🧚♀️ elf.maid (Discord)
🧚♀️ 6842-5633-7797 (Switch).
🧚♀️ 764659094 (Genshin UID)
hi hi, my name is myskia (theorised to mean 'bat' in Old Swedish - it is found on a runestone, other meanings may also include 'to darken', 'twilight', 'gloom' and 'dusk').
interests; majorly interested in all things to do thats whimsical, fantasy + gothic themes, supernatural creatures + morbid themes etc, all fascinate me + 99% of things i like includes one of those things 😭
👾 gaming - skyrim, stardew valley, hogwarts legacy, elden ring, bloodborne, witcher, wizard 101, alice:madness returns, legend of zelda twilight princess, angels of death, the witch's house, dragon age inquisition, Ib, Outlast, Sims 3 Supernatural + more
👻 films/tv series/books - beetlejuice (musical), the dark crystal: age of resistance, what we do in the shadows, v for vendetta, dune, matrix, hannibal tv series, hannibal movies (silence of the lambs, red dragon etc), avatar, house of the dragon, the witcher, twilight, the crow, the munsters tv series, the addams family, monster high, disney films, LOTR, interview w/ the vampire, the vvitch, the lost boys, queen of the damned, van helsing, scooby doo, the craft, hocus pocus, crimson peak, sleepy hollow, 99% of tim burton films (nightmare before christmas, frankenweenie, coraline, corpse bride, alice in wonderland, sweeney todd, beetlejuice, Edward scissorhands etc), casper the friendly ghost, my sister the vampire book series, room on the broom, + lots more 😭 basically anything whimsical, witchy and spooky i usually love 😭
🎃 anime + manga - soul eater, death note, shiki, elfen lied, madoka magica, sailor moon, the cat returns, castlevania, berserk (+ manga, tw warning tho), witch hat atelier, siuil (girl from the other side) + more, i am getting back into anime + manga so pls send me recommendations 😭
🦇 music - zheani, moonspell, nightwish, björk, kate bush, cher, emilie autumn, chelsea wolfe, rob zombie, nina hagen, yeule, switchblade symphony, the birthday massacre, cocateau twins + so many more,this list is gonna get too long 😭 i'll have my spotify in this post somewhere, check #🦷 mp3 / #🧚♀️ mp3 if you want to find more i haven't listed here
🐈⬛ fave creatures + other - zebra jumping spider, hercules beetle, luna moths, death hawk moths, black witch moth, dragons!!, black cats, worms, leeches, white plume moth, ghost slug (first found in my country! 😍😭 tho i think the theory is they accidentally got here), mermaid purses, moon jellyfish, poison frog + glass frog, silver foxes, wolves, magpie (my fave bird, why do they sound like a machine gun but look so pretty waa 😭),
🌙 misc - the colours purple/black/lavender blue/dark green, fascinated with the culture surrounding death, the ocean + space, collecting teeth, weird medieval art (like fighting snails, tooth 'wyrms' or skeletons tending to gardens 😭), welsh mythology (love celtic mythology in general though), abandoned and/or haunted places, the smell of soil after rain (petrichor), elves and fairy faith, crystals, amethyst (birthstone), astrology (i like both western + vedic!), thelema, norse mythology, sword / knife collecting, foraging, the poison path (usage of poisonous plants in witchcraft/ritual), carnivorous plants, anything lore-wise about hedge riding (using trance to "fly" or astral project), dreams / dream symbolism / dream dictionaries etc, divination (tarot especially).
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YGO Questionnaire Part 2 Electric Boogaloo
So, my gf/bf @howaboutalittlehelpneos tagged me to do this again a... good long while ago, and I had wanted to wait until I'd finished my GX rewatch before trying this again. But ouch oof I accidentally also got through all of 5Ds again before getting to this lol
But the 5Ds rewatch definitely reshaped a lot of my thoughts, so... cracks knuckles. This won't be spoiler free, fair warning~
Favorite Series: ugh the formatting killed my original essay on this but okay
GX and 5Ds are pretty tied in my book, now-- I love them equally, but in different ways! GX fulfills my love for subversive coming-of-age stories with a heartwarming, humorous, and also soulcrushing touch, and I love how each season brings a new story and new characters-- it's like reading installments of a novel series, and I think the formatting works wonders for it as a whole. It has some absolutely phenomenal character writing, too-- even the characters I dislike are ones I can appreciate for what they introduce to the story! And honestly, not enough people give the first two seasons of GX the credit it deserves: they're half the charm, really. How are you going to feel the full impact of the heartbreaking content in seasons 3 and 4 if you aren't properly attached to the characters?
But on 5Ds's side of things... it fulfills my love for stories with time loops, found family, human nature, and of course, love and death and how they intertwine. I love how the leading characters are just a bunch of broken kids from broken circumstances who all find a home with each other, and of course, how it highlights class disparity and how fucked up the prison/"justice" systems are. Yea, sure, maybe it underwent executive meddling and all, but I genuinely love it for what it is and I wish more people appreciated it... my only problem with 5Ds is the untwist with Z-ONE and then the ending s m h I adore it overall and I could go off for a long while on it.
Overall, these are my two instinctive recommendations for anyone getting into Yugioh!
(look at these boys they're so important)
Favorite Protagonist: Oh, believe me, absolutely nothing has changed here-- Yusei Fudo is and always will be my favorite protagonist, and my rewatch only solidified that.
I just... love him so much? He's seen so much hell in his life and carries so much guilt on his shoulders, but he still has room in his heart to believe in others and to believe that anyone can defy fate and find hope even at rock bottom. I love that he's initially introduced as this quiet, brooding figure when he really just turns out to be a huge softie who wears his heart on his sleeve half the time and wants to bring about change for Satellite and its people. Plus I just really love that his greatest flaw is something that would ordinarily be a positive trait-- he's Overly self-sacrificial, to the point where he's basically setting himself on fire to keep others warm, and that's not really framed as something Heroic
Just... he makes me so happy. I have two Yusei charms that I ordinarily keep on my keys (one was a gift from Zenzen) and they're a constant source of serotonin for me. He's Peak comfort character for me. Best protag in my book
Favorite Rival: Same deal here-- still Manjoume!
look at him he's so important
While he spends a lot of the anime getting the good old damsel in distress treatment (getting suckered into a cult, getting knocked into a coma, becoming a zombie, getting fucking Killed, etc), I still think his character arc is really well-written overall and I only appreciated it even more when I watched GX again. I love the fact that he's got a soft heart he buries beneath the edgy facade, and that he's simultaneously really sharp and also kind of dense lol. He's just a fun character and watching how he evolves from episode one to episode one hundred eighty is such a satisfying journey.
Plus, props to him for being such a versatile duelist-- 50 wins in a row is HARD as is, let alone with a deck full of cards he just found laying around in the Arctic. Three ace monsters, three different archetypes... he's a really good duelist and I'm proud of him for it
Oh, but honestly, I don't really dislike any of the rivals-- I'm neutral towards Revolver and Reiji, but the remaining four (Kaiba, Manjoume, Jack, and Shark) compel me. yes I accidentally wound up liking Jack Atlas shhh
Favorite BFF: Honestly, I really like most of the characters who fit this archetype-- Joey, Crow, Gongenzaka, Soulburner... I still lean a little bit more towards Joey, but I really appreciate all four of them. I'm gonna say Joey again, just because I find his evolution as a character the most compelling, but I appreciate the other three a lot. Soulburner has the best design though
Favorite GFF: Oh absolutely still Aki, but I honestly... really love most female Yugioh characters? I'm assuming this is lead girls only, but like. I'm dumb and gay and I love Girls so this is naturally the most difficult one for me to answer lol
Aki just resonates with me the most because she's the prime example of how trauma doesn't always manifest in palatable ways-- when we first meet her, she's angry and lashes out at anyone and anything just because she wants the world to suffer in the same ways she's suffered, and then... we get to watch her grow from that, once she's free from Divine and able to heal the way she needs to heal. I know the second half of 5Ds didn't give her character the attention it deserved, but I'm still proud of her for winding up on the path she did-- seeing her channel her power and energy into wanting to heal and help others was just so good and was one of the few things I really Loved about the 5Ds ending.
oh, but like. Asuka Tenjoin and Aoi Zaizen are very close seconds for me!!! Aki just has a vice grip on my heart
Favorite Villain: Okay, it's still technically Vector-- I think he's the most entertaining, well-written, and effective villain out of all of the ones we've seen so far, but... I also want to add Takuma Saiou and then all of Yliaster as honorable mentions?
As someone fond of tarot myself, I was naturally pretty intrigued by Saiou the first time I watched GX, but my attachment to him only grew the second time around where I actually got the chance to understand his character better. Plus, like... the visuals with him are fucking astounding and he's always so interesting to watch.
As for Yliaster, I just... really love how the big bad of 5Ds turned out to just essentially be a broken man desperate to save anyone and anything and three robotic reconstructions of the friends he'd lost. I still think the untwist with Z-ONE was stupid and I much prefer the idea of him and Yusei being the same person, but I'm still compelled by the other three-- well. Paradox less so, because we don't get a lot of Paradox lore, but. Aporia and Antinomy for sure.
ugh Yugioh has some damn good villains
Favorite Card: now that I actually play the TCG game...
Stardust is always going to be my favorite of all cards because it checks every box for me (my favorite YGO character's ace monster, space theme, what more could I want), but Aromaseraphy Rosemary has really become one of my aces in my best TCG deck! I'm still mastering irl plays, but I'm happy with my progress and I love my plant gang...
Favorite Episode: alright, here's where there's actually been a Lot of change, so...
Season 0: Episode 16: "Turnabout by a Hair's Breadth - The White-Robed Crisis" -- The more I think about this one, the more I love it; there's a... lot of corruption in the medical industry, and I've seen a lot of it firsthand, so just. Seeing a corrupt doctor get what he deserved at the end was cathartic, in a way? Plus, a Jounouchi-centric episode is always a good time.
Duel Monsters: Episodes 96-97: "Darkness vs. Darkness/One Turn Kill" -- this hasn't changed, I still love seeing Marik and Bakura bitch at each other for two whole episodes LMAO
GX: Episode 152: "Activate Super-Fusion! Rainbow Neos" -- This one hasn't changed and it likely never will-- I take so much pride in seeing Judai push forward, past the fear and guilt he's carrying, all to save Johan... it's cathartic and I never get sick of watching it.
5Ds: sweats. still all of Crash Town, but also episodes 137-147-- the Ark Cradle is one of my favorite parts of 5Ds and one of my favorite YGO arcs period, and even though each duel is a fucking gut punch, I love the emotional intensity and weight in each episode... It hurts but in a mostly good way
Zexal: Episode 143: "The Aloof Duelist 'Nasch': The Destined Final Duel" -- this one hasn't changed! Still hurts, still love it, I still weep over Ryouga Shark Kamishiro on a daily basis
Arc-V: Episodes 81-82: "Our Respective Battlefields/The Ultimate Falcon VS The Black-Feathered Thunder" -- Okay, honestly, this was hard because I... genuinely. really don't like Arc-V very much at all lol (it's just not my cup of tea, but more power to those who do like it!), but I thought this duel was a lot of fun! Shun is my absolute favorite from Arc-V and I really like the friendship he struck up with Crow a lot, so here we are
VRAINS (so far): Episode 25-26: "Virus Deck Operation/Three Draws Leading to Hope" -- honestly I am so biased because I just really love Blue Angel and I loved seeing her get a well-deserved victory like this lol. I'm not done with VRAINS, so this is probably gonna change, but anytime Blue Angel or Soulburner are on screen, I'm happy
Favorite Decks to Use: Aromages will always have my heart, but I adore Cyber Angels too! I'm building my Trickstar deck, my Synchron/Stardust deck (just waiting on Dawn of Majesty...), and my Magician Girls deck, too!
Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, XYZ, Pendulum, or Link?: Synchros my beloved... but also Ritual
Years in fandom: I've been here for just a little over one year now! and I wuv it... I'm never looking back
Who am I tagging: no one I'm too shy
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STRAWBERRY SPOOKTOBER WRAP UP
To wrap up Strawberry Spooktober, we have selected our best pair picks sorted into the best, the worst and so bad it’s good. We also chose 3 personal favourites and a few Honorable mentions.
V stands for Vic
N stands for Nic
Pair favourites:
Good:
The Ritual (Before: 9.5, After: 10.5)
V: I liked the monster and the design of said monster, but I really liked the fact that the monster was a monster of guilt, or rather a monster that fed on guilt. Being Native, specifically Cherokee, this monster really like, brought my ancestors up from the dead and I immediately wanted to worship the monster.
N: This movie was atmospheric, it had a definite link to Norse mythology and the runes on the house and trees were accurate. It was an interesting and different idea of a horror movie based on Norse mythology. The only downside was their lack of knowing directions, THE SUN IS IN THE WEST OR THE EAST.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (Before: 9.5, After: 10.5)
V: I liked the hillbillies and the way the college kids all died. Even if that’s an awful thing to say.
N: This movie was a comedy horror which is always a favourite genre to mix. The twist of the classic hillbillies being the protagonists and the college kids being the antagonists makes for amazing hyjinx. Chad the villain was 100% terrifying and creepy while Tucker and Dale made for compelling unlikely heroes
Mandy (Before: 9, After: 10.5)
V: NIC CAGE GOES BATSHIT INSANE AND KILLS A LOT OF CULTISTS. AND THERE WAS A PENIS ON THE SCREEN FOR WAY TOO LONG. 10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND.
N: Mandy is an insane look through the eyes of a mad man. Nicolas Cage does LSD in the woods and is attacked by LSD bikers and cultists. It’s funny and insane, the visuals are great and the funny bits are hilarious.
So Bad It’s Good:
Tremors (Before: 9.5, After: 9.5)
V: Kevin Bacon’s Ass, especially in those Jeans™️. Being from Oklahoma, this movie actually really scared me when I first watched it (because it takes place like an hour and a half drive from me) and rewatching it reminded me of the first time I watched it with my Grandpa.
N: A delightfully 90s film, so 90s it might as well be singing Smash Mouth. A younger Kevin Bacon plays an amazing character and the pure idea of the movie was amazing. The only problem was the slightly anti climactic ending.
Sleepwalkers (Before: 8.5, After: 8)
V: I loved the cats (and the actors) and I kind of loved the monsters, but not the design. They could have done the design of the monsters much better in my opinion.
N: A look into one of the more strange movies of the Steven King franchise. The concept of the monsters was good but the execution was lacking. However, the movie has some funny moment and some incredible animal actors, particularly Clovis the cat.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Before: 8, After: 8)
V: I loved the 70s feel of the entire movie and the insanity of the whole movie, but the abuse of antiques and instruments really hurt me.
N: This movie captures the feels of 70s horror movies perfectly. Really the movie is made to be corny and so bad it’s good. Leather face was fun and weirdly relatable but the sheriff was creepy, although he was made to be that way.
The Worst™️:
Silence of the Lambs (Before: 6.5, After: 6.5)
V: I really didn’t like this movie. It gave me really bad anxiety for some reason and even now, I’m not sure why it happened. I did like the characters and the actors’ take on the characters.
N: This movie was good in its plot and main characters. Hannibal and Buffalo Bill are especially creepy and a perfect snapshot of a psychotic mind. However many of the characters felt under developed, such as the creepy
28 Days Later (Before: 8, After: 4.5)
V: This movie was just awful. The zombies didn’t really make sense and acted more like humans instead of actual zombies. And we didn’t even see the zombies that much because there were only like 10 zombies. However I did like the actor playing the chained up zombie.
N: This movie was strange, it felt like three separate themed movies pushed into one. The beginning of the movie was a classic zombie movie set in London, then it turned into a family fun road trip before ending on a dystopian after apocalypse movie. The music never fit any part of this movie, the main character turned into a ninja 5 days after waking from a coma, there were 10 zombies in the last hour of the movie and they acted like humans. Also IT RAINED ONCE IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE, SET IN ENGLAND.
The Borderlands (Before: 7.5, After: 5)
V: THE ASSHOLE OF THE CHURCH; how did that ending fit into the movie? I did like Deacon and Grey, and the setting of the movie itself was good. I did like that for being a found-footage film, the video wasn’t shaky.
N: This movie started well, this movie actually was a good movie for the majority of the running time. The characters were well developed and well balanced in humour and seriousness, the setting was pretty and it was a different take on a found footage movie. HOWEVER THE ENDING WAS TERRIBLE, CONFUSING AND OUTRIGHT WRONG.
Vic’s Picks:
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Before: 9, After: 10)
I really enjoyed the monster designs and the fact that at least one of the monster’s actors was actually doing the stunts that are in the movie. I loved that they didn’t make the ending sad, like they could have, but they gave the characters a happy ending after all the nonsense they went through.
As Above So Below (Before: 7, After: 9)
I wasn’t expecting this movie to be one of my favourites, but it was. I loved the story and the locations that they filmed at and the characters. I wasn’t a huge fan of the jumpscares, but the ones they did have weren’t unnecessary.
My Bloody Valentine (Before: 9, After: 10)
I love Jensen Ackles and I loved the twist ending. The 3D was also really well done and hilarious to watch in 2D, because it didn’t really work as well as if we had watched it in 3D. I do have to say that the villain design was terrifying and I did enjoy hearing my History major girlfriend geek out about coal mines.
Nic’s Picks:
The Pyramid (Before: 9, After: 10)
This movie was a different take on the Egyptain pyramid horror movie, not focusing on the classic mummy but instead on Egyptain mythology, specifically the gods and the journey to the underworld. The father and daughter relationship was well developed and the found footage format was given up to ensure that important scenes were captured well toward the end. And it was cute to see my girlfriend geek out on the Egyptain gods.
Trick r Treat (Before: 10, After: 10)
Four different movies about a horror filled Halloween night, all linked together in the end and done well. Each story was unique with its own twists and amazing monsters. The children in this movie were adorable, even the evil one.
Troll Hunter (Before: 10, After: 10)
A Norwegian horror movie in a food footage style but told well through the eyes of college students doing a report for a project. Hans, the troll hunter they follow, is wonderful in his grouchy demeanor of a man worn with the world. The trolls themselves were wonderful in their lore and the use of CGI.
Honorable Mentions:
Grave Encounters (Before: 8, After: 9)
V: Surprisingly, I really liked the jumpscares in this movie.
N: A found footage movie set in an abandoned asylum with a lot of good jumpscares and a creepy atmosphere overall.
Apostle (Before: 8.25, After: 8)
V: I really liked Micheal Sheen in this movie and I really liked the cult, before they started killing people.
N: A cult centred horror movie set on a small island, Micheal Sheen is always good and the monster design was incredible but the movie was a little slow to start with some plot holes.
Dog Soldiers (Before: 9, After: 9)
V: The werewolves were so beautifully designed and I really liked the story and the actors themselves, ESPECIALLY THE DOG ACTOR.
N: A werewolf horror movie set in scotland with great characters, well designed werewolves and THE BEST DOG.
Joy Ride (Before: 8.5, After: 9)
V: The truckers and the whole concept of this crazy journey that the characters take throughout the movie was really good.
N: A very American horror film set around a very creepy truck driver that relies on atmosphere and actual threat rather that jumpscares. And Jim Beaver is always a plus.
Thirteen Ghosts (Before: 7, After: 9)
V: I loved Dennis and the makeup was well done.
N: A ghostly horror movie set around a strange mansion and a ritual, the make was done well and the characters, particularly Dennis and Maggie, were well developed and fun.
Puppet Master (Before: 6.5, After: 8.25)
V: Cuddly Bear was great, the actors were great, and the cast was diverse.
N: This movie had well designed scary puppets, good physical effects and a great cast of characters.
Deep Blue Sea (Before: 9, After: 9.5)
V: The sharks were beautiful and I loved that the sharks had a reason for attacking instead of just attacking for the sake of attacking.
N: A different take on shark horror movie with Samuel L Jackson and LL Cool J as amazing characters with some incredible physical effects.
Winchester (Before: 7.5, After: 9.5)
V: I really liked the costume and makeup design for this movie.
N: A movie centred around a real ghostly horror story and house with amazing effects and a great cast with developed characters
Don’t Knock Twice (Before: 6.5, After: 8.5)
V: The ending was a huge twist, the monster design was beautiful, and the actors were great at setting the scene for the scary things to happen.
N: A Welsh horror movie with a well written story, great cast with a good range of emotions, a lot of terrifying jumpscares, a good monster design and a twist ending.
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The Archon’s Review of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a fantasy role-playing game developed by Big Huge Games and published by Electronic Arts. In the fantasy realm of Amalur, Fate has dictated the comings and goings of all things. Particularly sensitive to the workings of Fate are the immortal Fae, whom are divided into the Summer Court and the Winter Court. However, tragedy strikes when a rebellious Winter Fae named Gadflow decides that the current Winter King isn’t doing enough murder, and that he should be king instead. After killing the Winter King and usurping his throne, Gadflow and his followers, the Tuatha Deohn, go to war against the mortal races of Elf, Gnome, and Human. The mortals seem doomed, as while the Tuatha can be killed, they reincarnate quite quickly and return to fight, whereas the mortals die when they are killed. To circumvent this disadvantage, a Gnome by the name of Fomorous Hughes creates the Well of Souls, a device meant to resurrect the dead. You are its first apparent success, and in the process of reviving, you become unbound from Fate, and basically ruin it for everyone. Now, you are the last hope for mortal-kind to defeat the villainous Gadflow and his Tuatha followers, restoring balance to the Fae Courts and preserving the realm of Amalur.
I first heard of Kingdoms of Amalur back in the mid-2000′s, just around when I was playing Oblivion obsessively. It was contemporary with another third-person fantasy thingie, Two Worlds, which the GameStop employee recommended against, before trying to shill for GameInformer. I suppose my point here is that I picked up KoA:R because I was curious to see what I had missed all those years ago. And yes, I am aware of the controversy surrounding the game’s creation and the dismantling of Big Huge Games, but I must confess to not being too familiar with the happenings.
The first thing one may notice in this game is the graphics. They’re actually pretty damn good, with beautiful vistas and vibrant landscapes. The characters are surprisingly expressive, even if that expressiveness does result in some humorous facial expressions. The character models are a little funny though; all the men, at least, have what I like to call “Ground Beef Body”. I ended up naming my character “Flaskkott Djur”, or “Pork Animal” in Swedish because he immediately reminded me of a hunk of ground beef (I got the word “Flaskkott” confused with the word “Nottkott” which is “Beef”. There’s your Swedish lesson for the day).
(Just look at that chin! And he’s got the neck of an ox to boot!)
Speaking of vistas, the diversity of environments is greater than I might have expected; although, get ready to see plenty of magical forests. There are, however, plenty of deserts, beaches, swamps, and arid landscapes to explore, all with plenty of monsters to kill and things to loot. All the environments are quite pretty and vibrant to behold and great emphasis has been placed on making each area feel like its own self-contained region. Even the magical forests feel different enough from one-another that you’re not likely to get lost.
(Upward shot of one of the game’s major cities. Go all the way south, along a beach and across a desert and through a forest, and you’ll find a Greco-Roman city ruled by Gnomes, as opposed to this necropolis-looking thing.)
Character creation is interesting. You only have two choices at the start; race and deity to worship. Funnily enough, you can choose to be an atheist, and it may be the best choice in my opinion, not because I’m some trilby-wearing “Dark Enlightenment” nutter, but because being an atheist gives you a permanent +1% experience point boost, and I’m always a slut for levelling up. All the other deities give you different boosts, and each of the four playable races gives you certain bonuses to non-combat skills.
When I say that you only have two choices at the start, I was leading up to something. See, KoA:R sort of has you create your character throughout the entire game. Every time you level up, you get a point for non-combat skills and for combat abilities. You could easily make the case that all RPG’s do something similar, having the player build up their character over the course of the game, but the difference is that KoA:R basically gives you nothing to begin with, save for a few points in all the beginning combat skills, plus a few points in non-combat skills dependent upon your chose race. Most other RPG’s would at least give you a bit more than that, if only to establish a direction. KoA:R is unique in that building your character is a persistent, fluid process, which keeps it engaging; in addition, the ability to refund all your points for a small fee allows you to go back and try a different build should you get curious/ fed-up.
One side-note I’d like to make mention of: If you’re the sort of person who gives a shit about difficulty curve, don’t buy the “Weapons and Armor Bundle” DLC. As the name would suggest, it creates a chest in the first town filled with weapons and armors for you to grab and use at your leisure. And while you’ll get/craft better equipment in time, it’s still better than the equipment you would otherwise have at the time, and it throws the balance off for a bit.
Speaking of crafting, the game actually has a pretty rad crafting system which allows you to create equipment, potions, and socketable gems. And frankly, once you put enough points into the requisite skills, you can craft some frankly ridiculous things. After a while, I was salvaging nearly all my equipment for the spare parts, rather than selling it. Gold wasn’t much of an issue anyway, and I wanted to see if I could craft an even more effective murder tool.
If it seems like I’ve been avoiding the topic of combat for a while, it’s because I’ve been avoiding the topic of combat for a while. Honestly, I think it’s one of the weaker elements. It’s slow and cumbersome, and it’s completely possible to be hit for a full combo because you couldn’t get your fucking shield up in time because you were already swinging at a different enemy. Whenever I swung my sword, I was committed for roughly the next half-hour. Also, for those of you more used to Dark Souls styled dodge-rolling, I should warn you that the dodge-roll in this game does not seem to have any invincibility frames; it just zips in a direction real quick is all.
(Spiders rather quickly became my arch-nemeses. They always came in groups, attacked somewhat unpredictably, and where often harder to kill than might be expected.)
To be fair, once you level up a bit and develop your own tactics, combat becomes easier. Learning your enemies’ attack patterns and learning abilities that stagger them, or prevent you from being staggered will help immensely.
If the plot synopsis up there seemed kind of involved and a little faffy, it’s because that’s how the game is. Ostensibly, the whole thing is based on old Irish and Scottish myths about the fae, and while the influence is clearly there, and it’s clear that the devs at least did a modicum of research on the mythologies they use. I like the idea of fighting Fate, the rapacious bastard. Although, there’s a bit where it’s implied that you’re appearance (remember, your character exists outside the web of Fate) was itself predicted by Fate. As others have pointed out, that point is kind of mad, but it’s not as big a deal as it sounds, and there’s evidence to suggest that perhaps Fate has simply rewritten itself to fit you in.
(The antagonist either screaming in madness or receiving amazing head. I’ll let you decide.)
Now, I have a bit of a confession to make. I spent almost my entire time playing this on sidequests. Much work has been done to ensure that the sidequest chains are engaging, from helping the resident mercenary guild fight an invading demon lord and his army of elven followers, to saving a small village from a rogue Fae and her spider minions. I had a lot of fun on all the sidequests; I almost forgot about the critical path. By the time I got back, I was massively overlevelled and had a set of powerful equipment to back me up.
Here’s a weird thing apropos of nothing: while the human ladies are dressed normally (boob-plates notwithstanding), the elven ladies are almost always in some kind of revealing top, often a deep V-neck. I have no idea why this is; there’s no lore reason for it. Maybe Big Huge consisted entirely of elf-misogynists? It’s bizarre is all.
(She’s just dressed like this. No idea why, especially when a normal human wearing leather armor has it look like regular leather armor.)
Now, some people have compared this game to Skyrim; certain reviewers even calling it “Baby’s first Skyrim“ I don’t necessarily think the comparison is a fair one. Whereas Skyrim is very much a standard fantasy RPG in the vein of its forebears, KoA leans more heavily on semi-frenetic combat action, even bumping up against the (admittedly nebulous) action-adventure genre in the subway car. Crafting is different as well. Whereas Skyrim has you stock up on ores and ingots to craft with, this game has you salvaging your old weapons to find screws and grips and rivets, which gives the crafting a different feel, even if they are functionally very similar. While Skyrim is admittedly a more detailed, immersive experience (glitches notwithstanding), KoA is about as complicated as it needs to be. It gets in all the features it needs to be a pretty good game in its runtime.
And Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a pretty good game. Levelling up is more addictive than it is in most RPG’s, and great pains have been taken to make sure that each quest is fun and interesting, not just the main questline. Despite the reputation it’s accrued as a cut-rate Skyrim or “That one game what got a bunch of people in trouble and now it’s owned by Rhode Island,” I’d recommend it to anyone who likes somewhat complex fantasy worlds and/or anyone who likes their RPG’s a little bit on the actiony side. I may come back to it. After all, I’m more than half-way to the level cap and I’m not even close to the end of the main quest.
All in all, it’s a damn fine game. Would love to complete it some time.
(A back shot of a male character. I told you these people are made of ground beef.)
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Final Fantasy Influences in RWBY
So it’s no secret that Monty Oum was a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series. As someone who’s also a huge fan of the series I thought it’d be fun to explore a lot of the things I think RWBY drew inspiration from. There’s not really much of an order to this, just various things I’ve noticed. This is also just my opinion on things so don’t take it too seriously. (I won’t be including stuff from FF15 since that was not out yet at the time RWBY was started and the stuff similar to it are most likely coincidence.I’m also only counting the stuff from the core series as those are the ones I am the most familiar with.)
Gardens/Seed- Academy/Huntsmen & Huntresses
In both FF8, and in RWBY, the main characters start their journeys at an academy that specializes in the training of powerful mercenaries: SeeD and Hunters. They have a similar age range (15-19 in FF8. 17-21 in RWBY), and both schools have rigorous and dangerous exams that the main characters have to survive and pass in the beginning of the story. They both also have a dance in the relatively beginning of the story. They also both have a uniform that the characters wear on occasion.
Shinra Electric Power Company- Schnee Dust Company
Now I actually noticed something neat that I never noticed with Shinra, that they can be abbreviated to SEC, similar to how the Schnee Dust Company is commonly abbreviated to SDC.
In both RWBY and FF7, these two companies are powerful and villainous and have made their fortunes by mining a natural resource that is used for fuel, and to give people magical abilities. Both the SDC and SEC engage in military action (Turks and SOLDIER with the SEC and providing/developing mechs for the Atlesian military for the SDC), and experimenting on monsters (the Armored Gigas in the White trailer being a Geist Grimm experiment according to the manga).
Materia- Dust
It’s a naturally occurring resource in the world that is used to give the characters magical abilities and is crystalline in design. Materia is name dropped by Monty when explaining what Dust is.
AVALANCHE- White Fang
A terrorist group with a white and red banner that has a history of warfare with the evil megacompany of their worlds. Main characters from both series are members (or former) members of the group, and both had/have a large burly man as their leader. Only major difference is AVALANCHE is an eco-terrorist group and presented as heroes while the White Fang are a racial terrorist group and presented as villains.
Crystals- Relics
Four powerful macguffins that the protagonists and antagonists are both after that can give them a ton of power and can change the world.
Al Bhed/Viera- Faunus
Al Bhed are a minority group who face persecution and have a unique genetic trait. In FF10 and in RWBY one of the main characters is secretly of this ethnic group and has to deal with racist behavior from one of their team mates.
Viera are literally bunny girls. While the al bhed have more in common with the faunus in story, the viera are closer in appearance.
Summoning- Schnee Semblence
Now there are a lot of Summoners in FF but Monty was known for his love of FF10 and of Yuna and I think that’s who’s summoning ability Weiss’ abilities are based off of. Yuna is capable of summoning dead spirits that take the form of Aeons and uses them in battle. Weiss, and other Schnees, can summon enemies that they have killed and have them aid in combat. Yuna’s summoning and Weiss’ also seem a lot more of a closer bond then say, Rydia or Eiko’s were or the ones were summoning is just a job class.
Aerith’s Death- Pyrrha’s Death
An extremely shocking and brutal death scene of a beloved female character that is used to spur the protagonists to action and kick start the larger segments of the story.
Sin- Ancient Grimm
Not a lot of similarities, other then they ‘shed‘ smaller enemies and are huge and capable of decimating cities if they want to.
Uncomfortable Laughing Scene
Yeeeeeaaaah, those scenes are cringey. I took from it that Ruby was struggling to keep her composure at seeing something that reminded her of Pyrrha after watching her die and started to laugh obnoxiously to cover up her issues, similar to how Tidus had his uncomfortable laughing scene to cope with his own issues. Or maybe that Ruby scene was meant to be funny and bunny jackets are hilarious, who knows.
Auron- Qrow
Red and gray color scheme, drunks, and a father figure to the main character, alongside using a similar weapon as the character they watch over.
Tifa- Yang
A bare knuckle brawler who’s a childhood friend of the main protagonist, is the team mom, and objectively considered the ‘prettiest‘ character of the main cast. Both are also fans of butt capes, given Yang’s timeskip outfit and Tifa’s Advent Children outfit.
Kefka- Tyrian
Now this one’s a bit of stretch and I really hope they don’t pull a Kefka with Tyrian late on in the story but here we go.
They’re both the insane right hand of the (apparent) big bad of the story, both have a flair for the dramatics (Tyrian’s theatrical behavior during his fight scene and well, just look at Kefka). Both also have an insane laugh and boy do they like to laugh.
Quistis- Glynda
A blonde, glasses wearing combat instructor at a school for specialized mercenaries. Both wield a bdsm style weapon (whip/riding crop) and are proficient mages.
Zidane- Sun
A blonde monkey man who breaks the law a lot, has a sunny personality, and fights alongside a dark haired princess.
Ruby- Iris
Now I said I wasn’t going to bring up FF15 but this is a unique case. I think this is an instance of RWBY serving as inspiration for FF.
FF15 was in production between 2006-2016. Red Trailer came out in 2012, with Vol1 coming out in 2013. RWBY is very popular in Japan, and I don’t know if there is a way to learn when Iris was added to the game’s production.
Iris is the younger sister of the stronk fanservice character of the game, wears black and red, has a red hood, short black hair, is 15 years old, and grows up to be a famous Hunter; a daemon slayer after the time skip. She’s cheery and happy, and has an interest in mechanical things (her fascination with Lestallum and how it’s maintained). Iris is a hopeless romantic and fights with her fists.
Ruby is the younger sister of the stronk fanservice character of the show, wears black and red, has a red hood, short black hair, is 15 years old, and dreams of being a Huntress; a Grimm slayer. She’s happy and bubbly, and is mechanically inclined, alongside loving weaponry. Ruby doesn’t have an interest in romance and can’t fight without a weapon.
Weaponry
Weiss literally uses a gunblade, and Raven has an odachi. But other then that, most of the weapons in RWBY line up more with Lightning’s style of weaponry in FF13; a melee weapon that transforms and can take a gun form and also collapse for easier storage.
Costumes
Both FF and RWBY thrive on amazing looking costumes that are hella impractical and use way too many belts for a rl person to wear. But damn do they not look amazing.
Setting
Both RWBY and (most) FF have a science fantasy setting, with continents that look really silly.
Soundtrack
Both RWBY and FF love their hard rock and piano’s, and have amazing scores and soundtracks.
Fight Choreography
Saying Advent Children was a big influence on Monty would be an understatement. RWBY’s fight scenes are fast paced, hectic, and make gravity and the laws of physics its bitch. This is hard to explain in written format, so I’d recommend watching a fight scene from Advent Children and then compare it to one from RWBY to see what I mean.
Light v Dark Themes
Recurring theme in a lot of the older FF games, the forces of Light against the forces of Darkness. RWBY has the Light and Darkness Brother Gods myth, and they will most likely play a larger role in the future.
Party of Four
FF games traditionally have 4 (or 3) party members and oh hey would you look at that, RWBY has 4 members. Iirc Monty also said he based the team’s fighting styles off of his preferred rpg team line up. (If anyone has figured out what class Ruby is, let me know ^^)
Strong female characters
I think it’d be easier to name FF female characters who aren’t strong in their own ways. And the entire premise of RWBY is four strong women living their lives and stopping evil, alongside the slew of other notable female characters in the show.
Moon
The moon plays an important role in the stories of FF4 and FF8, and although the moon hasn’t done anything of plot importance, the fact it’s shown so frequently in scenes and is a prominent image in RWBY (alongside how its brought up space travel is still being developed in Remnant) I’m pretty sure it will play an important role in the future.
Parent Issues
A lot of the characters in FF have really bad parents, parent issues, or are orphans. A lot of the important characters in RWBY have really terrible parents, and their issues with their parents playing a role in each member of Team RWBY’s personal storylines. Jecht and Tidus’ relationship being the most famous example from FF of a strained child-parent relationship, and given Yang’s obsession and hatred of Raven, it seems the most likely place of inspiration (alongside Raven and Jecht being antagonists and being involved in the Deeper Lore of their respective universes, and of being members of a team with the parents of one of the other main characters).
So yeah, those are my thoughts about all the stuff I‘ve noticed in RWBY that could have been inspired by Final Fantasy. Hope you enjoyed reading this ^^.
RWBY FF style poster done by digitaleva- https://digitaleva.deviantart.com/
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