Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Sidereal Wraith]

It feels good to finally get a full night’s sleep.

[Saint Rubenio]

6 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Believe it or not, Chapter 26-B is supposedly worse. I never actually picked it because I read it is really bad. Indoors, so no horsies. Arkis if he is around is forced into enemy service will attack you, and must be re-recruited via Lina, who is trapped in a prison cell at the other end of the map. Several enemies carry Thief Swords so they can randomly take your stuff, with no guaranteed chance of getting it back. A room in the center of the map filled with enemies you cannot see that can hit you, including an AoE wind tome and Chu-ko-nu. And a thief that will rush to the chest with the one and only +Movement stat booster. With one strong enemy with a Brave Sword and the Draco skill as the cherry on top.

I don't know, I thought 26B was better. Sure, then middle room is iffy, but with some ranged units you can try to kill a couple of them in retaliation. You can do absolutely nothing about the invisible ballistae, and the move potion in 26B is so good.

5 hours ago, Armagon said:

Holmes is honestly one of my favorite Lords ever. I love how he just doesn't give a shit. Ngl, I wish this game was just about him because Runan is just brown Marth.

Oh look, it's "Armagon disagrees with Ruben n°737376461525"

Holmes is a cool guy and a unique lord, but his horrendous romance with Katri drags him down a bit, and he spends a lot of his story meandering about and getting history lessons dumped on him. Runan may be more standard in terms of personality, but he has one of Kaga's very few decently-written main character romances, Eugen, and the better half of the plot.

So yeah, Runan good, in my opinion. 

[Dayni]

6 hours ago, Sooks said:

Anyway, my mom’s funeral was today, so I missed 2 pages that I don’t feel like reading through. If there is anything anyone wants me to comment on, let me know. This day has just been so exhausting, mentally and physically. I will now go watch Netflix.

 Truly sorry for your loss.

I hope you have been able to rest after it.

[Saint Rubenio]

8 hours ago, Sooks said:

Anyway, my mom’s funeral was today, so I missed 2 pages that I don’t feel like reading through. If there is anything anyone wants me to comment on, let me know. This day has just been so exhausting, mentally and physically. I will now go watch Netflix.

That's just terrible... I'm a bit late because timezones, but my condolences, man. Be safe.

[Lightcosmo]

6 hours ago, Armagon said:

Really love this.

Xenosaga's Zohar and XC2's Core Crystal look the exact same in shape, i wonder what the reason for that is?

[BrightBow]

7 hours ago, Sooks said:

She is the person who raised me and I’m only 14. Yeah we were close.

My condolences. And my best wishes to you and the people close to you.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

@Sooks

My deepest condolences!

I know how it feels from my own experience not having parents or the people who raised anymore, but this happening at the age of 14 is pretty much the worst age to experience this.

I just hope this won't throw you out of the train and wish you everything best for your future!

[Sooks]

Round 2.

2 hours ago, Dayni said:

 Truly sorry for your loss.

I hope you have been able to rest after it.

Thank you, I was able to rest! But now I have this whole Saturday to rest, which is the best kind of rest. My only plan is a phone call at some point in the day.

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

That's just terrible... I'm a bit late because timezones, but my condolences, man. Be safe.

Thank you! You’re not late at all. I have been pretty safe.

52 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

My condolences. And my best wishes to you and the people close to you.

Thanks. We’ll be okay eventually.

45 minutes ago, Zan Partizanne said:

@Sooks

My deepest condolences!

Thank you Julian!

45 minutes ago, Zan Partizanne said:

I know how it feels from my own experience not having parents or the people who raised anymore, but this happening at the age of 14 is pretty much the worst age to experience this.

Well that’s not true, I do have my stepmom! No biological parents though, but she is my mom so I don’t actually care.

45 minutes ago, Zan Partizanne said:

I just hope this won't throw you out of the train and wish you everything best for your future!

Thank you so much!

[Interdimensional Observer]

8 hours ago, Armagon said:

Really love this.

"What's next?"

If we use the XS/XCX/XC2 shape, how about we turn it upside down and inverse its usual (barring XCX) property? Instead of infinite energy generation, it becomes an infinite energy devourer. The power of the next Xeno MC is the power of black holes, which are supremely scientific. You know like every galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center or something, right?

We run into the issue of how limitless consumption of all that is can be a good thing. But there could be creativity in how to make a "bad" power into a force for good. Or, they take the shamelessly easy way out and as the result of the character's pivotal growth moment, change the black hole ability into a white hole- a purely theoretical entity that has never been found in the universe, yet permissible by Einstein's theories, which emits boundless matter and energy as opposed to sucking it in. Thereby making Zohar 6.0 no different from the past entires. 

 

9 hours ago, Armagon said:

Holmes is honestly one of my favorite Lords ever. I love how he just doesn't give a shit. Ngl, I wish this game was just about him because Runan is just brown Marth.

I find his very jock personality to be very refreshing in the sea of mild-mannered lords which predominated FE's past. -Although his treatment of Katri keeps me from an unconditional full embrace. Outside of the Katri issue however, if there were a hypothetical a close vote on where to rank Holmes amongst the lords or something, I would likely (>50% chance) cast in favor of him and sink the other candidate down a rank.

 

3 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

and he spends a lot of his story meandering about and getting history lessons dumped on him.

Is the meandering his fault though? Technically, no video game character deserves credit or blame for the story they undertake, because they have no IRL agency, all the blame falls squarely on the writers.

However, it is fair to ask "Could this fictional being without a free will, given what we know of them and their world, opt take up a different course of action?". In Holmes's case, I could see it being either going straight on to liberating what Runan didn't of Salia, or instead making his first route split going for Granada.

Yet, the way things are portrayed, I don't feel like Holmes had many opportunities he squandered. And with the three splits as is, you would need to adjust for any changes you make to the first two. If you give Holmes more of a Salia liberation emphasis in the first split, you will need to retool Runan's passing through the kingdom during his first split to some extent, in which case, where does he go? You can't skip to Granada on the first split either, because then Katri never says hello to her mom and dad. And if you used Granada on the first split, what of the second split then? It isn't impossible to rewrite, but you would have to think it through.

Still, I don't keeping within the in-game universe see reason to blame Holmes for his story on the 1st split. It isn't like he had any personal connection to Salia, Lionheart is there liberating already with incidental help from Runan, and isn't like we're told it's the terrible land of tyranny and evil. Holmes, particularly with the personality he has, doesn't seem like he'd intentionally get into a liberation war unless it was his homeland, and Katri doesn't realize she's a princess until it's over so she can't nag him into doing it. The blame in this instance I have to put squarely on the writers.

Edited March 13, 2021 by Interdimensional Observer

[Sooks]

4 hours ago, Wraith said:

It feels good to finally get a full night’s sleep.

It does, doesn’t it?

[Sidereal Wraith]

Just now, Sooks said:

It does, doesn’t it?

Yes, especially when my GF was getting me up at 5:30 in the morning three days in a row.

[Sooks]

Vantage and desperation seems like a broken skill combination.

[Saint Rubenio]

9 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I find his very jock personality to be very refreshing in the sea of mild-mannered lords which predominated FE's past. -Although his treatment of Katri keeps me from an unconditional full embrace.

He does go way too far with Katri at times, but more than out of real malice, I think the guy's just immature. I mean, his father was a neglectful philanderer. No wonder Holmes has no idea how to handle himself around girls. It's enough that he's not a piece of shit like Vals.

2 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Is the meandering his fault though? Technically, no video game character deserves credit or blame for the story they undertake, because they have no IRL agency, all the blame falls squarely on the writers.

However, it is fair to ask "Could this fictional being without a free will, given what we know of them and their world, opt take up a different course of action?". In Holmes's case, I could see it being either going straight on to liberating what Runan didn't of Salia, or instead making his first route split going for Granada.

Yet, the way things are portrayed, I don't feel like Holmes had many opportunities he squandered. And with the three splits as is, you would need to adjust for any changes you make to the first two. If you give Holmes more of a Salia liberation emphasis in the first split, you will need to retool Runan's passing through the kingdom during his first split to some extent, in which case, where does he go? You can't skip to Granada on the first split either, because then Katri never says hello to her mom and dad. And if you used Granada on the first split, what of the second split then? It isn't impossible to rewrite, but you would have to think it through.

Still, I don't keeping within the in-game universe see reason to blame Holmes for his story on the 1st split. It isn't like he had any personal connection to Salia, Lionheart is there liberating already with incidental help from Runan, and isn't like we're told it's the terrible land of tyranny and evil. Holmes, particularly with the personality he has, doesn't seem like he'd intentionally get into a liberation war unless it was his homeland, and Katri doesn't realize she's a princess until it's over so she can't nag him into doing it. The blame in this instance I have to put squarely on the writers.

This is all true. Honestly, for as much hell as I give Holmes, I do quite enjoy him. I just tend to defend Runan because I like Runan too. I think there's a bit more to him than just "Leif lookalike." He has a mature and complicated relationship with Enteh, and he can also be surprisingly blunt and headstrong at times, no doubt Holmes's influence at play. And his interactions with Eugen are always a joy to watch. Though that's more due to Eugen being the best character in games than Runan himself.

So yeah. TRS lords good, both of them, in my humble opinion. And - please don't be alarmed by the fact that I'm favorably comparing something to Berwick Saga, nobody has kidnapped me and replaced me with a fake - they're both better than Reese. Reese and Runan are similar at first glance, but Reese has that hilariously bad romance with his step sister, and he's constantly sucking up to assholes like Volcens because muh hierarchy, which got grating fast. Oh, and Runan steals a wedding. That'll never cease to amuse me, seriously. Reese wishes he was that awesome. It's a good thing BWS has Ward and Tianna, because Reese is a bit of a disappointment, sandwiched as he is between the TRS duo and Zade.

[Sidereal Wraith]

 

[Dayni]

Something more lighthearted for everyone (with 100% loop)

[Sooks]

 

[Armagon]

4 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Runan may be more standard in terms of personality, but he has one of Kaga's very few decently-written main character romances,

What? Who is Runan's love interest? Is it Enteh? Cause if so, I have to really disagree here, the guy has barely talked to her. Like yeah, Holmes is pretty much a male tsundere when it comes to Katri but at least he actually talks to her.

Maybe things change in these remaining nine chapters but I honestly have to really disagree that Runan's romance with Enteh is well-written because there's barely anything to note. It's like Marth/Caeda except it doesn't have the excuse of not requiring Caeda to be alive.

And if Runan's love interest isn't Enteh.....then I really don't know who it is.

4 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Holmes is a cool guy and a unique lord, but his horrendous romance with Katri drags him down a bit, and he spends a lot of his story meandering about and getting history lessons dumped on him.

Tbf, Fire Emblem and the KagaSagas have always had a problem with exposition dumps like this. There's just something about these sort of games that make it go the "tell, not show" route.

As for meandering, I've said before that Holmes is the closest thing we'll get to Fire Emblem of the Caribbean so honestly, I do not mind him going on adventures. 

2 hours ago, lightcosmo said:

Xenosaga's Zohar and XC2's Core Crystal look the exact same in shape, i wonder what the reason for that is?

We both know the reason haha.

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

The power of the next Xeno MC is the power of black holes, which are supremely scientific.

(Shrimpy in shambles) but yeah, an anti-Zohar power would be interesting to see.

General Xeno spoilers

Spoiler

We've seen the power of the Zohar used for nefarious purposes in some games (Zanza for example, the main antagonists of Xenosaga) but it's still never like, a corruption of the Zohar power, you know what I mean.

 

 

[Spara]

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Reese and Runan are similar at first glance, but Reese has that hilariously bad romance with his step sister, and he's constantly sucking up to assholes like Volcens because muh hierarchy, which got grating fast.

Eh, I dunno, some of Reese's actions are kinda fascinating to see.

Spoiler

Mainly the fact that he can be very petty about some things (Sorry Jung, you may have been a dick, but you didn't deserve that!), and I think the game does a really good job of portraying him as a young man trying to lead in a desperate war. 

Also, I never really got the impression that he was sucking up to Volcens, considering just how many times Volcens got angry at him and really tried to get him killed. Reese had his own reasons for acting the way he did in maps like Silent City, I'd say, namely that he's trying to protect his friends through what is basically a self-sacrifice. Everybody knew that mission was basically suicide, but he went through with it anyway. 

Also, the whole Lynette thing... I think it would've been so much better if the player got to see some of the correspondence Reese was writing to her. As it stands, you get a good idea of who she is from the letters, and little bits about their relationship are strewn about, but it's really not enough. I don't think it's necessarily terrible, but it's not good. 

 

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

sandwiched as he is between the TRS duo and Zade.

And Cyltan! Cyltan is easily one of Kaga's best. 

[Sooks]

Shoutouts to Petra for being a beast even on maddening.

[Saint Rubenio]

22 minutes ago, Armagon said:

What? Who is Runan's love interest? Is it Enteh? Cause if so, I have to really disagree here, the guy has barely talked to her. Like yeah, Holmes is pretty much a male tsundere when it comes to Katri but at least he actually talks to her.

Maybe things change in these remaining nine chapters but I honestly have to really disagree that Runan's romance with Enteh is well-written because there's barely anything to note. It's like Marth/Caeda except it doesn't have the excuse of not requiring Caeda to be alive.

And if Runan's love interest isn't Enteh.....then I really don't know who it is.

There's a reason they haven't talked much, actually. Give it a bit of time. Still, keep in mind, I'm comparing this romance to the rest of Kaga's romances, which are... well, they're awful. Bar's not too high.

Just now, Spara said:

Eh, I dunno, some of Reese's actions are kinda fascinating to see.

  Hide contents

Mainly the fact that he can be very petty about some things (Sorry Jung, you may have been a dick, but you didn't deserve that!), and I think the game does a really good job of portraying him as a young man trying to lead in a desperate war. 

Also, I never really got the impression that he was sucking up to Volcens, considering just how many times Volcens got angry at him and really tried to get him killed. Reese had his own reasons for acting the way he did in maps like Silent City, I'd say, namely that he's trying to protect his friends through what is basically a self-sacrifice. Everybody knew that mission was basically suicide, but he went through with it anyway. 

Also, the whole Lynette thing... I think it would've been so much better if the player got to see some of the correspondence Reese was writing to her. As it stands, you get a good idea of who she is from the letters, and little bits about their relationship are strewn about, but it's really not enough. I don't think it's necessarily terrible, but it's not good. 

I do love how everyone keeps bamboozling and withholding information from him the entire game, it's quite the original approach. And the one scene where he politically outmaneuvers Padolf is great, a shame you need to make the game harder by using Esteban to get it. I didn't mean to say that he's bad, per se, but I do think Runan and Zade both are at least a bit better, personally.

Ward's great, though, and so is Tianna. So there's that.

Just now, Spara said:

And Cyltan! Cyltan is easily one of Kaga's best. 

Of course, how to forget Cyltan. Arrogant asshole turns into nice boy. Always a satisfying transition to watch.

[Sooks]

Alright, it’s chapter two time.

[Sooks]

Well, those are certainly some interesting skills.

[null]

1 hour ago, Sooks said:

 

She's playing hard to get.

Morning all.

[Sooks]

Pain.

[Armagon]

42 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Still, keep in mind, I'm comparing this romance to the rest of Kaga's romances, which are... well, they're awful. Bar's not too high.

True. If you ask me, Marth/Caeda is probably the best one. It ain't great but it gets a pass for being simple and also the first. But I still dock points for Caeda basically not existing outside of Ch.1 and the epilogue (not counting her recruiting half the cast).