#“the game” is such a powerful heart wrenching arc

[lampochkaart]

I didn't like the new movie, so instead I drew fanart of the comic version of The Game, which in my opinion is SO much better

[horizon-verizon]

Hate to use this phrase but media literacy it’s truly dead. People saying Rhaenyra doesn’t care about losing Daemon when Emma delivered Rhaenyra’ sadness over this possibility in a heart wrenching way…

She spent 6 years married to him and had 3 children in those years, to say she didn’t have romantic feelings for him and wasn’t happy with him it’s just deny the obvious. And clearly one of those feelings in succumb into a vulnerable and intimate position with Misarya, the only person who’s saying to her exactly what she needed and wanted to hear, she’s feels she’s losing everyone and Mysaria brings her a feeling that she’s still believed and capable. Rhaenyra sharing that moment with Mysaria doesn’t exclude her conflicted feelings with Daemon, she can love him and resent him at the same time. Right before kissing Misarya, she literally tells her that she and Daemon are “two halves of a whole.”

Wow, I just got off talking about this...

Huh...I didn't watch the episode, but my hunches are shared? Noice.

I think that the disconnect is that Rhaenyra also says she never trusted him, not "truly". Without the Dragonstone-family scenes I have said should have been included and expanded in S1, we can only rely on the picture of happiness and teamwork we got in episodes 7 & 8. And no, even episode 10 has some serious faults with how Rhaenyra calls it "Daemon's war", as if she wasn't the one who enlists him and marries him with the words (paraphrasing) "I cannot stand against the greens alone", knowing exactly what sort of dude this was. Which included knowing he still would always support her, not his own nonexistent ambitions for the throne. There is a diff b/t one's ambitions to become king, and one's willingness to be largely obedient to one's orders or anticipate their desires well, as what I think the writers were trying to convey in that argument but failed utterly and made it more about Daemon wanting the throne for himself. None of this "those who don't want the power are the best leaders" crap...and no, Viserys did not have any points about Daemon's loyalties, the man cut open his own wife and he decided he should question Daemon's loyalties?! Ha! When have we started validating Viserys' stupidity?!

So, to some in the audience, it is jarring for Rhaenyra to doubt him or feel miserable by his actions even under the context of a war breaking out and her doubt of getting support from those outside of Dragonstone. Which still doesn't make sense bc Aemond should rather be feared and reviled for his kinslaying, but apparently Jaehaerys' death is the only death that matters and suddenly Westerosi lords care for "compassionate" payback over oaths of loyalty. It appeared as if Rhaenyra forgave Daemon for the brothel thing, and yes completely bc the show didn't give us anything to think otherwise--again, they might have if only the show had shown us life at Dragonstone before the war. The writers play a game of tug of war with the point of their scenes and pass them off as "complex" when they are just piss-poorly written as a chain of scenes linking a story/particular arcs together.

Anyway, yeah, that's the disconnect, most likely. To set up other things, the show contradicts itself even though the scene by itself is conveying a very clear plotline AND can be connected to another moment from another episode. I don't really blame people who think this way at all.

[scribefindegil]

Unlike a lot of stories about people with superpowers, MP100 doesn’t do civilian collateral damage. Koyama threatens all the delinquents in the alley, but leaves without touching them. Minori’s father gets impaled but the show takes pains to establish that he survives. all the big architecture-destroying fights either happen in isolated locations with only espers (and Reigen, lol) in attendance, or in the case of the world domination arc in buildings that have already been evacuated.

Teru, specifically, is used to going up against other espers. And maybe there’s a couple of non-powered Claw lackies thrown in there, but they chose to work for an organization of kidnappers with delusions of world domination; he’s not gonna lose any sleep over it.

And it’s fun. It’s like a game or a puzzle--figuring out how to replicate people’s moves, how to find their weaknesses, how to use them against them. Even when he loses to Shimazaki it just makes him more excited for the rematch. Don’t point knives at people--but when people keep coming to you looking for a knife fight, what are you supposed to do? If his powers are a tool, Teru thinks he’s found the perfect use for them: taking down any esper with less savory motives than his own.

And that’s why the scene where ???% levels the apartments around him hits so damn hard. Suddenly it doesn’t matter how well Teru can fight. Suddenly he--and we, the audience--are confronted with just how destructive psychic powers can be. And it’s terrifying. (And it’s heart-wrenching, because we know how much Mob hates the thought of hurting people, and Teru knows too). This isn’t a battle between espers, this is a natural disaster with dozens of civilians caught up in it.

It’s scary in a way that none of the other confrontations have been. It’s not a puzzle to solve. It’s not a solution that can be fixed by fighting. But Teru’s powers aren’t just a tool for fighting, and he realizes that.

Teru can’t beat Mob. Teru can’t save Mob.

But he can save everyone else.

[metalkitty21]

Investigations 2 thoughts

Finished Investigations 2 last night! (Forgot to do this so here we are a day late) OH. MY. GOD. I genuinely think it is one, of not my favourite ace attorney game. It's so bloody good. Returning characters are just as good as they were, somehow the cameos are even better. AND THE NEW CHARACTERS??? (I'll get to them) Wooooo boy.

Case rankings are: Turnabout for the Ages (AAI2-5) A Turnabout Forsaken (AAI2-4) Turnabout Legacy (AAI2-3) Turnabout Trigger (AAI2-1) The Captive Turnabout (AA2-2)

Detailed spoilers undercut! All characters (apart from Sebastian) will use the official names!

Captive Turnabout was far from a weak case, although I do think it is the weakness due to having a couple weak characters compared to Turnabout Trigger where it has fewer character who are all very good and strong. Knight being the victim was a very good choice, and so was the introduction of Fender, Seb, and Gavelle. Laguarde isn't the weakest villain, I'd still say it's Knight, but I personally enjoyed Knight's character a lot more than Laguarde, despite her larger role in the whole over arcing story. I think the case is weaken by Carcerato and Sahwit. Carcerato isn't the most memorable character nor is he that impactful. While Sahwit's return was definitely fun, he didn't particularly add much to the case.

Turnabout Trigger is an incredible introduction case. All of its new characters (Tabby, Knight, Wang) are all great for their own reason and the story of the case itself is also great. I like how we refer back to the first game about the solving of the Yatagarasu and how it doesn't feel disconnected completely from the first game. Tabby is a fun and silly character who I wasn't expected to actually get tied into the plot itself. Wang is a great set up for everything that happens with him in case five and both size of him are very enjoyable. Knight, while still the weakest villain of the game, I don't feel like it harms the case too much as his character makes up for his weaker motive compared to the others in the game. Seeing De Killer is also extremely fun, especially considering his later appearances as well.

If I was ranking this on which case gave me the most emotional gut punches this case wins by a landslide and CASE 5 EXISTS. Turnabout Legacy is an emotional rollercoaster of a case. Slipping back and forth between the Edgeworths is super fun as you go in with insight from the past/future which makes the case really fun to piece together with all but one amazing characters and the return of my king TYRELL BADD ALL PRAISE THE TALL DETECTIVE MAN. Eddie is just has fun here, if not more so when he's younger. Him eating the paper is a fun gag and getting to see the development of his and Judy's relationship is so enjoyable to me there are lovers. As previously said, all the characters (minus one) are great. Judy is adorable, pretty, and a minor villain which I think aa needs more of. Samson is a loveable dork despite how little he has appearance wise. Gusto is a fuck of a man but a great villain, and getting to see Badd and Manfred in the past is great and I could ask for nothing else. The photos Eddie has, as well as him having both Gregory's hat and coat, AS WELL as every time Gregory mentions Miles in the past tears me to shreds and I'm so confident this games hates me.

Turnabout Forsaken once again BROKE. ME. Not only do you have Kay being a sweetheart because SHE REMEMBERS NOTHING, you have the heart break of Franzy's and Gumshoe's reactions, as well as the heart wrench of Seb's reaction to his father. WHO IS A MASSIVE BASTARD. Excelsius is an amazing villain, and both his breakdown and sprite work make him so much better. While the case itself isn't necessarily complex, you still have that struggle against a powerful figure without it being drawn out like what happened with Alba. Gavèlle in this case is FANTASTIC, but she somehow only manages to get better thanks to case 5. Seeing Ema once again is amazing, same with Lotta. The scene with Kay getting her memories back is so heartwarming and also gut wrenching this game needs to leave my guts alone.

YET SOMEHOW CASE FIVE ENDS UP EVEN BETTER??? It has a grand total of two kidnappings, and 3 murders to solve, AS WELL AS CONNECTING BACK TO EVERY OTHER CASE IN THE FUCKING GAME. Lang finally making his appearance again big time with the death of his president and the backstory reveal except SIKE THE PRESIDENT'S BEEN DEAD FOR 12 YEARS HAHAHAH SOLVE HIS MURDER NOW. Shaun is a loveable little brat and only gets better when Mama Bear Gavèlle shows up to scold him for being disrespectful and the spirit of her hugging him is everything to me. The conclusion of Sebastian's story is GLORIOUS and once again is boosted by amazing sprite work. Speaking of sprite work SIMEON FUCKING SAINT BEING THE BIG BAD. YOU GOT YOUR FULBRIGHT MOMEMT @cactours ARE YOU HAPPY. Ahem. Simeon was a character I had very much enjoyed solely from case two. I made the link of him being Gusto's son the second you find Knight's things and see the PH on his ring, but didn't except him to be behind EVERYTHING. His switch up is amazing, his sprites are all brilliant, him mimicking Edgeworth, his breakdown, his father I mean Kanis coming to rescue him when De Killer comes to kill him is also incredibly sweet. Also death by hot air balloon is a new one. Very creative Simmy 10/10.

[h0estar]

catching up to bnha (contains spoilers for chapter 362)

BAKUGO REALLY DIED I'M GOING TO COMBUST

i saw the spoilers years ago, and let me tell you, i was livid. some MHA fans are genuinely incapable of having basic human decency and think it's edgy to just post whatever on social media. WITHOUT WARNING. tumblr gets a pass because at least it has spoiler tags, even if i follow them anyway, lmao. but, i was definitely going through it! dark days, man.

you see, i would've absolutely grieved this moment had i read this weekly. i would've cried, despaired, and cried some more. i would've been absolutely devastated. but because i knew it was coming, all i could do was stare in shock. heartbroken? definitely. but the emotional impact was definitely lessened. rip to the feels i could've had.

ANYWAY

i know he's alright 🙄

and this "death" feels like a slap in the face to Bakugo's entire character arc. i mean what was the point of him working his hardest to be number one? to have his goals on full display for the readers time and time again? to have other characters rooting for him? to display his determination and drive? to develop his character so well? it would be a huge waste to just throw him away as a plot device for another one of izuku's rage-fueled power-ups. he's more than that :(

i mean, sure... his heart exploded or whatever... and i mean yeah sure there was a bit of flashback. but he's had a such a great development, it'd make no sense to just take him out so early in the game. right? RIGHT?!?!!!!

also, not to mention the multiple death scares this mf had. therefore, i am definitely not buying it 🙄 (even if it looks real this time but whatever!!!! i know he's alright!! he's alive and well. i know it because of the spoilers, okay? i think. i dont know. was that him? crazy. i think it was. maybe. i hope? hahhahhdaidjkssk)

anyway, i'd have to brace myself for the next volume. this volume was hell on earth with toya vs shoto, endeavor vs afo, shigaraki in the sky, etc. i sense pain, pain, and more gut wrenching pain in the next volumes so @h0estar, be prepared.

honorable mention to horikoshi's art. i love love love love bnha's art style so much. see, as much as i love the anime, i'm always a sucker for some godtier manga art because you can see the artist's improvement and emotion in his works. horikoshi is so passionate about the details and i love how he goes beyond (plus ultra?!) with his works, considering this is a weekly shonen. in all his years, his work's quality never deteriorated 👏🏻 it's one of the reasons why i'm a manga > anime girlie for MHA. note that i'm not artist so i could be yapping about things i don't understand, but i'm sure you get me! ha ahaha

[brightbeautifulthings]

The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic

"'What you hold onto is less important than the act of holding on itself. It's so easy to get lost in ourselves and this world. Sometimes you need to find your way back one tiny miracle at a time.'"

Year Read: 2024

Rating: 4/5

About: Jean Moreau is desperate to get back to the team that nearly killed him. The Ravens aren't the forgiving type, and the longer he stays with the Foxes to recover, the worse it will be for him when he returns. Except he won't be returning. In the wake of deaths in the Moriyama family and Neil's bargaining, Jean signs with the Trojans, an Exy team across the country known for their kindness on the court. It's an ill fit for a former Raven, who are taught to play the game as brutally as possible, but it's the least of Jean's worries with the threat of the Moriyamas coming to reclaim their property. Trigger warnings: child death, slavery, human trafficking, rape/assault, torture, abuse, organized crime, drowning, severe injury, burns, broken bones, panic attacks, anxiety.

Thoughts: It was an absolute delight to be back in this universe again. I can never quit reading the All for the Game series; once I've started, I have to devour all of them until I've finished, and this felt exactly like that. They're so immersive, and I had the urge to start over again from the beginning as soon as I was done. I was a little thrown off at first because this doesn't pick up at the end of The King's Men but rather a little before it, when Jean is first taken from the Ravens. Though initially confusing, I think it was a good choice because it allows us to start Jean's journey with him right from the beginning.

This book reminds me so much of The Foxhole Court. Jean's path has some almost eerie parallels to Neil's in that first book, where they're both learning how to be real people again in the wake of unimaginable trauma. Much like Neil's Foxes, it's his team that gives Jean a lifeline, and I loved the inside look on both the Trojans and the Ravens, who were largely mysterious to us in previous books. It's heart-wrenching to get a deeper look at the Ravens' systematic abuse, none a bigger target for Riko's cruelty than Jean. The Trojans are a much-needed counterbalance, the kindness and the optimism that the Ravens lack, although they're far from perfect.

In addition to writing wonderfully developed, compelling characters, Sakavic excels at balancing the trauma with humor in these books so that, as heavy as the topics sometimes get, we're never without a light (or a sassy comment) to draw us back out of the dark. Most of the novel is about Jean getting settled with the Trojans and learning how to function without such strict regiments; similarly, the advancement is largely in character development rather than plot. Though I do have the sense that Jean has come a long way by the end, it's not quite as powerful as Neil's arc in that first book. I was definitely left wanting much more of this story.

[sparatus]

6, 8, 16 and 18 for the fandom asks plsplspls

🔥choose violence ask game

hiiii yes i know this one's from march before my laptop broke it's fine

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

honestly pretty much every shepard ship fan is annoying in their own way but i gotta say the 40+ white cishet woman mshenko fetishists make me intensely angry. some of them openly admit they've modded the game so much they're not even playing the same game as the rest of us and then get mad at everyone else for not seeing what they do. sorry to my shenko mutuals i love you but there's some fucking mlm fetishists in there with you and i want to hit them with sticks for getting close to ruining kaidan for me again

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

bangs hands on the table GERREL ISN'T AN IDIOT DOUCHEBAG AND YOU SHOULD BE SHOT IF YOU TAKE THE REN INTERRUPT TO PUNCH HIM he has a valid point in firing on the dreadnought from his pov he has NO idea how long the shields will be down or if you're okay or what the hell is going on and frankly that's how fucking war goes and even if he wasn't YOU STILL CAN'T JUST PUNCH A FUCKING ADMIRAL IN THE GUT

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

why do so many people argue over which biotic characters could hold the barrier in me2. kaidan could not do that. even he himself says he's not super powerful. learning to reave =/= the immense power output the barrier required. see also garrus being the bestest sniper ever, tali as an engineering God, etc etc it's okay for your faves to not be the most amazing in their fields actually the risk of failure makes the story more compelling actually

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

you all ignore morinth So Much. she has so much potential for either a very chewy negative spiral or very heart-wrenching redemption arc. literally on that one post of mine positing that it's implied she killed her own sire in a tragic accident like 90% tag it as samara and go "oh poor samara this is so sad for samara" FALSE. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MORINTH. don't talk to me about how sad it is for samara's child to kill her bondmate when MORINTH IS THE ONE WHO HAS TO LIVE WITH THE MEMORY OF HER FATHER DYING WHILE MELDED TO HER justice for my girl morinth both the fandom and the canon shaft her so much

[jessread-s]

Thanks to @atriabooks-blog and the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩💍🌼Review:

Your honor, I fell in love with Matthew and Josie and I fell hard!

“The Fiancé Dilemma” follows Josie Moore after a big messy misunderstanding results in Matthew Flanagan, her sister’s best friend, playing the role as doting fiancé to resolve a complicated PR issue. Despite the ring on her finger and Matthew not seeming to mind, Josie knows this is only temporary, even if the rest of the small town believes that the fifth times the charm.

This book found me when I needed it most! Having been introduced to Josie in “The Long Game”, I was excited to read from her point-of-view. Armas adds so much depth to her character and unsurprisingly I found myself connecting with Josie on a deep level as a result. I saw so much of myself in the way she prioritized the needs of other people over herself and overextended herself as the mayor of Green Oaks just because it is in her nature to lend a helping hand. Seeing her raw emotions laid out on the page as she grapples with her failed engagements becoming the topic of conversation in the media, her absentee father wanting to be a part of her life, and her mother’s passing is gut-wrenching, but also extremely validating. I think what makes her character so powerful is that she has the ability to make anyone who is struggling feel less alone and I love that about her.  

Matthew truly showed up on Josie’s doorstep when she needed him most. Let me tell you…my heart belongs to this glasses-wearing man!!! He is not shy at all about how attracted he is to Josie (he practically worships the ground that she walks on) and I adore that about him. More than that though, I love how he makes sure Josie comes first. He has her back throughout their stunt, shows up for her in more ways than one, bakes for her, keeps her company, and, most importantly, loves her for who she is. He is perfect for her and watching Josie come to that realization on her own made my heart so full! 

I am not kidding when I say that Matthew and Josie are my new favorite couple and that Green Oaks will always be my happy place.  The array of characters and animals feel like home to me. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[buckybarnesss]

okay okay so teen wolf the movie happened (and it was bad). i haven’t seen it but i have some thoughts from what i have read about it. what is teen wolf but the fans taking the concepts and trying to make them work?

here’s my wish basically:

the nogitsune is a trickster. it thrives on chaos, pain and strife. so it coming back one has to ask: what is the game? what is the trick?

i will be referencing this fantastic meta series because it brings up a great point. the entire possession of stiles, the entire gambit of the nogitsune was an attempt to use stiles to get to the power of the nemeton. 

that is what the nogitsune always wanted. a motivation i believe remains true. however, i think now it also wants revenge on stiles and his pack for defeating it but very specifically it’s target is stiles.

when we see stiles playing go with the nogitsune it is about the concession of territory. what territory you ask? the territory of stiles’s body and also that of beacon hills. the nogitsune of course was cheating and stiles was an inexperienced player. 

15 years later though? that is a different animal. things will have changed. 

here are the ground rules for the state things as i think they likely would be:

most of fandom agreed that stiles was a something. that he was magic. a spark. like many things it was all there in the subtext of the show. if i had my way stiles would be the emissary of scott’s pack. scott and stiles always came as a packaged deal.  (one reason i don’t buy the movie is because there is no way come hell or high water stiles abandoned beacon hills, scott, or derek or his father for any extended period of time. davis was salty dylan said no. period. the sitles and scott friendship is the very heart and soul of teen wolf. i know there is a large section of fandom that doesn’t like scott. i think they’re wrong and that’s that.)

allison is dead dead. there is no cheap resurrection here for her. her death was a cataclysm in the teen wolf universe. bringing her back would make it lose it’s impact. scott and lydia’s arcs would have been better served on letting allison go, and for chris to show how allison changed him and how he honors her memory. 

stiles is still with the fbi and is gone from beacon hills for extended periods but he has not abandoned anyone. however, him coming and going from beacon hills conveys that stiles is running away emotionally from things (ie: failed relationship with lydia, his remaining guilt over events, and a jeep metaphor with derek)

allison’s supposed resurrection is a ploy by the nogitsune to distract scott, lydia and chris argent as them scrambling to figure out if it’s real and if allison is actually allison gets them out of the way for the real game.

stiles and the nemeton. 

if i had my way scott would call stiles pretty much immediately because he has the good sense that melissa mccall gave him.

the wrench would be stiles doesn’t answer because he’s busy on an important case or what not. it doesn’t really matter the why i guess what is important is that he doesn’t answer the call from scott initially. 

as i said i think it works if stiles is emotionally running away from beacon hills and his friends so he buries himself in work. he’s refusing the call of being a hero and losing those precious moments to ignorance costs him and the pack later.

scott does leave a voicemail along the lines of dude allison’s back and so is the nogitsune get your ass here.

since in my version allison is dead dead the nogitsune is using a facsimile of her to fuck with everyone and cause pain, strife and chaos to feed off. this can only work for so long though and it’s real target hasn’t come yet. so with stiles not there and allison only being a distraction for so long the nogitsune has to raise the stakes. 

enter the hales. 

the hales are the old guardians of beacon hills and therefore a problem/nuisance to the nogitsune’s plans. in more ways than one. it also knows derek and stiles are close as derek worked really hard to protect stiles during his possession and prevent him from being killed. 

despite it being over a decade later the nogitsune would still use what knowledge it has of stiles to continue to exploit his relationships to create pain and as a lure.

as for derek i think that we can keep a lot of the same. derek having hale auto (good for him), having eli (also good for him) are nice things and derek hale deserves nice things. 

using allison to go after eli and derek the nogitsune not only tries to resurrect the tensions of old but brings in another element to lure stiles back once he finally gets involved. 

an aside because this is really just me rambling: 

over the fifteen year gap scott and derek probably eased into a friendly relationship. they aren’t best friends but probably talk casually, eli does lacrosse and scott is the coach, they talk werewolf business and keep beacon hills safe.  

malia and derek were finally allowed to build a familial relationship and she’s like a cool aunt to eli. peter is still peter and the man always had a complicated relationship with derek so he’s sort of peripherally around. cora is probably around being awesome somewhere but her and derek talk regularly and she visits her brother and nephew frequently bringing cool gifts from her travels. isaac sends postcards that go on the fridge. 

naturally being the shipper trash i am i would make sure to be clear that stiles and derek have a relationship. that in the fifteen year gap their friendship grew and flourished as they supported each other through things. that derek really got to actually start to heal from his trauma and even though stiles isn’t quite there derek’s been there for him too. they developed a close bond. stiles being there for eli? give it to me. stiles teaching eli to drive in the jeep? i want it. which would be why eli’s always stealing the jeep. to be closer to stiles and annoy his dad.

but this is all set up for the real meat of what i have been thinking:

derek still dies BUT

it’s not eli he dies in front of. it’s stiles. he does not take it well.

stiles eventually gets scott’s message and books it to beacon hills. the facsimile of allison the nogitsune is using digs into that guilt he has over everything that happened with not just the nogitsune but will allison’s death, with claudia and with what happened with donovan. it rips into stiles’s psyche wanting back in. it wants to use stiles to not just cause pain but to use his magic like a battery to feed off stiles’s connection to the nemeton. 

because i have always believed that when stiles, scott and allison did the ritual sacrifice at the end of 3A they became tied to the nemeton, they became it’s champions and protectors. 

anyway, derek once again keeping his track record of saving stiles sacrifices himself with parrish assisting. 

the delay in stiles getting scott’s message cause them not to have a plan that would give stiles time to prepare to face the nogitsune and prevent derek’s death. 

BUT 

it’s a gambit by the nogitsune. it thinks it wins no matter how it shakes out.  remember derek was set up as the king on stiles’s chess board way back when. it has removed not just a hale from the board but someone important to stiles. someone he’d go through great lengths to save. that’s a play. that’s the trick. 

derek dying causes stiles pain just as much as it removes him off the board and if stiles tries to bring him back he has makes himself (and the nemeton) vulnerable. it is a gambit

how does it end? i don’t know. i like the idea of stiles having to confront himself and descend into his own personal hell to save derek. he has to overcome his fears and guilt. has to open himself up to derek to save him. you know what i mean. 

i have this idea of stiles meeting paige in the inbetween place. she’s tied to the nemeton too as it’s where she died. it was her death that powered the nemeton enough to save julia/jennifer when kali tried to kill her. she’s representative of derek’s own guilt. stiles has to confront not just his trauma but derek’s too. 

he would also meet allison. the real allison argent. allie a who saved the day. she’d tell him to stop blaming himself for her death that it wasn’t his fault and she went to save lydia and him. 

derek gets brought back of course. stiles stops running and finally decides that he wants to come home. and you lets just heavily imply he means home with derek and eli. his dad is thrilled. 

all in all: the pack saves the day and allison is finally, truly laid to rest. 

other points i didn’t lay out but also not a comprehensive list.

kira comes back because of course she does she was the other half of the nogitsune plotline and this is my version. her and scott are awkward at first but maybe by the end there’s hints towards a reconciliation because they were cute as hell and this is a story where people grow and come back together 

scott is a vet and is working with deaton

deaton shows up to talk cryptically with stiles about the ritual to bring derek back and have a nice moment with scott because deaton was more of a father to him than rafael ever was.

hale👏 family 👏 lore

the sheriff being eli’s grandfather for 120 minutes

scott treating derek like his brother in law

lydia and stiles broke up over different life goals and desires not a stupid premonition. 

stiles and scott get a crying, healing hug for 15 minutes

liam’s mom gets a name (this has always bothered me okay)

liam and mason being dumbass best friends and mason trying to get liam to help him with his work. it works 45% of the time. 

they actually say that stiles is derek’s anchor out loud

the sheriff and sitles having a conversation where the sheriff isn’t sure stiles should try to bring derek back because it could go badly and stiles bluntly asks if the sheriff would bring claudia back if he could. 

i want peter to talk about talia. if peter is going to be there i want mr unhinged to be absolutely spitting mad that derek died in hell fire and helps bring him back. 

stiles and derek talk about their relationship in the most convoluted way possible. hence: the jeep. 

stiles tells derek “what you thought death was going to get you out of this relationship?”

me: teen wolf the movie but what if stiles was there like he was supposed to be and it was pretty gay. 

[yoiku]

I really don't know how I feel about going back to FFXIV with DT dropping soon. (putting this under a read more due to some depression talk)

I still very much love the game in my mind and have kept up with what i think is the majority of news, but I have not logged in since jan/feb of 2022. Basically maxed out my crafting&gathering professions after endwalker main story and since then I haven't been able to bring myself to resub. Well, For a lot of it I also haven't had the time or money either but i have been thinking the entire time that i'll go back after the initial rush with Dawntrail launch has calmed down. Now I don't know anymore. As much as I loved the conclusion of thing with endwalker, I think I played it at a very bad time and my mind keeps connecting the game to that time now. I was suicidal around the time EW launched and the story resonated a bit too much with me at the time, so much so that I doubt I'll ever be able to replay it. I loved it but it also became what feels like a straight link to how bad i felt about myself and life while i was playing through it. And i think because of how anxious I was at the time as well really did a number on my already frail self-esteem when it comes to doing any kind of group gaming. The trust system is handy for that but I would rather play mmos with people than npcs. At the same time just the thought of queueing to a roulette turns my stomach a little too much. So I'm feeling pretty conflicted. DT seems like a nice fresh and a lighter start before likely delving into another heart wrenching story arc later, so part of me is still looking forward to try it. At the same time I feel like going back to the game might make me feel worse again. Part of me wants to roll a new character entirely but I know I don't have the time or will power for that again. I miss having any kind of social gaming circle to be an active part of. Well, I miss having more social interaction in my life in general but I'm too afraid of feeling like I'm alone in a group again. that sucks even more than just being alone as it is when you got the ol' depresso stuck in your brain. I dunno, maybe I need to get therapy before I give any of that a try again. (at least the progress on that has been moving along this year) I definitely feel like this is entirely a me problem after all. How I wish they sold self-esteem or confidence somewhere, I still haven't figured out how to find any of that within myself.

[moon--mama]

I just saw a bunch of theories on another site claiming that Gwyn’s mother could be Ianthe, and her father could be Lucien.

Here’s the issue with that: the timeline.

Gwyn’s grandmother was a nymph and her grandfather was High Fae. That means her mother was half nymph and half Fae.

Let’s start at the bottom and work up. Catrin and Gwyn are about 20. That means their mother partook in the Rite 20 years ago.

At that time, a lot of High Fae are under the mountain. Amarantha does let some out to celebrate Calanmai, so it doesn’t take every High Fae out of the equation. The biggest hint to Gwyn’s parentage being discussed by fans so far is her red hair. But we already know that her grandfather was associated with the autumn court. That means her autumn connections are likely NOT through her father.

It seems that in ACOTAR, red hair is a dominant trait. Therefore, anyone mixing in with the autumn court would likely have some shade of red/auburn hair. ((I’ll just mention here that the human queen Vassa has red hair and large blue eyes, matching Gwyn in description)).

So the red hair would carry to a grandchild easily.

Two things:

Where did the surname Berdara come from?

Who are potential candidates for her father and grandfather?

Gwyn’s Mother:

Gwyn’s mother cannot be Ianthe. In ACOWAR, Feyre notes that Ianthe was hiding out in Vallahan for 50 years while Amarantha terrorized Prythian. The timeline doesn’t add up.

Plus, Gwyn’s mother was half nymph. Her people lived in rivers, and Catrin had webbed fingers. Ianthe is High Fae—not half nymph, as far as Feyre ever observed.

BUT, it’s interesting to note that Mama Berdara tried to live in the Autumn Court for a while. What does “untamed” mean? I believe that it means she would not keep quiet about her parentage. She couldn’t be “tamed” into playing the political games of the Autumn Court. If she’s tame enough to be a priestess and live at Sangravah, then it has nothing to do with her avoiding confinement. Mama Berdara was sent away to keep her quiet.

Also, Mama Berdara is dead but we don’t know what happened.

Lifespans don’t get discussed much in ACOTAR, since everyone is constantly on the verge of being murdered, but they do get discussed in Crescent City. Generally, the different species live…

Asteri: forever?

Fae: 1000 years

Angels: 500-1000 years

Shifters & witches: 500 years

Humans: 100? Years

If Mama Berdara died naturally, she would have likely been between 500-1000 years old. Gwyn doesn’t mention her death beyond this, suggesting that it wasn’t a murder or anything traumatic.

Gwyn’s Grandfather:

The fact that Gwyn’s mother was brought to the Autumn court as a baby suggests that her father had a position of power. Unless he’s a random unknown character, that leaves all the men of the Autumn court as potential suspects.

The popular theory is that Lucien is Gwyn’s father, and that idea does work.

Rhysand says this to Lucien in ACOTAR, which indicates that Lucien is less than 500 years old. That’s a lot of Calanmai hookups. Also, it makes Lucien potentially old enough that he could have been the Autumn Fae who fell in love with the nymph.

All that we know about Lucien’s first love, Jesminda, was that she was a lesser fae who lived in the countryside. Was she a nymph? It’s possible, since Alis proves that lesser fae are capable of moving from one court to another. It would be a heart-wrenching story arc for Lucien to discover that Gwyn was a surviving remnant of his love.

But I’d like to propose two alternatives.

Beron: the irony of a High Lord alphahole who murdered his son’s lover for being “lesser fae” also siring a daughter with a “lesser fae” would be too rich. He doesn’t have any official daughters at all, though. And Lady Autumn’s thing with Helion suggests that perhaps Beron has been distracted elsewhere romantically.

Eris: it would be somewhat poetic if the eldest Autumn lad who seems to be a secret softie had changed because of his love for a nymph. Maybe his father’s treatment of Lucien softened him up towards the “lesser fae.” Maybe his father’s rejection of his love and his daughter caused him to help Lucien when Beron killed Jesminda.

Also, Gwyn might know the identity of her grandfather. She specifically says that her mother never told her who her father was. But if Mama Berdara was tossed out of the Autumn court, what’s the likelihood that she would have shared her family connections with her daughters? Especially if she knew that she was coming up on her death due to her age—she’d want them to know where to turn for help.

Berdara…Who?

So if you google this, Berdara means “blood” or “bloodied.” But it can also mean “of a certain ethnic background” as in, the blood of ancestors.

Is this nomenclature a hint about the past, or the future?

Gwyn is one of fourteen people to achieve the Carynthian status in the Illyrian Blood Rite within the past 500 years. Does her surname mean that she’s destined for a life of bloodshed and warfare?

Gwyn’s family is brutalized when the temple of Sangravah is attacked by Hybern. Could her surname be a nod to the way her sister was murdered?

If she happens to share blood with Beron, Eris, or Lucien, is her surname a hint that she is “of the blood” of the Autumn royal family?

Also—where did this surname originate? Is it from her mother, her father, or her grandparents? Arguably, Berdara sounds a bit like Vanserra.

For my Spring Court believers:

Yes, it’s possible that Gwyn is the daughter of Tamlin during the Rite. But wouldn’t her mother have mentioned being chosen as “The Maiden?”

Twins do tend to run in families. And what we don’t know is whether or not Tamlin’s dead, cruel elder brothers were twins. If they were, it’s a point in the favor of him being Gwyn’s father.

Also, as many have observed, his redemption arc would work better if he was dealing with a paternal love instead of a romantic love. So I’m in favor of a daddy Tamlin revelation.

My only point against Tamlin’s paternity is the whole “lightsinger” concept. Tamlin does not seem to be a lightsinger. The only light-manipulating characters so far have been Feyre and Helion, but THAT would be messed up. If Lucien and Jesminda were Gwyn’s grandparents, and Helion is Lucien’s father but also Gwyn and Catrin’s father…ugh. It seems too complicated to be likely. Perhaps the lightsinger powers come from the nymph bloodline.

Theoretical Family Tree:

Looks like we have to wait for the next book to know for sure! Anyway thanks for reading over my theories. Let me know what you think!

[fanworldbuildingfun]

I’m 35% into Valhalla and I need to vent a bit I have such a... Love/hate thing for this game???  I mean. From the “Mythology set” it would be my second-favorite, after Origins

(Which is an undisputed leader for the perfect mix of lovely world, lovely protagonists, and heart wrenching story which - most importantly - ties in to the Assassin lore)

Valhalla gets #2 after Origins for a very simple reason: while I may have issues with Eivor (not the writing; I find them pretty fleshed out, but for the moments when story decides to sod your dialogue choices and defaults to prideful hothead), I did not click with Kassandra, whom I decided to start Odyssey with. A little over 15% in, and I switched to Valhalla. I fully intend to see if Alexious would click better, after I’m done with Valhalla

(and just to clarify: I’m playing the “Let the Animus decide” option for Valhalla, co Eivor is female in main parts of game)

Now. One thing I have to mention: I’m a completionist and I’m easily sidetracked by non-mainline quests. Which means that, while I’m doing main plot quests in power level order and I’m only on Oxenefordscire Arc right now, I have a lever 5 settlement and 200 power for Eivor. Which means, I am at this point invested in the role playing aspect of game

And had a lot of time to tinker Eivor to my preferences Now, the thing I am having issues with: I have, as I mentioned, a love/hate situation for Eivor. I*like* how I got them acting at this point, and am managing to rock, more or less, the Hidden One aesthetic and behaviors now. Which yeah, comes with its own issues since you can’t really join the Brotherhood Point is, my Eivor isn’t going in guns blazing. They also aren’t going to get into your face and will consider other options if it’s beneficial for the situation. Even if it doesn’t exactly go with the “Dane” attitude to the problem Which makes the moments where the game goes more linear a problem Case in point, the start of Oxenefordscire. And the dialogue with Sigurd and Basim hit me right into the face. Because my Eivor isn’t going to toss accusations straight at Basim after seeing them act so odd. Not after having spent time running errands with Haytham and exploring old bureaus. The more likely option they’d entertain would be that someone got to both of them But instead, you have Eivor going all “Odin and Loki” in this situation - without any obvious reason?? I mean it would make sense if you play Eivor as the more aggressive type, but I did not. This kind of defeats the purpose for giving us the option to tune Eivor’s behavior - and in a scenario where, subjectively, Sigurd is the one acting more sus than Basim!  (Subjectively because, at this point, one can either see Sigurd as being influenced by sus Basim who has Agenda OR, as Sigurd being unreasonable and Basim appeasing him to avoid confrontation) Anyway. I’m hoping there will be some shifts further on because this has been frustrating me something awful Moreso than Dag being forced as a critic on Eivor while I’m busy running Eivor around and securing us alliances, and making exactly zero claims at being a Jarl (And I did get a bit spoiled beforehand, so with how the entire Dag situation is supposed to play out? I feel like I’ll be feeling all “sod it, I quit, peace out” by the end but without actual ability to do it. Would have been lovely if there was an option to at least have a talk where you seriously consider joining Hidden Ones but alas) ...This is going to get frustrating won’t it. RPG but not quite. I’d say they should have kept RPG elements at Origins level - at least when it comes to dialogue / personality. Call me spoiled but my basis for good RPG dialogue-pick comes from Bioware’s Star Wars games / Dragon Age series. And those won’t fit into Assassin’s Creed, unless we are talking Alternate Universe / Modern Time line game

[honey-minded-hivemind]

My favorite character from the Owl House is Hunter because his character arc is so good and his relationship with Willow is adorable. (He literally fell for her at first sight)

And my favorite character from X Men is Kitty (I hate her relationship with Cyclops because she was a CHILD AND HE WAS A GROWN ASS MAN WHEN THEY MEET IN THE COMICS. Also can I just say that I hate that they make Bobby (the guy who does the ice thing) gay because that came out of nowhere and it only happened because an alternative version Jean Gray and her version of Bobby is gay so she decides that all versions of Bobby is gay and she needs to help them be their true self and Bobby who keep in mind has shown sexual and romantic interest in women up to this point 'realizes' he's gay and the rest of the comic is just him coming out to everyone one by one and hardly anything else happens. I wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't for the fact that most media still treats sexuality like there's only two options gay or straight which completely erases Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Asexual, to name a few. It just grinds my gears you know anyway sorry for the rant. Kitty deserves a good love interest hopefully she gets one)

I feel like if reader had magic I feel like it would be similar to ether to Luz's or Eda's.

Hunter was so awesome, and he felt relatable, too. He and Willow are cute together, let them have plant and palisman babies!

I like Kitty, and I haven't read the comics (except a handful) so I didn't even know that relationship was thing. (Who the f*ck wrote that?!) I use my favorite X-Men medias as canon, along with head and heart canons, because let's face it: There are so many separate comics with different writers, different movies and timelines, even three (now going to be four) separate X-Men cartoons, whatever books and games they have for the various media, and even the anime and other Marvel shows where the characters show up from time to time. It is SO confusing. So, I just pick my favorite out of the bunch and roll with those (and usually it makes enough sense. Except the timeline changes in the movies. That STILL confuses me. Who is alive? Who is dead? Hopefully Deadpool fixes things).

And yeah, for Bobby, only one version of him was gay. It would have made more senses if they built that into a story arc, took it slowly, instead of being so abrupt. Let the guy be gay or bisexual, but at least make it make sense and not just be considered a quirk or passing fancy. Give it some development. Some thought. Make it mean something. Let it happen like how The Owl House portrays romance and self-discovery. (I myself am part of the asexual community, and that took awhile to figure out, and to this day I'm still finding out more about how I view relationships, platonic or romantic or otherwise. I'm not sure if I truly am interested in romance or not, but in the past I had a crush on a guy and girl, and later found out I just thought they were really great friends). This stuff can take time, it can get messy and feel gut-wrenching, but it doesn't make a person less for being bisexual or gay or lesbian or asexual or straight or trans. None are better than the others, and none are less than the others. It does help to realize all of this isn't back and white. It's a big, mixed canvas of grays in every shade of cloud and ash and silver and stone and eggshell and storm and smoke. (Point is, LGBTQA+ isn't back and white, neither is being straight, but these things are not just quirks. They shouldn't be treated that way, as those are valid beliefs and emotions that don't go away). (I hope I said this right, I'm not always great explaining my thoughts on this kind of thing).

Reader having a power similar to Luz or Eda would be so wild! Surprise, they have glyphs! Surprise, they're part owl beast! They have wild magic, they're blessed by the last Titans, they kicked an evil old emperor/hypocrite into dust! The series finale might have been a little rushed (thanks a LOT, Disney. You should have given them extra time! Extra episodes! A whole lot more episodes than just three for the third season!) but I thought it was still good for the constraints put on Dana and her team. They did good.

[goldazu]

Okay, I know people are tired of my Pokemon shenanigans, but hear me out. Some people were also interested in what I thought about the overall plot and I will try to go ahead and give my two cents on it.

Personally, I'm somewhat sick of the same recycled Pokemon plot in which the rivals are overly friendly, hold your hand throughout your whole journey, and act a little too light-hearted for my tastes. Give me a mean rival again, those were fun. However, that isn't to say I didn't enjoy Nemona and Arven in particular. Especially Arven. His arc was very mind-blowing for me by the end of the game considering what happened with his family.

Truth told, before I started the game, I definitely heard rumors of people like "the story made everyone cry." So, I wanted to see what exactly was so heart-wrenching about it. Initially I thought it was the whole plot arc with Arven and his sick dog who showed little to no signs of recovery even as you collect the Herba Mystica (basically nutrient-loaded food for the Pokemon) for him to feel better, which I'll admit was indeed sad and tugging on my heartstrings at some point, but it wasn't anything too eye-opening for me all the same.

Little did I know, this was just the beginning of it.

As the player explores Paldea and collects the Herba Mystic for the professor (Sada or Turo depending on your version—I played Scarlet so I got Sada), your ride legendary also gains some new powers. Dashing, jumping, swimming, gliding, climbing, etc. It's clear throughout the adventure that Arven and the professor have strained relationships due to Koraidon/Miraidon yet the player doesn't really know why until the end, which I consider the most exciting part of the overall story.

Once the Herba Mystica subplot was finished, the player then has to make their way to the forbidden Great Crater since Arven just kinda goes "okay, we need to find my mom/dad." Yes, the professor is revealed to be his parent, though I didn't see it coming even when in hindsight they do resemble each other. That's on me, I guess. Oops? Anyway, the professor up until that point has and continues to communicate with you, the player, via Rotom phone so you never actually get to meet them. It turns out they're "trapped" in the lab in Area Zero, which leads you and the gang to travel there despite the prehistoric/futuristic Pokemon crawling about. All of which are quite powerful in their own right.

Eventually as you approach the lab, it's revealed those Pokemon from the past/future are too dangerous for the ecosystem and must be stopped/contained in their "respective times." It makes sense, to be fair. Should they escape Area Zero, then they'd undoubtedly infest all of Paldea and probably turn the whole region into a living Hell for all the other, much more weak Pokemon who are from the current time period. So, the professor asks you to disable the time machine that they themselves made to prevent that from happening, since a lot of the paradox Pokemon are already starting to go out of control.

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, there's just one small complication.

Turns out the professor is actually an AI based on Arven's real parent, who died in the respective time zone of their field of study. They died in an accident trying to protect Koraidon/Miraidon yet somehow the AI still lives on. Ironically enough, even the AI recognizes the whole time machine thing was going to be a bad idea and faults the original professor for it. They warn you that if you try to disable it, they will be programmed to fight you since anything that tries to stop the time machine is immediately deemed a threat.

Now, this is what I find very interesting. The AI is on your side, yet you have no choice but to defeat them in battle. Even though they don't want to fight, it's just how they're wired and programmed, unfortunately. This battle is also very exciting from a blind player's perspective because the AI's whole team is comprised of Pokemon solely from the "past" and "future" that the player has yet to encounter, forcing you to guess their weaknesses if you haven't already spoiled yourself by this point. For those going into the game 100% blind, I can see why the fight poses the greatest challenge yet.

Anyways, after you defeat them, the AI explains they can't leave the time machine which is why they were "stuck" in the lab all this time. Despite your efforts, it doesn't exactly "shut down." There are too many protocols and it turns into a Koraidon vs Koraidon (or Miraidon vs Miraidon, again, Scarlet vs Violet differences) showdown. Yes, there are two of them, by the way. Apparently the one you own is the more submissive one who lost a territory fight or something, but I think it's kind of awe-inspiring that it beats the one it originally lost against. It just goes to show that since you traveled with it all throughout the game, your bond overcame everything else.

Instead of disabling/destroying the time machine, the AI decides they, too, want to go on their own journey. All this time, monitoring you as you collected the Herba Mystica, beat all the gym leaders, challenged Team Star, etc., it's revealed they envied you. Makes sense, since they spent all that time tethered to the lab/time machine. I guess even AI can develop a thirst for adventure.

Enough recap, here's where I add in my opinions on everything.

Honestly, the idea of an AI character in Pokemon developed this way is very interesting to me. I know they tried to do similar in the past, but the exposition here was much more intense than other games. And the fact that it's revealed Arven's sole parent who already spent little to no time with him throughout his childhood as is died, I realized "wow, this is darker than I thought for a Pokemon game." I love it. I actually came to adore the professor more knowing they were an AI in the end. Their parting words to Arven before the time machine transported them was something along the lines of "s/he really cared about you." And I don't think they're lying, either. If you take a look at the lab, you'll see the original professor has a picture of Arven and his dog when he was just a child.

The whole game, all the side characters encourage you to "find your treasure." Yet, here we see with the professor that sometimes people go overboard with their treasure hunt, and they devote all of their time and energy to their goals that they forsake their loved ones, their kids, their family, etc. Hell, the professor even developed all those protective measures so that the time machine would never fail, which just goes to show they wanted to research those paradox pokemon no matter what—even at the cost of neglecting their kid.

If I was in Arven's shoes, honestly, I'd be devastated. The one parent I came to resent and never spent all that much time with turns out to be dead, and I was only speaking to an AI version of them all this time. Crazy, right? He surprisingly took it well despite all the rivals being kids, but still, crazy stuff. Makes one wonder what his life would be like if only he had an active parent around.

Now, I may be biased because I played through Scarlet, which means Arven had mommy issues with Sada. However, I just cannot imagine Arven and Turo for some reason. 💀 Maybe it's because I also played as a girl, and considering his beef with Nemona who is also a young woman, it makes sense that Arven has a distrust towards the opposite gender due to his mother's absence. Sound familiar yet?? Omg, Arven is even good at cooking.

Back to the paradox Pokemon, there are theories that they aren't actually from the past/future and that they're just the professor's imagination coming to life due to a third unrevealed legendary. To be honest, I think this theory is sound. After all, how can Sandy Shocks, a Pokemon resembling manmade magnets, come from the ancient past???

Overall, I loved how surprisingly dark the story in Scarlet and Violet were this time around. Please give me more plotlines like this. TL;DR, Arven is best boy and deserves everything good in this world. 😩

[lewa358]

Game Retrospective: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (2021)

Note: This post contains vague spoilers.

Video games are an incredibly diverse medium. You can have multiplayer-only experiences like Unreal Tournament or Counter-Strike that are mostly devoid of any narrative context, and are meant to be played for hundreds of hours or more, focusing almost exclusively on slowly improving a player’s skill at the game. But on the other hand, there are games like this Guardians of the Galaxy game, that are basically just really long movies that let you shoot things and walk around the sets every now and then—games that can have really unique experiences, but those experiences are heavily scripted and simply stop existing after a few dozen hours, if that.

Generally, I prefer the latter. Fortunately Guardians is a fantastic example of that.

In this game, you play as Star-Lord (and only Star-Lord), as you lead the recently-founded Guardians of the Galaxy (specifically Groot, Rocket, Drax, and Gamora) on a Job that slowly unravels itself into a galactic threat. In terms of mechanics, this means controlling Peter Quill as he slowly pokes around cramped, extremely linear environments, solving (pretty excellent) puzzles and occasionally finding consumables that can be used at specific points to craft upgrades.

Occasionally, there’s also combat, which is very fun if not particularly deep. You shoot bad guys with your Element Gun, which has infinite ammo but can overheat and also has several unlockable elemental powers that can be used to freeze or stun opponents. You can also direct each of members of the Guardians (including Quill himself) to perform up to four specific, unlockable attacks that do everything from attack enemies in a line to pin them to the ground with vines. There’s also a “huddle” super move that you can activate after charging it up that requires you to make a dialogue choice to activate correctly. In a way, it feels like a mix between Mass Effect and Kingdom Hearts' battle systems---you shoot with your gun and you order your squadmates around, but there’s a lock-on camera and no cover system (you’re supposed to dodge attacks).

But when it comes down to it, the “meat” of the game—and the main reason I had such a blast with it—isn’t the exploration, or the combat, or the puzzles. It’s the story, which is just…fantastic.

All of the Guardians are multi-dimensional, brilliantly interesting characters with their own meaningful arcs and unique character quirks. Rocket is crass but always comes through in a pinch. Gamora earns her place as the Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy, but still happily bickers and jokes with the rest of the team and shamelessly enjoys “Girly” things like dolls. Drax is still an alien (meh) with no relation to Moondragon (meh) but he’s far from the bland “doesn’t get sarcasm” joke you might know from the films; here, he’s easily the most heartfelt and caring member of the team, all of whom respect and at times participate in his native culture.  Groot is…well, Groot. And Star-Lord himself strikes a beautiful balance between the “80s loser who never grew up” from the films and the “Battle-weary war veteran” from the comics.

These characters’ personalities are reflected in the seemingly constant dialogue they have with each other—while you’re squeezing through a tight gap to the next story beat, while you’re briefly abandoning the story to find goodies, while in combat, while you’re just standing still, whenever. The amount of dialogue in this game is insane, and the overwhelming majority of it is brilliantly written, and often very funny, and even at times heart wrenching. I actually felt sad that I frequently missed some lines because I answered a dialogue prompt too quickly, or moved forward with the story a touch too eagerly.

Aside from the ambient dialogue, the story is quite good, excellently utilizing some of my favorite narrative tropes, and frequently exclaiming in joy when they brought in a character I loved from the comics. Everyone, even outside of the Guardians themselves, has a meaningful character arc and engaging quirks, and the twists are all just…fantastic, and well-presented (though admittedly the game’s attempts at making some of the emotional beats playable feels a bit more awkward than, when, say, Undertale does it).

There’s also dialogue choices, most of which seemingly don’t influence anything, but every now and then you have the chance to subtly change the progression (if not outcome) of the story, complete with a Telltalle-esque prompt in the upper right letting you know when you’ve succeeded or failed to influence another character (somewhat ironic, considering that the only other Guardians game is, in fact, a Telltale game). Regardless if whether your interactions actually do anything, it's still fun to be an active participant in the banter.

My only other real complaint is that the ending (or really, endings, given that the game does a poor job of faking you out) is kind of weak. It fits, for the most part, and is a blast to play through, but it falls a bit short of the otherwise brilliantly-written rest of the game. It almost feels like the game’s own medium is working against itself, demanding a cool, flashy boss fight when the game’s central conflict was already resolved excellently with a quiet moment of dialogue. Though that last post-credit scene where Star Lord talks to himself in a mirror is a perfect note to end on.

Oh, and one more thing—this game is gorgeous. After so many “Realistic” sci-fi games like Mass Effect and Halo that feature earth-like biomes and an endless supply of gray metal corridors, I am so damn happy that Guardians is not afraid to get colorful and weird, with incomprehensible geometry and anomalous organic matter populating skyboxes, spaceships that don’t look like dicks, and a constant devotion to surrealist or just unnecessary creative touches. This is a game that is not afraid to go as weird and nonsensical as the comics can be, and it excels because of it.

The game’s only real flaw is that it is, at times, plenty buggy and all-around clunky. Multiple times, I had to reload a save because a character would not move to where they needed to, softlocking my game. Other times, the game would throw a literally endless horde of really weak enemies at me, expecting me to do something else in a way that wasn’t clear, even with the prompt in the corner. Sometimes the animation is gorgeous, but other times it feels really uncanny. But these were all minor, quickly-resolved issues, that didn’t impact the impact of the game’s frequent and plentiful strong moments.

If you play games because of mechanics and gameplay loops, then I fear you might be disappointed. But if you are happy with a game that can show you a good time for a few hours and then can be freely uninstalled, I could not recommend it highly enough.

Notes:

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Eidos-Montréal

Release date: October 26, 2021

Played on PS5 via PS4 physical disc

Image source: Steam Store page for Marvel's Guardian's of the Galaxy

[cooledtured]

House of the Dragon Soars Back in 2024

Mark your calendars, firebloods, for a return to the smoldering embers of Westeros! Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” ignites in 2024, promising to unleash a tempestuous torrent of blood, betrayal, and dragons. The Dance of the Dragons is no longer a whisper on the wind — it’s a thunderous war cry echoing across the Seven Kingdoms.

Aegon sits uneasily on the Iron Throne, a crown forged in the flames of his brother’s betrayal. Rhaenyra, the rightful heir, nurses her fury across the Narrow Sea, a storm brewing in her eyes even fiercer than Balerion the Black Dread. The Blacks and the Greens solidify their lines, alliances forged in ambition and vengeance.

Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, navigates treacherous currents, his fleet a leviathan poised to strike. Daemon Targaryen, ever the wildcard, lurks in the shadows, his loyalty as fickle as the winds of Essos. Meanwhile, whispers of ancient prophecies and forgotten powers slither through the halls of King’s Landing, promising destinies etched in dragonfire.

But in this dance of death, the greatest threat may not come from within. Winter, long prophesied, gnaws at the edges of the realm. Beyond the Wall, whispers of forgotten darkness grow louder, a tide of ice and shadows rising to meet the storm of steel. Can fire and blood hold back the encroaching darkness, or will Westeros drown in the maelstrom of its own making?

Season 2 promises not just spectacle, but depth. Expect nuanced character arcs, where allegiances shift like sands in a Dornish viper pit. Expect political machinations as cunning as Littlefinger, whispered plots as tangled as Cersei’s web of lies. Expect heart-wrenching betrayal and passionate alliances, forged in the crucible of war.

This is no mere rehash of “Game of Thrones.” This is a fresh chapter in the Targaryen saga, a brutal ballet of fire and ice played out on a Westeros forever scarred by the Dance of the Dragons. So raise your tankards, blood of the dragon and friend, for when the dragons take flight in 2024, the fires of Westeros will consume us all.

Prepare to be enthralled, to be shocked, to be moved. Fire may blood may bind us, but in the Dance of the Dragons, only ashes remain.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —  DANIEL SIMMONS | Writer POP-COOLEDTURED SPECIALIST cooledtured.com | GROW YOUR COLLECTION