#but saying a game is ruined because it gets updated so it can improve is SUCH a lame take

[yourhoeshorses]

“sso is ruined” “I miss the old graphics” “the game died when they updated steves”

shut up shut up shut up, go play the season rider games if you want shitty graphics, explode yourself

the only thing they removed from sso that REALLY mattered was the old silverglade music that would make your ears bleed

#occasionally i get an sso video on my tiktok and its all the same thing #oh boo hoo sso is ruined because now theres things you can do other than stand around and the graphics look better!!! waaaa #there are..... other games made by the same company as sso i hope they know #i love nostalgia #but saying a game is ruined because it gets updated so it can improve is SUCH a lame take #idk #perhaps its just me and sso is one of my main special interests #but like.... #bro #its not that deep #you miss how the game was??? #go on ebay and look for the old games #look for a play through online #its not that deep bro #i also feel like its the same people who only play the game to argue with other people that miss the old version of the game #like yeah man. clearly you miss it. all you used to be able to do was bully other players #why would you want things to actually do when you play the game other than just stand around and go afk #im very passionate about my silly horse game #sso #star stable #star stable online

[paper-mario-wiki]

hi, i'm not the person who asked you about the life update, but could you elaborate on how being a creator means to live in a world of ideas instead of the real world? i'm just really curious about your reasons for quitting, specially because i want to create things in the future (not necessarily streaming, but anyways), hope you have a good day!

i'll be talking mostly about streaming for the sake of this answer, but this is similarly applicable across a wide range of platforms:

the job of the streamer is, effectively, to be the life of the party every single day. your goal is to be the person that has something interesting to talk about, and is quick with a joke, and has nuanced understandings of certain things, without actually obtaining any sort of "expertise" in anything lest you alienate viewers. short of having a stated goal for a stream, the only goal of the streamer is to let people relax with a voice they enjoy, saying things they like hearing. you can become very strong in different aspects of streaming, like in the production, or as someone who focuses more on a skill they've honed like art or speedrunning, but the demographic of streamers which pulls, by far, the most significant viewership, is personality based streamers.

this becomes more complicated when, for example, you are very interactive with chat, or you stream with multiple people at once. now, to maintain this charismatic sway you have (the one that got you the job in the first place), you must be able to adapt to and bounce off of other people, as you are now no longer performing alone. naturally, there's a need to not only manage your own flow of consciousness, but also to be at least partially in sync with someone else's.

beyond these complications, you must also consider drawing in new viewership. when i was a streamer, i was quite successful, relatively speaking. pulling 300 viewers consistently is something a very slim amount of streamers can actually do, and even then i was still making under 50k a year, which is not bad, but also not good. in paying for my apartment, my insurance, my travel fare, and all the other stuff that living independently draws money out of you with, i was more often in the red than i was in the green. hence, the need to draw in new viewers, which cannot be done without something eye-catching.

think about this: there are, at any given time, TENS OF THOUSANDS of streamers live in your native language on twitch, and they are all FREE TO WATCH. the attention market is sparse because the streamer market is oversaturated. and considering all of THEM want new viewers too, everyone is constantly refining and improving their craft, which requires everyone to move creatively in tandem with each other lest they get left behind.

if you are a streamer making ass-dollars and ass-cents, it becomes easy to begin resenting people like jerma, solely because everything he touches seems to turn to gold. i personally found it easy to feel very disappointed in myself when peoples projects that seemed so simple would take off. it was a constant "why didn't i think of that!" situation, at least for me. and when you don't have the energy to keep that up, or the social stamina necessary to figure that all out while also being upbeat and happy in front of people near daily, it can become very draining.

what i mean specifically when i say the "world of ideas", is like. there would be times where i could schedule out my failures weeks in advance. i'd be so in my own head about the process, i could see the exact path i could see myself taking that would lead me directly to ruin. how playing games i actually enjoyed would steadily drop viewership, or how focusing on my studies would make people forget about me. and of course this is augmented by my anxiety, i know this is absolutely not the case for every streamer, but that overwhelming feeling of needing to find a new game to play, or a new gimmick to use, or a new ploy to get money that doesn't make you feel guilty even though your source of income is mostly queer and mostly poor young adults and your rent is coming up and you're $200 short but you also just had a fundraiser last month about a DIFFERENT emergency but you cant make it a bummer or else people wont want to tune in so you have to make it something fun like "you laugh you lose!" or "$1 art request streams!" while feeling nothing but anxiety while youre trying to sound like youre enjoying yourself even when youre asking 250 people to donate every 30 minutes or so and nobody seems to want to and chat is moving slowly and. and and.

well, it starts to eat away at you.

#anon

[alexandraisyes]

🤯😈🤡🍆🍦💖

Thanks for the ask! Turbo's answers under the cut! Here's where you can find the emojis for the ask game!

🤯 What's a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

Probably romance. I'm not a very romantic person but that's to be expected considering my, uh, psychological standing (sweats in ASPD). I've been told that the romantic and soft and family shit I write is really nice and feels real, but I'm just making shit up man, haha. I do a lot of self-projecting when I write sweet shit because I wanna give my characters what I can't have. ❤️Thankfully Turbo is here to make me brainrot and think about all of the sweet shit. Otherwise, the fics would be a lot darker than they already are.

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

Like kill Sun's cats? OH YOU SAID PLAYFULLY-

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Any time Killcode acts like a feral cat I get a good laugh. He's just an oversized cat who acts like one too his lovers as well. Including play fighting them (much to Flare's dismay as he gets pulled away from tasks).

🍆 Do you write the spicy stuffs? If so, what's your most popular nsfw fic?

I do haha. My most popular nsfw fic is The Deal because that's the only one uploaded so far. TMiB is just the sequel to The Deal so it doesn't count.

🍦 What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

Oooh that's tricky. I would say The Deal except that's got uh. . . death. lol. Probably Erros in Resentment just because it's me projecting on Eclipse like all fuck and he gets the happy ending that I think he deserves. Without more suffering. It's kind of my love letter to my disorder (ASPD) since Eclipse and Ruin both have it. There's something beautiful in the absolute devotion a sociopath can have to someone, the unwavering loyalty, and that's often taken for granted because we don't love in the traditional sense of the word. It's meant to show that people with ASPD can still be happy, and change, and grow and improve and live meaningful lives without causing harm to people around them. Not even just ASPD, but all Cluster B disorders. That someone who is aromantic by nature can still find happiness with someone else, even if it's not a romantic companionship, but rather just a sense of belonging. Like I said, it's me self-projecting on Eclipse, and Ruin also having ASPD? That was just the cherry on top for me. I can't promise when it'll get updated, though.

💖 What made you start writing?

I've always been writing! I just normally kept it to myself or roleplays. I've been writing short stories since I knew how to write, though.

Turbo's turn!

🤯 What's a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

serious conversations? probably some heavy- really heavy shit i think

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

that one time me and alex hinted at a solar x lunar shit. But it was one sided

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Any scene where bloodmoon swore in the deal. it just hits different because he dosent swear so much in my ehes

🍆 Do you write the spicy stuffs? If so, what's your most popular nsfw fic?

THE DEAL LMAO

🍦 What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

A little snippet called "bloodmoon, eclipse, lunar, and burgers" 🥺 (its not found anywhere but on a discord server lel im too shy)

💖 What made you start writing?

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS NGL AND MY LOVE FOR STORIES

#alex talks #alex rambles #long post #long answer #answered ask #fanfic writer emoji ask game #fanfic writer ask #fanfic writer #ao3 writer #the deal tsams

[rehncohro]

June 12th, 2023 - Etrian Odyssey HD 

I missed this series so it was good to see it back, even if it was just through rereleases of older games. They aren't based on the 3DS remakes, but the original DS versions instead. At first, I was a little disappointed, but not anymore. The DS and 3DS ones can kinda be counted as separate games because of different map designs. So far, I've just done the first of the HD remasters. It's the same game, but with a few quality of life features and updated to only use one screen.

The touch screen was a big part of these games so we all wondered how it would work, and while it doesn't feel as nice as a DS/3DS touch screen, it works. It's definitely comfortable enough and I'm okay with them continuing the series like this. I do wish there were a few more of the quality of life improvements from Untold though: like floor jump (would be REALLY useful due to how shortcuts are placed), actually being able to see pits and shortcuts, have warnings for 1 way shortcuts, and the Untold soundtrack.

A few annoying things, but they didn't ruin my enjoyment. It's still Etrian Odyssey and I'm hoping we'll get more in this style. Looking forward to what they do with VI and wanting to get IV, V, and Nexus in the Origins Collection style. Who knows? Maybe we can get the Untold games ported someday too (even get one made for 3)? Not really much else to say. Solid Etrian Odyssey game, but it's a bit rough in some areas.

#etrian odyssey origins collection #etrian odyssey #etrian odyssey hd #yuzo koshiro #anime #anime game #rpg #jrpg

[deanthe]

I will never say Splatoon 3 is a dissapointment, because it is far from that. Sure, there are some weird design choices that I don't really agree with, but it's such an improvement from the previous two overall. however, there's one feature that the developers teased since the very beginning that makes me feel, for lack of a better word. Cheated.

Shortly after the Splatoon 3 announcement trailer went live at the end of Febuary 2021's Nintendo Direct, the official SplatoonJP Twitter account posted various bits of information that weren't brought up during said Direct. One thing that stuck out in my mind was what they said about stages; the SRL said that the Inklings and Octolings would be fighting in the wilderness now. I, personally, was SO flipping excited.

Many, MANY people, however, weren't as pleased as I was upon reading this, predicting that all of the new stages were going to be a complete snoozefest in the aesthetics department, which. Does not make sense to me. Like, at all. Infact, once September of that same year rolled around, everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon spotting that two stages in the city were returning. Flash forward to 2022-23 and we've gotten stages primarily set in a city/town environment. The "fighting out in the wild" idea was SUCH a missed opportunity and, slightly contradicting what I said at the start of this post, I still feel incredibly dissapointed they kinda forgot about this idea.

So...why exactly do *I* think this would've been a great idea?

Getting this one out of the way, it would've added onto the many things that make this game stick out compared to its predecessors.

If the lore of the city is as interesting as it is now, imagine how many more details we could get about the outskirts of town.

...Yeah, that's about it. HOWEVER, here's my counter-argument to the "it would've been boring" take, using one of my favorite games ever, Super Mario Sunshine, as an example. Every single playable location in Super Mario Sunshine takes place on a tropical island setting. Every single area. To those who've never seen or played the game, most would say it sounds kinda boring. Let's take a gander at the areas in question.

An airstrip with waterpumps and crates scattered about, with a tall airport building scraping the sky.

A grassy windmill village separated into two halves with one large windmill putting it all together.

A harbor littered with colorful boats, grates, and buildings, the district area even putting together a seafood market.

An oceanside with a spire of light and a smoothie bar.

An amusement park with cartoony boat rides and ferris wheels.

A bay with large cliff faces engraved with massive shell statues and historic runes

A haunted hotel that, despite being cramped and small, has a massive labyrinth of rooms connected in very specific ways.

A festival loving exotic village above a deep chasm held together with massive trees.

All of which are interconnected via a humble town filled with fruitstands, shop buildings, fountains, boats, statues, and a massive shrine in the center.

Did I mention that, in every single one of these areas, you can spot the other levels in the background?

Splatoon already has something similar, albeit slightly more linear. You can spot some stage geometry in the background of a few stages, as well as every stage having its own unique lore. C'mon, the lord of the lake? It also has a similar idea of taking one general setting and ripping it up into seperate pieces. Every stage is in a city, but each location in the city is very unique. A warehouse, a parking garage, a port, a depot, a garbage dump, a shopping mall, a skatepark, a grocery store, I could go on. So, tell me...why would this idea suddenly be boring if the same was done with a more earthy, wilderness-like setting?

As of writing this post, Splatoon 3 is still getting updates, adding new stages and the like. So far, the only stages we've seen outside a city/town setting are Scorch Gorge, and a currently unnamed desert ruins stage, both of which still having some form of connection to city life.

I'm really hoping we get more stages with the wilderness idea in mind. I cannot express just how much of a missed opportunity this is.

#i was going to just make a short twitter thread and bring this up to a couple of friends on a discord call or something #but i really wanted to jot this down somewhere more in depth because #it means a whole lot to me #splatoon #splatoon 3 #nintendo #super mario sunshine #mario sunshine

[atbgauge]

my (early) thoughts on PGR's across the ruined sea story update....

ok the reason why i say early is because well. i'm only at 20-3 for the story and so i know stage/level wise i have like 8 stages to go so hrfgkfjfm and thats not counting the inbetween "dialogue"/text-only stages. and idk pgr has definitely let me down before... but i shall get into that later

i liek how they're including moar horror in this arc like i'm literally like that fish from spongebob thats like "THATS WHAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR" like... yes god please return to your horror roots... we needed this so bad like idk there is a missed opportunity and they did it a little bit in XXI's arc and that entire story with lucia & luna introducing hetero-creatures and sorta kinda revisited again with vera & noan but they didn't really take it there... idk with a scary machine & human killing virus, the concept of a tide that kills all in its way and has the voices of all it has taken inside of it, and the general machine/automaton horror i wonder why they would not flesh out these concepts a little more. it also reminds me of parasite eve/the third birthday in that regard

i think despite not having gone through all of the story yet i am excited because i'm noticing new things, these past few patches they've been getting better in quality in terms of how they're going about telling their story. writing is well... hehe HRFKFJFK let me get into that later

like PGR has always done a visual novel sort of story telling which i'm fine with, i'm very used to that and it's a mobile game so it makes sense. as we go through these patch updates they add things like various scripted sequences in gameplay stages, cut scenes, etc. despite only playing up until 20-3, i see a lot more of kuro actually trying which is very good. also at 20-3 they literally give a warning about how long it is... which btw to me it wasn't that long but if you are a person that just wants to hurry they do give an option for you to skip but i have time and having played through it fully... thats how their story telling should be!!

don't just tell through the VN sequences, but also let players just... experience it. the map has some interactive points, it makes you explore to learn more about what's going on, i like how they introduced bianca's new power of being able to see the past but it comes with the cost of her potentially losing her mind and not being able to tell past and present apart, and she's also able to hear the voices of the dead through this too. and they created cool sequences and effects and executed it very well despite the limitations of mobile phones. it's just satisfying to see them improve what they can do in terms of telling a story and matching it well with the gameplay

that being said my relationship to this game is that i love the characters and i love some of their designs. in terms of writing it could be better, it sucks for global players that the localization has not improved and continues to let down every single patch. i know i dont really like the writing but at least let players experience your story in its best form instead of half-assing the translations. i dont think kuro is that interested in telling a good story though unfortunately esp with what i've seen from wuwa... but that game is under development but who knows! maybe they'll blow it out of the park with that one but i am doubtful LOL... i wish they'd do less fanservice too btw. i think i really just find myself playing PGR because the gameplay is fun and satisfying to meeee :3 the story could be better is all

[kidzlong]

Space engineers vs starmade

#SPACE ENGINEERS VS STARMADE MOD#

#SPACE ENGINEERS VS STARMADE UPGRADE#

#SPACE ENGINEERS VS STARMADE FULL#

This allows for pretty intricate detailing of ships. It comes with slabs in 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 sizes, as well. Good Detailing - There's a reasonable variety of blocks and materials, and the size of a block is 1x1 meters. Massive scale-ships can be built to ridiculous sizes and still render, although it does take a severe toll on performance eventually. I'll try to present a neutral viewpoint on it, but take what I say with a grain of salt. This is the game I know the most about, due to several years spent playing it. I've only played a tiny bit of Avorion, so I won't be doing a real Pro/Con on it-just mentioning the few things I know. and make me think if they really want to release it.I hope that does not happen to this game.that will ruin EA forever for me.I can do a pro/con, since I've played Starmade, Empyrion, and Space Engineers. but they deviate form their path and started to adding things in the game which suppose to be not a feature of the game anyway instead of fixing bugs, optimize and release the game.which I don't think going to happen in foreseeable future.

#SPACE ENGINEERS VS STARMADE MOD#

also KSP is one of the best example how EA should work.Īnother thing about SE that it suppose to be a space engineering simulator which they accomplished brilliantly quit a long time ago.and they could release the game then and have some bi-monthly or so update for new items if they wanted,but with extensive mod support which wont be even necessary. ARK was unplayeble even at higher lvl PCs when it was released and since then it somewhat optimized to what they advertise as system requirement because of player feedback.but I never seen that happen to SE. I would say ARK is a very good example for SE.

#SPACE ENGINEERS VS STARMADE UPGRADE#

I visit their forum often to see is there any release which make the game playeable in my computer with some little upgrade (not a whole new computer) but what shocked me that not only it not get optimized, it also making some upgrade which make it unplayable in some PC where people used to play.and any argument against that getting very suppressed by saying they should not try to play new game in old computer but peoples are forgetting that SE is not a new game, its a 2 year old game which had a min system requirement which was at per for that time, they may change that now to newer system but the players bought then, they bought because false advertisement which should be illegal. Not every game studio are like that, maybe most are not, but if a game stays in more that 2 years of EA development and do not care to improve their game performance it makes me very suspicious about their intention.

#SPACE ENGINEERS VS STARMADE FULL#

That being said, I am seeing a very dangerous trend among the fans of EA games that every little criticism they discounting saying "its EA and its suppose to be that way" but as a consumer you should think about that many game studios are getting a free pass for everything using that an excuse and have a dedicated fanbase supporting behind that excuse and stuck in a endless EA stage.If you think about that, why would they want to release a full game when they are earning money selling a buggy game which would never get good review if full released at current state but getting tons of good review with an excuse of being an EA. Now, I always wanted to play it ,but even though my system within min-recommended I never able to run it at playable frame-rate(during some free weekends).still now I want to experience SE as I am enticed by many gameplay videos, but I know I can't run it unless I buy a beast of a computer and even then it my not be smooth. Click to expand.First of all I never played SE fully(because I can't)

#Space engineers vs starmade

[gamifiedreviews-16]

NBA 2K20- Makes You Feel Like You Are On Top Of The World

Aesthetically the game is very beautiful

Graphics are amazing

Available on all platforms

Ping issues

Welcome back. Hi, I am Gamerzreporter and Welcome to my blog about NBA 2K20, a football game that has accounted masses of attraction. I am only excited for you to find the game that you like and understand and hopefully I can help you find you game.

4 August 2022-

For any clarity you can message me at- [email protected]

2K20 NBA is an astonishing game of basketball. Aesthetically the colors are beautiful and different. The game is bright, and you can choose the setting of the game whether it is the stadium of the Warriors or the Lakers. Players say that the graphics of the game are clean, they also say that it feels like you are in the stadium rather you are playing. The quality of the game is no less, the highlights are perfect, and shots and dunks can be seen from every angle which make the game a lot more real. The game rules adhere to the true spirit of Basketball. You can play different game mode like dunk contests, 1v1 and more. There is also a song in the background which adds to creative aspect of the game. The game is as easy as eating a yummy chocolate cake. There is a curser drawn to make it simple for the player to understand the direction and there is a small pop-up which shows what to do and when to do it. This really helps too to make the easy, understandable, and enjoyable too. You can play multiplayer with your friend playing beside you in your team or against you. Although to play online you need to have a friend online. The game is updated to the brim like if Steph Curry joined another team during 2019 then it would be the same in the game.

The game is expensive sometime ranging from Rs. 3000 and more. The game can also only be played on consoles like x-box and PS which are both very expensive to buy (Rs. 30000). The game is big, and it can crash multiple times also it can slow down your console because it is a huge file. When the internet is slightly low then the games lags and glitches a lot which can ruin the experience said some of the interviewees that were interviewed by me. Not only that but you must be friends with a player to play with him/her. You can’t play online with a. random which can limit your experience and love for the game because you verse the same players again and again said an interviewee and who can’t verse someone who you have not met. A social community, new friends and more are limited due to this.

HEALTH-

This game has a lot of health benefits. A survey conducted by me was given to some basketball fans and they said, “NBA 2K20 has a lot of benefits specially for a basketball player because the game helps develop game sense for example, when to shoot, when to dribble, when to pass and more.” Some interviewees also said that the game improves the coordination between the hands and the eyes which is an important skill that would be helpful in the future for analysis and other requirements. Studies given in the webs called ‘Business Insider’ and ‘WHO’ say that a substance called ‘gray matter’ is produced which is an important hormone. The increase in gray matter prevents memory related diseases like ‘Alzheimer’. Gray matter help people to control their movement and emotion too as gray matter help in processing information. Games like 2k20 NBA where technique is an important role, improves problem solving skills.

Although, there are multiple advantages, there are also multiple disadvantages to health. I personally know that as I have experienced addiction. Addiction is a big possibility, I would play the game for hours every day and forget about studies, real life and I would spend my lunch and dinner while playing the game. It became so bad that I had to go to doctors to check my health and psychiatrists to check my mental ability. I would become aggressive and never do things in a calm manner. I would get in trouble more. I would not listen. I would think that I am fine and everybody else is just speaking non-sense. My parents were disappointed and then one day I could just not stop playing which is when the doctor prohibited me from playing video games. Addiction can cause the player to lose concentration, increase distraction and overall, the person would be lazier, and obesity is another side-effect of addictive gaming. Sleep could also be hampered according to WHO.

I would recommend this game to basketball fans, but you should be aware about addiction and its side-effects and play the game for a specific period of time. This game is great for kids above the age of 10 years. This game is worth trying and it would be a great way to give a little peace to your mind from the stress and pressure of work.

Thank You for reading my review on NBA 2K20 and I hope you found out if it is the game for you! I hope to see you next in the next review! Gamerzreporter is out. 

#gaming #sports #crazy games

[kyungwonrp]

+ ... // STUDENT PROFILE ... LOADING

AHN YOUNGHYUN is 21 YEARS OLD and currently enrolled in kyungwon university. he is in his 2ND YEAR of the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, majoring in CULINARY ARTS. he is notably part of the ASTRONOMY CLUB. he works part-time ON-CAMPUS in the MUGUNGHWA PLANETARIUM. you may find him in the EAST WING (ROOM #5).

                           + ... // LOAD STUDENT BACKGROUND . . .

HYUNNIE'S DIARY MILITARY LOG, BY YOUNGHYUN

ENTRY #1

dear diary,

hey, it's younghyun again. it's been a while since i opened you back up. the last time was... well, looking at my entry, it was when mom took down the glow-in-the-light stars on the ceiling of our room and threw them out. that was years ago, wasn't it? things felt simpler back then. that felt like the end of the world. little did i know.

i'm starting military service soon. it won't take long until i'll be drafted... somewhere. just counting the days. i guess it was the only option for me, especially because i failed my exams. i couldn't get my head in the game, all i kept thinking about was that accident... the mess i caused... the terrible mistake i've done. of course i'd mess up. after that, it's clear my parents had to get rid of me. at least for a little bit. i've disappointed them so much, but worst of all, i ruined someone's life.

this isn't a pity party for me though. i'm not going to feel sad over my circumstances. that's stupid. i want to make things right, and that starts by fully accepting the blame and changing my ways. it's probably a good thing i'm here, then. no parties, no influences, no loss of control.

no more drinking.

ENTRY #2

dear diary,

my parents don't really talk to me. that's understandable, i suppose. i cost them a lot, i've thoroughly destroyed their expectations of me. it only means i have to work harder when i get back. there are a lot of things i need to do once i return. on one hand, it feels like i'm being a coward. like i'm running away. that's not it... i'm not trying to run away, but i know my presence will make things even worse. that's what mom told me, she said it would be better if i wasn't there. she... didn't exactly say the words 'for the time being' either, but that's nothing new.

i know at the end of the day, she needs me. who else can continue her legacy if not me?

they aren't sending me any letters. then again, it's not like we talk much outside of classes or the future they want for me. i just wish they'd update me on that boy. is he improving? is he even awake? will he be okay? i don't know if i'm allowed to know all this. i'm not trying to make myself feel better, but i need to know... it feels wrong that i know nothing. but if i ask, they won't say anything.

i can't be sorry enough. i wish i could tell him that.

ENTRY #3

dear diary,

the military keeps you occupied and busy. but once the day ends and we retreat back to our respective beds, i end up feeling guilty for not thinking about what i've done. when i close my eyes, i see that scene again—like a neverending nightmare. the sight of blood, his limp body, how he wasn't moving... every day i see it. i probably deserve it. it'll haunt me until the day i die, and that's okay. i should learn to live with that because it was something i caused.

it doesn't help me sleep, though. sometimes, i head out and look at the stars instead. it's a little clearer out here, i can make out a few twinkles in the night sky. i could spend hours looking at them, but then the guilt will hit me. again, i'd feel like i'm running away by seeking comfort in something i like.

god, i don't want to make it all about me. because it's not. i'm the one who fucked up. i need to make that clear to myself... and apologise properly to him. surely my parents will let me, right? if they don't... then i'll just do it behind their back. i don't know.

but i have to start there.

#kw: accepted #krp #uni rp #jung wooyoung #ateez

[unofficial-underfell]

Do you have any tips on starting a comic?

I’ve been working on comics for a while, and though I’m far from being a professional, there are a few things I’ve learned about making a comic. For one this may not be the best advice (I mean after all I did stop for like 2 years) but it’s stuff I’ve learned through trial and error, and practice. A lot of drawing practice. This is also speaking from the perspective of, specifically, a comic artist doing this as a hobby, not a career. Also with the assumption that this comic will be posted on a social media site. Career comic-artists probably have a lot more specific requirements . 

1. Contrary to popular belief, the hardest part for me at least, is consistency, to keep going even when you have doubts about your ideas and your work. Those doubts will creep up on you regardless of how talented of an artist you are or how good your idea is, or how excited you are to start. That doesn’t mean your idea is no good, everyone had doubts. But the one thing I always remember that keeps me going is that I’m creating something new and wonderful, and I’m sharing that with the world. Even if the idea has been done differently, I’m doing it MY way, in a way that’s unique and special to me. 

 Let yourself love to create, because that’s the whole point, isn’t it? 

Set realistic expectations for yourself, whether it be 2 page a week, or 1 page every 2 weeks, or even 1 page a month, or even just whenever. Find what you’re able to do and try to stick to it. Sometimes you will not feel like it. Artists aren’t just go go go all the time, you need breaks, you need rest. Sometimes you need to make yourself do a little bit of progress, in those cases just sit down with the pencil in hand and see what you can do, give yourself about 20 minutes to an hour, and if you can’t find that motivation or drive at all to even put the pen to paper, maybe come back to it another time. It is work, I’m not going to say it’s not, it’s creating and that takes time and effort. You’ll need to find out how to creatively place the speech bubbles, change positions of people talking to keep scenes visually interesting, write dialogue, etc. That’s not to say it’s bad but just keep in mind that if you can’t muster up motivation to work on the comic, don’t feel bad, it takes effort, and you have your own life, and people get tired. We’re not machines.

Another thing about consistency is that, if the inspiration strikes you to do like 12 pages at the same time, don’t be afraid to let that be a buffer so that, should you fall behind, you’ll still be ahead of the game. Schedule pages for weeks/ months in advance based on how often you said you’d post. Don’t create a bunch of pages and then allow your buffer to run itself out, because then you’ll be scrambling and it will feel an awful lot like crunch. And also don’t dump all the pages at once because the momentary satisfaction is nice, trust me, regret.

2. PACING. PACING. PACING. I CANNOT stress pacing enough. The ruins did not NEED to take 250 pages and yet it did. Pacing is so important, I know you want individual scenes to be important but also, being concise is just as important in a comic. There’s a balance between having enough space for the readers to breathe, and also having the comic crawl along at a snail’s pace. Over my two-year break, I want to believe I’ve improved immensely with the pacing. In which I was able to wrap up the fight with Toriel and then meet sans over the course of like 15 pages when previously it would have taken me something like, 40 probably. 

In my opinion, pacing is more important than artistic ability, color, shading, or any other cosmetic thing. The only thing more important is story. And that’s the Most important thing. You want to keep people looking forward to updates, and having relevant stuff happening on every page is a great way to have people eager to see the next update. 

3. If you want to change something early on, you can. Nothing is stopping you. Don’t get caught up in what other people want, think about what you want. And if you want to make other people happy, don’t stress. If people like your comic and it’s direction, they’ll be happy with your artistic direction. Just don’t pull a “It was all a dream and nothing mattered after all’ because nobody likes that haha

That’s pretty much my two cents. If you got an idea and a passion, go for it. You got one life to live but you don’t only have one story to tell! 

-Mod Avery

#this went on for WAY long #but i hope some people get somethign out of this #Mod Avery #not pages #anonymous #unofficial-underfell

[madfantasy]

Dear blogging

t's cold and all I want to do is draw Juicy and his bros cuddle for survival

Hope your doing well my dears. I don't know what I have been doing all this time but just trying my best not to. Just not.

I have this immense guilt in typing any sort of update because, I'll be just repeating myself.. I wish so hard that things change, gets better and stop sucking to a point it feels like I'm disappointing others, in way that I got not much of progress..

I haven't thought of nothing but vagueness and leaving earth. One day dreaming of a bliss between the nightmares, being the very -impossible- thing I wanted, and feeling such disgusting overwhelming happiness I don't think I experienced, tears welling up in my eyes every time I remembered the scene.

I don't know what I truly want and I always figured that i don't really need to know, I don't need to be something specific, or want one thing with all my might, everything can come and go, and thats okay, everything can be hard or easy, I laughed at all my sorrows and drew them and made them into stories I retun to..

I don't know maybe that thick shield of the accusatory insanity wore off, or maybe its called maturing, cuz I can't deal with it anymore, I can't keep fighting over losing the very few things that pleasures me in life.. and the more I do, the more I feel truly closer..

It was prayer time, and during the announcements its favorable that one mute sounds and listen to it and quietly say it alongside. The masque people were praying, but at home most of us finished. I got my game running. Got cussed at, and ofc I replied of how much longer ppl pray u think, my guardians exploded with stream of demeaning and colorful swears, eventually kept praying that I die for saying that line.

I was shaking with anger head to toe, if we kept it religious, u can't just pray for ppl to die, or accuse them of not having faith. I called it out on them, and they kept saying it.. with every prayer of death I answered with Ameen, equally yelling how Im tired of this life

I went to my room and couldn't stop hyperventilating and weeping, my heart felt like it will escape my chest. Suddenly i hear them approaching, they never came into my room. They told my sib who ran to deter them from entering, they were like "I want you to stand witness that I cam here to apologise to your elder sib, and I didn't mean what I said" then they came in anyway and hugged me and kissing my hands and the top of my head, saying sorry. Telling me they never wanted to hurt me and they're nothing without me, that I run this house and without me they are lost, and the reason they lost it because they remembered their job, and wish that they never worked that job because it ruined they look on life

This is the first time that they ever apologised to me, in my whole frkin life. And actually admitted that their job was toxic among many things..

But in that moment nothing mattered. I went to bed that day expecting to leave earth. But I'm thankful I woke up the next day, still convulsing like I was hit by a truck

I don't know how to explain how faith is important to me, as in I'd be long gone without it, and it's something between oneself and God only, and not for people to judge or control how it "should" be. But they weaponize it more than practice it, as the still on going example used against me and my art and how I sm treated, in general..

I didn't get much work for this month, mum suggesting because it's the holiday season, which was a good time to spend it improving my art, but I spent it trying not to sit alone conscious or not escaping through flash backs and the torment of their words on never ending repeat , playing my hp over and over, till I notice the rats there danced, something I have never noticed and made me laugh

I want to do more art, the more I doubt it the more I'm sure it's what my soul aches to do if one day left un-art-ed In. I was even drawing while telling myself I'm not, escaping my notice till sib told me. With it I want to grow, even if hypothetically, with people I imagine how it is to meet one day, and enjoying every moment and not live undead.. one of my vids were, sorta replied to by a human being saying words, I know im making it sounds extremely basic, but my god, I have been isolated from people for so long even pics and vids are super hard for me to look.

Like, I just realised this the first time in centuries I seen a live reaction to my art, I still couldn't look at them directly but the resistance to look away decreased and I lost myself in this person's infectious joy saying how amazed they r by my art.. they don't know that gave me so hope that yes, maybe I can look at people one day, I can be with people one day, I can be okay one day..

I'm still open for commissions, now that my art apps subscriptions near expiry, and I don't want to use ProCreate cuz is icky and ewy and I want my smooth CSP specially after their upcoming update <3

Wish you the coziest safest, thrilling times, and happy holidays and birthdays, if I couldn't make it

All the love;

Mani

2:30 am, 4 Dec 2021, frozen toes

#text #drawing journey #personal

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (June 9/2021) -        New Citizens

Ponk has a chat with Sam, Fundy and Purpled officially join Las Nevadas, and Ranboo receives an update message from the Council.

---

VOD LINKS:

Ponk

Fundy

Purpled

Ranboo

---

- Ponk continues building the bridge in his new valley

- He returns to Foolish’s summer home and finds the countersuit Puffy left. He reads it. Many of the claims he doesn’t think are actually against the law of the land. He insists he wasn’t quoting Roadtrip during his Banquet speech, but rather an old man

- Ponk will have the best lawyers (he also may pay the jury off but don’t tell anyone). He’s amused that Puffy would work with BadBoyHalo and call Ponk the ‘dirty Eggpire supporter’

- He finishes reading the lore suit and greets Purpled in chat, telling him that he’s getting sued by Puffy

- Sam logs on and Ponk takes him over to the valley. They’ve had their differences, but Ponk is in need of a good lawyer. Sam suggests Tubbo, but Tubbo is expensive and intimidating

- Ponk points out that Sam will be the only one in the jury with an elevated IQ like his own. Sam hasn’t been officially selected for the jury yet, and they might think he’s biased, having cut off Ponk’s arm (Sam says he did it for good reason)

- They reach the valley and Sam approves of Ponk’s bridge

Sam: “You can see Kinoko Kingdom from here.”

Ponk: “(gagging sound) No, you can see Niki’s place! Niki’s communist cult! It’s great! We’re gonna set up a nice trade agreement, and (mumbling) then we’ll burn Kinoko Kingdom down to the groun-- I mean, then we’ll have nice trade deals with everyone, you know?”

- Ponk is bitter about losing his arm and Sam blames it on him for stealing the keycards

Ponk: “Sam...just so you know, just so you know...You can come to me after...after everything. I will still support you, Sam, okay? You’ll have a place to stay, because, all the wrong you’ve done is gonna catch up behind you, you know? All the wrong that you’ve done--”

Sam: “I haven’t really done anything wrong.”

Ponk: “Haven’t you? Haven’t you?!”

Sam: “No, I think I’m a good guy.”

Ponk: “You think you’re a good person?”

Sam: “I don’t know, you don’t think I’m a good person?”

Ponk: “I mean -- my opinions are biased.”

- Ponk asks Sam to walk and talk with him on the way back to Spawn. Sam’s spoken with Purpled recently

- They visit the animal sanctuary and Sam suggests they steal the strider. Ponk tells him stealing is bad. Sam wants to let it out. They play with the strider a bit

- Ponk explains his conflict with Puffy in general terms

Sam: “Look, I have a random crossbow from one of those guys that we killed.”

Ponk: “You said that so casually...life is precious, you know.”

- Ponk asks about the bank. He’s free to work. Sam says it’s up to Hannah. The two discuss the bank system

- Ponk hasn’t seen Technoblade in a while. Sam thinks he must be overthrowing governments in a far off land or something

- Ponk offers to trade with Sam for two stacks of redstone blocks. He asks how much for his arm back. Sam says he destroyed it. Ponk is upset that Sam didn’t keep it, but Sam says it was too mangled

- Sam trades some gold for the redstone

- They fight a raid together and capture a Ravager

- The two continue to chat for a while

- Fundy stands by his bed. He had a great sleep! He dreamt about a Windows update and he’s looking...a little sleepy?

- He checks the to-do list. Today’s the day. He grabs some things for the road. Fundy decides he’ll go alone. He doesn’t want to risk losing his snow fox friend

- He says hi to his Aunt Panisha (a salmon in the river) as he sets off, asking her to wish him luck

- Fundy reaches Las Nevadas wonders where Quackity’s office is. After some deduction, he heads to the Needle and spots Quackity going up the elevator

- After some hesitation, Fundy goes up the elevator too and comes face-to-face with Quackity, who sees him and asks if he’s okay. Fundy says he’s doing fine, he had a weird sleep and may have woke up outside the window

- Fundy tells him that he took his advice and bettered himself. They sit at the table and Fundy shows him his new diet. Quackity says he’s proud of him

- Fundy mentions that last time they spoke, he suggested they play cards and back at home, he didn’t sleep because he was waiting for Quackity to come over...and then he didn’t

- Quackity explains he just had a bunch of paperwork to do

- Fundy spots some slime blocks bunched at the side of the room and asks what that’s about. Quackity says it’s “a friend” of his, that he’s probably asleep

- Quackity gets Charlie to emerge from the slime

Charlie: “Hey, Fundy from L’manburg!”

- He was in the middle of his gloop-morphosis. Fundy is confused at how he knows who he is. Charlie digs into the floor and gets Fundy to greet him, slurping up some slime

- Quackity tells Charlie he needs to speak with Fundy. Charlie says he can “sell it” and starts telling Fundy he looks like he wants to gamble. Fundy asks Quackity why he’s talking like this, and Quackity says he must have learned it from TV

- Fundy finds out that Charlie is incredibly old and asks Charlie about how he knew he was from L’manburg. Charlie declares them best friends

- Fundy tells Quackity that he’s changed, that he’s a better man. Quackity thinks it’s great, but he doesn’t want Fundy to portray a false version of himself

- Charlie looks at Fundy close-up and says he hasn’t changed

- Quackity doesn’t want Fundy to join under these conditions. Fundy insists he’s fine, he isn’t portraying a false version of himself

- Fundy’s lived in that cottage for way too long. All these nightmares are because of him interacting with people and he’s ruining it for them -- but ever since he’s improved himself and become more healthy, he hasn’t had those nightmares

- Quackity has thought about it a lot, and Fundy’s work in L’manburg was exceptional. He thinks Las Nevadas will be a stepping stone to Fundy’s success

- Charlie gets Fundy to smell him and asks him what it’s like to dream. Fundy sniffs and maybe swallows a piece of Charlie. Charlie tells him one day he’ll be whole again

- Quackity passes Charlie a bone of one of their “mutual friends” in L’manburg and asks Charlie to analyze it

- Quackity and Fundy leave Charlie in the Needle and go back down. Quackity brings him downstairs, where he tells Fundy there’s no going back. He wants to make sure Fundy can trust him and hands Fundy a book to sign:

---

All persons naturalized in Las Nevadas, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of Las Nevadas and the land wherein they reside.

The signing of this document subjects you to the rights and duties of the nation:

TAXES. Residents are required to pay a jurisdictional and financial charge to the nation to fund future projects and development of the nation. Failure to pay could result in the extinction of your permanent residence and possibly death.

MILITARY PARTICIPATION.  One of your duties as a resident of Las Nevadas is the complete protection of the nation. You’re required to participate in any wars, conflicts, or disputes of the nation, in favor of Las Nevadas.

LAND. One of your rights as a resident of Las Nevadas is a self assigned plot of land, approved by the proper authorities, to develop productive businesses, homes, entertainment centers, etc.

GAMBLING. Gambling is defined as staking of something of value, with consciousness of risk and hope of gain, on the outcome of a game. Gambling is completely legal in Las Nevadas, but subject to constantly changing regulations.

THE LV LEGAL SYSTEM ---------------------------- Las Nevadas and any disputes within the nation will be settled in the Las Nevadas court (TBA), with the presence of the conflicted parties, and the proper authorities.

FALURE TO RESPECT THE CONSTITUTION AND THE DUTIES WHICH ARE ASSIGNED TO THIS RESIDENCE WILL RESULT IN THE IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF CITIZENSHIP,  AND, IF GUILTY OF A CRIME AGAINST THE NATION, YOU ARE SUBJECT TO

DEATH.

SIGNED .  .  .

QUACKITY

FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF LAS NEVADAS

---

- Fundy is nervous and hesitates

Quackity: “Fundy, I -- You’re like a brother to me. We’ve gone through so much. But I still have to protect my nation...surely you can understand that.”

Fundy: “No, I -- I can. Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah, um...it’s strong...You really believe in this nation, right? It’s like your child--”

Quackity: “Fundy...this is all I have left...if this nation dies, I die along with it.”

- Fundy signs the document with his full legal name:

Fun Jonatahan Micahel Vincent Georgina James Sus Dy

- He signs the book, gives it to Quackity and asks that if he ever reads it, to not call Fundy by his legal name

- Quackity welcomes Fundy to Las Nevadas as an official citizen!

- Charlie has control over the piece of slime inside Fundy. He tells Charlie not to do that

- Quackity asks Charlie if he has a name. They decide to call him “Meat” for now, but Charlie tells Quackity in “secret” (very loudly) that he isn’t actually meat...he is slime from the ground

- Quackity suggests they call him Slime From the Ground. He then says he is bones

- He leads the other two to the edge of Las Nevadas’ road and points out that they have a big issue: Tubbo’s outpost nearby. Quackity suspects that Tubbo may be planning some dangerous strategy against the country

- Quackity gives Slime some armor to put on

Slime: “Ready for war...don’t take my music discs!”

Fundy and Quackity: “Wh -- what did you just say?”

- Quackity has an informational video he can show Fundy later. They investigate the outpost. He reminds Fundy about the military protection portion of the document

- Quackity remembers the Butcher Army and asks how much experience Fundy has with the military. Fundy was part of every single one that’s existed

- Quackity suggests they build their own version of the outpost

- Slime starts breaking Tubbo’s windows. Quackity encourages it and tells Slime it’s called “griefing,” handing him dirt to spread around the place

- Quackity finds the two Totems of Undying they have at the outpost and asks if they should take them. He then says they should test them. He doesn’t know what they do

- Fundy isn’t sure they should, or what Tubbo’s intentions are. Quackity decides to leave them unless Tubbo retaliates for the griefing

- They notice the bridge and Quackity suggests a tollbooth

- Quackity explains the concept of taxes to Slime, who’s been watching Purpled recently. Purpled hasn’t done much, just farmed 

- They start building the tollbooth and Fundy brings up how medieval castles used to have boiling oil above the gates that they could use if there were people they didn’t like, and they could do something similar

- Slime starts throwing slime and Fundy can feel it (and it doesn’t feel good)

- Quackity asks for the bone he gave back, but Slime can’t tell the difference between all the bones

- Quackity remembers how when L’manburg exploded, Fundy and Niki came up to him and said it was a good day...what was that about?

Fundy: “The way I saw it was, during that time, everyone was trying to divide each other, right. Everyone was trying to divide each other...every one was either left or right and there was no in between. There was no...People always wanted to separate themselves and make war and destroy everything that was loved. When L’manburg was a thing, I cared about L’manburg, and then it got destroyed, right, and eventually, my hope at that moment was...that people just like, accepted that they shouldn’t--”

Quackity: “But you betrayed the nation...Fundy, the thing I’m getting at is, I don’t know your excuse or your thinking behind that...that will not happen again at this nation. No betrayals, no backstabbing. Not here. Understand?”

Slime: “What’s backstabbing?”

- Quackity and Fundy try to teach Slime how to backstab, then how to work the tollbooth against Tubbo

- Slime starts putting buttons on the walls. Quackity tells him not to, as it gives him bad memories

- Slime asks Fundy again what it’s like to dream. Fundy doesn’t want to talk about it, but Quackity notes that he’s been vague about it

- Fundy explains that every time something big happens in this place, he has dreams where he can sort of see what happens before it does. It’s like gazing into the future, except he loses details before it happens

- Quackity presses him on it. Let’s say they have a big war coming up, he takes Tubbo’s totems and Fundy sleeps and tells him what happens next so that they can prepare?

- Fundy doesn’t think that’s a good idea. Quackity doesn’t understand how real these things are

- What if they build an entire building for Fundy so that he can have these dreams comfortably? It’s just a possibility...

- Slime’s gloop-morphosis isn’t “complete” yet

- Quackity asks if Fundy knows Foolish. Fundy remembers one time he blew up a little bit of Foolish’s house and he finds out Foolish lives in Las Nevadas

- Quackity asks how long ago this was. Fundy says it happened a long time ago, but Slime corrects him

Quackity: “Just know, Fundy...he doesn’t know how to lie.”

- Quackity leaves to get diamonds and Fundy confronts Slime alone, asking him how he knows things. He tells Slime that in certain situations, it’s helpful to keep quiet on certain things for the benefit of other people

- They move on and Fundy teaches Slime a bit about fun and hobbies

- Quackity returns and they notice many squid in the nearby river. Quackity goes down and starts killing “cod” (salmon). Fundy corrects him that they aren’t cod, but to Quackity fish is fish. Fundy looks away while Quackity kills them

- They suggest Fundy be the food-gatherer. Fundy suggests a diet of fruit and plants

Slime: “What’s wrong with salmon? Your father loved them!”

- Quackity asks Fundy to elaborate on his father, if he came from a fishing family. Fundy asks Slime again about how he knows. Slime continually refers back to people “turning to dust.” 

- They ask about what Slime knows about them, then about Slime’s favorite memory. He digs a whole in the ground and waits for a bit

- They teach Slime about humor

Slime: “Two people walk into a bar. One is green, one is red. The green one is shaped -- is a bigger guy, and the red one is a smaller guy. To get to the bar, both got off a train. The train the red guy was on was going west at 40 miles an hour for 60 miles. The train the other guy was on did not serve lunch. They both walked into a bar, and 500 years later they were still just dust in the ground. At the end of it all, they were just still dust, and none of it mattered.”

- Slime tells another joke about a chicken turning into dust.

Quackity: “How long do you think it’ll take for me to turn to dust?

Slime: “I...I’ll make sure you never turn to dust, Quackity from Las Nevadas!”

- Quackity asks about Fundy’s father

Slime: “The sooty guy?”

- Quackity and Slime ask Fundy -- shouldn’t he know? Slime says Fundy can ask Wilbur about his history himself

Quackity: “Your dad’s alive, Fundy?”

- Fundy tells Quackity about how Phil came to him with some interesting news, that Wilbur is actually alive. Quackity ask when was the last time Fundy’s seen Wilbur. Fundy hasn’t seen him alive again yet

Quackity: “What’s your relationship with Wilbur?”

Fundy: “It’s...it’s complicated, man. It’s very complicated.”

Quackity: “Because...there’s an issue.”

- Fundy wants to talk to Wilbur about a lot of things. Quackity brings Fundy over to the headquarters and breaks the news that Wilbur came to see Quackity

Fundy: “...He saw you? He went on his way to see you, and -- and he’s not shown up to me to, you know -- why, why?”

- Quackity shows Fundy the “mark” Wilbur made. Wilbur asked to join Las Nevadas, and Quackity said no. He shows Fundy the name: Fort Big. Tommy and Wilbur are working together

- Quackity is just warning Fundy. He hopes this won’t get in the way of Fundy supporting the nation. Fundy just doesn’t know why Wilbur didn’t come to him, but he went to Quackity. 

Fundy: “Did he talk about me?”

- Quackity thinks he did, but he doesn’t remember what

- Fundy says goodbye to Slime and Quackity, heading off to settle down on his own. He stands at his plot of land, wondering if he’ll have to fight Wilbur

- Purpled is at his old base by the ruins of L’manburg. Life is good. He has DogChamp, he’s been fishing, no human contact

- He has something to attend to and goes to the cliffside nearby, finding Slime. He asks why Slime’s been watching him, who told Slime to spy. Slime avoids answering

- Purpled figures it’s Quackity and asks Slime more about how long he’s been above the ground, what he knows. Slime refers to him as “Purpled From a UFO” and Purpled shows Slime that his UFO has been destroyed by Quackity

- Purpled leaves Slime and visits the ruins. He notices Slime following him and tells him to leave again

- Slime traps himself in Dream’s honeymoon suite and Purpled continues down the path, looking at all the builds. He visits the Socializing Club and checks beneath the floor -- the trap he made all those months ago is still there. He wonders if anyone remembers these things

- Slime slimes his way out of the trap and Purpled visits L’manburg. He was just a pawn, there was no “Purpled in L’manburg” or “Purpled in Pogtopia” or “Purpled on Dream SMP’s side.” There was just no Purpled

- He returns to his house, gets DogChamp, puts him into a hidden chamber elsewhere. He stores his valuables...and rigs the entire place with TNT

He sets it off and it goes

- Slime talks to Purpled again. Purpled asks if Quackity is still interested in a new resident

- Purpled asks Slime to trust him as he retrieves DogChamp, and he gets Slime to lead him to Las Nevadas

- He makes it there and goes into the casino. Quackity doesn’t know what he has planned. He comes out to find Quackity there. Quackity takes him up to the top of the Needle

- Purpled makes it clear he only cares about the opportunity for himself, not for Quackity. He doesn’t stand for what Quackity does, doesn’t think there will ever be a time that he’ll respect Quackity as a person

- Quackity tells him they all change in some way or another. When he first became Vice President, he saw the best in everyone

Quackity: “I don’t really see the good in people anymore...but I do see opportunity.”

- Quackity tells Purpled that if they succeed with the nation, the two of them will be going down in history. Purpled starts to come around to thinking that maybe they are on the same page 

- Quackity had a citizenship document he meant for Purpled to sign, but he’s willing to gamble on it without

Quackity: “Welcome to Las Nevadas, Purpled.”

- He gives Purpled the document either way and tells him he has a right to a plot of land. Quackity will have a business meeting with all the residents soon

- Purpled asks for land behind the casino. He has an idea for something. Quackity agrees to give it to him

- Purpled leaves and speaks to himself with DogChamp at the stage. Things will be looking different around here real soon

- Ranboo goes to the mailbox he set up with the Council and checks it, finding a new update in the book along with a Netherite Axe labelled “axe of the end” in Enderman.

The update reads:

---

Hello. We have been observing the happenings around the server and we come bearing not news but rather a warning for you. We know that you like to stand idle and not engage in any kind of acts of violence and we respect you for that.

However, we also know that there are people that you care about and you need to understand that in order to take care of those people you are no longer able to just stand idle. You need to take a more active role again. We have given you something that can help with that. Use it carefully.

We respect your wishes. - The Council

---

- Ranboo takes the axe. He planned to work on Tubbo’s outpost, make it seem like more of a shop than an outpost

- He goes to the outpost and finds the griefing, cleaning it up

- As some protective measures, he leaves signs:

---

Hello! Whoever put a bunch of dirt everywhere, Dont!

This is going to be a new cookie shop! We dont have cookies yet

Please leave it alone! Or violence will be used.

---

- He continues working on the outpost and Techno logs on. Ranboo goes over to the new tollbooth and pays the toll of one bone

Techno: ranboo have you unlocked teleportation yet

Ranboo: not yet i dont think

Ranboo: let me try

Ranboo: yeah no

Techno: can you hurry up

Techno: asking for a friend

- Ranboo explores around Las Nevadas and makes a to-do list

- He makes a hidey hole in the strip club and strips some logs. He gets tempted to steal a Netherite block

His to-do list reads:

---

TO DO LIST FOR LAS NEVADAS: 1. Figure out what to get inside of. 2. Figure out what the hollow buildings are 3. Figure out why there are so many horses 4. Figure out who runs this place 5. Figure out what the black pillars are for

---

- He returns home and speaks with Tubbo in VC

---

Upcoming events remain the same.

#dream smp #dream smp recaps #long posts

[mybg3notebook]

Gale Extensive analysis

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were written up to the game version v4.1.104.3536  (Early access). . As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information. Written in May 2021.

The majority of sources used for this article are in the game itself (this includes my Gale-solo playthroughs as well as a combination of the videos by munmomuu and selphie1999), and the dev’s notes provided by pjenn. Gale as origin is not taken into account since it’s not finished and has little Gale-related content. There will be little datamining content as well since pjenn said the game contained almost no gale-related notes (only in theWeave and in the Revelation scene).

The itemised list will show some instances of approval or disapproval as they are seen in the game. To make the reading of this article easier and shorter, you can skip them since they are basically the proof I use to sustain the introductory concept of each block. 

We can infer a lot of Gale by analysing what he approves and disapproves of. Sometimes, we can even lightly infer some information from his neutral reactions, but let’s be honest: this way of analysing a char is pretty poor since it leaves everything to speculation. Neutral reactions can only be analysed by contrasting the same situation in other contexts, and seeing what other options Gale approves or disapproves of. With these considerations in mind, we can proceed to describe this character.

Disclaimer: this is a meta with my personal interpretation of the character, sticking as much as possible to the facts and leaving little to “desires” or “projections” of what I want him to be. If I do so, I will state it explicitly in the text for the sake of analysis honesty. I want to be clear about what is canon (facts shown in bg3 EA), from what’s personal interpretation with little proof.

Also, this list is extensive, gathering as much as I could in my many playthroughs, but I’m sure it’s not absolutely complete. Some details may have escaped me, but honestly, I believe that any new approval will be easily fit in these blocks once the pattern has been seen.

Understanding Gale by enumerating his reactions and approvals

What we can do is combine what we know and make our deductions.

---Gale

[[1]] The most notorious aspect we see about his approval is that Gale supports all actions that prevent, via persuasion, intimidation, or deception, the unnecessary violence and bloodshed. His attitude can be summarized as “the means (as long as they don’t kill gratuitously) hardly matter if the end is worthy”. He will always prefer diplomatic and persuasive approaches, but he can be flexible when his main objective is to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. 

He approves of using intimidation, deception, or persuasion against Gimblebock, in the ruins of the Jergal Temple. 

He approves of intimidation or deception against the tieflings that have Lae’zel in a cage.

Gale approves of diffusing the tension between Zevlor and Aradin, using intimidation or persuasion. He keeps neutral if Tav uses violence to knock out one of the two. Once more, this shows he prefers any verbal approach before heading into physical violence.

He approves of dealing with Nettie without bloodshed after she poisoned Tav. Gale even has an extra comment on the matter praising such an approach since he says he would have not been able to do it himself. This is also the first time we see a glimpse of his support for the philosophy of “giving people their own medicine”. However, it's a comment made in the heat of the moment. He ends up praising a peaceful resolution of the situation.

He approves of saving Lae’Zel’s life when she attacks Tav in the camp. This can be done via deception, persuasion or knowledge [medicine] as long as it spares Lae’Zel’s life when she is feeling the first symptoms of the transformation.

He approves of any means that allow a peaceful entrance to the Blighted Village.

Gale approves of using persuasion/intimidation/deception against the goblins to avoid combat with all of them and to save the deep gnome tied to the windmill.

Gale approves of paying for Oskar’s freedom or using persuasion/intimidation, and then setting him free.

He approves of intimidating Spike (the goblin who is torturing Liam) to cooperate with you.

Gale approves of persuasion/intimidation options to pretend to be a True Soul in front of Dror Ragzlin, avoiding combat with him and all his goblin lackeys.

Gale approves of the persuasive approach with the githyanki patrol, promising to help them to find this weapon they are looking for. It’s clear that any other approach will end up in a fight and therefore, bloodshed. 

He also approves if you tell Lae’Zel to deal with her brethren while “playing along”. Again, the goal is to avoid fighting/bloodshed. 

He approves of intimidating Karlach, saying that “I heard you are dangerous, so I am”. Since Karlach is aiming at the group, he approves of diffusing the imminent violence.

In similar fashion, Gale approves of intimidating Rugan, once he presents himself as Zhentarim, to give you the chest. This can be interpreted as a way to prevent further violence from a Zhentarim. Since there is no approval when you use persuasion to have the chest, one is more inclined to think this approval is about danger-control than curiosity. Or it’s just a bug.

[[2]] As it was said before, we can assume that diplomatic approaches are the best ones in his opinion. They not only have a positive effect in the short term but also are means that may guarantee useful resources for the future: 

Gale approves of ensuring an encounter with Lorroakan in Baldur’s Gate via Rolan, establishing diplomatic relationships with what could potentially be a powerful useful ally.

Gale approves of promising to rescue the Duke Ravengard in the Moonrise, one of the most important figures in Baldur’s Gate.

Gale approves of managing a peaceful entrance to the Myconid colony. He highlights in a comment afterwards how useful it could be to have the Myconid as allies.

[[3]] Gale certainly is a great protector of life. Gale is against killing people just for fun, whether they are innocent or not. He will defend and respect the life of innocents without question, but he even will defend the life of dubious characters. 

Gale approves of helping the tieflings to get rid of Lae’Zel because “she is dangerous to innocent people ''. We can see here that like any human, he has his own (reasonable) biases about Githyanki, considering them dangerous. Only after meeting Lae’Zel he recognises a good ally with the possibility of access to a cure to their tadpole problem.

He approves of convincing Rolan to stay in the Grove and defend it. This can be interpreted as gathering resources to reduce the bloodshed and therefore, the loss of life when facing the goblin attack. After all, Gale believes that “a wizard is a mighty weapon to have in your arsenal”

He approves of stepping in front of Arka whose crossbow is aimed at the caged goblin Sazza. Due to the anecdote he shares after, we know explicitly that his approval is due to the prevention of murder. 

In his anecdote on the Yawning Portal, we know he prevented murder of three humanoids: a dragonborn, a drow, and a cleric of Cyric. The last two are highly morally dubious due to lore reasons, reinforcing this concept that Gale protects life whether they are innocent or not. 

He approves of inviting Wyll to their camp and team. He is a fighter and a good resource to add in order to protect the team’s life. 

He also approves of helping Zevlor when he comments about the Blade of Frontier’s plan of killing the goblin leaders.

He approves of helping the tiefling called Guex to improve his technique with the sword. More chances for him not to lose his own life. 

Approves of helping Auntie Ethel when she's confronted by Mayrina’s brothers when Tav’s perception check fails. This is because neither Tav nor Gale perceived her as a Hag until the brothers called her such.

Gale approves saving Mayrina from the hag’s clutches. If Tav deals with the Hag, accepting her power and saving Mayrina, Gale will remain neutral (he is displeased with sparing the hag, but it’s nullified with the fact that Tav ended up rescuing Mayrina.) He will disapprove of giving Mayrina to the hag and accepting her powers instead. He is always approving of saving Mayrina’s life and killing the Hag, saving more potential innocents in the future. He explicitly says that hags should be extinct due to their malice.

He approves of avoiding a fight by convincing the man to let the party pass into the Zhentarim hideout.

He approves of saving Rugan’s life in the hideout. This reinforces again the concept that Gale values life including the morally dubious ones’.

Gale approves of saving Benryn’s life, the man screaming during the fire in the inn at Waukeen’s Rest.

Gale approves of accepting to rescue the Duke Ravengard, and probably saving his life.

Gale approves of saving the deep gnome in the windmill without asking compensation, just for the sake of saving his life. 

Gale approves of attacking the goblins that are throwing stones to the caged bear. (He does it whether he knows that bear is Halsin or not)

Gale approves when Tav shields their memory and denies the access of the location of the grove to Minthara.

Gale approves of killing Minthara, the greatest danger for the tieflings and all lives in the Grove.

Gale approves of killing the Duergar slavers Gekh Coal and his company. 

He approves of killing the dying hyena which is giving birth to a gnoll. This is a way to protect innocent lives in the long term.

He approves of using the tadpole against Flind, commanding her to devour the other gnolls. Gale approves again if Tav orders her to kill herself. 

He approves of helping Baelen from escaping the trap of poisonous inflammable flowers he is surrounded in the Underdark.

[[4]] He dislikes greed and likes offering help without asking for a reward, just for the sake of helping.

Gale approves of helping Zevlor with the refugee situation.

Gale approves of incorporating Wyll in the group and of helping to get rid of the problems of the grove. 

Gale approves helping Alfira in composing her song.

Gale approves of saving the tiefling kid Mirkon from the harpies.

Gale encourages Tav and approves of meddling into Mayrina's troubles when they see her being mistreated by the Hag. 

He disapproves of asking for compensation after saving the deep gnome at the windmill. Gale approves of saving him and telling him “you owe me nothing”. 

[[5 ]] He has a consistent approval of treating kids in a compassionate and forgiving way. There is a line he says after Arabella’s scene that sums up his position with kids (and adults too): “She was not innocent, but that doesn’t mean she is guilty.”

Gale disapproves of not interfering in Meli’s situation, the tiefling child who stole Barth’s medallion. Using intimidation against Barth at this moment doesn’t give approval penalties. Not doing anything does. 

When Tav’s perception prevents them from being pickpocketed by one of Mattis' associates, the child immediately starts crying. Gale Approves of telling this child “Relax. I won’t get angry. You didn’t manage to steal anything from me”.

He approves of telling Arabella's parents that the druids overreacted. This approval is explicitly explained later by gale: one should be more kind and forgiving with the transgressions of youth. Here there is a bit of self-projection of Gale on the situation.

He approves of saving Arabella with active persuasion/intimidation. He disapproves of not doing anything during the tense situation with Teela. 

He approves of choosing the option “Only a monster would threaten/kill a child” when speaking with Kagha the first time.

Gale approves of helping Mirkon. He disapproves of scaring him.

Gale approves of telling “I’m sorry for your loss” to a goblin kid whose parents were killed by the adventurer they are kicking. 

[[6]] He is an animal lover in general, so treating animals in a good way will always earn his approval. 

We know he has a cat. When he was a child, he used to have a Tressym (winged cat).

He approves of convincing Scratch of joining the camp via speak with animals.

Gale approves of petting Scratch.

Gale approves of leaving the cave of the Owlbear mother and her cub without combat. Or he approves if Tav can speak with animals and convinces her not to kill them. 

After killing the owlbear mother, Gale approves of sparing the owlbear cub’s life.

Gale approves of convincing the goblin Krolla to hand over the Owlbear cub. Paying for it will not earn his approval. 

Gale approves of feeding the owlbear cub at the camp. However, Gale will state that it's a dangerous pet. Gale approves of feeding the owl afterwards, offering a funny phrase that may be more meaningful for his character: “The hand that feeds is the hand that’s loved, now he wont leave your side”. I personally found it funny since he is the char that Tav is feeding with artefacts.

Gale approves of petting the owlbear.

Gale approves of attempting to heal the Owlbear cub in camp.

He disapproves of shooing the Owlbear cub.

Gale approves of freeing the spiders in the goblin camp. This can be interpreted as well as a tactical advantage for the battle.

Gale disapproves of suggesting to the goblins to use sharp stones at the caged bear so they can inflict more damage. He also disapproves again if Tav joins them in throwing stones.

He approves of helping the bear to attack the goblins. (This happens whether Gale knows that the bear is Halsin or not)

Gale approves of leaving flowers at the grave of the dog Myrna in the Underdark.

[[7]] Therefore it is only natural to see that he disaproves of animal cruelty

He disapproves of kicking and killing the squirrel Timber when entering the Grove.

He disapproves of prodding to death the bird that Nettie was healing

He disapproves of killing the owlbear cub once the mother was killed.

Gale disapproves of suggesting the goblin kids to use sharp stones to hurt the caged bear.

He disapproves of Tav throwing stones at the bear.

Gale disapproves of attacking the owlbear cub once it went to the camp.

[[8]] Since life is valuable for him in general, he will always disapprove of gratuitous killing, murder, and bloodshed. In short, he disapproves of unnecessary death.

Gale disapproves of asking the fishermen to hand over their values. This situation ends up in bloodshed.

He disapproves of joining Lae'Zel against the Tieflings that had her caged.

Gale disapproves of not helping Zevlor, knowing the tieflings will be massacred by the goblins.

He disapproves of telling Rolan to leave the grove before the arrival of the goblins. Without this wizard the tieflings have more chances of failing at the resistance. 

He disapproves of helping the goblin Sazza to escape. This will guarantee that Minthara knows the location of the Grove.

He disapproves of telling Zevlor that Tav won’t help the Blade of Frontiers against the imminent massacre of the tieflings.

He disapproves of not doing anything to help Arabella 

He disapproves of Tav ignoring his need for artefacts because “there is more at stake than his own meager life alone”. He disapproves of this decision that puts many innocents in danger, but he keeps appealing to Tav’s good side, encouraging them to do the “right thing”. 

He also disapproves of killing Crusher when he is begging for his life after the “pungent poetic justice” of kissing Tav’s feet.

Gale disapproves of killing Rugan in the Zhentarim hideout when Zarys orders to.

Gale disapproves of killing Ellyka, the tiefling who was watching the githyanki patrol from a distance. 

He disapproves of opening the gate for the goblin raiders.

Gale disapproves of joining the goblins in massacring the tieflings. During the party he will attempt to leave the group. Only a high persuasion or insight roll will keep him in the group. It requires a DC 15.

Gale disapproves of helping Glut to destroy Spaw, the peaceful leader of the current Myconid colony. Doing this will end up in the massacre of the Myconid.

He disapproves of abandoning Baelan surrounded by poisonous inflammable flowers in the Underdark.

[[9]] He doesn’t like gratuitous humiliation or torture of any kind, whether psychological or physical. Once more, it’s shown that he disapproves gestures of cruelty and unprovoked violence. 

Gale disapproves of telling Elegis (tiefling on the gates of the grove) that she is pathetic for fearing the goblins.

He disapproves of pocketing the ring when Mattis (tiefling kid) asks you to choose heads or tails.

He disapproves of using intimidation against Pardima, threatening her to break her neck (she is the tiefling who is paralysed inside the small building). 

He disapproves of smashing Alfira’s lute

He disapproves of telling Kagha that Arabella’s death was “quite a show”. This is related to Astarion’s concept of “fun” that Gale will bring into conversation subtly in an option during Mayrina’s quest.

Gale disapproves of psychologically torturing Lorin (wood elf trapped in Ethel’s house).

When Tav kills Connor, Gale will lament about the tragedy of the couple. He is sad for the story of lovers being over due to the whim of a hag.

Gale disapproves if after reviving Connor, Tav decides to keep him as a combat pet.

In the post before the Goblin camp, Gale disapproves of Tav smearing dung on their face. Gale has a sense of confidence and pride that he prefers to see in Tav as well. He is neutral if Tav throws dung against the goblin guards. On one side he probably approves of Tav’s pride transpired in that rebel action, but on the other hand, he doesn’t approve of provoking the goblins, since in the beginning of the scene he warned Tav that they come by the dozen, implying that they likely will be outnumbered.

He disapproves of obeying Crusher and kissing his foot, or licking it as a prank. 

Gale disproves of volunteering to torture Liam inside the defiled temple of Selune.

Gale disapproves of siding with the Goblins in general. Once done, in the party, he disapproves of telling him to stop whining after the massacre when he is sharing his regret of having participated in it. He answers "You really are heartless".

(Datamining) In the Duergar encampment, Gale disapproves of killing the slave gnomes under the command of the True Soul Nere.

[[10]] Despite showing some signs that he may support some bias commonly spread in Faerun, he keeps open minded and quite self-critical about his own slips on different races.

During the meeting he uses the Rashemi group as a synonym for lack of intelligence. I personally see this as a foreshadowing detail of future frictions with Minsc.

He approves killing Lae’Zel in the cage if Tav supports the fact that she is dangerous to innocent people. This situation may suggest that Gale considers most Githyanki as dangerous (acceptable conception lore wise)

When talking with Aaron (the halfling merchant of the grove), Gale disapproves of saying that the tieflings can deal with their problems because they have devil powers. 

Despite goblinoid races being despised by most people in Faerun, Gale recognises their powers, culture, magic, and ability to bond and love.

He is a human of Waterdeep, his human-centric vision slips in his line (with a non-human Tav): “Now more than ever, it's important to recall what makes us human. Well- you know what I mean.” He immediately noticed it and acknowledged it. 

[[11]]He is against slavery:

Gale disapproves if Tav pays Oskar’s freedom to get him as a slave. He approves of leaving him free by any means: paying for him, intimidation, or persuasion.

Gale disapproves of helping Gekh Coal (Duergar) to find the slave gnome who stole the boots in the Underdark.

Gale disapproves of handing over Astarion to Gandrel. This action can be interpreted as a way to not support slavery (because the story of Cazador), even though a better interpretation is related to Gale’s abandonment issues (see bellow).

(Datamining) In the Duergar encampment, Gale approves of helping Beldron in using the explosives to get free of the Duergar slavers.

[[12]] There are several elements related to acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, kindness and acknowledging of mistakes deeply entangled in his character. Gale wants these values for himself as well as for others. Examples of this can be seen in the following approvals:

[[12a]] Acceptance: of his persona, which means respecting his privacy, boundaries, and needs 

[Privacy/Boundaries] He disapproves of every use of the tadpole on him. He has been more than clear from the first moment about his privacy and secrets, promising that he will eventually share, given the circumstances (he clearly leaves open the possibility of trusting in Tav and never denies having secrets). This behaviour of him is also understood later not as a whim but as part of his abandonment issues: he explicitly says several times that “some truths are more difficult to share than others”. We need to remember that his secret is directly entangled with Mystra, her abandonment, and the mistake of the orb. See the post about "Gale Hypotheses- Part 1", section: "Abandonment Issues" for further interpretation.

[Privacy/Boundaries] During the scene of the stew, he disapproves of using the tadpole again. He attempts to leave the group for the breach of trust. A persuasive or insightful comment will keep him in the group, excusing the natural mistrust in Tav (Gale will always respond better to reasoning and negotiations than anything else). Once more, Gale forgives Tav’s intrusion.

[Privacy/Boundaries] During the death protocol, he approves of telling him that he can keep his secrets until he is ready to share them, despite the many questions that the whole event arose. 

[Privacy/Boundaries] During the scene of Loss, he approves of letting the topic of the loss rest. However, at this point, even if Tav keeps pushing, Gale will approve and will share a bit more about his folly with Mystra. 

[Needs] He approves of Tav with each artefact he receives. This can be understood as an action of caring for Gale and his life as well as for preventing the death of innocents.

[Acceptance] Accepting to share the experience of the Weave with him is key in his relationships with Tav. Magic equals Weave, and Magic is his life, so he is sharing in that moment a strongly meaningful part of him with Tav. Acceptance of the event is a direct acceptance of Gale as a person for a future deep friendship or romance.

[Acceptance] If Tav is a Wizard or a Cleric of Mystra, Gale approves the praise options: "I quite agree. There is no greater deity than Mystra" and “Praise be that Mystryl was reborn as Mystra.” Despite the abandonment, Gale still remains a great devotee of her, and accepting her is an indirect way to accept a big part of his own life.

[Acceptance] He approves even more if this acceptance has romantic connotations (this means, options of kiss/holding hands in the Weave or “more than friends” during Loss).

[Acceptance] When Tav resurrects Gale, he doesn’t approve the resurrection per se, but the “welcome back” comment, implying that he values the action a bit more when Tav is glad for his own persona to be back.

[Forgiveness] He will approve acceptance of his own persona and forgiveness of his secrecy after the party.

[[12b]] Forgiveness for others: He approves of forgiving kids [5] or all those adults who show honest regret by their past mistakes. This can be understood as a projection.

When Tav first meets Gale, he states he is a reserved person. He disapproves of the use of the tadpole even though he understands the drive of curiosity. He forgives Tav who acknowledged their mistake. 

Gale approves of telling Arabella’s parents that the Druids overreacted, that Arabella “is just a child”. Once Arabella is saved, Gale will explicitly emphasise later about forgiving the transgressions of youth.

After finding evidence that Kagha is working with Shadow Druids, Gale approves of exposing her while making her see her own mistakes. A path to redemption is granted with this action, and this resounds deeply in Gale. 

Gale himself wishes Mystra’s forgiveness for the mistake done in his youth. Despite wishing for it, he is quite resigned to never receiving it. 

If Tav uses the parasite powers a third time despite having agreed with the rest of the group not to, Gale will approve a sincere apology, as long as Tav acknowledges the mistake. He will answer that he knows about weaknesses and will recommend to stay stronger from that moment on. He forgives and passes no judgement, understanding Tav’s mistakes due to his own experience (to be fair: all companions with the exception of Astarion forgive this slip into the powers of the tadpole).

Taking Silvanus' idol may potentially end up in killing the druids. If this is the case, Gale will be affected by this tragedy since it was a lot of unnecessary death he doesn't like [1,3,8], and shares the burden that those deaths caused him since he suggested taking the idol as last resort, expecting to save more lives due to his bomb-condition. We see that he wants to survive and protect others from the orb, but not “at whatever cost”. He reflects with a heavy heart “at what cost” a greater evil was prevented. He speaks about “what’s wrong is wrong”, implying with all this scene that forgiveness, in this case, may be not possible. 

He approves of being forgiven/supported in his friendship/romance despite the mistake of holding the information of the orb and Mystra. At this point it is strange that Tav has not realised all of this alone, unless the player had a bug that prevented them from seeing Gale’s scenes. (Gale’s scenes suffer the lowest priority in the triggering list).

When Gale explicitly apologies in the morning after, he approves of telling him “It's fine. In the end I'm glad you told me.” The other options have no approval penalties. Once more it’s seen that a compassionate, forgiving attitude increases his approval. This can be seen as a direct result of his traumatic and constant present fear for abandonment (Check the post of "Gale Hypotheses- Part 1", section: "Abandonment Issues").

[[12c]] Compassion and kindness: He approves of most actions based on compassion and kindness (on him or others) and disapproves quick judgement on others when the whole story related to them is not completely known.

Gale disapproves of telling Arabella's parents that the situation is their fault. This can be interpreted as a quick judgement when they still did not listen to the other side.

After saving Arabella, Gale has a special comment related to the “transgressions of the youth”, about mistakes, and about innocence and guilt.

In Waukeen’s rest, Gale is neutral about keeping the dowry as a payment, but he approves of giving it to Benryn (the man rescued from the fire who found his wife dead). This could be considered a gesture of compassion.

He approves of most compassionate options when he is speaking of Mystra during the scene of Loss. It doesn’t matter if Tav doesn’t understand the whole situation; he always appreciates receiving support. 

Instead, he disapproves if Tav considers arrogance as the cause for his pain and loss (later we will know his folly was not because of arrogance but because of young love/devotion). He doesn’t approve judgement in this instance (since the whole story has not been said yet) but he will not disapprove Tav’s judgements later during the scene of the Revelation, where he receives the most aggressive words without approval penalties. 

Curiously, during the goblin party, he explicitly says that these two aspects of his persona (compassion and kindness) are affected by the shadow within (the orb) and the shadow without (the revealed Evil-Tav).

[[13]] Gale is a man of the City who indulges in the fine pleasures that urban life and some degree of privilege can offer. This is quite reasonable in terms of lore, since he is from Waterdeep, where humans hold the political and social power, plus his wizard profession. Wizards tend to come (even though it’s not exclusive) from high income families or from nobility since wizardry studies are quite expensive: 

He comments about the hardness of the wilderness.

He missed the civilisation: soft beds, home cooked meals, minstrels, and scented baths.

Gale approves of giving Oskar (the slave painter in the Zhentarim hideout) 200 gold to fight the “discomforts of the road”. He is the only companion who approves this action.

Gale disapproves of participating in the pain ritual with Abdirak. I personally prefer to interpret it in relation to his dislike for evil entities, but it can be also interpreted as a statement: pain “is not his cup of tea”.

In the same way, during the Weave, he disapproves of the image of being kicked in the gut.I know this should be common sense: if someone kicks you, you disapprove. The detail I see here is that, judging by his reaction, it seems to hurt him more than the image of the severed head. Maybe he has an extra sensibility to pain as the result of living with the orb stuck in his chest. The orb seems to be an ever present fear/pain (one can assume pain due to the extreme facial gesticulation in Gale when the process of absorption happens)

[[14]] He may disapprove of worshipping dubious or evil gods. This seems coherent since Mystra is a neutral good entity.

Gale disapproves of participating in the pain ritual with Abdirak. He explicitly says that pain is not “his cup of tea”, but it’s possible to interpret this scene as a disapproval to worshiping evil gods. Loviatar is one whose followers offer pain to celebrate her. In all options of this dialogue Abdirak explicitly says this is a ritual to offer pain to Loviatar, so it can be understood as a form of worshipping her in the moment. 

Gale disapproves if Tav accepts to be a Chosen of Booal.

He approves of Tav claiming that they don’t need of Booal’s powers, “I'll just kill you and claim it for myself”

When Shadowheart confesses being a worshipper of Shar, Gale will share a comment that displays his discomfort.

Gale approves of purging the evil in the dying hyena when a good-aligned Cleric blesses them.

[[15]] Gale is a scholar, and therefore, quite an open-minded char, who advocates for unconventional ways to solve problems:

He approves of considering the Creche solution for their tadpole’s problem, incorporating a githyanki to their group.

Gale approves of considering Gut the Priestess as another option. 

Despite his years studying The Arts, he is not judgemental or dismissive to Warlock/Cleric/Paladin Tavs who acquired the ability to cast magic thanks to the gift granted by superior entities.

Gale approves of saying “Then fix it, or die at my hand” to Raphael, quite an aggressive option for his usual style.

Gale suggests outsmarting Raphael; his logic is reasonable: these tadpoles are powerful and unusual, and Raphael probably wants them instead of their souls. If he is right, a good deal can be established. He knows that cambion’s deals tend to be unfair but he wants to exploit the fallible (human) side of Raphael for their benefit.

He is neutral when accepting the solution offered by the Hag. He probably doesn’t disapprove completely because, like a good scholar, he is waiting for the empirical result. He knows beforehand that Hags are twisted and evil entities that hardly could give them a good deal. In this case, he is not even proposing to outsmart her. 

Gale approves of giving the wand of control of Connor to Mayrina so she can find a solution in Baldur’s Gate. Despite this is an unconventional way to fix this situation, I personally feel there is a bug around, since his following comment is more consistent with a disapproval.

[[16]] He doesn’t like rushed decisions without thinking about all the possibilities. He encourages logical and reasonable discussions, free of biases or misconceptions as a scholar does. This aspect can be also understood as a reflection of his own past mistakes. Taking the orb after Mystra’s abandonment was a rushed decision of his youth which made him pay a big price.

During Raphael’s scene, he disapproves of the option “I’ll do anything to get rid of the tadpole”. That fast answer would only cause troubles.

He approves during Raphael’s scene the option that allows reflection: “I need to think this over.”

He encourages Tav to not discard the option of looking for the priestess Gut so quickly. He knows how magic is called among the goblinoid races and how much they value healing for being a culture of war.

Although he disapproves of the intrusion into his mind with the tadpole during the scene of the stew, reasonable arguments using persuasion/insight can be enough to prevent him from leaving the party. He reinforces the idea that he “may have spoken in haste” and he has reconsidered to stay despite Tav’s transgressions.

[[17]] He usually disapproves of using unknown magic in an irresponsible or careless way. This can be interpreted as a way to prevent mistakes similar to the one he did with the orb.

Gale disapproves of Tav reading the book of necromancy or giving it to Astarion. The reader will have access to the “forbidden knowledge” tag. Gale thinks himself more adequate for it since he is wiser than before, his experience with the orb book has taught him a great deal. He approves of giving the book to him.

Gale disapproves of accepting the brand of the Absolute. In the moment Tav accepts it, they learn that it has a unique magical effect that only True Souls can notice. Gale suspects this magic may cause mind control on goblins. "Charged with magic? Perhaps that explains the ease with which these goblins submit to True souls."

He approves of being cautious with the powers of the tadpole once they start seeing that its usage has physical and psychological (dreams) effects. 

He disapproves of using the tadpoles after seeing a dangerous pattern with the dreams.

[[18]] He approves of poetic justice, and he seems to follow the philosophy of “give others their own medicine” when he is attacked or harassed.

Gale approves of dealing with the situation with Nettie without bloodshed. However, Gale states that having been him, he would have handled it in a different way, recognising that he may have forced Nettie to pay with the same coin. “A taste of her own medicine is what she deserves.”

Gale encourages and approves of reinforcing a “pungent poetic justice”, making Crusher kiss Tav’s foot. 

Gale approves of helping the Myconid in killing the Duergars. “Wicked killers deserve wicked ends”

[[19]] He supports or at least doesn’t easily judge acts of self-preservation, but not at any cost. This follows his line “one respects life by fighting for it, and one respects death by fearing it”

Gale disapproves of keeping Astarion in the party after the bite scene. This happens if you use two options: “you can leave option” or “he won't hurt us”. Keeping Astarion is a danger in his eyes.

Gale approves of convincing/deceiving Lae’Zel not to kill the party during the night of apparent transformation into mind flayers. If those rolls fail and Tav kills Lae’Zel, Gale will remain neutral in the forced action that they had to take due to self-preservation. He describes the situation as “brutal” and shows pity and sadness for the tragedy. Then he asks Tav how they are doing with the experience: he is sympathising with Tav, not judging them.

Gale approves of dealing with Nettie without bloodshed but he states that he would have fought in order to preserve his own life.

When Tav speaks to Kagha after Arabella’s death, Gale keeps neutral to the comment “You protected your own without hesitation - my compliments.” However, Gale would only approve expressions related to calling out Kagha. Gale can understand the self-preservation sentiments, but his line is drawn when life is taken gratuitously.

Gale approves of pretending to be a True Soul in front of Dror Ragzlin and avoiding a fight when they are outnumbered.

He approves of being cautious with the powers of the tadpole once they start showing that they can endanger their own lives.

He suggests stealing the idol of Silvanus as a way to keep his condition in check (which is more than just self-preservation due to the massive destruction it may cause). If Tav killed the druids to obtain it, Gale shows regret. He embodies the sense of survival, but not at any cost. He suffers with the consequences, but he also endures them since they are the lesser evil. He prefers to cause the least harm possible if there is no choice in avoiding to hurt a side. 

This can be better seen during the goblin party. The only arguments that Tav can use to convince Gale to stay in the team are those related to self-preservation: “We make each other survive” and “You don't stand a chance alone”, both statements that Gale can accept only after a high DC 15, but always regretting his need and the excess of blood.

[[20]] Gale’s secrecy about Mystra and the orb have a clear source: he has serious abandonment issues that can be easily seen in his most apparent “strange” approvals/disapprovals:

Gale disapproves of handing over Astarion to Gangrel, even though he dislikes and mistrusts keeping Astarion as part of the group during the bite scene. This is quite surprising since Astarion is seen by Gale as a danger.

Gale approves twice defending Astarion against Gangrel. If Astarion is not in the group, the first approval happens when Tav recognises that Astarion is part of their companions/friends (therefore, they care about them). The second approval is when Tav reinforces their loyalty to Astarion insisting that they won’t give his location. Although Gale will explicitly question if this decision was right, he secretly approved it (meta-knowledge that only the player sees). We can interpret this as Gale seeing in Tav a person who will never abandon someone they care for, even if that person endangers them. 

During the scene of Revelation, Gale approves of not being abandoned/pushed away by Tav despite his “secrecy”.

This post was written in May 2021. → For more Gale: Analysis Series Index

#bg3 meta #bg3 early access #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale #gale #bg3

[pocketramblr]

The followup to the Thought™

"Ugh." You say, waving to the screen. "Look at that, now that's who should have been the main character-"

"Oh?" I say, a small glowing figure appearing in front of you. "I can show you that if you want, wish granted." I wave my magic wand, and you blink to find yourself watching a different universe's show.

It's about a blond boy, with a minor superpower that's difficult to work with. He only has one friend, with major anxiety. Both of them want to be heroes, which is about the coolest and nicest thing anyone can be in this world.

But the blond boy is only in middle school. He doesn't get the best grades, he's a bit of a class clown, a bit of a delinquent. He's not exactly cool or over powered, but his earnest, bright nature endears him to the watchers and readers of the story. He's nice, and not worried about competition. He'll put cheering up his best friend over studying- and he'll put just enjoying video games together over training his power on his own.

He doesn't, by the way, train on his own. He makes meager progress in the class provided, and works hard when he's thinking about it, but he honestly doesn't even know where to start with his power.

He takes the entrance exam, and by some manner of luck, manages to permeate through blasts and rubble while shoving other students out of the way. He's used to watching out for his best friend, at least, and that carries over in his natural, if clumsy, attempts to help others here.

With more luck, he is accepted into the school on those points. So is his best friend, though they're in different classes. He still doesn't have many friends, but they meet a new girl in his bf's class: she's gorgeous and powerful- the most raw energy in any of their quirks, and no anxiety or complications holding her back.

She's a bit of a ditz, though, a bit much for others to hang around all the time, so even though she should be a shoe in fit the most popular, she slides easily into their group instead.

The fandom likes her a lot, and you feel impatient. This isn't the story you wanted to see, not really.

"Don't worry," I say. "Time flies when you're actually a school story instead of a daily battle with villains story."

And it does- they compete in the first sports festival. The main character, to little surprise, doesn't do well. But he manages to keep himself and the others smiling and laughing through it, and that brings the attention of the mentor.

The mentor that you like, of course, the mentor you believe was right.

The mentor trains the main character. It's hard, but he can actually break down what exactly he needs to improve on, and now that he has support, the main character takes it seriously. Like all children do, he rises to the expectations on him when he's given the material to do so.

Not made to find the material. The kid would have never dreamed of just assuming and asking such a high ranking hero to focus on him. Rather like another boy, but we'll get to him later.

It's another year. The girl tried her best at the beauty pageant. The best friend tried his best at the liscence exam. The main character has still been training at his internship.

"His second year." You say, thinking. "Now this is when All Might shows up in the timeline, ten months before February in what would be Mirio's second year."

I raise an eyebrow, but wave my magic wand.

All Might does appear. The mysterious top hero, always in the background- ads, all over the mentor's office. They used to work together, but no one in this universe knows anything more than that.

The mentor and the principal happily tell the main character that the number one hero wants to meet with him directly! The boy is nervous, of course, excited, of course, and a tad confused.

But meet they do.

And offer his quirk, he does.

The episode and chapter end on that, of course, and you feel a surge of excitement. Finally!

You look around and realize others in this fandom do not see it that way. Many critique the twist as coming out of nowhere, with no build up that it was even possible, breaking the established rules for no reason. Many others are proud of how much the main character has to work at the difficult power, and do not want him to have a second before he masters this one. Some feel it's a trap- a secret test of character, or a villain in disguise who will ruin him. Some wonder if it's more metaphorical- he's offering the power of support and more guidance, maybe a connection, but not his literal superpower.

You do not know how to feel about it, but you know this will be for the better. He will be perfect for it.

At the beginning of the next update, the boy turns down the quirk. Grateful, more than he could say, but he's worked so hard for his own power and he's not even up to snuff with it yet. He's unsure he's the best option. The girl, after all, is used to weilding such power, maybe he should try her, maybe he should keep looking.

The top hero nods, and asks if he can visit again later, if he can find no other. The boy is a good hero after all, and maybe he needs to believe in himself as much as he is telling his friend to. It will be hard to train a second quirk, yes, but he can manage. It will make him stronger and pay off, after all.

The boy agrees, tentatively. No one can really say no to the number one hero, after all.

"Ok." You say, nodding. "There's an opening. It can build more, since that's how the story is here, way more slowburn."

I shrug. That's what happens when you start the story three years early, but whatever.

The story goes on. The main character does better in the sports festival, but not by any measure good. His friend finds a mentor, a character popular. Much warmer than the blond's mentor. The girl gets a really good mentor, a top tenner.

And then they start to get really good. They're used to training now, and getting it all bit individually and together. The mentor is motivated as of by fury, pushing more and more. And the main character grows to reach it.

Another year. They're seniors, now. Just one year left before they're pros, but they're already about at that level. They're called the Big Three.

The third year is different. Chaos every few weeks. A class of first years attacked.

"Oh, because All Might is still looking for a successor among the students- checking over the freshmen but they won't be able to compare."

I hum in a way that could be interpreted as agreement.

The sports festival. Finally, real victory. They do so well, even with one anxious at crowds. And one that is seemingly allergic to staying clothed. They do well.

The chaos continues, always at the sides. The others in this universe who follow the story talk about that and the offer the top hero made. Is he getting weaker? Did that power leak somehow and now someone wants it?

The tension grows, especially for you. If the hero doesn't give the main character the power before the summer....

The main character doesn't get the power before the summer. The hero falls on tv while the blond and his friends watch in horror.

After the summer, the main character decides to meet the freshmen. You wonder who will replace a certain someone's seat, or if this is playing the original quirkless hero storyline.

When the main character challenges the class of freshmen and you see that sparking green, you seethe.

"I said I wanted Mirio to have OfA! Why is he-"

"Actually," when I speak, you cannot. "You asked for him to be the main character. He still is. A beloved one, even."

"You know what I meant!"

"Perhaps. But then you asked for another change, and so I allowed All Might to meet with him a few days before he would have in the old timeline. He had a chance, he turned it down. Why are you mad at him having his own ambitions and autonomy?"

"He was supposed to take it! He's the worthier option, and you know it."

"What makes him worthy?"

"He works hard!"

"So does Izuku."

"He worked hard before he was offered everything by All Might!"

"Yes," I will admit. "Though, that's only because he met Sir before he met All Might. Were you so focused on how slow it was going that you didn't actually watch what he was doing?"

You will not admit to anything, still angry.

"He'll get another chance." I remind you.

You huff, but the story continues on.

The main character takes a liking to the boy you despise. So does the fandom, dubbing him the cutest little kohai. He's awkward and eager and sunny, like a fusion of the main trio.

He's also impulsive, and on their first patrol together they run into who will obviously be the big bad of the arc- and his abused daughter.

The fandom is split on if the story is going to go with a "In this arc, the blond must pass his experience on patience to a boy who it all about speed and too naive" or if it's "In this arc, it's the mouth of babes- the boy will inspire the main character to do good more impulsively."

You sit and wait for it to be "the boy will finally fork over the power he's now spent over a year working to hold and use to the real main character."

The raid happens. We finally see how the main character met his best friend. It's very sweet. The girl is a lead character and gets focus on her fight too, though the two freshmen working with her don't really. There's another funky freshman boy who turns out to be more like the best friend than we thought.

Finally, we get to the main fight.

And the main character is shot, quirk erased. For good, if the villain who's really not actually that good an example of a scientist is to be believed.

"Oh. What if the former top hero offers his power again, after this arc? It's about loss but always moving on?" The fandom asks. They aren't sure if the buildup to this is better than before, but it's certainly am interesting turn, and not as controversial as the last time.

The best friend saves the day by awakening right at the perfect moment to drag the teacher in. The quirk is kinda super deus ex machina for this arc though.

At the hospital, the mentor dies. The former number one hero is there.

The fandom wonders whether to hope or fear how long he'll wait to replace the mentor and the quirk.

You wait, knowing it's soon.

Then the freshman offers his quirk, and the fandom flips again.

"We should have known!" They cry. "He had super speed and strength the whole time, maybe the sparks are from his own quirk, but it's the same power! Oh, this hurts much more than just if it had been the retired hero!"

Once again, the fandom divides. Many can't bear to see the kohai they love shoved aside after this one moment. Will be be able to use his original power? Then they won't mind the strength for the blond. Some say to wait for his power to come back. A few pipe up about the possibility of him doing it quirkless. He has trained physically too, after all these years.

"No thanks," he says again. He does smile though- just like Sir told him to- and tells his kohai that he’ll do great things with the power, just like All Might did. Tells him that he already has.

You're past the point of fury now.

"Why?" You demand.

"Keep watching." My tone is cold. "Keep watching, the next five months where he does nothing but babysit a girl in hopes she'll magically make himt not quirkless again. He doesn't even ask if he can be a quirkless hero. He doesn't even go to school to keep training. You demanded the other boy figure it out himself. This boy doesn't. He just hopes the same thing that did this to him can undo it."

You don't know what to say about that.

"Neither took it seriously in middle school. That's the nature of middle schoolers. Neither of them tried to go solo quirkless, when no support was provided. But they're both good kids. Hard workers. Heroic. They love each other, honestly, they're friends. It's sweet. And it's sad that it took me doing this for you to see it."

I shake my head.

"Sir Nighteye never saw how Mirio was much more like Izuku than All Might. That was his mistake, because he didn't know the meaning of worthy. Not that it was his choice to make even if he had. There's no magic to this. OfA isn't Excalibur or Mjölnir. All sorts of people have had it. And All Might wasn't doing much to train before he found Nana ether, as much as he got into trouble. OfA is more about connections they have to each other. It's about people's relationships. As it happens, that just doesn't include Mirio and wouldn't be at its most meaningful if it did."

"You just are too much a Deku stan and hate Mirio-"

"Accuse me of hating Mirio again, and I will leave you here." I threaten, pointing my wand at you. "Now. Did you learn your lesson?"

You grumble, but you do nod.

"Good." I say, before waving my wand one last time. You're back where you were before, not a trace of me or magic.

The lesson, though, sticks.

#i said i was going to 'it's a wonderful world' you and so i did #hmcmverse #other main characters meta series

[yukiwhitetm]

Thoughts on Life is Strange: True Colors and Wavelengths

This part of the review contains no spoilers.

Chapter One

This chapter was an excellent introduction to Alex Chen, her brother, Gabe, and the rest of the Haven Springs community. Steph and Ryan, our two romance options, were introduced with equal value - Steph was super cool and Ryan was super cute. Every character was well rounded and likeable, but the game was glitchy, hard to run and no one’s mouth moved with their speech - this improved in later chapters after the October update. The worst glitch was on Alex when she suddenly turned entirely black during an animation, but that went away quickly and may have been resolved in the October update. I had to adjust my settings several times to get the game to run smoothly! Windowed mode is your saviour here.

Chapter Two

This chapter could have been done better. It was OK. But it could have been impactful and emotional, and it just... wasn’t. I will talk about it more in the spoilers part of this review. There was a hilarious glitch where the bartender, Jed, T-posed when he wasn’t even supposed to be in the room. I laughed so hard.

Chapter Three

My favourite chapter by far! This chapter was fun and enjoyable - and then it was intense and emotional. I am so glad that they fleshed out Gabe’s girlfriend, Charlotte, more here as she had seemed bland before. I am concerned about how they did it, but I will talk about that in the spoiler part of this review.

Chapter Four

Fun and optional romance was abound in this chapter! The event was enjoyable and the romance so sweet that it made me smile. But it had a shocking conclusion. I literally clasped my hands over my mouth and gasped!

Chapter Five

Remember how in the first game Max had visions of alternate futures and alternate versions of herself and it got really crazy for awhile there? Well, it happened again here! But it made tons more sense and I actually enjoyed unravelling it all. True Colors came to a decisive end as the mysteries were brought to a satisfying, if tragic, conclusion. 

Wavelengths

This expansion pack was long! It was as long as a chapter of the game - so grab a warm drink and get comfy. In this, we followed Steph as she started her new job as a DJ and shop assistant in Haven Springs and slowly, bit by bit, moved on from the grief and trauma of what happened at Arcadia Bay. It impacted her more than we ever thought it did and she really struggled for awhile. You see the DJ booth and the music shop change over time as she settled in and got her life in order. Steph grew to become the Steph we knew in the game, and we got to see it happen. (Side note, I had a serious glitch occur when she entered the back room at one point, and had to restart from a previous check point three times. Hopefully, this will be ironed out with time.)

To read a more in depth review carry on, but beware the blatant spoilers below!

This part of the review contains spoilers and, honestly, this is where the critique comes in.

Chapter One

I like that this chapter started with Alex talking to her therapist because it introduces us to the main character, and it is then tied into the start of the last chapter. I appreciate that there was foreshadowing put in place by Ethan telling Alex that he wanted to go up and into the mountains that day, and by the signs of the upcoming explosions that were literally everywhere, but it ruined the experience for me. I predicted the entire thing before it happened and was frustrated that I couldn’t stop something so obvious from happening. It happened and I could have stopped it because I saw it miles out, but the game wouldn’t let me. So much for player’s choice. Also, I think that Riley’s hair could have done with being animated better as it looked not-quite-right throughout the game. And, I hate to say this, but Gabe’s death was more funny than it should have been. I mean, it was upsetting, yes, but I knew it was going to happen because of the trailers, so I did not miss the hilarity of the animation of this one random boulder just hitting Gabe in the stomach and throwing him off the mountain. I think that could have been animated better.

Chapter Two

This chapter started with a memorial for Gabe. I cried really hard during this part and had to restart the scene to watch it clearly. Then we helped Steph deal with her grief in a scene that was beautiful and well done. Steph’s eyebrows kept on disappearing, though, which made me giggle. Alex helped Charlotte support Ethan, and she helped Ryan with his grief and guilt. The scene with Ryan was brilliant too - and his following joy random but sweet. My critique here is this - where was Alex’s grief? It was her brother that died right in front of her and yet we did not see her grieve him, not really. And I get that it was mentioned in Chapter Five that she never cries, but still. Her voice was too level and her expression too clear and it really did not seem as though it had only been two weeks since her brother had died, I repeat, right in front of her. The entire chapter was about grief and mourning, but not about hers. She did start to see her empathy as something she can use to help other people and that’s great, but what about her emotions, where were they?

Alex’s watered down emotions were why this chapter was only an OK. Alex is the main character - so her emotions matter the most.

Chapter Three

I cannot put into words how much I loved this chapter. The LARP was so inspired and fun - I enjoyed every moment of it. And the way that Ethan’s Joy transformed the LARP into a real fantasy world was wonderful, followed on by how it was torn apart by his grief. After this came a scene with Charlotte where we finally got to see her grief - and it had manifested as anger, which is one of the five stages of grief. The option to take away her anger was an interesting choice to make, if an intrusive one. She had the right to her emotions. But! My concern is this - Charlotte is a black woman and the writers made her angry, so are they perpetuating the ‘angry black woman’ stereotype? Or are they allowing her the right to be angry in her grief despite the stereotype? I just think that this is such a sensitive topic that it would have been better if they had swapped her anger with another character’s sadness - like Steph’s or Ryan’s - so that this topic could have been entirely avoided. But maybe I am wrong here.

Chapter Four

I loved the Spring Festival! It was so much fun exploring it all and talking to all of the characters! My favourite part was the giving of a rose to your romantic interest - I loved how this made it clear to the game who you were interested in, as I was a bit concerned I would end up with Ryan when I had been gunning for Steph. (I just think dating your brother’s best friend is kind of weird.) The rooftop scene between Steph and Alex was adorable and I was so happy to finally see them kiss! Pike arresting Alex was not unexpected, because he had always seemed wishy-washy, but upsetting. The fact that she and her friends had been spied on was unnerving, but I should have seen that coming after what happened with Mac. Taking Pike’s fear away seemed contradictory to her thoughts on how taking Charlotte’s anger away was intrusive, but it was the only option other than signing the paper, which I was not going to do, so I did it. Jed’s betrayal was shocking. I did not expect that at all! And that Alex was shot and fell down a mine shaft from the impact was terrifying. What if she had died?

Chapter Five

This chapter started with Alex talking to her therapist again, and I love that it tied into the beginning of the game. The following mystery was fun to solve, and the magical memory explorations with Gabe were interesting to explore as we got to see more of their shared past. I actually really liked it! I was cheering Alex on as she made her way out of the mine, but I nearly cried when she found her mother’s locket down there. The final showdown between her and Jed was impactful and emotional like I had hoped chapter two to be, and I am glad that I managed to garner every character’s support. Jed admitted to his crimes and I... I forgave him. Not for him, but for Alex, because she deserved to move on from what happened. I chose to stay in Haven Springs with Steph, because it seemed like the game wanted me to do that (as I had learned from the first game that Life is Strange tends to have a ‘favourite’ ending that is more fleshed out) but I actually wanted them to leave. It didn’t seem healthy to me for her stay in the place that her father, brother and almost her had been murdered. Despite this, I found the ending to be... lacklustre. Gabe’s description of her future in Haven Springs was beautiful, but I would have liked to see that after I made the choice not before - because after I made the choice all I got to see was Alex walking to Haven Springs, which I had seen several times before, and then roll credits. If I had known that I wouldn’t have seen anything different I would have let Alex and Steph move on with their lives.

Overall, Life is Strange: True Colors is a great game! I would not say it is as good as Life is Strange was, but it is far better than Life is Strange 2, because it had a cohesive story with an overarching plot, likeable characters and a mystery to solve.

#life is strange #life is strange true colors #true colors #life is strange wavelengths #lis #listc #lis true colors #review #video game review #game review #story review #glitches #thoughts #random thoughts

[murdereraisuha]

Final Chapter 5 Reflection

This will have my personal opinion/thoughts on:

The VDC outcome, Rook’s actions, and what could’ve made it better

The Rook reveal and Neige

Kalim, Jamil, and Epel’s development

The Grim scene

Total word count: 2134 words

--- 1 ---

So, RSA won the VDC. My feelings on this are mixed.

Looking at it in relation to the whole plot of TWST, it makes sense. It moves the chance for NRC to finally beat RSA to the upcoming magift tournament, which gives NRC’s potential victory a large amount of excitement/importance which it wouldn’t get from this middle of the year championship.

Furthermore, Rook’s actions do make sense based on his personality. If Vil really didn’t believe that he himself was beautiful, Rook of course would vote for the team that exhibited pure joy in their performance and therefore exhibited a heartfelt beauty. It would be a lie to vote for NRC, and it would disgrace both Rook and Vil. Rook’s actions plot wise also lead to the discussion about Vil valuing himself vs seeking value from others, which I think is a crucial thing for Vil to remember. While trying to gain recognition for hard work is good, and Vil certainly does deserve recognition, it’s much more important to maintain a good perception of yourself even when things happen or people wrongfully say things that might tear down your self-esteem

However, I still have issues with how this played out in relation to the plot of chapter 5. It’s unrealistic for all of Vil’s misgivings about himself to get fixed through the power of friendship and beating each other up. But, still, the team went through a lot in order to get to the championship united and ready to perform. It feels like a slap in the face for them to lose after all that. Especially the scene with Kalim and Epel crying while Ya Hoo cheerfully plays in the background, it's so comically dissonant. Though we already got an explanation from Vil about how Neige’s performance appeals to viewers, I was still shocked. At least it was a close competition rather than a crushing defeat. 

Also, while Rook’s message was sound, the timing was rather bad. Vil and the rest of the team just had a massive battle and then went through a whole song & dance performance without major blunders while still injured. Focusing on Vil’s self-esteem there makes it seem like Rook is just brushing all that determination and effort away. Though Vil doesn’t seem to truly hold it against Rook since he offers the handkerchief back to Rook when he cries, the situation still feels off.

In conclusion, I think that the plot events made sense. However, the execution of them could have been improved. As is, it’s hard to understand Rook’s motivations in this part due to the ridiculousness of RSA’s kid’s song winning. To fix that without just completely overhauling the plot, I believe that the admirable qualities of Neige and the dwarves should have been shown more clearly. For example, while the Pomefiore CM shows a glimpse of their bond, that’s nonexistent in the game. I think that incorporating that into the game (ex. a short scene of Neige reassuring the dwarves that their performance will go well before they step on stage) would help people understand Rook’s point of view better by showing instead of just telling us about the belief Neige has in his friends.. 

Moreover, alongside better reasons for why Rook choose RSA, I think it should be clearer why he did not choose NRC. It seems an attempt at warning of the “betrayal” was done with Vil menacingly saying he’ll win the VDC during the voting, followed by the shot of Rook just going “........”.  To make this less sudden, I think I would change episode 66. Though that episode has Vil saying that he’s ugly, because the team contradicts him and keeps him as the leader it makes it seem like the problem is solved there. Therefore, to better lead to Rook’s speech, I would change episode 66 to have Vil show more hesitation and signs that he still doesn’t believe in himself. 

--- 2 ---

Anyway, on to the reveal about Rook. I wasn’t sure what to think about the name slip up during the previous part, but I just guessed that maybe they’d met before and that meeting is related to RSA and Rook having light magic. Nope, we get Neige simp Rook. I think this reveal was really surprising, but more in a funny way than a “ruins Rook’s character” way. It’s nice to see Rook seriously caught off guard by Neige just nonchalantly exposing him in front of everyone, and everyone’s reactions were extremely funny.

I think that the chapter did a decent job of making it clear that Rook’s relationship with Neige as a fan of him is vastly different from Rook’s calm admiration of and friendship with Vil. I’m kind of curious now about how and when Rook became a fan though. Him being the 2nd member of the fan club implies that Rook found Neige when Neige still hadn’t gotten much fame yet. 

I loved everyone’s Ya Hoo too. Ace and Jamil having level 0 enthusiam, Kalim and Rook having level 1000 enthusiasm, Deuce being startled but slowly getting into it but still being kind of eh, Epel just keeping that wide-eyed confused expression the whole time. ボーテ、１００点. For Vil, I understand that he was probably faking his big smile for the benefit of the audience. However, I still hope his opinion of Neige has improved somewhat or will improve. Neige telling Vil that he’s still number one in the eyes of the people who voted for him was really sweet and their interactions with each other are pretty cute/funny when Vil isn’t trying to murder him.

Unlike other minor characters like Chenya and Farena who either weren’t involved in the plot or were only involved as backstory, Neige is Vil’s present rival and motivation for doing the stuff he does and over blotting. With such a large presence that continued all throughout the chapter and the Rook reveal, it would seem strange for Neige to suddenly drop out of existence come chapter 6.

Therefore, assuming that the Grim situation doesn’t derail the current patterns we’ve seen in the story, I think that Neige will be included as part of the Pomefiore involvement in chapter 6. Of course, it could be something small like getting called in for a favor near the end or just mentions of Rook continuing to write him fan letters. However, I’m hoping it’s something larger. From my analysis of the previous part:

Vil’s team’s performance had a lot of cohesion and rehearsal put into it, but it was very competitive focused. On the other hand, Neige and the dwarves obviously had a lot of fun with their performance. However, it was clumsy and they were ill prepared. Therefore, Vil could teach Neige more discipline and planning while Neige could teach Vil about how to not lose sight of finding joy in your work. 

Now that we have confirmation that Neige is a genuinely nice guy, I really want Vil & Neige friendship to happen, or for them to at least be on good terms with each other. It might just be my personal love for relationships where one person tries to be all rival-y but then the other is like “nope, I’m going to friend you whether you like it or not,” but I think this sort of development in the story of TWST would be really enjoyable to watch.

--- 3 ---

For the performance of Absolutely Beautiful, I love that Jamil got to be in the center for a bit. However, that also just makes me more disappointed that we didn’t get more Scarabia or anything about how their families are watching this. With the stuff in 5-30 and 5-34 focusing on Kalim’s perspective on things and his relationship with Jamil, I thought that at some point we would get a final scene focusing on them and how they’ve developed since chapter 4. What we got with  Jamil swooping in to the rescue with the magic carpet then talking about how he could sense that Kalim was about to do something stupid was better than nothing, but idk. I just love the writing and complexity these two have gotten and I wanted that to continue to the end. I still have hope though! If we can get a thing about Leona noticing the traces of magic in the arena, then we can get future appearances from the Scarabia boys too!... please...

Now, for Epel, I also have mixed feelings about his development throughout the chapter. I absolutely loved the beach scene with Deuce and Epel, it was so cute and I liked Epel realizing the power of beauty because of the apple juice Magicam post. However, I think the narrative missed something important. Though Epel’s views had a lot of improvement to be made, Vil’s treatment of him was also terrible and should have been addressed. I believe Vil saying that “throwing a tantrum and taking it out on others was terrible of him” in episode 66 implies that he’s realized that all his actions, not just the overblot, were wrong. However, it’s not clear enough that that was the intention. Vil does not apologize specifically for how he attempted to force Epel to conform to his own beliefs. Though there’s always chapter 6, it still doesn’t seem like the story will ever really address this issue, which is a shame to say the least.

Furthermore, in this final part, Epel offering to take the center position was really good and showed how much he’s grown since the beginning of the chapter. However, it still didn’t bring the whole “poison apple” thing to fruition. Absolutely no one made any comment on his cuteness or how it might rival Neige’s cuteness. Did they plan something with that but scraped it? Like, this is way too little pay off for such a focus on Vil shaping Epel into a way to best Neige. My disappointment with this ending might have to do with these past 3 main story updates being the only ones I’ve been in this fandom for, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Whatever the cause of my disappointment may be, my disappointment still does exist.

--- 4 ---

To top off this roller coaster of a chapter and end this reflection with a more neutral analysis, we have the stuff with Mickey and Grim. Mickey seems really nice, I’m glad that Yuu seems to have made an ally in him. We certainly need one after whatever the hell just happened with Grim. I really have to give props for how unsettling both Grim’s appearance and the sounds during that scene were.

Though we’re obviously getting close to the endgame, the Ignihyde sneak peak that we got seems pretty normal and related to their personal problems rather than the plot. Though it would be interesting for a big change to happen like Yuu being out of commission for the chapter, I think it’s more likely that Yuu will be rescued, Grim just goes missing, then we don’t get much more info on that whole thing until the end of chapter 6 leading into chapter 7.

Anyway, for the scene itself I understand if it just because silent protagonist, don’t want to make them talk/do too much, but it feels kind of weird that there wasn’t really any indication of a struggle? Just standing there, staring at Grim, getting clawed, then black out. Nothing to indicate trying to step back. There was some weird clopping??? sound after he attacked but since the camera didn’t move that wasn’t Yuu collapsing.

Also, it might just be supposed to be “Grim’s laugh but creepy,” but his ケヒッ、 ケヒヒッ laughter sounds unusually distinctive? Idk, I just had the thought that it could be in reference to some other disney character with a similar laugh but idk who that would be since I’m not big into disney movies.

Right before he attacks, Grim also shouts “this is my stone!!!” Firstly, assuming that this stone is the same small size as the others, shouldn’t he already be done eating it? Yuu’s not exactly gonna stick their hand down his throat to retrieve it. So what stone is he talking about?

Well, we know that the magic crystal on the magic pens is supposed to collect blot so that it doesn’t built up inside someone, right? Blot accumulated from outright eating it instead of blot accumulated from casting magic is probably different, but what if some of the blot from the black stones did get gathered up by Grim’s crystal on his collar? We know how crazed he has been getting about the black stones. Is it so much of a stretch to think that he might be trying for more? That he might be trying to create instead of just find? 

How would a black magic crystal taste?

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst spoilers #vil schoenheit #rook hunt #neige leblanche #twst theories #twst grim #update screaming