I love how in every scene that involves both Mi Fu and Tangtang, at the end there's a moment where Endmin, Perlica, and Chen all look at each other like "Yeah... they're in love." Endfield Crisis Team knows what's up.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Sounds like I need to get off this mountainside in Valley IV and play some more. XD

------
Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge

>Sounds like I need to get off this mountainside in Valley IV and play
>some more. XD
>

Wuling is fun, it introduces such characters as Chief SoupSoup, Leek-sama, and Evil Alphinaud. Endmin gets to borrow Chen's braincell a few times if you choose those dialog options. And of course, Endfield solves regional problems via Orbital Bombardment Industrialization.

	-={(Astynax)}=- "The rare mushrooms start to look more than a little questionable to consume though."

LAST EDITED ON Mar-05-26 AT 04:44 AM (EST)
 
>Wuling is fun, it introduces such characters as Chief SoupSoup,
>Leek-sama, and Evil Alphinaud. Endmin gets to borrow Chen's braincell
>a few times if you choose those dialog options. And of course,
>Endfield solves regional problems via Orbital Bombardment
>Industrialization.

And Chen gets to demonstrate social smarts! I mean, sure, she demonstrates on Tangtang, but still...

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>And Chen gets to demonstrate social smarts! I mean, sure, she
>demonstrates on Tangtang, but still...

"As much as I'd like to claim that this is the result of me being a genius, it's more that someone else was not."
- Gordon Freeman, Freeman's Mind (paraphrased from memory)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>Wuling is fun, it introduces such characters as Chief SoupSoup,
>>Leek-sama, and Evil Alphinaud. Endmin gets to borrow Chen's braincell
>>a few times if you choose those dialog options. And of course,
>>Endfield solves regional problems via Orbital Bombardment
>>Industrialization.

And now I am in the first cutscene where Leek-sama is explaining just how bad the Blight Tide really is. And failing to hide just what kind of relationship she had had with the Endmin yesteryear.

Part of me is imagining just how badly Perlica wants to get the Endmin out of that meeting and to the cafe in Wuling. "We should come back later, just the two of us."

>
>And Chen gets to demonstrate social smarts! I mean, sure, she
>demonstrates on Tangtang, but still...

It IS nice to see Chen rubbing her two braincells together once in a while.

------
Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge

>It IS nice to see Chen rubbing her two braincells together once in a
>while.

"My braincell bounces around in my skull like the DVD player icon, and every time it lands perfectly in a corner I experience A Thought."

"This is probably a stupid question, but . . ."

Do you suppose the Wuling power poles auto-connect because Hypergryph saw all the memes about plugging in the Valley IV ones and thought, "Right, you sarcastic bastards, I'll fix you"? I guess not, right, since Wuling part 1 was in the game at launch? What a wild coincidence, though.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

I have some deeply cynical thoughts but I'll bite my tongue on those for now.

Instead I will remark that they're, so far, Wuling only and I wonder if the next area will revert to a different system.

Welp, looks like no Yvonne for me. That's a bummer, but not nearly as much of one as if I don't get Tangtang. That will be prima facie evidence that there are gods, and they are cruel.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Yup... Tangtang is not enjoying having the main plots focus on her.

In other news, we learnt some fascinating things about Mi Fu that explain so much.

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

(Mostly) caught back up to the current patch, so carved out some time to trim the medal on the new Re-Crisis boss. I wanted to do it on Yvonne's team instead but she's just not putting out the DPS necessary when not maxed to the same degree that Laeva is.

I had to grind to hard pity, but Tangtang has joined the team. There's some interesting points in her profile lines, such as the fact she trains her Originium arts so hard because she once seriously injured Mi Fu when they were younger. Also, her recommendation on the best food in Wuling is the meals they serve at the city jail.

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>Also, her recommendation on the best
>food in Wuling is the meals they serve at the city jail.

I get the impression Wuling is not a tourist destination.

"This is probably a stupid question, but . . ."

LAST EDITED ON Mar-20-26 AT 12:40 PM (EDT)
 
It is if your name isn't Tangtang :D

--sofaspud
--I want a Chubby Lung so baaaad

>--I want a Chubby Lung so baaaad

If you don't keep in mind that "Lung" in this case is Chinese for "dragon", "Chubby Lung" sounds like some kind of counterpart to real disorders like Fatty Liver Disease. I'm just saying.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure Chubby Lung plushies do exist, either under that name or the name they were called by in the original game ("dragon bubble", I think?). They might be hard to find on this side of the planet, but they're out there.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>I get the impression Wuling is not a tourist destination.

Wuling does have a little bit of that "beautiful dystopia" vibe to it sometimes--it's great as long as you're not a member of the conveniently invisible, far less prosperous neighboring community--and Tangtang is a lifelong member of that community, so... there's a certain degree of friction.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>I get the impression Wuling is not a tourist destination.
>
>Wuling does have a little bit of that "beautiful dystopia" vibe to it
>sometimes--it's great as long as you're not a member of the
>conveniently invisible, far less prosperous neighboring community--and
>Tangtang is a lifelong member of that community, so... there's a
>certain degree of friction.

Some of Tangtangs profile dialogue suggests that Zhuang is legit trying to work with Tangtang to resolve these issues, but the level of business speak she has absorbed over the decades does not go well with someone who's literally only just learning to read. To quote Tangtang, "The heck does 'plot ratios' mean?!"

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>>Also, her recommendation on the best
>>food in Wuling is the meals they serve at the city jail.
>
>I get the impression Wuling is not a tourist destination.

I suspect there's more tourists than you'd think, but no, apparently Wuling has a thriving foodie community. Da Pan legit earned his reputation as one of the best chefs in the city.

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

I have been told I have to share this over here so I can be yelled at all proper-like.

This just landed for me.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u9m85jxBykMxnmfyAt_etar8YBwpWtzS/view?usp=sharing

(I can't seem to figure out how DCforum wants me to format this so it'll inline it when it doesn't have the traditional file extensions, sorry)

--sofaspud
--

>I have been told I have to share this over here so I can be yelled at
>all proper-like.
>
>This just landed for me.

Dang, yo.

>(I can't seem to figure out how DCforum wants me to format this so
>it'll inline it when it doesn't have the traditional file extensions,
>sorry)

Yeah, I don't think ther's a way to do that. Don't sweat it.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

And guess who was all set -- money, resources, etc. -- to level Tangtang all the way from the word go?

This guy!

And guess who thought ahead and was Smart and set up cuprium production lines right away?

NOT this guy!

So... Tangtang is running around nekkid while I frantically rewire a factory so I can get her some, y'know, gear.

--sofaspud
--but I got her guns so that's cool

>So... Tangtang is running around nekkid while I frantically rewire a
>factory so I can get her some, y'know, gear.

... I mean, if any of the cast were going to do it...

"Mad Woman is just jealous she can't pull this off!"
*Mi Fu's eyes narrow, Giant Xianite Fist of Doom appears*

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>>So... Tangtang is running around nekkid while I frantically rewire a
>>factory so I can get her some, y'know, gear.
>
>... I mean, if any of the cast were going to do it...
>
>"Mad Woman is just jealous she can't pull this off!"
>*Mi Fu's eyes narrow, Giant Xianite Fist of Doom appears*

"You know what the difference is between you and me, Darkmask?"

(Endmin does the "no, what?" head tilt)

"I make this look good."

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>"You know what the difference is between you and me, Darkmask?"
>
>(Endmin does the "no, what?" head tilt)
>
>"I make this look good."

Hahaha! Endmin -does- need an alternate outfit or two. She looks like she was called into emergency battle while shopping for turnips at Safeway.

------
Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge

If the various clips I've seen of mods that purport to remove the mask are accurate, I'd like to remove the mask, because them eyes, yo.

For actual outfits, I actually dig the not-quite-monochrome palette but can we, like... I dunno... lose the baggy sweater in favor of business shirt with half-loosened tie?

I can't art to save my life but I can see it in my mind's eye and it is glorious.

--sofaspud
--I blame Gryph's "I make this look good", TBF

>If the various clips I've seen of mods that purport to remove the mask
>are accurate, I'd like to remove the mask, because them eyes,
>yo.

I'll have to take a look. I can just barely see the corner of an eye when I look up at her mask from the right angle, but I can't tell much.

>
>For actual outfits, I actually dig the not-quite-monochrome palette
>but can we, like... I dunno... lose the baggy sweater in favor of
>business shirt with half-loosened tie?
>
>I can't art to save my life but I can see it in my mind's eye and it
>is glorious.

I fully endorse this plan!

White dress shirt, half-loosened tie, and a smart looking miniskirt or shorts with the same leggings. I can dig it.

------
Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge

>>If the various clips I've seen of mods that purport to remove the mask
>>are accurate, I'd like to remove the mask, because them eyes,
>>yo.
>
>I'll have to take a look. I can just barely see the corner of an eye
>when I look up at her mask from the right angle, but I can't tell
>much.

She and her male counterpart have appeared unmasked in official art, but AFAIK there's no way to unmask them in game apart from a bug exploit that a few people have used to make YouTube videos. It appears that the devs fully modeled their faces and expression animations are happening behind the masks, so maybe there is an intent to make it removable once the Endmin's health starts to recover.

(I find it mildly hilarious that she's out there superheroing it up with her sword and her Originium Arts while Perlica constantly worries aloud and scolds NPCs about how fragile her health is. It's like girl, I feel fine, did you not just see me shank that dude? :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>(I find it mildly hilarious that she's out there superheroing it up
>with her sword and her Originium Arts while Perlica constantly worries
>aloud and scolds NPCs about how fragile her health is. It's like
>girl, I feel fine, did you not just see me shank that dude? :)

Yeah, but they're not truly an Arknights PC until they prove able to heat up instant noodles in their mouth with boiling hot water after snorting the flavor packet.

Yes, this is actually canon for The Doctor in the first game...well, not the flavor packet part.

>(I find it mildly hilarious that she's out there superheroing it up
>with her sword and her Originium Arts while Perlica constantly worries
>aloud and scolds NPCs about how fragile her health is. It's like
>girl, I feel fine, did you not just see me shank that dude? :)

To be fair, Arknights operators being badass while potentially being a bad decision away from dying horribly is a long and proud(?) tradition.

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>To be fair, Arknights operators being badass while potentially being a
>bad decision away from dying horribly is a long and proud(?)
>tradition.

Aren't we all potentially a bad decision away from dying horribly, though?

--G.
admittedly, most of the time when that happens, we don't turn into pillars of topaz.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>To be fair, Arknights operators being badass while potentially being a
>>bad decision away from dying horribly is a long and proud(?)
>>tradition.
>
>Aren't we all potentially a bad decision away from dying horribly,
>though?
>

Most of us don't get to be badass even once in our lives, though. Game characters seem to go there every mission, which probably adds up to several times a month, assuming downtime between each mission.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

>I feel fine, did you not just see me shank that dude? :)
>

"Does the term, 'glass cannon' mean anything to you, Endmin?"

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

Welcome, Supreme Chief Tangtang! Sit tight while I spend six to eight months grinding all the resources needed to level up you and your gun.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

I'm still laughing at her line when you level up her abilities.

"Even stronger now! Alright, time to go test this on that mad woman!"

I just just hear Mi Fu's "Thanks 'Darkmask'. Really."

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>I'm still laughing at her line when you level up her abilities.
>
>"Even stronger now! Alright, time to go test this on that mad woman!"
>
>I just just hear Mi Fu's "Thanks 'Darkmask'. Really."

Ahh, she loves it.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>I'm still laughing at her line when you level up her abilities.
>>
>>"Even stronger now! Alright, time to go test this on that mad woman!"
>>
>>I just just hear Mi Fu's "Thanks 'Darkmask'. Really."
>
>Ahh, she loves it.

Let's be fair, that won't stop her from sarcastically 'thanking' you.

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

Rossi's combat demo is up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5C7-5vi9SM

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

And her operator story is adorable.

https://youtu.be/mwF4cJn6ekA

... We better be able to give her headpats.

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

>And her operator story is adorable.
>
>https://youtu.be/mwF4cJn6ekA
>
>... We better be able to give her headpats.

I saw that handcart full of cabbages, Hypergryph. Don't think I didn't.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

And her character song

Gacha roll was kind to me, and I got Wolf Girl off backlogged oro and the events that dropped today.

All that matters is that when you give her gifts on the Dijang, she does an adorable little dance.

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

I have earned the ire of the roommates because the 'free' 10-pull you get for going deep on the previous banner -- ie, the first 10-pull -- saw Rossi come home for me.

Also:
* she skips when she runs
* she plays hopscotch when she walks
* she does something else which I don't know how to describe when she sits, but it's adorbs

--sofaspud
--I may need to keep insulin on hand, thanks Rossi

Rossi reading

Rossi eating

LAST EDITED ON Apr-01-26 AT 04:03 AM (EDT) by Gryphon (admin)
 
Rossi running

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

Courtesy reminder for the Americans that this tie-in starts tomorrow

At the Wake of Spring Special Program

Standalone Version Trailer

Fangyi Character Song - Yi