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gale-gentlepenguin · 4 years

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Gale’s Top 10: Favorite Rivals

For this list, I will be picking my favorite Rival Character’s in Media. Video games, anime, manga, comics, etc.

Now the question is, What makes a character a rival?

For this list I will be making clarifications:

1. If one of the goals of one of the characters is to surpass another character, battle multiple times, state that this person is their rival, and/or have the same objective as a character but puts them in conflict.

2. Moral alignment doesn't mean anything. They can be friendly rivals or even hero/villain rivals as long as their main objective is to best their opponent.

3. Bonus points if the rival is equal in strength and find themselves on opposite sides.

4.There are differences between Archenemies and rivals. So likely Super villains, Like The Joker (who do exist to defeat batman, are more like nemesis rather then rivals).

5. One per franchise

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10. Dark Pit/ Pittwo ( Kid Icarus Uprising)

Dark Reflections are often seen as cliché when it comes to rivals, but I have a soft spot for this dark copy.

Dark Pit is a copy made by Pandora to be Pit’s equal and defeat him for the sake of the underworld. But the process of making him resulted in his obedience being... shattered.

Dark pit doesn't side with the underworld or Skyworld. He does his own thing and wants to be his own person. Even achieving unlimited flight for a brief period, making him superior to Pit.

Equal in strength, speed, power, and abilities. Dark pit is a pinnacle of dark copies. But he is even seen being more observant and smarter then Pit. Since he is more self reliant, he is shown to see things more objectively.

His connection to Pit is revealed that if Pit falls, He will fall as well. So it makes for an interesting dynamic that Dark pit wants to prove his superiority yet still bound to Pit. Which leads to an interesting dynamic.

(also if you have not played Kid Icarus Uprising, for the love of Palutena DO IT!)

9. Metal Sonic (Sonic the hedgehog)

Oh I can see the anger from the Shadow Fans. ‘Why did I pick Metal Sonic?’ ‘Why not Shadow?’ ‘Shadow and Sonic have more of a rivalry?’

Here is my response. Metal Sonic is Sonic’s greatest rival and vice versa.

Created by egg man to be Sonic’s equal, to learn and grow with each fight. Metal sonic always pushes Sonic to his limit.

There are even cases where Metal Sonic has Surpassed Sonic going so far as to have sonic need the help of others to best him.

His goal of defeating Sonic goes beyond programing. He will even find a way to break free of Eggman’s control just to achieve his goal of besting sonic.

Whether its the Comics, the games, movies. Metal Sonic is seen as Sonic’s most dangerous rival.

And proof? He is a character in the game Sonic Rivals! So that shows he is a rival of sonic.

Not to insult shadow, but the OG shadow wasn't focused on fighting sonic, he had his own goals and sonic just happened to be involved. While later renditions have him more of a vegeta knock off to sonic. I find these interpretations lame.

I also considered Scourge, but that would give acknowledgement to ken Penders and honestly I aint gonna do that.

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8. Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto/Naruto Shippuden)

Yes, cue the cliche gasps. Despite how obvious he was that he is on the list, it makes sense why he is here. His and Naruto’s dynamic is iconic. Best friends, rivals, enemies, brothers in arms.

The two went down two different paths, striving to surpass the other to achieve their dreams.

The main reason I put him on here is simple.

I could write several essays about why Sasuke is on this list, but that would be boring. You all know why he is here.

He is an iconic rival and that is a fact

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7. Kim Ban Phuong (Sun-Ken Rock)

Now I know what you are thinking. Who the f*** is this guy? Time for gale’s obscure pick.

And that is understandable, since this is a manga that wasn't made into an anime (despite DESERVING TO BE ONE) (though to be fair, it is MEGA DARK, a lot of messed up themes in this. Really nails how corrupt people can be)

A man that became a monster for the sake of surpassing Kitano Ken (the main character of the manga)

A man that was one of the only two people to have ever beaten the main character in a fight (and the only one to do so when the main character was trying to be a boss)

Formed an assassin guild to destroy Ken’s gang.

The tragic backstory of this character is enough to give the reader the understanding on how he is Ken’s shadow. Why he is fighting against Ken so hard. All the way to the tragic end he faced. Something which I dare not spoil here.

The fight between him and Ken is nothing short of breath taking and this is written by the guy that did the Dr.Stone Manga.

Seriously, while the fan service can be grotesque at times, the plot of the story about Korean gangs, race relations and asian history are something to behold. The fact that its so underrated is a travesty. (but skip the idol arc, it does capture how messed up the entertainment industry can be.)

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6. Ryoga hibiki

The undisputed king of getting lost. The man of many misfortunes. The half piglet half man. Ryoga.

For those who have seen Ranma 1/2, What you see here is top tier best boy in the series.

If you go strictly by the anime, you would believe that he is a better match for akane (or Ranma depending on what side of the fandom you are on)

Ryoga puts Ranma as the focus of all the misfortune he has faced, he is mostly self taught and is acknowledged by Ranma as his only true rival.

When it comes down to it they are constantly on a seesaw on who is stronger. Despite all of the hardships, Ryoga does see Ranma in a friendlier light as the series goes on, even considering him a friend. They actually have helped each other on occasions, The manga showing times where Ranma tried to help Ryoga with his date with another girl. Or Ryoga putting his feelings for Akane aside to stop Brainwashed Ranma from marrying shampoo.

The back and forth between the two and the unspoken connection of having a jusenkyo curse has really made the two have a strong bond.

Ryoga deserves a spot on this list because of his strong character.

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5. Henry Cooldown (No more Heroes)

For those of you unfamiliar with the series of No More Heroes, Henry is the Scottish Half-brother of the main protagonist. Cool, confident, a kick ass accent, and a masterclass assassin. He is the final boss of the first No More Heroes.

The rivalry between the two really takes head when the main character, Travis, finds out that this cool customer that stole his kill and saved his life was his half brother and wants to settle it in a duel to the death. Henry was a rival that was always one step ahead of Travis. Travis wants to bang Silvia, (the woman that set up the assassin ranking system) She was Henry’s Ex-wife. Travis wanted to be the number one assassin, Henry was the original number one. Travis has a beam Katana, Henry has one that looks even cooler.

In terms of the cool rival/ brother rival archetype, Henry Cooldown is the best fit, and he even helps travis out again in the sequel.

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4. Paul (Pokemon Diamond and Pearl)

For those of you that have seen the anime, You understand EXACTLY why Paul is on this list.

In Ash’s journey through Sinnoh, there was a Pokemon trainer that always seemed to one up Ash, no it wasn't Gary Oak, it was Paul.

But what made Paul so different? Why not pick Gary?

Paul was Ash’s antithesis.

Ash loved his Pokemon and battled with instinct and trust.

Paul evaluated his pokemon’s potential, he released any that failed to meet his standards. He was focused on attaining power and would use any means necessary to attain it.

He saw how his older brother failed, and refused to give up like his brother did. Paul wanted to prove himself better.

Ash saw Paul as a strong trainer but HATED the way he treated his own Pokemon. Ash even ended up asking Paul’s Chimchar to join his team after Paul abandoned it, which allows for a more dynamic clash in their beliefs.

Battle after battle, Paul kept proving better then ash, until the Sinnoh League tournament. Where they faced off in the quarter finals.

(Which is personally my favorite anime Pokemon battle of all time)

Ash gets to show Paul the importance of Loving and respecting one’s Pokemon. And that is pretty beautiful.

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3.Shego

Shall we talk about my favorite character in Kim possible? About time we had a lovely Lady rival on here.

Yes, we shall.

The former Super powered Hero turned Villain, the Number two of Dr. Drakken.

Shego is a self interested individual that loves to pamper herself and to do bad.

Whenever she is involved, it is guaranteed that she and Kim are going to be fighting.

The fights are always intense and always show the capabilities of both fighters. In a way Shego is a dark reflection of Kim.

Capable, sassy, fashionable, and a total threat to anyone that gets in her way.

Not to mention, (I TOTALLY WAS CRUSHING ON HER AS A KID)

Shego’s only reason for not being the most evil villain out there is simply because she couldn't care less about actually ruling the world, Not that she wouldn't do it if she had the opportunity (a stitch in time showed she totally would) She is just more relaxed, even willing to help Kim.

There is even an episode where Shego turned good and she and Kim got along legendarily.

When it comes to rivals, Shego’s got sass, class and can whoop ass.

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2. Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Don't act like you don't love this arrogant douche.

Seto Kaiba is one of the most iconic characters in Yu-gi-oh.

This Blue eyes dragon fetishist is the head of his own company and wants to prove that he is the greatest duelest in the world.

His obsession with besting the Pharaoh (Atem / Yami Yugi) is documented and the lengths he is willing to go.

He advanced the technology of the world so far just so he could find the long dead pharaoh who went back to his time/ spirit world and he nearly did it.

He even found a way to counter magic using technology.

Though despite his ego that could rival MOUNTAINS in size, Kaiba does care about his little brother mokuba, willingly sacrificing himself just to protect him. Even willing to put his life on the line to save him.

When it comes to showmanship, Seto Kaiba is number one, and likely the inspiration for EVERY BADASS ANIME OUTFIT TO EXIST

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1. Vegeta (Dragon ball Z and Dragon Ball Super)

When one thinks the word Rival, one man pops into my head. Bar none, the Prince of all Saiyans. Vegeta.

The prince of all Tsundere’s, the walking Napoleon complex. The genocidal warrior to defender of earth and father of two.

Vegeta’s goal was to be Number one, and Kakarot/ Goku is the one that stands in his way.

After Frieza’s defeat, Vegeta’s goal was to surpass Goku, to prove he is number one.

His actions and antics could hardly be considered good, not until the end of the Buu saga would he even be considered a good person.

But the reason why vegeta is number one is because of what happened during Super.

Vegeta has gained a LOT of character development during the sequel series. Especially in the super Manga.

Vegeta shows that he has grown to care about the planet that he has lived on, even feeling guilty of his actions back in the Namek saga, doing his best to make things right.

He still wants to beat Goku, but he has more reasons to fight then simply his pride.

Vegeta is arguably the most developed rival on this list.

There are other iconic rivals that could have hit number one, but Vegeta is the text book definition of Rival.

Thats why the Prince of all Saiyans is finally number one

#rivals #gale's top ten #gale's top 10 #vegeta #sasuke #Henry cooldown #seto kaiba #hibiki ryoga #shego #rival paul #metal sonic #dark pit

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cinnamonzor · 4 years

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BrattyShipping Headcanons Pt. 2

Previous Installments: Part 1

Apprenticeship

- What, you thought I was just gonna gloss over the brunt of Bede’s character arc? Why would anyone wanna do that? It’s an awesome arc and it deserves to be shown.

- Whenever Opal’s tutelage got particularly frustrating, Bede’s primary method of motivating themselves into not murdering her was spite. While spite toward Chairman Rose became more prevalent as they grew to accept the reality of how he treated them (I mean, come on. He couldn’t even remember their name even after years of supporting them), they initially channeled their spite toward Victor and Gloria. In Gloria’s case, it was almost definitely actual spite, though in Victor’s case it was more generalized rivalry and determination to prove themselves to him (of course, they just interpreted this to be a different kind of spite).

- You know that trope that’s used in about 70% of fan-fics following Bakugou where the cocky asshole character is starting to pine for someone but interprets it as anger or something? That’s pretty much exactly what Bede goes through because they’re smart as hell but too emotionally dense to figure out they genuinely respect and are grateful to Victor.

- Since Hattrem/Hatterene is an empath, she is MORE than aware of her trainer’s actual feelings. She mostly just gives them the same disapproving look whenever they blatantly misinterpret their growing feelings for Victor. Were it not for her attachment to Bede, she probably would have strangled them at some point.

- Opal starts to pick up on at least their respect for him when he keeps going on about “finally showing him my true potential.” Being, well, Opal, she starts getting crafty and uses this knowledge to help motivate her protege.

- “You’re never going to get that boy’s attention with that sour attitude.” “My attitude is perfect! I can get his attention by stomping him into the dirt before he can process what’s happening!” “Perhaps, but where’s the fun in that? Only by channeling the essence of pinkness can you truly feel satisfaction in your victory.” “Hmm... True...” [Both looking smug for different reasons]

- Victor gave them his League Card when he received theirs (mostly out of courtesy), which they tack to a corkboard alongside Rose’s card in their new living space in Opal’s guestroom. They dub it their “vengeance board” and write motivational vows of spite on sticky notes that they tack around the pictures. Needless to say, this is one of Hatterene’s main sources of irritation at her trainer’s sheer emotional density.

- Meanwhile, Victor starts becoming increasingly unsettled by Rose in the wake of learning what he did to Bede. He begins to note occasional suspicious bits of his behavior and can’t shake the feeling that he’s not as nice as his usual demeanor displays. Oleana’s interference only serves to further his suspicion.

- Bede watches the League qualifiers with Opal, still fairly upset about not being able to compete themselves. Victor and Gloria defeat Marnie, Hop, and the other challengers to earn their roles in opposing brackets of the semi-finals. Upon watching the twins’ success, Opal and Hatterene note Bede’s notably differing reaction between, “figures that brat won,” and, “good. Looks like I finally have a chance to prove to that idiot what I’m truly capable of.” Opal finds it incredibly entertaining while Hatterene is damn near ready to break something over their head.

Galar League

- On the day of the semi-finals, Bede “sneaks” out to Wyndon to crash Victor’s impending match. Opal is well aware of their plans, but lets them without saying anything for her own amusement and as the final step in their quest to self-acceptance.

- Victor is fairly surprised to see Bede when they barge onto the battlefield, but he’s ultimately glad to see they’re doing okay. When Bede starts “pouring their heart out to him when they’ve never lost their cool before,” Victor is substantially surprised by the difference from the Bede he initially knew. He wholeheartedly accepts their challenge, even before the judges officially give the go-ahead, looking forward to seeing just how much Bede has grown.

- It was a surprisingly close match, but Victor ended up so engrossed in the battle that he practically forgot the massive crowd was surrounding them the entire time.

- After Bede’s defeat, Victor concurs with the crowd’s demands for them not to retire from battling, parroting his earlier sentiments that they shouldn’t lose hope after one mistake. It’s just not like them. Bede refuses to admit its Victor’s support that convinces them to continue their rise to the rank of gym leader, using the crowd’s will as an excuse that Victor easily sees through. He wishes Bede the best of luck in their endeavors on their way off the battlefield, which they reluctantly reciprocate towards Victor’s upcoming matches.

- Gloria grumps about Bede just lucking their way into a gym leader position, but Victor reminds her they’ve gone through a lot to get where they are and have clearly started working to make up for their mistakes. He finally convinces her to stop acting sour about it by reminding her that they are still very much being forced to put up with Opal’s antics, which brings a smug smile to his sister’s face.

- Bede continues watching the rest of the semi-final matches from the stands, sitting next to Marnie without actually recognizing her. She finds her best friend after the day’s matches are over and reports her observations of Bede’s not-entirely-concealed investment in his battles.

- After winning their way through their semi-final brackets, Victor and Gloria face off in the tournament finals to determine who will challenge Leon for the title of Champion. After Gloria ultimately claims victory, Bede storms down to the locker rooms and greets Victor with a bonk on the head and an appalled scowl as he steps into the hallway, informing Victor that they knew full well he made an intentionally sloppy call near the end of the match. Victor admits to somewhat throwing the match, explaining that he felt he made the right call. He states that the battle could always have ended up in either of their favors were it not for a couple lucky breaks, that Gloria was always more suited for the title, and that he never actually wanted to become Champion in the first place. Being Champion meant becoming the most sought-after public image in the region and regularly dealing with crowds and fans, plus it would make following his actual dreams more difficult due to the busy schedule of the role.

- Bede takes some time to accept Victor’s decision, but ultimately has no choice but to reluctantly acknowledge how much thought he put into it. When Victor inquires why Bede cares so much in the first place, they sputter about not wanting their rival to make them look worse by extension. Seeing through the tsundere act again, Victor plays along, but warmly thanks Bede for being so concerned about them anyway as he heads to watch the Championship match with Hop and Marnie.

Darkest Day/Championship Match

- While raiding Hammerlocke Stadium, Victor sends Hop and Gloria ahead while he battles Rose in the power core. As the two fight, Victor firmly calls out Rose’s shortsightedness, making a point to cite his neglectful and unnecessarily harsh treatment of Bede when it was obvious all they wanted to do was make him proud of them.

- Before Rose turns himself in for his actions, Victor has him write a formal apology to Bede, since his treatment of them was never really acknowledged in any of his other apologies. He hands it to them on their way to the stands before Gloria and Leon’s match, advising them to wait until after to look at it just to avoid any potential “unintended breaks in their cool.”

- Bede decides to trust Victor and reads Rose’s apology later that evening. They keep their distance for a bit, mostly since they know better than to crash the celebration the others throw Gloria just to talk to her brother. They have enough social awareness at this point to not show up uninvited to a party for someone who still clearly dislikes them where someone else they still have yet to make amends with (Hop) is guaranteed to be.

- They use their still fairly-prevalent roster of Psychic Pokemon to determine which hotel room Victor is staying in, writing a note on the now-empty envelope and slipping it under the door for him to find.

- As per the letter’s request, Victor heads to Wyndon’s Battle Cafe the next morning, where Bede waits to thank him somewhat less reluctantly than their other admissions have been. After Victor happily accepts Bede’s thanks, he inquires as to why Bede would go out of their way just to thank someone. Failing to deny that they went out of their way, Bede admits to both Victor and themselves that they’ve grown some sort of respect towards him.

- Victor warmly affirms Bede for their growth and restates that he feels they’ll be a great gym leader, as well as complimenting the genuine smile they show soon after. As they finish their brunch, Bede insists on finally exchanging contact information since “it’s only natural for rivals to have a basic means of contact.” Victor makes a joke about Bede asking for his number after a “successful date,” which mostly just invokes Bede’s pouty glare before swiping Victor’s Rotom Phone and plugging in their number before storming out.

- Victor ends up getting stuck with the bill, but he decides it’s worth it.

- When Bede returns to Ballonlea, Opal’s definitely connected the dots about their festering crush on Victor. She welcomes them back in her own fashion before informing them that she’s doubling down on Fairy-Type boot camp to make up for the days they were gone. Whether they admit it or not, Bede also believes it’s worth it.

- Hatterene just decides to accept their progress for now for the sake of her sanity.

Still more to come! We haven’t even gotten to the actual relationship yet! That’s like half the fun!

#shipping headcanons #brattyshipping #victor x bede #pokemon victor #pokemon bede #pokemon headcanons #headcanons #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon swsh #nonbinary bede #bede is a total tsundere #this is basically becoming a full-blown bulletpoint fan-fic #but i dont care

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gfesgersgersg · 4 years

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My Thoughts About Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals

I recently revisited a game from my childhood: Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals. I never finished this game when I was younger, because I found it too scary to progress. As strange as it seems, this game’s first hour started my interest in science fiction, and I still enjoy the genre in books and games today, despite never finishing the game.

I played up to what I’d call the start of the end of the first act of the game, getting up to the Corona vortex on the planet Genshi. This is probably a super biased article, as I think about this game a lot. It reviewed poorly with critics and I think this was probably justified. It is also worth mentioning that I did not play the first Spectrobes game.

If you intend on playing this game, spoilers are ahead. The short version is that I enjoy the characters, but the last parts of the game are far weaker than the start. The gameplay is largely uninteresting, and the game isn’t really something I would recommend anyone play.

The Good

The music in this game is fantastic. The game always has some music playing, no matter what’s going on. Among my favourites are the character-specific tracks that play during dialogue, and the track that plays when you solve a puzzle. The music goes a long way toward selling the game’s environments, too. The music on the populated planets in the Nanairo system largely sounds upbeat, and reflects the planet you are on. This contrasts with the music on the planets that are “beyond the portals”, which sound quite alien. The music on Hyoga is calm and slow, fitting with a cold, lifeless planet. The music on Fons is calm but more sombre, and is very foreboding, fitting with the point in the story it is encountered. The music on Darkmos and Nox both fit with the artificial themes of these planets and are opposites somewhat to Fons and Hyoga.

Some good tracks would be: Ready For Action!, Hyoga, Darkmos and Fons.

The environments in this game are pretty impressive for the Nintendo DS. A lot of the backgrounds are 2D, which shows, especially in the city on Nessa, and on Fons. However, they look great in my opinion. Most impressive are the safe areas, such as Kollin and Colony. These environments really sell the Nanairo system as a real place.

The characters in this game are excellently written. By no means is the story a masterpiece, but the game’s characters entirely carry its story. Rallen and Jeena make a great duo, with entertaining banter. They reference each others’ quirks and joke around with each other. The supporting characters are good too. Commander Grant is very serious but clearly likes Rallen and Jeena. Cyrus and Webster are characters Rallen has history with, making for some funny moments and a nice “redemption” for Webster. Hank and Professor Kate are nice, and again, their friendship feels realistic in the sense that they act like they have known each other for a long time. While they’re not particularly deep, the High Krawl are good villains. They’re imposing throughout the story, and the mystery of their campaign against the Towers of Nanairo is intriguing. Maja is the main villain throughout, and she seems equally aloof and desperate in her attempts to get Rallen to side with her. Strictly from a characterisation perspective, she provides a good view into the internal conflicts between the High Krawl. Jado is a (probably intentionally) forgettable character in the early parts of the game.

The Bad

The excavation system is an interesting take on obtaining collectable monsters. This game’s status as a Pokemon clone is a largely inconsequential part of the experience to me. In Spectrobes, I didn’t feel any attachment to my spectrobes by the end of the game, simply using them as tools to get to the end. Partially, this could be because of Rallen not being a blank slate character. They’re more his spectrobes than mine. There is also the issue of the monsters themselves not really being unique. They’re nice designs, and unique to the game for sure, but my spectrobes ended up all looking the same. They’re not that unique from each other mechanically either, with the only differentiations being the typing and the evolution status. The child spectrobes are a good feature, however. Child spectrobes take on the role of searching for fossils, and don’t just sit in your storage waiting to be evolved.

The game’s characters are good, as discussed earlier, but its broader plot isn’t. It revolves around creatures known as Krawl, which feed by eating entire star systems. They’ve done this many times and are now focusing their efforts on the Nanairo system. This is OK, not particularly deep, but I see no issue with this. Beyond the Portals introduces new characters, High Krawl, who are capable of communicating with the humans living in Nanairo. Maja, at least, sees Rallen as an equal by the end of her involvement in the story, but continues to gloat about the inevitable complete genocide of Rallen’s home star system. The others are a bit more aloof, positioning themselves above the humans living in Nanairo. This is all a little far-fetched, but still OK. The High Krawl are seeking to destroy structures on each planet just called Towers. This allows them to open a new portal each time, into another star system. From these portals, Krawl will emerge from their current home on planets they have already consumed.

The first of the High Krawl to appear in the story is Jado, who is shown as being aloof but hapless. When defeated, he simply appears to die. This is a ruse on his part, and he is actually one of the most important characters to the story. Problem is, he barely appears. On Malik, at the very end of the game, he reveals that he has been hiding inside your patrol cruiser for the entire game. This is a bit of a head-scratcher. At this point, you fight him again and he admits defeat. Thus, he appears twice, but seems to warrant more of a presence. Next up is Gelberus, on Nessa. He is pretty inconsequential. He destroys the tower, opens the first portal, and you defeat him on Hyoga. After this is when Maja becomes the antagonist in earnest. She appears after both Jado and Gelberus’ defeats, gloating about how these events make her more powerful. She introduces the concept of Dark Spectrobes, and is first fought in an unbeatable fight on Daichi. After this, you go on a wild goose chase through Fons and Darkmos before beating her on Nox. Maja is more powerful than Rallen, but wants or needs his power for something. Beyond destroying or ruling the universe, this is not specified. Still, it is a good enough reason for her to not just kill Rallen. After Maja is defeated, Rallen and Jeena recover the Dynalium, which is a weapon that can penetrate a planetary shield of some kind. After some fetch quests to make a large Dynalium, an assault is carried out on Malik, where Krux resides. Krux reveals that he is a Spectrobe Master like Rallen, but uses the Krawl for their numbers. The implications of this aren’t discussed in-game. Rallen defeats Krux in hand-to-hand combat and the game ends. None of this plot is particularly interesting at any point. The best part is Maja’s story arc, which seems to build up to a twist that doesn’t happen. The High Krawl are treacherous toward one another in a way that isn’t really used for anything interesting. Internal conflicts within the High Krawl could be a good way to introduce some uneasy alliances between the NPP and certain High Krawl. I don’t expect the plot of this game to be filled with complex intrigue, but its perfectly good characters have wasted potential.

The game has some nasty difficulty spikes around Fons, halfway through the game. It’s mentioned that Rallen should evolve his spectrobes after Fons is cleared, but the Krawl on the planet are much higher level than yours at this point. Up to this point, the game is balanced well, providing good balance with no need to grind. The battling in general leaves a lot to be desired. The type matchups are obvious and shallow, and the systems leave little room for strategising. The real time battling system seems cool at first, but ends up being a matter of running up to an opponent and mashing the A button. The camera in this mode is awful and frequently leaves you facing nothing at all. As such, battling in this game feels like a chore needed to progress, rather than a fun challenge.

The level design isn’t fantastic either. While many environments are visually impressive, they’re often too big, with very little in them. There isn’t anything to find other than randomly dispersed fossils and minerals. Especially later in the game, the constant backtracking through these big, empty areas feels like an attempt to pad for time. This is exemplified by the final planet, Malik. You’re asked to traverse the exact same room around 10, maybe more, times by going through the portal that is spinning to the left in each. This is not fun to play. A lot of the game’s tasks feel like busy work rather than actual gameplay. This should not be an issue. The game has more than enough content to justify itself, without this bad filler. My other issue with the levels is that the Krawl respawn continuously. This creates a feeling that you’re not actually helping these planets. At least, the populated Nanairo planets should be clear of Krawl if you remove them.

Conclusion

To conclude, Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals is not a particularly good game. It is a mediocre Pokemon clone in gameplay terms, and in plot terms has wasted potential. The game has excellent characters and music and a well realised world. It falls short probably due to attempting to ride the Pokemon train, rather than trying to be more unique. The game’s plot doesn’t really fit an RPG formula at all. This game is just one of many obscure Nintendo DS games, and I don’t even really like it, but it will hold a place in my heart forever. I suppose something to draw from this could be that no matter how mediocre a piece of media, it can still have an impact on someone, somewhere.

#spectrobes #nintendo #nintendo ds #review #video game

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thelunarbase · 5 years

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Pokemon Headcanon/World Building; Age range and limit of Gym Leaders, E4, and Champs, as well as requirements of the job

Because the Pokemon League is a branch of the government, there is an age limit for its members across the board. However, each region’s League is allowed to make an exception, with the proper paperwork channels and approvals.

At the absolute minimum, Gym Leaders must be 13, no exceptions. This is a rule all Leagues need to follow.

Elite Four can be no younger than 18.

Champions should, preferably, be 18 at minimum. However, younger teens can be given an exception if they are under and approved by the reigning Champion. (IE. Alder training Iris to become Champion, and passing the torch.)

Trainers who defeat the Champion are rarely younger than 15-16. On average, most Trainers are about college age if they challenge their League, thus the sheer number of Veterans and Aces.

Red and Green were prodigy Trainers. Their win against the Indigo League, at 11 each, was nothing short of exemplary. However, they are not the official Champions who head the League, due to their age. They were too young to even be allowed to train under the previous Champion, who instead handed the torch to Lance. Neither may handle any paperwork, but they can, being Champion in title, face Challengers, if they so choose.

If Lance were to choose to step down or step aside when the two are able to handle the League work, then they will be the Champion(s) proper.

Champions and Elite Four, as primary representatives of their Leagues, should know at least 2 languages. If they do not, they need to learn a 2nd. Verbal or nonverbal (IE Sign language) are fine, but they should be capable of more than their native tongue. This shows a willingness between Leagues that each member is willing to learn from and for each other, in a sign of good will.

Both Gym Leaders and Elite Four are under the rule to be Masters of a Type, or Specialists at the very least. But Masters are given priority in the deciding of new members.

And of course, all members of the League need to be powerful battlers. They need to be strong enough to pose a challenge to all Challengers, but not so strong that they are undefeatable. This applies especially to the Gym Leaders, who are meant to be a hurdle for Trainers to overcome, not a roadblock. Elite Four are meant to be much rougher on their Challengers, meanwhile. And Champions the greatest battle they will face on their journey.

#pokemon headcanons #pokemon world building #Battle and Competition #Trainers and Travel #Gym Leaders #Elite Four #Champions #League #Trainer Red #Trainer Green #Champion Lance

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demifiendrsa · 5 years

Video

youtube

Pokemon Sword and Shield details Gigantamaxing, new Pokemon, Galar Pokemon League, and new gym leaders.

■ Gigantamax Pokemon

The previously discovered phenomenon known as Dynamaxing can only occur in specific areas of the Galar region. While Dynamaxing seems to be a phenomenon common to Pokemon from Galar, it’s been discovered that there’s a special phenomenon known as Gigantamaxing. Not only do Gigantamax Pokemon become bigger, but their appearance also changes. Like normal Dynamaxing, Gigantamaxing boosts the power of the Pokemon—and it also allows each Gigantamax Pokemon to use a unique move known as a G-Max Move. Each G-Max Move is particular to a specific species of Gigantamax Pokemon, and regular Dynamax Pokemon are not able to use G-Max Moves. Only certain species of Pokemon can Gigantamax—and even among such species, only rare specimens will be able to Gigantamax. The majority of Pokemon will keep their usual appearance when they Dynamax. Two Pokemon species revealed to have Gigantamaxing capabilities today are Drednaw and Corviknight.

Gigantamax Drednaw

Type: Water/Rock

Height: 78′9″+

Weight: Unknown

Ability: Strong Jaw / Shell Armor

The power of Gigantamaxing has allowed Drednaw to stand on its hind legs and become bipedal. From its standing position, it can come crashing down on opposing Pokemon and crush them with its massive body. Drednaw normally keeps its neck retracted within its shell, but when it attacks, it can rapidly shoot its neck out. Its jaws are also incredibly strong and can easily bite through huge metal towers. The strength of its jaws combined with the force of its neck gives Drednaw the power to punch a hole through a rocky mountain in a single strike. Water-type moves used by Gigantamax Drednaw will change to G-Max Stonesurge. G-Max Stonesurge doesn’t just deal damage to an opponent—it will scatter sharp rocks around the opponent and cause Pokemon entering the battlefield to take damage.

Gigantamax Corviknight

Type: Flying/Steel

Height: 45′11″+

Weight: Unknown

Ability: Pressure/Unnerve

Corviknight uses its massive wings to catch updrafts created by Gigantamax energy to hover in the air while it battles. The armor on its body has been reinforced, so attacks from Pokemon on the ground barely have any effect. Gigantamax energy has caused the armor covering Corviknight’s wings to separate and become blade birds, capable of flying independently. Flying-type moves used by Gigantamax Corviknight will change to G-Max Wind Rage, which removes any effects of moves like Reflect, Light Screen, Spikes, and Electric Terrain that the opponents may have.

■ Newly Discovered Pokemon of the Galar Region

Alcremie

Category: Cream Pokemon Type: Fairy Height: 1′ Weight: 1.1 lbs. Ability: Sweet Veil

Alcremie can produce whipped cream, which becomes richer the happier Alcremie is feeling. Desserts made using this cream are invariably delicious, so many pastry chefs strive to have an Alcremie as their partner. When attacked by an opponent, Alcremie will throw sweet-scented cream to distract them or temporarily blind them, giving itself time to escape.

Gigantamax Alcremie

Type: Fairy

Height: 98′5″+

Weight: Unknown

Ability: Sweet Veil

The cream pouring out of its body hardens when subjected to impacts—the stronger the impact, the harder it becomes—giving Alcremie an impressive resistance to physical attacks. Additionally, the giant “Berry” decorations on Alcremie’s body are as hard as diamonds, and it’s said that most attacks won’t even be able to leave a scratch. Alcremie will launch high-calorie cream missiles around itself to attack its opponents. Any Pokemon that touches this cream will be filled with energy and euphoria but at the same time will fall into a state of complete confusion. Fairy-type moves used by Gigantamax Alcremie will change to G-Max Finale, which will heal all Pokemon on Alcremie’s side while dealing damage to an opponent.

Yamper

Category: Puppy Pokemon

Type: Electric

Height: 1′

Weight: 29.8 lbs.

Ability: Ball Fetch

Yamper tends to be drawn to things that are moving quickly. It can chase after people, Pokemon, or even vehicles. It has an organ in its body that generates electricity, and it’s activated when Yamper runs around. Yamper can’t store the electricity it generates, so it’s often seen running around with electric sparks crackling around it. Yamper’s Ability, Ball Fetch, is a new Ability that comes into play when the Trainer throws a Poke Ball at a wild Pokemon but fails to catch it. If Yamper isn’t holding an item, it will fetch the first Poke Ball that failed to catch the Pokemon, regardless of what type of Poke Ball it is.

Rolycoly

Category: Coal Pokemon

Type: Rock

Height: 1′

Weight: 26.5 lbs.

Ability: Steam Engine / Heatproof

Rolycoly’s red eye can illuminate dark areas, while it uses the lump of coal attached to its body like a wheel to move through coal mines and caves. It is able to travel smoothly even over rough terrain. Until about one hundred years ago, every household in the Galar region had a Rolycoly. The families would use the coal that dropped off its body for cooking and heating their homes. Rolycoly’s Ability, Steam Engine, is a new Ability that provides a Speed stat boost if it’s hit with a Fire- or Water-type move during battle.

Duraludon

Category: Alloy Pokemon

Type: Steel/Dragon

Height: 5′11″

Weight: 88.2 lbs.

Ability: Light Metal / Heavy Metal

Duraludon live in caves and mountainous areas. Their two arms have slightly different shapes, and they use them to grind down rock surfaces for food. Its body is composed of incredibly durable metal but is also surprisingly light, so Duraludon can move quite quickly despite its appearance. Its body is susceptible to corrosion, however, and is known to rust easily. They share their habitat with Tyranitar, so these two Pokemon are often seen battling each other in the mountains of the Galar region.

■ The Galar Region Pokemon League

In the Galar region, where Pokemon battles are big entertainment, the region’s Pokemon League holds tournaments to determine the next Pokemon Champion. Players will have to compete with their rivals and challenge the Gym Leaders of the region for their chance to take part in this tournament.

The Gym Challenge is a true celebration of Pokemon battling. Participating Trainers strive to collect all eight Gym Badges, and only Pokemon Trainers who have been endorsed by specific people, such as Gym Leaders, can join. During the Gym Challenge, each challenger wears a special uniform for the occasion. Trainers can choose the combination of three numbers on their own uniform.

Once a year, a series of Pokemon battles known as the Champion Cup are held in the Galar region. The Champion Cup decides who will be able to challenge the reigning Champion for their seat. Exemplary Trainers throughout the region, such as those who successfully complete the Gym Challenge, can participate in the Champion Cup tournament. The Champion Cup battles are broadcast on TV in the Galar region and are watched by everyone.

■ People of the Galar Region

Leon

Leon is the strongest Trainer in the Galar region, and he won the Championship in his first-ever Gym Challenge—without being defeated in battle a single time. To this day, his winning streak continues to grow, and his formidable talent for Pokemon battles is unmatched. He’s aided in his countless victories by his partner Charizard, and he’s known to go all out during battles, no matter who he’s facing. His battle style has captured the hearts of the people of Galar.

Chairman Rose

Rose is the chairman of the Galar Pokemon League and the president of a large business conglomerate. He’s made the Galar Pokemon League famous by implementing Gym Battles featuring the Dynamax phenomenon. Chairman Rose was also the first to endorse Leon for the Gym Challenge.

Oleana

Oleana is Chairman Rose’s secretary and is known for her calm and collected personality. She also serves as the vice president of Rose’s company and is largely in charge of the day-to-day running of the company.

Bea

Bea is a prodigy in Galar karate, carrying on its century-old traditions and techniques. Known for her stoicism and rarely showing her emotions, Bea is also an expert on Fighting-type Pokemon. Her battle style remains very precise even when she’s backed into a corner.

Allister

Allister is a talented Trainer of Ghost-type Pokemon who has taken on the mantle of the Ghost-type Gym Leader at a young age. He’s extremely shy and fearful, and he always hides his face with a mask when around other people. Allister rarely makes public appearances and apparently spends most of his time around ruins or in cemeteries.

Certain towns in the Galar region will have different Gyms that Trainers can challenge depending on whether they’re playing Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield. In Pokemon Sword, they will face down Bea, while in Pokemon Shield, they can test their skills against Allister.

■ Double-Pack Bonus and Version Differences

As a special bonus for purchasing the Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack, Trainers will receive two codes (one per game) that will reward them with special items known as Dynamax Crystals. By using the Dynamax Crystals in the Wild Area, Trainers will be able to face Dynamax Larvitar and Dynamax Jangmo-o, Pokemon that are normally encountered later in the game, in special Max Raid Battles. Larvitar won’t appear in Pokemon Sword and Jangmo-o won’t appear in Pokemon Shield during normal gameplay, but players will be able to catch them in either version by using these Dynamax Crystals.

■ Downloadable Version Early Purchase Bonus

If a Trainer downloads the downloadable version of the games from Nintendo eShop by January 15, 2020, they can receive a code that can be redeemed for twelve Quick Balls. Quick Balls are special Poke Balls that are more likely to catch Pokemon if used as soon as a battle begins.

#Pokemon Sword and Shield #Pokemon SwSh #Pokemon Sword #Pokemon Shield #Pokemon #Game Freak #Nintendo #Nintendo Switch #video game #long post #late post

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cupofsorrows · 5 years

Text

A Conceptual Post About Pokémon as D&D Monsters

I know, I know, it’s been done before, but I’ve been having a lot of ideas about D&D lately and it occurred to me that it might be fun to try to adapt Pokemon to the standard dnd setting(s) - that is, not just copying them wholesale as in, “you open the dungeon door and see a pikachu” but taking the concept of the creature and placing it in your world as something that genuinely belonged there. Like, say, You confront your party with a large turtle-monster that sprays high-powered water jets as its primary mode of attack. It’s essentially a blastoise, but that isn’t what it’s called and it doesn’t necessarily have to follow the rules that an actual blastoise would in the pokemon games. I’ve seen pokemon stat block writeups before, but they’re usually pretty straightforward “this is a psyduck” type deals, and what I’m interested in is retooling the monster to fit in a different world (while keeping the core of it intact). What’s it called (if it has a different name)? Where does it come from in your world, and where does it live? If the original had evolutions, does this version? Lots of potential there. To that end, here are a few pokemon that I think have particularly interesting concepts:

Phantump: Honestly all of the ghost pokemon have interesting concepts but I didn’t want to have a disproportionate number of ghost-types so I chose this one. Core concept is a furtive little forest spirit that uses old tree stumps (or perhaps fallen logs) as surrogate bodies/protective shells. Canon lore says they’re supposedly the spirits of children who died in the forest, so take or leave that as you please. Now, none of these suggestions have to look exactly like their inspirations as long as they convey the idea - for instance I sort of imagine these guys as little humanoid figures made of gnarled wood, which also gives me distinct skull-kid-from-LoZ vibes (but maybe that should be a separate post...)

Heliolisk: I don’t really know what drew me to this critter in particular, except that ‘solar-powered lizard that can shoot electricity and stuff’ is just a good creature to put in a made-up world (probably in a desert region). It even has “-lisk” in its name, like the more infamous basilisk, so it already sounds like it SHOULD be a mythical creature. As I’m writing this I realize that it strongly resembles the already-in-dnd shocker lizard, but come on, this thing is way more badass. Also I was just reading about it on Bulbapedia and apparently it can run super-fast? so... that’s in there, too.

Snorlax or Slaking: Look I just like the concept of a big hairy beast that’s super strong but spends almost all of its time asleep. Not even sure that would affect its stats but it’s great flavor.

Zygarde: A host of tiny organisms - maybe even single-celled - which can come together to form larger gestalt creatures (most famously a massive serpent/worm, but even more powerful forms may be possible). Should be a very powerful, possibly unique, individual, since it is a legendary pokemon.

Dhelmise: Sentient algae that uses marine detritus as a ‘skeleton’? The ghost type delivers again! I imagine that before humans were responsible for so much stuff being in the ocean these must have used a lot of animal bones (and maybe some driftwood) instead.

Seismitoad: I think there are already frog monsters with sonic attacks, but that was only half of the appeal for me here, the other half being ‘large bipedal frog’. I hold this as being very different from bullywugs, grippli, or any other amphibian-based humanoids: While froglike, those are all still fundamentally types of people, whereas this beast is first and foremost a frog. A frog that walks upright and has opposable thumbs. This also works with poliwhirl/poliwrath and croagunk/toxicroak, but then the sonic/vibration stuff won this one out for me by a slim margin. (Addendum: I have come to the realization that seismitoad and croagunk don’t actually have opposable thumbs according to their artwork. Whatever, just fudge it.)

Tropius: This one’s just plain weird. Like, almost exeggcutor-level weird (dang, maybe I should have chosen exeggcutor instead. But tropius is less famously weird. Side note: what’s up with pokemon based on palmlike plants?) It’s part small sauropod dinosaur, part banana tree, and while I’m not sure whether it should be classified as a plant or not, I do know that it can definitely fly. Also, it produces delicious fruit you can eat!

Parasect: You probably figured I was going to mention this one. Everyone thinks of paras and parasect when they think of pokemon with weird but cool concepts. MY take is that the fungus could infest different types of giant vermin, perhaps making it the basis for a template. Or not; these are just suggestions. Do whatever.

Larvesta and Volcarona: Maybe I’m just on a kick from all the GKOTM fanart I’ve been seeing, but giant fire-spitting caterpillar + giant fiery moth adult seems like a creature idea worth exploring. Larvesta also takes longer to evolve than any other stage-one pokemon, which I see as representing a long time spent in larval form (or pupated), which in turn resembles kaiju’s long periods of ‘dormancy’, bringing us back to Mothra (as all things must). Also, I think larvesta/volcarona are the only bug/fire types in the whole series so far? That’s nuts to me but it just makes them even more special.

Abra: Honestly the way this guy looks is like 90% of the appeal for me here. Abra looks like an armadillo tried to evolve into a monkey and somehow ended up with psychic powers in the process. It levitates and teleports, and according to the lore it’s usually asleep but thanks to its psychic powers is still aware of its surroundings. That’s right, its eyes aren’t really narrow, they’re just closed all the time. Do any images of abra with its eyes open exist? If they do, are we prepared to see them? As always, don’t feel like you have to give any of these guys evolved forms just because they evolve in the games. I’m definitely not saying this here specifically because I like abra’s design more than its evolutions, no sir.

Pinsir or Heracross: Pretty much the same as with the toads a few entries above. Clearly not people, but just vaguely reminiscent enough to maybe be just a little unsettling. C’mon, I know they’re cute in the games and the show but tell me you wouldn’t be at least slightly perturbed if you saw a real-life beetle the size of a 10-year-old trundling around on two legs. Even if you thought it was rad as hell you’d still get out of there pretty quick if it started trundling towards you.

Slowpoke: Listen if you don’t get the appeal of a semi-aquatic, ambiguously mammalian quadruped that has psychic capabilities but is also comically oblivious to external stimuli then I just don’t know what to tell you.

Barbaracle: Colonial organism sort of like Zygarde, except the individual parts are bigger. It could even be modular, with the various ‘limbs’ combining in different ways, although that could also complicate the stat block.

Gothitelle: Conceptually I suppose this is just another humanoid psychic creature, but a while ago I saw someone point out how its frills and whatnot are sort of reminiscent of a sea slug, and damned if ‘anthropomorphic nudibranch’ doesn’t get my blood flowing.

Rapidash: Pretty simple, a unicorn variant/non-evil fire horse. Who wouldn’t want one of those?

Necrozma: I never actually played Sun and Moon 2, nor did I get too deep into the postgame ultra beast stuff in SuMo 1, so regrettably I missed out on a lot of the wonderful interdimensional weirdness. While each ultra beast is appealing in its own way, Necrozma is practically a Lovecraftian Great Old One already what with how it was once an interstellar being of heat and light but was somehow injured or depleted and has now become a completely different creature that travels from world to world absorbing all light. That’s a pretty raw concept for any story, let alone a cute kid’s game. And it’s always a plus when something can be cool and threatening while still being safe for a G rating! You could also do what SuMo2 did and take your heroes to a world that’s already had its light stolen by the beast, to explore how the inhabitants of that world have been affected as well as show what awaits the heroes’ world... or just as a nice change of scenery. Lastly there’s the possibility that Necrozma must ultimately be defeated not through violence, but by figuring out how to restore it to its original form. It isn’t too often that the cosmic monstrosity could actually use your help, and it might leave the PCs feeling like they really accomplished something epic. Alternately, it returning to its original form also makes a great homage to the multiple forms of every JRPG final boss ever, a trope that has been under-represented in D&D for TOO LONG.

...and that’s it, at least for now. Naturally, there are about a thousand other possibilities, including different ways of interpreting the examples I’ve provided here. I suppose they could also be used for purposes besides D&D, although if you’re going to put any of this in the fantasy novel you’ve been working on I suggest you be extra diligent in obfuscating the creatures’ actual origins so as to avoid a visit from any lawyers. I don’t know if anybody is actually even going to see this post at all, but if it does end up getting around, then I fully encourage all of you to put your own spins on this if you’re inspired to do so! I’d love to see what other people might come up with.

#pokemon #dnd #d&d #creature design #monsters

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satoshi-mochida · 5 years

Link

The Pokemon Company has released new information, video, and screenshots of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield introducing Gigantamaxing, new Pokemon, the Galar Pokemon League, and new gym leaders.

Get the details below.

■ Gigantamax Pokemon

Gigantamax Drednaw

Type: Water/Rock

Height: 78′9″+

Weight: Unknown

Ability: Strong Jaw / Shell Armor

Gigantamax Corviknight

Type: Flying/Steel

Height: 45′11″+

Weight: Unknown

Ability: Pressure/Unnerve

■ Newly Discovered Pokemon of the Galar Region

Alcremie

Category: Cream Pokemon

Type: Fairy

Height: 1′

Weight: 1.1 lbs.

Ability: Sweet Veil

Gigantamax Alcremie

Type: Fairy

Height: 98′5″+

Weight: Unknown

Ability: Sweet Veil

Yamper

Category: Puppy Pokemon

Type: Electric

Height: 1′

Weight: 29.8 lbs.

Ability: Ball Fetch

Rolycoly

Category: Coal Pokemon

Type: Rock

Height: 1′

Weight: 26.5 lbs.

Ability: Steam Engine / Heatproof

Duraludon

Category: Alloy Pokemon

Type: Steel/Dragon

Height: 5′11″

Weight: 88.2 lbs.

Ability: Light Metal / Heavy Metal

■ The Galar Region Pokemon League

■ People of the Galar Region

Leon

Chairman Rose

Oleana

Bea

Allister

■ Double-Pack Bonus and Version Differences

■ Downloadable Version Early Purchase Bonus

Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are due out for Switch on November 15.

Watch the footage below. View the screenshots at the gallery.

English

youtube

Japanese

youtube

#Pokemon Sword and Shield #Pokemon Sword #Pokemon Shield #Pokemon #Nintendo Switch #Gematsu #Don't read the site's comment section #long post #I'm not getting involved in that movement that's been going on.#Especially not if those death threats and false accusations I've heard being thrown around actually happened.

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twitchyblogged · 5 years

Note

What are the rough tiers of power in crossthick?

off the top of my head, and mindyou this is VERY rough and doesn’t really account for fine details,this is the basic set of tiers I’ve been working off of. notexactly a full system but it should give you an idea!

example heights given arerelative to the possible character being human-sized; for beings ofnaturally bigger species or are modded to be larger, scale upappropriately!

Note that tiers are additive,and the tiers should indicate maximum output of power. How long thatpower can be MAINTAINED depends on the individual character.

Tier 1 - Puny. Below any realheavy hitters, and instantly defeated by the raw power of anyone in ahigher tier.. Untrained humans and related beings in that approximateweight class fit here, as well as larger species that are notablyfragile. Bust sizes are close to real life sizes, but still notablylarger/thicker than realistically likely (average cup size is F, forexample). this is the tier of the untrained, the small prey, andthose whose narrative role is to be in grave peril!

Example characters: randombackground characters that are there to be rescued, or be gobbled up.Average civilians of unpowered civilizations! This tier is actuallyvery rare, and typically reserved for the weakest of the weak, andalmost never for named characters or factions outside of theCommonwealth.

Tier 2 - Setting Average. Thehigh action, intense scope and cinematic tone of the AU means thatanyone who has at least a bit of power should be around this level:they are capable of low to mid superhuman feats in proportion totheir size: they could throw a car a notable distance, surviveattacks that should insta-kill them, and their magic is at least onpar with an average D&D magic user. However they are fairlylimited compared to other tiers: they might survive that deadlyattack, but they’ll probably lose a limb. Still they areridiculously tough by real life standards, and tend towards a ‘toostubborn/lucky to die’ in terms of survivability. Their lack of rawpower renders them largely helpless against more powerful figures.Boob size is at least as large as their head, and they should atleast be 12 feet tall, and are often maxing out around 20 - 30 feet.

Example characters: Regularcivilians of powered civilizations or ones where superpowers nad modsare reasonably common: most factions (included Endowed Fleet andCobalt Stingers) are the obvious example. The children of the Fleetand Stingers, as well as their unpowered citizens/serfs would alsoqualify. Any character who isn’t so weak as to be insta-beaten isat least here. Powerful mechs and war machines can elevate the punyto these, but their fighting spirit would let them qualifyregardless. Most characters are at least this!

Tier 3 - Starfaring Heroes. Moreexperienced and powerful, able to take on many lesser foes and easilybeat or eat them; 50 feet on average. These beings can take on anarmy of tier 1s, and barring extreme number differences, there is noway the punies can possibly even annoy them, though they might slowthe Starfaring down. At this rate, raw power overcomes realism; theirpower allows them to overcome the Square-Cubed Law and breath inplaces where it logically should be difficult. Their magicalpotential rapidly expands, giving them a vast amount of energy anddestructive power for whatever abilities they have. Likely able totank hits that could destroy a hillside. Boobs at least as big asupper torso.

Example characters: Namedcharacters who feature frequently and haven’t specifically beenlisted as super powerful; most Endowed Fleet Transformers, Centorea,Miia, the other Monster Musume characters. Average Pokemon andDigimon trainers are here, barring fusion/partnering with theirmonster friends. Powerful magic users and members of Houses in theStingers would be here. Allmembers of the TaskForce are at least in this tier!

Tier 4 - Modern Titans. Thebeginning of upper power scaling for most characters, these are theepic heroes who can jump across mountains and toss kaiju around. thisis the point where things start getting ridiculous! These titans, atfull power, ignore all damage from anyone save a large group of Tier3s; punies simply cannot damage them at all, with even an entireplanet’s forces only able to slow them down. Tier 2s must resort toclever means to even make them notice any damage. Their powercontinues to escalate, and they likely can manifest any baggagerequired by their powers directly, and can reshape local landscapewith their strength. Their size ranges into the hundreds of feet,from at least 100 to 500 for the most powerful. Boobs are at least asbig as their whole body from neck to groin, as big as a proportionatebean bag bed.

Example characters: The biggestheavier hitters in the setting generally start here; the Crystal Gemsfrom canon (Pearl, Bismuth, Amethyst, Garnet) would be here, as wouldthe individual Dinobots (Grimlock, Sludge, Snarl, Swoop, Slug). Namedcharacters emphasized frequently by the mun generally are at leastthis, and the more notable members of the Task Force (Harley, Reyesin full Reaper mode, Ranamon at low levels) fit here. Stinger Houseelites, certainly, and most of the dangerous world-eating monstersthe Fleet does battle with. The Neon Genesis Evangelion pilots aswell, provided they use their EVAs. The Avatar bending characterswould be here as well, with Toph, Azula, and Katara at the upper endof the tier.

Tier 5 - Worldshakers. Thesebeings are so powerful that they can easily destroy worlds if theyare so inclined, and at this level, mundane forms of attack areprobably an inconvenience; nuclear weapons are harmless, and they arecompletely immune to environmental hazards, possibly even capable ofbreathing in vacuum. At least as big as entire planets; they can growover four thousand miles across, and can express their power withsuch precision they can perceive and interact human-sized beingsregardless, and fight them directly if desired. Can outright warmreality as far as their impact is concerned; they can smack a planetwithout disturbing a single atom, or otherwise immunize others to theconsequences of their size, as well as substitute raw power forthings like oxygen, food, and so on. They DO need to eat eventually,though. Breasts and other curves at LEAST as big as their entirebodies!

Examples: Any of the big leaguefemale characters at the focus of the AU should atleast be this.Sierra, Wicke, Toriel, Rose Quartz, Terezi and the other Homestuckcharacters (should they fully tap into their divine powers) would sitcomfortably in here. However, they rarely hit this specific powerlevel, implying that they are unused to exercising this power, orrarely encounter a point where it is reasonable to use this. Vriska.Ranamon, at her higher power levels. Harley mightbe in this tier, ather strongest. Eventually, of the Avatar characters, Aang and Korrawill hit this power level. The female AVatars (Yangchen, Kyoshi) areprobably already at this power level but have no particular reason toexpress it.

Tier 6 - Cataclysms That Talk.Now so powerful that the only size capable of expressing their formis progressively larger, this tier covers a wide variety of beings soabsurdly strong that they can destroy entire solar systems with ease,and scaling up. They are unfathomably massive, able to swallow wholesolar systems. Similar power levels of increasingly vast size arecounted in this, ranging from the size described here, to ‘galaxysized’ and increasingly bigger. Because of their immense size andpower, this is only really relevant to beings of similar size; theyare so powerful that only direct divine action will even register tothem, and mundane means are completely meaningless. Fighting themdirectly is futile, unless you have equivalent power! At this point,their breasts and other curves grow so large that the breasts can bedozens of times larger; it can be very difficult to make out theirbodies beneath all the boob-age.

Example characters: the mostpowerful of all characters MIGHT be here, but given the sheer powerat play, very few would qualify in the serious stories; Sierra hasthe potential for this, as does Rose Quartz and Terezi, andTransformer Combiners and Gem Fusions (Volcanicus, Obsidian) couldconceivably hit this, though they are canonically not yet that strongyet. Individual Reapers would qualify. Any true god, provided theyhave an intact legend and have not been forgotten, are at least thispowerful if they are able to to manifest fully on the mortal planes.This is quite rare, though, and usually restricted to the magicalrealms.

Tier 7 - Universal. The ultimatepower tier for all beings on the mortal plane, and assumed to be thehigher end for supernatural entities such as the rulers of elementalplanes, and the stronger gods when acting in the magical realms. Thissize is so big, you fill up an entire universe, with power to match!At this point, the character is a physical god, able to perform anyfeat that falls into their powers, no matter how microscopicallyminor or massive in scale; she can create universes, digesttimelines, and warp reality around herself as she sees fit (if youwant to reason how things can exist around her body, or its impact onthem). Absolutely omnipotent, and barring highly unusual and specificweapons that attack the giant’s weaknesses or overcome magicaldefenses, she is completely immune to any and all damage, save fromanother in her league, or enough foes of Tier 6. Given the powerlevels involved, this would require a multiversal-sized league of 6sto even pose a small annoyance. Finally, they can muster so muchpower, they can induce instant absolute extinction across entireuniverses, or create entire universes at will. Breasts are so now somassive they are hundreds to thousands of times larger than thecharacter, who swims upon a sea of cleavage.

Example characters: Currentlyreserved only for beings such as the gods and rulers of the elementalrealms, but feasible for the big name characters like Sierra, Terezi,Vriska, Rose Quartz, and theoreticallyanyone, in the rightcircumstances and given enough time. The big name gods maintain thispower level primarily within their own realms, where they areeffectively omnipotent regardless. The Nymphs of Rayman as well,particularly within their elemental planes. (It is allowed to send insuggestions for characters being this powerful, but its not canon!)

Tier 8 - The Mythic. This tier’spower is unknown, but possible; it would involve much of the samepower level as Tier 7, but on the scale of macroverses and the entirecosmology, and grow bigger than the multiverse itself. Such immensepower would make the character completely immune to all damage,instantly win any conceivable battle, and be threatened only by abeing of equal power; even Tier 7s would be unable to fight them.There is no understating how absurdly powerful this character wouldbe! You fight them, you lose, and not even the gods would be able tochallenge them. This tier is, however, not currently reached by anyknown character; multiple characters INTEND to achieve this power(Vriska for one, the Endowed Fleet through mass fusion of entireuniverses, and the Good Planes intend to do this with allGood-aligned beings in a time of great crisis), but its sheer andoverwhelming power makes it the ultimate dream for someone who wantslimitless power, and instantly allow the character to fulfill alltheir goals and that of their allies, akin to making the perfectwish. The maximum bust size for this scale is incalculable; thebreasts would defined the edges of entire multiverses!

Example characters: None currently,though Unicron’s plans include killing the multiverse so the deathempowers her to this state, allowing her to recreate it freely; thegoddess Jubileus has a (less genocidal) plan that follows along thesame lines. Assume that this power level is the big pipedream for allambitious characters, at least those who are aware that it ispossible!

#queued #replies #anon replies #crossthicc AU #not TOTALLY sure why you didnt send this to my writing blog but EH #no big deal!#Anonymous

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fivewrites · 6 years

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That’s Not How Child Abuse Works: Todoroki Enji Edition

Let’s talk about character design and child abuse in BNHA.

Let me be clear: Enji Todoroki is a bad person. Full stop. This is not a defense of him, or an excuse of his behaviours in any way. This is, however, an examination of the specific ways in which he is a bad person, and why I feel a fair portion of the fandom gets him and his relationship with Shoto Todoroki wrong.

So, who is Enji Todoroki?

Trigger warning for discussions of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, as well as domestic violence under the cut

Also, spoilers

Alright, let me start off with a preface. It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. This is not a strict do-and-do-not of writing. No one is stopping you from writing whatever you want. If you want to write rape as a plot device or cheap shock-value characterization for your villain, I literally cannot stop you. No one can stop you. Go ahead.

As well, this post contains hypothesis and conjecture that are not proven as fact by the canonical text, but may or may not be inferred through examination. In no way am I trying to state that my assumptions or suggestions are true or canonical, they are merely that - suggestions on how to write realistic portrayals of familial abuse.

Thirdly, there is a very good resource out there for examining abusers. I have found the text Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft invaluable to understanding the patterns of abuse. You can read the whole PDF for free here.

Have fun and be creative, pals.

From what we know of the story, Enji Todoroki is the #2 hero in the world, and has been for quite some time. He is deeply jealous and insecure about this. About the fact that he has never, and probably will never take the number one spot away from All Might. And so, at some point in his life, Enji came up with a plan. He was going to have a son who would do it for him.

Flash forward a bit; Enji paid off the family of Shoto’s mother in order to marry her and have access to her quirk. He was going to produce what would be, in his mind, a perfect heir. (This is bad. He is a bad person for doing this. Full stop.) Enji had several children before Shoto, whom he considers to be “failures” and presumably has little to no relationship with them. However, Shoto’s mother was eventually able to bear a child hybridized with both their powerful quirks. Happy with the result, Enji has since taken it upon himself to form Shoto into his perfect heir.

Enji has done this through abusive means of control and dominance, and in doing so has created a highly toxic relationship between himself, his wife and his son. Much of the problems in the Todoroki household are because of Enji’s actions. He is an abuser. But what kind of abuser he is is not random, and the abusive acts he performs are not random, either.

So who is Enji Todoroki?

Simply put, he’s a Stage Mom. He’s an asshole, abusive, controlling stage mom who treats his son more like a Pokemon than a person.

He is the kind of parent that will drag Shoto out of bed for practice, force him to eat and study, control every minute of his schedule and make sure this kid is going to become, by any means necessary, the man he could never be. That is Enji’s logic. He wants Shoto to succeed where he failed, by any means necessary.

However, Enji has a logical plan for his son. All of his abusive actions have a purpose. He’s not going to meet his desired goals by harming Shoto to the point of total physical and emotional destruction. He would only be sabotaging himself.

What does Enji Todoroki want?

Power - Enji wants to be the number one hero instead of All Might. Barring that, he wants his son to be #1 in his stead Respect - from his family, and the general public, Enji wants to be seen in a positive light Control - Enji wants to be in control of himself, his family, his work and his destiny Legacy - Enji wants to extend his power beyond just himself, into his children so they continue projecting his power even after he dies

What is Enji Todoroki afraid of?

Losing power - physically and professionally, Enji cannot handle being seen as a weak man, or have Shoto be seen as a weak son. Losing respect - Enji needs his family and the public to treat him as the man he sees himself as Losing control - Enji cannot allow his son or anyone else to disobey him and prevent him from realizing his goals Losing legacy - If Shoto does not become who he wants, Enji will have wasted a huge portion of his life and resources on a failed project

Enji, being a logical and sane* person is going to pursue actions that lead him towards his desired goals. He is also going to avoid actions that will cause him to lose his desired goals.

(*Sane in this case simply meaning “capable of rational thought”. Not moral or ethical thought. Sane people can choose to lie, steal, murder, rape, etc. They are deliberately choosing bad choices, but they are still sane.)

At this point, I would also highly recommend reading the section in Bancroft’s book on the types of abusers in chapter 4, page 219. You can decide for yourself which one (or several) Enji fits under.

Knowing Enji’s goals and mindset, here are a few common tropes I see in Todoroki fic and why I feel they’re not all that logically plausible

Enji beats Shoto within an inch of his life

Simply put, Enji has no reason to do this. Enji sees his son as an extension of himself and his own accomplishments. Shoto is, to him, a prize pig. Physically brutalizing Shoto would be Enji brutalizing himself.

Remember, Enji has an image that he wants to project to the outside world. He is a public figure. A celebrity. He wants the public to see him, and by extension his family, as powerful, united, untouchable and also a traditionally conservative Japanese family.

The media and public would likely become suspect of Enji’s power and likability if they saw his son consistently covered in bruises. Or worse (for Enji) they might assume that Shoto has been losing a bunch of fights and is a weak hero. Enji absolutely would not want the world to think this, and would not let his perfect son be seen as weak or defeated.

While it is reasonable to assume that Enji might use corporal punishment for misbehaviour, there is no reason to assume that he assaults Shoto to the point of hospitalization or death.

It is also reasonable to assume that Enji overtrains Shoto, and pushes him beyond his physical limits in pursuit of shaping him into the perfect warrior. We saw him train Shoto until he vomits as a child. However, this still follows Enji’s logical purpose of making him “better”. It is unlikely that he would physically attack Shoto for frivolous reasons, like his own amusement or anger. It would undercut his goal of turning Shoto into a miniature version of himself.

Enji starves Shoto

Again, there is no reason for Enji to do this. He wants to project to the world that he is strong, and by extension, his family is strong. Starving Shoto would seriously harm Enji’s plans for him.

Shoto would struggle physically and mentally in school, and Enji wants a top performer

Shoto wouldn’t develop properly physically, and Enji wants a big, strong son to prove he is a big, strong father

Enji wants to project to the world that he is powerful and in control. If the public saw Shoto as small and shrimpy, they would seriously question his strength and authority as a patriarch. What, this powerful man is so broke he can’t afford food for his son?

Now, as an asshole stage mom who tries to control his son’s life, it would probably make more sense to put Shoto on an extreme health food diet in order to improve his performance. But outright starvation? It doesn’t make sense.

Besides. Have you seen this 5’9” 155-pounds-of-muscle kid? He is not starving.

Enji locks Shoto in his room for extended periods

Maybe when Shoto was younger and misbehaved? It’s not an unlikely punishment by an abusive parent, especially for a younger child, but Shoto is a teenager now. And, as we can see in the current story, Shoto has fairly free movement, both inside the household and out.

He regularly visits his mother in the hospital, is out long after dark in the hideout raid arc, and basically goes wherever he wants whenever he wants. At 15, Shoto isn’t being locked up anywhere by his father. He is a dutiful and obedient son and Enji doesn’t seem to worry about him running away from home.

Another point to consider is that a lot of this freedom is still predicated on Shoto’s conditional obedience to Enji overall. Enji allows Shoto freedom because he believes that Shoto is following in his footsteps, even if he deems his son “rebellious” at times. If Enji decided that Shoto was at risk of running away or betraying him, his punishments may become much more severe.

See: Why He Stays section below

This is also why Shoto’s rebellious compromise in the first two seasons is an incredibly clever survival mechanism. He is, technically, still following his father’s plan for him. However, by choosing to ignore his fire side, he is still disobeying his father. But his father cannot reasonably punish him for that since Shoto is still a top-ranking student and a powerful quirk user overall. It’s a brilliant power-play when all the power rests in Enji’s hands.

Enji verbally abuses Shoto to make him feel bad about himself

Yes and No? It’s likely that Enji does say a lot of really terrible things to his son. The way he speaks in the manga and anime suggest a man who has very little respect for those he considers to be beneath him, and only begruding respect for those who are above him.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Enji insults or even threatens Shoto. But he does it for a purpose. As stated above, Enji wants to maintain control and power, and to continue his legacy through Shoto.

He doesn’t want Shoto to feel weak or degraded or to become a pushover in life. He wants Shoto to become strong and impenetrable, a perfect recreation of toxic masculinity. If Shoto were to break down crying from insults, Enji would have failed in creating Shoto into someone who is hard and emotionless. Therefore extreme verbal abuse to the point where Shoto is crying is less likely than just casual bullying.

Shoto is untouchable and has never, ever been touched or hugged

His mother loved him. When Shoto was a young child, we see her in the anime hugging and cuddling her son. So that’s out.

In the present, Shoto lives with other people than just his father. In the anime, we see that Fuyumi still lives at home, and cares about what Shoto does, as shown when he goes to visit his mother in the hospital. I find it highly unlikely that siblings in a reasonably amicable relationship never, ever hug, even if they are generally busy in their separate lives.

It is unclear if Shoto still lives with his brothers, or the older woman who was taking care of them in the flashback panel of the manga, but again, it would be stange if these people, who are presumably not abusive, never, ever touched Shoto in any affectionate way ever. Shoto isn’t cursed.

While it is reasonable to assume that Enji is an old-school patriarch who doesn’t show much, if any, physical affection to his son, he still gives him some attention, and provides Shoto with everything he needs to be a successful hero. (whether Shoto wants to follow this path or not is another story. Fortunately, Shoto does)

Enji likely still trains with Shoto, sparring with him and showing him fighting technique. He may not hug his son, but he doesn’t ignore him. He might even pat him on the back if Shoto does something that Enji approves of, such as boosting the family profile in public.

We saw at the sports festival how proud Enji was of Shoto using his fire half. Yes, it was a selfish pride, and Enji was really more congratulating himself than his son, but we saw that Enji doesn’t just hate Shoto for the sake of it.

Is Shoto touch-starved? Possibly. He has probably seen less physical affection than someone with loving parents like Izuku or Ochako, but I doubt it is so extreme to the point of him breaking down into tears because he’s never had a tender hug.

Any form of sexual abuse

No. Look, I get it, Enji is an asshole and we hate him. I won’t deny this. But you can be an asshole and not be a child molester. And it is, quite frankly, lazy writing to take a character whom you want to show is an Evil Bastard™ and just write him off as “child rapist”. Because that’s not who Enji is. Enji Todoroki is a lot of things. He’s a bad person. But he is not someone who molests his own son.

Now, if you want to talk about marital rape, there is certainly enough evidence to believe that Enji’s relationship with Shoto’s mother was non-consensual, and probably violent. I will not argue this point. But Enji feeling entitled to women’s bodies and using Shoto’s mother to produce the perfect child still doesn’t make him a child molestor. These are two very separate forms of Evil Bastardry.

Enji’s pattern of abuse follows a logical train of thought. It’s not ethical, and it’s not kind, but it does make logical sense for his character. What doesn’t make sense is him trying to create a perfect superhero offspring, and then seriously damaging that child with sexual abuse. That’s not Enji’s purpose or plan. Enji used Shoto’s mother to produce Shoto. He has no reason to attack Shoto in this way, beyond “hurr hurr I’m evil”. It would sabotage Shoto’s chances at becoming the national hero that Enji desires

Ways to accurately examine and portray the abuse that happens in the Todoroki household

Because, absolutely, there is abuse. And it is serious. Just because Shoto isn’t being locked up or starved or beaten doesn’t mean he is not being abused or hasn’t been abused in the past. But the abuse needs to follow Enji’s logical train of thought. He has a very specific goal in mind, and he is willing to do anything to accomplish that goal, even if it means everyone in his life suffering for it.

This following section contains my own opinions regarding portrayal of domestic abuse and violence. It is not a set of must-follow rules, merely suggestions based on personal and professional experience.

Physical abuse

Physical striking as a form of specific discipline for misbehaviour make sense, but not random, extreme violence

Enji wants Shoto to be obedient, but also strong. He would not be not above using violence to control his son, but it would need to be in connection to direct misbehaviour, and relative to the infraction Shoto has committed.

Abusers, despite what they claim, generally do not “lose it” or not understand their own strength. They know what they are doing and how hard they can hit. A professional fighter like Enji especially knows how hard he can hit a person and what damage he can cause. Any damage done to Shoto would be deliberate, and Enji would have to deal with the consequences of extreme violence.

Shoto cannot continue to train under Enji if he is constantly dealing with serious injuries and needing hospitalization to recover.

Overtraining Shoto and ignoring his physical and verbal needs for rest

This is actually more emotional and psychological abuse than physical, because it shows Enji cares about his own trajectory for Shoto more than Shoto himself.

And again, the physical abuse needs to follow the logical sense of making Shoto better in Enji’s eyes. For example, he’s not going to make Shoto scrub all the floors in their house, because he takes pride in his creation and likely believes Shoto would be above such menial tasks.

Controlling Shoto’s diet

While I don’t think it’s logical for Enji to starve Shoto, It would be more reasonable for him to develop Orthorexia, a condition similar to anorexia where someone is obsessed with health and purity of foods. He would make sure Shoto is eating entirely healthy food that he approves of, while prohibiting anything he sees as unhealthy, like sugar or candy.

Controlling Shoto’s rest schedule

Same with food, in his household, Enji probably controls when Shoto trains and sleeps. However, by 15, Shoto is probably used to this and sees it as completely normal and not abusive. Human beings are amazing at normalizing the worst things.

Controlling Shoto’s study and free time

In order to min/max his Pokemon son’s fighting stats, Enji probably wouldn’t let Shoto waste his time with things children do like “hobbies” or “fun”.

Not allowing him to play with his siblings

Not allowing him to play with friends outside the family

Not allowing him to pursue anything that isn’t about becoming a hero, such as art or video games. Part of Shoto’s awkwardness is likely because he’s not terribly up to speed with pop culture references, seeing as how he likely has very little time to consume these things that Enji would see as frivolous

Using any and all free time Shoto has to train him into becoming a hero

Verbal Abuse

When abusers use their words, they use them very specifically. While they may make excuses like “I didn’t mean it” or “I didn’t know what I was saying at the time” this is a lie. They know what they are saying and they know why it hurts. They specifically want to instill fear or shame in their target in order to keep control over them. When giving Enji Todoroki dialogue, it is important to remember what his (fucked up) goals and values are, and how he is trying to achieve those (fucked up) goals and values.

Instead of just calling Shoto names randomly, Enji would likely make everything about himself.

“You’re no son of mine”

“Why can’t you be more like me?”

“You’re my son, Shoto, act like it.”

Enji would likely try to shape Shoto’s world view to be extremely similar to his own, giving Shoto biased information, no matter its accuracy

“Your mother was a weak woman who didn’t raise you correctly”

“All Might is a fool and you’d be a fool to admire him”

“Those kids at school are just trying to drag you down. Don’t spend time with them.”

Praise and affection would be given in relation to how Enji personally feels and how Shoto is living up to his father’s demands

“You’re becoming the man I knew you could be”

“I’ve worked so hard to create you”

“You’re strong, like me”

Psychological Abuse

This is probably the biggest factor in Enji’s abuse, far more than anything physical he does to Shoto. And while writers may think physical acts such as beating and starvation make for good story, I would argue that these more subtle acts in the relationship are more realistic, and can prove far more damaging in the long run.

Enji treats Shoto like an object, not a person.

This is the biggest single factor of abuse, and is the core of their relationship’s toxicity. Enji does not see Shoto as his own person with his own thoughts, opinions or desires. He sees Shoto as a miniature extension of himself that he can use and control in order to be more successful as a hero, and eventually take the number one spot from All Might.

Enji does not allow Shoto the freedom to grow and develop as his own person, and pursue any interests beyond those interests of himself.

Enji only supports his son’s confidence in relation to him becoming a hero.

Shoto has been denied a normal childhood and normal development in pursuit of his father’s goals

Shoto can see his friends at school hang out and talk and laugh and watch movies and play video games and be kids. Shoto was likely not allowed to do any of that and he can feel incredibly isolated, lonely and bitter about not being able to relate to his peers

Shoto can have confidence issues, even when he is #1

Enji has built a kind of fragile confidence in Shoto. He needs his son to be #1 all the time. #2 just isn’t good enough. Many child prodigies have spoken out about how parental pressure crushed their self-esteem and destroyed whatever passion they had for their chosen subject (art, music, dance, sports, being a hero)

Being raised in an environment of constant pressure and criticism can lead a person to develop a highly critical self-image and OCD tendencies. They constantly feel “never good enough” because to the parent they looked up to, they never were. There was always something that needed improvement.

Enji is living through his child

Because Shoto has been denied his own childhood, he is being used, physically and psychologically, by his father as a way to live out his own unfulfilled dreams of success. This is incredibly damaging for Shoto because he cannot feel like a whole person in and of himself. Children who are used b their parents in this way often feel like a kind of mask that the parent wears, rather than a child who is loved and nurtured.

Children who are used by their parents also tend to have a poor or underdeveloped sense of self-image, and Shoto may have difficulty separating his own choices and desires from that of his father.

Unable to mature emotionally

Because Enji controls so much of his son’s life, Shoto is unable to grow emotionally and unable to make important decisions for himself, from picking out his own clothes, to saying no to peer pressure

Shoto will probably have difficulty forming intimate relationships (romantic or platonic) because he has very little reference of how to behave in a non-abusive way.

He may unconsciously replicate his father’s abusive behaviours with a partner

Even if Shoto can recognise abusive behaviours and not want to replicate them, he would struggle because he does not know what else to do

Potential psychological things Enji might do

Ignoring / Discouraging Shoto from pursuing anything Enji does not approve of

“Hey dad, look, I drew a bird!” “That’s nice son, how many criminals have you fought today?”

Forgetting important milestones like birthdays or good grades

Enji is self-absorbed with his own goals and does not take interest in his son’s personal life beyond how it would benefit him, personally. Shoto has grown up feeling like he owes his father and his family success and that a lot is riding on him to be the best. Shoto does not get a reward for getting perfect grades, he gets a “This is what I expect of you.”

Imbalance of power amongst siblings

One very common tactic amongs abusers is splitting the power dynamic of the household in order to maintain and control power for themselves

Abusers will often pick a “golden child” that they place all of their expectations upon, and then compare all other children to that child.

“Fuyumi, why can’t you be more like Shoto? He’s doing great and you’re doing terrible.”

This builds resentment between siblings and prevents them from allying with each other against the abuser.

It places the “golden child” in a difficult position of conditional acceptance between allying with the abusive parent, or allying with the rest of the family and risk losing their ascended position.

(See Azula from ATLA: Azula’s power came from the fact that she was “not a failure like Zuko” and saw favour in her father’s eyes only when compared to the child he did not like)

Refusing to acknowledge the relationship Shoto had with his mother, or misrepresenting it to the public

Enji knew that Shoto loved his mother, and saw her psychological breakdown / attack on Shoto as her own failing, and not related to his own abusive behaviour. Even when abusers absolutely know they are in the wrong, they do not take responsibility for their actions, and find ways to shift blame to someone or something else so that they are never forced to change their behaviour. This would build huge resentment in Shoto if his father never acknowledged that his mother’s breakdown was his fault

To the public, Enji still wants to project that powerful, traditional family ideal. He probably either didn’t say anything to the media and they don’t know that Shoto’s mother is gone, or he lied, making it again sound like her breakdown was some sort of freak accident and not a direct result of his abuse.

Why does he stay?

Why does any abuse survivor stay? Why not just run away and go live with Midoriya or Aizawa? The simple answer is, it’s safer to stay than to leave.

The truth about abuse is that there is no easy solution. There is no adoption rescue. Even calling the Japanese equivalent of child protective services is not an instant fix, and cases can take months, if not years to resolve.

For Shoto to be taken away from his family, Enji would have to prove he is unfit as a parent in the court of law. Unfortunately, courts very often side with the parent. If Enji is not starving, beating up or molesting his child, the court system would likely justify his custody of his child. Being a terrible asshole is not enough of a reason to be taken away from your parent, in a legal sense

If Shoto leaves, who becomes the target for blame?

In abusive relationships, there is often a protector, a sort of shock-absorber, who mediates the abuse. This may be the spouse / wife, or an older sibling protecting the younger ones. If Shoto leaves, his other siblings, including Fuyumi may be at much greater risk for Enji’s retribution. Abusers are often at heir most violent and unpredictable when their victim is trying to break away and leave

Shoto does not love his father, but he does grudgingly respect his skill

Shoto has his own goals. He wants to be a powerful hero, just as Midoriya and Bakugou do. And, in Shoto’s mind, his father is part of that goal. Shoto willingly chose his father’s agency to intern with, because he acknowledges that Enji is still an accomplished professional, even though his methods and attitude are shitty and abusive.

Is Shoto brainwashed / gaslit / controlled? Probably not insignificantly. If Shoto had been raised in a different environment, he may not feel compelled to apply to his father’s agency, but his choice shows that he is still actively attached to his family and not yet ready to leave.

Shoto may have an inheritance, or other resources at risk if he disobeys

Abusers often use financial control as a way of keeping their victims in line and unable to escape. If Shoto were to run away, he might very likely have no financial way to support himself, and may even have to drop out of an expensive school like UA, preventing him from achieving his goals of becoming a hero.

Enji has a lot of friends and resources

Enji, as a professional hero, has been working within the justice department for decades. He probably knows a lot of police officers, DAs, prosecutors, judges, etc. It is well known that cops are willing to commit crimes in order to protect one another within the system. If Enji’s son tries to accuse his father of child abuse, he is facing a hugely biased system where his father could influence or bribe the outcome.

And as we know with his mother, Enji is not above corruption or bribery. Shoto is at great risk if he goes to the cops.

In Shoto’s case, the best solution in his mind seems to be to “bear it out” and wait until he comes of age in order to leave, rather that running away or getting the courts involved. This is not an uncommon strategy for many abused children. Whether or not it is the best one, no one can say. One can only hope that Shoto has the strength to make it through until he ages into legal adulthood and is able to move on from his abusive situation.

Other considerations: Dabi

If you a believe in the theory that Dabi is actually an older Todoroki child, there are other factors to take into consideration with Enji’s behaviour.

If Dabi was Enji’s first attempt at creating an heir, and Enji lost him, this means that Enji has already spent considerable time and resources on his plan to create the perfect son.

If he has already failed once, Enji might possibly not be as extremely harsh on Shoto if he believes that Shoto might run away or turn against him

Enji could see his failure with Dabi and try to correct his “mistakes” with the way he is raising Shoto.

Enji may still be in his prime, but not for long. He is aging, and probably doesn’t have much more chance for success to raise a child from birth if he is not successful with Shoto. Shoto is pretty much his final big investment, and after losing Dabi, Enji is going to take every precaution to make sure Shoto turns out the way he wants, for better or worse.

In conclusion

I feel like a stronger take on the abuse that Shoto survives is one that takes his father’s goals and neurosis into account, rather than just relying on the shock of extreme physical behaviour in order to draw empathy out of the reader. Shoto’s situation is bad, but it’s also sadly common and relatable in our world. Portraying Shoto’s abuse as more realistic is better writing than putting him in an easily solvable fantasy world here he is hit or molested and then adopted by a rescuer.

Part of the reason I wrote this is because I see a lot of extreme examples of physical abuse in fiction and fanfiction, but few that go into or validate the subtleties of psychological abuse. Rather, these dangerous behaviours are often obscured or treated as tolerable or even romantic. I often walk away from a story feeling like the only “valid” abuse is that of the extreme kind.

But I want to press to readers and writers: subtle abuse is abuse. You don’t need to be beaten or starved or raped to be abused, to speak up, to pronounce that relationship as toxic and try your best to leave. It can be incredibly difficult, feeling trapped in a family that suffers from the generational trauma of abuse, and I can only give those of you who are living and surviving in these situations my deepest empathy and support.

http://www.thehotline.org/ https://ncadv.org/resources http://makeitourbusiness.ca/resources/internet-resources-for-domestic-violence

#bnha #bnha meta #shoto todoroki #enji todoroki #shoto todoroki meta #shoto's mother #child abuse #abusive relationships #abusive families #how to write about abuse #toxic relationships #abusive parent #writing #fanfiction #boku no hero academia #my hero academia

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ghostmartyr · 6 years

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Pokémon White Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 2]

Here we are in Part 2, where I have maybe learned a thing about how to keep these from being dreadfully boring. Part 1 saw us defeat the first Gym, as well as my dawning sadness about the HM state of my available pokemon.

Now we move into the Badge 2 phase of the game.

Breathing Pokemon:

Boeing (Latios)

Frogger (Seismitoad)

Timon (Tepig)

I think I will be ignoring the Cut problem until I absolutely can’t, which will be in about five minutes.

I don’t know why I didn’t walk left earlier, but I didn’t. Is there grass here? Can I catch something? My team is basically just Timon and Frogger. I love Boeing, but he is not made for this rough life. He likes relaxing and eating. Not fighting.

And the answer is that the Professor’s scientist friend has supplied a plot barrier. Sigh.

Welp.

....

I can’t even pretend to be surprised. Dang it, Boeing.

I don’t want to use anything outside the confines of the challenge if I can help it. The idea is not, “win all the fights” under these conditions, it’s beating the game.

Congratulations, Boeing.

You’re temporarily useful.

Grass! Beautiful grass!

Also Team Plasma.

Cut is so much more useful than Psywave and I am very sad.

Team Plasma dealt with, obligatory plot detail I wasn’t paying attention to dealt with, we are now free to pursue the grass.

Or will the grass pursue us.

I can’t remember how Tangela evolves normally, or how it evolves given the settings of the run, but I do think that Tangela probably could have learned Cut just fine, and I can’t remember if the Move Deleter costs anything, or even where it is in this version.

But that’s only a concern if I catch a thing that can learn Cut. Let’s do this, Boeing.

Sleep Powder is hypothetically useful. I don’t think it has ever hit when I try to use it.

Two Poke Balls and nothing. I think I am going to sacrifice the Great Ball some random NPC gave me.

Victory!

Good job, Boeing. See, isn’t life more fun when you’re useful?

You know, I don’t normally nickname my pokemon. They just keep the same name every edition of them in the wild has, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

Your name shall be... Grape.

Because look at all those vines writhing... writhe... wrath? Grapes!

Such thought. Much wow.

I think it’s time for healing and grinding.

Oh, but first, Grape! Let us find something out about you.

He is Brave and quick to flee. His Speed suggests that he isn’t that great at fleeing.

Other pokemon we could have gotten from the HM grass spot of doom include Sudowoodo and Beedrill. Tangela looks to be rarest of the set, so I suppose we can add lucky to Grape’s list of traits. There’s a Potion and a Parlyz Heal lying about that I go grab, and until the plot brings us back later (probably sometime after we get Strength), this area is just going to be a grind station.

Until I get bored after about three minutes and want to go back to exploring. I’m not sure I’m made for a Nuzlocke.

...Why is Constrict a move? It’s about as useful as Splash, only with the false hope of being capable of dealing damage.

Yeah, I don’t have the patience for this. I’m going to go left again and see what there is now that the plot isn’t keeping me trapped. ...Only after I talk to Fennel again. Apparently just letting her collect the whatever thing is not enough, I have to listen to her discoveries.

I do not. Button mashing away, we now have our C-Gear and Pal Pad. I think the first of those will end up having uses. I mostly remember all these different event skins being available for the gear.

Now I should be able to go.

Ha. I have conquered the plot barrier.

Since this is a separate section from the garden area, I think once I have some kind of rod or Surf I can come back and nab something from the water. ...I wonder if grass vs water even matters in a randomized run. Are they all completely random, or random within water? I should know these things.

My guess would be completely random. I cite the level 4 Salamence on Route 2. But either way, something to come back to.

Aw, how cute. I’m gonna demolish you (I hope).

It looks like battling is going to happen before finding out what pokemon belong to this route. In the interest of learning how to do this better bit by bit, I think I’ll limit capping battles unless something truly ridiculous happens. This early in the game there shouldn’t be much tension.

I will probably keep track of how many times Psywave misses if I use it, though. That obviously falls into the realm of Importance.

I will also say that Lillipups continue to be terrifying. And that I am so temporarily glad that Boeing knows Cut. Consistent damage. That hits.

I can’t believe this game encourages taking preschoolers’ pocket money. I know I’m only ten, but wow.

Ah, but the nice thing about beating up preschoolers (’ pokemon) is that they have a teacher around very used to healing pokemon up. Walking back to centers to heal is one of the not so fun aspects of

Whoops.

So it’s a good thing I only did grinding, because I clicked the load file option instead of the save file when I was trying to save. Good grief. I am become error. Will return momentarily. With one fresh water short, because I was stupid and a Beedrill almost murdered Timon. Also Timon now knows Flame Charge.

Okay.

Back to making forward progress, hopefully.

Let me go in the grass, Cheren. You’re supposed to be one of my two best friends. The fact that I had to be reminded by a professor whose name I also couldn’t be counted on to remember myself does not take away from our friendly bonds.

There really are a lot of non-NPC duels at the start of this version.

Okay, let’s go squad.

Boeing and Timon do a good job taking down his Meganium. I think I’ll let Frogger take the Purrloin. As the one on the team who did not need grinding, he hasn’t been used in a bit.

And that’s that. Cheren is sad/frustrated because we have the same number of badges, his starter is fully evolved and useful, and yet he still can’t win. Of course he can’t; the run would be over if he did.

But before we can celebrate and get into the grass, the plot arrives.

Team Plasma please. At least I have the option of going into the grass before getting the little girl’s pokemon back. Which I will take.

Let’s see what we get!

...Another thing that doesn’t need my help to evolve. Sigh.

As ever, that only gets a chance to annoy me if I catch it, so time to see how that train goes. I’m going to try throwing my only Great Ball. Psywave got it into the red, so...

Awesome! Based on videos I have seen recently most people aren’t that lucky when it comes to catching these things. Now I can sulk about having a fully evolved team (except for the treasured Timon) in peace.

What the heck do I name you, though? You’re a dinobird... Oh, I know. I’ll call you Ptera. Welcome to the team, Ptera. Let’s check you out.

He has a Mild nature, and he’s proud of his power. I feel like that Defense is going to end up making me cry, and I don’t think you’re a Special Attacker, so the Nature is pretty much all flavor. It’s nice to have something that can Fly; hopefully he’ll be around to use it.

...Oh geez, that Ability. Ptera Ptera Ptera... You are going to make me so sad.

The good news is he can kill his wild kin in one hit. So that’s convenient.

I’m sorry, what.

This is the exp grass now. Other finds include Octillery. Grape eats them for breakfast.

...

Oh.

It knows Aurora Beam.

It got a critical hit.

Grape was only a few points off of full health.

There was no way to know.

This is really sad.

I am so sorry Grape. You were a valued member of the team. You were only with us a short while, but you knew Grass moves. You balanced everything out wonderfully.

The exp grass is a dangerous place.

Maybe if I had just gone after the little girl’s pokemon...

It’s too late.

Grape is a raisin.

In the process of going after Team Plasma, it looks like Chimecho might be replacing Audino in the rustling grass. Maybe once, maybe always. Who can say. That would take paying more attention when messing with the settings.

A place to find Grape’s replacement. It would have been where we’d finally have a team of six, but...

Oh hey we found something already.

Okay, I can roll with that.

......Surprise, Ptera is stronger than expected. I knew enough to use Wing Attack, not Rock Throw, but I guess Ptera is just that good. Filed away for future reference. No new pokemon. A fitting tribute to Grape’s absence. The slot may remain empty for a little longer.

We get some Heal Balls from the little girl, and those could actually really come in handy. Assuming I ever properly catch a new teammate again.

One battle against an NPC later, and I think it’s safe to say Ptera is the new Frogger. He is overpowered for this section of the game.

You know what wouldn’t be overpowered? A Slugma.

I forgot about the darker grass. Route 3′s has Minccino, Teddiursa, Quilava, and Emolga.

Boeing could you please just learn something good. Please.

Whenever I see an Octillery now I’m just going to be filled with so much hate. I will kill every one that comes across my path. Unless I screw up and it kills me again, which is an absolute possibility.

We’ve made it to the next Gym city. Normal type. That shouldn’t cause any particular problem, but I do remember this fight packing more of a punch than I was expecting the first time I played, so cue the grinding montage I’m not going to screencap.

As well as the exploring the town montage I’m not going to screencap.

One of the NPCs asked me what I started with, so like a fool, I said Snivy, since that’s what Boeing replaced.

Now I have a Miracle Seed. And nothing that knows Grass moves.

Grape casts a long shadow already.

New area means new pokemon. Ones I have no plans to murder, but might very well anyway.

!!!!!

It’s. Grape’s replacement.

I love Shroomish and Breloom. One of the best pokemon in any gen, and I would dearly love one to follow me on this journey.

Yesssssss.

Let’s see. How about Palm, because your design reminds me of a pomegranate.

Palm has a Calm nature, and is somewhat of a clown. I’m pretty sure that is not the combination I want, since Breloom is more of a physical attacker, but hopefully it won’t matter too much. Poison Heal is a useful Ability to have.

Other things we could have caught in Pinwheel Forest: Vileplume, Froslass, Klink, Clamperl, Bellossom, Glaceon, Ducklett, and Metagross.

Wow. That’s a nice collection.

Oh hey and this happened.

Timon is now a robust Pignite, and has a move that will be of great use in the Gym!

We’re just going through the forest and annihilating everyone, but I spared a moment to commemorate Palm’s moment.

Tympole confused him, and he still used Absorb twice in a row instead of hurting himself. Then he snapped out of confusion and won. Contrary Nature aside, I am liking our new addition very much.

Especially since the fight against the next Tympole followed the exact same script. Good job, Palm.

The rest of this is basically all grinding, which is fun for me since I don’t have to come up with something clever to say when nothing much is going on. That is one benefit of doing this in this format.

My usual rule of thumb for these games is ten levels per gym until that much grinding becomes unbearable. Everyone’s currently level 18 (Ptera’s 16 and trying to fix that almost resulted in a Glaceon murdering him), and I’m thinking I might have hit that point.

...Yeah, I definitely have. I’ll just hit the Gym and let Ptera nom some things. Boeing will probably have to sit this fight out, because as we all know, what Normal type really means is Lillipups that know Bite. Those are not things for Boeing to face.

It is amazing how many different patches of grass suddenly have pokemon when I’m trying to leave a place, good grief.

Hello, am I fighting you again already? Or are you just doing your mysterious thing?

No, yeah, we’re doing a battle. And he opens with a level 13 Pidove to my level 17 Ptera. I don’t think he’s going to win this one. N, of course. Ptera has it in the bag, because I think it’s fair to say I have overleveled myself.

Palm was continuing his great streak of not letting Tympoles make him hurt himself, but sadly he did hurt himself once in this fight. Still, not bad, and much better than I usually get saddled with.

Ptera fighting the Timburr might be an incredibly stupid idea. He can one-shot them, but if they get a Rock Throw crit, it will be bad. This has been learned from the Fighting trainers in the wild that I didn’t screencap.

Those guys were at level 16, though. N’s level 13 is nowhere near the same brand of problem, and Ptera cleans up.

Alright, that settled, can I enter the gym now?

I forgot about the museum in front. Lenora’s got good taste.

Another Fresh Water for me. This one I don’t plan on using up. I don’t think I’ll need to, based on N’s levels. I really overtrained for this whole badge, probably. But that’s okay. I don’t like worrying about my pokemon dying every fight. Steamrolling is fine too. The main fun with all of this is finding out what I’ll end up with and raising them.

Then the very first trainer has a level 17 Patrat.

I feel less silly in my decisions.

Followed by a level 17 Herdier.

This is where I would consider doing more grinding, except by the time I’ve decided to stop grinding, I am generally not going to start again for a while.

The trainer with more than one pokemon starts with a level 15 Lillipup, so the Gym Leader’s are probably around 17-20. That should be okay. I’m healing before I go forward anyway, and Ptera’s going to grow another level beforehand just by beating this last trainer.

I really like Lenora’s Gym. It’s educational and has a secret staircase. I don’t think you can ask for more (though if memory serves, some of these get pretty wild this version).

Heals, then fight. This should be fine.

I want this office.

Ready... FIGHT!

She’s opening with a level 18 Herdier with Intimidate. Sigh. I forgot that was an ability. That might make this a little more awkward than I want, but Ptera is still part Rock. If things are going to go wrong, they should go wrong slowly enough for me to switch.

Take Down with a Leer boost only does 12, so yeah, this should be okay.

She uses a Super Potion, it takes three of any of Ptera’s attacks to down it, but Ptera gets a crit, and it’s Watchdog time!

I remembered she had this one.

For the sake of safety, I’m going to let Timon and his super effective attack handle this one. I think the Watchdog likes to sleep things.

A level 20 Watchdog. Do not want. But I believe in you, Timon. Go for it.

Uh.

Huh.

Fuck?

That’s. Wow, okay.

Watchdog with Retaliate. Awesome.

I don’t trust Ptera’s Defense to withstand whatever comes next, so Frogger... please do not die. Please. I need you to be alive and useful, because I just lost one of the greatest helps to this run.

Of course it has Hypnosis.

It’s so red. So close.

Retaliate does 30 damage without the fainting teammate ahead of time, and now Frogger is asleep and in the red. He needs to get out of there now, but I think Pursuit could be one of Watchdog’s moves.

I have one Soda Pop. He’s asleep anyway, so I’m willing to try it.

Geez this is scary.

tfw Watchdog also has Crunch and now Frogger’s Defense is lowered.

He isn’t faster, I don’t think. Even if he wakes up...

Switched to Palm and now Palm’s asleep.

Switching back to Frogger.

Frogger takes two Crunches, needs a Fresh Water, the next Crunch is a critical hit, and Frogger is still asleep. I have two Super Potions, now one, and Frogger is still alive and still asleep.

What in the fuck.

I know the sleep counter gets reset if you pull it out, but come on.

He finally wakes up, and because Watchdog only needed one more hit, victory is achieved.

Not worth it.

Lenora I don’t like you anymore.

And before we can end this segment, Team Plasma attacks the museum. Yay, plot. Plot to distract from the pain. The horrible, sad, awful, pain.

I can’t even remember their excuse for stealing the skull. Was there one?

I don’t know and care even less.

So we are assigned to search for the thieves with Burgh, Castelia’s Gym Leader, while Cheren and Bianca stay at the museum. Bianca is playing Fennel’s gopher, so we now have Dowsing Machine (MCHN) we will never remember to use, but if you’ll excuse me, I have more important matters to attend to.

...Bye.

I know the screenshots don’t show it, but you did a great job. Nothing else would have survived the gym if you hadn’t made training in Pinwheel Forest so straightforward. You did good, Timon.

Next Gym gets grinding. No complaints.

#Pokemon #Nuzlocke Challenge

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retphienix · 6 years

Photo

Alright, this is a mess of photos from all over the first stream because I want to talk about the mechanics I’ve come to see so far since those are BY FAR the most interesting things in this game so far.

This game is experimental as HECK, and to be honest, it works in a lot of ways. But it also falls flat in a few ways.

I’ll try to avoid just giving a tutorial but I might end up doing that anyway.

Let’s start with something that doesn’t really work that well in my opinion. Progression? Kinda dumb. Basically, in an attempt to simplify the RPG aspects, they removed access to information. Which is NOT simplified, it’s bad. If you can present the information indirectly, it’s good. If you can’t, and you just remove direct access without offering a way of understanding- it’s bad.

Basically, on the back of the box it literally advertises:

“Unique design eliminates random battles and experience points”

The random battle system is the same as Trigger, monsters appear on the map and you can avoid them if you don’t want to fight. That works. That’s good. That works WONDERS for promoting proper character growth without demanding grinding.

The experience points though? Bad. Terrible. Dumb. Poorly implemented.

When you complete a battle, you have no idea if it helped you or not. You get a little bit of money (good) and some raw materials (good) and these almost, ALMOST make combat worth it inherently, but they don’t do enough.

It is important that combat feels rewarding. This is most easily accomplished by combat making you stronger through experience points, proficiency points, any kind of ‘points’ that increase your strength over time.

Gold and materials are a great step towards making combat worth it without XP, but they just don’t do quite enough. It’s like 70% of the way there to being worth it.

So how do you get stronger?

INVISIBLE EXPERIENCE POINTS. MEANING THE SELLING POINT IS MEANINGLESS AND BAD.

When you complete a fight, you MIGHT get stronger, and you have little to no idea what influences that.

Now, the lack of XP usually exists to prevent grinding at a pace that makes the game too easy, but to be honest, I’m pro “The ability” to grind.

I’m not pro-grinding, mind you, but I’m pro “the ability” to grind. Allowing grind allows a player to tune things to their own skill level- or to indulge power playing if they want to (I love power playing to be honest).

I mentioned that you still “level up”, you just don’t know when or how- so that kind of defeats the purpose of not having XP. So they doubled down and did milestones as well.

You have a star level, which determines how strong you are capable of getting- and this level increases as you defeat bosses. THIS IS A GOOD IDEA.

IT’S FLAWED. BUT GOOD.

The idea being they are preventing you from power leveling before an encounter by giving you a temporary cap.

Sounds good on it’s own! Flawed (Allow the player to grind if they want or balance your encounters to properly level) but okay!

But add that to having invisible XP and WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING?!

IS THIS FIGHT WORTH IT?! DO I GET STRONGER FOR KILLING THIS ENEMY?!

WAIT, WOULD I BE GETTING STRONGER, BUT I ACCIDENTALLY HIT MY CAP AND I DON’T KNOW BECAUSE YOU DON’T TELL ME THAT EITHER?!

WHAT’S GOING ON?!

Poorly implemented- compare that to much simpler systems.

Paper Mario.

Paper Mario also has caps, but handled much better.

Instead of invisible experience where you have no idea if you’re getting credit for this fight or not- it shows you exactly how much XP you get for each fight (like a normal game).

I mentioned this is a similar and better system and here’s how:

Paper Mario utilizes soft caps and diminishing returns in order to prevent power playing while still allowing wiggle room- all while being VERY clear with the player on what is going on.

You kill a goomba- you get 10 xp.

You kill a goomba- you get 9 xp.

You kill a few more, suddenly they are giving 1 xp. You now know that you are “too strong” and have hit the soft cap.

Continue on and they will give 0 xp, meaning you’ve hit the actual cap.

YOU KNOW THAT YOU WERE BEING REWARDED FOR COMBAT. AND NOW YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE AT THE CAP.

NEITHER OF WHICH ARE PRESENT IN THIS “No XP” SYSTEM IN CROSS, WHILE ACCOMPLISHING THE EXACT SAME PRINCIPLE OF PREVENTING OVER-GRINDING.

The leveling system is flawed. I do not know if combat is worth doing outside of the monetary gain.

Now I hadn’t expected to struggle to convey my thoughts on the leveling system- but here we are, so here’s a quicker read on the other mechanics which I much more prefer!

Grid system:

The way spells and abilities work is AWESOME. I LIKE THAT A LOT. You have a grid (that expands as you level) which can basically be explained as “Level 1 slots, level 2 slots, level 3 slots etc”.

Each spell/item/tech in the game has a level and a level range “EG: 5 +- 5″

And you can place that spell anywhere within that range (previous spell is a level 5 spell, but can be placed up to level 10 or down to level 1) and it becomes more or less powerful depending on your placement while also increasing/decreasing the COST of casting that spell.

THAT IS SO COOL AND FUN TO USE AND I AM EXCITED TO USE IT MORE. GOOD. It feels a little lightweight and like it could be further developed, but as is I really like the concept of arranging your spells as you please- deciding if you want to spend very little for a light heal, or spend a lot for a HUGE nuke. VERY GOOD.

Side note- Spells can be cast once per battle, meaning your slots are one time use per combat (other than items which are 5 time use) I like this too. It prevents spamming and allows you to build up a character based on their slots, such as having 3 level 1 cures or 1 level 3 cure and having those matter.

Affinity (type) System:

It’s pokemon typing but simplifies to 3 1v1s (Red v Blue | Green v Yellow | Black v White). It’s good for making all characters weak to an element, and I like the way it was taught to the player- by having the enemy FAIL to properly manipulate the system. That was entertaining and taught me that there are spells that change affinity as well as spells that attack using a specific affinity.

Field Effect System:

Not a fan. Basically, the last 3 spells used influence the field effect, each subsequently buffing their affinity and weakening the competing affinity. It feels a bit meaningless right now, and I can see it only mattering for debuffing say a fire boss’s spells by casting a bunch of water spells before he can use his spells- but the thing is- you’re fighting a fire boss... You’re going to be doing that anyway? It feels a little pointless? And the fact that summons apparently work ONLY if you have a full triple effect on the Field (Triple Blue to summon a water summon etc) that just sounds tedious. I don’t know. Not a fan.

Accuracy attack System:

I LIKE THAT. Simple, clean, and I love how it plays into the next system. When you go to melee attack you have 3 levels of strength to choose between, basically equating to “Weak and accurate, medium and reliable, strong and inaccurate” and each subsequent attack (strung together in a combo), so long as they all hit, increase the subsequent accuracy of your attacks. So you might see 50% accuracy on the strong attack at first, but hit the enemy with 3 weak attacks (for an easy 90% accuracy hit) and now that strong attack has 87% accuracy! I like that!

Build/Spend resources System:

VERY GOOD. MOSTLY. The way you cast spells in this game is by saving up “Element” by landing melee attacks.

Quick Attacks grant 1 Element | Medium attacks 2 | Strong attacks 3. You can interrupt combat (so long as you have stamina left) to cast a spell, or simply alternate between melee and spells each “turn” (turns work more freeform and honestly it’s a little off putting since you don’t know when the enemy will interrupt, but it’s no different than an ATB system mixed with a slower turned base system).

The positive is that it feels really good to land a melee combo, and then spend those resources on a big spell as mentioned above where you can put spells in different grids to cost different amounts of the resource.

The negative is that this means a spellcaster character is ALSO a melee character BY DESIGN- and this kind of feels strange. Forcing the less physically capable characters to swat the enemy just so they can cast a spell sounds and feels bad.

I will say- the positive does outdo the negative- but it’s a bizarre system none the less! I like it! I just think spellcasters should probably have alternative means of building resources (maybe they do later on! Maybe not though and that’s fine). Something like a “Focus” command that does no damage but gives them a free 4-5 Element bar? I’m spouting nonsense.

Basically my take away on this system is that I’ve never seen an RPG use “Build/Spend” mechanics outside of an MMO! And I really don’t like most uses of it in MMOs (I enjoy managing a hefty pool of resources, like a rage bar- I don’t enjoy managing small number resources, like Rogue combo points). It turns out if you slow such a system down to a turned base (mostly) gameplay- I REALLY ENJOY UTILIZING IT!

Also the chief beat me up.

#RetPlays #Chrono Cross

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gyromitra-esculenta · 3 years

Text

Somewhat Discussed 3

Ok. So, chapter 3 of this monstrosity. In which field medic Jack 'Perpetually Not Getting Enough Sleep' Morrison gets co-opted to Strike Team after FUBAR military offensive.

Warnings: Crack treated seriously; Smurfs; Pokemon; Blood and Violence; Neeeeeeeeeeeerds!

Fifteen minutes in, Gabriel had read (and not skimmed!) all the applicable reports, analyzed all the current projections and formulated the initial plan of action - pending approval, but a plan nonetheless. Then, boredom set in right on schedule. He eyed the trash panda sleeping in the chair and began the excruciatingly slow process of extracting himself from the bed stealthily, which, on its own, was met with a considerable amount of success up to the precise moment he decided to check his surroundings and looked up.

The trash panda was, in fact, very much awake, and observed him with a modicum of amusement as Gabriel froze with his bare ass hanging off the bed.

With the same amount of deliberate care, Gabriel pulled himself back into the bed while the trash panda sipped on his cup of coffee. If the liquid in the cup had any property indicated by the smell that still lingered, it was both highly corrosive and bitter enough to kill off all taste buds too weak to survive a serving of salty licorice.

"Good," the trash panda muttered as Gabriel meekly pulled back the blanket over himself, and with no unnecessary delay returned to the relaxed posture he held earlier in the chair - again immediately falling asleep on the spot. Only this time, his head fell back, and the snoring started. How, even doped beyond any rational thinking ability, had he ever imagined a person capable of producing sounds so reminiscent of, for the lack of a better word, a petrol chainsaw, to have an 'angelic voice', Gabriel would never understand.

The cup of the volatile coffee the trash panda still held onto somehow remained miraculously balanced.

With far too much idle time left and guarded by the apparent incarnation of Cerberus crossed with whatever survived the wood-chipper after its initial run, Gabriel turned to the contraband on his jailbroken top-secret-military-use-only PDA, not bothering with the earbuds. Halfway into the third episode, the trash panda's watch alarm went off, and Gabriel frantically scrambled to close the video - only upping the volume before he found the back button. With the way the guy blinked and straightened, he was safe.

What had not been saved was the coffee, because as soon as the trash panda woke, he looked at his watch - which required him to rotate his wrist, and, in consequence, pour everything that remained in the cup into his lap.

"Fuck." The trash panda gazed down with a look of defeat. "Fuck," he repeated, adding a special emphasis on the 'f'-sound, giving the word an elongated hissing beginning that came to a rapid stop - like a train hurtling off the tracks on a broken bridge hitting the rock bottom of the canyon below. The pronunciation was deeply artistic and empathetic.

And it was almost enough for Gabriel to feel sorry for the trash panda but, as his father oft said, in this bitch of a life you had to be hard, not soft. He hemmed to draw attention to himself.

"The hour's up, I take it I can get the hell out of here?"

"No."

"No?"

"No," the trash panda shot him a pointed glare at his indignant tone - or as much of a glare as he could muster under the circumstances of the cold coffee all over his lap and the obvious sleep deprivation. "Examination first. Sir. Or there's going to be pictures."

"I'll get them confiscated."

"You really think you're going to win this one?" The trash panda snickered in tired amusement. "Sir," he tacked on the end absentmindedly while pulling himself up, and deposited the now (probably) empty cup on the chair. "I wouldn't make that bet if I were you. Sir."

Gabriel erred on the side of caution and shut the fuck up. For now. The trash panda wobbled to the table, poured the disinfectant on his palms before pulling on the gloves, and, after some deliberation coupled with a hard glare of disappointment at his own crotch, he shimmied into the scrubs. Also, he promptly poured what appeared to be the other half of the bottle all over his surgical gloves, splashing the disinfectant everywhere around. It would be unsurprising if some of it made it even to the ceiling, to terrorize the local germ fauna. Or flora. Whichever one it was.

Gabriel, suddenly uncomfortably aware of the fact that under the medbay blanket he was clad in a typical hospital gown bought from the lowest bidding contractor, clutched the flimsy barrier of thin cotton privacy protectively to his chest.

"Off with it," the trash panda grunted. Having been caught earlier in the act with his ass hanging off the bed notwithstanding, Gabriel still refused to relinquish his grip on the fabric. The trash panda continued, unamused. "Unless you have something worse there than dickachu, or pokeballs, I've seen it all."

The absurdity of the statement got to Gabriel, and he stared dumbfounded.

"Oh, yeah, was trying to get the pants off that one guy, and there it was, smack dab in the middle, almost on his dick, a tattoo of a Pikachu." The trash panda waved his hands in the air, imitating the motion, while he elaborated. "Got past it, and then, bam!, two pokeballs, in full technicolor, on the ballsack, right in my face. If you can top that, more power to you, I won’t judge, but I will laugh."

"...definitely can't." Gabriel, still in a state of moderate shock, brushed the blanket aside. But not all the way, no, he wouldn't be the one to do that, no fucking way. The trash panda shrugged and pulled the gown up and away from his side, at least with enough decency to leave it bunched over the more sensitive areas, and started prodding the injury, none too gently.

"Looks decent." The trash panda hemmed.

"So I can go?"

"No." The trash panda swung the scanner around and lowered it, still manhandling the sensitive healing tissue with his hand. Until, focused on the screen, he jabbed his fingers in, probably trying to get right at Gabriel's kidney from the outside. Gabriel, eyes watering, was now of a mind that he had been retroactively in the right for breaking the guy's face. He definitely did deserve that, and no judge or jury would find him to be in the wrong here. Especially after the sad wheeze the treatment got out of him.

"What should stick, sticks, and the rest is unsticked," the trash panda yawned, stepping back, and promptly kicked the scanner back into its corner - completely oblivious of Gabriel's seething glare. "So, you can call someone to give you something to wear, or, like, walk like that, I don’t give a shit."

Gabriel took his tablet to ping Ana as the trash panda slowly advanced towards the trashcan with the movements of someone on the verge of a full system collapse. He pulled on the scrubs, balled them together with the gloves, and missed the bin from less than twenty centimeters away – which had to be some kind of achievement. He contemplated the situation for a moment before looking over his shoulder.

"Hey, I've got a strange question. Was there Smurfs' theme playing earlier?"

Sweet Mary, mother of Christ, this couldn't be happening. Gabriel almost let go of the PDA for the second time this day.

"What the fuck is 'smurfs'?" Full-on denial it was then.

"Huh? Funny. Auditory hallucinations are setting in earlier than usual," the trash panda mumbled to himself, shuffling out of the room. Gabriel breathed a painful sigh of relief before his brain made a record-scratch sound. The imaginary needle ground to a halt and backed up, suddenly going the other way altogether with an unearthly screech, broken up only with Ana's surprised voice coming from the corridor.

"What happened to your pants?"

"Coffee, ma'am." The trash panda slurred. "Mostly."

"Mostly." Gabriel did not need to visualize the expression that accompanied Ana's curt tone.

"I guess, some blood and guts under?"

"We're flying in half an hour," Ana concluded with an exasperated sigh. "Get your gear together."

"Aw, shucks. I wanted to grab some shuteye before."

As soon as Ana marched into the room, Gabriel met with a faceful of clothes. Compared to the trash panda, her aim was deadly, and her throwing arm never wavered.

"You're lucky we're making a resupply stop on the way before we pick up Liao because this is your last intact set."

"Not like it's my fault," Gabriel muttered while untangling from the pants’ legs that have somehow multiplied into a number higher than the usual two.

"Of course, the mine just happened to jump you, from the other side of the field." This was worse. This was her 'mom' voice. Gabriel winced.

"Difference is, I can take it."

"For how long, Gabriel?"

Not an argument he was willing, or in the mood, to rehash, especially not under Ana's scrutinizing gaze boring into him with the intensity his third-grade teacher (who really, really had it out for him) employed.

"As long as it takes," Gabriel grumbled under his breath, even more uncomfortable with changing in her presence now that he made the connection to his childhood's anathema and felt her ghastly glare drop the temperature in the room by around ten degrees due to a mere flashback.

"Could you, you know..." He whirled his fingers in the air and, with a sigh, Ana turned around, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"I've seen it all already."

"I said I was sorry!" He was. Not a hundred percent, since the shower had been built shoddily, but sorry nonetheless. But it was a train of thought best forgotten (because of a field facilities mishap resulting in not only a disintegrated shower but also in one of Gabriel's own flip-flops gaining a near escape velocity). Thankfully, Ana didn't intend to dwell on it.

"So, what do you think?"

"What do I what about what?" Gabriel paused with pants around his knees, convinced some finer points of Ana's question flew past his head with no context for the discussion they were apparently having right at this moment.

"We are lacking when it comes to a medical specialist, remember?"

No. Oh no. No way in hell and neither above, the sheer discomfort of having around someone who from the very start had that much dirt on him would slowly drive him at least a tad bit paranoid if not outright insane - but the rejection of Ana's proposal necessitated a careful and thought out strategy.

Not unlike crossing a minefield, situational sarcasm intended.

"If I remember, we'd agreed on putting in the requisition order for the attachment? We're going to have a pick then, not the first one that comes along," Gabriel stated matter-of-factly, buckling his belt.

"We will get cream of the crop of the fledglings straight out of the basic and that's why we've been putting it off." Ana turned around and gave Gabriel one raised eyebrow as he finished dressing. Having his own very reasonable arguments used against him sucked balls, honestly.

"This one looks like he might keel over any given moment if anything as much as looks at him wrong." He was flopping around with his reach like a hooked fish.

"He stitched you up on evac, with a broken nose, which, if I may add, you broke moments earlier, didn't you?"

Didn't help the situation that Ana smiled a smile of a cat that not only ate the canary - it gobbled up the whole aviary and left behind a satisfied kind of bloody carnage because it gave no fucks about being discovered and tried for its crimes against the avian folk.

"All slander," Gabriel muttered, "there's no proof."

"I'll testify. Anyway, he's got over a year of active and counting, knows what he's doing, and," Ana tapped her forearm with her fingers, "somehow forced you to take some bed rest, I can't imagine how."

"Threats of violence and embarrassment?"

"Now, that one I'd like to see myself." Ana slowly, with the affectation of a street performer, inspected Gabriel from head to toe, and then, with the same attention to the detail, back from toe to head. "I've sent you his file."

"Is there any way I can say no?" Gabriel groaned, moving out. Ana kept to his side.

"With compelling counterarguments because, at the moment, I'll take Francis over any star-struck rookie they're going to throw at us."

"God, his name's Francis? Doesn't look like one."

"It isn't. He goes by Jack."

"Well, with a name like Francis, I'm not surprised."

"Weren't you insisting a week ago 'Francis is a blessed name' because one 'Francis' made your favorite vampire movie?"

Ouch. Busted.

"That's different," Gabriel muttered. "Fine. Draft the request."

Ana shot him another smug feline smile.

"It's waiting for your signature."

"Fine. I'll think it over," he groused. "I promise nothing."

For the next fifteen minutes, Gabriel refused to acknowledge her presence hovering over his shoulder expectantly as everyone got onto the transport. When Rein asked about the date, and if he's invited to the ceremony, Gabriel suffered a near heart failure - at least until Rein added in his booming voice: ‘you punched his face in, it’s the least a guy deserves after that’.

"You're not invited," Gabriel bluntly retorted.

"It's a sore spot," Ana laughed. "The itty bitty medic hurt his pride."

"And neither are you," Gabriel hissed, looking around from his spot on the bench. "We're taking off and he's not onboard."

"He has five more minutes, Gabriel."

"That's five minutes too late."

"That's perfectly on time." The trash panda - Francis 'Jack' - mumbled as he climbed inside, looking like the only thing keeping him on his legs was his hand braced precariously on the side of the door. The other hand held loosely the straps of his dangling field backpack. He stumbled, focused his unseeing stare on some point on the wall (or well far past it), and then marched forward, swaying. The thrown pack landed on the floor and slid with momentum to stop under the bench, followed feet-first by Francis 'Jack' himself with the efficacy of a frequently repeated action. There, with everyone watching his every move, he propped his back and legs on bench supports and snuggled the backpack like it was his girl and he was just starting his leave.

In the ensuing silence, the first snore sounded louder than the obnoxious electronic bells of that one church Gabriel had the misfortune of having once lived by. Even the takeoff Ana okayed didn't disturb the supposedly peaceful sleep of the trash panda, who was now in active violation of at least three regulations that Gabriel actually knew. Amazed, he observed the phenomenon quietly.

"Fine. You won. He's in."

"Told you," Ana smirked.

#sometimes I write #reaper76 #r76 #it's crack #crack treated seriously #said and done verse

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startselectscreen · 5 years

Text

Fire Emblem Three Houses Video Game Review

FOUR STARS OUT OF FIVE Ever since the GBA version of Fire Emblem, I instantly became a fan of this franchise because it’s an anime RPG and tactics game done right. Granted there a number of other great tactics games out there like the X-COM franchise or Into the Breach but they never clicked on me, the fact that, within every Fire Emblem game, whether it’s the cast of characters that you S-Link with or trying to rather be rash on your decisions and kill off your characters in a fantasy-related setting is the reason why I love this series. The fact is that back in the GBA games, it autosaves every single time you move/attack the opponent or make one wrong move and one of your characters will receive a fatal blow just put me on the edge. I just love the meticulousness to it, it’s like a game of chess without the timer.

When I heard that Fire Emblem was coming to Switch, I was overjoyed, the previous 3DS games, Awakening, Fates and Echoes has been fantastic and never ceased to amaze me. It is a shame that Fates has multiple versions that you have to purchase (Birthright, Conquest and Revelation which is DLC) to play in new playthroughs much like the Pokemon games. However it does not fault the immense rich anime medieval fantasy story with a set of lovable characters with a support system, excellent music and sound and tactful situations in the battlefield where you have to think on your feet to counter your opponents utilizing the strengths and weaknesses of the weapon triangle (sword > axe > lance) and magic/others as well. These games just make great decisions on their tactics-based system, you have to really think before you act and mobilize your units carefully without the threat of getting flanked by wyverns/pegasus or have mages trying to pick off your units during their turn.

Now released to the Switch, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the sixteenth main game to the FE franchise with a plethora of new features capable of the switch hardware. The story plays like the other games, as Byleth (which is the default name whether male/female) who comes off like the stereotypical amnesic but in a dream encounters a mysterious, green-haired girl, Sothis who has the ability to rewind time. This is caused by Byleth’s rash decision after defeating most of the bandits with the help of your mercenary father, Jeralt and three companions from the officer academy in Garreg Mach Monastery, Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude - by sacrificing yourself when the bandit leader almost strike down Edelgard which prompts Sothis to rewind time so that you can make a better decision (pretty much similar to the game play). Anyways, under a number of circumstances, the three persuades the player to become an instructor in this monastery academy where you have to teach students from three specific houses that of which you have to choose; whether it’s Edelgard’s Black Eagles, Dimitri’s Blue Lions or Claude’s Golden Deer, the choice is up to the player to decide. It has become apparent that this crucial choice will affect all of these ruling nations that surrounded this educational and religious institution where you have to instruct and level up your students against the impending enemies that terrorized it.

With that aside, it feels like an anime Game of Thrones in which “if you play GoT, you’ll either win or die” attitude going on with this game. It’s pretty much Lannister against Baratheon against Targaryen, all done with to political maneuvers and intrigue than differs from the fairy-tale, evil versus good, that the other games have. It starts off as innocent, you’re an instructor in this academy teaching your students to become nobles or join the ranks in the army and then fight off bandits but then slaps you with this and decides to take a dark turn. I mean, after beating the game, there are many questions that are left unsolved, questions that other FE games have answered with NPCs that “seems” to be the villain but then it feels like some sort of red herring to the actual part of the story that you decide to take. With the story involving crests, much like bloodlines from the previous games, it feels like only bad shit will happen with nobles in your house that you chose that transform people into monsters.. Well less bloodlines from the previous games, I have to admit. It’s just upsetting to me that the story doesn’t have their priorities straight and will have some main threat disappear within half of the game and never mentioned and crests are to blame for the stories’ decision to have fatal and nonsensical decisions in which that game have less of a recruit option but I guess that’s the result of the lack of befriending them in the first place in free roam.

It does not hinder the cast of characters that you decide to pick when you chose a specific house. The Black Eagles, as dark and evil looking as they are, has the most entertaining and wide arrange of characters that you can befriend with the support system whether in the battlefield or in this new free roaming feature where it plays like an JRPG in which you can travel around the monastery doing quests from NPCs, increase your skills’ stats from other instructors, motivating and increasing support, your students by gifting them items, eating together, sharing tea, participating in weapon tournaments, gardening, choir singing to increase your magic skills and so on. Although this is limited by a number of activity points that you will receive by professor level which is just like your other skills’ stats, gaining experience from some of these activities. Speaking of, roaming around the monastery feels like a boring thing to do, so they included fast travel to any parts of the map, provided that you discovered it or any quest givers that give out missions for you to do. After spending all your activity points, you can end the day

I also forget that like an RPG, there are dialogue choices which can affect the game in crucial moments during the main story. It’s like the Bioware games, where you can be locked out in this particular story thread losing potential characters. It can also affect character’s motivation based on the correct dialogue and other perks and downsides. It’s a nice touch to have these dialogue options but Byleth, the character that you are playing seems to be this toxic or less uplifting character that you really can’t have the freedom to make to desire choice and it’s frustrating to hear his/her responses to those moments.

As an instructor, you are tasked with teaching your students, every start of the week, in this new mode where you can increase your students’ grade skills ranging from weapons, magic, riding and so on. They gain XP based on their motivation meter (white, red, yellow and green) to learn that you can increase with activities and gifts within your free-roam in the monastery. When you and your students in the battlefield level up, you will gain seals that will change their unit class, which all of your students start off as commoners and nobles. There is a certification exam, alongside with the appropriate, minimal level that you get successfully upgrade your unit into a different, more powerful class. Now, each seal have four tiers (beginner, intermediate, advanced and master) that will unlock once you hit the appropriate level and the percentage is judged by the skill requirements of that specific class to unlock whether its upgrading from lance soldier to a cavalier or a mage to a warlock, it’s like the previous games but with some more requirements. In addition, there are seminars where you can increase you own skills by placing one of students or other recruitable NPCs, increasing your skills. Also, if one of your students increase a specific skill whether its in battle or during lecture, they will decide on a class-specific goal where they need your approval, through dialogue to either change and go back to the original goal of becoming a new class or not..

The game feels like a vision of real life fantasy featuring this somewhat Calendar feature where you attend class from Monday and Friday and then have a day off to free roam around the campus/monastery. Specific dates on the weekends (my guess is Saturday) have different events whether it’s a class-based tournament that will reward you items or any related activities that will greatly affect your student’s motivation and skills. And also there is activity points separate from free roam in Battle Mode where you can able to spend on paralogue missions or given by quest givers.

The battle system is fully 3D much like Radiant Dawn for the Gamecube where you can change camera perspectives from top down to third person as detailed as ever. The gameplay feels like the previous Fire Emblem games, at the start you can change and pick whatever characters fits for the mission and see your opponents are in the map. Each class your opponents has on the battlefield has its strengths and weaknesses and you have to combat them with the right class (for example; archers are effective against fliers and armored units are weak against magic). As it is a Fire Emblem game, there are not only class-based units that you fight against, there are monsters/demons that can prove to be a challenge. They are called crest monsters that range from giant wolves, birds to loathsome, towering golems that not only have multiple health bars to kill them but a barrier around them that will soften your attacks before damaging you very hard. It makes the gameplay more challenging even on normal mode where you have to pick what units that have strong stats (even though you can rely on your two main characters) and support units to break down those barriers before you go for the kill and even then, you have to do it two or three times.

It is also noted that during missions, the weapon triangle is less of an importance which was the “cream-crop” of these games and based it more towards the combat arts that can increase your damage against specific classes (rider classes or magic users), sacrificing your weapon’s degradation in return by a lot. However, after beating the game, the combat arts just feels useless to me as normal attacks do more damage when wielding better weapons, so that they don’t deteriorate and break down. This game removes the link together units to boost support link as well as stats in battle, they introduce a battalion feature where you can recruit a specific force that can also gain levels alongside stats to boost the effectiveness of your core units. Furthermore, each battalion has a specific gambit perk that will either damage and stun your enemies, breakdown the monster’s barriers or increase the number of steps. It feels like they remove this so that players can’t cheese around and combine weak with strong units that can devastate bosses with fatal blows. The rewinding time feature is back from Echoes as Sothis’ Divine Pulse in which you can rewind time during the gameplay. However, it seems like they made it easier for the player with perks from the four weapon-based statues that give me more charges as well as other benefits to boosting XP when Instruct your students. Even though I played in Normal/Classic mode, I only used a couple of those charges and they replenish after battle so it doesn’t matter.

Graphically speaking, it looks like a last-gen game. It just looks like a mix between Radiant Dawn and Final Fantasy 12 with its 3D environment when you’re free roaming or on a mission. Just roaming around the monastery just feels mundane with its large map design where a couple of activities separated in different parts of this main hub. It’s just spread out and just visually, it just looks kinda ugly-looking like PS2 graphics. There is also not really a wide arrange of map designs either, it feels like they only have a few set pieces specifically on any missions, unlike the previous games. However with the new battalions, you can zoom into your unit and you will see an army of units surrounding your core unit. It’s like Advance Wars but if they put in on consoles, it’s not much thoroughly detailed as you expect but it’s pretty nice, although you don’t really notice it that much when you focus on the tactical aspect of the game. From a sound and music standpoint, it just the opposite. I really love that the game is fully voiced, with hours of recorded dialogue from all of the NPCs and characters that you recruit. I mean, each of every student in all three houses are fully voiced with their own story to tell and the wide arrange of talent is impressive, at least for the Japanese cast. I specifically adore the voice of Bernie who is just as lovable and funny, constantly panicking during cutscenes whether its S-Links or throughout the main story. The music is orchestrated greatly as well, it is somewhat repetitive to hear the same score over and over but those moments are great with the music. Oh and I like the Fire Emblem theme when you start free roaming, a nice little tidbit.

Overall, despite its flaws, Three Houses is still a satisfying game to play, the tactical aspect of moving around the battlefield during turns is just rewarding if done right. It’s these games that I enjoy more than any other tactics game. The difficulty improve since the 3DS with the introduction of crest monsters and the removal of linking units together resulted in a calculated, tactical strategy component of the game that adds a new layer of intensity. It is just sad that the story isn’t that remarkable with its forgettable and clear objective that the game, mysteriously changing to the three houses waging war against one another. That and the game can be beaten multiple times by picking one of the three houses and branching paths throughout the later course of the game. Other than that, the gameplay promises to be one of the most exciting moments that I played this year.

#fire emblem three houses #switch #nintendo

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thetakenpokemon · 7 years

Text

Act 1 - The Aftermath

[PoV: Ash]

...

...Where...am I?

My eyes slowly open, my body aching all over. I immediately begin feeling around me with a bare hand, from the softness of what I’m laying on...I can only assume that I’m on a bed.

Wait...

...

Ren’Gul!

I quickly sit up in a panic, but the sudden motion causes me to double over in pain. My entire body hurts, especially my legs and arms.

“Please be careful.” A soothing voice speaks to me, I turn my gaze to the source to see a concerned Gardevoir looking at me. “Your body is completely exhausted, you need to rest to recover your strength.”

I could care less about myself, I need to know what happened to Ren’Gul! “Where is he?!” I demand angrily, glaring daggers at her.

She blinks a few times in confusion before realization strikes her. “You mean...your Scyther friend?” Seeing my sharp nod she lets out a quiet sigh. “He is...in very bad shape, but our town’s healer did his very best on him...so he still lives.”

Relief washes over me, all of my pain seemingly fading away now that I know that my friend is still alive. I feel myself slump back down on the bed, my eyes staring at the ceiling.

The recent events are now coming back to me...

In the forest...I carried him all the way back. It took me a long time, but I managed to do it...

When I got back to Richfield, I begged for the townsfolk to help me save him. An Audino who claimed to be the town’s healer immediately took him in.

I remember giving one of the townsfolk my phone and ordering them to head to the nearest city with cell reception and call the GoT, to tell them of what happened. A Rapidash stallion immediately volunteered to carry the Pokemon, for he was supposedly the fastest in the entire town.

After that...? I remember nothing, I can only assume that I passed out.

“Any...word?” I ask tiredly, seeing the Gardevoir’s look of confusion again I let out a sigh of my own. “Did they return with my phone?”

It took her a bit to understand my question. “Oh! You mean that strange device you gave them?” I nod. “They returned a few hours ago, they said that your people are on their way.” She scratches her chin. “They said something about ‘expect them to arrive in around four hours.’ I believe.”

So they are coming...

The journey to Richfield from the GoT HQ is around a full day worth of driving, but...there is another method that can shave the time immensely.

There are two Gardevoirs in the GoT who specialize in long-distance teleportation. Rin and Ren, twin sisters. What these twins would do is that they would study a location for hours, examine the layout through various images to memorize it perfectly.

What happens next is that one Gardevoir acts as an ‘anchor’, where they would grant power to assist in the long-distance mass teleportation so that the teleporting Gardevoir isn’t completely drained. Once the teleportation is complete, this makes it so that they have enough energy to teleport themselves back along with anyone they brought along.

The process is long and incredibly taxing on them, for teleporting themselves as well as multiple people over great distance drains a great deal from them both.

So...that means that they’ll be arriving soon, since those Pokemon returned recently after being told to expect the GoT in a few hours...then I can only assume it’ll be an hour at most till they come.

So all I need to do is wait...

I let myself close my eyes, to drift back to the realm of rest.

I don’t need to worry anymore, they will come...

...And Ren’Gul will be fully taken care of...

[One Hour Later]

The sound of commotion rouses me from my sleep, with a quiet groan I open my eyes and slowly sit up. I hear a lot of talking behind the door connected to the room, it doesn’t sound like arguing from what I can tell.

Eventually the talking stops soon followed by the door opening, stepping to my room...is Kaiser.

The Garchomp’s rather large size forces her to hunch over when she enters, upon spotting that I’m awake she gives me a relieved smile. “I’m glad to see that you’re awake and well, Ash.” She chuckles, not a trace of professionalism is on her.

I wince slightly when I feel my body aching, reminding me that I’m not entirely ‘well’. “Heh...thanks Kaiser.” I respond quietly, rubbing the back of my neck.

The Garchomp’s gaze turns to the rather small chair next to the bed, but she and I both knew that it couldn’t possibly support her. So instead she chooses to stand. “Firesword is going to live.” She says, as if she knew I was about to ask. “He lost a lot of blood...but their Audino here is a miracle worker, he managed to bring him back from the brink of death. The medic I brought with me is now watching over him, so he will do just fine.”

Even though I assured myself that the GoT will take care of things, a tiny part of me still had its doubts. But now with Kaiser herself telling me this...it’s more than enough for me to purge whatever traces of doubt that are left.

“Once Ren’Gul is ready to be moved, we are going to have Rin teleport us back to HQ.” Kaiser continues, her expression growing serious. “When we get back, I want you to tell me everything you know about this creature.” She pauses for a moment, her expression becoming one of regret. “But...we didn’t realize how much of a threat this creature is, for it to injure Firesword in such a way...” The Garchomp lets out a sigh. “I am greatly sorry that this has happened, you both were put in extreme danger because of this.”

Even though they sent us out to begin with, I couldn’t find myself to be upset at all. This creature may have seriously hurt Ren’Gul, but...how could we have known how powerful that thing is? No one knew, not even the GoT had anything on it.

“No one knew.” I sigh. “Our job was to gain information on it, neither Re-” I catch myself. “...Neither Firesword or I knew what it could do. When we fought it, it showed us how...unnatural its abilities are. No one would’ve expected it.” I close my eyes. “It’s not something the two of us combined can handle, in fact...I doubt any Night Hunter team can handle it.”

Kaiser slowly nods. “We are sending Team Purging Light to destroy it. When we return and you’ve given us a report on what it’s capable of, they will seek it out and hunt it down.”

Purging Light?

I couldn’t help but crack a small smile.

Team Purging Light, one of the first and strongest teams of Night Wardens. The members of the time is Nightshade, Benevolence, Seraph, Silence, and...Asmund.

The Scizor may have been very powerful, but...Purging Light has dealt with a massive number of dangerous creatures in the past.

If anyone can defeat that monstrosity, it’s them.

#ashsalazzle #guardiansoftwilight #act 1 #plot

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