#i finally did it last night in my playthrough and when i tell you

[soulvalour]

the desire to romance halsin and only halsin is far too strong

#i finally did it last night in my playthrough and when i tell you #he got me kicking my feet and giggling - #how can i go back????

[white-eagle-roleplay]

FO4 Memories #3

Happy Belated Fallout Friday, guys! Was feeling under the weather yesterday, so my post is delayed to today! Hancock's first affinity conversation with my sole survivor got interrupted by raiders, but his final one was as romanctic as you could get. Imagine this: you enter an abandoned church with Hancock late at night to escape the rain and catch some shuteye. Surrounded by candles, he nervously asks you if you have the time to talk, and gives you the option to romance him... So, being the writer that I am, I had to write a short drabble based off of a real affinity conversation that I had with Hancock during my last playthrough of FO4!

Pairings: Hancock x reader Words: about 1267

Hancock stumbled into the abandoned church after you, eager to get out of the cold, icy rain. By some miracle, it was completely void of raiders and super mutants—there wasn't even a single radroach. It was almost too good to be true, but after carefully scouting the premises, it became clear that the church was indeed empty. Breathing a sigh of relief, you lowered your gear onto a dusty pew while Hancock began lighting some candles on the tables behind you. It wasn’t much, and the roof was leaking in a few places, but it was better than nothing. If you pulled a few of those pews together and spread a sleeping bag under them, you could make a cozy bed… "Hey, uh… When you have a moment, I've got something I need you to hear." You almost dropped your bag in surprise at the sudden closeness of Hancock’s voice. The ghoul mayor had always been surprisingly quiet upon his feet, and tonight was no exception. You stopped what you were doing and glanced over your shoulder. “Of cour—” You froze, surprised at how nervous the ghoul appeared. This was very uncharacteristic of him, especially with his charismatic, flirtatious demeanor. Although now that you thought about it, he had been quieter and more pensive than usual as well… Concerned, you stood up and walked over to him. "Is everything alright? Hancock was quick to reply, his words rasping out before you had finished speaking. "Oh yeah, better than that. This is just… tricky." Hancock averted his gaze and rocked from one foot to the other before finally drawing in a deep breath and turning to face you. "It’s just… being out here with you… It’s made me realize that most of my life I’ve been running out on the good things I got.” His words were cautiously paced and carefully selected, as though he had been rehearsing this conversation in his head for quite some time. “I skipped out on my family, my life in Diamond City." Once the words started tumbling out, Hancock could not stop—so you just let him continue. “Took up with you just to get outta Goodneighbor.” He paused, his face contorting with regret. “Hell, running from myself is what made me into… into a damn ghoul…"

This caught you by surprise, because on the rare occasions that Hancock did talk about his past, he never referred to his ghoulishness so negatively. It made you realize that the mayor of Goodneighbor might be less secure about himself than he let on, and that all that confidence he exuded was just a facade. Your gaze softened, but you did not interrupt. He rarely talked about himself, let alone his past. If you said anything now, you might not get another chance to learn about the ghoul you had developed feelings for. “It’s just…” Hancock’s voice was soft, and his gaze even softer, “Being out here with you, it’s made me realize just how small time I’d been thinking, and that maybe all my running from my life, myself… maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.” The ghoul seemed less nervous than when he initiated the conversation, but something told you that there was still more to come. You had no idea what, but you could tell that what he needed right now was an open ear and support. Finally, you reached out and laid a hand upon Hancock’s arm, your fingers brushing against the crimson velvet of his coat. “You may have run,” you agreed gently, “But you always ran for a reason.” Hancock’s lips spread into a small smile. “Been trying to convince myself of that for a long time,” he said, “but hearing that coming from someone like you… I don’t know if you understand what that means to me.” There was something about the tone of his voice that gave you pause and made your heart beat just a little faster… Thinking back to how nervous he had been at the start of the conversation, a sudden realization began to dawn upon you. Could it be… “So, lemme get to the point,” Hancock continued, “Throwing in with you has been the best decision I’ve ever made. It’s like I found a part of myself I never realized was missing… which happens sometimes when you’re a Ghoul.” He gave a wry smile, a small inside joke between him and himself. “If I hadn’t taken up with you, I’d probably be in a gutter somewhere, getting gnawed on by radroaches. You have been one hell of a friend.” One hell of a friend. Your heart sank at those words, and your chest felt as though a cold fist had just pummeled through it. You swallowed the bitter taste upon your tongue. Could it be that you had misinterpreted him? He did have reputation for being… very affectionate… But then, there were times when you suspected that there may have been something more, especially with the way his voice softened and his gaze deepened… "Have… have you ever thought about us as maybe more than just friends?” As soon as those words left your mouth, you wanted to take them back. What if you had misinterpreted everything, and were just about to ruin— "Heh," Hancock breathed, a sad smile spreading across his ruined lips. "It that obvious?" His voice seemed to crack, and when you looked over at him, his face was tight, as though he was struggling to keep it passive. Before you could say anything, he plunged on, trying to cover himself. "But come on, you don’t want to wake up to this mug every morning. Never wish that on anyone I cared for…" This last part was spoken so quietly that it was barely audible against the increasing storm. "Hancock…" It was then that you realized that he was terrified of rejection, and that he really was far more insecure than he let on. And here you were worried that he only saw you as a friend, when in fact he had been harboring deep emotions for you for who knows how long. Gathering your courage, you reached out and tenderly touched his jaw, tilting his face towards yours. "Hey…" you said softly, "D-don't call yourself that. You're perfect the way you are and… nothing would make me happier than waking up to your handsome face every morning." You felt your cheeks grow warm as you tenderly caressed Hancock's scarred check. "Screw anyone who makes you feel ashamed…”

With a smile, Hancock reached up and covered your hand with his, holding it against his cheek. "Wasn't thinking about the folks doing the shaming," he murmured. He brushed his lips against your fingertips in a delicate kiss, then pulled you into a tight embrace, his face burying into the crook of your neck. You could have sworn that you felt a dampness against your skin… Tentatively, you wrapped your arms around him and gently rubbed his back. “Hancock? You… are you alright?” “Yeah…” Hancock’s voice no longer sounded nervous, but rather relieved. He went silent for a minute, then exhaled slowly. “Heh… You know… moments like this, I know all that karma stuff is bull, because no one like me should be this lucky…" For a long time, he stood there, holding your body firmly against his. Time seemed to slow to a standstill, and the world reduced to nothing but the dust, empty pews, and flickering candles around you. The storm outside had long since ended, or perhaps it was drowned out by the beating of your own heart…

#fallout hancock #fallout 4 hancock #hancock x reader #john hancock #hancock x sole survivor #fallout 4 #fo4

[jaythedagger]

the possible endings / final characters in ‘until dawn’ and what would be my favourite potential interrogation lineups for the movie:

•==================•

jess and ashley - two survivors

jessica being the final girl was my favourite ending until last year where i rewatched a playthrough and realised how scary this possibility would be for both of the girls and the investigators. you have one survivor, severely physically injured and upset who doesn’t have a clear picture on anything that happened that night at all; she can only provide brief details from her own experience, as well as her worry for her boyfriend mike, which is all expected and ordinary. and then the other survivor, who saw elaborate torture chambers and murder and supernatural, carnivorous beasts tearing her friends apart and just before you think she is going crazy and that neither of their stories coincide, she says she heard jessica calling out to her in the mines, and when jessica is asked about this? it’s the only thing she is certain about; she did not call out to ashley that night.

jess - lone survivor, final girl

there is something about a horror / thriller story that finishes with no living person knowing what actually happened. jessica is so exhausted, and checked out, and is going in and out of confusion and worry. you just feel terrible for her. the viewer knows her character is completely different and has had the biggest shift among all of the characters. jess will never recover from this. she doesn’t know what happened to all of her group (including her boyfriend) and likely never will, because she has no idea what happened. another unsolved case plagues the mountain.

sam - lone survivor, final girl

you think everyone is about to be in the ground. bloody. perished. very, very dead. until wendigo hannah saves sam, showing that the sisters’ memories still survive and so do their feelings regarding these people who were once their friends. hannah is thanking her for not participating in the groups antics on the night of their death. she was her best friend! its an emotional and unexpected ending. and sam’s interrogation is incredible. i can picture her way into the future becoming one of those older women with a folktale that spreads around town telling what happened that night and after no one believes her, she goes insane and closes herself off from the world, living in a cabin of her own.

everyone lives (hooray!)

for obvious reasons. it’s badass. it’s beautiful. it’s action-horror movie swag. they make it out of the cabin with mike and sam’s survival tactics, wendigo hannah saves sam, and they all have each other. then we get the scene of wendigo josh that highlights the only person that suffered hannah and beth’s tragic fate was their own sibling who didn’t get the help he needed and in turn, tried to make his whole friend group suffer through a torturous and traumatic night due to the consequences of their actions, however naive and accidental they were.

•==================•

i would love to hear the opinions from anyone who had the time to read this far. who is in your final ‘until dawn’ line-up? ⏳

#until dawn #jaytalks #playstation #hayden panettiere #brett dalton #rami malek #video games #playstation originals #josh washington #jessica riley #ashley brown #sam giddings

[crimswnred]

thoughts on Volume VI

when I picked 'sass Daphne' I thought we were just gonna throw some shade and move on not get in a whole ass argument in the middle of the recoupling ceremony 😭

Daphne is so corny girrrrl wdgaf

this is the first time I'm so loyal to my og partner ever since Bobby yes I'm sleeping with Rafa in the daybeds no I don't wanna know what's up with Travis

hmmmm, the daybeds chat? so Rafael likes dirty talk HUH???? and you can bet my MC asked him to pull her hair 🧘🏻‍♀️🧘🏻‍♀️

they finally stopped using the word crescendo we are getting somewhere 👏👏👏

"where have you gone last night" LIKE ISN'T IT OBVIOUS I LITERALLY CAME IN WITH RAFA

Summer and Uma are my fav girlies like I'm sorry if you don't have Summer in your playthrough

she called Joyo, Joyo Bear. JOYO BEAR.

anyways, none of these couples are making it omg they are always fighting over some shit

btw I love the parallel shit happening in the game. looooooove that Uma and Alex don't really trust each other and that Joyo is super jealous over Summer

like, it's fun that things are happening without us being directly involved and we SEE them happening

btw we are #TeamUma and #TeamSummer we support their rights and wrongs these are my besties

and like, Alex was SOOOOO about to kiss Estelle in that video bffr

again, Bonnie slut shaming Bryson :(

and no Bon-Bon you're not as hot as Uma, I'm so sorry but you're not

DAPHNE GETTING REJECTED BY LITERALLY EVERY MAN IN THIS ISLAND I'M CRYINGGG

I can't remember if I did flirt with Travis or not but I'm sure I never said I was interested on him either way it doesn't matter because Rafael is obsessed with MC and like, it's mutual. so wtv.

Rafael saying to the boys he really has the feels for MC guys I'm in love

date with Evan? omg I didn't expect that

it was a short but sweet date. maybe because I shut him down as soon as I was able to 😭 he's hot and lovely but I'm too deep in Rafael's route to pick someone else

anywayssss, we fuck on the couch. in the middle of the leaving room. in the open? like—aint there cameras? didn't the producers see us? WHERE'S OUR SHAME.

is Daphne really trying to make me jealous bc she got along better with EVAN? girl... idgaf and also he hates your guts now so that ain't a flex

everyone basically saying Daphne is a bully and making her feel embarrassed at her own behaviour like yessss

Vicky keeps serving btw

you can't tell me Rafael wasn't gonna ask us to be exclusive like that CHAT??? it was the perfect time to ask us omg and I would've said FUCK YES.

hmmmmm flowers? where did they get flowers?

MC is what Daphne thinks she is

three gorgeous man wanting her

I'm sharing my bed with Rafael every day I don't CARE 💅💅

#litg #litg s7 #litg season 7 #litg stick or twist #💬

[animentality]

I've wanted to do this for a while, but was held back by shyness for a while. (By a while, I mean I haven't even experienced Patch 6 yet. I *believe* this entire experience was in 5.)

I played Dark Urge as my first complete run of Baldur's Gate III, and it was beautiful in a way I don't feel is captured in the normal Tav playthrough, but I only intend to partially unpack that to keep things on topic for Durgetash.

From the very beginning, who you are and what you've lost *burns* as a question in your head. You meet the violation with rage and the promise of bloody consequences, but — it fades. You have people to care for, with varying degrees of suddenness, who understand you and the circumstances that may have shaped you.

And violence and potential death meets them at every turn. I, not the Durge, grew murderously protective of everyone in my party. Astarion. Karlach. Shadowheart.

I killed Alfira and never regretted it, save for wondering if the party would reject me for the barbarity of it all. The butler was delighted, and Astarion wore the reward for my first slip of control for the rest of the game.

If you can't tell, I was already thoroughly invested in feeling this story so much I purposely blurred the lines between myself and the Durge I had for the sake of acting as they would, fighting like I felt best suited them (they were a Storm Sorcery Sorcerer).

By Last Light, I wasn't fond of this unknown observer and their wants. I had no interest in killing Shadowheart, or the town of unknown innocents to "make up" for serving her in what I get in hindsight looked like —to Fel, Orin, and Bhaal alike — another unacceptable fit of perverse sentimentality.

Isabel still died, because I had taken on the fight not yet quite strong enough to save her. Dammon died, as well, and the party and I had to move on. Fel visited that night, and bestowed the form of the Slayer upon me. I was Murder Incarnate, he joyfully proclaimed, and I killed him in the hopes of removing him from my sight. From the camp.

There were letters in rooms I fumbled through in Moonrise, and Gortash started becoming relevant, both in those signatures and through Karlach's sharing of her history.

The vague negativity I felt towards this largely faceless, seemingly largely political threat shattered when infiltrating his palace on the day of the ascension to Archduke of Baldur's Gate turned into an occasion my Durge was *invited to*.

How was I? Did I remember? Would I like to rejoin forces? I can't imagine now how many questions were going through his head, seeing me alive and on my feet after all the time that had passed.

And where Ketheric had acted with rage when I inevitably betrayed him at the top and bottom of Moonrise Towers, or Orin had seethed that my Durge had dared to return and threaten every bit of goodwill she had painstakingly clawed together from the Bhaalists, Enver simply shrugged it off, offering me the first of two chances to ultimately just get their stones and return to rule together with him.

For Karlach's sake, I considered it impossible. I wasn't whoever had orchestrated the plan to enslave the brain.

Somewhere along the way during this campaign, I had seen your posts, but didn't really delve into them or read them too thoroughly since I was trying to not spoil myself by accident. Was that bit of fondness in the throne room that had stayed his hand it? I wasn't going to judge, by any means, because I've certainly shipped things ferociously for much less meaningful gestures, but I didn't understand why it would prompt the intensity with which you fawned over it.

And then I reached the underwater prison. I got lost in the sewers and somehow found the submarine, and the destination was where I had seen Wyll's father rumored to be kept. I had already made the pact with Mizora on his behalf, and didn't really expect to find more than his corpse in the prison after the bombs went off.

But more importantly — I finally understood, in the conversation with Gortash where he demanded I turn back, and looked incredibly unsurprised when I didn't. Somehow, despite my Durge tearing one of his most secure advantages from between his fingers and forcing him to dash it against the ground rather than risking it falling intact into their hands... he seemed *amused. Delighted.*

And so I set to proving myself, somehow wanting to find myself worthy of his approval of my strength, while also wanting to spite Mizora.

I got everybody out, and by happenstance, only Karlach died. His foil, I discovered in hindsight, since she is ready to leap into the House of Hope itself for my Durge the same way they did for Enver once upon a time.

Most of the remaining relevant crumbs dry out here, as Enver didn't even comment on the prison specifically regardless of the outcome for me.

But between "I always liked you better" and the warmth with which he says anything to you, the delight he shamelessly expresses when you simply are being the you that he knows, that is viciously carved into your bones so deeply it will always return no matter how you heal after being broken?

If you look at it as a story of breaking cycles, what Durgetash was should be objectively regarded as the hardest thing to lose in becoming a better person.

It's the intoxication of being known when you are amongst those that know nothing but the use you can offer them. The twisted fun that makes you question, again and again, whether you really *need* to be better than you were. The painful sorrow, of looking on someone you've grown past, and knowing you can't fit yourself in the spaces belonging to who you were then, even with how you still long for that aching, bloody warmth that their harmful presence would make you feel that you'll never forget.

I found myself happy I had had my Durge embrace the title of Murder Incarnate after the process of beating Orin and rejecting Bhaal.

All this to celebrate being able to play the game again after a long move, and that I'm looking forward to Patch 6, where I can hopefully be moved like that again. Made worse? Who knows.

What a delightful journey culminating into the descent into madness that is...Durgetash.

I'm glad you have seen this light...this dark....

You also got me with the line, "If you look at it as a story of breaking cycles, what Durgetash was should be objectively regarded as the hardest thing to lose in becoming a better person."

:D stab stab stab stab stab

[seth-burroughs]

i agree about his cartoon villainy, but it’s implied that the part about him taking bribes was made up. when martina mentions it, he says, “huh…?” and seems genuinely confused. then, when yomi says that must be why he was so desperate to clean up the nail man killings, seth says, “i only did this because you ordered me to.” he still plays at being a cartoon villain. he’s just not that good at it.

I don't think so!

Alright, since I've finally been presented an opportunity to do so, let me pull out the Seth crypts;

While Seth not knowing anything about anybody at any time wouldn't be a completely unfounded statement -- we never do get concrete proof that he was in fact taking money from the church after all, and Halara themself said that "If director Yomi said so, it would be considered the truth even if it isn't". Buuut, there's far more evidence pointing to the contrary, actually.

First, going from the very beginning, let's take a look at what happened PRIOR to Seth's intervention at Yakou's doorstep -- mainly, Jiei Colan. This section's the shortest, I believe.

I. Jiei Colan's terrible, terrible day (As Seth once said: I didn't become the head of the investigations team by being a good person. You can tell your son he won't be having a christmas this year)

Jiei Colan was called the day (or night?) before his arrest to the Clocktower -- he got an urgent request to fix it, as the clock allegedly wasn't keeping time. We don't know who sent the request. He stayed the night at the Clocktower.

As mentioned earlier, who sent the request is a mystery, but it is pretty odd in just how convenient it is for everyone, and by that I mean the Nail Man and the peacekeepers. I believe it was pretty much apparent to most people that this was an attempt at framing Jiei; coincidences generally don't tend to exist in most of Kodaka's universes.

There's two most likely suspects for the urgent call directed to Jiei, if we're going along with the theory it was a plot: the Nail Man, the Worshipper/Copycat Nail Man, or the peacekeepers.

(Kei (aka, the boy), if I'm remembering correctly, said that his father left last night. The body Yuma investigated is as far as we know, pretty recent. I felt like I should put it out there, but I forgor the reason. whoopsie silly me heheh!!!)

Worshipper knows a lot about how the NM operates; usually his plan to "catch" him involves him following a person with their name written in the woods. Could he have tried to use the peacekeepers to remove a random poor guy so that the true NM continues to operate? Not impossible, but, I don't know. That doesn't sound... very likely to me.

The NM, aka the Priest, could potentially have a good reason to frame somebody, BUT isn't his whole thing that he kills people who Kanai Ward's citizens feel have somehow wronged them, you know, enacting justice and shit and all that. He intends to help people in that way. I don't think he'd throw an innocent man under the bus -- I watched the scene where he's informed it was the watchmaker that was arrested, and I still can't tell whether he was legitimately shocked to that information but attempting to keep his cool, or just pretending (which implies he did hear of the plan; that doesn't mean he necessarily approved).

And lastly, peacekeepers, the most likely candidate; they arrived very quickly at the scene, and have a personal interest in closing the NM case as quickly as possible by any means, and is just... come on, it's the peacekeepers, it's always the damn peacekeepers I swear. What supports this more than the claim Worshipper or the NM himself sent the request, is the fact that the peacekeeper's report on Jiei said that his occupation was unknown (he was a watchmaker. this isn't some classified information.), very likely to frame him even more easily. Shinigami herself points it out just how suspicious that is. And it's, as far as I'm aware by my own rc playthrough, what the game was pointing us towards.

If it's the peacekeepers, then that means at least one of them knew a murder was going to happen at the Clocktower. That would require [some guy] to know of the NM's plans -- aka, [that guy] was somehow affiliated with the church. Which would have been pretty easy, if they were, say, regularly taking bribes from it.

now, moving on to the flower scene...

II. Seth's first and second trip to the submarine (YAKOU GET YOUR FUCKING GOONS ASSEMBLED HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT)

Seth and his peacekeeper squad approached (that is very polite wording) Yakou by his sub and inquired him about his detective agency's involvement in the NM case. He sounds pretty nervous about them sticking their nose into the case (and potentially finding something out), and even sets a time limit for Yakou to get his goons in there by that time OR ELSE. The time limit could be there not only just to scare Yakou into cooperating, but also because he needs those detectives taken into custody ASAP, as, as mentioned earlier, every second they walk around deducing shit, they could stumble upon something he does not want them to know.

Seth comes back sometime before the time limit runs out, probably to sit there with his bouquet and watch as Yakou's pacing in circles next to him using up all of his big boy strength to not drop on the ground and start scream crying in despair. Meanie. Yuma shows up, and tells Seth he was the one investigating the NM killings. Immediately, like, RIGHT AWAY, Seth says this:

Seth: Oh? I see... So... you're the one who interfered with our work at the clocktower. Well... I will honor your courage for confessing and turn a blind eye to that incident. You must drop this case. If you do... we will leave without pursuing any further action. That'd be the ideal solution for all of us... What do you say?

Seth didn't waste a second to offer the NDA complete exemption from consequences if they stop right now and shut up about the case forever. That is... very odd behavior from a man who just three hours ago threatened to kill Yakou (and, I believe, the other detectives by extension) for interfering earlier. It's almost as if something about that was sending him into an internal panic. I wonder what.

I think the fact that he was so quick to just... let everybody go upon meeting the guy who was investigating the killings if they just could please stop right now i'm begging you is what almost completely eradicates the possibility of Seth not knowing anything about the identity of the NM. That is not normal peacekeeper behavior, actually. He wanted to shut Yuma up as fast as possible by any means possible because if he did not stay silent, he could have uncovered something very, very incovenient and likely downright very dangerous for Seth.

Yuma, of course, doesn't want old man Jiei to go to a happy farm far away, and tells Seth he won't stop now. Seth now very quickly orders his guys to take Yakou away, deal's off. Then Yuma pulls out the "actually I investigated all the previous killings too did you know all (debatable) the victims died of strangulation", and Seth is visibly shitting himself right now and orders Yuma to ALSO get arrested good lord bowlcut makoto knows too much. Whatever. Then Halara happens. Then SHINIGAMI happens. And just a moment later...

III. Wake up babe the Nail Man just dropped (DEAD)

Priest & hot topic Darkiplier keel over and fucking die. Shinigami pilots the Priest's corpse like a mecha to make him confess; the scene is as follows -

"Priest": Ahem, sorry about that. You see, I'm actually the Nail Man.

Seth: Wh-What?

"Priest": [continues to explain; not that important to my point. she ends with telling them to check the church for evidence, then Shinigami leaves]

Seth: The priest... mumbled something, but I couldn't quite hear him. Anyway... (...)

When the Priest confesses, Seth is the only person in the group to respond, with his nervous sweating sprite, much less, which wouldn't mean much alone -- it's perfectly possible he was just shocked, is all. But considering EVERYTHING ELSE so far pointing towards him working with the Nail Man... it's looking very bad for you, mr. Seth.

Then Seth claims he couldn't hear him; which, bullshit, you literally responded. He clearly didn't want the priest's role as the NM to be known, and was about to leave without doing anything about it. Just before he can take the detectives to the headquarters, guess who shows up to save our asses last minute?

IV. Martina's testimony who I believe above all (ignore that fake ginger cunt behind her)

It's Martina, look at her! she shows up riding a fucking motorbike through the air like the coolest motherfucker in Kanai Ward right before Halara. Along with her passenger princess bf Yomi I guess. Well, she's the one that actually says Seth had taken bribes from the church. The convo is as follows:

Martina: We have discovered you've been receiving sizeable kickbacks from facilitating donations meant for the church.

Seth: Huh...?

Martina: We now know why you were so desperate to clean up all the Nail Man killings. After all, it would be troublesome to lose access to all that money if the priest was arrested as the Nail Man

Seth: W-Wait, please. Director Yomi, I did this under your orders... [...] I-I only did this because you ordered me to...

I don't think Seth's confusion here meant he didn't know what the hell was going on right then; but rather, because his boss just turned on him after (allegedly) giving him the thumbs up to take that bag.

In conclusion! Seth indeed, took that bag, and I am ruling him guilty guilty GUILTY and SENTENCING HIM TO... actually, I have no idea. Uh, sorry, I guess he can stay on home arrest until I think of something...

I hope that was coherent :3 croissant emoji🥐

#mine #ask #rain code #seth burroughs #long post #<- did you. like the essay. do y. do you want to see more in the future. #like and subscribe

[tinyjordan]

so I actually finally finished my first playthrough of bg3 last night (except it was actually this morning because I beat the final boss at like 3 am) and I just wanted to share my experience. obviously there will be spoilers

so yes. it did take me like 2 months to finish the game, a lot longer than the average player. this was mostly because I was just really busy with school and shit and I've been playing on my parents tv, so I obviously didn't get too much time to myself to binge the game. but honestly, when I did get time to play through the game, I was honestly so overjoyed to just explore the world and do quests with my silly little guys.

imo my favorite act in the game is the first act, which from what I read, many people agree with me on this sentiment. that doesn't mean that I think that the other two acts weren't great, but I just think that act 1 had something special going on there. i loved how huge the first act was and just how much I could do in this act. i thought I finished this act having completed every quest (except those in the mountain pass because I didn't know that I could just go through both paths, which I don't know how I came to that conclusion in hindsight) but when reading and watching videos about bg3, I learned that there was a ton of stuff that I missed. I can't wait for my second playthrough (which will probably be my durge run) to experience more that I missed.

i don't know where to put this point in this essay thing, but the party after defeating the goblin camp. love it! this is where fanfictions are born. although you don't really get much when romancing gale in this party except the fact that he proclaims that he likes your stank in the most socially awkward but well meaning way. i thought this was funny.

oh yeah! also Lae'zel tried to have sex with me. we didn't, but I thought I might as well share that.

speaking of Lae'zel: the most underrated character in the game. i don't care. she is extremely wholesome despite our first introduction to her. in my playthrough, she was the one that got kidnapped by orin in act three. when I rescued her from orin, she was extremely sweet and thankful about it. she said something about the githyanki language not having a word for "thank you", and she tells the player the closest thing to it in her language. but even then she thought that wasn't a good enough way to express gratitude, so she said "thank you, sincerely." she's not my favorite companion, but my heart did swell in this moment

speaking of favorite companions-

astarion

ASTARION

yes I know that everyone reading this probably heard this a million times, but Astarion is such an amazing and well written character. this man is blorbo himself. i want to be his best friend. during my playthrough, my tav and Astarion had a sort of sibling like relationship: being on near opposite sides of the character archetype spectrum and disagreeing on a lot of things, but also being super protective over each other (we dislike Araj in this house). his whole story arc made me want to cry several times. i wish this game had a hug option for every companion so that I could hug everyone, ESPECIALLY Astarion. omg. OMG. when we defeated Cazador and Astarion stabbed him repeatedly, i cheered. i got him to not ascend and I cheered. like Karlach (who i also love and got me the closest to actually crying), i was so fucking proud of Astarion. i could talk about him all day but I think I would just stop there and resort to reblogging post about him for my own sanity.

when thinking of my opinion on Shadowheart, I remember that I didn't like her at all at first. it didn't help that she was racist against the githyanki. but after act 2 and pretty much always having her in my party as the main healer, she REALLY grew on me as a character. imo, I think she has one of the best character arcs and she really meshes well with the other companions. she's not a comic relief character at all, but every joke and sarcastic comment she makes is always a banger. she's my Tav's official best friend. also her act three glow up. that is all

oh also during Shadowheart's quest in act three, I met Viconia DeVir (who i killed) and I laughed my ass off because I ended up naming my Tav Viconia who when playing as her, she was like the EXACT opposite of the evil cult leader. there was definitely a "there can only be one" moment when killing her

I also feel that Wyll is pretty underrated character, which is disappointing since he is actually super interesting as a character. I mean he made a deal with a devil. like. c'mon. now I did sometimes get annoyed with his whole being a hero schtick, but also he's like the most sane character companion imo. i felt bad about him sulking alone at the after goblin killing party and I was tempted to ask him to dance to maybe cheer him up, but I also knew that this would probably lead to a romance with him, which I didn't really want. so I just let him be. i remember the impossible choice we had to make in act three (save Wyll's dad and sacrifice his freedom, or break the contract Wyll made with Mizora and let his dad die). This was actually a really difficult decision to make because like. it's either your dad or your freedom. it's literally an impossible choice to make. i decided to have Wyll be free of his contract with Mizora because I had hope that we could maybe find a loophole to this whole deal. WHICH THERE WAS. I had to undo a 5 whole hours of progress because of a bug with Duke Ravengard not spawning in the iron throne if you progress too much in the lower city before watching Gortash's coronation (which is entirely my fault for being awful at directions and not understanding very obvious instructions), BUT I DID IT. I saved Wyll's dad and had him free from Mizora's servitude! his friendship with Karlach is also extremely sweet. I love just how nice Wyll is. I think he's neat.

KARLACH! My favorite female companion! I was so excited when I was finally able to give her a hug. she's just so sweet and fun and as i said before she got me the closest to crying while playing the game. she almost made me cry not once, not twice, but THREE whole times. first time was of course when she was finally able to touch people. second was when we killed Gortash and she had a crisis about dying soon. third was when I thought she was actually going to die before Wyll offered that she come with him back avernus to kill all the devils (bless Wyll). she's also the number one funniest character in the game which juxtaposes the fact that she almost made ms cry the most amount of times.

speaking of crying, this game made me want to cry three separate times in one day. i made the mistake of playing through Shadowheart's and Astarion's quest on the same day then proceeding to kill Gortash, which you already know what happens after that.

After playing through the game, I agree that camp dad(dy) is the official term to describe Halsin. I'm not attracted to him in any since, so to me he is just dad, but I do agree with this sentiment. also goddamn he tall

Jaheira is the fun aunt of the group and I love her for that. she's a queen.

Minsc is himbo. I also realized that he always has something to say about everything we do, and I didn't realize that until when I talked to him one time and he was speaking of something we did like three quests ago and I had to keep talking to him until he was finally caught up with the current events. it was super hilarious

Also I love Boo! when Minsc introduced me to this space hamster I immediately feel in love with his tiny wittle paw awnd hwis wittle whiskews- also Boo had so much personality and I love him for that.

now. it is time to be down bad. Gale. my beloved. if you have seen the amount of posts and art that I reblog about him, you could probably tell that I am absolutely down bad for this man. I don't know when it started, but holy shit. this man got me kicking my legs and squealing like a little school girl. every romance scene with him got me down bad. he says just the sweetest things and I am on the floor dead from a heart attack. he proposed to me at the end of the game. i was happy :)

other points about Gale: he is super funny. every joke with him is hilarious. Mystra is a bitch. he gives dedicated history professor vibes. his camp outfit looks so comfy. he hates sneaking because his knees hate sneaking. he is best friends with his tressym named Tara, who he summoned NOT because of tressyms being known for being a great familiar, but because he wanted a friend. pleasure domes lol

i guess this is all to say that I love every companion in bg3

i believe I got the best ending (in terms of good or bad endings) in the game, and my hot take is that I actually love the ending of the game! i don't know what other people were talking about when they said it wasn't satisfying. the only critique I can give about the ending is that if you don't romance either Shadowheart or Astarion, you don't really know what happens to them after the events of the game other than they probably have a happy ending. other than that, great ending!

i will say that I do agree with most other people when they say that act 3 is maybe the weakest act in the game. not that it isn't a bad act. i just think it's unnecessary difficult even in explorer difficulty, which I did had to set it to because balanced wasn't cutting it for my smooth brain. i also had difficulty with trying to figure out what to do or where to go for a huge chunk of the act. and if it wasn't for a few helpful guides, I might have accidentally skipped a huge chunk of the quests and gotten a worse ending for a lot of my companions. also yeah. act 3 is extremely buggy. not unplayable buggy, but it did cause a lot of problems with my playthrough including me having to redo 5 hours of progress because of a bug

also fighting the githyanki at any point in the game starting from the end of act 2 is an absolute nightmare. how are a group of githyanki monks a more difficult fight than the literal god of death?

speaking of death, i love the dead three. i think they are amazing antagonists. my favorite with being Thorm. he is just so intimidating and he gave an amazing first impression. it helps that he is voiced by J.K. Simmons.

OH AND RAPHAEL! he is so theatre kid evil and that is amazing! best fight theme in the game. i saved the song on my Spotify before I even got to his fight because I heard it for the first time when I was kind of watching my brother play and I fell in love with the song.

i wish there was more to do in act 2, but in terms of story, it is extremely strong and the act is extremely spooky, which I love. i got scarred for life in the house of healing. though I think the biggest strength with act 2 is Shadowheart. she stole the show in act 2.

also Gale's act 2 romance scene hehe <3

Scratch best boy

Owl bear cub so adorable

oh! also when exploring the szarr palace, I found an owl bear plush and I immediately wanted it to be real. i immediately stole it because it is the best thing ever

i love this game so much! there is so much more I want to speak about, but then this would turn into a novel if I mentioned everything. I might make a post about my Tav later on, but that's for later. i already made a google doc about her profile, but there is so much more that I want to discuss about her outside that doc, so...maybe I can share the doc whenever and maybe let people send asks about the character and I can discuss more in detail stuff that wasn't mentioned

I'm probably gonna take a short break from playing bg3 since I still just want to think about the finale and I spent maybe 80 hours of gameplay on this one run (i say this one run because I have been playing a bit with my brother and friend)

afterwards I want to do a redeemed dark urge run. i might romance Astarion not because I see him in a romantic light, but because I really ship him with the durge thanks to all of the art I have seen

tldr; bg3 is amazing

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion ancunin #lae'zel #shadowheart #karlach #wyll ravengard #duke ravengard #gale dekarios #jaheira #minsc #boo bg3 #minsc and boo #mizora bg3 #mystra #ketheric thorm #orin the red #enver gortash #cazador #viconia devir #halsin #scratch bg3 #owl bear cub #raphael bg3 #bg3 tav #dark urge bg3 #long post #very long post #i wrote this instead of my essay draft that's due in less than a week

[z0urcherri]

Z0ur's 2023 Recap

Here goes with a personal first. To start, 2023 for me was transformative. I felt more confident, more focused, and doing the things i love has felt even easier. Less emphasis on working hard was the key. I'm very proud of this change. I'm also proud of my accomplishments. In no specific order, i've given my blog a structured queue, i've started up a Neocities, and have finally picked up projects that have sat dormant for years. Alzier is seeing character modeling and soundtrack work being done, and Burrowed Alive has a main cast and a plot synopsis ready. I'm sorry i promised a preview and then never got around to it, so i'll simply release it when the time's right. With all that out of the way, here's other cool things i did: In music This year (especially in comparison with 2022) i got serious about sharing my favorite tunes, some obscure and some more well-known. In particular were some ear-catching artist discoveries: The Twilights, Coral City, Russ Freeman. I dusted off acts like The Return, Janis Ian, Paolo Conte and Jimmy Wayne in hopes that listeners could make their own discoveries. Plenty of tunes were subject to hours and hours of replays-Nocturne, Juicy, and City Magic, for example, bring an irresistible feel-good vibe to any occasion. I also played the hell out of Charmless Man, In E, Concrete Blonde's Little Wing, Time Goes On and much much more. Seriously, it's an enormous list. Check out #hand-picked music for everything! In film Finding time to watch a movie can be a challenge, especially when you're busy. That challenge doubles when you're also planning around movie night with loved ones. It doesn't always work out. However, movies were watched, from classics to a select few new releases. Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, despite being released in 2022, took 'til this year to get around to and is easily among my top 5 flicks. Facing off with a dull and uninspired Five Nights movie, Willy's Wonderland was put to the test, which it passed with flying colors. And in the tradition of watching horror around Halloweentime, i chose the Final Destination series, somewhat to combat my own phobia of death. I'd seen the first one, but i have yet to finish the 2nd. I also got started on Venom and Transformers. Lastly, i gave Raggedy Ann & Andy a watch, and while i didn't hate it i ultimately have a couple bones to pick with it. I'll do a full review later. In streaming Less time spent dealing with technical issues is always a plus. It's allowed me to bring a new segment, live drawing, into the mix. #z0ur artz is where you can find not only finished pieces, but also a 3-minute timelapse of the drawing process! I'm also happy with the new chatbox, and plan to experiment with different graphics in the future. In Syphon Filter, i've just defeated the first boss, Anton Girduex. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy. I fear for the next boss fight already. In Tarzan, my biggest problems are falling out of a tree and missing out on collectibles. Corruptions have been steadily improving, and the results are no longer simply "pixel puke" and crashes. I've been diving into lots of corruption tutorials, so expect to see it pay off in the coming year. We'll also be starting some new playthroughs! In closing And, of course, i've met some incredible creators like @lucianinsanity, @razialart, @lace-arts, and more this year! Please, do check them out. I ultimately learn from and find inspiration in everything in the #hand-picked art tag. New fandoms include Amazing Digital Circus, Toontown Corporate Clash, Welcome Home, Emesis Blue, and others i can't think of right now. And that's about it! Be seeing you. - Malcolm

#me stuff

[dualityvn]

thank you nightmare for the delicious lore crumb i will now drive myself crazy over it for everyone's enjoyment

alright so, "the game isnt supposed to exist. you're supposed to forget it" right off the bat i have a pretty good idea of what i think the first part means, which ill get to, but ill be frank i have No clue what the second part is supposed to mean. maybe ill think of it as i work the first part out, maybe not, but going into this i am Clueless.

diving right into the first part then, as soon as i read it i was reminded of magic man, and how he interceded on our behalf to stop Keith from seeing an ask that would have upset him. when we questioned Keith and Tenebris about magic man later, we learned that he had approached and spoken to Keith the day we first meet him, after we had left the flower shop, and told him that we (the MC) would be someone who could love him. (i wanted to find the exact post so i could quote it but i cant find it so if im mis-rembering something let me know)

so, if we assume that magic man is in fact, magic, and somehow pulled some strings to get this "fated meeting" between the boys and the MC to happen, then i think that pretty solidly solves the question of why the game isn't supposed to exist.

because its not supposed to. we were never supposed to meet Keith and Tenebris, and they were never supposed to get attached to us, but it Has been created and they Did. but something that's not supposed to exist has to be created, which explains the existence of magic man.

what i still dont get is magic mans motives tho. if he is the one that made it possible for the game to exist, and for the boys and the MC to meet each other and fall in love, Why? why would he do that? what does he get out of it? what made him look at Keith and Tenebris and say "ill handle it"

is it because hes been in a similar situation? because he knows what its like to be deemed "unlovable" by those around him? we know from the one picture we have of him that he has some scarring on his face, what happened to him to cause that? does it have something to do with why he seemed to go out of his way to help both us and the boys?

magic man is such a fascinating character in this world primarily because we know nothing about him. we know that he is aware of us, and that he is aware of the power our words have on Keith and Tenebris. we know he gave advice to Keith that he wont tell us about, and that Tenebris doesn't know all the details either. and that's like,, it.

to be fair, i could be completely wrong here, all of this is counting on magic man being magic, and i honestly have no other leads if that's not the case.

i also still have no idea what "you're supposed to forget it." is supposed to mean. it could be related to a couple of things, like how in the game once you finish a playthrough, that's it for that particular version of the boys. they're done and move on, forever mourning the connection to you that they once had but will never have again. if you start a new playthrough, you are given a completely new set of them, who are exactly the same, but yet are not the same ones as before. (which, side note, is so cruel and heartbreaking to think about)

anyways, thank you nightmare once again for sharing with me i have been thinking about this nonstop since last night when i saw it and it has been eating my brain alive

Sorry for the wait, Cacti, I finally dug this out of my ask pile.

But you're right about the fact that "he" is involved. However, none of the motives you listed are right :P And unfortunately, you won't find out until a future game. But your efforts are appreciated!

#duality game #yandere #dating sim #visual novel

[auncyen]

Oboro's Letter

I'm typing this up for my own reference (I've seen some of the content referred to but not the actual text) but also CAN I JUST SAY I'M SO MAD. I ACTUALLY DID FIND THIS IN MY FIRST PLAYTHROUGH. BUT THE GAME WOULDN'T LET ME PICK IT UP FOR SOME REASON. I TRIED SO MANY TIMES AND EVENTUALLY I THOUGHT IT WAS AN ANIMATION FOR INCENSE OR SOMETHING THAT JUST STUPIDLY LOOKED LIKE AN ITEM. WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME PICK THIS UP, GAME THERE'S SO MUCH FOR OBORO HERE T_T

anyway the text is under the cut

My name is Oboro. I was born in U, a nation bled dry by its interminable war with Ku. Empty stomachs, spreading pestilence, and nights spent curled up against the chill were facts of life. Although the adults around me blamed my birth for my miserable lot, even in my tender years I knew the truth: Ku was to blame. That wretched nation who preyed upon the weak, bringing strife and death in its wake.

While the better part of my life was spent in suffering, my sister brought some small measure of joy to my existence. We were not bound by blood; I plucked her from the city streets and raised her as my own family. Now, some might think shouldering such a burden is folly, especially when I scarcely knew from where my next meal would come. However, I could tell that this child had a fire within her. Yes, when she spied the dagger I held in my hands, her cries ceased, and I knew. It was at that very moment when I decided we would make it through this life together. Oh, how naive I was then.

After four years of relative peace, Ku's forces fell upon the town we called home. If the tyrants were victorious, we would be killed or captured, forced to spend our lives in servitude. I resolved to kill King Jigo of Ku myself, that we might be spared such a fate. After donning the armor of a dead Ku soldier, I asked my sister to slash my body, and made my way to Jigo under the guise of being a wounded ally. While I slipped through Ku's ranks, my attempt on Jigo's life failed and I was captured. As his soldiers pinned me down, my mind grasped for a clever escape. It was then that Jigo asked, "Will you serve Ku by my side?"

An unexpected offer, to say the least, but one I did not hesitate to take. I turned my back on our home and joined hands with my sworn enemy. All so that my sister and I could live.

However, still we found no comfort. Ku's bloody conquest poured over one border after another, and the fires of war spread unabated. As the desert was stained a deep crimson, my heart became black as pitch. I recall on one particularly red day noticing a corpse turned toward me, its gaze piercing through lifeless eyes. I tried to look away, only to be met with a field of dead bodies upon the sand, each one leering at me intently.

Perhaps it was merely the work of a troubled imagination, but that is hardly the point. The act of living became something I could not comprehend. We steal, only to be stolen from, and then we die. This cycle repeats itself time and time again until at the end we find...what? I pondered the answer to this question and eventually reached my answer.

Life has no meaning, and living is a fool's errand. I was mistaken to look toward the dawn, for tomorrow is but a farce. A world so twisted ill deserves to see a new day. So, I will ensure that it never comes.

Such was the thought in the forefront of my mind as I wore the mask of dutiful subject. Day after day I played my role, until a man came to me bearing a grimoire and claiming it would pique my interest. The text within was said to stir the hearts of all who read it, but I was unmoved as I turned the final page, for I had come to realize the truths it laid bare on my own.

How many years has it been since then? At last, my plan is in motion, and a great battle looms on the horizon. This world will meet its end, and the light of dawn will be replaced with a choking darkness. For life has no meaning, and tomorrow is but a farce. Wouldn't you agree? No longer will we be forced to kill or be killed. No longer will we be forced to greet a dawn that only brings more suffering. The end is nigh.

#octopath traveler 2 #oboro

[oraclememehacker]

Game and Date Night

“Come on, come on…!” Futaba and Ren were during an exciting co-op playthrough of Pocky and Rocky on the super famicom. This game had been the bane of their existence ever since she had found it for relatively cheap. She had heard good things about it, and every time they played, they would get far it before the game really started to kick their ass. This time, however, they were on the top of their game. Enemies were going down like they were nothing, and soon they were at the 5th stage, the forbidden castle.

There were lots of cages strewn about, lots of enemies and barrels to destroy. At this point they were both down to their last lives but had full health and such. Neither of them was really saying much to each other, other than watching out for enemies and to avoid obstacles. Their full attention was on the game that was in front of them. And they were determined to beat it. Unfortunately, right before the boss, they died, and it was game over. What a frustrating way to end things, since Futaba had looked up that the next thing was the final boss.

A frustrated groan escaped Futaba as she laid down the controller and turned to Ren, who shared her frustrations by letting out a sigh, and was clearly gripping the controller a little more tightly than he perhaps should have been. “Don’t worry Ren, we’ll get it next time. At this rate I think we’ve seen most of the game. We would’ve won too if we hadn’t gotten sloppy during the 4th stage boss.” There wasn’t much that could be done now, and they were too deflated to want to retry.

She reached over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek to cheer him up. “Wehehehe, I think we did pretty well tonight don’t you say?” She grabbed one of her half full energy drinks and downed the rest of it. “Yeah, we did Futaba. Still just upset that we didn’t beat it tonight. Damn, I thought for sure we had it.” As he looked around, he realized they should probably clean up a bit. There were energy drink cans, soda cans and various bags of chips and stuff assorted around them. “…We should probably clean up a bit.”

That was when she realized just how messy they were. “Oh. Yeah, we probably should.” Futaba admitted with a sheepish chuckle as she watched Ren make his way downstairs to grab a trash bag. Then the two would get to work cleaning things up, putting everything in the bag to take out to the garbage later. As they were, Futaba couldn’t help but notice a slight upset look on Ren’s face. It was just a momentary thing that she would’ve missed normally, but Ren meant a lot to her. She loved him, so she was paying attention more to how he was feeling.

“Hey um, Ren? Is everything alright?” Futaba asked, putting the last of the trash into bags. He meant a lot to her after all and seeing him upset didn’t make her feel good at all. Maybe she was overthinking it but still. “Huh? U-Uh, of course I’m fine Futaba. Why do you ask.” He seemed confused, as everything was fine, at least, he thought so anyways. “I just saw that look on your face. It was like you turned from a smiley face emoticon to a frowny face one. Wanted to make sure you’re alright, is all!”

Oh. Normally he didn’t allow that to be seen, but Futaba was asking about it now, and he knew she wasn’t just going to Alet it be. “Just some thoughts, is all. It’s not a big deal really.” Hopefully that would be good enough for her. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. “You don’t have to lie to me Ren. We’re in a relationship. Just because I have trouble picking up on social cues doesn’t mean you can lie to my face like that! Please, you can tell me if something’s upsetting you.”

He sweat dropped hard at that. But she was right, he didn’t have any good reason to lie to her. It was just a reflexive thing from the days of his parents always bugging him, and then when he would tell them what was going on, just telling him to suck it up, or that he was overreacting, or that he was being a drama queen. Plus, with him being seen as a delinquent and a troublemaker, he really learned to keep his head low and to lie to avoid any issues.

“Okay okay, sorry Futaba. I’m not intentionally trying to hide things I swear. I just didn’t think it was a big deal, that was all.” There was an intense aura coming off Futaba still that just made him close his eyes. “It’s just, and it’s not really something I’ve told anyone but, I’m still dealing with the aftereffects of that interrogation.” Hearing that made the intensity fade away quickly, having a more concerned look. “What sort of effects are we talking about? Like a permanent status effect?”

That elicited a small chuckle from Ren. “Something like that. I’ve been dealing with migraines since then. I’m thankful to not deal with any today but they’ve been prevalent. Plus, there’s this spot in my chest that’s always been hurting. I think it’s from where they kicked me. There’s a large chunk of my memory that’s lost from then as well. Just a lot to deal with is all.” Immediately he was hugged softly, avoiding the spot the best she could.

“I’m so sorry Ren…we all knew that it was going to be risky. We just never expected them to drug you.” Hearing what he was dealing with deeply upset her, making her feel responsible for what he had gone through she was instrumental in saving him with the app activator. He returned the hug, giving her a few head pats of appreciation. “I didn’t expect it either, to be fair, heh. But don’t blame yourself. You saved me after all. If you hadn’t made that app activator, I’d be…I don’t want to think about it.”

Plus, there was a few visions that he was having where he saw himself laying on the table in a pool of blood. It must have been from his cognitive self. That was terrifying to say the least, but he wasn’t ready to confront that sort of thing just yet. So, for the time being he would keep that in his back pocket and just continue to give Futaba some head pats as she was sniffling into him, clearly still upset, and blaming herself for him being so hurt constantly.

“Just remember Futaba, I went along with the plan. We all did. We knew the risk.” He lifted her head up by moving his hand down to her chin, making her look at him. He then would lean down and softly kiss her lips, enjoying the softness of them as he held the kiss for a bit. He loved this adorkable nerd so much. She made his life worth living despite everything that he went through, and he wanted to make sure she knew of that.

There was bit of delay on Futaba’s end as she had been taken by surprise by this, but she returned the kiss in kind and the two were in a nice little embrace as they kissed for a bit, before he pulled his lips away. “So don’t blame yourself anymore, alright?” Futaba was incapable of saying anything and merely just nodded. He then wiped the tears that were in the corners of her eyes and gave her a few more headpats.

Then he realized: they had never taken the trash out. “Oh yeah, before we cuddle, I’ll take the trash out.” Pulling himself away from her, he took the trash down and quickly disposed of it in the dumpster in the alley way before heading back to his room. Futaba was in a much better mood now that she had been persuaded not to take his problems as her fault. He merely motioned for her to follow him to the bed and she would happily do so, after taking her glasses and headphones off.

The two would lay down on his milk carton bed and wrap their arms around each other, Futaba situated where she could nuzzle into his chest. Ren could feel his heartbeat just a little bit faster, because whenever they cuddled and enjoyed time with each other in this manner, it made a swelling of emotions come up to the back of his throat. He could only imagine how she must have felt in this situation, since she was a massive cuddler.

Futaba just found herself being comfortable and love stricken. To her, Ren was the most important person in her life. He was her key item, and she wasn’t going to lose him no matter what. That’s how she felt, and she nuzzled into his chest some more, thoroughly enjoying herself. “Mmm…you’re soft tonight, Ren. And smell good as well, surprisingly. Oh right, you went to the hot springs before this, you told me that.”

He thought maybe the intense gaming session would make him stink a little bit, but that didn’t seem to be the case. She patted her head some more, whilst rubbing her back, fingers swirling around in a soft circle to make her feel more relaxed. His chest softly rose and fell with each breath, and there was a healthy silence, the only sounds being from the two of them talking to each other, and the outdoor noises making their way in through the small opening in the window.

She would move her hands up and down the curvature of his spine, making sure he was nice and relaxed as well. The two were happy and in love, and there wasn’t much more that needed to be said. “Um…Ren? Thanks for everything…I-I love you…more than anything. You’re my key item. I never want to lose you.” As corny as it was, he really appreciated hearing that. “I love you too Futaba. Don’t worry, I’m not planning on going anywhere…well, until my probation is over.”

Oh right, that was the fly in the ointment. She didn’t want him to go, but his parents were probably going to want him back once that was over with, which was coming closer and closer every day. “Don’t worry though Futaba. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m going to see if I can’t strike a deal with my parents to stay here, because frankly I don’t really have anything to go home to. My parents don’t really care about me, and cared even less when I was charged with a crime.”

Hopefully that was the case, because him not being here was going to devastate her. “I hope so…I don’t want you gone. Not yet.” Futaba kept rubbing his back, sounding a little upset and frustrated at that. “I’ll fight with all my might. Just like fighting a major boss in an rpg.” Now he was talking her language. For now, the two would just continue to cuddle up against each other, but he would find that Futaba ended up falling asleep. Woops. Well, she wasn’t going anywhere tonight.

And neither was he. It was a great Game and Date night, and he managed to get some stuff off his chest that had been bothering him since the Interrogation room incident. Though, he still had more stuff to deal with. That was going to be a whole can of worms, something that he was probably going to need a therapist for. He gave her a few more headpats before just falling asleep alongside her. Sojiro was going to have a lot of questions in the morning, and same with Morgana. Oh well…

#Hacking and Memes (Futaba Sakura Musing) #The Oracle Navi (Futaba Sakura IC) #Short Stories (Drabbles) #A Hacker Strikes at any Time (Persona 5/Strikers) #A Hermit and a Fool (Rentaba) #long post #blood tw #death tw #I love the ship #haters gonna hate :3

[shadowshrike]

If anyone's been wondering where I've been, the answer is playing Baldur's Gate 3. Vague spoilers ahead for those interested in how my playthroughs went:

I just finished my second run. The first was a 'normal' run, as I would likely play at a table, with a Druid Tav being as good and moral as possible and doing no romances. My second was a power-hungry/manipulative Bard Tav where I ascended Astarion, kept Shadowheart with Shar, made Lae'zel leader of her people and indebted to me, and became the new dark lord's consort who gets anything I ask for and has Halsin as a nomadic FWB that I encouraged at every turn to hate the evils of civilization (since we'd be making ourselves rulers of it to 'punish the wicked' in a shadow tyrant sort of way).

Honestly, having done both, I enjoyed the evil path more. I played evil as not muderhobo or horny, but instead as telling people what they wanted or needed to hear to make them love me and forgive me anything. It took surprisingly little save scumming. I eventually got their approval high enough that I could do whatever I wanted in end game and they would still adore me. Heck, after I ascended Astarion with Halsin in the party, Halsin approached me the next possible night to be part of our thing. I was surprised that the majority of the choices felt evil but not 'bad', and that by the end it seemed like a satisfying, true to character ending for everyone because I had mostly not interfered with their will except where necessary for my own power (e.g. making choices for Wyll to make sure he'll be out of my way when I conquer Baldur's Gate one day, and removing the aasimar/harpers from play while still uncursing the shadow lands with Thaniel and saving the druids so the wilds are friendly to me).

To my surprise, even though I always play good characters as a default, I particularly enjoyed both Shadowheart and Astarion so much more after their evil choices. In Astarion's case in particular, I was nervous going in that I wouldn't be able to do it, but after I met the first Gur I was able to piece together a hc for who he was before he was turned (basically a racist, self-serving noble who's always looking for power and a way out of consequences for his actions) that made him both easier to manipulate and the whole thing of encouraging him to embrace power so satisfying. It put the few heart-to-hearts I got in a different light, since even the more sincere lines came across as him trying new ways to manipulate me when he briefly thought I was a bleeding heart...which I turned right back on him until we were openly scheming together to solve his problems. A match made in liar's heaven. Add in the timing of Ascension in my game, it really felt like a 'good for him, bad for the world' ending in my playthrough, which is exactly what I was going for.

Meanwhile the blind 'good' playthrough was only satisfying as far as being allowed to do good. I didn't really expect any of that good to be lasting - heck it barely lasts between acts - and the fact that any companions who changed did it only for me (note: Shadowheart left in this run) left a sour taste in my mouth because I expect them to revert or get even worse as soon as I'm out of the picture. It also felt more sad in tone since I had done as much as I could and still lost so much (I failed to find the House of Hope, so it was particularly bad) while the evil ending had me smiling the whole way through since I sacrificed pretty much nothing/no one I didn't want to and it felt like it could lead directly into a super fun evil campaign of reshaping Baldur's Gate and the surrounding wilds afterwards.

In conclusion, very very fun game that I will likely keep playing with friends, though I may gently help them find a few of the critical encounters to make sure they get the ending they'd be happiest with. I honestly have almost no narrative complaints other than the final choice before the end, which is not just unpleasant (sign me up for "You can't get everything you want without sacrifice" stories any day) but also nonsensical given the character motivations we know. Otherwise, my advice to gamers, especially if they want to do a playthrough where they try to shove aside the player-sexual implementation, sex scenes, and characters-bend-to-player-morality systems in game so it feels more like playing at a table with other "real" people, is to ignore all of social media and just have fun. There are no bad choices, just ones that some people (loudly) find more personally satisfying than others, especially when they assume the game is being played as a romance sim. Your experience in game and therefore your characters and goals will not completely match anyone else's.

Finally, if anyone wants a little character analysis from my non-murderhobo/non-sex-focused evil playthrough (since those seem to be rare atm), please comment or send me an ask. I'm happy to talk about it more!

#baldur's gate 3 #op talks

[elvenbeard]

Not me absolutely bingeing through the last 40 hours of Cyberpunk 2077 over the last 3 days, nope. I was actually shaking before starting the final questline, because there were so many FEARS about what might happen at the end (probably as much as V was shaking himself :’D)

All I knew was, there are several endings, some are better, some are worse, but zero specifics. In some regards, what I imagined, was a lot worse, in others it was exactly what I imagined, in other bits it was a lot worse than I expected but in a bittersweet kind of way?

I’m not 100% happy with the ending I got, but mainly due to a lack of hyper-specific dialogue choices I would have wished for during the ideal ending in my head XD But for my V I think it was the best outcome and also fitted him and his choices. So yay! My heart was a little bit cracked, but not ripped out in the way other games have done it with their endings (*side-eyes Mass Effect 3*), because I feel like my choices did matter overall.

MASSIVE Spoilers under the cut, so if you haven’t completed the game yourself, do not read!!!

I got the Sun ending! V lives, somewhat, yay xD

One of my biggest fears and worst case scenarios I was imagining was in relation to Jackie actually. I had the outcome that Arasaka took his body after the Coup (will do that differently next time though, now that I know of the alternatives... yes I read up so much stuff on the wiki tonight after finishing, finally xDD). So when Takemura tells you this, Arasaka took his body, probably put him through Soulkiller, etc. my immediate thought was “holy shit, please don’t let him show up in some evil twisted way during the ending just to have me suffer” (but also, that would have been so good XD). Didn’t happen though, thankfully xD

I was on quite good terms with Johnny actually, which I did not expect to be at all, see also my previous rants on the topic XD Letting him take the wheel scared me probably just as much as V, and his “just talking to Rogue about Adam Smasher” night of escapades didn’t really help ease that anxiety xD I’m not sure if I had high enough friendship for the secret ending, but I will reload my save to try (but will not attempt that ending til my next playthrough, bc admittedly, my V isn’t built for a suicide mission xD)

What made me the saddest about the Sun ending really is that V isn’t really that present or happy (for obvious reasons, of, you know, STILL impeding death), and that his relationship is suffering under it. But I like to imagine, given the slight open-endedness of that ending (ha), if someone can pull that final mission off, it’s V, and that Mr B. will be able to help him, and he’ll get some well deserved rest and happily ever after. Already wrote a whole fic in my head lying up wide awake in bed for three hours XD What I probably loved the most about the Sun ending is V’s penthouse XD It’s weird, I know, but I often started or ended my gaming sessions in his flat looking out of the window. So everytime I booted up the game I look out and see that nice lush garden and cool architecture across the street and think “man, whoever lives there has made it, wonder if I can go there myself at some point later”. Yes, I can!! It made me cry out loud once I figured out where that penthouse was xD Also, what kind of made the ending for me a lot, in terms of, “what fits my character best” was the ride in the AV to the Afterlife mirroring my corpo V’s ride in the AV to Lizzie’s in the very beginning super well (I have zero clues about the Streetkid and Nomad prologues - no spoilers in the comments please! - but maybe there’s a scene like that in those, too). But yes, the circle of life and all, you know *strums guitar*.

I didn’t expect Johnny to grow on me as much as he did during that last stretch of the game, and him having to go for V to get a final chance at living did make me really sad. I still don’t think I’d be able to go down the alternative route where he is the one to walk out of the tower. Waaay too attached to V by now, sorry Johnny xD But you’ll never be forgotten, and I mean in a way legends never die. And maybe it’s not the last Night City ever saw or heard of him.

What else... the other main story characters! I think what annoyed me a little bit was that sliiiight railroading into Panam’s romance, when you’re just wanting to be nice. I enjoy her as a character a lot, because she’s loud and unapologetic, but also has a really sweet and soft side about her. I like the Aldecaldos very much, too. But when I notice I’m being railroaded it’s a hard pass for me, sorry xD

Then Judy... Judy is love, Judy is life. Her final quest was one of my favourites, and the one apart from the ending the quest that made me cry the most, probably. I love that she stays in contact with a befriended V even after leaving the city. The little updates, how happy she is now that she left the city behind, are really really lovely. Also, I love her texting style XD *types one line then hits send, rinse and repeat* - because I tend to do that too. Also, from the moment she mentions she goes diving I wished she’d take V along at some point - so when she calls about it I again screamed irl about it XD Oh, Judy... I have a female V in my head for you, but no idea when I’ll get to play her XD

I would have wished for something similar with River, him keeping in touch a bit more, because I loved his (messed up) storyline a lot, and I would have loved a few more interactions afterwards! I think I need to space it out more next time to have more of him xD

Then Kerry, another heavy case of “is love, is life” omg. His questline was the perfect mix of feels and fun like *chef’s kiss*. Same with River kind of, I wish there had been even more quests with him, but since you only meet him very late in the game it still felt like you had a chance to get to know him better with not too much else going on simultaneously. And him being more involved in the main story than River, too! For his final quest, the beginning of the boat tour was one of the best scenes in the game for me, like oof... Got me really really emotional actually. And then... CARNAGE!! I loved it, love Kerry, 100000/10.

Then Takemura... man, you know, it’s a crime he’s not a romance option, but in hindsight, knowing his possible fates now, I think that might have actually killed me. I’m tempted to go down the Arasaka ending route just once for the sole reason to get more Takemura time really. Fuck everyone else on that path with a corkscrew XD But yes, A+++ character design with him, complex, layered, relatable (esp. for my Corpo V), foodie, but also absolutely blind when it comes to his loyalties and honor. All with good reasons, but aaahhh... let me fix him!! Let me change him!! XDD  Also he had the best first appearance of any of the main story characters imo! Epic badass.

But yes... what a fucking blast that was. Can’t wait for a replay with some slightly better choices here and there, trying the other lifepath quests, trying some different endings maybe, and skilling my V better XD There’s so many options to skill them, it’s insane, but knowing my fighting style (or not fighting - stealth ftw!)  much better now and what the max level roughly is I think I can make more informed choices. Really looking forward to a replay - also with a lot less anxiety now, and a little bit of faith in complex, bittersweet endings finally restored XD

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk 2077 spoilers #my v #elven plays cyberpunk 2077 #that got long #but I had to get my thoughts out somewhere xD #go play this game if you haven't #it will tear your heart out in the best way possible #promise #vincent ezaki

[manonamora-if-reviews]

Someone Else's Story by E. Joyce

============= Links

Play the game See other reviews of the game See other games by E. Joyce

============= Synopsis

Naples, 1973. The local Camorra are embroiled in a struggle against Russian mobsters trying to horn in on their territory. The boss thinks Katya Goncharova knows something, and Sofia has been ordered to find out what it is. But does she want to?

============= Other Info

Someone Else's Story is a Twine (SugarCube) game submitted to the Goncharov Game Jam.

Status: Completed Genre: Unreality, Goncharov

CW: unreality, implied organised crime

============= Playthrough

First Played: Dec 2022 Last Played: 1-Sept-2023 Playtime: around 30min Rating: 4 /5 Thoughts: How good of a honeypot will you be?

============= Review

Told from the point-of-view of Sofia, Someone Else's Story takes a look at the start of the relationship between two side characters: Sofia and Katya, two women linked to big characters whose actions will drive the "story"'s plot. Spanning a conversation, you were tasked to extract information from the lovely newcomer. Will you managed without her noticing?

Spoilers ahead. It is recommended to play the game first. The review is based on my understanding/reading of the story.

Someone Else's Story is a fairly short game mixing choices, to drive the conversation forward, and hypertext*, to provide additional contextual information to the scene or about Sofia's state of mind. Each choice provide variation in the next screen, with some even adding an option to the choice-list. The combination of all choices made throughout the game will determine how the conversation between you and Katya ends.

To get information from Katya, you must ask the right questions, in the correct manner. Though you have multiple choice available to you, from flirty to pushy, the type of questions asked may tick Katya that something is up, or may just confuse her. She will comment on the matter, before ending the conversation and leaving for the night. You do not learn, however, whether how successful you were at your task. Though, as Katya warns, when one is this expendable, does it truly matter? (kinda yes... i always want to know how well i did.)

The game raises an interesting point, hinted by its title. Though you are the main character of this game, this short story, Katya may tell you that you are just a pawn in someone else's story. You may drive the plot in this beat, but someone - your boss - is pushing you to this point in time, requesting things from you to further his story. You may down the line have a relationship with Katya (not in-game), but it will still be framed around other more important players - your struggles being a continuation of theirs.

Still, the illusion of agency still hods, even after replays. You may not be a major player, but the game makes you feel like your actions actually matter in this story, that they actually may change the course of the night. Even if, ultimately, it won't - Katya will always try to change the subject, or look at her watch, signalling the end of the conversation. Your efforts don't feel in vain.

While the game will mention a few important characters to the main lore or themes, the strongest one emanating from this entry is the concept of time. You are limited in time to find information for your boss about Goncharov before he potentially makes a move, to extract information from Katya during the party, before time inevitably cuts your effort short - when the watch strikes "twelve". But there is maybe a more ominous limitation from Katya's final remark: the time left before you will get hurt (if you continue snooping, that is).

*Another entry in the game jam, Vespertine, used a similar interactive element, though more abundantly.

#Someone Else's Story #E. Joyce #interactive fiction #complete #2022 #twine game #goncharov #unreality #mafia

[papabirdurskeks]

Besides souls games, are there other games you absolutely love and take inspiration from? _(._.)_

Oh boy, there are so many games I enjoy and love for many reasons and take inspiration from!

Of course, many of the Souls games take this title to pushing me into enjoying my current little state of world building, but I can't give them all the credit for this!

A good chunk of this actually goes to one of my favorite games since childhood and that game is Tak and the Power of Juju! I used to love playing this game as a kid all the time back when I lived in Germany! I still do in fact enjoy it very much! Its sequel was alright and still just as fun, but its final game Tak and the Great Juju Challenge was definitely a great way to end the series on a good note (I do not count the last game added after because it sucked xD)! The Tak series definitely started me off in going into the realm of story and world building!

Another game I take a lot of inspiration from as well as enjoyment is Skyrim! My first Elder Scrolls game, of course, but definitely a fun one with so much lore and things to do! The world and story building sets itself up perfectly and I just LOVE going through each of my characters profiles to envision their stories come to life and the impacts and interactions they make. Oh gosh do I love it!

Next after comes to both Red Dead Redemption games! I admit, I am a huge sucker for Wild West settings and stories and these games got them both! Recently watching playthroughs and playing myself have got me inspired to make a new story with my bestie as well as revive some old stories I had set in these types of settings!

Of course, I can't go without adding the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise to this list because that would be wrong of me to do xD But yes, FNAF has both made its list as something I love and get inspiration from because its so all over the place and open for many kinds of interpretations that the story telling is endless for it go!

Legend of Zelda, especially Twilight Princess, holds a very special place in my heart as well for the same reasons as the others listed! These games are just gorgeous to look at and provide so much to go for! I can gush all day as to why I love this series and Twilight Princess especially!

As for fun games, here are a few to list!

Super Smash Bros for the Nintendo 64! Fucking love this game and I wish I still had a copy and that my N64 worked well as it did before it gave up a few years ago. I can play hours fighting every computer and opponent alike like a champ!

Second after is the old Sonic games on the Sega! I played these games for hours on end as a kid and I can recount all the good memories I've had playing this game alone or with my baby brother! <3 I still love these games to death and when Sonic Mania came out, you bet your soul I went right for this game the same way I did as a kid!

Third goes to the original Star Wars Battle Front for the PS2, another game in which I would spend hours playing without getting bored or tired! Anytime I play this game I play on the hardest mode possible because I just LOVE the challenge it gives and the whole feel of being the battle of it all! None of the other Battlefront games really captured that fun and enjoyment I had with the first game. I do hope that one day, the original will make a come back on the PS4 Network to play in full again! I love this game!

Another goes right for Simpsons Hit and Run and Road Rage for the PS2! Play these games and you will know just why and how fun they are! I love these games and I will tell you like the others, I have played hours with these games nonstop and loved every moment of it!

And I can't forget the Saints Row franchise as well (minus the Gat Goes to Hell game). This game and the progression is went through is just a fuck ton of fun! The stories are fun and to be able to just unleash chaos while being a total boss is absolute fun!

I also will add Pokemon, Digimon, and Mad Max too as some of the most fun games I’ve played and loved too! 

I have so many other games I love and enjoy but to list them all is just gonna take forever x') STILL-

I love games and playing these ones especially! <3

#matla answers #nondoodle replies

[bmaxwell]

Top 10 Games of 2022

2022 was a hell of a good year for games. I had a hard time whittling my list down to just 10 games. It was a particularly good year for strategy RPG’s and wordy-talky games. Much to my surprise, I spent more time on my Nintendo Switch this year than anything, mostly thanks to finally taking the plunge on Xenoblade Chronicles. 

Xbox Game Pass continues to be a great value, and I played several games on it I would have otherwise missed. Many people bemoan the lack of AAA first party releases on Game Pass (which is fair), but that’s not me. Signalis, Power Wash Simulator, Citizen Sleeper, Beacon Pines, Shredder’s Revenge, and NORCO were all Game Pass titles for me. I can’t complain. 

On the flip side, I’ve become more wary of Early Access gaming - mostly because I tend to play a lot in early access, then when the game reaches its 1.0 release I sometimes have a “Been there, done that” feeling toward it. 

It was also a very down year for PlayStation. I played The Quarry there, and Valkyrie Elysium. I know Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy 7 Reunited or Rehydrated or whatever the second one is called - I know those games are coming. For now though, it’s a little bare. Their reworking of PlayStation Plus ended up confusing and underwhelming as well. Better times are ahead. 

On to the games!

10. NORCO

Norco tells the story of a young woman returning to her hometown of Norco, Louisiana after her mother’s death. It’s a pixel art, point and click adventure game about...well at its heart it is about solving a mystery, but it’s about a lot of things. It’s about terminal illness. It’s about capitalism and the communities of people who fall through the cracks. It’s about strange lights in the Louisiana bayou, prophets, and powerful otherworldly beings. It’s about family trauma and forgiveness. It’s about eating a bad hotdog and desperately shitting inside a limousine. 

Norco is bizarre, clever, touching, funny, desperate, and brilliant. And greater than the sum of its parts.  

9. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

This game was a long shot for me. I don’t like the look of it at all, the cardplay is too simple to be of interest, and it’s a story about living in space. I don’t remember who recommended it to me, but I’m glad they did because the writing is wonderful. You play as a child in a colony on a newly settled planet, with the story taking place from the ages of 10-20 years old. You pass time by doing activities such as attending classes, helping out in the daycare area, working in the geoponics center, training for the defense force, or working as a lookout. 

These will often have associated events that are resolved with a simple card game, and major life events grant you more cards. In my first play, my character was great with biology and animal knowledge, and fell in love with the girl working in the biology lab. Long story very short, I ended up inadvertently playing a role in the development and deployment of fungal contagion that wiped out most life on the planet. Whoopsie. 

A second playthrough gives you some chances to intervene on events you remember from the first game, a la Groundhog Day. The writing is smart and thoughtful, and the game has stayed with me in the weeks since completing it. 

8. The Quarry

A few years back my wife, firstborn child, and I enjoy playing “Choices Matter” games together. We’ve gone through Detroit: Become Human, Life is Strange: True Colors, and Little Hope as couch coop experiences. We started Until Dawn a few years ago, but it was a little too much “horny teens” for firstborn to play with his parents at the time. Now he’s older and that stuff is a lot less awkward for us, so when The Quarry came around, I picked it up. 

And we had a freaking blast with it. We were responsible for a few characters each. The story revolves around a group of camp counselors staying over for one last night after the kids are gone at the end of summer. Bad shit starts happening of course, and you’re left to figure out what exactly is happening and why, and what to do about it. Oh, and also don’t die. It’s a fail forward game (which I love) so when something bad happens, the story keeps going rather than presenting you with a Game Over screen. 

The story is good campy fun, the mystery was satisfying, and voicework and visuals are great. Seeing how the other players respond to situations is always fun. We were doing great until the last chapter where we lost a few of our campers, but we still found the wrap-up satisfying. 

7. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope

2017′s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was a near miss, but full of promise. Sparks of Hope delivers on that promise, building on the previous game in meaningful ways. The word I keep coming back to with Sparks of Hope is Freedom. You have a team of Marios and Rabbids, but they all level up at the same rate so there’s no worry about your least favorite characters falling behind. As you gain levels you can assign points in unlocking and powering up new abilities. Those points can be refunded and redistributed without penalty. You discover little Rabbid star people called Sparks along the way, and each character in your team can be assigned two of these - they grant elemental powers, extra dash attacks, invisibility, and lots of other stuff. This gives your characters strong customizability in ways that felt game-breaking at times, but was fun as hell. 

My Rabbid Mario was an unholy terror who could lure enemies to him and wipe most of them out in a single strong attack. He was also the best character in the game, thanks to voice acting that made me laugh a few times. Rabbid Rosalina with her strong disinterest in everything happening around her was fun too. In fact, the Rabbid characters generally felt more interesting and entertaining than the Mario ones. Except for Edge. Edge is basically “What if Cloud Strife was a Rabbid?” - just unlikable and lame as hell. Were the devs in on the joke or am I supposed to think she’s cool? I’m still not sure.

Going back to freedom in the design, the combat got a major overhaul from the first game too - specifically, your characters can move anywhere within their range as much as they want until they’ve taken their 2 actions. You can also freely swap between your characters until your turn is over. This lets you cook up strategies and change your mind on the fly if something isn’t going to work out. This means there are always several ways to attack a given situation, and the way things play out is often dumb and great. Huge chain reactions of explosions taking out bunches of baddies, or popping enemies up in the air so Mario and Luigi can snipe them were some of the favorite moments in the game. I couldn’t ask for anything better out of a game with Rabbids in it.

6. Tactics Ogre Reborn

Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite games ever made. I’ve never played its predecessor Tactics Ogre in any form though. Reborn is an update of the 2010 PSP title Tactics Ogre Let Us Cling Together, which itself is an update of the original Tactics Ogre game from 1995. As a fan of FFT, I can immediately see the lineage with that game. The tone and music feel immediately familiar, as do the themes of war and the common folk caught in it. Reborn deals in shades of grey more than FFT does, and I frequently found myself pitted against people who did not feel villainous. 

Also unlike FFT, there are some story choices to be made in Tactic Ogre Reborn, and these choices will affect major parts of the narrative. The game’s design does show its age (being nearly 30 years old at this point). For example, I hope you like navigating menus and checking everyone’s equipment and abilities. A lot. Like, a LOT. The whole thing crumbles if the battle doesn’t hold, and thankfully it still feels great. The difficulty hit a sweet spot for me where I often found myself just scraping by, pulling out a win after it felt like hope was lost. 

I found myself doing Just One More Battle several times with this game, a testament to how fun the combat is. I miss the deep class customization of FFT, but my roster here was varied enough that it never bothered me.  As I’ve been working on this list, every time I see Tactics Ogre Reborn at number 6, my gut reaction is “What? That’s too fucking low!” then I stare at the games above it and think “Yeah no, it’s six. I’ll be damned.” I have no doubt that if I’d played this game in its day in the late nineties, it would be one of my favorite games ever made. 

Six is too low. 

5. Citizen Sleeper  

Sometimes, a game is appealing to me but asks me to put some effort into learning it. Depending on the game and my headspace that day, I might just say “fuck it” and put it down. I almost did that with Citizen Sleeper. The gameplay is, at its core, an action drafting game where dice determine your available options. In my boardgaming days, I’d be all about it. I didn’t sign up for that though, this was a videogame that was asking me to learn this system before being really bought into any of it.

But I’m a big brave dog, so I pushed through and learned it (it’s really not so bad). My reward was a special game, one that will stay with me for a very long time. Citizen Sleeper places you in the role of an android, a synthetic life form whose consciousness was copied from a human. A corporation pays the human for this, they get a worker (you), and the human gets a sum of money. You are property, a thing with no rights of any kind. If you try to run, you’ll soon cease to function without regular injections of a drug (produced only by the corporation who owns you). 

In Citizen Sleeper you are an escapee, a stowaway trying to figure out how to survive on a space station. You need shelter, you need work, you need your injections, and there’s a bounty on your head. As your health deteriorates, you have fewer dice available to you (and thus can perform fewer tasks in a given day). If your dice rolls are lower, you may not be able to perform some tasks very well (low rolls aren’t always bad though). The mechanical parts of the game are there to service the story and writing, which are fantastic

The game mirrors being an outcast with a chronic illness very, very well. You need your meds to survive, so you need to earn money but some days it’s very difficult or impossible to make that happen. Some folks might help, some might not care, some may try to take advantage of you. Without going into too much detail, the game world offered hope in the form of community (in my playthrough anyway). When the systems in place fail us, we must rely on each other. 

I fully plan on playing the game again after they’re done updating it. Citizen Sleeper was another game from this year that is going to stay with me.

4. Triangle Strategy

I’ve played a LOT of strategy RPG’s since Final Fantasy Tactics, always chasing the dragon. Not many scratch that itch but, despite the stupid name, Triangle Strategy is the best SRPG I’ve played since FFT. My only real complaint with the game is how slowly it starts. They really front load the first couple of hours with exposition dumps, doling out a story of a war torn nation and kingdoms competing for resources before you’re invested in anything. I can’t blame anyone who bounces off early. And initially I was disappointed by the lack of deep customization options with your characters.

But the more I played, the less that bothered me. My characters felt distinct from one another, and even the oddball classes were genuinely useful - something I can’t say for FFT. By the end, my A-team had a juggler, a builder, and mathematician on it. The combat here is tight, and the difficulty once again hit a sweet spot for me. I could get through most combats on the first try, and the game gives XP in losses so it always felt like some progress was made even in defeat. I enjoyed the combat enough that I did all of the optional training battles. 

The more I played the game, the more I got invested in the story. The game gives you these decision points where you talk to your team and decide how best to proceed. You can try to sway people one way or the other, but you need to have talked to some people between battles and be able to make a convincing argument. The game tracks morality and other metrics in the background, and some characters will only be recruitable under certain conditions. There are multiple endings as well, and this is another game I plan on playing through again to see what I’ve missed (though my canonical ending is #TeamFrederica).

3. Marvel’s Midnight Suns 

Well, I didn’t count on this. I wasn’t sold on the game until I heard an interview with developer Jake Solomon. I’m not especially a fan of comics or superheroes, but I loved his passion for the source material. And I’m a strategy RPG guy (though XCOM has always been a miss for me). A couple of weeks ago I was seriously considering this for my game of the year and pondering my own possible recency bias. 

Midnight Suns is not my game of the year, but goddammit I was absolutely hooked on this game from start to finish in the “I wonder if I can squeeze a mission in before I have to leave for work” way. The best comparison I have for this game’s design is Fire Emblem Three Houses. That is, you go out on missions that are decided by turn-based combat, then you come back to your home base where you run around talking to your teammates, building relationships and doing some light crafting and collecting. I enjoyed it here enough that it made me retroactively like Three Houses a little less.

It has the Hades “problem” where I love both the combat and the exploration/talky bits so much that there’s no natural stopping point for me. I’m excited to do the next mission and, when that’s done, I’m excited to explore the abbey and talk to people and do my upgrades. It’s another “I was going to take a break 3 hours ago” game for me. And as someone with no real knowledge or expectation of these superheroes, I enjoyed the writing and ended up liking all of them in their own way by the end. Even the protagonist - a wholly new superhero made for the game - felt like more than just a blank slate. Each hero feels distinct in battle, with just enough customization to tweak their playstyles to your liking, but not so much that it’s overwhelming. 

They struck a great balance with the game. For the second year in a row a Marvel game is one of the very best releases of the year. You win, universe. 

2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3  

More than anything, 2022 was the year of Xenoblade Chronicles for me. I played the first one for the first time and loved it, immediately bought the second and loved it more, and bought Xenoblade Chronicles 3 at release. It somehow managed to be even better than its predecessors, and one of the best games I've ever played. 

It does the best version of the things I want from a JRPG. The combat system is complex and satisfying. There’s a class system where you’re unlocking new classes and swapping between them as you wish. The story is heartfelt and serious, but not afraid to lighten things up in the downtime. You get a ragtag cast of characters who start off as enemies and over time grow to tolerate each other and eventually form unbreakable bonds. They band together to overcome impossible odds with the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP.

Each member of the team has to deal with their own personal baggage and trauma, and each grows as a character over the course of the story. The world is oppressive and heavy, and I fell in love with my misfit crew by the end of the Xenoblade Chronicles 3′s ~100 hour runtime. The ending lived up to the rest of the game (which does not always happen). Also, Sena is best girl and additionally she is the girl with the gall. 

1. Elden Ring  

What can I say about Elden Ring?

Despite many attempts, it’s the first FromSoft Game that landed for me. The easiest thing I can point to is the open world design of the game. Where previous soulsborne games would funnel the player into a handful of narrow paths, Elden Ring’s world is VAST. Seriously. It inspired a sense of awe in me that I don’t often feel. I knew the game world was big, but it just kept going. Going underground and learning that there’s a whole additional map was jaw-dropping for me. 

FromSoft somehow managed to make the world feel massive and vast, but still chock full of secrets that feel organic and satisfying. Several times during my playthrough, I’d see something cool off in the distance and think “Oh, I’ll pop over there and check that out!” only to find that the cool thing was a LOT further away than I initially thought. I’ve played games where it feels like the developers sprinkled a handful of icons over the map in the name of padding out the game’s play time (looking at you, Ubisoft). That’s not the case here. There is weird, cool shit to find everywhere, and it never feels cluttered or forced. Even when the reward was a piece of gear that my character was unable to use, I never felt like my time was wasted. 

While the graphical fidelity might not be on the level of games like Horizon Forbidden West, the art design is breathtaking. So much of Elden Ring inspires curiosity and exploration; I went deep underground and there’s a starry sky down there!? The world’s towering golden trees act as beacons in the game’s otherwise harrowing, crumbling world. There is a melancholy beauty to this game that really struck a chord with me. 

The game’s combat is fantastic as expected, and the ability to fuck off to somewhere else whenever I was frustrated with a boss or a location is what allowed a schlub like me to enjoy and finish the game. For a couple of months my buddies and I were consumed by Elden Ring, swapping screenshots and stories and lore findings. It feels like the game of the generation to me and, as great as many other releases were this year, I just couldn’t not name Elden Ring my game of the year.