after.

“Are...are you trying to figure out the controls?” Jonouchi asks, trying to hold back a bit of a snicker. His mouth twists a bit from his effort, but a snort comes out of his nose. He knew that it would be amusing to watch him play more unique games, but his raw reactions could be compared to a kitten testing a new toy for the first time. To put it simply, he couldn't handle it.

“Yes, I am,” Atem mused for a bit more before inserting a coin in the slot, causing the game to come to life. He puts the rest of the currency in a pocket and rests his hand over the knob and pulls it back as far as it could go and releases, watching the pinball shoot out of the slide and bounces around. “Grandpa's shop has many games, but a pinball machine is not one of them, so I am not familiar with it or it's functions. Partner isn't that familiar with them either apparently.”

“All the better for me then! Makes the playing field more fair. I bet I'll beat your scores every time!” Jonouchi stands up straighter and watches closer, the pinball going from side to side on the board, sounds pinging when something is activated inside.

“Are you sure it's wise to make a bet like that Jonouchi?” Atem smirks, the competetive determination lighting up inside his violet eyes. He observes carefully, his fingers twitching at the sides on top of the triggers for the flippers.

“Wise? Who said anything about wise? I am making the bet because it'll be fun to test your skills at something you have never played!”

“If that is what you want, then that is what you will get.”

The pinball finally began to drop down into the middle of the board, then the bottom, and launched back up by the flipper. Fortunately for the King of Games, Yugi has above average timing and reflexes, and that is all he really needs for a simple game like this. His luck can cover the rest. The score board went higher and higher as Atem kept playing, the ball yet to drop to it's death.

Jonouchi clicked his tongue as he witnessed the score rack up higher gradually. He shook his head and crossed his arms, finding it hard to swallow that Atem can be good at something he has never touched. There was no possible way for him to find time to know these games existed, let alone practice. However, he couldn't bring himself to be mad. Atem was into it and enjoying himself, and Jonouchi was able to witness it for himself. It brought a smile to his lips, and that much he was grateful for.

“I would like to thank you, Jonouchi.” Atem said softly, the ball finally whizzing past the flippers, unable to be saved. His eyes look up to his friends', a gentleness that the blond was not used to seeing. “You and everyone else are working hard for my sake. Not only to help put me to peace, but to spend time with me and feel like a person of this time. To help me feel like I could belong on the last moments of being here with you. It makes me incredibly happy and honored that you all would do that for me. So, thank you.”

A lump jumped into Jonouchi's throat, and a burning sensation settled in the back. He swallowed hard to prevent any tears from coming, and he smiled sadly at the words. He knew they couldn't ignore the obvious, it was inevitable that it would come up. But, that was a part of their normal. The obvious was always there in front of them. They just ignored it.

If only they figured out what would happen sooner.

“I feel the same too, Atem.”

#soul split au #ptr drabbles #tbh this hints wishshipping and whatever the ship is with atem and jou #but oh well #it's a bromance #I'm a sucker for bromance #I'll look at this later #and probably cringe

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kylydian · 6 years

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Musical Concepts in Animal Crossing

Let’s start our journey of looking at concepts of new ideas in music by first focusing on everyone’s favorite animal life simulator, Animal Crossing. But Kyle!? Why Animal Crossing? That’s so laid back, how does the music do interesting thing?! Because not only is it my favorite game, but because it’s a great example of using thematic material! Also, the soundtracks are surprisingly large, and this leaves us a lot of inspiration and ideas for us to use. Granted, there’s better music out there, and much of the Animal Crossing soundtrack is similar, but the importance of this music shouldn’t be overlooked. Ideas gained from the music of Animal Crossing can be applied across all genres of video games and music.

And where else would be a better place to start off with other than with our favorite in game dog musician: K.K. Slider.

K.K. is honestly who I believe conceptually the entire soundtrack revolves around. But these concepts are hidden behind who exactly K.K. is as a musician. His songs are so specific in nature. You walk up to him on a Saturday night and say “Hey K.K.! Play me a ballad!” Or you want parade music? You got it. His songs are named are named true to the genres as well. Most of his songs are titled “K.K. Rock, K.K. Bossa, K.K. Love Song” or something similar. Thinking about it on the outside, this is all there is, but diving into the compositions, I believe name becomes more than just a name.

K.K. Rock is…well…a rock song. It’s nothing more. And nothing less. Is it a good composition? Sure. It’s fine, it’s rock music through and through. It doesn’t break any ground as rock music, instead the piece plays it safe. This to me could be a musical definition of rock music in its absolute purest form. Taking this definition farther, we could say that this is K.K. Slider (And Totaka effectively) answering the question “What does rock music sound like as a concept?” This “concept” is so important and is not thought about often in my opinion. K.K. Rock captures the essence of an art form, and being able to do that shows a level of mastery that I know I don’t have. This is a piece meant to be played in your home in-game. If rock music is your favorite genre, it’s very likely you’ll have it playing in one of your rooms. And the brilliant thing about all of the other “K.K. Insert Genre Here” songs is that each one does this exact same thing. Animal Crossing is a game about communicating in so many different ways. But above all it’s a game about communicating yourself. Each of these tracks incorporates something that an individual could use to define them, and they do it through music that the listener will probably like if they’re a fan. And that’s really cool.

This concept doesn’t stop here though. In all actuality, I believe that the rest of the Animal Crossing soundtrack is structured around the idea of writing to concepts. The true genius of the soundtrack lies in the main theme of each game. Main themes are critical to understanding what a game is about, but in many ways the main theme of Animal Crossing is almost more important, and even more all encompassing. Example: It plays at every hour of every day in every game. The main theme of these games have to be written in a way that you never get tired of them. And they do this in a brilliant way. First of all, the main theme has to be good. Really good. You can’t pull this off if the theme itself gets annoying. The main theme of each game is present enough that you hear it, but background enough that it quickly fades to the subconscious. They’re melodies and harmonies that are easily understood by the human ear. Naturally though, even the best written melody will become tiresome if it’s all you hear. That’s why for each hour of the day, the main theme is presented in a different arrangement. Each hour has a different feeling when compared to each other, and adjacent hours often share similarities in musical style or concept. To me the music answers the question of “If music was playing around me at this point in time, what would it sound like?” This is the true brilliance of the sound track. It answers questions such as: “What does 7:00 am sound like? What about 12:00 pm? Why do these hours sound that way? How are they different? What about 7:00 o’clock, how are am and pm related at this time?” In addition to this, each track needs to be appropriate for every season of the year! Writing tracks that encompass so much with such simplicity is the true magic of this music.

Each hour is a different arrangement featuring the main theme or fragments from the main theme. All of the arrangements are different enough from each other that the main theme never gets tired. At the same time, answering the question of what this time of day sounds like allows the player to be drawn farther into the world subconsciously. This musical glue is in many ways a key feature of why I believe Animal Crossing can be played in long bursts for days on end. This concept goes back to the idea of K.K. Slider and answering what a genre of music would sound like in the purest form. Animal Crossing has music that puts ideas into a musical space, allowing our brains to make sense of what we’re playing. Going even further, there’s a slight alteration of each hour for when it’s snowing or raining! The variety is endless! Animal Crossing is a series that has marketed itself as the game that never stops, and this movement of music overtime plays right in to that idea.

Tired yet? There’s a couple more concepts left!

Next, let’s focus on the town tune. I’ve seen people either love this idea, or never really pay it any mind, but in the context of Animal Crossing’s music it simply can’t be ignored. For those of you who aren’t familiar When you move in to town, there’s already a town tune, but to put it bluntly, it’s not good. This encourages players to change it early on, adding some immediate sense of your personality to your town. Some people write original compositions, some put in their favorite Nintendo music, or maybe even a pop song. But whatever it is, it always reflects the individual. The neat thing though about this composition you write is it plays constantly. Well, not constantly like the hour music, but you get the idea. Walk into a store? There it is. Oh the hour changed? Here’s the town tune. Going to talk to a villager? Cue your song. This is truly the anthem of your town. But similar concepts have been done before. So let’s talk about the way it’s presented. Every time you talk to an animal, your town tune is going to play, but never the same. For every animal in the game, the town tune has a different sound to it. This often reflects the type of animal you’re talking to. If you walk up to a duck, the tune is going to have some quacking quality to it. A mouse is likely to be high pitched with some squeaks, and a dog is going to greet you with a barking rendition. In addition, each personality type will influence the sound as well. This once again takes something that we know all too well and shoves it to the back of our mind because we never hear it the same way. There are TONS of characters in Animal Crossing, so there might be some repeats among villagers somewhere that I don’t know about, but even so there are countless versions! And if you happen to ever get tired of the song you wrote? Well…it’s good that you can go change it!

Animal Crossing is a game about defining yourself while escaping from real life. The music in the game is all about this. It strikes this truly unique balance between defining what you know and characterizing what’s happening, but it finds ways to use repetition over and over again so that you don’t notice repetition. This allows both the game and the music to help blur the distinction between world and game. This is awesome to see a game do, and it provides so many unique ways for us to think of repetition in our own games.

Concepts such as these are easily applicable in our own games and music. Varying melodies or rearranging them is extremely common in games, but it’s often only presented in a few ways. Writing all encompassing melodies has been done all throughout music history (more on that in future posts), but I find it to be extremely effective when a melody is used to such lengths. The challenge comes in making it sound consistently fresh to the player and listener. Something though that I think should be done more is the idea of writing to concepts. I’m going to be talking about this a lot over time, which is the true reason why I wanted to start with Animal Crossing. So much video game music is written to accompany battle, story, or location that I think it’s easily forgotten that there’s other ways to enhance game play through music. I think Animal Crossing presents these ideas in a more approachable way than other games I’m going to talk about. As we go over other examples of writing music to concepts, not everything else is going to be as easy as “What does a rock song sound like?” And even with answering that question, answers are sure to vary! I’m not necessarily here to provide answers at all times, but give different ways of looking at music. Again, music is a subjective topic while possessing objective qualities. I want innovation to happen, and without conflicting ideas innovation is going to remain something that is all elusive.

Kylydian

#Animal Crossing #Nintendo #Music #video game music #video game #indie #indie music #sound design #game music #game audio #game #Kylydian #k.k. slider #indie game #game development #indie dev #indie developer

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Sega Ages Brings the Arcade Glory Days to Your Switch

Growing up in Puerto Rico, arcades were pretty scarce, with only a few real options available to me when I was a kid. Sadly, none of them ever really carried the great Sega arcade games like Out Run, Space Harrier, Super Hang-On, and the like. In fact, before I moved from Puerto Rico to the United States, the only Sega game I got to experience in arcades was Virtua Fighter! I’ve always loved arcades, and was even more heartbroken to realize that the heyday of arcades was long past by the time I was able to go out on my own as an adult.

While there are certainly many great places today to find arcades, from retro-revival places to big arcades like Round1 and Dave and Busters, it’s still hard to find a place to play those great games from years ago and experience them in their former glory. Well, for Sega fans at least, the SEGA AGES line is here to try and save the day; while these games don’t come with their own unique arcade cabinets or that sultry allure of arcade atmosphere, they are quite affordable and portable. We were graciously given copies of both Space Harrier and Puyo Puyo for the Switch to review by the fine folks at Sega, so let’s get down to whether or not these titles are worth your combined quarters or not!

One of the first things that needs to be addressed when it comes to reviewing revamped or re-released arcade game ports, however, is the fact that arcade games were generally made with one goal in mind: separating you from your quarters. To this end, arcade games were generally pretty difficult, and sometimes cheap and unfair as the difficulty would ramp up or spike in order to keep you inserting your (or your parents!) hard earned coins in the hopes of getting just a bit further, or just a bit closer to getting your three initials into the hi-score rankings!

In a lot of cases, this means that when revisiting arcade games without the limit of time and money in play, a lot of earlier games tend to fall noticeably flatter; when they aren’t entirely centered around score and money, some games reveal themselves to have little else to offer but nostalgia. It may even be fair to say that much of the attitude around gaming being a skill based hobby, in which one’s supposed level in a hobby based around amusement is how “good” you are at games, probably originates from simply justifying how much money many players threw into arcade machines over the years. So how do the SEGA AGES versions of Space Harrier and Puyo Puyo deal with this legacy? Well… it’s complicated.

On the surface, both of these games are pretty barebones, with Puyo Puyo have the added benefit of online multiplayer to give it quite a bit of extra life and longevity to play. In a previous review of another Puyo Puyo game, I mentioned how the recent energy surrounding the online and competitive Puyo Puyo scenes have really helped breathe life into the series again between Puyo Puyo Champions and Puyo Puyo Tetris. In the SEGA AGES version of the original game, the online mode again gives you the ability to try your luck against online opponents, and you can also play the game locally against your friends and foes offline. The Switch is great for this, since the ease of multiplayer anywhere allows you to throw down in some Puyo battles pretty easily. As a single player experience, you’ll find yourself fighting increasingly difficult stages of the original arcade version of the game, and to be honest the CPU doesn’t mess around! I was actually caught off guard at first by how difficult the CPU was at times before reminding myself that getting you to use more continues was part of the arcade game lifecycle.

For the unfamiliar, the Puyo Puyo series is a VS. Puzzle game in which you make attacks against your opponent by clearing various colored puyos from your side of the screen; however, unlike a game such as Tetris where the goal is to simply clear the board, the Puyo Puyo series has always relied on building chain combos to do the most damage. This unique take on puzzle combat means that your decisions need to be long term, rather than simply worrying about clearing the board, and a single wrong move can cost you dearly. You have the ability to choose between a simplified or original version of the game that changes how many colors of puyos you’ll need to deal with, meaning if you’re totally new to the game (or, apparently, rusty like I was!) you can ease yourself into the game by switching between how many color combinations you’ll need to keep track of.

That said, there really isn’t a whole lot to do in Puyo Puyo other than that. You can play online, you can play your friends, and you can play against the CPU in the absolutely bonkers single player mode (if anything, buying this game just to see the very weird dialogue is maybe worth the price of admission alone), but right now the market for Puyo Puyo series titles is actually quite crowded. If you’re looking to scratch that retro-puzzle itch, then this version will likely give you some good entertainment, but sadly a lot of the value of this game will rest on whether or not you will find online opponents (always a crapshoot to predict), or have local opponents to play against… and that you also don’t want to just play either of the other 2 more modern versions of Puyo Puyo.

For those who like to recreate that sense of nostalgia or emulate the games you only played a few times in arcades and movie theater lobbies, however, this is a fairly strict arcade to console port with little loss of sound quality, with the charming digitized voices and soundtrack intact, and the graphics, while not outstanding, look as bright and colorful as they likely ever have. The controls on the Switch are also spot-on, and there are a few gameplay tweaks made to the game for some slight quality of life improvements, such as the ability to spin Puyos counterclockwise, and the ability to quickly spin Puyos right before placing them for some Tetris T-spin-esque antics. For my money, I’d guess these changes were made to fall more in line with how modern Puyo players likely understand the game, and I did appreciate them while I played the game, as I would probably have found myself utterly confused by why I couldn’t do what I’m used to!

Of the two, Space Harrier may be the less familiar title to many players, and some of you probably played this game in other Sega game collections or games like Shenmue or Yakuza 0 than in the arcades themselves; that’s how I ended up encountering it first before finding an original cabinet during an arcade trip! Taking place in the “Fantasy Zone”, Space Harrier is a behind the back shooting game that takes place on an auto-scrolling plane, giving off a pseudo-3D vibe. Perhaps one of the main reasons Space Harrier has always been so fondly remembered is due to the unique visuals and fun, fast shooter action, and the SEGA AGES version really helps make that visual appeal shine.

While Puyo Puyo doesn’t really have a lot of moving parts, so to speak, Space Harrier really shows off some of the amazing emulation qualities that the SEGA AGES renditions have taken advantage of, with the game running in an amazingly smooth 60fps just like its original arcade incarnation. The game looks absolutely fantastic and feels like you’ve been transported right back in front of that gorgeous cab, although you’ll have to recreate the leaning chair sensation yourself (don’t do this, please play responsibly!). Compared to versions I’ve played emulated in other games like Yakuza 0, I’m actually shocked by how much smoother this version of Space Harrier looks and plays compared to those; by far this is one of the games that has really been served best by the framerate being able to match its original arcade incarnation.

Like Puyo Puyo, however, there really isn’t much here other than just playing Space Harrier. The game never featured a multiplayer mode, and there’s no real online component other than score uploads. That said, you do get two ways to play in this version: regular, which gives you a limited 3-continue run to defeat the challenging 18 stages of the game, and the new KOMAINU Barrier Attack mode, which not only gives you unlimited continues, but also provides you with 2 komainu buddies (komainu are lion-dogs that appear in pairs near shrines and other Japanese locations as guardians) that protect you from one of the most common Space Harrier deaths: collisions with objects. One of the downsides of the auto-scrolling action madness in the game is the fact that sometimes you’re so busy dodging bullets and trying to plan your shots that you forgot all about that tree, and… Game Over. Here, your Komainu friends will protect you from collision deaths, only going offline if they are shot, and shortly recharging the barrier after a small amount of time has passed.

There are also some small text blurbs that add a bit of flavor and character to the overall game, which I found to be kind of charming and cute (they are also really supportive of you, which is nice after you die three times in a row…) but not really a huge addition in any way. The biggest addition to Space Harrier is a rapid fire button, which helps make the need to predict and aim after troublesome enemies less of a hassle, and is available in both versions of the game available to play, making the regular mode just a bit smoother in terms of playing through it on 3 continues by alleviating some of the difficulty against particularly annoying enemies and patterns.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with both SEGA AGES titles, but I will admit that they are exactly what they say on the box and little else. If you’ve always been curious to try these games, or are simply a fan of older arcade games, then the $7.99 US price-tag per game is a pretty easy selling point, and you’ll certainly get your money’s worth even if you only play through the games a few times. Of the two titles, Space Harrier really impressed me with how gorgeous it looks in motion on the Switch, and the KOMAINU mode really does make the game more approachable and inviting. Puyo Puyo is no slouch, though, and while it doesn’t have the graphic pizzaz to take advantage of the framerate and smooth quality, the online and offline multiplayer give you and some friends the ability to duke it out in some retro puzzle glory. Either way, if you’re itching to get some arcade action in while on the go, in your bed, or anywhere you might play your Switch, then the SEGA AGES line seems like the perfect way to scratch that itch and get some solid play time in!

REVIEW ROUNDUP

+ Arcade perfect ports, especially in the case of Space Harrier.

+ Controls on the Switch are great, and in some cases improved from their original arcade incarnations.

+ KOMAINU mode in Space Harrier makes the game less frustrating to beat.

+ Puyo Puyo’s online mode gives some extra life to the game.

+/- Games have little to offer other than their stated modes; don’t expect more than that.

- Puyo Puyo suffers from having 2 newer and more robust versions available, making this an odd choice.

Do you have any fond arcade memories? What’s your favorite Sega game? Let us know what you think of the game in the comments!

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Nicole is a features writer and editor for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

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mlpextremelover · 6 years

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Haifuri

“Haifuri” aka “High School Fleet” aka “That One Show That’s Like ‘Girls und Panzer’ But Is Different From ‘Girls und Panzer’ Because They Operate Battleships Instead Of Tanks” has conquered every part of my brain. I find myself in the middle of the night thinking about Haifuri: Did I like it? Did I hate it? Remember when that thing happened? etc. This show has managed to occupy my every thought process and I need an outlet. Normally I like to keep reviews spoiler free but that simply cannot be the case this time. Get ready for my longest review yet.

I’m gonna start with what I enjoyed from the show. The animation is solid, each character is unique and recognizable, movements are fluid for the most part, the battleship design is cool, and the interior shots/settings are really neat. The battle scenes are surprisingly well done; we see each compartment of the ship performing their individual tasks and coming together to overcome hardships (pun intended). What I enjoyed even more was when battles aren't happening. Much like Girls and Panzer, the show excels in its amusing slice of life moments. Dealing with problems like running out of water and putting on festivals give depth to the show and personality to the crew. "That girl who fires the torpedo" "Those three that does the cooking" and "Trumpet player" start to have names that you remember, friends they hang with, emotions they express, hobbies they enjoy...etc. Whoever wrote the show understands that supporting characters with personality is the difference between a fictional world that's alive and one that's not.

Now on to the parts I didn’t particularly enjoy or is straight up confusing. Last night I compiled a list of things in Haifuri that bothered me, spoiler ahead.

1. Mike (me·keh) and Moka

Mike(Misaki) is our main protagonist and captain of the ship, and Moka(Moeka) is her childhood friend and captain of another(much bigger) ship. The story mainly revolves around the fact that Moka’s ship is in distress and Mike wanting to save her friend. The premise is fine... Except I literately don’t give two shits about Moka. Moka is a prime example of why the “childhood friend” trope is one of the dumbest things in anime. In the first episode we have Mike and Moka as children and it shows the two of them sharing the dream of becoming “Blue Mermaids” who protect the sea. In subsequent episodes we get some flashbacks of Moka expressing her view that “everyone on the ocean is family”, an ideology in which Mike adopts. We get excessive shots of Mike looking worried about Moka. And that’s it. Moka literately have no personality other than “childhood friend of Mike”. Imagine being at a party and the people you talk to only talk about their other friends who isn’t at the party. That’s what it feels like when it comes to Mike and Moka. Mike on the other hand, does get some character development. That being said, out of every other character on the ship (there’s 32 total including the cat), Mike managed to be the most bland and brain dead of them all. She’s in the protagonist role simply because it’s easy for audiences to project onto her blank personality and insert themselves into the show instead. Her most notable trait is that she’s afraid of lightning due to a tragic event in the past. Luckily the show tend to give more screen time to more eccentric characters in the grand scheme of things.

2. One-liners

“The wind is blowing, the wind of hope” said Moka in a room with the windows closed and door barricaded. This line of dialog completely ruined what’s otherwise a decent action sequence. “Tama, fire with your soul” (it’s a pun when spoken in japaneses) and “With this shot, we’ll grab our chance” are just some other glorious eye-rolling one-liners in this show. Anyways, these really don’t detriment the show all that much but are still worth mentioning.

3. Flashbacks

Flashbacks, when used correctly is one of the best story telling mechanisms out there. Sadly, it’s been used much more frequently as a way to avoid actual good story telling. If something truly important had happened in the past then it’s almost always better to show it in the beginning rather than in the middle. If you did it correctly the audience wouldn’t even need a reminder in the form of a flashback. I’m referring to Mike afraid of lightning and her relationship with Moka. Instead of sprinkling bits of flashback throughout the series and frequent reminders of who Moka is; I truly believe the story would flow a lot better if we got the whole first episode dedicated to Mike’s past and Moka, where Haifuri begins in the present time should be mid-episode 2. This way I might connect better with Mike as a main character and give a damn about Moka.

4. Why things went wrong

This is a major spoiler point. This whole mess is due to some magical virus carried by rats that infected the instructor’s ship and surrounding ships. A zombie-like virus that controls the host to be hostile against the uninfected. The doctor on board, due to her character trait as a genius found the antibody/cure. Oh, and in early stages of infection spraying the infected with sea water would also do the trick. Like... wtf. It’s not how viruses, geniuses, antibodies or seawater work. But, whatever, it’s a show that’s meant to be entertaining so this is just me nitpicking. Still... Wouldn’t the instructor purposefully sabotaging the students in hopes of framing the principal to gain power made for a more logical and dramatic plot?

5. Logic

If you have any common sense then there are points in the show where you’ll go “Why?”, “How?”, “What??”, “k, that just happened.” or a mixture of those reactions. The most notable one is in episode 4 when a crew member got infected and is going crazy so the German deputy captain straight up throws her into the ocean. Ok... the impact should’ve killed her. However not only did it not kill her, she just magically gets shot back up onto the ship by the ocean “Moana” style and is no longer infected due to being in contact with saltwater. (O.O) HOW??? That sequence of events has kept me up at night, I’m so baffled by it that I’m losing sleep. Another lesser wtf anime moment is one of the Blue Mermaid captain got these robotic looking cat ears on her head. Like, why does she have those? Nobody else in the entire show is wearing robotic cat ears. Is it a fashion statement? Do those serve a purpose? The show doesn’t even acknowledge them once but they’re there!! Again, I’m left wondering.

6. Marketing/Other

This anime is so poorly and confusingly marketed. It’s initially called “Haifuri” but on MAL it’s “High School Fleet”. It was released last year and i somehow completely missed it. It’s a ghost of an anime. Several sources have conflicting information as to if it’s an anime original or based off of a manga. The VA for the main German character that threw the indestructible girl off the boat has voiced several characters in hentai. <--This isn’t a negative point, just something interesting I wanted to mention.

7. Right things at the wrong time

There were several instances of this in the show but I’ll only mention the most aggravating one here: So the Blue Mermaids has this oath that they chant which goes “Live on the sea. Protect the sea. Sail the sea”. It’s honestly kinda cool. Anyways, Mike and Moka always say this to each other as kids and it’s real sweet and cute and stuff. At one point mid-battle Mike and the other main characters each say a part of the oath and it actually sent a chill down my spine. This was such a cool/symbolic moment for these characters. Mike only ever said the oath with Moka but in that moment you realize she’s no longer saying to herself but with h̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶w̶ her new family. This fantastic moment only happened once, and it wasn’t even that big of a battle. Instead of something like this during the finally we instead get Moka’s “The wind is blowing, the wind of hope”: a shitty one-liner from a character with no development.

8. German

I don’t speak German, and I don’t need to in order to wince at the German spoken in this anime. I can’t really fault anybody here since it’s probably asking too much for native Japanese speakers to nail German lines.

9. No introduction

Out of the 32 characters on the main ship in Haifuri, only like 8 of them got somewhat proper introductions. This is not an objectively negative point toward Haifuri but I can easily see how it might agitate viewers. I personally found it neat that I got to know side characters over time through familiarity, but for others this may be a hassle. At some points I had to pull up the wiki after seeing a character and wondering “what do you do here again?”. For me this is actually a positive trait, the show wasn’t going to introduce 32 characters one by one so it instead did something neat and gave you the “first day in a classroom” feeling.

10. Exposition

The world setting of Haifuri is given through exposition. However it was a neat moment I had upon realizing that the city beneath the ocean at the coast is the sunken remains of modern day Japan and not Rapture.

You might think that with all these negative points I must have had a terrible time with Haifuri, but it’s quite the opposite. I for the most part very much enjoyed watching Haifuri. It’s madly entertaining compared to the majority of animes out there. These negative points are more so pet peeves of mine than real negatives that truly ruins a show. And to be honest, I derived quite a bit of enjoyment from these nitpicks. In the end the ship crew of Haifuri really made an impact to me and it’s an anime that I’m unlikely to forget. 7.5/10

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