#(likely because it's a more fun and visually appealing setting)

[nenoname]

j3's "mcgucket did read through the journals, ford was kinda used to this + this being why he used cryptography in his journals, and in fact mcgucket had read them enough to write an entire research paper for ford" kinda makes the lost pages' "i gotta hide my photos of stan from fiddleford by putting them in the journal" even more weird huh.

[revelboo]

Lord Megatron is here!!

Might get starscream some seeker friends...he's a little outnumbered

They have Thundercracker, Skywarp, Acid Storm, and Sunstorm so far

Drive Pt 3

Constructicons x Reader

• Growling when he returns from explaining to Megatron why his energon refinery wasn’t completed already, Scrapper stops short just inside the habsuite he shares with his brothers and stares at- honestly, he’s not sure what. But Mixmaster, Long Haul, and Scavenger are building something in a corner against the wall. And they’ve been busy while he’d been gone. Making little stairs so you can get on or off berths in addition to their current project. Running wild trying to provide for you and he gets it. It’s not like they actually really own anything that’s theirs. Never have. But now they have you. “Primus,” Scrapper growls, more annoyed they hasn’t waited on him to design the thing for them. “What are you doing?”

• Looking up guiltily, Scavenger gestures at the human sized structure. Embarrassed more than anything, though he thinks it looks fine. A series of floor and rooms for you. Building against the existing wall, but leaving the front open so they could just reach in after you if they need to. “Making the pet a place to sleep?” Glancing at Mixmaster who gestures at what they’d done like he’s showing it off. “Is it okay?” Because Scrapper has the ultimate say, but they’d been impatient and hadn’t waited for him. Having fun making something that’s for them, not the cause or Megatron.

• “It could have been a bit more artistic,” Scrapper mutters and Long Haul relaxes. If he’s on about form over function, Scrapper’s not upset. And most likely, their leader will add to it anyway. Make it more visually appealing, though Long Haul had never really understood that impulse. As long as something worked, why fuss over what it looks like?

• Trapped on the desk, you cry out as the biggest one uses a single servo to pin you flat on your back, struggling against the other one as he keeps messing with your ankle and snarling at you to be still. “Behave, you little brat,” he snaps and you admit defeat, teeth gritted as he wraps your ankle. They’d found two bits of metal and sandwiched your leg between them, wrapping it to make a crude splint. Hoping the fact that they’re doing that much means you’re safe. Because they’d been surprisingly gentle with you so far. Finally the one pinning you lets you up and you scoot away from them both, studying what they’d done.

• “Thank you,” you say and Hook freezes in surprise. Because no one thanks them for anything. They demand things of them, but they’re never showed any gratitude for what they do. Venting, he rubs at his helm and awkwardly offers you a servo. “Whatever,” he mutters. Watches you look from his servo to him, waiting for you to cower away again. So it’s a surprise when you grab onto him and let him pull you to your feet. Sees you wince when you put your weight on the leg, but you stay upright. And your attention turns to the others.

• Seeing you studying their work, Mixmaster comes over and picks you up, carrying you over. Setting you inside, they watch you limp around as you examine your new home. Leaning to look up at the stairs leading to the upper level, you reach a hand to touch the tiny berth. “This is… great. You made this for me?” You ask, looking up at them. Smiling even if it seems a bit strained, but that could be because you’re in pain. Of course, you’ll need soft things to line the berth. Whatever it is humans eat. “Thank you,” you add.

• They made you a doll house. With one wall just missing, that’s all you can think of. And little alarm bells are ringing in your head as you make a show of looking around while they watch. They’d made you a doll house like you’d needed a place to stay. Like you are staying, not going home. And they’re just staring expectantly at you as you smile when you just want to cry. Because you’re not a pet, but you’re too scared of angering them to argue about it. Keeping that smile firmly in place as they introduce themselves, your eyes burning and feeling faintly sick. Hating yourself for being too terrified of their wrath to ask to go home as they talk amongst themselves, and one, Scavenger, kneeling and reaching to absently pat you on the head.

Previous

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[gummilutt]

Autonomous crafting for all teen+ Sims

I've never before been so happy to share a creation! Get ready to get crafting, because it's about to get autonomous! Released today in collaboration with the wonderful @joplayingthesims who has built a community lot for the mod, seen in the pictures below. Exciting!

In my game, I have a community lot with crafting stations for Sims who can't afford one, or don't have space for one. But as I visited it recently with one of my college students wanting to learn flower arrangement, I got a bit depressed by all the empty stations and the other visitors just standing around chatting. I wondered if anyone had added autonomy, and I came upon iCad's autonomy enabler. While neat, it only adds autonomy for the active household which is the opposite of what I wanted. So I made my own that enables it for visiting Sims as well, only to quickly realize how annoying that got. All these Sims asking me to pick a recolor for them, blergh! So I went on tweaking, fixing the annoyances as they came up, and here we are! Finally it is possible to have a lively crafting studio where all Sims participate, without being annoying for you the player! Are you excited? Because I am excited!

What does the mod do? - Enables autonomy on "make many" and "continue" (see readme for more info on why not make one) for all five original crafting types - Robots, toy making, flower arrangement, pottery and sewing - Does NOT charge your Sims money for background Sim crafting. Money sounds and visuals show for all Sims, but only your current households crafting charges household funds. - By default only autonomous on community lots. Has optional autonomy on residential/apartment lots, you can enable autonomy on those lot types by placing the Autonomy Toggler object somewhere on the lot (custom object made using parts of the FT crafting clutter, found in hobbies/misc for 1 simoleon). I set it up this way as residential autonomy sounds irritating to me, but I'm all about flexibility for the user. Perhaps you want to run arts classes at your residential playable school, or you simply like autonomy more than I do :) Please note that autonomy advertisement is tuned with community lot use in mind, so it might be higher than you'd want for residential. If there's interest I am happy to make a second version with lower advertising for those who primarily want residential use. If you are somewhat familiar with TTAB edits yourself, you can try changing attenuation code to low or medium to limit advertisement distance which will reduce appeal to Sims. VER 2: Toggler object now also works on community lots, turning off autonomy if present on community lot. Residential/apartment behavior remains the same as before. - Fixes annoyances with background crafting, such as selecting recolors and pop ups about progress - Changes inventory mechanics to allow for owned studio-type use, in case you'd like a friendly owner Sim present to provide instruction. Crafting now only goes to business lot owner if done by an employee, otherwise crafting Sim gets the object. Includes home business, so if it bothered you that family members don't get to keep their work, this also fixes that. If that part annoys you, see readme for how to remove this feature.

Download mod on simfileshare | Download ver 2 on simfileshare (New version out, fixing a bug reported by Nemertes. More info here)

You might say "Okay well fun for you Gummi, but I don't have a community lot with crafting stations, so why would I need this?". Well fortunately Joandsarah has the solution for that problem! Check out the cute crafting studio she built to give all of you a place to start community crafting! Available on MTS

Conflicts: Only known conflict is iCad's original autonomy enabler, you have to pick if you want hers version of autonomy, or mine :) Readme contains breakdown of the functionality of all parts, to help you decide a load order should you encounter conflicts. It should be possible to resolve conflicts though if there are any others, so please report them to me :)

Credits: @joplayingthesims for collaborating with me and providing a lot that you can get started with if you don't have one, iCad at @dramallamadingdang for the original autonomy enabling mod, @cityof2morrow who helped playtest the mod

If anyone else builds a community lot intended for autonomous use, I hope you let me know somehow so I can add links to it in my post :) If any other modders see ways to improve on what I did, please feel free to do so :) I am hoping to eventually post an update that sends all crafting to inventory to fix the make one issue, and the station clogging that happens over time.

[absolutebl]

10 Best BL Shows with the Hottest Sexitimes

Because this is English and word order matters, this title means the show itself has to be good AS WELL AS the scenes high heat, as opposed to the best sex scenes in BL. The two are not necessarily the same list. Anyway I tried to pick both high heat and a fun show. This was hard (pun intended).

FYI expect triggers with your high heat.

(Oh right. For me to get a 3/3 heat rating the BL has simulated sex in it or very close to it. And usually one or more other sexual acts like bjs, a-ply, etc...)

So, I went to the spreadsheet, and sorted it by high heat and then ranking, and here is what I got. I think #1 will surprise you. What will not surprise you is it's mostly Thai and Taiwanese.

10. TharnType (and follow ups)

Thai 2019 Viki

Should it still rank, all these years later? I am sorry to say, yes it should. University setting, great acting and complex characters, interesting friendship groups, enemies to lovers, seriously angsty coming out, high production values, AMAZING chemistry, multiple BL side couples with all the issues, damaging queer rep, strong seme/uke and husband/wife language, classic tropes and lots of them bad.

But it's famous for a reason.

This was KinnPorsche before KinnPorsche.

9. Addicted: Heroin

China 2016 Viki

When Chinese BL was good it was very dirty good and when it was bad it was censored. This is the model for that statement: rich kid falls madly for the genius poor kid in his class, starts an aggressive pursuit, includes kidnapping for love, obsession, stepbrother trope, plus some cheating. I love this BL because of what I could have been.

Just stop watching it after The Sex Scene. Okay?

8. Love Stage!!

Thai 2022 YouTube

This BL surprised me with its charm. The acting was good, the leads were appealing, support cast on point, and the production values high. It followed the original manga story arc relatively closely: boy falls in love with girl as a child, grows up to discover girl is actually a very pretty boy.

Although there are some quintessentially Thai changes that mellowed, softened, and extended the romance arc and heat levels.

7. HIStory 4: Close to You

Taiwan 2021 Viki

Nancy Chen directs, the side dish plot is basically a pastiche of problematic BL tropes inherited from the above. Great chemistry, high heat, stepbrothers, dubcon, obsession, stalker etc…

They sexy tho.

6. My Day

Pinoy 2020 YouTube

The set up on this one is enemies (also boss/employee) and they don’t like each other to start. But that gets resolved pretty quickly. And then they are some of the cutest, hottest, and best boyfriends ever.

This is an under-appreciated BL, IMHO.

5. Cutie Pie

Thai 2022 YouTube

Very high production (and heat) and a lot of visual references to live action yaoi gave this show a whiff of Japan but ultimately it stayed firmly in Thailand’s BL camp veering from absurd to appealing to annoying and then back to absurd again. If you can roll with the arranged marriage conceit and very lifestyle D/s relationships, the chemistry is spot on even if the plot is naff and driven by miscommunication.

Watch this one for the pretty, give it a pass on depth. (It has depth, it just depth of tongue kisses.)

Also the follow up: Naughty Babe

4. Bed Friend

Thai 2023 YouTube but for high heat you'll net to watch on iQIYI

Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS).

NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, unfortunately the story ultimately failed them. Had the show had the strength of its convictions and kept to a tighter, darker, harsher 8 eps it would have been the first high heat to earn a 10/10 from me, but once they fussed with it, it dropped to a solid 8/10. Could have been great but was overworked.

Still if high heat is your thing, this one will not let you down.

3. HIStory 3: Trapped

Taiwan 2019 Viki

Basically the definition of enemies to lovers from Lin Pei Yu. This is a cop + the mafia man he is chasing but WAIT, they fall in love. Added bonus side couple: assassin and nerd cop ALSO falling in love. It’s great. All the leads are stellar. Its high heat, fun action, and a bit of a mystery drama but pretty about all of it.

My only warning is that the main couple doesn’t entirely end up together, it’s implied, but… amorphous ending.

2. Why R U?

Thai 2020 Viki

No one knows what’s going on, not even the characters, but absolutely no one cares 'cause it's so thirsty. The plot seems to be "great chemistry and make sure Zee's shirts are NEVER BUTTONED PROPERLY." We, the collective, have a pro Hawaiian shirt anti-button stance, so rah rah rah! (Still the most confusing thing about this show is: why they didn't just title it YRU?)

The FighterTuror sex scenes still stand as some of the best ever fielded in a Thai BL. I will not be entertaining opposition on this matter.

1. Be Loved In House: I Do

Taiwan 2021 Viki

A cute classy office set BL with a few plot raised eyebrows, but no other concerns. ALL THE TROPES plus a general sweet softness that’s pretty rare from Taiwan, who usually prefer to go hard, but all their signature domesticity.

There is one high heat sex scene and it's great. But it's the whole package of classic sappy Taiwanese BL that puts this at the very top for me.

Generally just v high heat?

Hottest sex scenes in BL is frankly gonna be largely a matter of your personal taste.

But if the ones mentioned above don't work try:

KinnPorsche

Love in the Air

Big Dragon

HIStory 3; MODC (the BL that shall not be named)

Be Mine Super Star

Manner of Death (and anything else with MaxTul)

Oh My Sunshine Night (sides)

Secret Crush on You

Wedding Plan

Most dark JBL has very good high heat, but... ya know.

For @samara44 by request.

Dated Nov 2023, not responsible for amazing high head that came after.

(source)

[p0rk-guts]

YAAAAALL IT'S ANGEL DUST!!!!! bro I'm so exited to tell u about him hehehehe he might be my fav redesign of the bunch idk

Comparison & rant!⬇️ + A bug/spider cw. I put reference images in there!

Ok guys can I be honest with you. I think. Pilot and pre-pilot Angel were peak 😔 I'M SORRY I'M BREAKING MY SILENCE

Like whaaat... WHAAAT.... I'm sorry he served here he had the BEST design idc idc you can't change my mind. These were NOT bad designs. I've got a slight preference to his oldest design but even then the pilot design was great to me.

THIS however...

OooOOOH MY GODDDDD THEY NEUTERED HIM!!?! NO tits, three measly ugly stripes on an uglier coat, LONG GLOVES THAT ARE MISMATCHED??? ONE OF THEM HAS THESE WEIRD... WHITE FLAPS?? WHO— WHAT. WHY. AND THEY GO OVER HIS LONG SLEEVES 😭😭😭

I'm sorry but Angel will always be the most egregious case of character assassination in this show, design and character wise. He sucks now and I used to love him.

Okay enough crying let's get serious.

So yeah show Angel sucks. Removing his chunky gloves removed a lot of the fun shape in his silhouette so now he's just a gangly twink. Very little visual interest. Also hate hate hate how his new mismatched gloves are pulled over his long sleeve coat. So dumb. Hate it.

Also explain to me how he's gradually gotten less tits but has simultaneously become more femboy-ified..... So many people immediately mistake him for a girl.......

They also mistake him for. Literally anything but a spider. Once again Viv can't code or theme characters for shit. I also don't like how his face changed... I can't describe it but It's so much less appealing and charming. Something in the eyes and his little cheek bump. Idk. Really hate show Angel props to the animators for making him watchable with his bold animation ts was real nice

Okay onto my Angel! He's now a goldenrod crab spider now! Thank you @/cryptablog for this idea!! (Not tagging them bc they hate the hellaverse with a burning passion lol 💀) They can be white with pinkish markings like our og Angel but most of them are tinted yellow or completely yellow!

I decided to make him most similar to that mid ground mix of yellow and white with pink-er markings. 1 because I kept lust pink and I feel like that'd be a prominent sin of his (+ purple is in here a lot bc I feel like he'd also be pride aligned! Purple is now the pride color :3) and 2 because the yellow tone in his fur is kinda meant to connect him to Husk in a way... Cuz that's kinda his main color... Idk maybe I'm onto nothing with that one BUT his primary color is purple and Husk's primary color is yellow(ish)! Complimentary boyfriend's!!! Are you seeing my vision!!!!! (Also on a lesser note his colors look more similar to my fav version of Angel aka his design from the pre-pilot ref sheet I showed)

Another idea you can thank Cryptamen for is him being partially translucent in places just like real goldenrods!!!! The idea behind that was because he was in the mafia in life and he had to be really stealthy at times so now in certain environments he's harder to see... Maybe he can even turn fully invisible for a bit... There's also possible character reasons to consider tying in there as well... Ough very cool idea 10/10

Gave him 4 legs and 4 arms + the big abdomen to really make him scream spider bc yes spider boys can be hot and no Viv was not willing to CAPITALIZE on that 😒 Also lengthened his fangs... Also moved his eyes to his forehead to make them more prominent and hopefullyyyy seem more like eyes. Idk. And now he's got pointy little pedipalps as well!!!

Gave him his boobs back bc he deserves them and just generally gave his body more shape (though the second set of legs definitely helps lol). Slightly de-twinked... But not by much...

Once again looked up some common hairstyles at the time and people loooved their hairspray and curls, or swoops, or waves— they were gettin funky with it. Hard to emulate that on his nonhuman skull so I took some artistic liberties applying ideas from common styles onto him.

Didn't do much research at awl for his clothes... I mean... He's not wearing much to begin with... I kept the long gloves bc I thought they had potential to look cute and I have him rolled cuffs on short sleeves. Wanted to keep the style simple but otherwise I would've drawn button clasps keeping them in place. No notes on the thigh high heels so I kept them. Everything else is just kindaaaa whateverrrr EXCEPT THE NECKLACE. Though it was hella funny and fitting

And that's awl folks.... Do u like him do u fuck with him.... Let me knowwww....... Okay byeeee ✌🏾🧍🏾‍♀️

[kirlicues]

Across the Street | CC-Free Sims 2 Lot | Create-a-town

Here is the next lot in my series of small-town community buildings for your game. These lots are unique from a lot of user-created content that you can find out there because they are designed for decorators to have fun with. They are unfinished on purpose. 😊

This set of shops has a lot of visual diversity that will fit in in just about any small-town. Like the previous lot in the series, some of these shops are lightly furnished downstairs, but most are empty upstairs. This is done on purpose to give you the enjoyment of changing things up and decorating them to your heart’s content! 🥰

Since things are kind of hard to see in the main image, here are a few pictures of the shops. I’ve put some suggested use titles on them, but you are welcome to change them up. These are all built on the same lot.

Small grocery store:

Cozy “hole in the wall” restaurant:

Appliance or computer shop:

Middle-eastern restaurant:

Spa/hair salon:

Consulting/Legal offices, and bus stop:

Here’s the floor layout so you can see what you’ve got to work with:

1st floor:

2nd floor: The podium in the building to the far right is a career reward. You can download a mod that makes them buyable over at MTS. It is not included in this file.

Basement: Yes, this lot has a basement for storage too! Only one set of stairs go down to it though since the lot is pretty narrow front to back.

Across the Street: MF | STS

CC-Free, but all EPs and SPs are required.

I’ve run this lot through the Lot Compressor so any random references to sims that aren’t there should be removed. I have also run it through the Lot Cleaner to remove any bits of buggy code. This lot comes with a shiny custom thumbnail so it has even more curb appeal in your Lots and Houses bin! 😄

I ALWAYS recommend using the Sims 2 Pack Clean installer to install lot files.

The rest of the shops in this series: Main Street Shops The Next Street Over Around the Corner Further Down the Street At the Office Small Shopping Center

[virrtualangel]

Beatle movie ranking

!!ALL MY OPINION DONT KILL ME I LIKE ALL THESE MOVIES THIS IS JUST FOR FUN!!

5.Let It Be

Honestly, it’s just a shortened version of the Get Back documentary. it’s essentially the same as Get Back excluding a few scenes.

i’m more inclined to rewatch Get Back over Let It Be because it’s more footage to comb through.

4.magical mystery tour

I am very well aware that this wasn’t a great time in their career. and for what it’s worth i do really enjoy the album. the movie itself is extremely confusing for me to understand. the only thing bringing it higher then Let It Be is just how much i enjoy the visuals. the music video segments are definitely a highlight, they’re delightful and visually appealing to see. UNFORTUNATELY…i do not know a single thing going on and what i did understand i didn’t entirely find interesting. The concept itself is a nice one, the execution however, wasnt. it’s framed like a family guy episode almost, where it would cut to a scene with no explanation. ringo’s aunt as a character didn’t add much to the movie for me, it felt like they were trying to do the whole paul’s grandfather from hard days night again but it just didn’t work for me. the wizards are nice and that might’ve been the only thing i personally enjoyed in the movie.

3.hard days night

Their first movie, woohoo! definitely the most grounded film they’ve been in. it’s perfect to show the sheer insanity of beatlemania in the early 60s and the beatles personalities and humor. the music video segments are lovely and delightful to watch. It flows very naturally with one another and each bit leading up to the big show is just as goofy as they are. paul’s grandfather is such a devious guy and works as a hilarious way to push the movie forward in terms of conflict. the managers and people alongside the beatles are also just as entertaining. the entire cast just plays off one another and overall it’s a wonderful watch.

2.yellow submarine

If Magical Mystery Tour was bad confusing nonsense then yellow submarine is good confusing nonsense. because at least there is a clear story and no family guy cutaways. being their one and only animated movie it’s such a beautiful and eccentric movie. the different animation styles used and colors of each new land they explore in is such a delightfully unique way to mirror the music used in the movie. each new area full to the brim with whimsy and color. even if it’s random, jeremy hillary boob ph.d as an extra main lead was such a lovely little addition to an already silly cast. admiral fred and the blue meanies are another set of great characters within the film that again just push the constant whimsy and eccentricity of the film.

1.help!

The only fault with this movie is the blatant cultural appropriation within it. it’s very obviously a product of its time. that being said i love everything else about this movie. it’s the funniest movie they’ve been in and despite rewatching it every now and then it’s still a wonderful time. every character from the cult members to the scientists and of course the beatles themselves bring so much personality and humor to the movie. the writing and cinematography is wonderful, this entire movie is a delight. the music video segments are so so so well done and fit into the story well. the entire movie is definitely worthwhile regardless if you know much about the beatles or not, it’s just a wonderful time.

all movies are definitely worth the watch despite my opinion!! this was for fun feel free to put your own input i’m open to discussion bc film review is epic, if this post does well maybe i’ll start posting more film related content…maybe…

[morkitten]

I have finally started playing Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) for the first time

I've been having a good amount of fun with it!! I knew that it wasn't The Worst Game In The World and that its notoriety came from being such a big, confident release that was so clearly unfinished and rushed. And I also knew I was going to have some fun with it, especially with all the jank, but surprisingly, the unfinishedness of 2006 is not such a big slice of the fun!

It's honestly a *pretty alright game* all things considered, especially compared to Heroes or Shadow the Hedgehog, which are think are definitely less fun. It's clearly trying to iterate and put its best foot forward on a lot of ideas that were being played with by prior entries of the franchise, like trying to figure out how to create more depth with the combat, for instance.

I couldn't forgive it back then for its misguided tone and visual direction, but now I see it as growing pains of an early title of that generation. They were trying to figure out, as many other developers were, how would their game look in the new hardware, how to set it apart. Some games went with the horrid brown filters and lots of bloom, and Sonic went with a visual direction that unfortunately furthered the uncanny disparities of these cartoon animals next to things that were not... as cartoony. And obviously, they didn't have the time to get further acquainted with the new technology and figure out a better art direction. But now that we're far away from Sonic 2006 and I don't have to worry that Sonic is heading towards a direction that seemed to disregard everything that I loved about Sonic games, and can see it from a wider lens, I have more sympathy towards what the developers were trying to do.

If the game didn't look like it did, it's possible I wouldn't have had an issue with its tone and story at the time... It's possible I even would've had no issues with Princess Elise, even! I see what the dynamic they're going for is, which is kinda what Amy was in Sonic CD, they want a character that isn't a hero to be cared for and inspired by Sonic's heroism and character. A character that doesn't feel like they can do all the things that Sonic can do, who wishes had Sonic's carefreeness and strength, that loves Sonic for all that they feel they can't be. And then Sonic moves on, because he can't stay around, and Sonic going away helps them understand that they can embody these traits themself, and rely on their own strength as they move forward with their life.

But Sonic Team was, at the bare minimum, very misguided into not addressing the uncanniness inherent with Elise and Sonic together, in believing that Elise would instantly communicate that appeal, that the relationship between the two would be obvious and accepted quickly. And then not stopping at the adoration and letting her kiss him, while Amy's right there, unreciprocated, and donning all the appeal, acceptance and history to the character, while Elise has none of it, and worse, the uncanniness makes people have this image that she's a grown woman kissing something between a child and a pet animal.

But imagine this, imagine if Elise was highly stylized and looked cute and appealing next to Sonic, and looked younger, rather than an adult. Even if she was still a human and not an animal person (though the latter would certainly help). Imagine if she didn't get to kiss him and was just a crush that Sonic accepted but didn't reciprocate, like how a school teacher treats a student's crush - something they'll grow out of, but hoping to instill something positive in them, to be a good role model for them, until then. I think that's probably the kind of feeling the developers wanted people to have with Elise, and I think that would've worked okay.

And when it comes to the game itself… The stages are long but I don't feel as tired as I do with Sonic Heroes, for instance. The levels have a good amount of variety of things to do in them, and go through many different beats, which helps them feel not so tiringly long as in Heroes, for instance.

But ofc, stuff doesn't always work like the level design intends it to, which leads to some minor frustrations, but that's the keypoint here: All the frustrations I've felt with the game so far are weirdly minor, & I think this is why it's such a popular game to stream, it's like Baby's First Kusoge: It has the appeal of a Kusoge or a Bakage (weird shit and behaviors happening, getting killed for comical reasons) but without the enormous frustrations that comes with a lot of Kusoge - Sonic 2006 isn't a hard game or a very punishing one. Lose all your lives? You just re-do the level you were on. You don't even lose lives in the hub world! And most of the times you die that are "not your fault" are funny and fun, especially if you're passing the controller with a friend, or are doing it on stream.

All the ways in which it is clearly unfinished are amusing and obvious, without feeling like torture. For someone who hasn't ever played a Sonic game, esp in 3D, it could be that it's way more frustrating, as they're still figuring out a lot of the language and inherent troubles with the "genre" of "3D Sonic", which it is a pretty unique kind of game that doesn't quite exist outside of the franchise, so it could be that part of its huge Bad Game legacy comes from the pains of people who are still figuring out "how to play a Sonic game" exponentially compounded with fighting the jank of 2006.

Once you understand that, you also understand why there are so many Sonic fans who "defend 2006", who say it would've been "a great game" if it was properly polished. I looked down on people who said that, but now having played it, I completely understand where fans like that are coming from - There have been several levels that I hadn't really died or ran into big issues with, because I've played Sonic games a lot before. But if I didn't instinctively know what the level wanted out of me in split-second decisions, it's possible I would've eaten dirt and ran into huge jank while I was at it. A lot of Sonic fans probably have a much smoother experience playing the game and can see the intent of the game more clearly. And, you know, a fan *did* make an excellent argument as to "how good" Sonic 2006 could've been with more polish: An argentinian dev known as ChaosX remade a lot of the game in Unity, adding a bunch of new features, fixes and improvements, and it's a really fun game as a result!

Honestly, what really, truly brings Sonic 2006 down besides the obvious fact that it's a rushed and unfinished game, why people don't feel comfortable calling it an "Adventure 3", is that 2006 lacks the qualities that truly elevate the first two Adventure games. After all, it's not like those games don't have their shares of jank and misguided decisions, even if there's less of it than here. What elevates SA1 and 2 is that they have big, cool moments with characters people love, they have Live and Learn and Open Your Heart, they have an attitude and energy to them that's so captivating. Sonic 2006 doesn't quite have that, as much as it's trying to make you remember the Adventure games as you play it.

SA1 establishes all the characters' personalities, it has Tails learning to be self-reliant, Knuckles learning his past, the entire plot with Gamma, SA2 has Sonic saying his final words to Tails and Amy, it has Rouge and her dynamic with Knuckles and Shadow, it has allll the Shadow stuff, and Sonic's rivalry with him. Sonic 2006 has a lot of returning characters, but they don't get to do much, or have big moments that develop them further. All that it has are the new characters, so it really is a game for if you're a big fan of Elise, Silver or Mephiles, I guess.

Sonic 2006 is just a bit too sterile, and doesn't capture that energy that makes Adventure 1 and 2 so well-liked. It's a game that can be funny on purpose, but that's mostly on the wacky NPCs. Oh yeah, did I tell you about Soleanna? It's a pretty fun hub world, and through its people and missions, they really want to impart the feel that Soleanna is a character all of its own, with its history and culture, and throughout the game, I did get a little bit endeared and cozy by it, which is exactly what a hub world should be like. At least the New and Old cities, the Forest area is just very barren and without purpose.

[huellitaa]

౨ৎ ⋆｡˚girly girl's guide to journalling 🩰 ๋࣭ ⭑

˚₊‧꒰ა benefits of journalling ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

• helps to regulate emotions

• understand yourself better

• a fun pass time! ♡

• analyse you, your habits, thoughts, etc

• de-stresses, relieves & relaxes

• productive & away from social media

• gives you control over something

• a way for you to get everything out, big or small, good or bad ♡

🧸𓂃 ࣪˖ chapter 1: beginnings

ok! so journalling is mentioned a lot in the girlblogger, wonyoungism, self growth, loa etc etc side of tumblr but when i actually took that advice started it was really really daunting and i procrastinated it for aaaages. so this is here to help you start a fun girly hobby that will help you out on your journey 🩷🎀

♡ the most important thing when beginning ur girl journal is figuring out its purpose. is it to plan, is it to document, is it for healing, is it for personal development, is it for manifestation, is it to glow up, is it for creativity, is it just to have fun? it makes it a lot easier to think of ideas once you have a set purpose in mind, but obviously it can be anything you want, any combination of these, or something other than these. i personally do a combination of emotional healing, personal development, manifestation, glow up, gratitude & just having fun, but its whatever u want bae. <3

♡ okay! first plan of action; get a notebook. obviously. lined or plain, black or white, big or small doesn't matter. anything you feel most comfortable and most drawn to. ♡

♡ second, establish a range of pens, pencils, colours, etc. you're going to be using so you can keep consistent (if thats your thing) and make it all pretty! you can tailor this to you in any way; said range doesn't have to be big, you can literally just use the same biro and 2 colours, pencils, all the colours, one colour, or none if you want; its all yours! ♡

♡ lastly, i'd suggest to gather a bunch of stickers and materials and fun cute things ur gonna add in the pages of your journal, as it makes it pop off the page and look more visually appealing and layed and feel more interesting overall. i use stickers, coloured paper, ribbons, receipts, doodles, print outs, logos, labels, gems, sticky notes, and things i find from my daily life too. you don't have to do that much or any at all if you don't want to, but i highly recommend it! just for ur personal enjoyment ♡

one thing i'd suggest is trying not to keep a strict schedule on it, like "i have to journal every day etc" because i did this and it demotivated me sooo much. don't do that! just do it when you feel you want to! it's supposed to be fun, not a chore!

🧸𓂃 ࣪˖ chapter 2: setup

♡ okay so! once you've got all the basics set up, i feel it should be pretty self explanatory from here onwards, but since this is a guide i'm not gonna leave u by yourself. this is optional, but if you're planning on making journalling a hobby or a regular habit, i'd say the first thing you wanna do is enhance & expand. find some plastic folders to attach or create paper pockets or little sections where you can put resources to stick in in ur journal so you have more space, customise, and so on. i feel this is very overlooked but its sooo fun and its really creative and and makes it so unique to you <3

♡ one thing i'd suggest too if you're doing this especially or just for any type of journal really is looking on pinterest for inspo!! this is for everything really. covers, layouts, page inspo, page ideas, customisation, journal prompts, shadow work, titles, doodles etc. i keep a board of these on my pinterest & it really helps <3

♡ one of the first things i did when i set up my journal a few months ago was do one page just an index of pages to make so i had a basic structure to go off of. this went from basic journal pages you see everywhere like about me pages n all that to the most obscure shit you could possibly imagine. this is helpful because it gives you a frame to work off of when you're at a loss for what to do in ur journal. i already have a post on this so i really recommend that if ur looking for ideas cus there's LOADS <3

another thing on pinterest; don't force urself to stick to a specific theme you've found or try and avoid doing or writing certain things in ur journal cus you wanna stick to a specific aesthetic! again, it's supposed to be fun, not a chore, and it's supposed to be completely unique to you, like a physical version of your inner world. its perfectly fine to take inspo, just remember its yours. you are your own person & you don't have to show it to anyone, it doesn't have to make sense to them, just have fun 🩷

🧸𓂃 ࣪˖ chapter 3: resources

links ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

@prissygrlsorority's beauty binder

journalling index by yours truly <3

shadow work prompts for literally everything

@prettygirlmjmjmj's personal journalling prompts

@honeytonedhottie's diary guide

inspo ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

lots of love! <3

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook

ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕋𝕠: Notice [TEASER]

Jungkook knows the effect he has on people. So why won't you look at him the same?

Main Tags/Warnings: Model!Jungkook, Actor!Jungkook, Stylist!Reader, strangers/enemies to lovers, mentions of toxic beauty standards

Length: ???

There is no taglist for this fic.

-> Masterlist

⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅

You shrug. "He looks the same in every photo to me." You tell Haru, who looks at you a bit lost.

He sighs as he clicks through the photos himself, unsure. You know he knows you're right- but at the end of the day, people like those sultry eyes and that cocky expression that man makes in every picture. You're not sure what exactly makes it so appealing- but you're just here to make him look as good as possible. And his hair looks perfect in almost every shot- so that's good enough for you.

That's your job. Nothing more, nothing less.

"It's his signature look." Haru tries to justify, his soft voice unsure, however, as if he needs to tell it mostly to himself to be convinced of it. He's never been a fan of shootings like these- he's good at them, sure, but he doesn't enjoy shooting those pictures. He's too soft to say it, but you know he finds them boring and uninteresting. It's basics, nothing exciting, nothing new. But he's being paid for this- so he doesn't complain.

That's his job- nothing more, nothing less.

"Well, then his signature look is boring." You say, leaning back against the table behind you, sipping your can of sugary caffeinated soda- the energy drink by now the only thing keeping you somewhat concentrated. Hopefully Jungkook stops complaining so much so you can all go home soon- he's got the whole week anyways, so why is he so whiny?

Brat. It's only the first day and he's already getting on your nerves- acting like someone pissed in his breakfast, rolling his eyes and staring people down just for the fun of it. And women actually fuck that guy?

He probably does it in front of a mirror just to watch himself.

"Boring, huh." Jungkook's voice chimes up, and you spot him walking closer, now wearing a new set of clothes. The leather pants look awfully tight, especially in his private region- that can't be comfortable, can it?

You frown at him. He got his hair all chaotic again- but it's fine. It fits the theme. You won't retouch it for now.

"She didn't mean it like that-" Haru instantly tries to defend you, the young man intimidated by the model as always. You wonder how he can even operate the camera when he constantly shies away from him so much. Maybe when he looks at him through the lens he can detach the person from the picture? It would make sense. After all, you do the same.

You don't see Jungkook. You see Jeon Jungkook, brand ambassador and model- and it should stay that way.

"I did." You disagree with him, however, before you look back at Jungkook. You don't need to be protected- not for your own opinion. It doesn't have any weight anyway, you doubt that someone like you can hurt this man's ego either. It's at least as big as himself, if not taller, which is a lot, considering that he towers over you despite not even reaching the standard 1.80m height usually desired. Then again, there's quite a few things you could count as not being the standard of beauty. But he makes up for it in confidence- even if he seems to have a little too much of it for your taste. "I did mean it like that."

"What am I supposed to do instead then?" Jungkook challenges, crossing his arms next to you.

The hell were you supposed to tell him? You're neither a model, nor very fashionable. He should ask Lea about that, not you. He's trying to argue for no good reason, and that attitude is starting to piss you off.

"Nothing. It's good like that." You shrug, keeping your cool for now at least visually.

"You said it's boring." He bites back almost immediately. Your distaste grows.

"I did, because to me, it is." You respond calmly. Is he trying to pick a fight with you right now? He really is acting like a child beneath all that fake politeness and forced friendly tone he puts on. "But that's my personal opinion. I'm sure people will like those pictures despite that." You explain.

He's opening his mouth to say something, before he moves when the director claps, and tells everyone to get back to their respective spots-

He plays around with his piercings, and gives you that odd look that you can't distinguish from hatred or being offended.

Unbeknownst to you, he's been trying to figure you out for the entire shoot- wondering what you're really like. Do you like softer guys like Haru more? You seem to have some edge to you, if the glimpse of your bellybutton piercing and the few lines of a tattoo poking out the waistband of your pants would be anything to go by. Maybe you're just someone who likes to be in charge.

He can't offer that, at least not sexually.

Jungkook sitting in front of the camera once more, woth the same signature look, because that is his job.

Nothing more, nothing less.

[chamoemileclown]

How do you art, and where do you art?

hi my name is moe! i've doing digital 2d art since about 2017 and here's a big post about the how and where of it!

the program i use for my 2d art is firealpaca! the version i use is free to download with the exception of a popup ad that shows up when you start up the program! it's a great, very consistent, program that has updated a lot and improved since i started and i don't think i can vouch for it more. everything i include in this post applies to firealpaca specifically though you can probably do similar things in other programs im a college student on a budget and im very comfortable working with this program.

the three main brushes i use i got off firealpaca's brush marketplace! they're all free crayon brushes the first one hard one being the one i use for lineart, the second sort brush i use for sketching, and the third hard one i use for coloring. i think this might be the reason why i get some stuff about people associating my art with childhood/ children's illustrations, im a big fan of using texture where i can and these help to add a lot of visual interest.

seawatt jumpscare

you may see that my finish pieces don't have a lot of flat colors if you zoom all the way in. that's because i use a lot of noise to make the colors look less flat. it sort of reminds me of construction paper, gives a little bit of a fuzziness to it.

i have it set to color at usually around 50. i turn it down sometimes if im working on something smaller. my canvas sizes usually are about 1500 x 1500 just to keep a more consistent square shape across most of my drawings.

another thing i do to make my art pop is i duplicate my lineart layer, use protect alpha to color the duplicated layer another color that's usually brigther than the original layer, put some gaussian blur on it and add multiply or add to the blending on that layer.

with versus without the added layer! i have this set to add on 31% opacity and ill add more or less if i want the effect to be more or less subtle. it's not very noticable but i think it helps a lot with line clarity and can make something almost glow if you wanted that effect.

here's another example with a multiply layer (i turned up the opacity to give a better example) subtle and it fights a lot with tumblr image degradation but it makes me happy.

i also make a lot of use of halftoning as you can see in the examples above. I usually only use it to make shadows darker and highlights stand out but they're also really good at filling up dead space like backgrounds to make them more visually appealing

with versus without halftoning! in firealpace you achieve this by using a 8-bit layer (one highlighted) once you add the layer hit the gear icon by the layer and use that to modify the halftoning to your choosing

i usually have mine with a density of 40 but you can tweak it to your choosing. you can also change the blending type on these types of layers i usually just use multiply/ add and occasionally overlay. mess around with the opacity! make it more or less subtle! have fun!

halftoning is tricky to use in firealpaca however due to the way it works. usually i apply it with my soft crayon brush since it hangs around 35% opacity. you can get a more dense halftoning using more or less opacity on your brush and can go back and forth over the halftoning to layer more on. you can also layer two different layers of halftoning to create interesting effects

two different halftoning layers laid on top of each other ^

more opacity + two different halftoning layers laid on top of each other ^

when you go to combine all your layers however because 8bit layers when combined with regular layers lose their halftoning properties. my way around this when combining everything is going layer > merge all when going to finish up and convert everything to png.

that, for the most part is all the technical stuff. i wish i could tell you how i knew what colors to pick but for me i usually pick some variation of green and just go with it. i usually pick the lineart color with my background colors in my mind and go from there until i get bored. complimentary colors such as blue/ orange and red/ green are usually good picks.

did you notice the background/ lineart is green in this picture? that's because the red cancels it out. i sneak it in there sometimes C:

that's pretty much the how of it all, as for the where, usually my bed

that's all

[theresattrpgforthat]

Fantasy Games - And My Struggle With Them.

This might be a surprise, but I struggle with fantasy games, especially high fantasy. I come across them a lot when I’m browsing Itch.io, and after a while, they start to blur together, more so than any other genre. I understand that for many folks, games like D&D were their entry into the hobby, and making a fantasy game is often the first step a game designer makes when they try to develop their own system. But I didn’t get into ttrpgs via a traditional fantasy game, and I think that regardless of the rules that accompany the game, I don’t get very excited about games that have knights and elves and dwarves and wizards.

As you might imagine, this can sometimes make things difficult when folks ask for fantasy-related ttrpg recommendations. Fantasy is a genre that encompasses so many different styles of play and genre, from gritty dungeon crawling to super-powered adventure to sad and tragic epics. Yet, because most of those sub-genres rarely appeal to me, I haven’t looked closely at very many of the games in my Sword & Sorcery & So Much More folder, which means trudging through the items there takes a lot longer when answering fantasy-oriented asks.

That being said, I don’t want to ignore fantasy games completely; I know that so many people find joy and fun in games set in a traditional fantasy world. So I’m going to talk about a few fantasy games that are very different from each-other and have very specific goals in mind, and I encourage people who see this to re-blog with their own favourite fantasy games and tell us what makes them special.

Also - if you have a fantasy game related request, please be kind if my response isn't all that you hoped it would be!

Tacticians of Ahm, by Meatcastle Games.

Tacticians of Ahm is a tactical combat-focused tabletop roleplaying game in the corrupt3d fantasy world of Ahm.

A bit-rotten blight has appeared in the Northern Sea and from it flows the Corrupt1on, fractured light and shattered shapes sowing chaos across the realm. As Tacticians, you alone are prepared to face the darkness spreading across the lands and reunite the scattered peoples of Ahm.

Tacticians of Ahm is for players who like a really satisfying combat, inspired by games like Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, with grid maps to help you keep track of positioning and distance. This doesn’t meant that combat is long - it’s still fast-paced, using visual indicators like color to help you assess what kinds of things you can do in play: healing, damage, and special effects. Characters have interesting abilities that they gain as they level up, so this game is also probably good for folks who like watching their characters get more and more competent. Right now Meatcastle is grinding away at the game to make it more playable, and more full of art - so getting in on it now means that you’ll get to watch it grow.

Nexalis, by Cezar Capacle.

We invite you to step aboard your enchanted vessel and set sail on the ethereal ocean known as the Nectar. Nexalis calls you on an awe-inspiring journey across a universe filled with countless uncharted islands, each teeming with unique cultures, mysteries, and magical phenomena.

Nexalis is an otherworldly realm where islands drift amidst an endless cosmic ocean of magical plasma, the Nectar. The Nectar, pulsing with vibrant, ever-shifting colors, mirrors the celestial patterns that guide adventurers on their thrilling journeys. At the heart of this sea lies the Celestial Nexus, an entrancing vortex of astral energy that births islands and renews the world in a constant cycle of creation.

Nexalis is a fantasy game, but it’s an example of setting that feels vibrant and unique from traditional fantasy games - and yet it is also highly customizable. The game comes with oracles and random tables that you’ll use to generate interesting locations and problems to deal with as your drifters move from place to place. Characters are packaged in playbooks, compact tropes that will provide players with everything they need to know on a brochure. Finally, the game uses phases, moving from one kind of storytelling to another dependant on the kind of scene you’re about to play through.

Shadow of the Demon Lord, by Schwalb Entertainment.

The End Is Just the Beginning

Sometimes the world needs heroes. But in the desperation of these last days, the world will take all those it can get: heroes, blackguards, madmen, and whoever else is willing to stand against the coming darkness. Will you fight the demons or will you burn it all down and dance among the ashes? Who will you become when the world dies? 

Shadow of the Demon Lord opens a door to an imaginary world held in the grip of a cosmic destroyer. Enter a land steeped in the chaos and madness unleashed by the end times, with whole realms overrun by howling herds of beast-men, warped spirits freed from the Underworld, and unspeakable horrors stirred awaken by the Demon Lord’s imminent arrival. 

For fans of the grim, the gory, and the gritty, the setting of Shadow of the Demon Lord is post-apocalyptic, chaotic and messy. The presentation is representative of a traditional RPG: a big book with high-end full-colour art and plenty of lore to accompany the rules. You create your character using pieces of Ancestry to help you determine your attributes, and your Profession to determine your skills. The game is based on the d20, and relies on stat modifiers to try and get you over most rolls, and a milestone-like levelling system that ensures that everyone who plays levels up at the same time.

Shadow of the Demon Lord is very clearly a vehicle for horror, so if your table is one that likes being confronted by all kinds of horrible things in a hopeless quest to save… well something of the world, then you might like this game.

Songbirds 3e, by snow.

Songbirds 3e is a tabletop roleplaying game about undeath, supernatural powers, and the blue dreams of the moon. In the game, you create a strange survivor of the world who was chosen (or cursed) by Death. Spirits aren't able to pass on to the afterlife and grow monstrous with each passing day. You know the songs to send them on. You have the abilities that help you find them. You are the canary in the coal mine.

Songbirds is full of danger. It carries with it a tried and true method of OSR world-building in that the world makes itself known in the pieces of the game that you decide to pick up - the character curses you roll for, the ways damage can hurt you, the gear you carry, and the roll tables that answer so many questions about different steps of the game. Combat is meant to be simple but also deadly, and much of the fun of the game is in discovering what’s around the corner or what’s in the treasure chest in front of you. Songbirds takes inspiration from both fantasy and sci-fi, so if you like weirdness mixed in with your dungeon-crawls, you might like this game.

Trilogy, by Ben Moxon.

Trilogy is a tabletop RPG designed for epic fantasy campaigns. Build your world at the table, create characters to explore it and let the adventure commence.

Trilogy is designed specifically for players who want to discover their world in play rather than having to consult settings guides and books of existing lore. A world that lives and grows around you, shared by everyone at the table.

The media listed that inspired Trilogy include series such as Lord of the Rings, Malazan Book of the Fallen, and the Storm-light Archives; vast and detailed worlds full of complex cultural relations and heavy with conflict. The rules are derived from the PbtA framework, which means that much of the action is going to be character-driven and character-focused. This game is least likely to have puzzles a la dungeon-crawl, but what it does have is character arcs.

Character arcs are guiding lights for players, providing them with loose archetypes that they can use to help advance their characters. Each arc comes with positive and negative qualities that you can turn to when your character is at their best or at their worst. It also has an opening moment (which helps define your character to the audience) and a series of checkpoints in the form of narrative moments that generate character growth. I think the Arcs part of Trilogy is what makes it stand out, looking at character development at a new angle, and giving players plenty of prompts to help them get from point A to point B.

Jack Kills Giants, by Andrew White.

There’s no shortage of vagabonds who take coin for killing, but Giant Slayers… they’re a special breed. The coin is unfathomably good, you’d be more or less set for life should you bring one of those colossal beasts down.However, you’re just as likely to find yourself a quick and nasty death and a pauper’s funeral.

Those who decide the reward is worth the risk form up into small companies of strangers, spreading out the risks and sharing the spoils.Brought from all walks of life, those who survive past their first kill and choose to continue on the path grow into tight-knit bands, comrades in arms fighting for gold and glory.

But you aren’t one of that pantheon of successful slayers just yet. You’re just flat broke.

JACK KILLS GIANTS is a game of giant-slaying in the Fantasy Gig-Economy written and illustrated by Andrew White, with valuable contributions from Nakade & Cosmic Orrery Games. In Jack Kills Giants you won't play hardened adventurous heroes, you'll play everyday people, forced by a need to make cash to survive to chase after giants in exchange for generous bounties.

Jack Kills Giants does away with the broad possibilities of a generic fantasy game and zooms in on one particular element that the designer is interested in - a gig economy. Giant-killing is terrifying and horribly dangerous, but life is so brutal that you decide that it’s still worth doing. The game also focuses on the ways a world that has giants in it works that makes it special - for instance, some folks make a living carving up the bodies of slain giants and distributing the fat, bones, and other pieces into products that the world can use. For lovers of thoughtful world-building and purposeful adventuring, maybe check out Jack Kills Giants.

Also...

If you found these interesting, you might also like my Non-Western Fantasy recommendation post, as well as my general fantasy tag.

[centrally-unplanned]

I'm curious, how do you feel about harem tropes in anime and vns as a straight (for now, we will get you one day!!!) poly dude? Does the "genre" hold any appeal to you, and are there any standouts you would point to to say "yeah they really nailed what I like here"?

Look someone has to be a straight guy on here, affirmative action to ensure we get a diverse community! Overall I think they are fine as a concept - essentially harem is too "basic" to have like any one opinion on it, right? It can take on a million different forms, some will work and some don't.

For me most of the time they don't work, primarily because the typical deployment is in some weird asexual abeyance state where the protagonist has a dozen girls who are into him but they never cross the threshold. It is essentially a piece of media with no progression that substitutes in lateral quantity of girls for interesting narrative. Even this can work though, if the work is a sufficiently silly or weird sex comedy - those don't need any progression, right, the fun is in the jokes. The key for me is to make the lack of progression actually part of the humor. Few land this honestly, but while I am cheating because here the MC *does* date all the girls, The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Love You is a good example - he has to date all the girls or THEY DIE because God fucked up their destinies. Totally stupid, great premise for a comedy. Or My Next Life as a Villainess, where the heroine is isekai'd into an otome is obsessed with not being murdered like in the game, so fails to realize that she has dodged that bullet so successfully everyone wants to bone her (that show isn't good for its own reasons alas).

The other path is the "ancillary" harem, where the story has some other primary plot going on, fantasy wizard war or w/e, but the main character also has 4 hotties in the crew who are in various degrees of thirst over him. Normally still dumb ofc but this is less offensive because it isn't the main story, so it can have more logic. Additionally, you can use their role in the main story to make them cool/attractive, such that you have more investment with them. "I want to date you" is not a great pitch for why someone would want to date you, after all. Still, it is all better if you get like Mushoku Tensei and actually date them, since then you can have very interesting multiple-relationship arcs that intersect the main story. At the rare peaks this is authentically great, and never seen in TV outside of anime.

Visual Novels, funnily enough, are not that commonly harem! Because of split-routes you set up the harem "premise" at the beginning, but then you "choose a route" and the other girls fade away and it becomes a mono romance. Obviously they do exist, but VNs just typically have other genre conventions - and the ones that do exist I just tend to have not played. Maybe some out there do cool harem stuff! I am open to recs.

Being poly honestly effects this very little, because most harem anime just isn't poly. It is too far divorced from any level of "poly rep" for my own life experiences or w/e to come up beyond the occasional joke. Which makes sense - the audience isn't poly! Very similar to how the average yaoi is made for women, not gay men. And just like gay men enjoying yaoi, I can still enjoy a good harem even if it isn't For Me in that way.

[nitewrighter]

Batman and Spider-man have both had excellent video games over the years, which makes it all the more disappointing Superman games always turned out so bad. We all know the infamous Superman 64 (HOOPS!!), along with some others that were more or less bad. I suppose there’d always be difficulty adapting such a powerful character while still giving players a challenge. I know you’re not a programmer, but hypothetically, how would you make a Superman game?

I think a lot of the answer lies in the fact that really good Superman stories focus more on power as a means to do good than power to its own end. For me, another big appeal of Superman's stories is his supporting cast, how regular people have to reconcile their lives with all the drama and danger and spectacle of having an Ultra-Powerful Endling on your planet that basically every tough guy in the universe is beefing with to try and prove themselves because, for them, power is a means to its own end.

So if I were to put a Superman game together, I don't think you'd actually play as Superman until like... 40% into the game. You'd have a multi-POV thing going between Clark, Lois, Jimmy, Kara, John Henry Irons, Kon, and Natasha, and a significant portion of it would function like a Telltale game or visual novel, maybe with some fun Fortress of Solitude minigames and puzzles in there for good measure. But every set of decisions you make as one character would change/limit the decisions you have as another character, but this would also influence the game's overall difficulty in Act 3 because the previous decisions would determine the level of hope/conflict already present in Metropolis when the game's Big Bad (Probably Lex) finally shows up, and it would also determine the level of peril Superman's supporting cast finds themselves in.

So like, you could have the game set up where John Henry's level in Act 3 is a cakewalk but Jimmy's is Dark Souls, and you'd also have a mechanic where certain characters have to sacrifice their own ideal endings to come to the rescue of another character--for example, Kon can rescue Lois, but this means an endgame where he's stuck as Lex's pawn, or Kara can save Clark from Lex, but this unlocks a painful twist ending where we find out Kara was Matrix this whole time. So there's multiple playthrough potential, and there'd be a shit-ton of discourse online where it's like, "Hear me out--Letting X die is the key to unlocking the most happy endings for everyone" and it's immediately met with "BOOOO FUCK YOU THAT'S NOT WHAT THE GAME IS ABOUT."

[queeranotkira]

Death Note Killer Within Gameplay Theories (post your ideas in the comments)

What sort of gameplay do you think Death Note Killer Within will feature? Reddit has theorized that it will be Persona-esque in nature (I've never played it though personally). I doubt you’ll be playing as Light Yagami, that’s too redundant, so likely a custom character.

Maybe it'll be a visual novel format with multiple endings/routes? Or more Telltale-esque where *all* of your individual choices majorly impact the story development and events during gameplay?

Do you think the setting will still take place in the early 2000's because even the latest one-shot acknowledged it would be infinitely harder for Kira to kill in this modern digital landscape, what with search algorithms and AI and social media already profiling criminals? Although there are definitely still ways to effectively conceal your online presence, it probably wouldn't be as fun in a gameplay format. Murder mystery games (see Higurashi) are best if set in the 80's/90's/early 2000's.

Playing as Kira and killing criminals/FBI agents/cops and trying to minimize suspicion all while you navigate maintaining a façade of normalcy as a high school student? Choosing who to trust amongst your friend group and who to select as loyal followers? Figuring out who to kill and when to kill amongst your allies if there's a possibility of them betraying you or other meddling people you know? If it's people you're personally acquainted with the stakes and risks rise and you run the likelihood of being found out (like a superior version of Yandere simulator).

Creating an army of controlled "zombies" to do your bidding for 23 days or less in ways that don't shed suspicion upon you. Figuring out which ways to go about disposing of the criminals you've profiled. A suspicion meter that could be influenced by your action, inaction, and interactions and which people you choose to kill. Kira Game has trust and suspicion meters as well. A Danganronpa style debate mode where you attempt to vouch for your innocence or frame someone else.

Figuring out ways to bribe your shinigami to make him more cooperative. You run a risk of the shinigami killing you if his boredom meter exceeds a certain limit. A mode where you try to appeal to your accomplice Misa-esque girlfriend by taking her on fake dates to butter her up to you.

Trying to eliminate fellow notebook users all with the end goal of claiming L's position and power for yourself? Having other notebook users trying to usurp your position as Kira or change the public's perception of Kira's influence and goal, tarnishing his image. Having a criminal organization find out Kira's identity and target him and his family because they know the notebook is being used against them and want it for themselves?

Having a family member find out that you're Kira and the unique barriers that would pose.

Certain modes where you have to figure out how to use the Death Note to achieve a specific outlined goal.

Or like the Kira Game it could also give you the option to play as L to track down Kira? Dispatch and coordinate FBI agents? Even work alongside Wammy's House alumni and your successors to corner him? A psychological mind battle/debate mode? Also a fansevice mode when playing as L where you can select from a series of homoerotic methods to keep Kira under surveillance (including chaining him to you).

Maybe you'll have the option to play as a random student at Wammy's House if they were to become Kira. I'd personally love it if there were a route/option where you could play as Mello if he were to stumble upon the notebook. Mello wouldn’t use the notebook out of a sense of justice, but might get roped into thinking he could assist L indirectly by cleaning up scummy people. Near suspects he’s doing killings but Mello can’t kill him because of his successor status, so he has to find creative ways to conceal evidence of his doings from him before he reports it to L, all while fighting to maintain his position as second best at Wammy’s House.

Or playing as Mello directly after he leaves Wammy's House and helping him rise in the ranks as a top dog mafioso, taking down rival gangs and gaining the favor of Rod Ross using the help of the notebook. Even enlisting Matt to aid him in the process. You either play as Mello or play against him if his criminal org decides to target you and kidnap a family member. Even an option where Mello goes up against the original L, being Kira as his successor, trying to kill him to take his place.

The possibilities are endless!

[sunbloomdew]

Tamarack & Qiu about the Forest and the Neighbourhood

Recently I’ve been playing various visual novel games, and I stumbled upon the Our Life series. Needless to say, I am deeply in love with it. While playing the “Our Life: Now & Forever” game demo, I noticed the character’s different opinions about their environment. It’s a simple observation but I really wanted to share it, so here I am!

Depending on which character we meet up with first when we embark on our paper airplane message investigation, they will express their thoughts on the forest and the town.

(I'll be referring to Qiu with he/him pronouns, as these are the ones that are used for this character in childhood!)

Qiu likes the forest, but prefers the town over it. To him that is the centre of activity in Golden Grove.

He says that aside from the seasons changing it's like time doesn't exist in the forest. The fauna and flora there are all the same at all times, and he finds it weird.

I think that because the life in the forest changes in very subtle ways, he doesn't really considers that important. The plants grow but it's not like they move to different spots. They stay in one place, like the path in the forest.

That's why the neighbourhood and the town, where other people live is more appealing to him. It's much easier to notice when something changes in a more lively space, and those developments tend to be more dynamic too, as such they can appear more interesting. Especially for kids. Since their attention span tends to be short, faster occurring shifts capture their attention better.

On the other hand, Tamarack openly expresses her dislike of the town.

To her, the town is the very opposite of fun. The buildings are old and dusty, and the people don't do anything. As she describes it, they sit around all the time.

Tamarack finds the town stagnant and boring because of that. The buildings look the same and stay in one place. You can decorate them, but they are always structures, constructed with a set purpose in mind.

I can't quite understand the meaning behind these words: "Nobody is going anywhere or doing anything. They just live in this place, sit around, and do that forever." If I had to provide an interpretation of those words, I'd say what Tamarack means by them, is that people have assigned roles in the community and certain habits that make it seem like their life are same, unchanging routine. That does not appeal to her in the slightest.

In stark contrast to Qiu, Tamarack considers the forest a place where everything constantly evolves.

She pays attention to the way nature is alive on its own. The tree may not walk around, but it's bark overgrows with lichen and fungi, that spread, or get eaten, or grow sick and die. The animals collect food, branches to build shelter and move from place to place. Those small changes, that occur all the time, forever, fascinate Tamarack.

As she puts it:

I found it interesting how Qiu and Tamarack focus on different signs of life, and are basically opposites in their view of those two places. To Qiu the town is exciting because there is always something going on there with people, but Tamarack thinks they do the same forever. Qiu may see neighbours talk to eachother everyday and find it interesting because they discuss different topics, but to Tamarack, they are just doing the same activity all the time, which is boring. On the contrary, Tamarack thinks the forest is magical in the way it constantly transforms, but Qiu sees it as a place without any sort of changes going on there, which unnerves him. I find those two views of the same spaces really interesting.

Later when the trio walks to school for the first time, Qiu is baffled when Tamarack states that the forest is the only good place around.

(She says that regardless if MC likes or dislikes the woods. If our character likes them, Qiu says the dialogue above. If not, he will say: "Hey, so, it's kind of funny how you like the woods that much." referring to Tamarack alone.)

While they have different opinions on these places, it's nice that they don't argue over it. Would I have expected this to happen? No, but it's still good that it doesn't.

It's not a groundbreaking observation, but I enjoyed thinking about it and writing this post nonetheless. I'm looking foward to learning more about those two! They are both so adorable. I can't wait to become best friends with them <3

Peace out (❁´◡`❁)