No.3678
>>3674>general thoughts on the game itself?It's very fun and a total ride from start to finish but once that's over and you start to analyze it a little more critically, it feels definitely pretty unfinished and that a lot of plot points could've been done better. Still have fun with it though, maybe I've been playing it too much that once I know the twists, the initial sense of wonder doesn't captivate me and I'm left with a "this part could've been better"
>who are you shipping?Louis/More more than anything, everything else I like is a rarepair (even Zorba/Louis despite being very blatant). I like Louis as a bottom exclusively outside of that and I also like Will/More (but Will must top no matter what)
>any good fic recs? art?I like my friend's art, but that would be cheating. I really like @aoi_roji_ on twitter although they haven't posted anymore, @healthyhitoma too but they don't draw often.
>and, most importantly, why is louis so hot?He's a brat that needs to be put in his place, that's why
I had been wondering about making a metaphor thread here in a long while but discussion about Metaphor really died out in most places, which makes me a little sad but simultaneously it's comfy this way.
No.3679
Played the demo and thought it was fine, but patiently waiting for the inevitable complete edition. Kind of worried none of the yaoi is going to hit right.
No.3681
>general thoughts on the game itself?wonderful. what a ride. parts dragged on tbh but the stuff that was good was honestly very good. i cried.
>who are you shipping?louis/anyone. no specific preference for top/bottom, either. i just like him. to me, he is the metaphor fandom bicycle. everyone gets a ride. specifically: louis/more!!!, louis/strohl, louis/zorba, mob/louis (where is this, can someone write it). i'll take a look at louis/will if i'm desperate but it doesn't hit the same as the rest.
i am also vaguely interested in del/bas??? but haven't seen anything very interesting for it yet unfortunately.
>any good fic recs? art?spoilers abound but @letsura1, @Kexiu_, @noct2aa, @omuraice5555, @zipsunz. all on twitter.
>and, most importantly, why is louis so hot?i'm op so i'm still looking for answers.
>>3678>I had been wondering about making a metaphor thread here in a long while but discussion about Metaphor really died out in most places, which makes me a little sad but simultaneously it's comfy this way.i only just finished it-–was it super popular when it came out in october? i had actively avoided discussion because of spoilers so i'm worried i missed all the fun. but also i don't mind it being a little quiet, either, esp after being in persona fandom for so long where it can get overwhelming with so many people butting in with their stupidity.
No.3682
>>3679>Kind of worried none of the yaoi is going to hit right.Depends on your taste honestly. The most popular pairs are Strohl/MC and Louis/MC with everything else not even close to being noticeable. Strohl/MC is very vanilla, incredibly so. Honestly, this whole ship difference is very reminiscent of Yu/Yosuke and Yu/Adachi in P4 to me. You have the 'good friends' somewhat 'safe' ship in one side, with Strohl not having the 'no homo' that Yosuke had. And quite frankly, the only appeal of Louis/MC is hot villian that you'd want to fuck/get fucked by, otherwise it doesn't have much depth to it.
>>3681>i only just finished it-–was it super popular when it came out in october?Kind of? Discussion was definitely more prevalent everywhere, fanartists were popping up here and there and there was a momentary 'hype' for maybe 1~2 months but after that, it started to die down a little bit. Although at the beginning, most people were avoiding spoilers. On /vg/ at least, discussions were definitely fruitful. Elsewhere, I don't know. I'm pretty sure right now a lot of people have finished the game, and some discussion arise within personal circles but you don't see much out there. Both because twitter imploded and people moved on to bsky, or because there's people trying not to spoil others as well.
No.3699
>>3679I realized I don't like Atlus yaoi. The best friend yaoi always feels so bland, and the villain yaoi lacks enough depth from the villain. It's both too vanilla on one end and too dark on the other end and nothing hits just right. It feels lacking most likely because the company really doesn't want fujos.
No.3702
>>3699>It feels lacking most likely because the company really doesn't want fujos.Really? Funny you say this because I was trying to revive this thread saying that despite Metaphor feeling like the most fujofriendly Atlus game as of date (even more than SMTV), the fandom is pretty dead, or very slow.
I agree on what you say on the 2 popular pairs currently but that's definitely not the case with other Persona ships.
Even within metaphor there are other ships worth thinking about, just that nobody wants to do it.
>>3700>even though it feels like they want you to ship him with the Princedoessheknow.jpg
No.3704
>>3700I know the Persona 4 heyday but I didn't like Yosuke's no homo bro character and I also hated Adachi for acting like an incel. Neither of those are archetypes I can stand.
No.3705
>>3703I agree. MC/Prince could still be interesting, even in the context of the spoiler. I actually find a lot of Metaphor fic lacking, and it doesn't feel very creative or touch on canon in any meaningful way–but maybe that's just because 90% of it is tropey friends-to-lovers stuff.
>>3699>It feels lacking most likely because the company really doesn't want fujos.Not to derail but this is laughable. Please play Persona 5.
No.3710
>general thoughts on the game itself?
It's so much fun! Choosing archetypes to go with the situations is so much fun! It's harder than Persona, but in a new and different way. The story so far has been a trip, but a fun trip. It feels like an old SNES JRPG, where the focus is being a fun game with fun adventure, rather than trying to say Important Truths or Be a Movie.
>who are you shipping?
MC/Strohl, because they're very cute together, and MC has that 'Girly-looking Top' energy. Strohl is lovely btw, vanilla flavour, but very high-quality vanilla at that. I want that boy to blush and get bent over things.
Also Morgan/Louis, until someone else comes along to properly top Louie. But the whole 'idolizing the saviour' thing goes so well with Louie's Holy White Prince motif.
>any good fic recs? art?
You tell me. I have not finished this game yet. Please throw recs at me.
>and, most importantly, why is louis so hot?
It's the Berserk inspo, he seems to be a Guts expy.
No.3711
>>3709I'm curious to know what you like about them, because I'm pretty sure the vocal fans are
me and the couple few friends that make and art and fic for it and it does surprise me to see that it's gotten people interested in them. It's never 'too late' to get into them, anon. There's a lot of things to say despite the fact of them not appearing together on-screen but they do have a lingering connection there that we just don't know fully.
>>3710By Morgan do you mean Zorba or someone else? Also I think you got your berserk charas wrong, because he's definitely more Griffith than he's Guts
No.3714
>>3711Well, a big part of it is that
I love sad dads lol. I am especially stricken by how Metaphor handles grief, and I love how that theme ties in with More's character and, in turn, Louis's entire arc. It's fascinating to me that a huge chunk of the game hinges on Louis's backstory which is connected to More. The September horn scene has me in a chokehold. The frustrated tension–and YEARNING??–is unmatched. I also can't help but find it tender that Louis carries the fantasy novel on his person despite his disappointment in More. Ugh.
>but they do have a lingering connection there that we just don't know fully.Also this. That omission makes it fun to imagine all sorts of possibilities. Young Louis… aaah. I do feel More and Louis are the most complex characters in the game, which to me makes them top tier.
But you know. I also just think they're really cute.
Hoping I am using the spoiler tag correctly. (I did, in fact, not use it correctly lmao. I can't keep up with how different imageboards are using spoilers.)
No.3716
>>3715I was wondering if maybe Morgan was an autocorrect for Zorba. My phone is always autocorrecting Zorba to something weird.
I really enjoyed Zorba, esp
in the late game. Louis/Zorba is probably in my top three m:rf ships, but if I'm honest with myself, I can't really see them fucking, at least not consistently. I imagine it as a very intense, one-sided pairing. That being said, I do think Louis has fond feelings for Zorba in some capacity. I'd love to learn more about their relationship pre-canon.
And of course I still want to see art and fic of them doing it raw.
No.3718
>>3714You get it so right anon. Despite never missing an opportunity to mock
the king when he can, yet still does he still fondly remember him. How can you say you truly hate a man when you still try to carry his ideals with all your might, and life? It's just so fascinating.
They really are full of complexities, most of Louis's gang does to be honest which is what makes them so fun.
Plus, a bonus is that Louis and More are also aesthetically pleasing to look at too. Their design contrast could get me talking about it forever.
>>3716I also like zorui too, but I think the same. Zorba worships Louis almost religiously that even if I were to imagine him wanting to bang him, he'd likely quickly chastize himself over the thought.
He does definitely end up being a lot more yandere after his transformation so I wouldn't put it past him being more in touch with his emotions and giving in to wanting to fuck Louis No.3722
>>3718
>ruimoa>Their design contrast could get me talking about it forever.I haven't thought about this much outside of how they're both blond in contrasting clothing colors–would love to hear your thoughts.
>pre vs post-transformation ZorbaI swear there's a fic on ao3 that touches on this. Actually most fics for this pairing I've noticed are lacking in actual sex and instead are more eroguro-y as a metaphor. (lol "most fics" there's like 10 of them aaaaaa.)
I was actually thinking earlier about how I don't even think Louis fucks either. Just in general. I genuinely think he's so one-track minded with his own goals that he has no desire to engage in that type of relationship. The only lingering evidence of sexual interest he has, of course,
ended up as that complicated disdain for the king. No.3723
>>3722It really starts as simplistic with details like louis having wavy hair vs more's straight long hair, black and white, their horns being a similar shape but Louis's being bigger, but also the way their ideologies are similar yet different and
both escaping reality as wellMost people tend to headcanon Louis as very foward and aggresive (usually sexually aggresive) but I really don't think he'd be like this. Considering how hard it is for him to trust let alone not being the type of person to push things onto others (he lets all his followers roam free and do what they want), I don't see how would he end up being intimate with anybody so easily.
Much less the MC which is what everyone doesI can see him being detached from it if he were to do it, but I don't think it'd make him happy or Zorba if they had fucked. I feel like Zorba wants to get close to Louis and tries so hard but simultaneously that crazy devotion is what sets them apart because Louis would rather be seen as a normal person than some semi-god. At least that's what I think.
No.3726
Curious if anyone has a compiled list of all exhibition information re: Louis yet. It seems to be coming from areas where you can't take photos, so much is secondhand. Some information I've found from scrolling through socmed–
>Louis's design is based on tanbi manga. (Originally, I saw this translated as simply shoujo manga, but the complete phrasing on the placard is 少女漫画のような耽美系)>The shine in Destroyer Charadrius's eye was intentional, meant to suggest that Louis is crying.I feel like I saw another one but I can't recall it right now. I'll look again later.
>>3723Aaah, I like the way you think. I really enjoy this reading of Louis.
No.3730
>>3705>Persona 5The gay is so lacking in that game unless you like settling for scraps. Persona homo is trash.
No.3732
>>3731Neither of the ships look appealing. I'm bored with the Atlus formula and both vanilla friendship and doomed villain yaoi do nothing for me anymore.
No.3733
>>3710 over here, having played more of the game now.
I'm at the islandI'm impressed. Even the female characters have non-coomery designs. I love how
one of them is based off of 1960's idols & mangaI'm now
friends with Louie!? Damn. He's so cute up close, too. The charisma!And don't get me started on the tribe leader. That outfit is both stripperiffic and tasteful, sort of like NuCani clothing… I hope he's the next party member.All in all, this game seems to have been made for women. No.3735
>>3732Most of the discussion here has been about ships outside of that. You say "neither," as if there are only two ships in the game. I'm with you, I actively dislike the popular m:rf ships, but I'm sorry you are so closeminded (??) as to only know vanilla friendship and doomed villain yaoi when there are other interesting pairings for this fandom.
Toxic yearning age gap, catboy brocon incest,
schrodinger's dadson incest… That's not even all of it. The other day, I read a compelling fic for Zorba/Glodell, of all pairings.
If you don't have eyes for it, that's fine, but why sit here and complain as if you're forced to follow the formula. There is yaoi for all to see lol.
>>3733You're really in it now! I love the designs of the girl characters, too, and the lack of forced romance.
No.3736
>>3733>That outfit is both stripperiffic and tastefulHeh, same. I love Edeni, he's cute
I wish he had been a follower bond. He was MEANT to be one but got scrapped>>3726I'm trying so hard to find anything more but the only other one is about why his wings omit "4" and that's because the 4 is meant to be "Envy".
Envy and jealousy tend to be interchanged with one another but Envy is a lot more closer to a personal inner emptiness and wanting to have what others do.
Whether this is about himself or what he thinks about the Elda as a whole, I'm not sure but it's definitely easier to relate it with Louis more than anything. Powerlessness also generates feelings of Envy too.
I've heard that apparently the reason why Zorba is infatuated with Louis was written somewhere but nobody dares to say what it was.
>>3735People usually tend to flock to what gets the most content otherwise you'd be left starving and suffering if you happen to like something unpopular. Atlus games tend to have this problem that once at least 1 ship becomes the top dog, every other dynamic or interactions get overshadowed or don't matter to people. This is so weird for Metaphor when you have so many shipping potential with actual basis in canon but it's just straight up not popular.
No.3739
>>3738Me again.
I made it all the way to the boss, used my precious 'restore all MP' potion, and… I'm underleveled and have to take a day to train.
Another thing I noticed, is how well spaced-out the social links are. The quests feel more important, and since the social links aren't plentiful from the start, it feels more special and it's easier to prioritize. That, or I've just played so much Persona that I've developed a method.
That said, the stories in the social links are really, really good…
Heismay's is making me cry. It feels like they're able to tell more varied stories, due to the lack of focus on romance. Didn't expect to like the female characters as much as I do, but the lack of romance makes it feel like they're actual people, and not just props that fall into a specific role.
Back to leveling tomorrow, gotta save a catboy. No.3740
>>3739>That, or I've just played so much Persona that I've developed a method.Honestly you're not wrong, being able to do followers without needing to gather points like in Persona is also far more relaxing too. You can be as nice or mean as you want in dialogue options without repercussions, because in Persona it always feels like you have to tell everyone what they want to hear.
No.3742
>>3739I found that specific area to be difficult. I think I was also underleveled. I ended up rushing through it because I was annoyed and missed my catboys. There is a quest later where
it spits you right back into the temple, so I ran through all of it again to make sure I didn't miss anything. Turns out, I missed some items and chests lol.>>3736Oh yeah, it was the tidbit about the
wings!! God. Not me trying to relate this to ruimoa somehow.I do hope someone posts the Zorba info. I know you aren't supposed to take photos, but it's not like I can take off work and fly to Japan right now.
No.3752
>>3751Me. Again. I
got out of the damn labyrinth and went on a date with StrohlI think I love Strohl. For context, I'm a military nerd and honing weapons with Strohl? Yes. And then he said 'I always look for a weapons shop in a new town' and I'm like, swoon….
Just the fact that this game lets us go on a damn date with whomever in the party we please makes it awesome. And the writing is really well done, too, it treats the characters with respect even when choosing the 'homo' option, aka Strohl.
I am however, a bit annoyed at the lack of beach episode. I hope this game will be re-released with even more stuff, ala Persona.
>>3736Edeni not having a follower bond is a damn shame. and a waste of a cute boy. I hope there's one in aforementioned re-release.
The chanting on the island is a really good 'mirror' to the chanting going on during battle, impressed that the sound designer went there. It makes the island feel more like a different but similar place, culture-wise. No.3764
>>3752>>3752>I am however, a bit annoyed at the lack of beach episode. I hope this game will be re-released with even more stuff, ala Persona.The boys have modelled 'swimwear' sort of for their
hot springs models.
You don't
see the lower region at all in the game so I wonder if they may recycle that someday
No.3765
>>3764THERE IS A
HOT SPRING EPISODE!? I thought this game was nearly over, guess not. Thank you Atlus, thank you so much sdfdfsdsfdfsdfsdfs!!!!
THE CATBOY JOINED MY TEAM. I'm sad that the little catboy didn't survive tho, the incest was real. OTOH, I finally found someone who can top or be in a versatile relationship with my MC. I love the catboy so much :')Also lol at a catboy being named 'Loveless'Noticed also now that 'Closurei' = 'Close-your-eye' and wondering if it's symbolism against the Mustari tribe, since it's followed by an eye-covering bow. I wonder if the JP word, Kujira, contains a similar pun. For context, I'm playing with JP dub, Eng sub.The showdown with
Louie at the opera house was so epic in tone and execution, I can see why people love
Louie, and yaaaaay
Zorba rememerged, the
fucked up zombie love is real :')
The
Dragon was really fucking difficult and aaaaargh it was bad. Real bad.
Until I realized the magic wall fades once you hit it…. that was not my proudest gamer moment.
No.3770
>>3722>I swear there's a fic on ao3 that touches on this.Nona, can you please link it?
>>3723He does give off 'untouchable prince' vibes, and the whole
'keeping a diva around but there's nothing going on' does feel a little bit like a beard, imo, or at least a deterrent to keep people from trying to throw women at him. No.3772
>>3765>THERE IS A HOT SPRING EPISODE!? Not an episode, but more so like the option to go to one. You will see soon.
>>3771I love the explanation the artist posted for this pic
No.3773
>>3771Thank you nona, that was good. This make me think Louis should get sex pollened and have Zorba deal with it, because he's literally the one guy who would not take advantage of Louie for it.
>>3772>explanation the artist posted for this picI want to know, but I also want to avoid spoilers until I finish the final dungeon…
Found out
Louise's true heritage which was a cool twist, and also ROFLd hard at the
collect bath water quest. I wish there was an option to do it with a companion, tho.
And by companion I mean StrohlHaving people call Will
your majesty is very satisfying after all the shit he got over the course of the game.
Am currently in
Volcano dungeon and have accepted that I likely will have to NG+ this thing in order to see all follower bonds… Atlus, please give us 20+ re-releases and 50 nendoroids, thank you.
No.3774
>>3773I would die for sex pollen Louis fic lmao. Someone, please.
Also! You might have time to finish your bonds! I had a few extra days where I didn't have anything to do, and some people had way more than me (like a week). Who are you needing to max out still, and what date are you at?
>>3772I love all ruimoa fans (biased). They seem consistently big-brained.
No.3777
>>3774I've got like 20 days left until the Big Showdown, as of this time of writing. Eupha & Basilio are at 5, Catherina is at 5, Alonzo at 6, Brigitta at 6.
After finishing Neuras' bond, I can definitely see how people can ship him and Will. It's not my first choice, but it's well done, and I wouldn't mind reading fics if people threw them at me. Neuras is really cool, and I'm a sucker for 'sailor' designs done seriously.
Basilio broke my heart and his route is suffering, but I love him. I found
his learn-to-read-book and… He's too cute, he works so hard.
My one silly and unserious complaint is that the game doesn't allow Will to back his friends' genocidal intents sometimes. Some of the stories hit very close to home, and if I were there irl, I'd probably end up causing
an innocent village to be genocided over a stolen dogI do enjoy that it gives the MC a bit of actual character, though.
No.3778
Not sure how many are interested but in yesterday doujinshi event people collected enough cards to get a stroll x mc event for next year
>https://x.com/osuumai0128/status/1901216099167011293 No.3779
>>3778Awwww that's really cute! Congrats, JP fandom!
(How doe this card collecting thing work?)
No.3780
>>3779>https://www.akaboo.jp/guide/item/p0035.html>https://www.akaboo.jp/guide/item/p0049.htmlYou get a ticket by spending 5,000 yen in any service from any printing company affiliated to Akaboo.
The number of ticket needed is 50 so generally people in the same fandom who want a genre/ship-only event gather together the tickets to vote.
For that girl's case, seems like she got all the tickets herself, so you can imagine how much she spent alone.
This is just a method to make people stay active and go to events and release anything.
I saw only events being created by the company because popular demand without any voting.
Generally -only events with method are quite often about ships. There is another company that handle doujinshi events that does a similar thing but also feature character-only events.
No.3781
>>3780On top of that actually, you need to submit things you want to print for doujinshi yourself. So submitting two doujin scripts and spending 5,000 yen gives you two tickets for example. This doujinka has at least 31 doujins total lined up for 3/16 harukomi so that's at least 31 tickets they got, maybe reprints got them towards 50 tickets.
I am almost sure akaboo is the only one that gathers fan interest every so often to make ship-only related events and also the character-only ones but I also can't remember if there was another.
>>3774ruimoa is the only ship I've seen beyond maybe a few strowills where people bother making at least essays about it, which is really nice
>>3773>I want to know, but I also want to avoid spoilers until I finish the final dungeon…It's not very spoilery
https://privatter.net/p/11449121 but it's basically the artist of the pic anon posted explaining that they see Louis and More's relationship like
Judas and Jesus from Ozamu Dazai's Urgent Appeal
No.3784
>>3781Ahh thank you! I'll read that once I finish the game and understand their relationship better.
I am currently in the crypt and am woefully underleveled. Once I finish this boss, I'll likely just go whip up more invincibility food and then go farm in Louis' dungeon.
I have ten days left and I fucking hate skeletons.
No.3785
>>3781>I am almost sure akaboo is the only one that gathers fan interest every so often to make ship-only related events and also the character-only ones but I also can't remember if there was another.genre-only (fandom, like jjk or tkrb) are organized once/twice a year, depends by how big it is.
by my personal experience of what i saw, with some recent fandoms. i saw akaboo holding a GWitch only event after more than a year after fujo pushed for voting while like I said GQux had the first event planned a week after the release of the movie in the theaters. Same thing happened with Bravern that got its first genre event months after the show ending, and organized by tamio (
https://www.akaboo.jp/tamio/index.html)
akaboo is not the only tho, there is Youyou
>https://www.youyou.co.jp/index.html and it's one of the few that also organize character-only event
anyway sorry for detrail the discussion. it's an interesting thing to talk about since there is little knowledge how events works and even i don't know everything
No.3787
>>3785Ahh youyou!! That's the one I've been forgetting,
I have the bookmarks of all their tkrb events stilland don't worry anon, I was interested too! I didn't know about Akaboo's vote system until I saw that tweet either.
>>3786It's actually intentional for them to have 70s inspired clothes! It was mentioned in a developer interview, a lot of old london fashion was the inspo. Apparently design notes say the architecture for the sanctist church is meant to be from the 1930s but I see a bit of Barroco personally
No.3788
>>3786>>3787Funny, I was just chatting with someone about clothing yesterday so this topic has been on my mind. I had previously thought some of the clothing choices stood out as too
"modern," particularly, like, I dunno, Glodell and Zorba, at least when compared to others. Glodell's leopard print I can definitely see as being 70s inspired, though.
Late-game in-world lore discussion:
Also, maybe I'm mistaken, but wasn't literature about the old world censored and/or destroyed by the Sanctists? I don't think anyone would have access to comics books, at least not during the time period of the game. That's why the party finds the old word items in Shinjuku Drakongrace so confusing. I do wonder the timeline for all this, though? Obviously didn't happen overnight. No.3802
>>3795Makes sense!
replying with the second part of that ruimoa hehe>>3799I love the
glamoured nidia design so much. Junah especially reminds me of retro shoujo illustrations, like those by Macoto Takahashi. I don't know if this was on purpose or not. Haven't seen design notes for Junah specifically.
I think there's a decent amount of people who ship Will and Alonzo, btw.
No.3810
>>3802I think Junah is meant to look like that on purpose, it's a legacy of Japan. At least, I choose to believe so.
So, I came to end…. And I have put the damn game aside. This shit is hard. I beat most of Persona's endgame bosses on the first or second try, but this? It's maddening. Fuck.
That said,
The first visage of Louis in the nude is dazzling, and lovely. This game was synthesised in a lab for women who game. The
reveal about More was heartwarming, and I appreciate Atlus for going to such lengths in order to make sure that we have bishie eye candy to look at, and not
ancient dudes who were not drawn to be hot.
I really like Louie now, because the whole
Trusting people is a weakness is something I don't see explored a lot in that way. It also makes him seem deliciously fragile, like this could all have been prevented if
someone got past his defences and lovingly dicked him down. No.3811
>>3810anon you keep forgetting you remove the doujin event thread from your nameWhen I first played the game, I had mildly known about there being a special trophy for defeating "
Destroyer Charadrius" but didn't know what it really meant, just that "don't kill any of the midbosses" so I didn't. Not only did I not know that I would be facing
12+ turns super fucking hard Louis and I was not prepared at all in terms of party comp, but if
you save in Akademia you're doomed and will be going straight to the boss, can't even re-grind unless you have a pre-save for that.
I didn't feel like re-grinding because I was so hooked on the cutscenes and experience and the adrenaline of getting 'close' towards defeating Louis but after like 2-3h struggling, I gave up and changed to easy mode. Despite changing to Easy, I still struggled a considerable lotMasochistically fun experience all things considered.
>It also makes him seem deliciously fragileBecause he is deep down, ultimately.
Yet barely anyone makes him a bottom, sad. He has a lot of issues that make him interesting to explore, specially when it comes to seeing him in a more "disgraced" light.
I'm glad you enjoyed the game anon!
No.3815
>>3810Don't lie,
old man Hytholodeaus is hot. Have you seen his eyelashes. He still had it going on.
Like the other anon, I also changed to easy-–but I did it way before the final fight and instead around
the dragon quests, so the boss wasn't particularly hard, but just kind of…long? Drawn out?
You'll have to come back and let me know how long it ended up taking you, I'm curious.
>>3811Who would you have Louis bottom to, nonna?
No.3820
>>3815>Who would you have Louis bottom to, nonna?Honestly, to everything and everyone. Realistically though, I wouldn't know. If Will actually had the personality for it, that'd be the quick option. I'm one of the few that imagines
Zorba as a top so he can count as well.
Probably the way Louis's soldiers rise in ranks in the Charadrius is measured by how much they're able to please the insatiable Rui-sama. He's experienced with all of Euchronia's sizes and tribes, so it's tough luck getting him to be truly satisfied No.3822
>>3815Thank you so much, nona. ^^;;;;; Really appreciate you catching that oversight.
Thankfully, I did the smart thing and had multiple save slots, I knew this would be needed at some point.
A lot of the boss battles have the problem of being long and drawn out, imo. I think it's largely a leveling problem for me, I'm not experienced with this kind of hardcore gameplay, plus I didn't know about the Finisher Meatballs hack until the very end… So I'll likely end up making a trillion of those next run.
>>3820BASED NONA.
Zorba/Louis is the one I see as 'most canon' imo, the lack of content is a shame. Finally made it past
his endgame battle, and the fact that
He stuck with Louis through everything, despite knowing what would come is really, really cute. Fucked up loyalty galore.
Personally, I'm warming up to the idea of Basilio / Louis, since contrast is cute. Plus, the whole sunshine boy getting past nihilistic gloom boy's defences, the whole bodyguard ship thing is nice, too. Shame it's more or less a crackship…
Finally, is the dub version any good? I notice that they all seem to have fake British accents, judging by the text.
No.3829
>>3822>Personally, I'm warming up to the idea of Basilio / Louis, since contrast is cute.I really like it too actually, I like anyone/Louis but I don't think him and the brothers is so much a crackship so much that it's just a rareship. Louis does express concern over the brothers in his own way…. It's true that he ended up
killing Fidelio but he does seem shaken enough to be silent afterwards.
>Finally, is the dub version any good? I notice that they all seem to have fake British accents, judging by the text.It depends. I played in japanese but the dub isn't too bad. It does make things funnier like the brother's THICK scouse accent and Zorba's absurdly fucking funny voice so I'd say it's worth a try
No.3830
>>3829Do you have a source your pic rel? I can never find any Louis stuff with the brothers, and reverse image search wasn't helpful at all.
No.3831
>>3830Sure! It's
https://x.com/orichan_666/status/1848153418982158422I don't think I've seen Bas/Louis/Bas or anything of the sort which makes me sad. Given that Basilio used to cook for Louis, I'm sure that he'd give him a lot of praise too..
No.3832
>>3831Thank you so much! Fidelio is so cute, hehe. I wonder who else Louis is giving rewards to…
There is a decent amount of Bas/Louis fic floating around on ao3 right now (well, "decent amount" comparatively; it's under 20 works iirc), but sadly I don't think I've seen any art for them either.
No.3833
Well nonas, I went back and grinded. I raised everyone's level from 70-ish to 75. Tomorrow, I'm going in, once I've consulted a guide and made sure all the Archetypes are at the right level.
Wish me luck.
>>3831Fidelio is the most adorable, and I know it's not possible to
save him… But an alternate storyline where
hurting him makes Louis realize that he has the capacity to care for other people would be fun.
>>3829They speak Scouse? That's surprisingly on point for a dubbing studio, given the main inspo for the characters. I'll give it a go.
No.3839
>>3837Wonderful food nona, thank you. The height difference is delicious, I assume Basilio's a Maine Coon.
I FAILED AGAIN ;___; This time, I spent about 20 more hours leveling my characters and giving them a GameFAQS moveset +
Royal Elite archetypes.
I got past the first stage this time tho, it was easier than before.
No.3843
>>3840Believe it or not, I'm playing on normal. I spent 20 more hours leveling my characters by ten fucking levels, they are now the same level as Louis.
This blonde twink had better fall back gracefully and expire in a bold, drawn-out flash of tanbi beauty, 'the second battle is easier' MY ASS, I at least a good hold on what I am doing wrong (MC needs Medicall and I forgot to put it on Junah, but ideally two of them should have it) and what I need to do different for next time but JFC I am still annoyed xD;;
No.3845
I don't mean this in a rude way, but I don't understand fellow Louis enjoyers who ship him with the protagonist, considering Louis's entire character arc is so heavily intertwined with an entirely different character. Like, integrally. To love Louis is to know he is pining for More. And all the complicated mess that comes with it… yeah. That's the plot of Metaphor.
That aside, I'd love to hear from someone into Louis/Will and see what they find so compelling about it as a ship. Maybe there's a fic that can get me into it? Because it's genuinely starting to feel like I'm missing out on a good chunk of fandom simply because I don't vibe with them as a pairing, which makes me sad lol.
I get that it's the standard "default" ship, as previously discussed in the thread, so maybe that's the crux of it and nothing more. The game really does push the idea that Louis is the protag's archnemesis, but it falls flat–to me, at least–due to very surface-level protag/antag interactions (and I say this as someone who lives for protagonist/antagonist OTPS in other franchises).
Other Louis ships (not even just my Preferred Ship) end up feeling more appealing because there's something personal there, whereas Louis/Will stay very… broad in their conflict? It's less about them, on any interpersonal level, and more about "the world." Which is fine. But even pairings with very little canon interaction, like Louis/Strobl, feel more "emotional" in that regard, due to Louis's burning of Halia and how that has affected Strohl.
Maybe I'm too picky, and I'm just rambling at this point.
No.3846
>>3845>(and I say this as someone who lives for protagonist/antagonist OTPS in other franchises).Same, I feel like the biggest problem for Louis/Will for me personally is that there is no reciprocation on Will's part? He doesn't return the obsession or the hate, or even compassion, he's just completely neutral about him. To bring a somewhat similar pair in
Persona, I like
MC/Adachi because of their interactions and their parallels and how genuinely interesting the contrast between both is, and they actually interacted significantly together.
With Louis, he never seems THAT interested in the Protagonist as people make him to be. And neither is Will head over heels over Louis like people make him in fanart and fanfic either.
People try comparing Louis to
Akechi, but it's really not the same and it's not gonna be the same in a re-release either.
I feel like really, a lot of what people like about it is that it's easier to see Louis top somebody if it's through Will, and people's thirst over Louis wins over significant characterization.
Whenever I see Louis/Will even from japanese artists, it's usually "Louis-sama and then Will, his object of affection" but nothing is ever said about Will beyond projection here and there "I felt (this way) about Louis, then Will must have felt the same".
It's disappointing to know that this will be the ship Atlus will be trying to pander to and already is through the Expo artwork but there really is not much going for it. Louis has more significant relationships with other people and it won't even get a quarter of the attention Louis/Will does which is a shame No.3847
>>3846I worry that we'll get a Louis Follower Bond…. I don't want a Louis follower bond. I do however want to hear more about his everyday life with his harem. I do want more stuff with Strohl and Basilio and MC, too.
I BEAT THE FINAL BOSS. And now, there's an epilogue…? We'll see. It's 3 AM here, so I'm going to bed. Also, I now ship Louis with More, although they feel more versatile, in my preferences.
No.3849
>>3848
Louis's motivations stem from having met More in his childhood (he says to Will that a man came to the Elda village which was his father the King, and later on the Player ends up discovering that More was the King and his twink self was the one that went to the Sanctum).
Having met the man gave him "a dream" and despite having killed him, he still speaks of him fondly. His 'dream' shattered after the village burning (according to Louis) but I'm sure that it happened right after the Prince curse accusations fell on him.
He feels resentful of the King for his incompetence towards the Kingdom but most importantly, he's still stuck in the mentality that he "lied" to him by not fulfilling the dream he gave him (and that's why he hates lies, because an unfulfilled dream is the same as a lie and he says those lines word for word).
Despite Louis's resentment, his sole moment of vulnerability in the game when he doesn't put on airs and pretend anything else is when he's alone in the skybound avatar, and says he doesn't blame the King for what happened (becoming the people's scapegoat) and that he will finish his abandoned ideals. Louis has kept going through the game preaching about his ideals, but Louis's ideals themselves are those of the King's novel.
Moreover, he's kept the novel with him all this time despite knowing who wrote it and why, and he never got rid of it.
From More's side of things, the thing that may allude to them having been connected is the vague "friend" More mentions in his Bond Rank 5. He doesn't remember who the person was, but he had been deeply hurt by their betrayal (and this betrayal may possibly be the King's feelings of knowing Louis 'cursed the prince' back then, believeing the false accusations)
It's basically going back to revisit the text once you know all the twists and connect everything together. People don't ship them so much because it's not like it's "More" from Akademeia that interacts with him as you see in the game, but a connection in the past that it's only mentioned but not shown. So it doesn't cross people's minds for them to interact or be related, and most don't like or care for the Old Man King.
Tried to post game screencaps but the size is too big, fuck
No.3850
>>3848I wrote a bit about it here
>>3714, but reading that post back it probably isn't detailed enough since I was speaking to another Louis/More anon. It really is a ship that is kind of backloaded–easy to overlook until it hits you with a ton of bricks in the late game. Then you sort of see everything with new eyes upon ng+.
It's easy to dismiss Louis's feelings towards the king (aka More) as hatred, but we see this isn't true through his actions imo. I'll be using the king and More interchangeably as I explain.More came to the sanctum when Louis was a child, before the sanctum was razed by Forden. (+1 point for age gap yearning btw) We can assume More himself gave Louis the fantasy novel, since More wrote it. Since then, Louis has been enamored with the content in the book to the point of carrying with it him even AFTER everything–after the king erroneously believes Louis's cursed the prince and banishes him to another post, after the king becomes Forden's puppet, giving up his ideals, etc.Louis's attachment to the novel, and therefore More, feels very… romantic to me? You can see his frustration and disappointment in that September scene–"I saw and knew the passion in your heart"–and yet he still carries that damn book with him the. entire. game. It reads to me that he still holds those values close, and even after everything, he won't stop until he sees the world he's dreamed of (though, admittedly, distorted).There are also a lot of fun little lines in the game that make it clear to me that Louis is very… bitter? They just feel kinda shippy to me lmao. Lines such as "youthful years of debauchery" in reference to More's time in the sanctum, where he sleeps with the eldan queen and has the prince. No.3851
>>3849Forgot to mention it in my reply, but you reminded me–from More's side, we also have pic rel.
They have the capacity to understand each other more than we end up seeing. :'((>>3846>I feel like really, a lot of what people like about it is that it's easier to see Louis top somebody if it's through Will, and people's thirst over Louis wins over significant characterization.So self-insertion through fujoism, basically.
>>3847Congrats! The epilogue is cute.
I don't think we'd get a Louis follower bond, as it just doesn't make any sense in the context of the story–the protag is the one who becomes a Louis "supporter," just for a little while, not the other way around. I'd be curious how they'd spin it, I guess, if the writers go that route. I also want more about his everyday life… again, not sure how that would work in-game. Probably better for some sort of spin-off media.
No.3853
>>3851>>3849Thank you, I imagined it might be something like that. Glad to know I didn't have to backtrack.
Started an NG+ in order to enjoy the story with all the pieces in place, and try the dub.
Dubbing is not a thing in my culture, so I'll only go with it if it does a a good job of translating the feeling intended by the script. This game also isn't set in Japan, which makes it feel less fake.
I never thought I would say this, but… It's good. Really good so far. I'm just at the start, and the work put into making these guys sound alive is just breathtaking. They're even consistent with the accents. And the accents don't sound fake? At least not to my ears.
I'm playing Will as a money-hungry lil' shit this time, since the story still advances despite that.
Also, playing it again does make it more fun now that you know the entire puzzle, which is a mark of really good writing. Better than I expected from even a Megaten game.
(Sadly, some of the line seem auto-translated. :()
No.3860
>>3853Update:
Why TF are they calling him Louise. Is he a blond housewife.
No.3861
>>3860>Is he a blond housewife.Yes
But real answer, I don't know. That's definitely the most annoying part of the dub. The name Louis does come from french and the english equivalent is Lewis so they're probably trying to say it as if it were so.
No.3863
>>3862Yes. Exactly. I thought everyone knew this, which makes it a bit worrying to imagine that people don't…
>>3861I will buy this explanation, since the dub really goes hard with the 'Ye Olde English', so it would suit.
Strohl's English voice gives me shivers, it's so good! He sounds noble, yet roughed-up, which suits him. And More sounds older than his years, which makes his age hard to place, which is perfect for him. (I fear meeting Zorba…)
A bad or mediocre dub forced on me will always be resented, but since I'm allowed to choose JP, I'm more inclined to be favourable towards this one. This one really draws me in, the same way the JP probably does to JPs.
No.3866
>>3863What if, anon…
I think there's a lot of things to consider. Particularly that More does transform into his old man self and speak with the queen directly after Louis dies, and I can't say Louis would be very happy walking in on that LOL. Plus, old man More disappears in that scene, presumably moving on for good. (But somehow Plateau is still around… Can anyone make sense of that or am I stupid?)That aside, it's fun to imagine a scenario where More stays in his "More" form, and he and Louis are locked in Akademeia together somehow hehe. I actually like thinking about this in a variety of different ways–like maybe Louis reverts to a child, as he was in the sanctum, but retains his memories (or not!), and he and More partake in fun little hijinks in Akademeia. Maybe they write a new novel together…Or maybe Louis stays the same. He's all bruised and battered from the fight with the protagonist, and More nurses him back to health somehow (hurt/comfort leading to romance). They fuck on every surface. That also works.delusional i'm sorry
No.3868
>>3866>It's fun to imagine a scenario where More stays in his "More" form, and he and Louis are locked in Akademeia together somehow hehe. I actually like thinking about this in a variety of different ways–like maybe Louis reverts to a child, as he was in the sanctum, but retains his memories (or not!), and he and More partake in fun little hijinks in Akademeia. Maybe they write a new novel together…That's hella cute, I always imagined their relationship as being vaugely paternal from More's side. Him being strong enough to overpower child Louis is likely a good thing in this scenario, and growing to love him in Will's place is likely healing for both of them.>Or maybe Louis stays the same. He's all bruised and battered from the fight with the protagonist, and More nurses him back to health somehow (hurt/comfort leading to romance). They fuck on every surface. That also works.This speaks to me on a deep level, especially if More has his memories back still, and just won't let Louis die due to his own ideals. Even better if More is conflicted, due to being aware of the age gap, but still going through with it, after noticing how damn touch-starved Louis is, and Louis actively pushing for it, even if he's bad at understanding what he wants, due to lack of trust in everything.**>Plateau is still around
In the context of my culture, it makes sense, you can't own a cat. They are seen as working animals, and are considered half-wild, even when kept as spoiled pets. The cat chooses it's home and it's master, and this one has decided that More and Will are friends.**
No.3884
>>3877Am I the only Strohl fangirl here? He feels like a more female-oriented version of the 'guy who becomes your friend at the start of an Atlus game' Like the final evolution or something.
Like, we started with Junpei, who is a good bro (And still is when you're female), but doesn't look great. Then we moved to Yosuke who is inexplicably popular, so I assume he has some appeal. Then we got Ryuji, who is really cute, but doesn't feel like he was created specifically for the female players.
And then, Strohl. Good backstory, cute looks, very supportive and the game never makes fun of you for choosing him. Also good relationship with protag, and a character route which is close to his character's theme.
I love that while the game is
about making a world where noble status matters less, and openly showing some corrupt-ass nobles, Strohl is very dedicated in his mission to care for his people, and this is not treated as a fault or something to laugh at.He's very earnest, and I hope we can take him places and give him presents in a potential re-release.
No.3886
>>3884>Then we moved to Yosuke who is inexplicably popular, so I assume he has some appeal.heh
Not the anon you're replying to but I think Strohl is fine. Yeah he really does feel as if Atlus decided to make a proper 'friend' character that feels a little more fujobaity but without losing his own character.
He actually does feel more fleshed out than the Protagonist himself so it's not like he stops being relevant after the first arc, he's just saying/thinking everything which is a mixed bag for most people.
I can see why he's so liked, although I'm not one to get attached much to the 'first friend' character. He's definitely better than Yosuke for sure.
No.3973
>>3970There's only like 2 artists doing Zorba aren't they?
That reminds me, I'm not sure if you were also the same zorbanon from /vg/ but I'm sure the (third) Louis poster is not here. I wish they were here at least if to discuss something even if I may disagree. I was waiting for the manga chapter thinking it was today but that's only until Sunday