Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Benice]

3 minutes ago, Sooks said:

Even you have to admit it was hilhareous.

These are all very Bunneedless puns.

[Shrimpica]

[Benice]

Elise predicts the internet fanbase.

Edited May 16, 2021 by Benice

[Spara]

TFW your mage, after 3 blank levels, procs his 3% movement growth twice in a row.

Feels good.

[Armagon]

God damn, my PC got hit with a nasty update last night. I first noticed something was wrong when my CPU usage was peaking at 100, which is definitely not supposed to happen unless malware or your PC is mining Bitcoin......so malware. Second sign was when ordinary tasks such as opening the file explorer would lag, probably because of 100% CPU usage out of nowhere. Third sign things were wrong was this morning when, after a reboot, my PC would just get stuck on signing in for a good while. I don't know how long because i left it signing in while i went to work (specifically, during my break hour as i live 10 minutes within walking distance from my workplace) and when i came back, the sign in was complete.

First thing i did after that was uninstall the update from last night. Of course, my PC had to reboot after that, thankfully the sign in didn't last nearly as long but now i'm paranoid in the event i have to reboot and it spends like an hour on the sign in again and i checked my CPU usage. It was back to normal levels.

In conclusion, fuck automatic Windows updates, i was genuinely worried my PC had broken down almost exactly a year after my old PC broke and even though i have a job now, i kinda can't afford to shell out a $500 replacement. Well i could in a few weeks but college demands i have PC access at home.

Now excuse me while i start backing up files in case of a worst scenario.

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

And much earlier, I began Future Connected at last. ...But even when I went back to it for a second time today, I couldn't put more than an hour and a half into it.🙁 It isn't the game's fault, it is in every single way me. Go back a few pages and read the massive lamentio if you're so interested, I don't think you could miss it.

Just read it. I don't know if what i say would help since it's clear that this is a very personal issue for you but at least in my experience, i find that listening music helps. Like, tremendously. Music is probably the best form of escapism at least to me and it might help you. Pick literally any song you like and listen to it. On repeat if needed.

You also did bring up that you need to be in the right mindset for story-heavy games and once again, i think music can help here. Listening to music related to the game you're playing can help you get into that mindset.

I don't know if this advice would help you but i'm writing it in the hopes that it will.

1 hour ago, Shrimperor said:

bruh

Inb4 the enemy can see your traps.

[Sooks]

44 minutes ago, Benice said:

These are all very Bunneedless puns.

Aren’t they all?

[Lightchao42]

After eight months Chuggaaconroy finally reached Xenoblade 2's final chapter, which puts me in the mood for some Xenoblade rambling (spoilers for the whole Xenoblade series):

Spoiler

Malos and Amalthus never interact outside flashbacks in either XC2 or Torna, which is odd because their relationship is very significant. In fact, Malos telling Amalthus about his plans for Torna is chronologically the last time they ever see each other. Aside from Addam and Mythra in a flashback, Amalthus never interacts with the party in Torna either.

There's a gameplay reason why Jin is the one to finish off Amalthus: Amalthus can regenerate health and Jin's freezing powers disable healing. This is presumably the reason why Amalthus lasts so long against the party at full power, even Pneuma. Blade Eater Amalthus is actually pretty overpowered; he can weaken and control Blades, has the powers of every Blade he absorbed, has ludicrous healing from all the Core Crystals he ate, and he can use Sacred Arrow even without controlling Mythra.

Outside one line each, Malos and Pneuma never say anything to each other before, during, or after the final boss, which is a missed opportunity for a few reasons:

• Obviously, they're both Aegises.
• They now know the reason for their existence, which troubled both of them.
• Pneuma now knows that Malos's desire to destroy the world was imposed on him by Amalthus, so he has no choice but to be evil.
• I would say it would call back to their final battle in Torna, but that probably wasn't fully written when the base game came out.

Granted, Malos doesn't really talk to anyone outside Rex, which makes sense since those scenes conclude Rex's character arc, but I would have liked something more between them in particular to reflect their development. On the other hand, this is the only time Malos refers to Pneuma as his "partner" outside Torna, which I suppose counts as another line.

Playing XCDE after XC2 makes Alvis's nature much more apparent before the ending; he has an Aegis core, uses the Monado, and can see the future, so he must be Shulk's Blade, right? And that's mostly correct since Alvis is the true power behind the Monado, though the truth is more complicated. And playing XC2 after XCDE can make players figure out the connection between the games early, since Pyra and Alvis both have the same core and Mythra can see the future, then they must relate to the experiment, right? And they do, mostly, though XC1 doesn't reveal the Conduit's existence.

Though I've never seen anyone talk about this, pre-Torna Mythra should be the closest to Pneuma's original personality, since she has the least outside influence ("Pneuma" in this case being the original AI that became Mythra, not Coffee with Milk). Most people buy into the naming symbolism and treat Pneuma as the nice and emotional one, but it would be more interesting if she started as cold and apathetic to humans and then lived up to her name by growing as a person and interacting with others. Since we know the Trinity AIs had personalities before the experiment, it is hard to tell how much of Mythra's and Malos's personalities were influenced by their Drivers. Alvis should have stayed close to his original personality on account of never resonating with a Driver.

Taking KOS-MOS's concept art at face value, Shion, Allen, and Vector Industries all apparently exist in the Xenoblade universe. Thus, my headcanon is that alternate versions of Shion and Allen worked on Rhadamanthus and created KOS-MOS as an android weapon powered by the Conduit, but the experiment happened before she could be completed. Pneuma and Logos retained KOS-MOS's data however, and at some point the data was uploaded into a Core Crystal to create the 1/1000 Blade we all know and can never get. This explains how KOS-MOS knows how the World Tree was built (as shown in her H2H Daybreak), though it doesn't explain how T-elos fits into things...

 

[Sooks]

@Shrimperor I just saw this “retry offset” setting that’s been on the whole game...

...that hasn’t gone into effect every time I’ve lost a battle, has it?

[Armagon]

5 minutes ago, Sooks said:

@Shrimperor I just saw this “retry offset” setting that’s been on the whole game...

...that hasn’t gone into effect every time I’ve lost a battle, has it?

Nah, you're given an option iirc.

Or maybe that's in other games.

[Sooks]

Well, that was a twist I did not see not see coming but makes sense in retrospect (though it’s nothing “missing piece of the puzzle” scale, it’s good).

Nice job Falcom.

[Lightcosmo]

Alright, so Trails in the Sky SC update! 

I'm currently level 82, and fighting 

Spoiler

The enforcers. Is it just me or are they easier to deal with than the generic mobs?

 

[Lightcosmo]

Why is XC2 around 90$ for a physical copy? WTH happened there? 

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

bruh

Tell me when you step on a trap that causes big damage, or maybe one that inflicts a terrible ailment like Charm. 

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 had traps, although you could -if you didn't mind wasting your one and only judge bonus for that battle- have their locations revealed.

 

2 hours ago, Dayni said:

How can I point to something I literally never knew about before now?

How about a quick lesson then? 🛕

Ardhanarishvara, or Ardha for short, is a particular form of Shiva. As Hinduism has different tellings of basically the same story in different places by different people over thousands of years, with a only handful of canonical texts that don't address everything nor are wholly followed by everyone, keep in mind the specific details can differ.

Ardha is Shiva having merged with his divine consort, the goddess Parvati, who has her own alternate forms- namely the warrior goddess Durga and maddeningly destructive goddess Kali (Shiva's comparable super-destructive form is Bhairava). Shiva represents the divine masculinity, Parvati the divine femininity, the two gendered halves of godliness fused into a single being is certain to be very almighty.

Most often, Ardha is depicted as a person with two distinctive halves, split down the middle, one side visibly male and the other visibly female. If the skin color is the same throughout, look to at the chest- if the deity has an endowed breast on one side (perhaps covered for modesty due to female social norms) and is flat on the other, you know it's very likely depicting Ardha.

 

6 hours ago, Dayni said:

(As an aside the fact that this never got redone with the SoV versions of the characters is a little sad to me: Or much of any of the old Gaiden art)

I forgot to comment on this earlier. FE3-era art at some of its worst. Although I might prefer Tobin and Gray's old artwork, Tobin's pink hair makes me think either he's gay or actually a woman dressing kinda man-ish. Mae and Boey get points for Mae being visibly jealous of Boey's splendid legs on full display. And Blue-Haired Alm must be mentioned.

 

40 minutes ago, lightcosmo said:

Why is XC2 around 90$ for a physical copy? WTH happened there? 

Wow that is cheap! 

If you're saying that is expensive, did you submerge yourself in the hot ether of Mor Ardain when Pyra and Mythra entered Smash? XC2 prices soared after that. People curious about the latest new character wanted their game of origin.

 

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Just read it. I don't know if what i say would help since it's clear that this is a very personal issue for you but at least in my experience, i find that listening music helps. Like, tremendously. Music is probably the best form of escapism at least to me and it might help you. Pick literally any song you like and listen to it. On repeat if needed.

You also did bring up that you need to be in the right mindset for story-heavy games and once again, i think music can help here. Listening to music related to the game you're playing can help you get into that mindset.

I don't know if this advice would help you but i'm writing it in the hopes that it will.

I run into a similar issue with movies to an extent. One reason I rarely watch them, is because it means I have to shackle my attention to it for the full two hours or however long it goes on, distraction is a bad thing. Maintaining that degree of focus is laborious.

Although it isn't simply that. I'd say it's because I revere a video game too much. I don't want to do it any injustice.

There is a contradiction in this however. To watch the story with a mind having ascended to less than moksha, is improper. But to play the game ignoring the story when it is an essential part of it, is also improper. Either way, I'm not playing it as it deserves to be. I don't think I can escape this basic reality.

I want to say there have been times in the past where my mind was in tranquility, wholly given over to experiencing the game without outside intrusions. It feels strange that I cannot remember when that has been the case. It has happened, but when did it happen last, how long ago was it? Maybe it was very recent, maybe it wasn't, my mind is weirdly at a loss. If I knew, I could better determine whether to give up on trying for it or not. The persistence of memory is fragile and more imperfect than we let on.

[Shrimpica]

1 hour ago, Sooks said:

@Shrimperor I just saw this “retry offset” setting that’s been on the whole game...

...that hasn’t gone into effect every time I’ve lost a battle, has it?

yes... xD

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Nah, you're given an option iirc.

Or maybe that's in other games.

nope. Only in certain battles is it an option.

Otherwise it's auto active if turned on.

 

[Robert Stewart]

I love how all the other Berwick saga character-specific maps are all pivotal moments for said characters, and then there's Kramer's which is just

"yo, this is a dope sword"

Spoiler

 

"Yo, how's it hangin', yer majesty?"

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Robert Stewart

[Sooks]

31 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

yes... xD

.....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

......

Well, I haven’t been losing that many battles, but, why is the default to have that turned on!?

How extreme are the effects? And are they per each loss, or a set number of losses?

And I thought I did so well in the martial arts tournament finale...

[Robert Stewart]

37 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

yes... xD

Retry offset is the only reason I beat Loewe on Nightmare SC. XD

[Armagon]

3 hours ago, Lightchao42 said:

After eight months Chuggaaconroy finally reached Xenoblade 2's final chapter, which puts me in the mood for some Xenoblade rambling (spoilers for the whole Xenoblade series):

  Reveal hidden contents

Malos and Amalthus never interact outside flashbacks in either XC2 or Torna, which is odd because their relationship is very significant. In fact, Malos telling Amalthus about his plans for Torna is chronologically the last time they ever see each other. Aside from Addam and Mythra in a flashback, Amalthus never interacts with the party in Torna either.

There's a gameplay reason why Jin is the one to finish off Amalthus: Amalthus can regenerate health and Jin's freezing powers disable healing. This is presumably the reason why Amalthus lasts so long against the party at full power, even Pneuma. Blade Eater Amalthus is actually pretty overpowered; he can weaken and control Blades, has the powers of every Blade he absorbed, has ludicrous healing from all the Core Crystals he ate, and he can use Sacred Arrow even without controlling Mythra.

Outside one line each, Malos and Pneuma never say anything to each other before, during, or after the final boss, which is a missed opportunity for a few reasons:

• Obviously, they're both Aegises.
• They now know the reason for their existence, which troubled both of them.
• Pneuma now knows that Malos's desire to destroy the world was imposed on him by Amalthus, so he has no choice but to be evil.
• I would say it would call back to their final battle in Torna, but that probably wasn't fully written when the base game came out.

Granted, Malos doesn't really talk to anyone outside Rex, which makes sense since those scenes conclude Rex's character arc, but I would have liked something more between them in particular to reflect their development. On the other hand, this is the only time Malos refers to Pneuma as his "partner" outside Torna, which I suppose counts as another line.

Playing XCDE after XC2 makes Alvis's nature much more apparent before the ending; he has an Aegis core, uses the Monado, and can see the future, so he must be Shulk's Blade, right? And that's mostly correct since Alvis is the true power behind the Monado, though the truth is more complicated. And playing XC2 after XCDE can make players figure out the connection between the games early, since Pyra and Alvis both have the same core and Mythra can see the future, then they must relate to the experiment, right? And they do, mostly, though XC1 doesn't reveal the Conduit's existence.

Though I've never seen anyone talk about this, pre-Torna Mythra should be the closest to Pneuma's original personality, since she has the least outside influence ("Pneuma" in this case being the original AI that became Mythra, not Coffee with Milk). Most people buy into the naming symbolism and treat Pneuma as the nice and emotional one, but it would be more interesting if she started as cold and apathetic to humans and then lived up to her name by growing as a person and interacting with others. Since we know the Trinity AIs had personalities before the experiment, it is hard to tell how much of Mythra's and Malos's personalities were influenced by their Drivers. Alvis should have stayed close to his original personality on account of never resonating with a Driver.

Taking KOS-MOS's concept art at face value, Shion, Allen, and Vector Industries all apparently exist in the Xenoblade universe. Thus, my headcanon is that alternate versions of Shion and Allen worked on Rhadamanthus and created KOS-MOS as an android weapon powered by the Conduit, but the experiment happened before she could be completed. Pneuma and Logos retained KOS-MOS's data however, and at some point the data was uploaded into a Core Crystal to create the 1/1000 Blade we all know and can never get. This explains how KOS-MOS knows how the World Tree was built (as shown in her H2H Daybreak), though it doesn't explain how T-elos fits into things...

 

Man, i seriously need to catch up on that LP. I'm several episodes behind.

Spoiler

3 hours ago, Lightchao42 said:

Though I've never seen anyone talk about this, pre-Torna Mythra should be the closest to Pneuma's original personality, since she has the least outside influence ("Pneuma" in this case being the original AI that became Mythra, not Coffee with Milk). Most people buy into the naming symbolism and treat Pneuma as the nice and emotional one, but it would be more interesting if she started as cold and apathetic to humans and then lived up to her name by growing as a person and interacting with others.

Though it is hard to know what exactly their original personalities were, if Pneuma was originally cold and apathetic, wouldn't this clash with the precieved Logos' personality. The Logos AI is very logical and likely only thinks of people as numbers to either add or subtract. If Pneuma was originally cold and apathetic, then there wouldn't really be any need for Ontos to mediate.

Of course, we must remember that Klaus did say that their original names don't actually mean anything beyond humanity's ego. So who knows, maybe ironically Logos was the caring one and Pneuma was the logical one and their resonance with their Drivers ended up flipping the personalities.

 

2 hours ago, lightcosmo said:

Why is XC2 around 90$ for a physical copy? WTH happened there? 

NA stopped printing copies+Pyra and Mythra being in Smash shot up demand.

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I run into a similar issue with movies to an extent. One reason I rarely watch them, is because it means I have to shackle my attention to it for the full two hours or however long it goes on, distraction is a bad thing. Maintaining that degree of focus is laborious.

I getcha. I too have to get into the mindset of watching a movie, although this is mainly outside of theaters. Cause going to a movie theater, especially with friends, you know what you're there for. No need to get into the mindset. 

Watching movies at home is the one where it does require a mindset. I can bypass it by telling myself i'd marathon some (see: my Kaiju marathons) but even then, that requires the mindset of "i will watch all these movies".

1 hour ago, Sooks said:

And I thought I did so well in the martial arts tournament finale...

I mean, Chaos Brand go brr.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Edited May 16, 2021 by Armagon

[Sidereal Wraith]

Rise and shine gentlemen, its time to march! 

[Acacia Sgt]

You're two months late. It's May already.

[Sidereal Wraith]

32 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

You're two months late. It's May already.

Not the month the action of marching, as in marching in a parade. Now march! That goes double for you too @Benice. 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Wraith

[Acacia Sgt]

Alright. *clears throat*

"October 21, 1861

This is what I write to her: The clouds tonight embossed the sky. A dipping sun gilded and brazed each raveling edge as if the firmament were threaded through with precious filaments. I pause there to mop my aching eye, which will not stop tearing. The line I have set down is, perhaps, on the florid side of fine, but no matter: she is a gentle critic. My hand, which I note is flecked with traces of dried phlegm, has the tremor of exhaustion. Forgive my unlovely script, for an army on the march provides no tranquil place for reflection and correspondence. (I hope my dear young author is finding time amid all her many good works to make some use of my little den, and that her friendly rats will not grudge a short absence from her accustomed aerie.) And yet to sit here under the shelter of a great tree as the men make their cook fires and banter together provides a measure of peace. I write on the lap desk that you and the girls so thoughtfully provided me, and though I spilled my store of ink you need not trouble to send more, as one of the men has shown me an ingenious receipt for a serviceable substitute made from the season's last blackberries. So am I able to send "sweet words" to you!"

There, March.

[Sidereal Wraith]

1 minute ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Alright. *clears throat*

"October 21, 1861

This is what I write to her: The clouds tonight embossed the sky. A dipping sun gilded and brazed each raveling edge as if the firmament were threaded through with precious filaments. I pause there to mop my aching eye, which will not stop tearing. The line I have set down is, perhaps, on the florid side of fine, but no matter: she is a gentle critic. My hand, which I note is flecked with traces of dried phlegm, has the tremor of exhaustion. Forgive my unlovely script, for an army on the march provides no tranquil place for reflection and correspondence. (I hope my dear young author is finding time amid all her many good works to make some use of my little den, and that her friendly rats will not grudge a short absence from her accustomed aerie.) And yet to sit here under the shelter of a great tree as the men make their cook fires and banter together provides a measure of peace. I write on the lap desk that you and the girls so thoughtfully provided me, and though I spilled my store of ink you need not trouble to send more, as one of the men has shown me an ingenious receipt for a serviceable substitute made from the season's last blackberries. So am I able to send "sweet words" to you!"

There, March.

Stop slacking Acacia Sgt! Left, left, left right! Left, left, left right! 

[Acacia Sgt]

Chill man, have a March.

Nissan March.

[Sidereal Wraith]

You can stop with your fancy ten dollar words and daffy car jokes until after we're done here. Come on Benice, put more feeling into your marching! 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Wraith