Interdimensional Observer

Although Advance Wars I was scrapped in Japan due to being planned to be released on the actual terrible day of 9/11. They didn't release it until it was bundled on a single pak with AW2 much later.

And why only color the colorless? What we need is non-Red Swords. And random thought, if beasties get in alongside the eventual 3.0 update, and the update begins a new Book to FEH's plot, then shouldn't we get a beastie OC? It'd be a great way to symbolize their arrival, and rally fans who aren't so familiar with them, by establishing a loose, indirect connection. "Like *Insert Norse here*? Then you should totally try summoning Lethe!"

To argue against her being pure unsympathetic evil though, we have the Valentia Accordion. While in game, which I feel matters more, there is absolutely no hint of sympathy or alluding to her backstory whatsoever, the canonical artbook has one for her. According to it, she was once young and pretty and had a boyfriend. Bandits then scarred her face, and her boyfriend dumped her for her younger sister, together they pushed Nuibaba off a cliff. Nearly dying, she survived only by making a pact with some malevolent spirit, afterwards she used the powers of darkness to get revenge, and then settled into a beauty-obsessed evil life. Since there is zero mention of this backstory in SoV, we may doubt it existed when SoV was being made, since why otherwise leave it out? But we cannot be certain either way.

It also has a playable roster of only 33 characters, less than any game other than Gaiden (SoV has 34), and the generations of FE4 if counted separately and of those presently in, we have all the royals, which comprise most of the more visible characters of SS. A few holes exist, Gerik, Cormag, Ross and Ewan (they've really burnt through the females here, only Vanessa, Neimi, Natasha, Tethys, and Syrene remain unincluded) are all characters I'd think to have popularity, but overall it's a solid group. 13 non-alt characters, 11 playable, plus Lyon and Valter. Exactly or roughly a third. Radiant Dawn has a roster of 72 characters sans BK and Sephiran. Laguz comprise about one third of those 72, 25 to be exact, leaves behind 47 (48 with Largo) Beorc. That is four more than Blazing, and one less than Awakening when you count Robin and Morgan only once. This might be popularity, the unwashed masses not being as critical as us elect elite of Fates's plot, or it might be recency- a bad villain in a recent game is still better off than a good villain in an old game. Or a combination of both. We never do see the real Julius true. Lyon on Eirika's route however is allowed by the DK to have moments of himself coming through, plus we have the plentiful flashbacks. Ephraim Lyon is the one we perhaps see less of actually, since the possession there is more blurred, which overall I like more than Eiri!Lyon, it just makes it hard to be certain how much of the true Lyon you see at certain points. Does Lyon lose his agency? Yes. But he still had more agency than Nergal, who for all intents and purposes died more than a century before FE7 began.

*Lights incense burners in my closet* May my raison finally come! Double TMS banner please! That would certainly be worthy of a month of summoning. Itsuki-Tsubasa-Touma, Kiria-Eleonora-Mamori. The only things missing on the calendar are the Yashiro GHB and Uta-loid Tiki TT. ...Not gonna happen though, not when IS refuses to as much as acknowledge them on CYL. The next NH seems to be coming a little too soon to me, but I'm not complaining.

I, perhaps mistakenly, thought that simply having the maidens had some effect on Medeus. As for Gotoh not realizing Gharnef had returned, odd, since how could one explain Medeus's very quick return otherwise? Unless rage = power, and being owned AGAIN! made him really, really, really upset. Evidence? Not a lot shown, but I've been owned. The limited amount of arms on display is indeed very muscular. NM Marth appears to have lost muscle mass however.

I'm aware those blur the lines a little. Although they happened to be alts of characters already normally in the game, which makes things even murkier. It'd take a banner that blends new characters of both gens to fully convince me.

Not as stale as the Sigurd half of it. Remind to bury alive everyone who makes Belhallan Barbecue "jokes". Fates I know hasn't gotten that many NH banners despite the Seasonals galore and large starting FEH roster. Nonetheless, other games, namely FE6, Thracia, Tellius, and Archanea and TMS, deserve a new NH to varying degrees more than Fates. On the bright side of things, NHs are always a positive thing to some extent, and I am expecting the next banner to be Seasonal, so if this means it isn't, that is a good thing. But of course, this "Flora", if it is her, could be a Seasonal Flora- it is possible for a character to exist Seasonally but not normally, see Charlotte. Speaking of Charlotte, a silver lining if Fates is the next NH, is that maybe they are finally adding her in her normal canonical busty Axe Infantry goodness. It is annoying that she has been in limbo of sorts for so long. Ophelia is in the running as one of the most popular characters not yet in FEH. Of those not in yet, she is 12th on the lineup. Of non-villain OCs and beasties, she is fourth, losing to only Owain, Kliff, and Aversa. However, Flora is clearly Gen 1 Fates, so I have doubts if this is a Fates banner, that Ophelia would be on it.

I was summoned, but I'll make no promises of the quality of what I come up with. Naga, sensing from across the multiverse a realm in need of her help, discovered the Elibe dimension and then warped herself there. She arrives just as Bern conquers Arcadia, and quickly learning of the plight of the Arcadians, agreed to come to their aid. Naga then goes forth and asks to meet with the leaders of Bern, taking fiercesome dragon form to strike fear and respect into them. News of this flows to Zephiel, whom upon hearing of a dragon, albeit one in opposition to him, comes immediately to Arcadia. Zephiel, in deference to dragons, willingly knell before Naga and accepted her call for a dinner between the two of them, over which they could discuss their views. The venue of the former abode of Athos, where Forblaze is tucked away. The menu consists of steak made from an aged wyvern retired from combat and transport duties, it is served alongside greens fertilized with human nightsoil, yogurt made from fermented cow's milk is the dessert. Water is the beverage of choice. All of this was arranged by Naga. Zephiel politely greets Naga, and Naga the same to Zephiel. Zephiel asks Naga a long series of questions concerning herself and her world. Zephiel finds Naga to be very much like Jahn, her emotions are controlled, she is free of vice, she led her people into a golden age of such marvels of civilization that humanity could never achieve he believes. And yet, Zephiel is infuriated by Naga, she is for all her apparent wisdom, too naive, too stupid, why does she trust in irredeemable humanity so? How could she just let her people abandon the earth to humanity without a fight? She could be his draconic messiah, the one who shall replace humanity with a far far far better draconic world. Naga can sense Zephiel's emotions, and inquires what made him so, she pities him. Zephiel, considering himself as a wretched human, does not want such pity, he would like her to end him, but only after eradicating the rest of humanity first. Naga attempts to convince Zephiel he is wrong about humanity and about dragonkind. Although she cannot speak of too much of Elibean dragonkind, she does make it clear in her world that dragons are emotional creatures, capable of the great sin of pride, contrary to what this Jahn has told him. She relays the tales of the Earth Dragons and its allies, and all the woe they made not just upon humanity, but dragonkind itself. She too, having caught glimpse of Idunn before, uses her, having sensed something was wrong in her, as the victim of others of her species, as evidence against the perfection. She pities Zephiel, and sees in him, were it not for his despair, just what humanity need to make a fair successor to dragonkind, nay able to bring civilization to a higher level than that which dragonkind left off at. Whereas Zephiel is coldly frustrated by the entire meeting, remaining unswayed through the whole of it, Naga remains serenely calm, herself unmoving in her views just the same despite the difference in emotions. Returning to the food. Zephiel drinks only the water, not touching the food. Naga on the other hand drinks the water and eats all of the food. Naga asks why Zephiel has not touched any of it. Zephiel, proving his brilliance, replies he could see the meaning behind the dishes. The wyvern steak is symbolic of dragonkind, and he will not eat of those superior to himself. The greens were cultivated using human waste, therefore he will not eat of them either. Although not as high in his mind as dragons, Zephiel still considers all other lifeforms superior to humans, and thus refused to partake of the yogurt derived from a cow. Water, a lifeless thing derived therefore from nothing holy nor base nor in between, is all he will consume. Zephiel then wants Naga's reasons for partaking of each. Naga considers the natural world to have natural transitions, and natural behaviors. The aged wyvern died a natural death after a long life of service, she acknowledges its death and eats it. She sees that human waste has grown given rise to fresh greens, and disregarding the fact that it arose from humans, eats it. She too eats the yogurt, finding nothing wrong in the partaking of cattle. She thus accepts the death of dragonkind, the rise of humanity, and all other organisms as they are involved in the natural cycle being discussed. She then states she would not object to cows eating the meat of humans, if that were the natural course of things, but that she will oppose unnatural changes in this process. Sophia then steps in towards the end of the dinner, and if with many ellipses in a shy and unprepared manner, lays out the case of Arcadia. Sophia expresses the faint hope of peaceful human and dragon coexistence coprosperity. Zephiel rejects this proposition outright, finding humanity to be the problem. Naga says she would like to believe in the possibility of coexistence, but finds dragonkind in its sheer power, longevity, and physiological problems (degeneration in her world, the post-Ending Winter clime in this one), to make dragonkind ill-suited to be with humanity on a global, widespread basis. In effect, Naga agrees with Zephiel that dragons and humankind can't truly coexist, albeit she pins the problem of coexistence on the opposite group as him. Sophia then departs, leaving Zephiel and Naga alone once more. Seeing Naga's annoying gaze into his heart, Zephiel then admits, grudgingly, that he would like to see Arcadia as the world, that he would like to coexist with dragonkind. But he is not to be a hypocrite, no humanity is devoid of sin, no human can truly coexist with dragons, as long as any human exists, dragonkind will be in danger from its vices. Once the rest of humanity is with certainty eradicated, he will then end himself to complete things, but until then he will not rest nor consider death. Naga then explains that she accepted death once before (this is Awakening Naga I forgot to add), leaving humanity behind to finish what she believed it could do, when it was not certain the threat of dragonkind to it was gone. Zephiel considers this foolish, but at the same time daring and honorable. By this point, the dinner, which had begun at an early 4:00 PM or so, has dragged on through the night. Although Zephiel has been worn in his arguments with Naga, he is still quite alert, ever interested in hearing what comes from Naga's mouth. It has just passed 5:00 AM, the Sun shall soon rise again, this "dinner" has gone on for so long. Accepting things have gone on for too long, Zephiel and Naga adjourn, they shall later that day reach their decisions. Zephiel, after getting a few hours' sleep, orders Bern withdraw from Arcadia immediately taking nothing from there with them and to never return, as a concession to Naga. Naga for her part withdraws to her world, trusting in the good humans of Elibe to defeat Zephiel. But before Naga departs, the next time Zephiel slumbers, she visits him in her spiritual form. She dives into his soul and takes with her a fragment of it. Then traveling back in time, she goes back to before humanity came to exist in Archanea, Valentia, and Jugdral. Naga then incarnates Zephiel's soul fragment as a young man with no memories, devoid of clothes. A savage, he quickly prodigally learns to hunt and forage. It is not long before he stumbles on a group of ancient dragonkind, and befriends many dragons, which are taken by this courious thing. The savage Zephiel falls in a love with a female dragon, who is the first to learn how to take human form. In human form, this female dragon is visited by savage Zephiel, and begets many children with him. These children interbreed and also marry other dragons, over time however, the dragon side gradually fades away, creating the human race, which spreads out over all the continents. Xane and Ophelia, at a puppet show, eating chicken nuggets in various fun shapes with green ketchup.

I only got the game a few days ago, and I've only been able to play it for a few hours each day, and things aren't really hooking me yet. After some thought, I chose to start with Ophilia, it was her or Cyrus who interested me the most. And after that, I decided to go clockwise in the rest of the recruitments- spelling out the word OCTOPATH in the process. So far I've made it to where Primrose is, although I haven't started her story yet, I'll do that in my next play session. I know JRPGs can be slow to blossom, and once I get subjobs, it should get to be better. But right now, while the combat is okay, it isn't great. My bigger issue however is experiencing eight origin stories, I like the characters from what I've seen so far, but nothing storywise is really "moving", since I just keep starting anew, it has taken me seven hours to get as far as I have. It's become something of a boring pattern at this point- go to town, find character, trigger and complete their Chapter 1, move on to the next town. I should keep playing for things to get better, but at the same time, I've got SMTIVA in my play log, which I feel like I want to spend my limited play time on as well. I'm maybe halfway in on that, I don't know exactly. It's a bit of the inverse of OT, I find the characters largely insufferable, but the gameplay is good and fast for a JRPG. Also, how do I take Ophilia out of my team? She is locked whenever I go to a tavern for some reason. I like her healing (but it seems a bit weak unboosted now or without resorting to the stronger heal spell), but now that I'm about to get character no. 5, I would like to know for EXP distribution reasons.

SD makes it clear that Medeus isn't back at full power yet, which is why he can only maintain dragon form in Dolhr Keep. Having never died before during Anri's time, Medeus was at full power, a Shadow Dragon. It was in Anri's time that Medeus got his epithet, humans carried it over to him in Marth's, not knowing that Medeus had weakened and could no longer claim the title for the time being. Why Medeus is stronger in Mystery over SD, despite having been resurrected for a shorter time, I would imagine might have something to do with the maidens sacrifice and being at the Dragon's Table.

Would not not make sense? So it would make sense! Xane just somehow degenerated despite giving up his dragonstone. Or maybe this is a Xane who experienced some terrible trauma that forever changed him permanently to the core. Perhaps humanity in his world was so bad he actually sided with Medeus, only to watch Marth defeat Medeus for good, and for humanity afterwards to independently of Marth kill off every other Manakete. The last of his species, shaken by the hate and avarice of others, he took disguise to hide himself, and then finding a way to leave his world, decided on living an existence of callous hedonism and fun throughout the multiverse. He cares not about how it ruins and hurts others, given all the ruin he has seen in his life, sympathy he is no longer capable of, but revenge is something he has given up on, deeming that hopeless. And as for your little question of "What is a Shadow Dragon?", I think you and I already should know the answer. A Shadow Dragon is just an Earth Dragon whose power levels via hatred, rage, and actual power, have been amped up to a certain magnitude that causes a physiological transformation. Whereas Divine Dragons occur naturally, Shadow Dragons are artificial, no one being born that way. Maybe other Dragon species can go Shadow Dragon, maybe Bantu or Tiki could given enough darkness and hate, but we don't know, given the only two Shadow Dragons there are in Archan-Val-Dral are Earths.

Less messed up than keeping the sibling mindset and adding a romance one atop it. If both sides of a non-genetically related duo agreed to try to abandon the sibling mindset and work towards a sexual-romantic one in its place, and it worked, it wouldn't in itself be a bad thing. However, that two people could agree to make such a transition in the first place, would suggest something not exactly normal going on in both their minds. Could there be good reason for the change? I guess. Maybe they have anxieties they need sexual intimacy to fill yet can't reach out to others to get it? But more likely than not, I doubt there would be good sane reasons for such a change.

It wouldn't be the first time Loptyr took on an seductive form, just ask Svaðilfari (whose name has yet to be used in FEH- this must be corrected!). If Loki was Loptyr, then suddenly it'd tie Loki to the Archanea-Jugdrali-Valentian-Ylissean world. Whatever explanation they could give, I'd expect it'd run roughshod over the lore of at least one continent.

That better not be it. If Loki is a really big evil and powerful baddie, or works for a really big evil and powerful baddie, I'd expect more for a true form, would be very disappointing if that was it. At the least, I'd go for zombie-like eyes (I'd pick red), flesh of either a pale undead or dark brown color, fangs, and mutant demonic butterfly wings. I'd bet against an angelic True Loki on the whole, in favor of something grotesque. One general question to ask I think, is whether True Loki does away with the sexual emphasis completely, or exaggerates it further?

Corrected. And throw me in the "likes Oxford commas" camp.

It couldn't have been long, no more than three years: Micaiah: I…I tried to leave him behind. When we went to Crimea, I split off from him and took a ship to Begnion. But when I reached Begnion, war had broken out between Crimea and Daein. I knew I had to return to Daein to look for him. I couldn’t find him, so I went to Crimea. But I still couldn’t find him… We found each other again after the war, in Daein. In the back alleys of Nevassa, where we first met. In the same base conversation: Ike: How long have you been with him?Micaiah: …A long time. I met him when I was hiding out in the back alleys of Nevassa, over ten years ago. Tellius Recollection Vol. 2 at an apparent age of 17 in RD. This would have meant he was 7 when they first met. If we set puberty to 12, then that would mean five years of Sothe pre-sexual awakening with Micaiah, where she is his definitively nonsexual mother/big sister, although given he still looks like a kid at ~14 in PoR, and it is stated in that game that Micaiah is to Sothe what Muarim is to Tormod, then even at 14, he views Micaiah nonsexually. We don't know when Sothe started having sexual feelings for Micaiah, but that in RD they prefer to refer to in public themselves as brother and sister, as opposed to lovers, indicates the transition from a nonsexual familial relationship to a sexual lovers one is not yet complete, if in progress. I think it ultimately comes down to when Sothe underwent his growth spurt between PoR and RD, and we haven't any certainty when this was, but it had to be before the Dawn Brigade formed I think. How many months would it take for such a small group to gain notoriety? If we put it at six months before RD, then that narrows things to a 2.5 years timeframe. I accept the pairing has clearly dropped hints in RD now, but I'm still not a major fan of it. Outside of arguably Ike's, Gatrie's, and Astrid's with a Makalov A, I don't see this. Outside of Ike, nobody just up and mysteriously vanishes, everyone has a happy ending. Micaiah is social enough I can see her marrying another, maybe Pelleas? Sothe is more the problematic one here, in a way like Soren, albeit not as bad. Sothe one can imagine living a normal life without Micaiah, as he is shown to be able to have standard social relations with non-Micaiah people, something Soren doesn't ever have. Even so, while Sothe loves Daein and honors Ike- two things other than revering Micaiah, which is more than Soren can muster outside of Ike, as RD goes on, Sothe increasingly is reduced to being defined by his concern for and devotion to Micaiah. It would have done Sothe well if he had more, he is rather one note in being so obsessed with Micaiah. Real supports would have been a solution, but of course RD for reasons of gameplay and resource constraints alike, couldn't have those.

I'm relishing in seeing the water of joy evaporate from thy beings, leaving behind but cakes of the other component of the sea's brine. Another RD to bash, this time I'll try not to momentarily on a gut instinct mistake it sometimes as Radiant Dawn criticisms (not that the game is above criticism- it certainly isn't). And I'll be checking in again later tonight, for despite the old having reached its end, the calendar new has yet to arrive. What Seasonal despair and New Heroes hopes should mark it, we shall see, we shall predict, and then we shall whenst their days come, despair and hope once more.

Oliver got in because of memes, memes IS themselves invented with their choice to revive him in RD. He didn't have to blow up like an allergic pufferfish on helium, but for some inexplicable reason, IS intentionally went down that bizarre, objectionable path with him. Jarod would be good to go with some of the Dawn Brigade members, future Lance Infantry additions are few and far between. His map, Daein Arise! has already been taken, but One Survives- the map where Micaiah is taking a late night stroll and the BK takes out the trash, also had him as a boss and can possibly be used instead. Ideally with FoW.

After HW, my testing of the waters into Musou proper was SWC1, certainly not a bad game. Enemy count is on the low side for a Warriors (I think SWC3 increased it), but overall quite good. It has HWL-styled character swapping, making for some hectic battles where you're trying complete multiple missions at once while switching back and forth, and making sure you always have someone everywhere you need a fighter. I forget which battle it is, but seemingly randomly on a second play of one, I unlocked a pre-battle scene where Nobunaga seems to force choke Hanbei. Good taste, although I'm not that versed in Musou, he is probably my favorite Wu character. I do tend to like the strategist types as a whole, Zhuge Liang being the one significant exception. I think it helps IRL he obviously wasn't a Shota, wasn't the decision to make him one was to visually contrast him with his close friend in Kanbei? They managed quite effectively though to bring down the strategy from that of a cold grown man, while not turning Hanbei into a totally kiddy kid who you can't actually see making strategy. He manages to be mature, but with a slim, optimistic, energetic and somewhat relaxed childish flavor. "A man born on this earth, though he might live to a ripe old age, will not, as a rule, reach a hundred years. Why then should I rest grumbling in frustration where I am? Disregarding the distance across the sea and across the mountain reaches that lie between us, I shall in one fell swoop invade Great Ming. I have it mind to introduce Japanese customs and values to the four hundred and more provinces of that country and to bestow upon it the benefits of imperial rule and the culture of the coming hundred million years. Your esteem country has done well to make haste in attending to our court. To the farsighted, grief does not approach. Those who lag [in offering homage], however, will not be granted pardon, even if this is a distant land of little islands lying in the sea. When the day of of my invasion of the Great Ming arrives and I lead my troops to the staging area, that will be the time to make our neighborly relations flourish all the more. I have no other desire but to spread my fame throughout the three countries, this and no more." - Parts of Hideyoshi's letter seeking for Korea to let him pass through en route to China, as it was translated in a book I'm currently reading. The rather condescending language in the second paragraph helps explain partly why Korea didn't let him pass through, leading to one of Hideyoshi's bigger follies. Just felt like sharing this.

Mitsunari did have point IRL. Hideyoshi's declared heir was his infant son, and all Mitsunari tried to do is stop Ieyasu's ambitions to seize power for himself. Unfortunately, because it is complicated and boring for a hack n' slash, and there has to be an appeal to generic modern values. As a result, what is lost is why people are often fighting each other in the first place, like why Katsuie Shibata got into disagreement with Hideyoshi. But the thing is, they could make a good case for Sekigahara using historical Ieyasu and Mitsunari. Ieyasu can be twisted into meritocratic and saying that Japan, although arising from chaos, is still weakly unified and needs a strong ruler. Mitsunari calls Ieyasu's bluff as being purely a power grab of self-interest, and that for Japan to be reunified in peace now, the warlords must accept Hideyoshi's blood heir even if they are an infant, for if this step is not taken, what Ieyasu proposes will be a act that keeps the disuniting ambition of the warriors alive. Similarly, Dynasty Warriors could benefit with a little more historical nuance, namely in the case of Shu. Their cause would be stronger if they could just say "The Han Dynasty for the past 400 years have kept China as one and prosperous, Wei and Wu seek to overturn this. I Liu Bei wish to restore from this chaos what has for so long brought China only the best.".

Given they don't bother most of the time with custom interiors for indoor GHBs (or BHBs I think) either, I think one could say they just don't want to invest that much in these get a freebie character battles. Poor Oliver's glorious mansion, with luxurious red carpeting and fine paintings adorning the walls- not at all given a showing.

Where exactly would it show up? I just checked again today, and when I go to the FEH app in the store, it shows the most recent update in the text, but I don't see any way to get it. I hazard I'm supposed to tap what was once the download icon? But now it just says "play" and not "update" or anything, and tapping "play" just brings me to FEH, which gives me a message to go to the App Store, which I tap to be brought back there, which I can tap to go to the FEH app again, and so forth endlessly. Edit: Realized my stupidity and got it working.

My sympathies for the immediate victims and the Japanese as a whole. For any who may have perished, Namu Amida Butsu. Reminds me of how they got rid of a Tsunami spell in DQ7's 3DS version, due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake-tsunami-nuclear reactor gone awry. A visual novel, Virtue's Last Reward, got an extra, happier ending added due to the same event.

I'm not quite sure on the source of this, but apparently Cao Cao was visually based on a famed portrayal of Nobunaga in a movie. Later comes Samurai Warriors, which couldn't help but reuse the same Nobunaga portrayal for the its Nobunaga. Also, according to historical myth, at the Battle of Okehazama- where Nobunaga began his rise to glory by killing Yoshimoto Imagawa, in the initially desperate situation, Nobunaga wrote poetry (a common thing for educated samurai- pre-death final poems were a thing) and did some kind of dance with a fan. So you're a Wu fan? Interesting. Not sure which faction I like the most- other than it not being Shu. And isn't Lu Xun popular with the fangirls like Cao Pi and Mitsunari? Albeit a sweet boy as opposed to their- ouch, they cut me! So the Deifications are mascots, fangirl favorites, fanboy favorites, Lu Bu, and Nobunaga. I get not wanting to make it purely the three-four Dynasty patriarchs and the three Samurai unifiers, that can be boring, but this is even worse. Surely they could've found a middle path. And can Koei ever admit that historical Lu Bu wasn't a supergod? He, like my aged dog when food is around, could apparently bark so loud the zenith of Heaven and nadir of Hell alike could hear it, but his bite fell far short of that bark. If it didn't then how the heck didn't he live longer and do more? Being aggressive does not equate to being strong.