#I am having SO MUCH FUN with the new photo mode

[elbdot]

Hey uuuhhh would u guys mind if I share my Baldurs Gate 3 snapshots here? 👉👈 I really wanna share them but without majorily alienating everyone here since I usually only post my art hgfjgjdfkjgkjkjgf

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

may 2024 twst manga updates~

***This includes spoilers for the Episode of Savanaclaw, Episode of Octavinelle, and the 4koma!***

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LILIA SILVER AND SEBEK LOOK SO GOOD HERE 🤡 I love how Silver and Sebek are constantly shown flanking Lilia, it really enhances the bodyguard/knight vibes! Every time Lilia appears, he always looks like he's having so much fun. Lil' guy is living it up in every panel! Especially when he appears upside down to spook Ruggie.

efbiuSIUBDBYypvfW9wpWD THIS SHOT IS SO GOOD??????? ?I'M LIVING FOR CATER MAKING SILVER AND SEBEK LOOK LIGHTLY UNCOMFORTABLE AS HE HANGS ON THEM.............. .... . . . . ....... .. .... .. . . . . .. ..

Ruggie's despair is delicious 🤤 He's thinking about all the events that led up to this point and about how that will now all go to waste. Now that I think about it and I have the visual right in front of me... That's the same thing Leona felt every time he got knocked down for his efforts. The parallels, man...

Well, fellas... Looks like it's probably Overblot Leona time next chapter. A detail I love here is that, from Leona's perspective, all the faces of his dorm members are sorta blotted out... which is interesting seeing as how it was stated that Mrs. Rosehearts' face was intentionally blotted since she is considered the source of Riddle's trauma + the light novel tells us that Leona fears seeing hope and desperation for a better future in others because it might motivate him to try again, thus prompting another failure or rejection... 😭

Palace servants: Young master Leona's magical power is so strong, it's scary!! Leona: Damn, they don't understand me! They judge me before they even get to know me. If I were the older brother, they wouldn't be saying this stuff. Also Leona: [see image above]

MALEWIFE MODE RUGGIE????? 😭 What a contrast to the Ruggie in the Episode of Savanaclaw who is really going through it…

Love the detail of Yuuta and Grim helping out with chores in the background! It shows that they’re trying to pull their weight while they stay over.

Babe, wake up... New Yuuta and Leona reaction images just dropped from the Episode of Octainvelle... (I am Yuuta whenever new TWST content drops and my non-Twstie friends are Leona whenever they're listening to me blab nonstop about the updates--)

Yuuta once again proves to be my favorite of the current Yuu iterations 🫶 He’s just so sweet and hopeful!

We actually get to see the class photo!! Although the resolution here is very grainy. I'm really hoping that we get to see a close-up after Azul's OB!! I'm dying to see what he looked like as a kid!

fbhlavfuoeqy8vevif;fa fai THIS CHAPTER REALLY MADE ME LIKE ACE?????? ??? ? ?? ? It's probably because he gives the same flawless liar (even though the acting is sooo overexaggerated) energy as Jade in book 4. There's a really fun scene where he's distracting the Atlantica Museum guards and really hamming it up. He looks so cute while he's being (fake) upset yet so enthusiastic!!

This was my favorite part!! Ace excitedly talks about how he's always been interested in merfolk since he was little (lie) and how he saved up all his money to come to this museum (also a lie)... THEN BRO HAS THE AUDACITY TO POSE LIKE THIS AND TALK ABOUT WANTING TO BE A PART OF THAT WORLD????? ?? ???? ? ?? ? ?? ARIEL WHO>?????? ?? ??? ?? ? ?I o NLY KNOW TRAPPOLA NOW

One of the 4koma this month is about Octavinelle going on a camping trip! Azul wants to study the stars for money-making ideas/inspiration.

When talking about auroras, they're reminded of the Diasomnia students and think about making an aurora-colored drink to sell to them. The Octatrio also star-gaze and talk about aliens + selling octopus to them. They discuss the idea of filling a space suit with water and fish to they can walk in space too.

The other 4koma is about Trey brushing the mouths of his mandrake (as they have no teeth but dirt). He insists that everyone should have a clean oral cavity.

You can even tell which mandrake is Trey’s because it has a bunch of toothbrushes stuck in its pot 🪥

Jamil was planning on using his own mandrake to make an ancient remedy for relieving toothache. Trey is uh… interested… and attempts to test out the healing toothpaste for himself (Jamil of course stops him).

Trey… you’re the most NORMAL one, why are you like this OTL

[olenvasynyt]

I know my fellow artists and creators have been frustrated with the rise of AI on Pinterest and Google.  Many of us find it difficult to serch for good references, tips, and general inspiration for art.  So I want to share my collection of good, free websites for artists, designers, film makers, and creators so we can create without ugly AI images staring in our faces 🙌

Sketchfab

An incredible source for references.  Has a huge collection of 3D animals, architecture, interior rooms, vehicles, food, objects, furniture, nature, memes, characters, etc etc etc. You can literally find several insanely detailed 3D models of the Notre Dame (this one is insane) Models can rotated at any angle as well as zoomed in and out.  You can also change the view of the model to be matcap with flat, colorless planes, wireframe, or base color as opposed to fully rendered.  

Cons: there are many uploads that are random and incredibly specific, which overwhelms the search.  Can be excellent for game designers who want to download models but for artists looking for drawing references, you might have to dig a bit for what you want.  Can be so fun for playing around and using crazy fun references for practicing.

Designspiration

As a photographer and graphic designer and someone who can doomscroll on pinterest forever, this is my favorite for finding inspiration for everything: typography, logos, product mockups, illustration, photography, web design, etc.  Has an amazing feature where you can search for art with specific hex codes!  Probably the coolest feature I’ve seen in search engines, and by far superior to google's color search. This site is mostly for design inspiration, but I feel like if you are super into moodboards, then this is the site for you too especially with the beautiful selection of photography.

Cons: I have no cons, I love this website so much and I used to be addicted to pinterest (still am actually😬) but this is easily my new favorite

Public Works by Cosmos 

Thousands of artworks enter the public domain every year, and this website is a search engine for other 100,000 of those copyright free works.  All of these works are free to edit, use, and sell with few restrictions.

Cons: I personally find the layout for the search feed a bit frustrating to look around in sometimes, because it’s not the typical "scroll up and down" website. But is very dynamic and overall fun to explore.

Same.energy 

This is a good visual search engine that’s a good replacement for Google images and Pinterest.  The minimal words makes it simple and easy, and clicking on an image you like to filter the feed to find similar images.

Cons: this is in beta so it still have some kinks to work out. It seems to struggle with specific searches and some of the images brought up in the search can be repetitive or not relevant.  

Reference Angle

A website for finding face references in any specific angle and any expression for any gender and age.

Cons: I would love this website more if it gave you the ability to customize the light source, but sadly is not an option.  I also feel like there is not a lot of racial diversity in the photos, and some of the images do not match the specific angle. But it is overall a great source for face references

Virtual Lighting Studio by zvork

A good source for light studies.  You can change the source, direction, color, and brightness as well stacking several light sources on top of each other.  

Cons: there isn’t a way to angle the face or change the expression, so it is permanently in portrait mode.  There are four different models and I’m not the biggest fan of some of them…I like the black guy the best because he looks at me kindly instead staring into my soul like the two white guys. The ads are also a bit obnoxious and for the love of god DO NOT USE IN MOBILE!!!  The ads are impossible to get rid of.

Film Grab

An archive of stills from a huge list of movies.  Good for film makers, photographers, art studies, moodboards, inspiration, etc. Has a huge selection of movies and you can search by movie, director, costume designer, aspect ratio, year, genre, and country. You can also hit random post and it'll give you a random movie, which I think is really fun.

Cons: I do not recommend mobile. The mobile does not have the option to search for a specific movie, so you're forced to scroll through the giant A-Z list of directors or films to find the specific film you were looking for.  Another con that I just discovered: a big-ass ad on the top of the website that occasionally advertises AI websites 🤢 (not shown on the screenshots I shared because ew)

Unsplash

Another image search website that has the feeling of Pinterest

Cons: some images are locked for premium only, and the feed is a bit frustrating to scroll through on mobile since they show the images one at a time instead of as a nice collage like pinterest.  Some images can also be irrelevant to the search.

Sending lots of love to my fellow artists and creative peeps out there. AI sucks and it feels like it's overwhelming the creative space. But I promise there is a way to avoid it! Keep creating 💕

[mollyjames]

Sorry to bother you, I just went through a dive of your artwork and I was wondering if you had any resources that you found helpful when you were learning to draw, and colour, and shade. I've been getting into digital art and I'm struggling with just about everything from getting smooth consistent lines to perspective ... I literally just started a month or so ago and faces and their direction are my current bane.

Just ... wondering if you had anything someone new in this field could use. Advice even. I love your work by the way, and sorry if you've ever answered this before.

That's kind of a big question, and I think there are others who are much more qualified than I am, but I'll do my best to answer.

For drawing, the best advice I can give is learn to draw from life. The biggest jump in my drawing skill came from a college course where for three months I did nothing but draw boxes on big canvas paper with charcoal. It taught me to start looking for things like proportions, dimensionality, and perspective. It will help to train not just your skill but the way you see your subject. My recommendation is to check out Line Of Action. It is a free website that compiles tons of reference photos with the express purpose of being used to draw from. If you pick the category you want to study, it will compile a slideshow with either set timers or an increasing timer in class mode, which will allow you to warm up and then focus on a more detailed work. (It also has a face category, if that's what you are interested in specifically.)

For lines and inking, I'm afraid the only way out is through. You just have to practice, be bad at it, and then do it again. For me, the biggest jump was taking some of Ryoko Kui's work and tracing over it. Her art really spoke to me, I loved how balanced and detailed her designs were while still being expressive and not overly-complicated. I wanted to understand how she used ink so expressively while still conveying weight. I dont share those tracings, obviously. They are exclusively for practice. But following her lines physically told me so much more than just looking ever could.

For color... there's a lot I could say about color. For just starting out, my advice is less is more. Stick to one or two hues at the start and branch out from there. If you're stuck or really aren't sure what colors look good together, there are many websites that collect color palettes as a resource for artists. In fact, we have one of our very own here on tumblr.com, @color-palettes. Go browse through their archive and see what strikes you.

Remember: patience and diligence with both serve you well, but dont forget to take breaks. There are times when I went months without drawing, but I was always able to circle back around. Be excited, have fun, and good luck.

[boujeesimss]

hello! welcome to my tumblr. my name is boujeesimss! ౨ৎ

wcif friendly! ᵕ̈ (I try to answer all wcifs on the weekends)

new posts everyday at 10am est and 2pm est time! 🤎

you may use my code “BOUJEE” when shopping on the EA app. By using my code, it will directly support me as a sims creator. thank you in advance. <3

my content navigation ಇ

lookbooks | cc recs | interiors | cas recs | screenies 

gameplay ಇ

penelope & bryant | nara whitlock

helpful corner ಇ

ccfinds | wcif | simblr favs | ask | reblogs

socials ಇ

instagram | pinterest | tiktok | twitter | bluesky | patreon (work in progress currently!)

common questions ಇ

What do you play on? I currently use a ROG Zephyrus G15 2022 laptop to play Sims 4 (yes, I would recommend this laptop but if you have the room and $ to get a desktop, get the desktop!) I am currently shopping for a custom PC! I am so excited to finally upgrade my Sims set up! I will keep everyone updated and include my PC specs once everything comes in! <3 

How are your photos so clear? I use SRWE & GShade in game and I use GIMP & Adobe Lightroom app to sharpen/color my photos.

Will you ever do YouTube? I dream about doing videos but my laptop is super loud when I play Sims, so I can’t do YouTube until I get a desktop that is a lot quieter sadly!

How do you make CC Finds? I set up a bare lot with just photo backdrops, I take quick screenshots of the items and move over to Canva. I use a 9-slot template for every CC Find. In Canva, I just zoom in the item and it becomes super clear. I then move the template over to Gimp to sharpen the entire photo. I do not use SRWE to make CC Finds (it would take a lot longer)

How do you make Lookbooks? I create usually 3 different outfit themes in CAS on Nara. I used to take the photos in CAS but learned quickly that the quality is not good in there! I also can’t get SRWE to work in CAS. I now take photos of Nara in Live Mode on a white backdrop. I do use SRWE to take each photo. It takes a little longer, but the quality is great. I then crop and sharpen the photos in GIMP. 

How do you post so often? Like my bio says, I don’t have many hobbies other than Sims lol! I spend a lot of my nights scheduling posts for weeks to come. When the post goes public, I share it to my other social medias. At this moment, I have 18 scheduled posts. I am now starting to post daily at 10am EST and 2pm EST time. So, keep an eye out at those times! I also have learned the art of working fast at creating posts. I also have a list of CC Finds, Lookbooks, screenies that I want to do. So I pretty much always have a plan on what I am going to do that day. Some posts just come naturally. Also another tip! If you see my sim in a screenie wearing an outfit you like, just know a lookbook will probably be coming soon! (you can also do a WCIF under my ask, I won’t mind!)

a little about me ♡ ̆̈

you may use my code “BOUJEE” when shopping on the EA app. By using my code, it will directly support me as a sims creator. thank you in advance. <3

hi there! my name is Jacqueline. I am 25 years old, and I have loved the sims since I was around 13. I was a super fan of LifeSimmer back in the day! she inspired me to begin playing sims 3. the rest was history hahah, i started my TikTok during the pandemic and don’t regret it one bit! I have loved sharing videos of my sim families and sharing tips with simmers all around the world. It is truly a blessing! I am new to Tumblr so excuse my page and all of its updates. we are a work in progress! I am a huge fan of Taylor Swift, I have two cats, one is named Penelope, and one is Paisley. I have 1 sister and an amazing mom who is my best friend. I love to stay home and play sims, watch reality tv or nap.

my goal for my Tumblr is to slow down my gameplay and appreciate the games beauty. I often rush through my sim families and create things fast.. it isn’t fun that way. I love to take screenshots, TikTok’s, lookbooks, decorate interiors, cc finds and lots more!

to finish off, i just hope whoever is reading this, truly loves sims as much as i do. it is a game that everyone should play in my opinion. young and old. there is nothing more fun than a game that involves clothes, houses and unlimited simoleons. last of all, i hope my content inspires you to make a page or a tiktok or an instagram sharing your gameplay. this community is always growing and it is so fun to see everyone’s ideas. my wcif is always open for any questions, recommendations, wcif (where can i find). now lets go create some sim content! see ya out there. xoxo jacqueline. ‪‪❤︎‬༝༚༝༚

(updated 05/02/2025)

[serqphites]

hiii i saw u needed requests to blurbs/ headcanons so here i am 🤭 could u write julien x reader where julien has a crush on a random youtuber (that like talks about books and stuff) and phoebe and lucy makes fun of julien bc she wasn’t this type of person before and then one day this bookworm youtuber says that she’s going to a boygenius show and julien tries everything to meet reader?

pls and thank u

i hope this isn’t too long

julien baker x yt!crush ღ

format: blurb

warnings: none!

a/n: i literally fell in love with this the second i saw it omg it’s so cute<3 been working on some anxiety comfort ideas but can’t choose a member of muna or boygenius to do first so if there’s one anyone would like to be first please do request it!! thank you so much for all the likes on my stuff it means the world 💞

okay so, the boys are on tour but tonight is a very special night for them becauseeeee… they have a night off!! they go out, have some nice dinner then decide to just chill in the tour bus for the rest of the night because they don’t need to wake up extra early to go to their next tour destination

so julien is in her lil bunk (pls i can just imagine how snuggled up she is) and she is so beyond bored

so what do you do when you’re bored? you browse tiktok until you fry your brain!!

she’s scrolling on her fyp not really bothering to actually watch through any of the tiktoks she's starting, that is until she sees…you

she mutters a barely audible “woah”

within a minute she’s followed you and is now stalking your whole account

cut to around 20 minutes later and she’s holding her phone sideways (pretty close to her face but not that close that she can’t see) watching one of your youtube videos.

this spiral continues until she is that exhausted she physically can’t keep her eyes open anymore

for the next few weeks this is her new routine: getting ready for shows watching your videos, buying your favourite books online and reading them on her phone when she gets the chance. she never falls asleep without watching at least one of your videos & a few tiktoks

one time she’s watching your newest video after having to wait a whole excruciatingly long day, she’s got headphones in, she’s never been so relaxed until…

you say you HATE people who read books online

“just buy the real book? why can’t people put down their screens anymore” and you’re clearly not being serious as you laugh and continue to joke about how all millennials are just taller ipad kids

but julien? it is no joke to her. in an instant she has removed her online books and has planned to go to the nearest bookstore when she’s next free and buy them all ‘for real’

i feel like the moment phoebe and lucy find out is SO FUNNY like i can picture them all sat together before a show, lucy just talking about the most recent book she’s been reading when julien chimes in with “oh yeah i just finished reading that, so good”

silence fills the entire room… phoebe and lucy share a look of horror

“where’s julien and what have you done with her??” phoebe would joke absolutely cackling with lucy about it

this is where the ‘bullying’ starts and never ends!

somehow they manage to convince julien to give them your name so now all of boygenius + katie gavin follow you on tiktok AND instagram

after seeing this you obviously have to make a tiktok about it. your favourite band members of all time just followed you back! you continue to rant and rave about it in your tiktok, also choosing to mention that you are seeing boygenius the following week and how crazyyy it is that they have followed you for a reason unbeknownst to you

this causes julien to go into panic mode. she was going to be performing to you NEXT WEEK

jump forward a week to the show, it’s going great! julien spent the whole day checking your instagram to see where you were at and when you’d be arriving. there’s barely and service in the venue, so unfortunately, her last update was a photo of you in the queue (she definitely took a screenshot because you look amazing)

so, they’re around 5 songs into the show, then she spots you. you’re standing only one row back from the barrier. julien can’t help but stare because you look beautiful

phoebe and lucy take notice of this but play it off cool. they share a menacing look before phoebe leans into the mic and says, “so, anyone got a crush right now?”

julien swears she nearly puked the second she heard that.

the conversation drags on for what feels like hours to julien when in reality it was only really around 5 minutes, majority of it being taken up by the crowd screaming in response to their several questions about crushes

it goes quiet for a second

“jb has a crush… she’s actually here tonight” the crowd starts SCREAMINGGG. people literally praying it’s them (so real)

julien has now sat on the floor of the stage with her face completely buried in her knees, lucy is still standing in front of her microphone dying with laughter over how embarrassed julien is getting.

little did she know though, it was about to get so much worse!!

lucy had dmed you the night before and basically just told you that julien had like changed her whole personality because of her crush on you. she also very sneakily organised for you to come backstage after the show and meet for the first time ever!

PLEASEEE imagine LUCY DACUS messaging you randomly and telling you that JULIEN MF BAKER HAS A CRUSH ON YOU.

lil time skip to that but imagine julien stood there fiddling with her fingers while she waits for you because she’s so nervous

you asking her the best books she’s read because of you<33

i can perfectly picture lucy and phoebe just stood there like ‘😁’ before having an “oh shit” moment and realising they’re intruding LMAO

your first date is to your favourite bookstore btw

I LOVE SOFT MASCS. (i am one)

a/n: this is my first blurb ever 😮 i’m so sorry i didn’t see this until now! hope you liked it :) again please feel free to send any other requests you have i love munagenius 🫶

[univac1219]

Does your 1219 have a nickname?

Also, I was wondering if you have any fun stories surrounding it! Strange quirks it has or anything like that.

I'd love to see more photos if you're allowed to post them!

Thanks for the question! These are my favorite part about my blog by far.

Not exactly, the UNIVAC 1219 doesn’t have a nickname. I did realize recently that I should specify the pronunciation (Twelve-Nineteen), but it doesn’t have any nicknames. Apart from ‘the 1219’, it’s also regularly referred to as the CPU or just ‘the computer’.

Fun stories or weird quirks? Boy, I could fill a book with this machine’s weird quirks (or as we say, intermittent issues), but I’ll try to blitz through the most common ones:

Sometimes the computer will stop running and enter a WAIT mode. No reason, it just needs a break. We can’t fix it, it just has to decide to go back into operating mode.

The computer will often start attempting to communicate on IO channel 13. We’re not telling it to talk to anything, it just decides to try to.

One of our teletypes (the Kleinshmidt) stamps ink splotches into the paper rather than characters most of the time. However, this weekend it worked for the first time in 10 months! We didn’t change anything, it just had an extra cup of coffee or something.

The Digital Data Recorder, or the tape drive, has the most gremlins out of any of our units. The top handler works fairly well, but the bottom handler won’t properly read data, write data, move the tape forward, initialize the tape, or any number of other issues.

There’s more but hopefully this satisfies your curiosity.

Fun stories? Well, I can’t name any specific ones, but I can say it’s a very endearing machine. It’s the very last of its kind and being one of three individuals in the world responsible for it makes every issue that more frustrating. There is no real forum for it, the subject matter experts sit next to me and are often just as exasperated as I am.

But the unique nature of this situation make every successful diagnostic test that much sweeter. Every new addition (5.25” floppy drive via serial) that much cooler. I have an IBM PC-XT clone at home, but I thank my lucky stars every day that this big iron is what I get to specialize in.

As for more photos, I have none that are as grandiose as you would probably expect. I do have my working photos though. I took all my photos when I first started working on it and now I am more dedicated to fixes than photo-ops.

This is a photo of our finicky Kleinshmidt teletype. Still has blotches but it actually printed!

This is the back of the bottom handler. Pictured is the vacuum pump in the bottom left (so sudden stops just yank magnetic tape slack rather than ripping tape). The big cylinder in the center is a motor for running the magnetic tape handler itself. The big black ‘hose’ of wires coming out of the steel plate contains all the cables that come right off the handler’s head for reading and writing data!

This is the forward pinch roller of the bottom handler. It was replaced after this photo was taken as you can see the rubber has deteriorated in the 55 years this machine has been operating.

As for being allowed to post photos, that’s not an issue. The last 1219 was decommissioned in 2014 and now you can find all of its documentation online at http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/univac/military/1219/

[dewlight-dreamer]

Photo credit: HoYoverse (official art, v1.4)

ZZZ appreciation post

I started playing Zenless Zone Zero when version 1.1 released and now I’m finally caught up with the main story.

I was playing it on and off, but I really started investing some time during version 1.4 when they ��re-released” the game.

I loved some of the changes they made in the gameplay modes, even though I didn’t mind the OG TV mode as much as some others did. But I would have to say that I do prefer the visualization of the Hollow environment better.

But aside from that, I absolutely loved the last two chapters! It took me a while to fully immerse myself in the story and the world, but when I did, it was really worth it. Chapter 4 and 5 were incredible and I am looking forward to how they progress the story in the future. Special mention goes to “Undercover R&B” — such a great special episode! (I may be biased because I love JaneSeth haha)

Oh, and some other things that I am enjoying immensely are the Trust Events and the Quality Time events.

I just love the idea of hanging out, spending time and getting to know your favorite characters!

They seemlessly tie in with the Agent stories and the main story commissions as well, which makes them so enjoyable to play. And although they really go for the date vibe, it doesn’t feel forced at all, and the little dates are so much fun!

The fact that you can go play arcade games with them during the Quality Time event is such a nice touch!

Currently I am doing Harumasa’s trust events and quality time events because he’s my favorite character overall as of now… and I NEED THAT LIVE WALLPAPER. 😆

Also, speaking of Harumasa, I feel like Chapter 4 and 5 had such great characters! And I love the group dynamic of both the Sons of Calydon and HSO Section 6! Great stuff. ✨

So, yeah. I just wanted to make this quick appreciation post. I have been enjoying ZZZ so much that Genshin and HSR have taken a backseat now.

In conclusion, I think this game is a bit of a slow burn and you need to give it some time to grow on you. So, to new players, I’d say: take your time, don’t rush, and let the game and the world draw you in.

xo

[ell-vellan]

A random collection of Veilguard Thoughts after completing the game, because I need to vent some feelings. spoilers below!

Firstly: I was going to love this game regardless. I came into it with the fewest amount of spoilers possible. I do love this game. I won't argue with anyone - if we have different opinions, that's fine! I won't tolerate hate, though.

This is my messy stream of consciousness, but let's start with the good stuff!

The Good:

-Gameplay was fun! Combat was fun and inventive, for someone who plays on Storyteller mode and tries to get through combat as fast as possible so I can get back to the story, it rarely aggravated me.

-The maps/puzzles are fun. They were usually easy enough to figure out on my own without looking it up, but just complex enough I felt smart when I got it. I like that the game almost always rewards you for looking around and exploring off the beaten path a bit.

-It felt like a spiritual successor to Mass Effect 2 in the way that you have to build your team up in order to save the world. I loved that.

-The griffons coming back is one of the best things in the Dragon Age universe ever, and I love that we could decide what to do with them. (But I'm kind of concerned that there's only 12, and they're...related? I feel like that's not enough individuals to grow the species back...)

-Letting us pet and hug Assan (with different animations!) over and over was one of the best things they ever did. Also, photo mode was a great idea.

-The little hints about Those Beyond The Sea we keep getting?! Dear God, I hope we get another game and get more lore. I'm dying to know. They've teased this for so long, I really, really wanna know what's up with this part of the world.

-i loved being able to choose our body proportions.

-I'm so thankful we got to make our Inquisitor and keep the same vallaslin and voice actor. I hate the outfit they gave them and how we had no choice in it, and I would have also preferred to have a choice in their prosthetic, but I'm grateful for what we did get. The missives from them were also a nice touch, and seeing the letter from the Inquisitor's love interest was SO HEALING. Tbh, in reality, I think the Inquisitor would have been involved WAY more, especially since the crossroads would have made travel basically instant across Thedas. But I get why Rook needed to stand on their own two feet.

-Morrigan/Mythal was a great touch. It made sense logically, there was character growth, and I'm glad Mythal wasn't gone entirely, but I wish we could know what's become of Kieran.

-All the VAs are so good. the world felt lush, magical, twisted, and fun, with just the right amount of tragedy and horror balanced with hope and love. Arlathan was gorgeous and tragic and horrific and I took SO MANY photos.

-we got more Dalish and more Qunlat words!!

-THE LORE. So many questions finally answered. I kind of thought we would learn that the Black City was actually the prison Solas made for the gods, but hey, maybe next time? I also still want to know if Andraste was real and more about the origins of elves as spirits, but alas...

-i loved the inventory system. I wish we could have sold equipment we didn't need instead of just the valuables, but it's a minor quibble. It was so much easier to manage, I didn't have to waste a bunch of time going through everything to find the best items for everyone

-ARCHON DORIAN PAVUS !! He was barely in the game which made me sad, but the fact that he was there at all and so glorious was wonderful. I wonder if people new to the game know or care about the significance of him being in charge of Tevinter, though, since we didn't even really get to have a conversation with him

About Solas:

I played thru DAI on release day. My first Inquisitor romanced him. When Everything Happened(tm) I was PISSED. I wanted revenge on Solas, I wanted to hunt him down. I've thought about him for 10 years, and now I am so wistful for more of him. I want to give him a hug. Moreover I want Lavellan to hug him.

Solas was INCREDIBLE in this. I loved, loved getting to see his memories firsthand - this was more than I'd hoped for - and the banter with Rook was one of the best parts of the game. Seeing him with hair - seeing him change into Fen'harel and fight a DRAGON? him helping us in the fade by baiting Elgar'nan and getting all bloody and beat up trying to help us, thinking he was going to trick us one final time? My wildest dreams came true. He was layered, he was complex, he was incredibly heroic and sympathetic and tortured and clever and absolutely ruthless. He was at turns heartbreakingly sincere and infuriatingly traitorous.

He showed a wide range of emotion; we got to see the real Solas, not the polite pretender of Inquisition. He was the shining star of the game for me. And he was sorely lacking.

We hardly got to speak to him!! It drove me nuts that we couldn't talk to him as much as our other companions. He literally knows the most about our enemies and how to defeat them. And we know he's probably planning some trickery in his lil mind prison. Why are we not checking on Solas at every chance we get?

Learning more about and speaking with Mythal? Chef's kiss. But I so, so wish that a romanced Inquisitor, along with Mythal's release of Solas, was what prompted Solas to realize there could be more to his life than rebellion and penance. He's betrayed everyone he's ever loved, and killed his closest friends, but he didn't kill her. Mythal represents his past, she's the origin of where it all went wrong - I wanted Solas to see a Lavellan that understands and forgives, even after everything, and that universal acceptance is the thing he needs to finally let go of trying to make up for what he's done. (It's fine, I'll just write a fanfic about it, whatever)

My Complaints:

-That we only can choose 3 possible variables for worldbuilding to keep from Inquisition. I think this the biggest, most egregious and disrespectful thing they did in the game, and I'm sure it's been talked about to death, but I'll just add that I hate it. I'll live with it - I'd rather they be vague than ret-con or kill off beloved characters off-screen - but still, what's the point of all of our previous choices if we don't get to see how they shape this world?

-The relationships felt SHALLOW. For a game that revolves around your companions, everything felt surface level. While I loved that almost every time you went to the Lighthouse, people were somewhere different and talking to each other, I HATED that Rook couldn't participate in their conversations. We only listened. I hate that we couldn't really ever initiate any long, deep conversations where we got to ask our companions strings of questions about themselves and their histories. I feel like I barely know Neve or Lucanis. I did like getting a bit more in depth with characters during their missions, but still...I feel like I barely know them, not the deep closeness I've felt with Dragon Age companions in the past. Nobody ever argues or disagrees with you, not really, just a couple times and it doesn't truly matter. I loved the companions. Their designs are so cool. I wanted to know everything about them and talk to them more. Why can't we ask Davrin about his vallaslin (it's obviously Ghilan'nain) and how he feels about it now that we are fighting her, especially if we're also an elf? And Bellara, why can't we ask about her tattoo and where her clan is and how she joined the Veil Jumpers? Why can't we ask Neve about her prosthetic? I loved the references to Inquisition in Harding's design, but since we couldn't import more than 3 things, she couldn't even talk about the Inquisition beyond the most vague things. Taash barely speaks at all. Emmrich has no life beyond the dead.

-The companions are so...one-note. Taash brings up being non-binary at every. single. quest, even though their adaari-ness and crossroads between being Qun and being Rivani was super interesting to me. (more on Taash in a minute.) Lucanis likes coffee. Davrin's personal quests mention "torlum" ad nauseum and the fact that Assan eats a lot. Bellara at least talks about other interests, but everyone else is so predictable. Even their banter doesn't seem to give them a lot of individual personality.

-the body models for female elves felt..a bit odd? My Rook always looked bow-legged. And do bras not exist in Thedas anymore? Lol

-The choice of who dies? HEART-WRENCHING. why was it between those two?! Why isn't the romance scene until AFTER this choice? Why doesn't the thing that happens with Harding and The Stone protect her (I thought it would!) and why don't we get any resolution to that if we lose her? I understand that Davrin was prepared to sacrifice himself as a Grey Warden, but making us lose Assan too...? Cruelty. That's what it is.

-I don't like that there are permanent deaths that happen regardless of our choices. That sucks. I know it's realistic, but this is a game, and I want my happily ever after for everyone, DAMN IT! The twist truly shook me, and I didn't see it coming. I didn't think I'd be caught by surprise and I was.

-The characterization of Rook is all over the place. I played an elven Rook with non-traditional vallaslin (figuring that the newer generation of Dalish Veil Jumpers might blend tradition with their new focus of exploring the Veil.) At various times, my Rook has said these things: "I didn't grow up with the Dalish." "I'm Dalish where it counts. "As a fellow Dalish--" WHICH IS IT? I'm in the most elfy faction, it's not even that I picked something unlikely for an elf with a face tattoo. I don't know what you have to do, what flags you have to trigger in the code, but the game still seems so confused about who our characters are. Pick a lane, Rook!

-While I'm on this subject: it would have been so nice to be able to know from the character creator what every kind of tattoo, body paint, and scar pattern went with what faction. And for the Dalish, which god matched to which vallaslin. It would have blown my mind in a good way if our choice of vallaslin came up in any way shape or form

-I would have loved if our race and faction actually like..mattered more. Walking around the Veil Jumper camp at the beginning and nobody talking to me except Strife and Irelin, that was so boring! Nobody recognizes you or asks how you've been. Just silence. Like everyone around you is a cardboard cutout. I expected more from Bioware.

-We got so much amazing lore in this game, and I'm really happy about it! But why did Bioware have to take the most marginalized group of people in Thedas, who were barely clinging to their own language and culture and freedom to begin with, and make everything bad that ever happened THEIR FAULT? What was the thought process there? That they used to have power but their leaders were in fact so terrible that they tore themselves apart and now live on the fringes of society? It makes it feel like the elves deserved their present fate, which is...pretty sucky. I'm glad they did not massacre the elves in this game as they have in the past, and that the elves didn't become even MORE the enemy by joining with the gods, but it really feels like the humans are only going to kill more elves in retribution for their gods almost ending the whole world. Also, related: nobody ever gives us sass about being an elf, not even in Minrathous, where elves are almost entirely slaves?!

-i know everything's changing with the lore stuff we typically know, but why did it seem that existing physically in the Fade is just no big deal anymore?

-at no point does Harding mention Varric dying? They don't have a funeral, a memorial? The Inquisitor says nothing, Morrigan says nothing? I know Solas messed with rook's mind, but even after...?

-the fact that the romance scenes don't happen until after the deaths. So it's possible for your love interest to die before that? Cruelty. Also, weird places to hook up, right after I just found out someone I thought has been alive this whole time DIED AT THE BEGINNING, and another dear friend sacrificed themselves, and we aren't sad at all during this? I understand sex after loss is perfectly normal and I understand that. But at least for the scene I saw, there was no "celebration of being alive" feel, it felt...more lustful than loving? Just an abrupt tonal shift.

-it just...ends. there's the typical little wrap up slides, but they're, again, shallow. A few lines here and there. Apparently the whole of Thedas was nearly destroyed, and not a single country went unscathed, but it's all gonna be ok! The bit of hope was nice, but...I don't feel settled at all. And it seems like we won't get DLC? which...ugh. and they fired the writers, which, again, cruel. If they make another Dragon Age, I can't see it being truly Dragon Age without them.

-i decided to make Taash's whole deal and the Qun a separate post lol

All in all - so thankful we got this game, so thankful we got what we did, I'm still processing a lot of it, and the past 3 weeks of my life I have done little else but live inside this story, but I just really need to scream into the void now!!

[explodingchantry]

A review of Veilguard from a long time, die hard fan of Dragon Age

When the review embargo on Veilgurd was lifted, I found it hard to take any review at face value. Dragon Age is unfortunately the one series I am very pretentious about, and I can’t trust reviews from people who aren’t huge Dragon Age fans like I am and who don’t hold the same views as me -- those views being, to keep it short, that Anders was right and justified, that he is one of the most tragic characters in the entire series, that he is a hero, that Bioware’s writing can be shockingly biased at times in the wrong ways, and that Inquisition is really not that good at all. These opinions have a lot of weight in whether I will listen to someone about Dragon Age matters. And I haven’t see a proper review from someone like this -- though granted as soon as the game came out I locked down and refused to look at anything in fear of spoilers lol. 

This review will be spoilers free, and there will be an addition at some point with all the spoilers and what I think about specific story details, because I have so much to say. 

The TL;DR? It’s a good game. If you like Dragon Age like I do, you’ll like it. If you open your heart to it, you’ll love it. It was made with love. 

This will be divided in section based on people’s biggest worries about the game and how much I have to say about each of them.

The art direction

Honestly I was a defender of the art style as soon as the trailers started coming out and my opinion has not changed lol. Dragon Age was never exactly known for its graphics - Origins and DA2 look… okay. And Inquisition was fine for its time but has aged like the most rotten milk you could find. Its environments are still pretty, but its characters, man… I’m sorry, it just hasn’t aged well. Frostbite engine did not help Bioware in this case. They’ve spoken about how it was a new engine for them and how they struggled with it and it shows. 

This game? Oh boy, yeah, no, I can believe they got a handle of Frostbite now. It is breathtaking. The environments are crafted so meticulously and with so much love, the lighting is beautiful and that’s even without RTX (because I’m in the AMD gang and can’t splurge on Nvidia lol). Many many times I would stop and go into photo mode either to take screenshots or to just admire the world around me. I’d spam screenshot in cutscenes, too. The character animations are good, especially the facial expressions -- though the body animations remain a tad stiff, like everyone’s got a broom up their ass and forgot their spine can bend and move. It’s not that big of a deal, but I did notice it a couple times. 

You can tell Bioware had fun both with character design and with the environments, now that they’re free of Ferelden’s basic medieval england looking ass. You grow attached to the beautiful and lively environments. Treviso has got to be my favorite, but there’s a lot for everyone in there. 

And no, the smoother art style does not make the game less dark. If anything, some of the enemy redesigns really help make the game scarier. The first time I was faced with the blight in game, even though I’d seen it in all of the promotional screenshots and trailers -- I was horrified and sickened by just how gross they made it look (and sound.). I promise you, you shouldn’t be scared of that. 

The emotional moments sold well even “in spite of” the art style. I don’t know, it’s hard for me to even understand people’s worries about that. Not everything’s got to be hyper-realistic, ya’ll. 

The combat system

That IS one thing I was a tad worried about, when we first saw it. It looked good, but it was definitely a departure from what we were used to. 

Honestly, to sell my point, we have to look at the previous games’ combat system. I don’t actually know if there’s a specific name for this style aside from, idk, “CRPG combat” lol. I like to refer to it as MMORPG combat because you mostly see it in MMOs now, I feel. Your character cycles through a bunch of basic combat animations for basic attacks, and has a lot of abilities to throw in combat which can synergise which each other. DAO had the best system, but DA2 felt best to play due to the updated and dynamic animations and faster paced combat. DAI had the weakest both due to the way they overhauled the classes (especially mages) and made us lose fan-favorite specialisations (spirit healer and blood mage) with not much in exchange. It was simplified and a bit sluggish, in my opinion. It missed the strategy imposed by DAO as well as the punch from DA2. 

And of course, there’s the battle tactics. You get to basically program companion AIs and can chain some really, really good combos with them. It’s really fun once you get the hang of it, but let’s be real: very few people did. Very few people actually used them, as good of a system as it was. 

This combat system… has aged a tad, unfortunately. It doesn’t fit today’s gaming landscape, but even if it did… It would need more to land, I think, if they kept it as it was. Something to make it feel less sluggish, more intense, more involved. Make the attacks FEEL like they land and hit and hurt the enemy. Because the harsh truth is, although DAO has the most in depth combat system of all of the games -- it also has numerous popular mods to skip combat entirely. 

Combat in Veilguard feels really, really good. When I first started I often found myself grinning, going “oh HELL yeah” at the screen, because it felt so good. I almost raised the difficulty a few times because I wanted combat to last longer because it just felt so damn good. I do wish it was a bit deeper, especially in the case of combos, but it remained nonetheless fun to cycle through abilities and companions depending on the area and type of enemies I was fighting. It feels more action-y, but it isn’t a damn hack n slash like I’ve seen people say lol. Have none of these people ever heard of the term action RPG or what. Because that’s what Veilguard is. It’s an action RPG and there’s nothing wrong with that. 

I think Bioware always kind of wanted to move towards this, as well. Since DAO, Dragon Age felt like it kept its combat system not because it was the most fitting for the games Bioware wanted to make, but because they “had to”. Because it was right for the genre. Because it’s what players expect. Because they’d get backlash if they didn’t. But they finally decided to change it, and I think it’s right, for Veilguard. I think Bioware had fun making this system, and it is very much extremely fun to play. 

My only wish is for spirit healer and blood mage specialisation to come back, and for companion leveling up to have been deeper and more varied. They basically have set abilities that you level up and though you can change some aspects of them, that’s it. But it remains a good system. I liked it. I genuinely have really enjoyed fighting in this game and will be exploring all classes and specialisations thoroughly in my next replays, as well as exploring every difficulty. 

The writing

It’s fine. It’s brilliant, at times. Cringy, at others. And you want to know a secret?

You could say that about every god damn Dragon Age game, lol.

I’ve recently -- as in, very recently -- replayed the whole series in preparations for Veilguard. Not only did it have cringe-worthy moments in all games, but some even made me grimaces. DAO is staggeringly misogynistic both for its time and for its setting: You are told in the character creator that men and women are equal in Thedas only to constantly face outward sexism at every turn. It’s shocking. As for DA2, it’s weirdly mean spirited. It calls a lot of its characters crazy and makes fun of them for the meanest fucking reasons. It has a character who fights for his people’s freedom approve of you when you give another character over to a slaver, for fuck’s sake lol. It is very mean. This one is the most “product of its time” of all three, because DAO was misogynistic even for its time lol. And DAI… well, DAI is bland and lacks depth and feeling ina almost everything lmfao. 

Veilguard holds your hand a lot, especially in the beginning, and kind of babies you at times. It also suffers from painful expository moments. Thing is, I feel for Bioware: They have three games and dozens of side media’s worth of lore to explain to you, and have to keep in mind not only that some players will have never heard of Dragon Age, or that some have only played the games and never touched the side media, or that they played the games a whole DECADE ago and can’t remember shit. It’s hard. I would’ve done better lol but it IS difficult. I feel for them. 

Some things are a little less excusable, like the game REALLY holding your hand through a couple puzzles and through the fact that you need to focus on companions and do their quests etc. A part of me wonders if it came out of playtesting, or something. It definitely took me out of it a little bit, not gonna lie. It felt quite jarring. 

There’s a couple other things, like having far too much telling in places. I’d also have liked to do some of the cool stuff my Rook does in cutscenes within actual gameplay, lol. And there were beats where I was left thinking “... that’s it?”, which is never good. 

The codex entries are great and interesting though. Only game in the franchise where I read every single codex entries I found (AND I FOUND ALMOST ALL OF THEM!!!!). A lot of them are fascinating, but more are just very sweet or funny, and they help build the characters and the world. 

And my god, those characters are ALIVE. I truly understand when Bioware said they really put emphasis on the companions. There are so many cute banters, a lot of which you can catch in the lighthouse, as well as little scenes that mostly serve to humanise the companions and make them feel alive. Not only that, but you also get attached to a lot of NPCs -- and I do mean a lot. Each faction has NPCs I cared for deeply, and you always just get to visit them and talk to them, even if it’s just them saying a line or two of dialogue at you. It still helps to build a relationship with them, and care for them. And your companions interact with them sometimes, too! And they have history! It makes the world genuinely feel so much more alive and makes you feel so much more involved than you were in DAI! They manage to transform from pixels on a screen there to give you quests to actual characters with rich lives and feelings that you want to see succeed.

I romanced Lucanis and he is by far my favorite of the companions, but I love all of them. This means it’s the first game in the series where I genuinely really love all the companions. There was always one, maybe two, in each game whom I didn’t care much about or which pissed me off -- but they’re all immensely likeable here, and I care so much about not only my Rook’s relationship to them, but their relationships to each other. And there’s so many little banters, notes, and codex entries which helps further their bond and makes them feel like roommates. It’s very sweet and enjoyable.

I also love my Rook a lot. I played mostly as a sarcastic Rook who was very impulsive and wasn’t afraid to speak their feelings out. There are times you can express genuine fear, hurt, or anger at certain NPCs or situations, and the line delivery really carries it. They felt alive and involved, so much more than the Inquisitor ever did. My Rook has a personality, and not only that, but the way the factions were integrated was really nice. I played as an elven mage grey warden, and each of those bits came up a lot. I’m a bit miffed that you don’t get to choose whether you were dalish or city elf, and more miffed that the game/npcs try to explain dalish lore at you even when you put a wholeass vallaslin on your character, but aside from that I’m rather pleased with the integration of the faction. I imagine some factions (lords of fortune) got the shorter end of the stick - but playing as a grey warden was deeply rewarding in this game. Rook can make comment about it in dialogue, in banter, and other characters mention it too. I got to discuss the joining with another warden, and my Rook commented a few things about their time in the order. And it made my friendship with Davrin mean so much more, too. It also made every plot point involving the wardens hit like a TRUCK. 

And my god, do some of the missions in this game hit like a truck. The villains are believably terrifying. This isn’t Corypheus 2.0. I hadn’t felt this level of dread in Dragon Age since DAO. Some missions especially have rocked me to my core, and some of them I consider to be absolute masterpieces (Weisshaupt, my god Weisshaupt. My favorite mission in any Bioware game, period.) I wish the last boss had been scarier and stronger, though. I felt it did fall short in regards to that. Funny enough a lot of the side bosses were harder than main bosses. That was a bit sad. But yes, Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain feel like gods that you are facing. It is so much better than DAI in that regard.

The game does make you care deeply about everything happening, I can promise you that. And it manages to make even vehement Solas haters like him. I used to be a Solas hater back in 2014/2015, though I did mellow out over my replays. By my last Inquisition replay I did come around to him and was just mildly annoyed at how popular he was because I still found him overhyped, mostly because he suffered from DAI’s bland writing. But Veilguard makes you care for him, and elicits a lot of strong reactions towards him. He’s made me cheer, and also made me feel extreme anger, and then a lot of sympathy. He’s a marvelously complex character and one of Bioware’s best. He went from being one of my least favorite characters to one of my favorites - potentially even top 10 material. This is high praise for me lol. 

The matter of bringing choices in is…. Well, not gonna lie, a few events I was like “hm, no this wouldn’t happen in my world state” or “oh I wish they took in account past choices for this scene/plot point”. It remains an extremely baffling choice from Bioware and I remain really pissed off about it, lol. 

The Inquisitor was fine. I’m not attached to the Inquisitor, so I’m not able to make many comments about them. I’ve seen other people who ARE attached feel happy about their inclusion, so I’d go with that. There were a few nice moments. 

Act 3 is absolutemy amazing, also. It's engaging and terrifying and broke my heart several times. I do not cry easily but I was left sobbing and whimpering at Bioware lmfao. Granted, it was my first playthrough, and my emotions were heightened by having a new Dragon Age game after so long. But I do think Act 3 is just... really, really good. It gets the point of the game across very well, too.

The lore

This… is where the game falls short the most, for me. 

Don’t get me wrong: we get a LOT of new lore and a lot of it is insanely satisfying when you’ve been in the trenches for a decade and had tons of theories. A lot of discoveries left me buzzing with thoughts, new theories, ideas, and excitement. It was exhilarating. 

But there’s many points where, as a guy who just casually reads the lore books for fun, I was left saying “uh, no, that’s not true” to “that doesn’t make any fucking sense”. Mostly, a lot of my issues comes with the integration of the politics of the game. Dragon age has always been a political series, in the sense that the politics of Thedas are just as important as any threat we face in the game. And for like 15 years, the north was built up in a certain way -- and in many aspects, Veilguard does deliver. In others, it feels like it glosses over very important lore, or just tries to gaslight you into thinking you were wrong all along. Some of it is clever recontextualising that I did appreciate, considering all the lore we DO know is in universe, which means biased by the areas we learn the lore from. But there are a few times where the lore breaks took me out of the game and felt very immersion breaking.

Unfortunately I can’t go to much further into this without spoiling anything, but it’s definitely where I was the most disappointed. It’s small things, it’s always small things, but it’s definitely made me either raise my eyebrows or be very disappointed at times. I’ve already spoken about a bit of it in previous posts, and need to write something lengthy about magic specifically. Just beware that if you are insane about the lore, it is where the game will fall short at points. But it will also offer you amazing lore in turn, so you know. It’s a balancing act. 

It feels like the writing has mellowed out in this aspect. It makes me wonder how different the past games would be, if written by these people. How different this game would've been, if it was written by past writers. Only game where I've gone "wait why am I not getting hate crimed right now".

Also the secret post credit scene sucks entire ass and ruins everything lmfao I am ignoring it entirely.

There’s obviously a lot more I want to say about many things. I want to talk about Lucanis, about Taash, about Emmrich, about Harding -- about everyone, really. But that’ll be for further, spoiler-full posts. 

I’ll also save some more in depth review for a later post because I wanna go play dolls in the character creator again.

[squarebracketsmileyface]

So for my jaylex oc child, I'm not sure if I want her to have a cleft lip or not since Jay has one. But cleft lips/Palates are rare but I think they are hereditary.

A really sweet design choice I made for her is that she wears Jay and Alex's old clothes.

And she is also raised by tim, since she does not have any family on record so tim choose to raise her, and she turns into a rebellious teen and jay 2.0 (minus him being at gunpoint and such, also him dying)

I honestly have never posted my oc child on my blog bc I feel like people might think it's weird, but bc of you I might consider it. I've never drew her before though I use gacha and such to help with the designs.

I am biased by birdie but cleft lip cleft lip cleft lip YEEEEAAAAAH do it.

Also WEARING HER PARENTS CLOTHES OWWWW I love that so much, like so so much because you can do SO much angst with it. This is the only physical thing she has that was her parents, it's all she has of them. Sometimes she wraps herself up in it to feel their warmth. Sometimes she burries her face in it wishing it still smelled of them so she can have another sense to connect her to them but ultimately comes up empty-handed because she's been without them for so long now.

I kinda have that with Birdie and her baby blanket being an old hoodie of Jay's in "canon" Sorry, It's Locked. Sometimes she REALLY wishes she could have known her other dad, but all she has of him is this hoodie that's stretched out and thin by now, with frayed sleeves and a couple holes here and there. There's also those photos her pa's hiding from her in that little locked box under his bed that she hasn't had the courage to steal and pry open yet. At some point, she'll just have to find out what happened to her other dad by herself.

Tim acquiring a child just feels so right to me, tho. That's also probably biased by my own AU but just, idk the way he grew up just makes me think he'd really enjoy being a dad. To prove he can do it well, and in the case of your OC, to make sure another kid doesn't have to go through anything near what he did if he has the ability to make sure they don't. God, but like, her becoming a little mini Jay. That'd probably be terrifying for Tim, seeing her so a thing Jay did and kinda going FUCK IS SHE SAFE I GOTTA MAKE SURE NOTHING BAD IS HAPPENING TO HER THAT SHES HIDING FROM ME COS SHE THINKS ILL THINK SHES MAKING IT UP. Like, idk she starts carrying around a camera and Tim's heart clenches in his chest in panic, and he starts looking around constantly looking for the operator to be RIGHT behind him, or it following her around.

Honestly, posting about oc kids is such a special kinda fun, at least to me, they're such an interesting way to interact with the source material and explore the universe it's set it. Cos with a kid, everything's new, but if this monster has been with them their whole life, it's also part of their norm so you can kinda focus on different things, rather than just setting up the monster you can poke into all the deeper little details someone VERY familiar with it might know. Which like yeah you can do with Tim and Alex, they've been haunted by it since childhood, but idk it's just FUN with an oc cos you can make them anything :D

And also them having a parent (Tim in this case) who went through the same thing is also super interesting, because in a lot of ways it can help set them up with ways to cope or escape or survive straight away, but it can also fuck them up because their parent/s might be stuck in survival mode and not able to meet the kids needs emotionally, or maybe even physically if they're absent a lot, or could accidentally teach them lessons which are harmful in the long run.

[hopeymchope]

Switch 2 presentation thoughts.

I've been hyped for today's Direct for quite some time, so let me just up and say it: That was underwhelming as FUCK.

Mario Kart World looks pretty cool I guess—I mean, it's Mario Kart—but is that open world going to have any reason to explore it beyond just "photo mode"?? I'm legit wondering if there's something to seek out... I'm hopeful about that. And I'm definitely not too sure about some of those new power-ups I saw. Regardless, it sure as hell ain't worth EIGHTY FUCKING DOLLARS when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is out here with 96 fucking tracks to run on.

Donkey Kong Odyssey Bananza is my personal highlight even if I am still adjusting to that new DK design. He kind of seems to be dumber than he's been in quite a while??? Even so, the game looks pretty amazing overall. Costs seventy goddamn bones, huh... ? I guess it's been inevitable for a while, but... shiiit.

I was sincerely hoping that the mysterious project Masuhiro Sakurai had been working on the past two years was either a sequel to or a port/remake of his Kid Icarus: Uprising. But if it was yet another Smash Bros game or a new Kirby platformer from him, I would totally understand and embrace that, too. And if it was a brand-new concept and/or IP? A big, jolly HUZZAH to that idea! .... But instead it's a sequel to Kirby Air Ride. I... never liked Air Ride. I know some people are passionate about it in retrospect, but... shit. Argh. THIS is what he's been working on, huh... ? Hard to imagine something that'd disappoint me more. But I still love the enthusiasm from Air Ride devotees. This is YOUR time, and you deserve your joy. Congratulations!

When that mystery trailer started I was like "Is this Resident Evil 9????" but then FromSoft's logo showed up and... oh god a new Soulslike. Fuck your Soulslikes.

GameChat is admittedly a great idea. It looks so fun and seamless. Much better than headset-based game chats with total strangers, I'd say. Streaming your friends' screens looks pretty damn choppy... though it could also lead to an exciting new era of Screen-Peeking??

Age of Imprisonment: "Imagine a Hyrule Warriors game where you only know, like, three of the playable characters. The rest are just random fuckers. And behold, you get to experience the backstory to one of the most disappointing Zelda games!" I was out the door before they even finished the sales pitch. This 100% isn't for me, but I hope some people are excited about it.

What do you mean you want me to pay you for DIGITAL UPGRADES to shit-tons of games I ALREADY FUCKING OWN... oh fucking hell this is not what I imagined we'd be dealing with, but at least that Kirby & The Forgotten Land expansion looks pretty neat.

A very sincere fuck you for giving us GameCube Wind Waker. Fucking choke. Fuck you.

Do I want the ability to play some of these numerous ports on a handheld? YES!!! Do I want to pay at least $450 for the privilege??? Errrrrrr.... not really worth that much to me, no...........

HOW is the list of incompatible Switch 1 games SO FUCKING LONG????

Regardless of all the above issues, I'm sure I'll eventually get a Switch 2. I eventually even caved on Wii U... after it was effectively dead. :P I wind up with all Nintendo's systems eventually...

[sordidmusings]

I LIVE 🤡 I’m gonna be working on getting back to everyone soon I’m just quite overwhelmed with it but very very thankful 🤍🤍🤍 fandom ain’t all fun and games like we all wish it could be and it’s so nice to have so many keeping it that way. For those close to me and also quite far (in all meanings) I’m sending a great big hug 🫂 and I will catch up with you soon!! And for now, have the finally completed Ace smut that has been marinating for so so long as a peace offering 💀

In happier news I finally had Europe vacay to see honey bunch @click-and-flash-pest-captures!! We saw much cool shit, did a cool as hell photo shoot with some friends (check out her stuff!! It’s so so good), and I finally got that good soup 👌 I bled myself dry but SO WORTH IT 💀 gonna do it again soon whoops 🥴 the world is burning and I am lucky enough to have a job and such where I can skidaddle this time of year; why not take advantage? Especially before it gets even worse here 🙃 and elsewhere too - was sad to see firsthand its prevalence in Europe and not just have it be ambient knowledge.

Also in happier news, there’s a new pup in the house! She’s my mom’s but we’re all helping out obviously, especially cuz she’s already full raptor mode 💀 to be fair she is In Fact three months. She is already a Velcro baby - she must be in your lap while she naps or trying to play with whatever activity you’re doing (rip my laundry 🙏) lest she SCREAM lol

The terror creature: Pearl (name still hasn’t warmed on me - she’s lioness on her papers so I wanna call her Nessie because cryptids>>>> but nO that’s not allowed 😤)

[dailyrandomwriter]

Day 791

When Animal Crossing New Leaf released, one of the best features they implemented was the ability to take pictures in the game and then (relatively) easily port them to a computer so they could be posted on the Internet, along with the player’s ability to visit the towns of other players.

Not because as a game mechanic it made this game suddenly the best thing on earth (though the ability to visit other towns was great), but because it was free advertising for the game.

Animal Crossing New Leaf did not need to advertise itself very hard because there was a community of dedicated players who loved to take pictures and then share them on the Internet. Rightly so, because it was a lot of fun to do and then you got to show people all these amazing things other people made or designed.

Something that I’ve been thinking about lately as I’ve been playing Infinity Nikki.

However, I don’t think the advertisement is towards gaining new players, but rather towards the already existing ones. See, as I’ve mentioned in the past, Infinity Nikki is a free to play game, but it’s a game, which means it has a gacha (lottery) system for its cosmetics, that’s how it earns money. It’s a system that is standard in free to play games, and one that I have negative feelings on because while I am not necessarily affected by this system, there are people who are predisposed to spending too much money on that system.

But I’ve also mentioned that Infinity Nikki’s actual gameplay is so robust, that you can play through that game, enjoy the game, and not spend a dime. If you are into the dress up portion the clothes that are part of the game are very pretty and not substandard at all, and if you do want the very shiny pretty clothing, the game gives enough rewards that you can reasonably earn a good number of those clothes. So, if you’re not a person who suffers from the fear of missing out, you can very much enjoy this game.

So what does this have to do about photographs and advertising?

In Infinity Nikki, you can take pictures in the game. The camera feature in the game is incredibly well done. Camera mode offers a wide range of poses, lighting, filters and adjustments while picture taking. Best of all, the game automatically dumps a copy of that picture into a folder in your files for easy access. So you could… you know… upload it to the Internet?

Not only that, but the outfits won from the gacha system are more often than not, better for picture taking than they are for running around in. I’m not sure what it is, but I find that full gowns aren’t as satisfying to jump around in the game, but they are beautiful to take pictures of. In fact the limited edition clothing from the gacha seems to be purposely designed with picture taking in mind. 

For example, I had recently won the full outfit of Daughter of the Lake. I had originally meant to stop once I got the veil as that was the item that fascinated me the most. However, my luck… as it were, caused me to win the veil last, after winning all the other pieces in that outfit. So I had the whole outfit, which, if you wear it and then put Nikki in water (like she is a colour changing Barbie doll), scales will appear on her skin.

In gameplay, you will not be able to see this while moving her around. It also takes a second or two, like a real colour changing Barbie doll, for the scales to appear. So it’s a feature not practical in gameplay, but for picture taking… where there are a lot of beautiful places with shallow waters… It makes for an excellent photo opportunity. Photos that other players can then see, both in game and on the Internet.

And when you see those photos, it’s gorgeous, who wouldn’t want an outfit that kind of makes their character a mermaid? So you want that outfit and you may try for that outfit, and because the gacha system guarantees a 4 or 5 star level item after a certain number of pulls, you may find yourself only an item or two short. So you might want to spend a bit of money to finish off that item if the stuff you got for free isn’t enough. 

Now do I think the developers are being malicious by having the camera feature? No, the camera feature was clearly built with a lot of love, but it is good to keep in mind that if you see a picture of Infinity Nikki in one of those really nice dresses, that it’s probably meant for photos, not necessarily play.

[coffeestainedcamera]

Now that things have settled down, finally got time and energy for a post-mortem on the Infinity Nikki beta.

So, to start off, it felt like my nostalgia for the golden age of 3D platformers or a Y2K girls' adventure game with a budget. I'd say it's the strongest point here, as the folks at Paper/Infold pulled together something extremely entertaining in a new-to-them genre. My personal standout would have to be the first story level, as it's gorgeous and I enjoyed the "see-saw for one" element. But the overworld platforming challenges you do for upgrades were also fun.

Ah, but the very Halloween-coded final story level was also memorable. In general, it felt like both the game design and the visual direction accompanying it are varied. I looked forward to exploring new locations and adding to my virtual photo album. Plus, the photo mode clearly had effort put into it as well, given all the environmental interactions I kept finding.

The exploration loop in general was pretty decent. There was no fall damage and the in-the-air controls for the "float" outfit felt pretty precise. And the platforming areas' layout was pretty easy to read at a glance, but not obtrusively so. Also, the "jump assist" feature that showed you the trajectory of a jump before you made it felt reassuring for me, as I largely don't play platformers.

I did have issues, though. Mainly, there were some decisions that aren't necessarily accessible and hopefully are revised for the final release. For example, the fishing mini game relied on you button-mashing with no alternative. The element also cropped up in the final dungeon. Some of the overworld timed challenges cued how much time you had left via increasingly fast ticking, even though a platforming daily had an on-screen timer.

My one "hot garbage" comment will be on the combat. No aim reticle was given. No lock-on mechanic either. Why.

Tech-wise, it sure was a beta. Had my fair share of textures and animations not loading, plus some of the collision being weird. Also, one of the sidequests was impossible to complete due to a tech issue but it was fixed. It'll be fine if the game releases next year, maybe in spring or summer, but it'll be like Assassin's Creed Unity day 1 if the rumors of winter holiday release are true.

But overall, I had fun and am looking forward to playing the complete version. Here are some final screengrabs.

[cenorii]

Hello!

I would like to know if you think that Wesker is attracted to Rebecca? (due to the RE2 photo easter egg and RE0 Wesker Mode)

Personally I don't really believe it since he never showed actual interest in her and the both things I named are just undeveloped non canon easter eggs/fun modes (as far as i know?) but there are plenty of people that genuinely believe he's into/creeping on her and also spread it like it's a fact... So sometimes I am unsure about it

Thanks for the question!

I think the connection between Wesker and Rebecca is minimal, if only based on the reason that Rebecca is rookie and has only been in S.T.A.R.S. for about a month. We don't know how much time Wesker spent with his teams, so it's unlikely they've had many opportunities to bond. In the original version of re2, if you check Wesker's desk 50 times, you can find Rebecca's photo, but the unrealistic number of times to check suggests it's just easter egg. In the remake, the photo is on undeveloped film, which means Wesker just indifferently threw the film in the desk, and likely didn't even know the contents. The remake, is a reimagining of the original's ideas, and the fact that the photo is now on "undeveloped" film only proves that Wesker had nothing to do with the photo, and it's just a easter egg as in the original. Wesker Mode in re0 appeared in the HD remaster in 2016, a year after Revelations 2, in which Wesker was a DLC character for Mercenaries. There's no particular connection to Rebecca here, the developers simply took Wesker's model from Revelations 2 and added it to their new remaster. It's just a coincidence that Wesker's name is next to Rebecca again, he would have been put in Billy's place regardless of who the second character is here. Anyway, my conclusion is that it's not a sin to shipping Wesker with Rebecca, there's something good in every ships. But using "Wesker Mode" and the "photo in the desk" as proof of the pairing is absurd.