#I will say that we're in a dark age for the franchise

[ladyaster]

I can’t take people who say that Sneasler is the worst pokemon ever designed seriously when Aromatisse has existed since 2013. Especially since Sneasler is kind of the poster child of video essays regarding why “Legends Arceus bad”.

Let’s be real here, if Blaziken and Lucario were 8th/9th gen pokemon rather than 3rd and 4th gen respectively, they would be loathed and reviled instead of seen as untouchable and iconic.

[perseidlion]

Streaming in Kaos

Well, it happened. I can't say that I'm surprised that KAOS has been cancelled by Netflix. I am a little surprised at the speed at which it was axed. Only a month after it aired, and it's already gone.

That has me wondering if the decision to cancel was made before the show even aired. We have to remember that marketing is the biggest cost after production. If the Netflix brass looked at the show and either decided (through audience testing, AI stuff or just their own biases) that it wasn't going to be a Stranger Things-level hit, they probably chose at that moment to slash its marketing budget.

That meant there was pretty much no way that KAOS was ever going to hit the metrics Netflix required of it to get a season 2.

What makes me so angry about this (other than the survival of a show relying on peoples' biases or AI) is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you decide before a show is ever going to air that it won't be a success, then it probably won't be. If you rely on metrics and algorithms and AI to analyze art, you will never let something surprise you. You'll never let it grow. You'll never nurture the cult hits of the future or the next franchise.

Netflix desperately needs people behind the scenes that believe in stories and potential over metrics. Nothing except the same old predictable dreck is ever going to be allowed to survive if you don't believe in the stories you're telling.

The networks and streamers have a huge problem on their hands. They need big hits and to build the franchises of the future to sustain their current model (which is horribly broken.) But people have franchise fatigue and aren't showing up for known IPs like they used to. The fact that Marvel content is definitely not a sure thing anymore is a huge canary in the coal mine for franchise fatigue. People aren't just tired of Marvel, they're tired of the existing worlds both on the big screen and the small one. Audiences are hungry for something new.

It is telling that the most successful Marvel properties of the last few years have been the ones that do something different. Marvel is smart to finally pull out The X-Men because that is a breath of fresh air and something people are hungry to see more of.

There's pretty much no one behind the scenes (except for maybe AMC building The Immortal Universe) that is committing to really taking the time to build these new worlds. Marvel built the MCU by playing the long game. That paid dividends for a solid decade even if it's dropping off now. That empire was built not with nostalgia for existing IP (don't forget the MCU was built with B and C tier heroes) but with patience. Marvel itself seems to have forgotten this in recent years.

Aside from that, I think people really want stories that aren't connected to a billion other things. That takes commitment on the part of the audience to follow and to get attached to. People WANT three to five excellent seasons of a show that tells its own story and isn't leaving threads out there for a dozen spinoffs. We're craving tight storytelling.

KAOS could have been that. Dead Boy Detectives could have been that. So could Our Flag Means Death, Lockwood and Co, Shadow and Bone, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Willow, and a dozen other shows with great potential or were excellent out of the gate.

If you look at past metrics, you only learn what people used to like, not what they want now. People are notoriously bad about articulating what they want, but boy do they know it when they see it. Networks have to go back to having a dozen moderate successes instead of constantly churning through one-season shows that get axed and pissing off the people who did like it in a hamfisted attempt to stumble on the next big thing.

The networks desperately need to go back to believing in their shows. Instead, they keep cutting them off at the knees before they ever get a chance because some algorithm told them the numbers weren't there.

[felassan]

New today on DA:TV from Game Informer: 'A Deep Dive Into BioWare's Companion Design Philosophy In Dragon Age: The Veilguard'

"A Deep Dive Into BioWare's Companion Design Philosophy In Dragon Age: The Veilguard by Wesley LeBlanc on Jul 15, 2024 at 02:00 PM During my visit to BioWare in its Edmonton, Canada, office earlier this year for the current Game Informer cover story on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I heard a sentiment repeated throughout the day from the game's leads: in past Dragon Age games, BioWare stumbled onto great companions, but with Veilguard, it's the first game where the studio feels it purposefully and intentionally created great companions. As such, those companions are key to everything happening in Veilguard.  With such a significant emphasis on these characters, I spoke to some of the game's leads to learn precisely about BioWare's philosophy on companions in Veilguard.  [embedded link to DA:TV reveal trailer] "No, that is the case," BioWare general manager Gary McKay tells me when I ask if he agrees with the stumbled-onto-greatness sentiment. "I would first start with Dragon Age – each installment in this franchise has been different, so we didn't set out to make a game that was a sequel or the same game as before. We really wanted to do something different and we did push the envelope in a couple of areas, companions being one of them. Once we got knee deep into it, we really realized we had something special with these companions, again, around the motivations, the story arc, and it really started to become the centerpiece for this game.""

"The Philosophy Behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Companions Game director Corinne Busche agrees, adding that Veilguard's companions are "the most fully realized complex companions we've ever crafted." She also believes they're the Dragon Age series' best. "They're complicated, they have complicated problems, and that's what's interesting," she continues. "As much as I adore the companions and the journeys I've been on with them in past Dragon Age titles – previously, it feels like companions are going on an adventure with me, the main character, whether it's the Hero of Ferelden or Hawke, you name it. But in [Veilguard], in many ways, the companions are so fleshed out that it feels as though I'm going on a journey with them. I'm exploring how they think and feel; I'm helping them through their problems. We're working through their unique character arcs. They feel like my dear friends, and I absolutely adore them." Busche says these companions participate in the game's darker and more optimistic parts. "We've really moved into a place where you can have the highest of highs, and it can be colorful, it can be optimistic, but also, you can have the lowest of lows where it gets gritty, it gets painful, it gets quite dark. But throughout it all, there is a sense of optimism. And it creates this delightful throughline throughout the game."  When I ask creative director John Epler about BioWare's philosophy behind Veilguard's companions, he reveals a phrase the studio uses: Dragon Age is about characters, not causes.  "What that means for us is [...] let's take the Grey Wardens, for example – the Grey Wardens are an interesting faction but by themselves, they don't tell a story, but there are characters within that faction that do," he tells me. "And the same thing with other characters in the story. They represent these factions, they show the face of the other parts of Thedas and of the storytelling we really want to do, which, again, shows Thedas as this large, diverse living world that has things going on when you're not there.""

"Epler says one of BioWare's principles when creating Veilguard was that the world exists even when you – Rook – are not around. There are things, ancient conflicts, grudges, and more, that happen even when Rook isn't participating in them, he says.  "You kind of come in 'in media res' in some of these, so that's where we wanted to go with the companions," he says. "They have stories of their own. Where can Rook come into these stories, and what interesting ways can those stories develop not just based on themselves but also based on Rook's presence within them?" Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes adds that companions are the load-bearing pillars for everything in Veilguard, so "when you're designing them, it's not just designing a character; they're the face for their faction, the face for, in [some cases like Bellara Lutara], an entire area of the world." From his aesthetic-forward part of developing companions in Veilguard as the game's art director, he tells me Veilguard's characters are (hopefully) going to give cosplayers a challenge.  "The previous art director had the mindset we should make things easier for [cosplayers], which I think is a misunderstanding of cosplayers," Rhodes says. "We've seen the kind of challenges they're willing to take on, and so we've gone for, in some cases, a level of complexity and detail that I hope a lot of them are excited to rise to the challenge for." A Quick Detour: Neve Gallus"

"As Neve Gallus is the companion I spend the most time with during my visit to BioWare, I asked Epler about this character and her role in the game. Here's what I learned: "So Neve is a private investigator in Minrathous. Minrathous is the capital city of the Tevinter Empire. It’s also a mage-ocracy; mages run the entirety of the Empire – they’re all-powerful. A lot of them still believe in slavery, they keep slaves, it’s a very oppressive, totalitarian regime. And Neve is a member of the Shadow Dragons, which is a rebel faction within Thedas that fights back against this mage-ocracy, fights back against this oppressive, very damaging regime that’s taken over the city, because she believes there’s good, and she is there for the common people. So if you’re not a mage in Tevinter, you are lower than dirt for a lot of people. She and the Shadow Dragons, in general, fight back, but Neve, in particular, is this character that represents this more, ‘voice of the streets, the voice of the common people.’ In previous Dragon Age games, you go to Orlais, you meet Emperor Celene, you meet Briala; we wanted to have a character that showed not just what is Tevinter at the top, but what is the average person who lives in Tevinter. And she is very much about, again, fighting oppression, fighting tyranny and, as a private investigator, finding clues and ways through problems that aren’t maybe as action-focused as some of the other companions." Companions, In And Out Of Combat"

"Rook's companions in Veilguard have roles both in and out of combat, but since I only saw a few hours of this game (which is sure to be multiple dozens of hours long), I wanted to ask Busche about these roles and how they play out. Here's what I learned:  In Combat Bushce: "So companions as realized characters, we have to take that premise when we talk about how they show up in combat. These are their own people. They have their own behaviors; they have their own autonomy on the battlefield; they'll pick their own targets. As their plots progress, they'll learn how to use their abilities more competently, and it really feels like you're fighting alongside these realized characters in battle. So I love that, I love the believability of it. It feels like we're all in it together.  "But then when it comes time for the strategy, and the progression I might add, that's where a sense of teamwork comes into play as the leader of this party as Rook. When I open the ability wheel, I almost feel like we're huddling up. We're coming up with a game plan together. I see all the abilities that Harding has, and I see all that Bellara is capable of, and sometimes I'm using vulnerabilities synergistically. Maybe I'm slowing time with Bellara so that I can unleash devastating attacks with Harding, knocking down the enemy, and then me as Rook, rushing in and capitalizing on this setup they've created for me. It is a game about creating this organic sense of teamwork.  "Now, there are more explicit synergies as well. We very much have intentional combos where your companions can play off each other, you can queue up abilities between them, and each of those abilities will go off and have their effect. But it results in this massive detonation where you get enhanced effects, debuff the entire battlefield, all because of planning and teamwork. What makes it really cool is you can introduce Rook into that equation as well. One of my favorite things to do is upgrade some of Harding's abilities so she will automatically use some of these abilities that normally I'd have to instruct her to do. And she'll actually set my character up to execute that combo that, again, has that detonation effect." [embedded link to DA:TV gameplay reveal video]"

"Outside Combat Busche: "It's one of my favorite topics. I talked about the idea that these are fully realized characters, that they're very authentic and relatable. So outside of combat, what that means is they're going to have their own concerns, fears, distractions, and indeed, even their own sanctuaries, their own personal spaces. In our base of operations this time, our player hub, the Lighthouse, each of the companions has their own room. And what I love about it is it becomes a reflection of who they are. The more time you spend with them, as the game develops as you work through their arc, their room and their personalities will evolve and flourish and become more complete as they trust you more and you understand them better.  "What's interesting, you mentioned romance, the companions also develop romantically and I'm not just talking about with the main character Rook; I'm talking about each other. There are moments in the game where two of our companions fell in love with each other and I had to make some pretty challenging choices as it related to the quest we're on. And it broke my heart, it absolutely did [Editor's Note: I get the sense Busche is talking about a specific playthrough of Veilguard here – not a definitive sequence of events for every playthrough].  "So I would say, as you're adventuring with them, as you're returning to the Lighthouse and getting to know them – all these decisions and conversations and things you learn about them – it endears them to you in a way that I honestly haven't experienced before. And sometimes that fills me with joy and sometimes it breaks my heart." For more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features, and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below."

[source]

[l4ndry-4-44]

Ethan Landry x fem reader

Warning: Smut, n!pple play, dark Ethan, sub!reader, reader of age

"Can you two stop arguing for fucks sake!?" Tara yelled, you and Ethan where arguing about which scary movie to watch, you wanted to watch 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' but he wanted to watch 'Stab 5'.

God did you hate Ethan. He was always fucking with you, or arguing with you over something small and stupid.

"It doesn't matter, we're watching 'My bloody Valentine' anyway" Tara scoffs and walks away. You and Ethan look at each other "I still think Texas chainsaw is better than the stab franchise" you tease. He rolls his eyes and goes to sit on the couch, leaving one spot left.

Next to him.

He definitely did this on purpose. God did you turn him on, especially when you were mad. That's why he likes pissing you off.

He wanted to make you change your mind about him and he knew the exact way to do it too. You sit at the only spot left, trying to space away from Ethan the most you can.

He didn't like that. He pulled you next to him by your waist. You looked up at him but he was looking at the movie acting like nothing happened.

He moves his hand from your waist to your thigh. Your pussy beings to ache for his touch, his veiny cold hands made you gush in your panties.

He feels his dick running out of room in his underwear. You grabbed a blanket and put it over you guys. He looked down at you and smirked. You move your hand to massage his aching cock over his pants. "I need you so bad" you whisper in his ear. You slowly pull your pants and panties down to your knee.

Ethan starts to rub your puffy clit. He brings his face to your ear, "that wet for me for me, i see?" he whispered, kissing behind your ear and down your neck. You jolt when he shoved two fingers inside you.

"You good?" chad asks

"Y-yea just got s-scared" you stuttered as ethan was going faster and fast, curling his fingers, hitting a bundle of nerves. You bit your lips hard not trying to scream, gripping onto ethan's forearm. Chad gave Ethan a thumbs up, he wasn't stupid. "Ima use the bathroom" Ethan says, grabbing your hand and pulling you into the bathroom fast.

"Can you a good girl and be quiet baby?" he asks, dropping his pants. You nodded and took off all you clothes. He pulls you onto the counter and kisses you, roughly. He kisses your neck leaving dark red marks behind him. He gets your boobs, he grabs ones and licks around your puffy sensitive nipple. You gasp and grip onto his hair.

He swirls his tongue around your nipple, then he lightly sucks on it. He moves to the next one but this one he sucked on it so hard he made your pink puffy nipple turn purple. "Mm" you moan quietly.

He bites on it lightly, you whimper. He pushes you against the wall. Your wet nipples getting harder, touching the cold wall. He shoves your soaked panties in you mouth, stretching you with his big thick cock.

"Mhm" you moaned but what sounded muffled. he grabbed a handful of your hair and pulled onto to. "You like this don't you? Being fucked like i hate your guts?" he grunts while thrusting into you harder and harder, not giving you enough time to adjust to his size. Tears spilling down your face from pain and pleasure.

He grips your hips, thrusting deeper. He been waiting to fuck you hard for ages, but you guys were to busy arguing to realize the sexual tension between you. But there have been some times where you guys new you had lust for each other. Holding in your moans and listening to him grunt made you come to your climax. The knot in your stomach had become tighter and you were close.

Ethan felt your walls tighten around his 12inch cock that was somehow all inside you. "Mm fuck" he moaned quietly while throwing his head back. You were so so close to cumming. "Hey can you hurry up Lee? i need to pee." tara says thinking it just you in there. "Uh-uhm yea give me a minute."

You and Ethan sighed and got dressed. "Don't worry next time, you can cum all over my cock." he says kissing your forehead and walking out quietly. you walked out and sat next to tara this time, smiling at Ethan before sitting.

[punkeropercyjackson]

Reasons why Kataang is a good ship

Poc4Poc m/f with the girl being darker,which combats the colorist idea that dark skin=masculine/male

The boy in it is a soft ray of sunshine who's a pacifist by virtue of being a buddhist and femme with his gf never making fun of him for it and instead finding it attractive

And the girl is feminine but not in a sanitized way and actively works to reclaim for herself against misogyny and is super strong-willed,assertive,snarky and a punk with her bf finding that attractive

Adultified kid x Kid who acts extra silly to cope with trauma and helps them feel like their age too by getting them to join them

Really cute canon aesthetic(blue x orange/'Excuse me,he asked for veggie burger!'energy with their height difference/Aang's shaved head for poc reasons and Katara's long fancy hair for her own heritage)and an equally cute one in mondern aus(Pastel punk x Regular punk)

They LITERALLY do activism together as like half their dynamic

Katara isn't forced to like Aang back and he lets her go at her own pace

And when he does mess up,it's shown for what it is and he feels bad and grows from it

Aang was Katara's hope for a better world for her people♡

Their feelings get pointed out sometimes but by people who it makes sense to know it instead of based of amatonormativity

Their daughter is the franchise's first canon lesbian and it's also canon that they instantly loved and supported her when she came out to them so KATAANG SAYS GAY RIGHTS BABEY

A fandom thing but wether you ship Kataang as your only canon couple or love all of them,there's plenty of content for both!!Maiko with a side of Kataang?Decades worth of content!You feeling like some Kataang with your Zukka?There's a high chance you'll get not only that but t4t Kataang specifically too!!And we're a rare breed but Ty Luko and Kataang in the same verse is a really fun concept that i'll be happy to talk about if asked!

And another fandom thing is that bloggers who call out gross people and have a firm grasp on the show while still not treating it as perfect and giving it rightful critisism and make the especially cute,funny and/or culturally accurate content are almost always Kataang shippers!!Seriously,they're a big reason i love the ship so much,K/A stans are genuinely one of the best kinds of people i've ever had the pleasure of meeting

You're more than welcome to add on!

[miss-oranje-disco-dancer]

i say this all in the nicest way possible, but act your age, not your shoe size.

first off, don't like, don't read. It should be that simple, but for all y'all who can't get that, i'll explain: there is a feature on tumblr where you can block tags AND CONTENT, so if there is a topic that you don't like seeing/a trigger for you, you can not only block the tag, but also block the content. i'm severely emetophobic, so i have content related to that blocked (don't wanna say the word, it's legit a trigger for me). it works wonderfully. if you do not want to see fics about dark content, there are terms you can filter. the internet is a place where people can post what they want, and you need to understand that it will not cater to you all the time. You can curate your own feed so that you can cater to your own needs, but everyone else is not required to change their content to suit your fancy.

in regards to leon and RE specifically, i hate being the "you have to know the lore to read/write" person but (and btw watching playthroughs counts if you cannot afford the games bc things are expensive, and i get that) if you have not made an effort to play or watch anything from the series, i don't know why you feel like you have any knowledge of 1. resident evil and 2. leon kennedy. he is not your "pookie bear", "lil innocent sweet cutie" (you can write him like that and I am not going to stop you! it's okay to write OOC). he goes through traumatic events in this horror series and is a suicidal alcoholic. he would probably not be a perfect father who brings home flowers everyday after work. ALSO HE IS NOT REAL. HE IS FICTIONAL AND HE DOES NOT HAVE REAL BEHAVIORS AND FEELINGS. "he would never do that". yeah, he wouldn't because HE DOESN'T FUCKING EXIST. it applies to all "versions of leon" that you wanna make up in your head. it's fictional. we're all talking about fake people. get a grip.

most of us on this site are adults. if you are an adult, you can consume and produce dark fics. if you don't want to, then you don't have to. here's a parallel: i really like the book american psycho and they sell it at barnes and noble where you or i could buy a copy, but neither i, nor the barnes and noble employee will force you to read it. it's the same thing here.

if you are a minor and you are old enough to get onto the computer/your phone and type "leon kennedy x reader" then I hope you are old enough to comprehend the words "minors do not interact". in fact, you can block the "leon kennedy smut" tag because those works involve sex and are therefore 18+! I do understand, however, that not everyone will heed the warnings, regardless, i am not responsible for putting up the metaphorical baby gate, as I am not anyone's parent.

more about dark content in general: some people write it because it's therapeutic - to those of you who say "it's not a healthy coping mechanism", show me your degree in psychotherapy and then, we'll talk. others enjoy writing or consuming dark content because it's interesting. personally, i don't write dark content, but i do consume it because i find it interesting. i have never found pure fluff interesting. when i was a child, i did not enjoy disney movies. i loved ghost stories, i remember begging my parents to let me watch the corpse bride when i was 5, i used to go on r/nosleep when i was a kid, my friend and i would get her older sister to take us to the movie theater to watch horror movies when we were too young to go by ourselves. all that is to say: i find certain shit boring.

producing and consuming dark content does not mean that you are endorsing that content. capcom makes horror content. do they endorse murder, rape, incest, etc.? i highly fucking doubt it. (yes, all of those things happen or are directly implied in the resident evil franchise). capcom makes the good guys the protagonists and i think that's why it's hopefully pretty easy to understand their intentions. sometimes, people write things where the bad guys are the protagonists :0 - that doesn't mean that they are endorsing the bad actions of the characters. bret easton ellis was not supporting murder, rape, cannibalism, necrophilia, etc. when he wrote american psycho (it's a social commentary about the vapid nature of consumerism and wall street in the '80s and it's a really good book.) vladimir nabakov was not endorsing pedophilia when he wrote lolita - humbert humbert is the villain. if you can't comprehend this, then i don't know what to tell you.

here's another great example to help you: i might reblog content that includes father/daughter incest, but that does not mean that i would do that stuff with my own father. FIRST OF ALL EW, and SECOND OF ALL I AM A FUCKING LESBIAN. I WOULD NEVER HAVE SEX WITH A MAN. EVER AGAIN.

learn critical media consumption and critical thinking in general.

also, if you are telling people 'you're not a real sa victim because you write/like dark content' or 'you're doing harm to victims', YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. most people that i know who have gone through sa (including myself) have struggled to accept that what someone else did was not their fault. it's a huge step in the path to overcoming/coping with trauma to recognize your experience and know that your experience was valid. if you try to invalidate people's trauma, you are actively pushing back their recovery process (for lack of a better phrase), so don't act like you give a fuck about victims! there are conversations that we can and should have surrounding SA, but that's not the conversation you're looking to engage in. i can almost guarantee that none of you are saying that in good faith. you are using SA victims as a reason to police content and i am telling you - as an SA victim - stop it. i understand that some of you may also be victims and i'm sorry that those things happened to you, you did not deserve it (no matter what side of this issue you are on, it's an awful thing and i don't wish it on anyone). if you have not experienced it (I hope you never do), please stop saying things like "this is harmful to SA victims" because it's not your place to speak on that at all.

also, i know some people have been getting rape threats, death threats, etc. YOU CANNOT ACT LIKE YOU HOLD THE MORAL HIGH GROUND AND THEN DO SHIT LIKE THIS. aside from the "moral high ground", you should never be sending that shit to anyone. knock it off. that's harassment.

in line with that, write things that you'd want to read. if you want to read fluff or "wholesome" smut, then write it, and encourage/interact with writers who write that content. for those who are looking for attention, maybe try making content. write what you want. bringing up drama is 1. going to bring hate your way too 2. not a sustainable way to garner attention 3. hopefully not fulfilling for anyone? do something creative. have fun. stop being negative and shitty just to have some weird puritanical circle jerk.

i didn't want to talk about this because I know that half of the people who are bringing this shit up just want attention but jesus christ i'm done hearing people invalidate, name call, harass. just shut up and grow up. i'm tired of reading your dumbass posts. thank you.

tl;dr:

you cannot control what people post on the internet, but you can control what you produce/consume

people creating dark content do not endorse illegal activities

stop weaponizing SA victims (especially when victims tell you to stop) to justify your puritanical content policing

if you are seeking attention, this is a pathetic way to do so

if you want to see fluff, write it and encourage fluff writers to write more

stop harassing others. period.

the world does not revolve around you

<3 i mean this all in the kindest way. i'm just annoyed and hopefully you can understand my reasoning. i don't endorse hate to anyone on any side of this. this shit just makes me want to leave the internet tbh. or like, write for a different fandom idk.

[blueskittlesart]

I know live action Zelda is gonna suck but what would be your opinion on one like the new Mario movie that recently came out? I feel like something like that would do the game more justice than actual people having to play the different characters

i assume you mean the medium of animation vs live action? i think that 3d animation would probably have a better chance of doing the games justice than live action, yes, especially irt a mute character like link--it's much easier to rely on expression and body language to tell a story when you have complete control over the rigging of a character and aren't relying on an actor's personal choices. I also think it would have removed the recognizability paradox i was talking about earlier with link--the second he's recognizable as an actor, he ceases to be link, the silent protagonist, the universal self-insert. i think the worldbuilding, creatures, and setting of loz would also be significantly more likely to be consistent with the characters and not out-of-place if the full thing was animated instead of cgi vfx on top of live action actors, as we will likely be seeing with this live action movie.

that said, i think the fact that we're getting a live action movie instead of an animated one MAY be indicative of an attempt to capture a real meaningful storyline with this movie. As much as this sucks, it's undeniable that animation in the US is a medium that's usually reserved for children's movies or stories that are targeted at a younger audience, and thus animated features usually have less narrative depth. This was one of my personal problems with the mario movie--the story felt like a complete afterthought imo, with the priority clearly having been grand visuals and funny quips that would have made the movie attractive to a younger audience. basically, it was written like a low-substance kid's movie. This is something you can get away with with a franchise like mario, which is usually low-story or storyless and relies on visuals and gameplay. Zelda, on the other hand, is a narrative-based rpg. Its stories are (usually) very thoughtfully constructed, thematically cohesive, and quite frankly have a lot more depth and substance than you're going to get from your average animated feature in this day and age, especially if the company producing that feature is illumination. (note: this is not to say that all modern animation is for kids or lacks depth, but that's the PERCEPTION of animation among the general public these days, especially american 3d animation.) so i think that the fact that it's live action might at least indicate an ATTEMPT to capture some of the narrative depth that the games possess rather than defaulting to a mario-movie-style barrage of visuals loosely tied together by only vaguely coherent plot points.

truly, i think the ideal medium for a zelda film would have been 2d animation, a medium which addresses both the actor-recognizability and consistency problems inherent in a live action film AND the potential narrative disconnects inherent in a 3d animated one (both japanese and american 2d animation has a rich history of delivering deep, dark, impactful narratives suitable for children and adults alike.) unfortunately, since they insist on producing these movies in america, where 2d animation has been all but killed artificially by the moneymaking machines that run our creative market, it was probably never going to happen that way. like i said, i think both live action and 3d animation have some potential problems inherent to them, but i guess all we can do now is wait and see what we end up with. lol

[istherewifiinhell]

okay. heres what were all here for. tell me why the fuck im supposed to suck the dick of these uk comics

[ID: A man holding up an aged looking paper, with a medieval style drawing of a giant metal fire breathing man. He leans forward serious asking his son "... Did it look like this?" END]

marveltf story line, MAN OF IRON, 9-12 in the UK, or.... 33-34 in the us. alright lol do whatever i guess. first published in 1985

new vibe same procedure: Script: Steve Parkouse art: John Ridgeway (9-10) Mike Collins (11-12) Colours: Joise Fermin (9-10) Gina Hart (11-12) Nel Yomtov (US)* Letters: Richard Starkings Editor: Sheila Cranna and these caps are from the UK classics idw book so: Original Series Edits by Shelia Cranna and Ian Rimmer, editorial notes and assistance by James Roberts, Collection Edits by Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon, Collection Design by Shawn Lee (<- hey i know his work from turtles!)

*so the uk comics were part in colour and part B&W, to save costs... including the american reissues? printing costs i guess. but when reprinted in collected books, they would get the full colour treatment. whats not clear to me is WHO did those colours, its not listed anywhere i can find. ill simply have to assume its the same artists... and hope im not discrediting anyone....

AND ALSO the last page in this reprint apparently uses the US comic page, and i have a cap of that last page, so. Yomtov's in here too..... tf franchise the way u treat ur sacred texts breaks my turtles fan heart.

and lastly! the keen eyed may notice, we are back to toy accurate art, the character model designs haven't and wont make their way over until much later, I'm told.

well with all that perfectly convoluted business out of the way, lets explore what tfs is like across the pond.

[ID: The same man, Roy, driving as he thinks to himself "What kind of bozo would want to bomb the castle? The Saxon Liberation Front? The mind boggles…" END]

[spluttering laugh] so the humours a little different!

[ID: The boy, Sammy, climbing a tree, hand outstretched reaching for the arrow he lost. Standing, with his in the canopy is Jazz. Sammy yells in fear. END]

OKAY. so the vibes are little different

[ID: Caption Box: And the apparition was fearful, being a Man of Iron of great height and girth, seeming unheedful of quarrel, spear or sword…" The robot from the illustration, clearly transformer, but blockier, more retro scifi, standing in the middle of a medieval battle, men with chain-mail and swords looking at him with trepidation. Caption Box: The Man of Iron forded the stream at Eldric's Cross, making great strides for the abbey… and some brave souls followed, though none dared come too close…" Two of the fighters shown following him, a body shot with an arrow lays at the other side of the river. END]

damn okay. so the vibes are ALOT DIFFERENT

(no 10) sammy dreams

[ID: Sammy stands on a house rooftop, in his PJ's, looking down at the cobble street, where a seeker in alt mode rests. END]

[ID: Dark and moody art, a barely seen figure towers in the shadows over the residential houses. From a higher angle, its shown to be Mirage, he stands taking up the entire street, backlit and casting shadows. END]

WHAT THE FUCK. that is terrifying

(something about beautiful black inked art + toy model makes them so CREATURE)

[ID: Roy speaks to a man in army uniform. Roy: How large? Soldier: Well… ahh…at a rough estimate? About the size of an ocean-going liner. Roy: Whaat? Roy with a hand to his head in dismay: Well, for god's sake what is it? Solider: We don't know. I've called in extra men and we're going to excavate… END]

somethings! buried under the castle... gee well one wonders what it might be

[ID: Close on Jazz's alt mode dashboard, its filled with lights and screen of alien language. Hes saying: But I'm not a stranger, Sammy. Deep down, you know… don't you? You've been wanting an adventure all your life… Besides. I have something to tell you. Sammy looking doubtful. Jazz continues: Something really important. Sammy has a hand on Jazz's open door: Why not just sit for a while in the front seat? Just pretend you're driving… END]

JAZZ THATS KIDNAPPING BUD....

really get a kick outta this note in the printed version

[ID: REMEMBER: NEVER ACCEPT LIFTS FROM STRANGERS! TO BE CONTINUED! END]

(no 11)

[ID: Jazz speaks to Sammy on the road, a blue and white F1 car pulling up. "My name is unpronounceable in your language… so just call me Jazz! And that's Mirage right behind us!" Jazz takes a exit to a low road, a black camper truck driving alongside. "This is where we rendezvous with Trailbreaker. All set Sammy?" All three driving along, Sammy responds "Sure thing Jazz!" END]

[guitar riff] THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN. im so glad all my good friends are here.

[ID: An fiery explosion engulfing Trailbreaker with a "Whaamf!". Wheels coming off, glass shattering, the truck top blowing to bits. Trailbreaker veering off road, a trail of fire and parts behind him calls out "Jazz! I'm hit... I'm hit BAD! END]

TRAILBREAKER NOOOO. who could have seen this coming...

[ID: Jazz narrowing swerving a missile. Exploding behind him, and speedlines trail him, and a wreath in flame around him. The colours are almost delicate, and a reflective glow in his paint. END]

wha. this just looks so cool.... what the hell....

[ID: Bluesteak, smiling speaking to comms "Autobot Bluestreak to patrol leader +++ Just brushed something off your tail, Jazz+++ try to be more careful in future, hmmm? Bluestreak out+" END]

being a cunt in the work slack. king

[ID: Jazz in profile, lit under the starry night sky, soft line-less colours defining the planes of his head in blue greys, and pitch black. To Sammy he says "Not really. It's a shuttlecraft… now stand back…" To comms "Autobot Jazz To Autobot leader+++ Approaching shuttle with Surveillance Subject+++ Request permission to board+++" END]

Wuh. Huh. Jazz u look so fucking cool right now?? And handsome.....

okay whats going on back at the castle (no 12)

[ID: The army soldier half sitting on a desk, holding a phone to his ear, the rotary cradle held resting on his leg. He's saying "IT's not just a question of scale, sir. We simply cannot identify it. END]

whys he kinda... apparently this style of uniform is called temperate barrack dress?? that answers none of my questions im just kinda... whyd u draw him like that tho...

[ID: A seeker, drawn in blues, walking between the ruins of the castle. Off panel someone says "It just seemed to appear from nowhere!" END]

bigfooting it up... AT A CASTLE. oh lads. im done for [blah blah he telePORTS and thats skywarps power but hes blue so WHO is it. dont worry abt it man. dont matter. they apparently change in the various times its been coloured, which is objectively funny imho. keep em guessing]

[ID: Moody and still illustrations of a robot identical to the Man of Iron in stasis, plugged into a bed of sorts. The ship around him is dark but for strips of coloured computer like lights in the walls and floor. Caption boxes narrate: Deep beneath the Autobots feet, in a sealed chamber, a special Autobot lay waiting… He was navigator, warrior and guardian of Autobot destiny… In his long, slow, machine world, a million years were as fleeting seconds. Human history had passed over him. Small inter panels. Mid on the Guardian: Locked in his dormant brain was the location of the planet Cybertron. He waited only to be re-activated, re-integrated with his mission… Restored to life. Close on the Guardian: His attendant was no more, the link between them severed. Laying in profile, just barely defined in the pitch black: Alone in the darkness he patiently beamed his signal. The same pattern of impulses… Waiting. END]

What the actual fuck (its even more somberly dramatic than just that)

[ID: Sammy, from a distance, staring at the castle. Caption Box: Autumn came, leaves fell. Sammy was a year older and a year wiser. He never saw Jazz again… Sammy asleep in bed, moonlight pouring through his paneled window. "But on clear, sharp nights, when stars glittered like needles and the night winds rattled his window… Then he slept a fitful, fearful sleep…" Sammy sleeping, with his dreams projected above him. "And the Man of Iron walked once more through his dreams." The End]

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

um well. okay! thats. fucking crazy. and this is the only tf comic this dude ever did. okay... can u tell he was from the dr who comics...... it ALSO means this doesnt actually speak at all for what the rest of tfuk will be like. which is damn funny. LIKE WOW! THAT WAS CRAZY. anyways.

[leam1983]

Monster Factory

Started putzing around with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and what really frustrates me isn't the lack of deep RPG mechanics or even the weaker writing, but rather the character customization.

Now, I'm not a spiritual McElroy brother, I don't like to push my char-gen escapades too far, but I also like to create characters that have a life story writ large across their features. We're talking scars, imperfections, no real standard "beautiful" features - and the general sense that they belong in the sort of Dark Fantasy setting Dragon Age tries to foster, as a franchise. That means a modicum of deliberate ugliness is mandatory.

I could get that with careful slider-wrangling in previous entries, especially Dragon Age 1 and 2, but BioWare admittedly was a lot less focused on letting me create the kind of war-scarred warrior I had in mind than, say, Bethesda's offerings. Say what you will about the house Morrowind built and Skyrim sold to everyone and their mother, you can reliably build fugly dudes in everything between Oblivion and Starfield. Not so with BioWare titles. Starting with Inquisition, especially, everyone had to be airbrushed, polished and conventionally beautiful, safe for the errant scar.

And that, well... It takes me out of Thedas entirely. I'm not going to shake my fists at the airbrushed Qunari that made the Internet devolve into screaming fits - user-generated characters can pack a lot more gruffness and burr than what BioWare showcased - but I always had issues with the character designs for everyone between Morrigan (You're telling me the Witch of the Wilds manages to have a perfect complexion while spending most of her time outside of Thedas' main settlements?!) to Solas (I get it, the dude's an Elf and prospectively the last immortal Elf alive up until we learned about his true identity as the Dreadwolf, but you'd figure his struggles would've left a mark, right?) and even Varric, the poster boy for the franchise as a whole. Oh, sure, he's progressively aged up, but always in that weird sense that makes you think Thedas' dwarves actually know a thing or two about peeling and microblading...

And well, all of this to circle back to my first attempt at designing my Rook, which looks like a nice, clean, sterile nothing-burger packing a sword. Call me crazy, but I can't buy into the world-ending stakes that see us having to track down and kill two insane Elven gods let loose outside of the Fade if everyone involved looks like they just stepped out of a Maxim photoshoot! Oh, sure, there's plenty of body types, pronoun selections, cosmetic options for vitiligo sufferers - but despite it all, everyone is inescapably pretty.

As for the leading moroseness surrounding the game with us old-timers, or the sense that this isn't the BioWare I grew up with - well, yeah. Zeschuk and Watamaniuk left ages ago, so has Drew Karpyshyn; the design staff isn't the same - I could go on. The focus is different, as Veilguard is clearly an Action Game with RPG elements, as opposed to the first few games' more overt RPG leanings. Hearing a staff member at Larian Studios claim that this is the first Dragon Age entry that knows what it wants leaves me blinking bemusedly. Haven't they played the first entry in the series, or noticed how closely it sticks to the game design tropes Baldur's Gate III successfully iterated on?

The end result is I'm not offended, I'm not going to put up a screed that declares that BioWare is dead - but it's definitely changed.

[brightlotusmoon]

Hey there, big fan of you and your fanfiction and I just need to get this out and “vent” about this to someone, and I feel like you may be the only one to understand and validate this opinion lol.

In the tmnt 2003 series it just ANNOYS ME so much on an unreal level how Mikey gets treated by the show writers. One that really annoys me is just SAINW and the good genes arc. Good genes for obvious reasons, we were robbed basically of that whole thing by them changing Donnie to be mutated instead of Mikey, but I never saw anyone mention SAINW’s potential before.

I CONSTANTLY see the statement “Mikey adds nothing to the team” and its just because THEY NEVER SHOW IT!! THATS WHY!! His role is supposed to be the heart and the glue that keeps the team together. The one that brings light in their dark ass lives. They had the perfect opportunity to do this in either good genes or SAINW and they blew it. Everyone knows Donnie has a role to play, so why not let Mikey be teleported to that future instead and have him be the one out of time. It just makes so much more sense to have that, to actually SHOW people the role he plays in the team and family. He could still even be a badass in that episode if they wanted, but just let him and his audience have that moment of realization in his importance. It could have worked for Good Genes too!! I just dont get why they barely let Mikey do shit or have any angst moments when others get plenty of it. And yea I know Laird was in control of the whole thing and Don was his favorite so that obviously means angst nepotism but still. Its just frustrating to see how people wont look at the bigger picture to see how important he really is. Its just UGRHHHH!!! Its even worse that 2003 is most peoples goto for the franchise whenever 2003 themselves rarely did Mikey any justice!! Its like I have to resort to fanfiction instead of canon because they actually just GET IT more than the writers do. Like I feel like Im going insane on this topic to the point Im ranting to my therapist about it because of my ocd compulsions and reassurance seeking includes this shit.

Im really hoping mutant mayhem will be different since Seth Rogen’s favorite is Mikey, so hopefully he will actually do him justice; with his works being Invincible and The Boys, im having high hopes for the writing capabilities of him. Here is to hoping if that it is the case then MM becomes the status quo.

Sorry for the rant, this has been on my mind for fucking ages and I feel you might be the only other one that I can say this to lol.

Awww, you remind me a little of me back in 2016 when I started this Tumblr as a literal storage place for ideas on exploring Mikey's psychology.

We DO have to resort to fanfiction! It's actually been that way since the late 90s. Uh. I helped start it. Got diagnosed with ADHD, looked at 2003 Mikey, went "guys hear me out" later got diagnosed autistic with the help of the people who coined neurodivergence, looked at 2003 Mikey and his brothers again, went "Sure, it's all of them!" and sat on it for years before writing it here.

In that time, there cropped up some writers who just really preferred to play with his silly side more than the rest of him, especially after 2012. I think we're going to cycle around to more 03 fanfiction pointing out Mikey's unspoken skills beyond mouthy, crafty, irritating, or weird.

That reminds me, I have a chapter to write from Leo's viewpoint on that.

[broke-on-books]

☕️ + the Scooby Doo fandom in general

Hmm okay so this is a very broad question to me and that really means it's going to recieve a broad answer, especially to me as "Scooby fandom" really has differing levels in my heart etc.

For example with my friends and the smallish community of fellow Scooby fans I've found here on tumblr (the Scooby Dootuals!!!) I really love and like! Everybody is so nice and it's cool that people have various levels of knowledge about different series and iterations. Like I really enjoy that on here Scooby fans (as in, like my friends and people who regularly post scooby) have such differing levels of experience with this huge huge franchise as it makes it so much more interesting. Like we have people out there who have seen almost every episode (or feels like it) and can seemingly remember the smallest of things from them, and then we have people who weren't into Scooby as a child but are exploring it now, and then we've got people (like me) who did like it as a child and kind of know a bit of everything, with huge areas of weakness in Scooby they haven't seen, (for me APNSD, anything more than the premise of 13 Ghosts, the 80s trio minus Boo Brothers, anything past s1 of bcsd, much of the 70s era movies, SD & SD, Guess Who, SDMI details, like the list goes on, people!!! I've only seen a Scooby series in order in its entirety one time in my life and that was SDMI age like 12) while also having a few areas with greater knowledge or familiarity and a few spots where they just know a ton/are constantly rewatching. (Me with Goes Hollywood for sure) anyways I don't really remember where I was going with this but uhhh I like that my buddies and whatnot all know different amounts with many being chill or knowing a little bit of everything so we can still like each others posts and talk about Scooby with there still always being so much more to discover <3. So like basically thoughts on the besties are that besties are cool

However I know anon that by sending this you likely mean "Scooby fandom" as in people outside of this insular little bubble so let's talk about that. I think I'm reluctant to really label this group "Scooby fandom" as for ME PERSONALLY fandom really means a kind of engagement with the work beyond what most general Scooby fans do. Like what I'm trying to say is that this group of "wider Scooby fandom" liked Scooby and watched it as a child and consider themselves a fan of Scooby but they aren't rotating Scooby characters like blorbos in their mind too much. Or if they are, it's generally in the creation of like dark!Scooby aus or the live action Scooby show pitches that blow up on here every time Scooby is a topic of general coversation. I guess for me personally the line between this "Scooby fandom" and my own little bubble of people I'm chill with gets drawn based on what fans want out of Scooby. Like do they love Scooby as it is, or do they want to change the audience to create a new Scooby for themselves. Hm, I'm not really phrasing this right. What I mean is like we're all Scooby fans. If you've ever liked Scooby, at any age, however long ago, you're a Scooby fan, I'm not trying to like, gatekeep Scooby fandom or whatever. I just think that differing groups of fans have different pictures in their head of both what Scooby Doo IS and what they want from it based on their familiarity with it and how long it's been since said fan has watched Scooby.

And that's kind of wherein my frustration with "wider scooby fandom" lies. It's really in the fact that there's thousands upon thousands of these "sleeper fans" (which in my mind is really a better term for it) who awake when I or the popular culture mention Scooby, to share their opinions. And these opinions just frankly drive me up the wall. This is because when confronted with a real life Scooby fan (me) there's generally 3 things they want to talk about: 1) SDMI and how it's the greatest thing since sliced bread 2) Doesn't HBO Velma suck 3) (once they learn I like Scrappy) Scrappy hatred and copious references to his portrayal in the Gunn Movies. Plus MAYBE a bonus 4 of other miscellaneous takes that get on my nerves (stuff like Shaggy always smoking weed, Fred and Daphne splitting up together to have sex, just all sorts of things I do not for the life of me want to talk about).

So I guess my take on the wider scooby fandom is as follows: there are positives like some genuinely funny SD posts once a blue moon, or people to share things like concept art and leaks to much of the content canceled by HBO Max, but the vast vast majority of the time it kind of gets on my nerves because people always want to talk about the same few things (which I feel have been talked to death already or I highly disagree with OR BOTH) and it's just really tiring to deal with. Idk I don't think I'm going to go into it to much more here because this post isn't too coherent to begin with (I'm blaming it on like 70% of this being written before work this morning) but there's so many people out there who think so similarly about Scooby (and SO differently from how I think about it) that it feels like I'm getting talked over constantly whenever I have a discussion about Scooby with someone from this group. And that's just like not fun for me? It's just like for me, Scooby Doo is my number one thing. Like I'll be in different fandoms concurrently or whatever and I don't really read fic for scooby but I will for other stuff etc. But like scooby is always there for me like MY MAIN turned into a scooby doo blog like honestly while that's just not the case for some other people. It's very much a difference in the value and time put into the franchise, (which like you can just like things casually that's not a bad thing) it's just that it's frustrating for me talking to sleeper fans about Scooby because I get trapped (literally, like irl) in the exact same conversation that I don't even want to be having(!!!!!) pretty much all the time.

[chavisory]

I've been curious and a little surprised to find that a large part of my reaction to the announcements of both the upcoming X-Files novel, and the possibility of another new series, is grief, which is such a difference from how I felt at the announcement of the revival back in 2015/2016, when it was just almost too good to believe that we were really going to be seeing new X-Files episodes, and I've been tracking down, a little bit, why I think it is.

Something it's thrown into relief is just how much of what I miss about the X-Files in the old days is its sense of granularity. Of feeling in the dark, of autumn light, fallen leaves, newspaper clippings, microfiche machines, and small town diners. The Lone Gunmen's lair packed with aging metal shelves and arcane media and recording equipment and dust in the air. And the grander, more expansive, more epic the story of Mulder and Scully's pursuit of the Syndicate becomes, the more it loses that to improbable shootouts and high-speed chases and why, in what I feel were the revival's finer moments, it returned to that sense of isolation and opacity.

And I'm not against there being more X-Files... I still experience these moments, like cravings for a favorite food from a particular restaurant that's both 1500 miles away and also closed 25 years ago, when all I want is for there to be more X-Files episodes than there are. And not that I think we're in danger of winding up with 30 X-Files movies, but while I am very, very wary of the X-Files turning into a franchise like the MCU, where eventually there's just no entry point and the time and amount of attention required to even halfway understand what is going on is just insupportable for an average fan...

I'd almost be more interested in seeing a prequel/companion series, starting from a different set of characters' entry points or perspectives (Arthur Dales working on the X-Files in the 50's, say) and bringing us back up to the present...kind of like what Philip Pullman is doing with the Book of Dust trilogy...that might recapture some of that feeling of being at the beginning of something unfamiliar. Rather than everything just having to get bigger and shinier forever...

[8bitsupervillain]

End of the Year 2023: Pre-2023 Good Games

Now we're talking, it's time for good games. As with previous years I decided on separate lists to talk about games that came out before 2023 and those that came out during the year itself. I agonized over this list. Hope you enjoy it

10: Diablo III

In the meh games list I mentioned that I'm not a fan of Diablo III. In fact for the longest time I was fairly cold on this game and really disliked it. There's something to Diablo III however, every few months since finishing the Reaper of Souls expansion way back in 2014 that kept the game popping up in my mind. You should play it again, it would say. Roll a new character, it's probably better than you remember. Then I would inevitably try it again, play a few hours and then just sort of peter off it. Perhaps it's simply because of the sheer ineptitude of Immortal, and my complete and utter lack of caring for Diablo 4 that made my most recent playing Diablo III feel so much more fun. I think enough time has passed that I can freely admit to enjoying this game for the most part. I just never go out of my way to play it, but it'll probably happen again that I'll be doing whatever and the urge to play it will occur

09: Doom 3

It's something of the black sheep of the Doom franchise, but I recall quite enjoying the games when I played them spur of the moment this year. A lot of people bemoan the fact that they just made Doom 3 a horror game, but I'm not so sure I agree with that assessment. Sure it has spooky lighting, and impenetrable darkness, but you're never really put into a less empowered state compared to the original Dooms. You're never starved for ammo, and except for the odd jumpscare there's never anything really scary that happens in the game. More so in the Resurrection of Evil expansion, where they give you the super shotgun. It's slower, and more methodical than the other Doom games, but I really don't feel it's any lesser as a result. It's truly unfortunate there's no way to really get the original versions of Doom 3 an Resurrection of Evil outside of looking in nefarious places, because I played the BFG Edition as well as the original Doom 3 and it made me feel physically ill. The originals are surprisingly forward thinking made games because it's wild to me a game from 2004 has support for a 1080p resolution.

08: Higanbana no Saku Yoru Ni (The Unforgiving Flowers Blossom in the Dead of Night)

A delightful horror themed visual novel that I freely admit I never would have ever heard of if not for Umineko. It's more of a straightforward horror tale than a Umineko because this is about the local ghosts and monsters that haunt a school. I haven't finished the second of the two games, but I did quite like the stories in The First Night. Well worth checking out if you want to see some of Ryukishi07's lesser known works.

07: The Witcher II

A lot more competently put together than the original Witcher. It's also much more action focused compared to the original. I kind of miss the different fighting stances that were in the first Witcher game, but I can understand that the series needs to undergo some streamlining as they become a more cross-platform series. It's a fine story as well, where it seems to be pulling from more contemporary fantasy stories of the time like your Game of Thrones with all of its fantasy political intrigue. But it also includes troll fart jokes, so it still remembers some of its origins as well. One of the only things I didn't really like in this game was the inclusion of the odd Quick Time Event. There's not a particular lot of them, but they just felt weirdly out of place.

06: Dragon Age II

I think it handled the transition from traditional CRPG to a more action focused one rather well honestly. It's not the deepest combat in the world, but I never really had any particular complaint with how it was implemented. I liked the time skips in the story as well, jumping to more important parts of Hawkes' life rather than meander and get bogged down in the weeds of showing their entire time in Kirkwall. A fine enough story, even though its attempts to make the final endgame events bigger than previous plot points just fall flat on its face. It was fun seeing the fantasy RPG equivalent to a Like a Dragon game.

05: Might and Magic X: Legacy

I don't know a thing about the Might and Magic series. I know one of the strategy spinoffs is regarded as the absolute pinnacle of the genre, but as far as the mainline ones go I know nothing. That being said however I did quite like the first person dungeon crawling and combat here in MMX. It's nothing groundbreaking, and I doubt it was anything particuarly special when it came out nearly a decade ago in 2014. I appreciate that the game is more than willing to let you screw up making your party and going in with a "suboptimal" team. Rather than hold your hand and tell you which classes to bring or how to level them. I wish Ubisoft would let some developers make another one of these because I enjoy these lower budget RPGs that aren't these massive open world fiascos. Also you could make bank by upsetting the crowd who cries about ruining beloved franchises by making new entries in older series. But really I just greatly enjoy this type of RPG, and I would love to see more of them. I don't know if it will save Ubisoft from their impending implosion, but I would love to see them take chances on this type of game again rather than see them put out another big open world game that takes a hundred hours to finish.

04: Bravely Default II

With series like the Bravely Default series I usually try to play the games in release order. I know developers go to great pains to make it so you can follow a narrative for a game without having played every single entry prior to it. Regardless I try to play the first entries first. Sometimes this is a double edged sword because who's got time to play the eight or so entries before you play Ys VIII? Other times you got two entries, Bravely Default and Bravely Second. But here's the thing, while I played Bravely D 1 way back on the 3DS I know I never actually finished it, and I never touched Bravely Second. But towards the end of December 2022 I decided what the hey, I'll play Bravely Default 2 and just try to figure it out from there. This game was an utter delight to play, something about the turn based combat, good story, and charming visuals just combined to make this game a real treat for me. Even when I was going out of my way to suck the fun out of the game by grinding up the job levels I was having a heck of a good time. While I enjoy the story that's not what kept bringing me back to the game. I kept coming back to it just for the sheer enjoyment of playing the actual game. A novel concept! Bravely Default II was just an immensely enjoyable game and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy turn-based RPGs.

03: Potato Flowers in Full Bloom

This is as late an entry as one could possibly get. I went into this completely blind and I came away absolutely stunned. This is a great turn-based dungeon crawler RPG that I cannot recommend highly enough. It's clearly done by people who have a great love for the DRPGs but it isn't so bogged down with the ideas of what a "hardcore" DRPG should be that it loses itself in the fine details. Rather than get super in depth with the challenge one would find in a Wizardry Potato Flowers just focuses on a superlative gameplay loop that is just extremely enjoyable to play.

02: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

It seemed like a lock way back at the start of the year. Sure Bravely Default 2 was a sheer delight, but it couldn't match Deadfire. The combat, the look, the storyline, everthing was just such a marked improvement over the basic perfection I felt playing Pillars of Eternity 1.

01: Umineko: When the Seagulls Cry

But something came along in May that just swept the legs out from under it. There has not been an experience that has just taken up permanent residence in my head since finishing it. I went into Umineko knowing basically nothing, and by the time I finished it my mind just kept going over it again and again thinking about the characters, and the story, just replaying and rethinking events over and over again. Just a masterfully crafted narrative, and a killer soundtrack to boot.

01: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

But the thing about games is that there's more to them than just the story, the gameplay also matters. The short of it is that Pillars of Eternity II quite handily beats Umineko on the gameplay front. Plus, I really don't want to downplay the story of PIllars II because it stands strongly in my memory as one of the most superbly written stories I have ever experienced in any RPG, much less games in general.

01: Umineko: When They Cry

But the story contained within the one hundred and twenty hours worth of Umineko is without hyperbole some of the best written I have had the pleasure to experience. Just some of the most astonishingly well-written character I have ever seen in any medium. Such dedication to the crafting of some of the most vile duplicitous bastards you have ever seen, it's staggering.

01: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

The storyline in Deadfire takes the already major stakes from Pillars of Eternity I and manages to raise them even higher without making it seem like it's going to ridiculous lengths. The many characters you meet in this game are some of the strongest and best written I have seen in an extraordinarily long time. It's such a wonderful balancing act that you have such a range of characters who have their own plots and schemes that can affect the world but they all gel really well together. Even the overtly optimistic characters are played in a very realistic way where it doesn't come across as the game trying to pander with naive cheerful characters.

Umineko no Naku Koro Ni

I find it incredible that a series of such gargantuan length was able to maintain and hold my interest for the majority of its length. There were a couple of times early on where I felt my interest waning a bit, but everytime it was able to draw me back in and just revitalize my enjoyment. I am also immensely surprised at just how strongly it has remained lodged in my memory since finishing it. I feel reasonably confident if pressed I could give a summation of the entire VN just going off of memory and lose very little in the retelling.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

As with the original Pillars the sequel does an amazing job integrating the DLC expansions quite seamlessly into the main narrative. There were times that I would embark on what I thought was a simple sidequest but was actualy a large add-on that was just as well crafted as the stuff in the main game. It was a very nice and greatly appreciated attention to detail.

02: Umineko no Naku Koro Ni

I adore this game, I will sing its praises even while carrying the small issues I have with the production. It is such a genuinely great piece of work that I worry that I might be overselling how good it is. But I genuinely feel that it is certainly worth all the praise the visual novel has accrued since its release.

01: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

However, games are more than just their story. It comes down to gameplay as well as the story that determines what I think the best of the year (pre-2023) truly is. And that's Pillars of Eternity II. I went in to this game with very high expectations, and I was truly surprised at how masterfully the game had met every single one of them. Despite some minor character and story wobbles I adore everything Pillars II set out to do. I highly, highly recommend this game to anyone who has even a passing interest in CRPGs.

What do you think everyone?

But in my heart I know the award goes to Umineko.

[the-eyes-of-andyserkis]

"Bringin' Home the Rain" Chapter 5 progress update + some WIPs, why not!

Klaue

"Bringin' Home the Rain" - Chapter 5 - Foundations

It's definitely still a ways off from being finished, but progress is being made! I'm happy to say that it's pretty much all on the page, so to speak, and is also already just over 6k as a rough draft with plenty of filling out to be done, so it will easily be the longest chapter. And it's pretty well, uhh, all smut. 🥴

At any rate, there's no set date for this yet but at least I can really get going with the "macro" edit!

"Salvation is a Deep Dark Well" - Part two of the BHTR series

We're definitely not done after chapter five! I realized pretty early on after starting to rework this that Klaue and Reader were going to keep at it (😉), but rather than add more chapters to what is now "part one", it felt like it made more sense to create a separate fic since there will likely be a small time jump, and it'll be spread over a longer period of time as they continue to get up to ✨️shenanigans✨️.

"Find Me in the Air" - Part three of the BHTR series

I'm planning on this essentially being a sort of extended epilogue (and I do basically know how this will end). While it's still rough at this point, it will definitely be at least three parts/chapters, like a series of one shots over an even longer period of time before I wrap things up.

"Hiding From the Sun" - sub!Klaue one-shot

Self explanatory. 😉 *raises eyebrows aggressively* Also, shout out to The Next Big Franchise discord for, uh, awakening something in me/us. 😈

Alfred Pennyworth

As yet untitled Alfred x F Reader series

Set in "The Batman" universe

This one keeps changing it's damn shape on me, and the title continues to elude me, but I think I've settled on a sort of "established relationship" series. Maybe. 😂 Either way, I'm not going to settle on a specific number of chapters at this point, as I feel like this may be more open-ended. Listen, I have thots and they need to go somewhere, so I'll figure it out eventually!

"Lotus" - Yoga Instructor AU Alfred x F Reader one-shot

Inspired by the lovely @tarabyte3's AU PT!Kino idea! ❤️ Also by going to my first class in ages and after internally debating for about two seconds which Andy blorbo would make a good yoga instructor before immediately realizing that Alfred would be perfect.

Alfred started exploring yoga to help with his injury and enjoyed and appreciated it so much that he started teaching. You're taken aback by the handsome, and older, new instructor who's very much outside of the usual demographic, and when he starts offering private sessions you nervously sign up.

This will be either one or two parts, we'll see how it shakes out!

"Fealty" (working title) - Arthurian Legend inspired AU Alfred x F OC series

I just got inspiration for this one yesterday! Plot twist: Alfred is the Lord/King and OC is a Knight (so is Bruce, of course), and in this universe both women and men are Knights. I'm lightly planning for this to be three to five chapters at this point, but again this is very new and liable to change. Mutual pining, forbidden love, slow burn, all that good stuff.

I'm making a list of some books and movies for research, and if anyone has recommendations for some universe-building inspiration, I'm open to suggestions!

Damn, five months ago I had no idea I'd actually be almost finished my first fic in years (and first multi-chapter fic, period), let alone have a list of WIPs/ideas! Thank you to everyone who has commented and encouraged me thus far, it's means more than you know. 🥰

Header by me | Divider by @saradika.

[haljathefangirlcat]

Tagged by @elphqueine. Thanks for the tag!!

Tag nine people you'd like to know better.

Last song: Lord of Nothing from Dragonlance: The Last Trial. Not really into Dragonlance as a franchise, but this self-contained, vaguely horny Russian musical? *chef's kiss*

Currently watching: Silo and Foundation. I know literally nothing about the book series either is adapted from but one is good dystopian "the authorities are keeping us in the dark about some terrible secret" fun and the other has a fucked up Empire that looks mighty and prosperous at a glance but is actually about to face its decadence and fall... also because all the emperors are clones of the very first emperor who died ages ago and that's, huh, probably not going to work out well in the long run.

Currently reading: L'Oro Fatale: Miti e Leggende del Nord by Mary Tibaldi Chiesa. In English, the title would be something like The Fatal Gold: Myths and Legends of the North. Your usual "these are the gods and their myths, these are all the other supernatural beings running around, and these are the heroes and their legends but really we're just doing (part of) the Volsungs (plus Helgi and Sigrun)" introduction to Norse mythology, written by an author who took to writing as a refuge from and shield against the many tragedies in her life and living under the Fascist dictatorship. Some weird stuff in places, but overall, a lovely read with some very, very pretty passages.

Current obsession: Sky High (2005). Yes, the Disney movie about the school for superheroes and sidekicks that some people thought was in favor of eugenics despite the movie itself spelling out "hey, saying that some people are superior and some are inferior because they were or weren't born with certain innate qualities is actually pretty terrible and will only end up harming everyone!" every chance it got. I rewatched it some time ago, went "man, I haven't read fic for this in such a long time... let's fix that!", and finally ended up writing fic for it myself. Shut up, as far as kids' movies go, I still maintain it's great. And that it deserved a sequel or two, or even that tv series they apparently wanted to do back in the day.

Tagging @maddenedbythesstars @janiedean @octopuscato @galarix @hetamyuist @emozionidinchiostro @ziskandra @vardaaa @sunburntworm

[sapphire-weapon]

I remember you saying you disliked ID and particularly how Leon was written. While I'm far less familiar with RE compared to you, I thought I'd ask for you to elaborate and go more in depth as to why you thought Leon specifically was poorly portrayed. I actually enjoyed ID and him. Was it a masterpiece? Well, no. It's a video game CGI film. I first came away thinking it was pretty bad, but I learned to enjoy it for what it was.

I found most characters pretty straight forward about who they are what they wanted to do. Claire needed a LOT more screentime, they fucked her up via laziness imo. Leon was fine. He was very cringe inducing (shudders on behalf of Shen May), but I thought it was a good insight to the chokehold that his duty has on him. How he struggles with making the most ethical choices, guilt and how it impacts his relationships with other people. Did ID do this particularly well? Not exactly, but I looked for it and found it.

I HARD agree that Death Island tops it all though. It had a solid story, a great villain, gave Jill a phenomenal comeback (cough, minus the sexist anti-aging bullshit that all RE women are forced to face), we saw Leon getting his shit wrecked (which I personally found funny as hell) and it was actually FUN to watch. It stuck out to me as a film that anybody, particularly those unfamiliar with the franchise, could easily follow and piece together, which other adaptations didn't do. To me, they only felt like "hey, fans who like these characters will GET it, others won't understand the appeal", but maybe I'm wrong.

Anyways, apologies for the novel length ask, I hope you're kind enough to indulge me, lol. Wishing you a wonderful weekend. (Apologies for grammar mistakes, girl I'm high as shit and just really, really enjoy talking bs with other fans, lmfao! I'm the Mr. X anon.)

I didn't say he was poorly portrayed in Infinite Darkness. I said his voice seemed inconsistent and, as a result, gave me the impression that he was going through wild mood swings at varying points of the show.

One scene that particularly comes to mind is towards the very beginning when Jason is trauma dumping on him, like... Leon is the one who initiates that conversation seemingly out of concern/empathy/genuine curiosity, and his tone starting out is one of like "hey lil buddy what's on ur mind we need to be able to work together on shit if we're gonna survive" and then like

out of nowhere, after Jason's story is over, Leon just like

snaps

for no reason? And starts shouting about how no one gives a shit about Raccoon City?

like

where the fuck did that come from and are you off your meds because you seem a little unbalanced like you might be off your meds

shit literally just comes out of nowhere, almost completely unprovoked, and I have no idea why.

So that's why my takeaway was: I don't feel like ID knew what they wanted Leon to actually be in terms of his placement in his character arc. Is he Mr. Supportive Man of Experience Who's Seen Some Shit? Or is he just full "fuck the police" angry mode? Because putting both not just in the same scene, but in the very same conversation, is just bad dialogue writing.

Like, Leon's character wasn't the problem. There was never a point where I was like "wow, that doesn't sound like him." It all sounded like him, but it sounded like him if you took his lines from the entirety of his character arc and just picked and chose at random which ones he was going to say.

It wasn't the character writing. It was the dialogue writing. Those are two different things. The character was fine. The dialogue was shit.

Infinite Darkness really could've used a first draft.