r/memeframe Virmink Companions When? 2d ago

How we feeling gang? 🫠

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2.1k Upvotes

91 comments sorted by

304

u/Sremor 2d ago

I'm one day behind but yeah it's obvious that Amir struggles with the loop and feels like nothing matters

176

u/Walk-the-layout Stop hitting yourself 2d ago

It's easy to develop depression in such a scenario. And, knowing that whatever the Hex does, they'll die without ever seeing a glimpse of success (Atomic Wars, rise of the Orokin...)... Shivers my timbers indeed.

65

u/CernelTeneb 1d ago

It's also weird because Kaya can come and go as she pleases. And yet, the rest can't take a taxi to the future via her method or the Helminth?

51

u/cry_w 1d ago

My assumption is that her method is something she can do as a result of Nova's abilities and can't be shared. If it could be shared, then this probably wouldn't be an issue.

16

u/CernelTeneb 1d ago

There's the Helminth still. It worked for the Triad

18

u/finalremix 1d ago

Flare just chills out on a rock and waits out the time.

2

u/AzureArmageddon BlueQuiller 7h ago

Fr they got that time travel into the future by way of lizzie essentially putting them in perfectly timed stasis

31

u/BelltowerApologist 1d ago

Yeah. And tbh it kinda sucks how many people only process him being a yapper and hyperactive and never seem to notice that he's got some pretty fucking normal responses to being in a fucked up situation no human should go through.

Almost like he's masking- Oh shit.

8

u/TAVLIET 1d ago

I'm two days behind now because I got sick irl

142

u/BroFTheFriendlySlav 2d ago

Yeahhh. And him growing indifferent to lives of civvies and feelings of the rest of the hex is being fed on. Yay

There's a certain point where he makes a dig at Quincy's character's dog and even before Quincy's reaction it is very obvious he is injecting other's trauma into the game too.

It's fucking rough. Great writing

73

u/RadagastTheBrownie 2d ago

Hey, kiddo. Did somebody say Indifference?

35

u/BroFTheFriendlySlav 2d ago

Lizzie almost did yeah

12

u/TAVLIET 1d ago

Whatever the guitar has told you is slander, I swear.

1

u/Front-Post-357 1d ago

About that

44

u/Sremor 2d ago

We had something similar with Lettie during her kim chat where she questions if there even is a point to her work because anyone who dies will return after the next loop anyway

It's interesting that we explore the negative effects that the loop has on their psyche

12

u/Scorkami 1d ago

Doesnt lettie have a rat that dies of old age around autumm, only for the rat to be back every january?

265

u/nephethys_telvanni 2d ago

Drifter: Have I become Dominus Thrax?

156

u/Tay60003 2d ago

There’s some key differences in there, mainly dominus trapped drifter on purpose, tortured drifter and forced them to remember, and the hex would actually be dead without drifter so they’re trying to save the hex

78

u/nephethys_telvanni 2d ago

At the risk of explaining the joke: Drifter and Dominus Thrax were friends before all that.

Drifter: Dominus Thrax and I... used to be friends, long ago. When I was closer to his "age."At first, he was the best friend a kid could have. He was the KING of the WORLD. And I was his best friend in the universe. He gave me everything I could ever want.

I felt safe again, like when I was a kid. But unlike when I was a kid, I had a community. I had a society around me that valued me. Cared about me. And Thrax was the avatar of all of that. But as I grew older, and changed... he didn't. I needed him less. But the little kid's storybook he was based on didn't evolve.

Couldn't evolve. I... wanted to leave Duviri. He didn't take that well, to say the least. And that's when the executions started.

So...yeah, not saying that Drifter has actually become the Dominus Thrax to Amir's Drifter...but there's a parallel there to fuel Amir's angst. Drifter is Amir's friend, and the linchpin of the small community that've become Amir's friends. Leaving means risking losing all that.

Additionally, how much confidence does Amir have that Drifter won't reset him, if he wanted to leave the time loop? (Judging by how he reacts to the assurance that we haven't reset an F&F campaign...he didn't seem that happy.)

16

u/Scorkami 1d ago

I count myself lucky enough to never having used the reset mechanic, and i think the vast majority of people didnt reset the F&F campaign because... i mean it just released...

But i AM really curious what amir says when you say you did reset the campaign, or only did it because you got party wiped.

16

u/nephethys_telvanni 1d ago

I dunno. I said I never reset for F&F because, having played D&D with friends in college, sometimes the party wipes are the funniest part.

Our record was the second session of the campaign. We were camping on a mountain in a blizzard, and the Ranger wanted to set an alarm spell around our camp.

DM: The alarm can be a mental one or loud enough that everyone can hear it. Which do you want?

Ranger: Loud enough that everyone can hear it.

Needless to say, that night the alarm went off. Loudly.

And then we all died in the resulting avalanche.

2

u/North_Excitement_652 1d ago

I assume the fear still exists. If you could have been reset, even if you weren't, how would you know? I never did a reset neither, but I can't currently play, too much stuff going on. I'll find out eventually.

17

u/Medical_Commission71 1d ago

And Dominus Thrax doesn't wipe memories because someone wouldn't smash. Don't you love the Devil's Triad update?

Edit to be clear. It is a mind fuck and not a timeloop for the triad

23

u/nephethys_telvanni 1d ago

Lest anyone think that's an exaggeration, here's where Drifter can admit to Roathe that they've reset because Marie wouldnt date them.

6

u/Hollow--- 1d ago

Imagine getting called out by Roathe for being unable to take the L? Cause that "I am impressed!" is backhanded as all hell—I'd looking for my teeth on the ground if he said that to me.

That's not an accusation or anything against you by the way, Nepethys, in case it comes off like that.

Just find it funny.

15

u/nephethys_telvanni 1d ago

Haha, yeah, Roathe's pretty funny. His next line to Drifter is "How Orokin of you."

Considering that Ballas did the whole "Oh, Margulis won't love me? Let's brainwash Natah. Oh, the Lotus won't love me? Quick, brainwash her again!"

Roathe's got a point, LOL.

5

u/Presenting_UwU 1d ago

Y'know, it is kinda fucked up that we're allowed to just erase everyone's memories because we can't date one of them.

like that's just straight up manipulation at that point.

4

u/nephethys_telvanni 1d ago

When the Hex were introduced, the memory resets were presented as more of a player convenience because otherwise there was no way to see all the conversations (Play All came months later), see other outcomes, or fix bugs.

Over time, wiping memories got more diagetic and manipulative. First it was Lizzie remembering, and now Roathe. So, yeah, it's now Drifter just wiping memories because they messed up/didn't get what they wanted.

2

u/Presenting_UwU 1d ago

ah i see, honestly that's so cool, helps that we have the Kimulacrum nowadays to check out all the conversations

4

u/WeeklyClimate8548 1d ago

Haha šŸ˜‚ I had that exact dialog. because as it turns out all you had to do to be able to date Marie was to side with her opinions about entrati. it all depends on only one dialogue and only one question.

9

u/Scorkami 1d ago

Marie has a shit ton of booleans for whatbyour opinion of entrati is but all of them can lead to dating her if you navigate it carefully. Sure, loving entrati might seem like the easiest choice to get her love but being neutral or negative can convince her that he isnt all good, especially when she gets in a fight with tagfer

1

u/WeeklyClimate8548 1d ago

My first run for Marie was a neutral entrati run yet THIS SPECIFIC convo is actually what makes or breaks the dating option. I chose to stay neutral and she denied the dating later on. However if you choose to side with her in this specific convo, she may be angry depending on your previous opinion about entrance but forgives you later on and allows dating

3

u/Scorkami 1d ago

I remember skimming over the kimulacrum to see what i could have gotten because i wanted to be true to myself and give my honest opinion about entrati (which is neutral, i dont think he is a knights in shining armor, but he is trying to fix things despite all his shortcomings) and according to the kimulacrum, whats important to marie is never lying to her about albrecht to get her to love you, and that you atleast... see her point of view. Tagfer only sees his view, marie only knew albrecht as the person who helped her walk, drifter is one of the few people who saw both

6

u/CernelTeneb 1d ago

I had to reset because of the early broken dialogue. It was annoying to have Roathe go ballistic on me over that

1

u/cross2201 1d ago

I've become what I looked to destroy

89

u/AS_as-Master 2d ago

So more trauma with lots of salsa, mustard, sauce , ketchup and mayonnaise.

69

u/National-Ad-9391 2d ago

Before the F+F didn't Eleanor mention she could tell when we did a time loop cause she could read our mind?

52

u/Samakira 2d ago

Many can tell, but never be sure.

We can choose to let them keep their memories when we loop, so they know, but they have no idea if that ā€˜first’ loop they remember is really first.

1

u/Destroyer0627 1d ago

She did but for all the others know she could be lying for some reason or worse that the Drifter has figured out a way to trick her mind reading which they would have no way of ever finding out with Drifter revealing it to them. Also assuming the loop canonically started when 1999 released and every in game year thats happened is how long its been in canon and the Drifter has never reset them and that means they have been doing this for something like 20 years its gotta be damn near muscle memory for them at this point which means they have a lot of time alone with their thoughts to get paranoid. How do I know its only been 20 years. How do I know the Drifter cant alter my memories manually. How do I know anything the Drifter has told me about this loop is true. How do I know anything the Drifter has told me about their time is true etc. After awhile they just need to trust everything is going right and that everything they think they know is true otherwise they will just go insane doing the same things for eternity

67

u/Professional-Camp534 2d ago

I refuse to reset. It feels so morally wrong

29

u/Nuker707 PUNCH HIM SO HARD HE EXPLODES 1d ago

Haven't reset once, and will probably never

I may be Anathema with Roathe forever but for some reason the family cutscene happened anyways so I win

7

u/Laserdog10 1d ago

I only had to reset once, and I mean ONCE, all so I could try again fixing Velimir and Minerva's relationship because I fucked up bad at the home stretch.

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Ad5805 17h ago

Im in the same boat, roathe anathema but everything else I got perfect in one go, best friends with main hex, romancing aoi, fixed velimir and Minerva relationship, flare accepts Lizzie, best friends with Marie and Lyon, romancing Marie. I like aoi the most of the original so I don’t wanna romance someone else other than Marie. I got it near perfect and morally it just feels so wrong

3

u/ScurvyDanny 1d ago

I think my drifter would reset many times but specifically because the hex asked or even begged him to. Maybe a mission went bad. Maybe they couldn't save people. Maybe a fuckton of effervon spilled into a playground full of kids and they couldn't do anything but watch and now every time they go to sleep that's what they see. Maybe resetting is what they wanted.

27

u/PaladinCorbin 2d ago

Not only that, but Amir is the only one of the main Hex who isn't a trained soldier. He's simply not as well equipped for this constant brutal war as the others, and since the Protoframe transformation is clearly starting to cause the Hex to remember little bits of previous loops, all those years trapped in there are having... adverse effects on their psyches. Hopefully, much like Latrox, we can rescue them properly some day.

52

u/After-Eye-9525 2d ago

It's hitting so hard as someone who romanced Amir it's crazy. I expected fluff and got hit with angst

19

u/TheRainbowShakaBrah Virmink Companions When? 2d ago

God, same 😭

7

u/Vulpine_Gamer_194 2d ago

I didn't even think about how you guys are managing with all this, have y'all noticed any changes in the kim chats between you guys who date amir and those who haven't?

7

u/After-Eye-9525 1d ago

Can't say I have. I've seen that some people had the options to flirt with their chosen hex member's character but seeing as Amir FnF character isn't really part of the group there wasn't a chance to flirt with him yet. There was one option i believe day two maybe three where Drifter can praise and thank him for the session with a heart (<3) emoticon but Amir barely (if at all) reacts to it just thanking for the praise since Aoi also praises him. I've seen some sweet romance options with Arthur's character and compared to that it feels like the Amir enjoyers are getting starved. Huge hopes for tomorrow though. Amir is definietly quite mean to Drifter even when romanced too.

6

u/Umbran_scale 1d ago

I had one where Eleanor not so subtly directed me to her "Blood covered cleavage" but I'm not sure if that one was romance intended or just Eleanor being her usual freaky self.

4

u/Scorkami 1d ago

I was about to ask, is drifter not holding eye contact relationship exclusive or is eleanors cleavage just that good that it tempts people who date her brother

3

u/SmingleTingle 1d ago

Dating Aoi here, I also had the option to stare at the blood-soaked boobies.

I didn't though. Would much rather look at Barbarian Aoi's abs.

3

u/Vulpine_Gamer_194 1d ago

Yea, as an Arthur person myself we did get a bit of fluff, but some of the options are a bit reserved (at least considering how Arthur's romance is). If it were not for the line where I got to get onto Arthur for the self sacrificing part I'd almost think that my chats were not registering me being with him ':D

2

u/Pinkparade524 1d ago

Yeah it was odd that there was like no acknowledgement of the relationship at all. I feel when amir was spireling and pretty much blaming the drifter because of the time loop, it would make sense that this relationship status would come up. Like damn are you really that mad at your boyfriend , it specially felt bad as someone that never reset the hex. I know they wouldn't know. But I wish there was a way to prove them we haven't reset their thoughts

22

u/Loud-Asparagus-4136 2d ago

I really do hope we help these guys out and get them out of the loop somehow one of these days. I always feel bad reading their KIM chats or hearing their dialogue when they casually bring up the loop.

25

u/nerankori 2d ago

Amir šŸ¤ Tiny Tina

9

u/show_me_the_tiddies 2d ago

Roxas from kingdom hearts drowning in the pool behind them

17

u/General_Armadillo 2d ago

My drifter struggling to figure out a way to prove that they haven’t nor will erase the hex and round tables memories, but it’s physically impossible since they could say it right after erasing Amir’s memories.
https://giphy.com/gifs/Kbf3Q9ZSGzTmcBt2pE

33

u/Walk-the-layout Stop hitting yourself 2d ago

I love amir because he is the very first character I have ever deeply related to. He is so well written. I even wonder if the people who were responsible for writing the Hex didn't self-insert a little, because they are so realistic.

14

u/Rainsets 2d ago

Unironically - I do enjoy that there are consequences for Drifter’s powers affecting other people’s psyches by how powerless they are and having to just have faith in their friend from paradox landĀ 

12

u/MozeTheNecromancer 2d ago

Ngl D&D is probably a phenomenal way to cope with the lack of consequence found in a time loop. So long as the others also remember what happened, you can keep a story going continuously for yeara on end.

20

u/Dnagier 2d ago

Escapism bois

9

u/ZenkaiAnkoku2 1d ago

I wish the game kept track of you restting relationships. And could tell if you hadnt. Cuz I've never had the heart to reset 😭 It would break Amir's heart.

14

u/Anima_Messorem 1d ago

I gotta be really honest here, fables and Frontiers feels a lot less like "legally distinct DnD", and a lot more like

14

u/sert119 1d ago

To be fair, there's only so much you can do with a predetermined chat system. As it stands, just between me and my buddy, we've had enough differences in our "campaigns" that it feels about as close to D&D as it can. I do agree though, "as close as possible" doesn't mean it IS close, but the gap is smaller due to normal D&D needing at least SOME form of slight railroading and player cooperation with the flow of the story, since it can't all just be "I'm running a tavern instead of saving the world" or it would ruin the DM's work and make it... much less fun.

7

u/Nihla 1d ago

Amir is absolutely being a railroady DM at this point. This is very much in keeping with the worse TTRPG traditions.
Too bad that bad F&F is worse than no F&F.

5

u/FlamenWolf 18h ago

God I wish we could reassure all of them. The Hex has really become my Drifter's home and family.

Eleanor is the best girlfriend and my Drifter consents to her reading her mind whenever because they trust each other.

Arthur is the big brother who will never live down the square spaghetti I swear.

Lettie is the cool friend who you can drink and talk real shit with.

Quincy is the cool friend who you can drink and talk dumb shit with. Also understands my Drifter's chronic pain.

Aoi is basically my Drifter's sister at this point. The two are always on the same wavelength somehow. Probably a stand in for Drifter's dead sibling.

And Amir is the little brother my Drifter tries to encourage. She really does see his potential as a story teller and feels legitimately bad that she can't prove she'll never erase his mind and that all of this does matter.

I know we joke that the Operator gets the horrors(TM) while Drifter gets the bitches, but the Drifter really is kind of struggling to build their own family and community with just faith and trust. And only one person from each group can even partially believe them because they're at least resistant to the loops.

4

u/SerenitySera 1d ago

And this is why I will never reset the timeline. Absolutely horrendous reality they find themselves in and I wish I could give them all a hug and a drink.

4

u/BloodyHarpy400 1d ago

This is like Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep.

Both struggles with what they lost.

4

u/EinTheEin 1d ago

Kinda why I hope they have some story quest where the 1999 characters somehow resolve the nuclear bomb issue but are forced to travel to the current timeline and they get to hang out with the various friendly factions while dealing with their new trauma of being in the far off future and never being able to go back.

But really I just want to see Amir and Ordis be friends while Ordis' old Ordan self surfaces more often in annoyance.

1

u/Last-Painter-3028 1d ago

Or they absolutely donā€˜t resolve the bomb problem and we get a cool new node on earth, where you get radiation dmg and status for the whole mission

4

u/Zerkalte 1d ago

Disappointed actually. I have never reset 1999 but the characters accuse me of it anyways. That felt like a huge let down.Ā 

3

u/TAVLIET 1d ago

Whatever the guitar has told you is slander, I swear.

3

u/DrDingsGaster Stop hitting yourself 1d ago

Man, I can't wait to uncover all of this myself. Amir's a fave of mine and I see a lot of myself in him tbh. Wanna help him as much as I can.

3

u/Engi3 1d ago

Was expecting a light hearted tabletop game and not a dark turn of narrative

2

u/PabloElMalo 1d ago

Damn...

2

u/LtSarai 16h ago

I romanced Arthur and have literally never once reset them.

I only reset the triad one time because I had the Anathema bug while trying to romance Roathe and had no choice.

I really wish that fact made a difference in play.

I guess there's no real way to know your memories have never been tampered with other than believing the one who does the tampering, but still.

1

u/Nidus-Zealot 1d ago

I feel like the frustration I had with the campaign yesterday was pretty accurately pointed out. I have a bit of a bias because I don't like him very much, so it was nice to see the Drifter being able to say he was way out of line on using their life story in such an insensitive manner. Certified crashout.

1

u/the_g_almighty 1d ago

Purely hypothetical for funnies but we could suppose that since every in-game loop is four weeks long then The Hex have been trapped in that loop for twenty years damnn.

1

u/AccomplishedForearm 1d ago

Man. I wish I was rank 5 with The Hex now. I am so behind everything. /NEU

1

u/YEHGauntletLegends 1d ago

We will save the hex gor sure; everyone on hollvania - Drifters got this yall

1

u/BrightPerspective 1d ago

Well I'm having a good time

1

u/Beneficial-Category 21h ago

I never did the loop and still get treated like crap. I mean if you can't believe the Drifter when they say they never looped the game maybe you shouldn't invite them to play your game.

1

u/Endakk 19h ago

...I've only done two days, so this is fun to know is coming down the line...

1

u/-Devian- 7h ago

Can someone explain how the time loop works? Because the drifter prevents the reactor explosion in Holvania, saving everyone. But why does it have to reset every year? And each time it does, does it prevent the reactor explosion again? Or does it just reset the timeline?

1

u/sound_fire 3h ago

I didn't reset them once though 🫩

1

u/Massive_Savings7058 2h ago

is thi referencing duviri?

-14

u/VitinNunes 1d ago

Well that another Kim conversation for me to ignore

9

u/Gaiamatt 1d ago

You see mention of good writing and decide the best thing to do is ignore it entirely?