#I've got a good soundtrack for the story though haha

[skyloftian-nutcase]

You know, if I was an artist (and had patience, bless you artists lol) I'd draw scenes for Golden Mercy because putting any of this into words is kind of a nightmare right now, but there are lots of vibes and images LOL.

[icebrooding]

A non-comprehensive first word-vomit of my thoughts abt Janthir wilds in non-chronological order:

Poky is my son and if anything happens to him I will commit Crimes of a very bad nature. I also called he and Braham would be great friends even before it got mentioned as a possibility right at the end.

I really like what they've done with the Warclaw; not only is the new skin extremely cute but I've been having so much fun w/ it's skills. Boing boing boing.

This soundtrack fucks REALLY hard??? Like holy shit??

Isgarren soft boy story reveal (but I already knew he was soft from SotO anyway but this is probably the most explicit we've had about just how soft--)

Greer is gonna have a lot of people horny for him, I can just kinda feel it? If people want to fuck the bog queen, I can imagine people also want to fuck the sexy-voiced Titan.

The 'boss segments' sure felt like boss segments, holy shit. I had no real issues on the first Greer and Decima fights but the one at the end actually caused me a lot of issues. Not sure how, but it did.

I really love the first half of the expac being this kind of 'low stakes' feeling adventure (and really FEELING like a good adventure, the way the maps are designed and their scale making exploring them SO good ouegh), and then the latter half is this slowly ramping 'oh fuck, Titans', culminating in 'oh fuck. /another/ titan.'

I somehow REALLY really appreciate the 'we cannot do this we need to retreat' stuff. I really liked the one at the end, the Commander's hesitance before calling off the pursuit. Feels like they've really learned over the years that rushing in isn't in their (or anyone's) best interest.

I genuinely always thought Sorrow was gonna be a polar bear. Did not expect a grizzly, but appreciate the subversion of my expectations. Even after her reveal I'd expected the lowland appearance to be an illusion of some kind, but nah. Girl straight up grizzly. Gotta respect.

On that note, I did have a joke going on for a few months of 'we walk into the lowland kodan lands and just find her sitting amongst them like 'oh shit'' so this was pleasant for me lmao.

Sincerely curious on how things will go between her and Isgarren after that little catfight. I don't wanna see Dagda crushed by losing her again :sadcat: She's like the kid caught between a really bad divorce--

Can Lyhr finally meet Rand again--

Can Stoic Alder be my new dad? And can he please not die I cannot bear (HAH) if anything happens to him either ; _ ;

where is zojja

Mildly upset that we're shown not to really remember Dagonet. I REMEMBER YOU, BIG BRO :crycat:

on that note did his voice get deeper

I feel like the horror of the White Mantle came across really strongly, as someone who (still, damnit) hasn't gone far in GW1, reading the notes around Syntri really painted a really gruesome and horrific image of the sentiments at the time... it was upsetting, to say the least.

Fuck? Ether towers and Jade Constructs though--

I would have appreciated any warning from my friend abt how going into the water of Syntri was like reliving my least favourite parts of Subnautica all over again.

I'm just gonna pretend we didn't talk to Anise at the end of the story LMFAO. I did not like that, honestly.

I KNOW HE WAS MENTIONED AGES BEFORE BUT ISN'T IT FUNNY HAHA IN SOME WAY THAT MABON, VOICED BY LIAM O'BRIEN, HAS AN ALIAS FUCKIN' NAMED "OBRYN"

spear aesthetic fucks even if i suck at it

Caithe getting to sit on the fireplace is iconic. queen behaviour

look, if we're (MAYBE) going to the domain of anguish (maybe isgarren can scream enough to open a portal again for us) then can we finally just bring legavo there and go ham? i'm sure it'll be fine.

more thoughts at another point when i can formulate sentences

[bigyikes97]

recommend me another depressing Korean gangster movie

>:D

Hmmm hmmm ok so if you say "another", that means you maybe already watched either "The Merciless" or "A Bittersweet Life" or perhaps both, which were the depressing Korean gangster movies I posted about most on here and both of which I very highly recommend...A Bittersweet Life is one of my favorite movies of all time, if not my top fave. In case you watched one but not the other:

A Bittersweet Life - a story about a man who catches one imperfect glimpse of beauty and throws away everything in a inevitable and helpless grasp at something he knows he can never have. I cried at the soundtrack for days after my first watch, haha.

The Merciless - a stylishly shot and perhaps more hardboiled noir about a chosen one who really meant it when he said he shouldn't be the chosen one, which falls apart in a spectacular and heartrending explosion of betrayal, confusion, and devastation. Like watching a trainwreck in slow motion.

These are most definitely my top 2 in the whole world so far, and honestly nothing else really plucks exactly those same chords with me in terms of overall excellence, but here's a few others nonetheless:

A Company Man - More of a straightforward shoot-em-up. Could be taken as either an action flick kinda sorta similar to Bittersweet Life (gangster wants out, gang won't let him go) or a harsh satire of South Korean work culture, which makes it (imho) slightly more interesting. Definitely depressing gangsters, for sure!

The Man from Nowhere - it's more of a vigilante justice/revenge thriller and a lot of people liked it, but unfortunately since it was one of the first in the genre (at least from South Korea), in my opinion it's since been done better. Or maybe I'm just chronically Kdrama-ing so I have more stringent standards, lol. The main lead's looks are to die for though if that's an aspect that appeals to you--and many folks loved it, 100% on Rotten Tomatoes!

The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil - On paper it looks amazing--a brash cop has to team up with a gangster to take down an even bigger criminal, exposing the corruption of the cops and the weird code of honor among the criminals. Usually that's my cup of tea and I came in SO ready to love this movie but...somehow didn't. I don't know why. It even had Ma Dong Seok, who's usually great! However, it got 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, so maybe you'll see something about it I missed if you watch it :)

Gangnam Blues - So, I didn't watch this one myself, but it's got Lee Min Ho and a historical-fiction take on the real-life corruption and money/power plays surrounding the creation of the glitzy Gangnam district from a marsh in the 70's, it looks interesting! I'll probably watch it in the future.

Speaking of, Ma Dong Seok is pretty much the go-to guy for Korean gangster movies. He's been in the genre since forever, if you search his name you'll likely find some good ones I haven't heard about.

I don't know if you're interested in extending your search to dramas, but in case you are:

Insider - one of THE best kdramas I've seen, hands down. The set-up is similar to The Merciless in that a guy goes undercover in prison to catch a gangster and ends up forming bonds with a high-ranking member while working on the inside. However, the similarities stop there. I think I binged it in like 3 days. It's gritty and doesn't let up, but the main guy is one of my favorite protagonists ever and the ending was fantastic

Big Mouth - it came out around the same time and also involves a wrongful imprisonment, but with a hilarious twist (along with some Very Not Hilarious ones) that make it a different flavor. I got busy and didn't finish (and also didn't have subtitles while it was airing)

Watcher - This one's more on the one-righteous-cop-vs-corrupt-conglomerate side of things, which will always and forever be my jam. The moody atmosphere and insanely tight writing make this one of my favorites. I've seen it like 4 or 5 times and seem to catch something new each time, the writing is extremely satisfying and there are great female characters too, which I'm all about.

Nobody Knows - I'm watching this one right now and it's also more on righteous detective vs killer side of things, but it's got a fascinating female lead, great characters, consistent plot and great storytelling so far.

Triangle - this one is about gangsters and casinos and is unique because it's one of the WORST kdramas I've EVER seen, but it's so bad it crosses the line right back into good again because it's so freaking funny how everyone manages to act the worst plot and the worst characters with the deepest sincerity. Everyone's gorgeous, which helps. It's funnier if you're a chronic Kdrama enjoyer to see all the worst tropes played out in the funniest ways with dead straight faces. They actually wrote it episode by episode based on viewer feedback and ran out of time at the end because the feedback was conflicting--and BOY does it show in unintentionally hilarious ways.

Bad and Crazy - I LOVE this drama, especially the first act. It's violent and dark, with comedy thrown in, and one of the most interesting and sensitive portrayals of a mental illness on screen that I've ever seen in both American and Korean TV. Yet another righteous-cop-vs-conglomerate plot, my beloved. I'll eat that storyline up each time though.

So that's movies and dramas off the top of my head--if I think of any other good ones, I'll let you know! Happy watching and omg, if any of those tickle your fancy I'd love to hear your thoughts! :D

*Ok, one runner up: From the director of "A Bittersweet Life", "A Tale of Two Sisters" is a psychological horror that is just. so. good. I'm not usually a horror person and I was hooked and think about it all the time, very excellent!

[delta-orionis]

Tuesday Again No Problem 7/23/24

my thumb hurts (did too much crochet)

(I got a few new followers this week, so let me explain: this is a weekly roundup inspired by @girlfriendsofthegalaxy's post series of the same name. It's basically a summary of what I've been up to this week.)

Listening:

I dipped back into Touhou remixes with the House Set of Subterranean Animism, by Kuroneko Lounge:

This artist has made remixes of the soundtracks of all of the Windows Touhou games (to my knowledge at least), and this album is my favorite. It contains remixes of all of the songs from Touhou 11, Subterranean Animism, which is a personal favorite of mine. This album in particular is the strongest of the Kuroneko Lounge's House Sets, in my opinion.

It starts off VERY strong with a pulsing electronic remix of the main title theme, and keeps the energy up from there. In this video version of the album, there are also random "glitches" in the music which I'm pretty sure the artist placed in there intentionally.

Without getting into the plot of Subterranean Animism too much, one of the important characters has powers related to the manipulation of other peoples' subconscious. This makes her effectively invisible, because you can never perceive her intentionally, and if you do actually meet her, those memories will quickly fade away, like a dream. I believe the audio glitches are meant to represent her presence (and they also kind of snap you out of it if you're no longer paying attention to the music). Some people may find the glitches annoying, but I think they're a nice thematic touch.

I used to REALLY like the Touhou games when I was a teenager. I haven't played any of the games in years, but I occasionally revisit the soundtracks because the music still holds up. I honestly think the music is the strongest facet of the series, especially with such an enormous remix community.

Watching:

I spent a good amount of time this week re-visiting Jenny Nicholson videos while I crocheted (more on that later). Her Evermore video is one I return to periodically:

The story of this park is such a fascinating train wreck, especially in the wake of the news that the park is shutting down (for REAL this time. apparently).

Playing:

Fallow week. I've been extremely busy with work, errands, appointments, chores, artfight, etc etc. I keep taking my Switch with me to work with the intention of playing on my lunch break, but I always end up doing something else (usually drafting answers for my ask blog, more on that in the Making section).

Making:

A lot of things. I've been crocheting in my downtime to relax, but I might have flown a little too close to the sun in that department- I ended up hurting my thumb. I think it's because of the crochet hooks I was using; I'm looking into getting some ergonomic hooks, but unfortunately I think I just need to take an extended break from crochet for now while my thumb heals. One silver lining is the fact that I hurt the thumb on my non-dominant hand, so it hasn't affected my ability to draw at all. On the topic of drawing:

I updated my ask blog! I've fallen into a rhythm of posting approximately once a week, which was unintentional, but seems to work well for engagement.

I've got 5 answers in my drafts, all in various states of completion, with 12 more in my inbox. I'd like to answer them all eventually, but I still need to draw things for some, and come up with answers for others. Some of my answers are also quite lengthy, and I need to proofread those. I'm not at a point where I need to close the askbox, but if questions continue to come in faster than I can answer them, I might need to do it, haha. I'm having a lot of fun answering them, though.

In other news: ARTFIGHT. I'm working on an attack right now that I got a little carried away with, hopefully I should be done with it by tomorrow?? I hope??

Also. I recieved SIX attacks in quick succession this week?? Hello??? I'm incredibly honored, especially since this is my first artfight and I wasn't expecting to be attacked by this many people. I really want to revenge everyone who attacked me, but considering the speed at which I draw, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it before the event ends. I'll try my best, even if it means some revenges will get posted after the event concludes. I don't care about points anyway, lol.

---

July continues to be an extremely busy month for me. Even so, work has been going well, and I'm getting a lot of creative things done, so I feel fulfilled in that regard. I'll check in again next week.

[ticklygiggles]

Top 22 of 2022

I've been meaning to do this before the end of the year for obvious reasons, but I just didn't have the chance until now! Thank you everyone who had tagged me, you all are so sweet

I apologize in advance, though. My memory sucks and my perception of time is broken sdjfjdhf

Part 1: Fandom Faves 

01. Favorite new fandoms of the year: SPY x FAMILY, Demon Slayer

02. Favorite new ships since this year: SPYxFAMILY - Twiyor, Cynari, ScaraLumi - Genshin Impact

03. Favorite anime/TV show of the year: Extraordinary Attorney Woo, SPY x FAMILY, Pokémon Journeys

04. Favorite movie of the year: Hmm, I honestly don't watch many movies, so this one's hard... maybe Turning Red? Haha

05. Favorite character of the year: Scaramouche/Wandered, Tighnari - Genshin Impact. Uzui Tengen, Rengoku Kyojuro - Demon Slayer. Seo HyunSoo - XXX Buddy.

06. Favorite soundtrack of the year: One of my favorite soundtrack every year will always be Liyue OST - Genshin Impact!

07. Favorite book/manga/comic of the year: sajkhfjdf this year I read lots of new Manhwas and also a few books. Some of my favorite manhwas were Define the Relationship, Perfect Buddy, Actually, I was the real one, Who made me a Princess?, Under the Oak Tree, Love so Pure (side story), Forget About My Husband, I'd Rather Go Make Money, The Marriage Business and mooore.

I didn't like the books I read this year that much, but I guess my favorite was Six Crimson Cranes. Also read some light novels and they were The Marriage Business and I'll be the Warrior's Mother.

08. Favorite game of the year: Genshin Impact and Obey me!

09. Highlight of this year to remember: March 7th when I went to Disneyland JSAFHJ

Part 2: Community Review

10. Favorite Tumblr moments of 2022: Tickletober, my 2k milestone. @vqler and @dokidoki-muffin return aaaand... I think that's the most I can remember hahaah

11. Favorite fan art of the year: I have been blessed with so much fanart this year omg, some of my faves were this one, of course because it's the first time someone drew art for one of my fics!

Also this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one, but honestly, there are so many aaaa

12. Favorite fic of the year: I read good fics this year, I can't choose, but definitely some of my faves are these beautiful fics I got from my dearest friends in my birthday and Christmas, here, here and here.

13. Favorite ask game of the year: The tickly alphabet, this one and the 3 sentence fic

14. My top achievements as a writer/artist/creator/blogger: Participating in Tickletober for the first time! I didn't finish all days, but I'm happy with the result haha. Also getting to finish my 2k milestone event!

15. My own best fic/post of the year: I think I wrote a lot this year, but one of my faves to write was this Koi ga Ochitara one because I've been wanting to write one with them for sooo long!

16. My most underappreciated fic/post of the year: Probably not the "most", but this Mafuyu x Ritsuka x Yuki one?

17. A post of mine that got more popularity than expected: Omg these three Tickletober fics because they don't have a large popularity in the community, but they got more attention that I expected!

Koi Ga Ochitara, Junai Drop Out, Sign

18. Something I changed on my blog since this year: I think I did write more this year, so that was nice!

Part 3: Next Year

19. Something I didn’t post this year but would like to do next year: I'd like to work on this little AU idea thingy I have been neglecting because I feel unsure to write and post, but we'll see!

20. Goals for next year: As for this blog... maybe getting into more fandoms to keep writing haha. Also, Ginny girl is trying to write less trash, but I'd like to keep collaborating with her, because I just love how well we write together aaaa

21. 2023 releases I look forward to the most: MAHOUTSUKAI NO YOME SEASON 2! Aaaand more Genshin updates and also Obey me cards that I can actually get LOL

Part 4: Spreading Love

22. Shoutouts to people who made my 2022 a better year: 

Goodness, here comes the fun part haha:

@otomiya-tickles of course my sweetie girl precious baby boo. I already told you this, but thank you for making my 2022 a loooot better, thank you for your endless support and your love! You are the best and I'm so happy to talk to you every single day! You are so so talented and smart and amazing and I love you!

@ragewerthers my frieeeend, I always have so much fun talking with you! From just daily life activities to our endless hcs about our precious Toshi *teary emoji* you definitely did my 2022 a lot better too and I hope we can still talk lots this 2023!

@wertzunge Maaaax, I think this year we talked more than any other time haha, I'm happy we're both excited about Mahoutsukai no Yome sdbfhsdf I already said this to you, but I hope we get to talk some more this year as well! Thank you for your friendship!! (Also thank you for your kind support during commisions!)

@vqler @dokidoki-muffin we barely interact with each other BUT I wanted to say that you both are amazing and super talented people and I admire your abilities and your creativity and it's so so nice to have you back in the community! You both are GREAT and I get excited every time I see art from you both. Such talented people, let me give you a respectful kiss on your forehead.

@ticklystuff omg hi! I know we don't talk much, but I just wanted to say that I really like you and you are so so so so SO good at writing ome such talent! I love seeing you in my dash and seeing all the cool amazing stuff you write aaaaa I think of you every time I see Childe, no lies. Thank you for being amazing!

@happyandticklish Queen of writing. No words just admiration. Honestly, you are so so so GOOD. I wish I could write like you and you're so kind and amazing help askdjskf We've talked a bit before and I apologize for my awkwardness aaaaa Thank you for showing us all how cool you are and for being a cupcake!

@myreygn Reeeeey! I honestly get so so shy when you mention how you fangirled when I followed you back ahahaha, thank you for always being so supportive with me! You are amazing and I like chatting with yoouuu! I hope we get to talk some more during 2023!!

@thornoisdono Thank you for the generous support in kofi aaaaa, I love every single fic you requested and hopefully, you'll see them up in the next couple of days! Thank you!

@intheticklecloset @zeke-ism @lovelynim @xsezzie @bloominggiggles @ticklish-v-93 @soft-tk-fluff @chibimochii @nnainai @tickles-tea @looneytickles @tiredleekaz @ssnicker-doodless @spongeboblevel25 @justmaybee @itslittlegiggle @tiklart @lovelymessybubbly @italeean @ticklishfanart - whether we had talked before or not, I'm so thankful for you all! I love seeing and interacting with your content. You all are amazing and make my stay in tumblr so much better! I'd love to get to know you all more this year, but I'll be always be awkward, but I want you to know that you are some of my favorite blogs EVER.

[irrigos]

Irrigo's Best and Worst Exceptional Stories from Every Year

This is going to be incredibly long. Should I have split this up into several posts? Perhaps. But I didn't. Anyway here's my extremely subjective opinions that may or may not match up with the subreddit's yearly survey. This post is long and has some spoilers, but I've tried to mention them only when necessary and labeled which little blurbs have spoilers in them.

2015

Best: Cut With Moonlight

I can say this very confidently now that I've played many many too many Exceptional Stories: a lot of them really fumble the ending. So, the fact that Cut With Moonlight has a good twist I wasn't expecting, and ties the ending back into the beginning of the story is what makes it a (haha) cut above the rest

Worst: Flint

There are lots of people who like Flint, and that's not illegal (despite my many petitions to the government), so I just have to accept it. I played it when it came out, and liked it at the time, even though I couldn't really grasp what was happening! I thought it was just because AK's writing was too deep and poetic for my simple mind, but now that I'm no longer a teenager, I think maybe he might just be a bad writer? Playing it now (when it's not split in half with a month between) it's way too goddamn long, it's really boring, I don't know why he made it canon that the Mountain of Light experienced sexual violence when she's literally a pile of rocks, and also the fatphobia in it really started to get to me. Like, I get it. The Imperturbable Patroness is big, but it felt like her size was brought up constantly. It might just be me, and other people maybe wouldn't have gotten this impression, but when I played it last, it felt like every sentence about her was like, "She heaves her huge body, holding a knife in her meaty fist, and stomps her big feet on the ground, and looks at you fatly"

Honestly, I would recommend this ES if you want to remind yourself why we're glad AK is gone.

2016

Best: Five Minutes to Midday

Are there better, more compelling stories, with more variance in the choices you could make? Perhaps. But this is MY list, and I'M in love with the Subdued Protestor. This one was extremely in character for my PC, and also particularly timely (I think when it happened, Morgan had just lost their soul), and the Protestor was sooooooo big and handsome and I love him. He's my best friend, my homeboy, my rotten soldier, my sweet cheese, my good time boy. I really don't have much more to say than that!

Worst: A Waltz to Move the World

(Spoilers)

This one's complicated! There's a lot to like about it. I like that it has a soundtrack! I like that it's got cool Great Game stuff! In isolation, I like the idea of helping a woman reconcile with her father! But... I just can't escape the fact that the story expects you to have a lot of sympathy for this guy whose problem is he's so sad about the time he murdered his wife. Also- was any of the lore about The Old Man and the Winter in Vienna ever followed up on, or has it been mostly dropped? I don't remember. Someone who knows more lore than me might know, and I frankly don't care enough to check.

2017

Best: HOJOTOHO!

This one is one that is widely loved, and yeah, it deserves it! I don't actually have too much to say about it. Who doesn't love hanging out with some weird little kids? Having a little girl see an opera, latch onto a part of it, and just immediately be like "THIS IS ME NOW" is so accurate. Also, the final choice in this one was really tough for me! It was a doozy!

Worst: The Clay Man's Arm

I've written about The Clay Man's Arm already, so I almost wanted to pick something else for worst, just so I'd have something new to say. But how could I pick anything else! This is my least favorite story I've ever played in Fallen London. There are others that I think are worse in construction or morals or metaphorical implications, but I have not found a single one of them to be as repulsive. You couldn't pay me to play this one again.

2018

Best: For All The Saints Who from Their Labours Rest

(Spoilers)

Everyone knows I love Church and Hell stuff. And if you don't, you should! I'm the one who made them put the Bishop of Southwark in Mask of the Rose, because he's my special favorite! That said, I can't say I really loved this one as much as some of the other "best"s. I mean, I got some got Reggie moments, so that's good. But... I don't know. I was excited about there being a sexy priest, but sadly the Intrepid Deacon is EXTREMELY not my type (my type is.. well! Reggie! not little baby men who've never done nothing to nobody!). Also... well I'm not quite sure how to express this, but I think it's really weird that the end of this one basically confirms that Lucifer is... real? That he's one of the fallen princes of Hell, or something? Possibly implied that the Christian God is a Judgement? idk it rubs me the wrong way to have a religion confirmed true or false within the fictional universe. So, while I think this one is the best of the year, I can't say I don't have some pretty hefty problems with it. Also I always get the name wrong

Worst: Factory of Favours

I already wrote about this one here, but the important thing is, it's boring. There's really not too much more to say- you do a series of boring actions to achieve dull goals for NPCs who I wouldn't even say rise to the level of being actual "characters", and then it's over and you go home. It has all the substance and style of a dinner consisting of a single sheet of blank paper.

2019

Best: Cricket, Anyone?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know it's the best one. Everyone says it's the best one. I'm so filled with spite I wanted to be super contrarian and pick a different one, but I can't. It's so fun, you guys. The lore reveals in it are cool (and it's important when an ES doesn't make me resent the presence of a Master- I do not enjoy those guys!), and the plot is exciting, the mechanics work really well, but in my opinion, the most important thing about Cricket, Anyone? is this: it's funny. There are points in FL where you can really smell the influence of Terry Pratchett, but they never manage to actually emulate him (turns out, when you try to combine Terry Pratchett, TS Eliot, GK Chesterton, and Jorge Luis Borges, you just get like... Neil Gaiman. And nobody wants that!). I love Pratchett's humor, so Groover capturing that, and actually delivering on the "hilarious" part of the "dark and hilarious Gothic underworld" that's advertised on the log-in page was really exceptional to me.

Worst: The Stag & The Shark

(spoilers)

2019 was actually a really good year for Exceptional Stories, and I had a hard time picking a Worst one. The Stag & The Shark was well-constructed, and I wouldn't say there was anything really wrong with it! I just wasn't really invested in the characters and I didn't care about any of their goals. The titular Young Stag wants to kill a Bound Shark because he think it will prove that he's cool, his dad wants his son to be safe and also stop being so fucking weird, and the fisherwoman whose boat you're on wants to recruit the Young Stag to the New Sequence. I don't really care about some rich kid wanting to fit in with the Young Stags, I don't care about his dad, and I also think the New Sequence sucks, so I don't care about them achieving their goals either!

2020

Best: Go Tell the King of Cats

Okay, you need to know one thing about me: I'm a cat guy. Also, a Cats guy. It's a good musical. And auxiliary to both of those: I love stories about old and busted bastard people. So this one was basically made for me. I don't want to talk much more about it, because I really think you should play it, especially if you like a story about an old bastard man (who is also a cat) trying to get a second chance. I teared up at the end.

Worst: The Dilettante's Debut

(spoilers)

uuuguughghguhgughguhghghghhhhhhh. Okay, the thing about The Dilettante's Debut is that I wanted to like it. I always want to like Exceptional Stories! I like it when things are good! But the ending on this one is.... god. It's bad. So you're trying to help the Dilettante restore the reputation of the Fairfax family, and also show up his cousin (the Wild-Eyed Socialite). I'm on board with this! I can do this! I generally don't see the point in undermining the people who hired me, so I didn't work against the Dilettante for the majority of the story...

... and then it turned out the final goal of the Dilettante's Footman was to use shapeling arts to mutate the Socialite into a Starved Man. If you agree to help him with this, in the end, you're told she's been put in a sanitarium. This is possibly (probably) a lie, but also... I mean, I'm supposed to mutilate this woman's body without her consent, and then banish her to either the Roof (most likely), or genuinely a sanitarium, a place where women were frequently abused, and for what? Because she drinks too much? She's successful and the Dilettante isn't? She's kind of rude to him?

I refused to help the footman, but then I didn't have enough cache with the Socialite to decent ending, so it felt like I was being punished for being loyal to the guy who hired me (because I didn't really have much reason to betray him) until he was going to commit and atrocity. I was either supposed to betray him for no reason earlier, or stick with the atrocity, and both are bad.

Anyway, it felt like Unto Dust (the story two months later) was trying to do something similar to The Dilettante's Debut, but it did it way better.

Anyway, it felt like Unto Dust did "last scion of a noble house dealing with his grandparent's legacy" way better two months later

2021

Best: The Tempest

Between this story and HOJOTOHO!, Fallen London really is the only game that I've ever played that truly understands little girls. The Tempestuous Urchin is pissed the fuck off about her lot in life, and she's right to be! And I just really enjoyed a story about how powerful anger can be, both to let go of AND to utilize. I just feel like you don't really see that a lot, and I really liked it.

Worst: For A Dream of Innocence

(spoilers)

I've talked about this one before, way back when it came out, but short version is: this one had a lot of errors, the story was unfocused, and I thought that it had some really Troubling implications.

The long version is: There were a lot of typos, or times when it referred to a character with the wrong pronouns. It seemed to have three different ideas, any of which would have been a decent ES in itself (a rogue French spy, making a new life in a vat, an enclave of Rubberies living under a bridge), but because they're all crammed together, none of them really seemed to pay off, and it just felt like the story wasn't really ABOUT anything.

And then the Troubling Implications.... first of all, the Abbess's motivations for being duplicitous and manipulative is that she's old and wants to be young and hot again, which... I mean it's possible for a person to want that, but it just seems kind of misogynistic to me. Like, yeah, why else would a woman bargain away the lives of a town? Women be obsessed with their youth!

On top of that, it also doubled down on the Rubbery lore that I really hate. I kind of thought that the fact that Rubberies are constructs with no interiority or culture had been retconned, or at least allowed to fall to the wayside with the Tentacled Entrepreneur/Helicon House bringing focus to Rubbery art and music. And I was glad for it! So I didn't like that it was brought up again here, and in a way that came across as particularly colonialist. These beings, who are less than people, do not have any culture, and any they have acquired is only from association with a More Civilized people (in this case, Londoners), and this is viewed as a disgusting aberration by their close-minded rulers, is. um. Well. It Sure Is Huh.

2022

Best: Adornment

I would say that I'm a pretty well-known Masters Hater, so when I saw that the art for this one was Mr. Stones, I was like.... ugh. Great another one to pander to the Masters fuckers, the only audience that FBG cares to cater to.

I was wrong! I was very wrong. I mean, maybe I wasn't wrong, but I was being too negative. This was a really fun story, and I really really liked all the characters in it. A fun nonbinary anarchist criminal and a Quaker clay man? Were they writing this one for me exclusively? I even enjoyed Mr. Stones' presence in it!!! It was really fun. Anyway do you guys think Mica and the Smuggler ever explored each others bodies

Worst: Darnier Cri

(Spoilers)

You gotta do real bad to make me hate the story that's about Victorian fashion, a thing I love very much. You get asked to help a fashion house design their new collection, and eventually learn that the fashion house has been run by revolutionaries, using the inherent magical powers of Neathy fabrics to influence Surface politics (specifically to undermine the Transvaal Republic, which was an independent republic in what is now northeaster South Africa, in an attempt to drive the colonists out of Africa). It's newest investor is an agent of the Transvaal Republic, who is trying to destroy the fashion house.

I guess I would say that it's a... BOLD choice, to try to explicitly address colonialism in your alt-history adventure game where you can fuck a squid. I'm certainly not a "keep politics out of my video games" type person (I think art is inextricable from politics, and I talk about the politics of FL all the time) but I really don't think that FL is equipped to actually address this subject head-on. And, frankly, it's incredibly jarring, when the idea of anti-colonialism has never come up in the game before. I know there ARE colonies in the Neath, even one that you can be the governor of, but I would argue "the magical fantasy talking tigers seem to graciously tolerate your presence" is very different from "the European settlers in Africa think they are genetically superior to the native Africans." It's just kind of jarring!! And honestly, I don't think this game is really equipped to address it!!! It's just a little out of place. And on top of that, a lot of the language the villain uses to... uh. be racist, I guess, is also a lot of the same language the game uses around the Great Chain/Liberation of the Night, like talking about a "hierarchy of being" and people "knowing their place in the chain". Like... the implication of that allusion is that the fictional hierarchy that exists in Fallen London, that puts Judgements above Curators above Humans above Apes, is the same as... racism? Real world racism? So LoN is anti-racism? So anyone who doesn't support LoN... supports white supremacy? And if that WERE the case, then why would the game keep framing LoN as morally ambiguous? Do we not like anti-racism actually?

I don't think that was necessarily intentional, or at least, I don't think that's an implication that FBG meant to include with the Liberation, but I think it's pretty sloppy writing.

Also, I hated the ending choice. The clothing studio is on fire, and you can save one thing from it. Your options are: a unique clothing item, a different unique clothing item, or the garment you made to send to a high-ranking client on the Surface, that is intended to influence them to side with the Africans over the European colonists. Like... why. Do you want a special hat that you can only get by paying real money, or do you want a special coat that you can only get by paying real money, or do you want to end racism?

Baffling. And that's not even getting into the fact that it's been pretty well-established that the special Neathy fabrics lose their special qualities in the sunlight, so the entire premise of this story is either impossible or a huge retcon.

In Conclusion

if you're wondering how much I've spent on exceptional stories over the decade I've been playing this game... uh... no you're not!

[gunsatthaphan]

Hi Doreen!

Is it just me, or do you also get this feeling that only fans friends will be hyped by the cast and crew way more actively than *ekhem ekhem* moonlight chicken has been for the past million years since it's been announced? Like, what with that twitter post from the other day or the Instagram stories (with "unholy" as the soundtrack) have been rather out of the blue (but still, excellent PR if you ask me), not to mention FK talking about it every chance they get 😅

I've been obsessed with the idea of that series from the minute the mock trailer aired but they're doing a stellar job at keeping me hyped up so far haha

hiii!!! 💜

Only Friends is already the most hyped show of the year and all they released is the mock trailer and 1 extra clip djghkf but yeah I think they will definitely go hard with the promo. Which makes sense because you can never tease enough of the spicy stuff lmao. FK are already doing a good job with how they haven’t stopped talking about it since november jdkhgf. They definitely know what they're doing.

But to be fair they have been promoting MLC a lot more lately. We got 2 specials, a music video and tons of interviews so we can't complain really. It's not a standalone show, it's 1/3 of a franchise and only has 8 episodes so it makes sense that they're not treating is like a regular full length bl. it's the most anticipated show of the midnight series though and they’ve been promoting the shows equally. 

xxx

[melancholy-marionette]

(I apologize for the errors, I use Google Translator to write this post) Hello, not so long ago I found out about your game "Darling Duality" and, having passed it the other day, fell in love with it! You draw amazing, and I almost really fell in love with Castor (you picked up an amazing voice for him, it's nice to listen to him). The way the atmosphere is conveyed deserves separate words. First, the calmness of the day / evening for the passage of the game, then a sweet and slightly anxious feeling during the first sleep with Castor, then embarrassment and panic fright in the cube with a slight madness (when we cut our palm) and at the very end a light comedy made me not get bored and experience emotions throughout the passage of the demo game! You write amazing music that conveys the atmosphere well! Please forgive me if my message seems strange or stupid to you, but in addition to thanking you for playing, I would like to ask a couple of questions (of course, if you don't mind):

Is it possible to ask questions about the character? I would like to learn as much as possible about Castor/Castoria, but if you can't, then I'll understand everything.

How is the development of the game progressing and when, perhaps, will we be able to see the sequel? (please forgive me if my question sounded rude. In no way am I going to be rude to you, rush you or put pressure on you)

Thank you so much for the wonderful game, and I wish you success in everything!

Hey hey! Thanks so much for all your kind words :3 I'm really glad you've enjoyed what there is of DD so far! I just wanted to let you know that I do plan to answer your questions and write you a proper reply, I just don't have time to do it at the moment because I'm really busy trying to get my project for this year's Yandere Jam done in time (the jam ends this coming Tuesday x3) I just didn't want you to think I was ignoring you or anything, so thought I'd let you know that I will answer when I can, it just might be a little while :3 Hope you have a good weekend! EDIT (to add my full answer :3)

Okay, so, hopefully I'm doing this right and you'll be able to see what I'm typing cos I don't really know how Tumblr works all that well x3

Firstly, I should probably say that, while I wish with all my heart that I could draw, I sadly cannot draw to save my life T_T haha. The art in all my games is either the result of me teaming up with amazing artists who can draw beautifully, or, me taking to GIMP and spending hours editing assets that I own to at least try and make them look somewhat unique to my projects rather than using them as they come :3

Darling Duality is the result of the second option, haha. I think it took me around 3 days to edit Castor/ia's sprites because I heavily edited colours, but I also added additional facial expressions that didn't come with the asset pack by layering parts of the face individualy, haha.

I'm glad you ended up liking Castor though ^-^ And I agree, his voice actor is incredible and the character wouldn't be the same without him!

I can also only take credit for certain music tracks within the game x3 The soundtrack is currently only partially original, and the rest of the tracks are ones I chose from various asset packs that felt like they fit well. I really enjoy making music though, so I've been trying to include more and more original tracks in my more recent projects :3

Your message doesn't seem strange or stupid at all though! I think it's extremely sweet :3 And it means a lot to me that you liked the game enough to even want to write something about it ^-^

I don't mind answering questions at all, so you're welcome to ask whatever you like :3 There might be some things that I can't say if they might contain spoilers for the story that is still to come, but I'll do my best to answer what I can.

To answer your second question, in all honesty, development is going very slowly >.< I got quite demotivated to work on the project when I found out that I might not be able to get the same voice actors back to keep playing the characters. So I ended up putting the project on hold and just working on game jams for quite a while.

The voice acting situation is still up in the air, but I am at least slowly working on the project again :3 I have a lot of writing finished that currently isn't coded into the game yet. In the next update, I'm hoping to continue a little more of Castor/ia's story, along with adding a new character to the mix as well whose route you will be able to begin.

It's a very long-term project though because I hope to add quite a few different characters over time. Because of that, my plan was to update sort of episodically, so that it doesn't take forever to release new content. Because the fully completed game will likely take me years to make >.<

As for the next update though, I can't really put a proper time on when I might be able to get it released, but I'm really hoping that it will at least be sometime later this year :3 It's just hard to say because you never know what is going to go wrong and get in the ay, haha.

Thank YOU for taking the time to check the game out and leave such kind words <3

[true-blue-sonic]

Oo oooh 🎤 🎧📚 👀✨

Hello!🍀

🎤 has already been answered to we changed it to 🎸 Favorite Stage Theme?

Metropolitan Highway from Sonic Forces really caught my interest the first time I listened to it, and I still love it so much! Flowing from Sonic Frontiers is one I really love as well.

🎧 Favorite overall soundtrack?

I think that would be Sonic Rush! I like basically all songs in that one, whereas for other soundtracks there are some songs in it I am not feeling that fondly towards, like for example Frontiers and Forces. Though, I do like the majority of the songs in those, and with enough exposure I can warm up to most things ^-^

📚 Pitch for a third storybook game?

I've seen people on Tumblr mention Greek mythology before, and I was a HUGE fan of that when growing up (my parents went to Greece once and got me a book with a lot of stories and gods and stuff, and there also was this Dutch writer who wrote a book about the war with Troy and also one with myths in general, which I loved reading). So if they made it focus on Greek mythology, I would think that is very cool!

Sonic probably finds himself into a book again, or maybe he gets yote through time and space once more to end it. And I figure the enemies from the myths will be causing trouble all over, making him have to fight them (maybe to kind of 'fulfil' the fates they'll have in the myths? Like how Atlas needs to carry the sky and stuff in some tales? Though some things here can be quite gruesome fates😅). As for a villain and stuff, I have no idea, but maybe the other characters can be the gods! Greek mythology is so rich, I can see a game about it go everywhere ^-^

✨ Dream Sonic Game?

SILVER GAME I NEED A SILVER GAME

I liked the open world stuff from Frontiers, but I think I would like it even more if the next game contained the more whimsical and colourful environments from earlier games!

And I am not kidding about a Silver game, haha, that would 100% be my dream Sonic game. Perhaps people would not mind the possibly-slow-paced and puzzle-focused gameplay more when they don't have Sonic and Shadow to compare it to? I think a LOT can be done with his powers and a good physics engine!

[winterwrites23]

Tag Game To Better Know You! Send this to people you’d like to know better!

tagged by @pricillapeaches

———

What book are you currently reading?

I'm currently reading Between Worlds: Folktales of Britain and Ireland by Kevin Crossley-Holland. I'm looking for cool lore to put in my story.

What’s your favourite movie you saw in theatres this year?

The only movie I saw this year was Wakanda Forever. It was alright, almost cried 3 times though haha.

What do you usually wear?

Single colour t-shirts with a jean jacket over it, jeans and sneakers. Though, I've been wearing sweaters these days because we're finally having cold weather here. We're in December and yet this week it was raining and I was like "Québec wtf???" (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

How tall are you?

5'3" and the shortest among my friends.

What’s your Star Sign? Do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event? 

I'm cancer and I can proudly say that I share a birthday with Sonic the Hedgehog.

Do you go by your name or a nick-name?

Name only. However, I can think of at least 3 nicknames people use. One from my mom, another from a childhood friend and the other from my best friend. Though the latter is basically my name but said with a heavy Québécois accent lol.

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?

When I had hope and dreams, I wanted to be either a veterinarian or study biochemistry. But then Life™ happened and it kicked me into industrial design. I liked it and decided to stay, even though I had (and still do) no idea where I want to work afterwards.

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?

Nope, and not interested in having one (probably never will lol). And no crush either atm.

What’s something you’re good at vs. something you’re bad at?

Paying attention to details in manual projects and having a social life lol

Dogs or Cats?

Doggos for life.

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you created this year?

Probably the drawing of the Cabane à sucre with Canada and the Uk+Ireland bros because I couldn't get de la tire d'érable this year. Also, it was a nice way to destress from school.

What’s something you would like to create content for?

More drawings of scenes from my story.

What’s something you’re currently obsessed with? 

The Mandalorian my beloved. Though the last few days, I've been listening nonstop to HTTYD soundtracks and am currently looking for fics of it xD

What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

The winter we're currently having. We used to have snow starting in November (sometimes in October!) and so far, we only got 2 days of snow and a week of icy rain. I really hope we'll have snow for Christmas this year.

What’s a hidden talent of yours?

Dunno if it's a talent but I can dislocate the joint of my thumbs at will.

Are you religious?     

I don't consider myself a practitioner anymore, but I do think I'm a believer to a certain degree.

What’s something you wish to have at this moment?

The motivation to finish writing the next chapter -.-

tagging: @atsushis-fangs if you're interested :D

[ridgeworld2006]

A VERY RIDGEWAY HALLOWEEN 1: THE BRIEF ONES

DAY 1- Firestarter: "it was mid but the ending was cool and the soundtrack fuckt" DAY 2- Prince of Darkness: "great buildup but the climax stinks. Lots of nice ideas in it though and a great soundtrack again" Day 6- Talk To Me: "the plot was kinda shit but the scares were nice and sickening, just the way i like em" Day 8- Videodrome: "super fucking weird but still actually really good. Wasn't too sure about it in the beginning but was sold by the end. Good body horror as well but i'd encourage anyone giving it a watch to look further than just that" Day 9- You Are Not My Mother: "mixed but fairly positive feelings. Horror was good and I liked the central concept as well as the lesbian love story, but the 'main' bully was SO over the top that anything involving her was hard to take seriously. The very end also felt a little pointless and slapped on." Day 15- Brain Damage: "an okay "so bad it's good" movie but nothing more" (i am SO full of shit for this... how can you see the blowjob scene and not recognize a masterpiece) Day 19- The Blob: ""What's ten million dead if it's keeping out the Russians?" SURPRISINGLY good! brian is hawt and actually CORRECT and hes never framed as being a dick for it AND him and meg DONT EVEN KISS AT THE END!!! IT'S A HALLOWEEN MIRACLE!!" Day 20- Motel Hell: "it was bad" (fucking duh idiot) "but in a "so bad it's good" way." (fucking duh idiot) "chainsaw duel whips ass" Day 22- Candyman: "holy shit this was good. Definitely another one that deserves another watchthrough to properly digest everything, and the horror is perfect along with the incredible soundtrack. feel the ending may be a little bit questionable but not really my place to say for sure i suppose" (ok... lol) Day 22 (again, making up for 21)- Candyman (2021): "This one felt more straightforward thematically (at least to me) and lines up startlingly well with some ideas i've been playing with myself. Not so much scary or disturbing like the original was, but what it lacks there it makes up for in being morbidly fascinating instead." Day 23- An American Werewolf in London: "late to add my commentary but it's not very good but is at least funny." (POST-MORTEM CLARIFICATION: THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS BEING "SO-BAD-ITS-GOOD") "Every line is like this: David: fuck... i can feel the werewolf coming inside me... whatserface: haha omg thats so crazy. ur so hot btw" Day 26- Puppet Master: "I was told the first one was good. i was lied to" Day 27- The Lighthouse: "another movie i should rewatch sometime to give it a deeper look. the first time a psychological thriller actually felt like a thriller to me lol. also the oceanic horror did it a hundred times better than lovecrafts dumb ass ever did just by having restraint" Day 29- The Wicker Man: "this is the best worst movie i've ever watched, hands down. it takes itself so seriously but is the goofiest fuckin shit ive ever seen put to screen. this movie definitely left its target audience cuz i was rooting for the townspeople the entire time. like yeah id do that too if i had to deal with this dude for an hour and 40 minutes" Day 31- FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S... "watched with friends, as expected it was bad but funny bad until the end where it got so stupid it actually made me mad. also i shit you not the credits music was the fnaf 1 song"

[notebookmusical]

Hi! I'm sorry if my last ask came off kinda dramatic. Thank you for your kind words, and your dog is really cute! I wanted to give a quick version summary of a few things and maybe my replies will be shorter from now on anyway. But first, how are you? What have you been listening to lately? I hope your arm is okay and you're feeling better! 🩷

So I was able to sign into my old goodreads and my name is kvreads and it's just a coincidence if it's similar to yours lol. I just didn't want to add you randomly without telling you I guess. I started the Starless Sea and it's a little weirder than I thought but maybe cuz I didn't know what it was about. I still like it but prefer the Night Circus more. I also just started a book called Pink Mountain Nights and I noticed it was the same author of summer of bitter and sweet that you read, so I'm curious what you thought of it. I've only read one chapter but like it so far but don't know when I will finish it either since I start books without finishing all the time. Most of the books on my goodreads were books I started or in the middle of that I forgot about lol. Hopefully I will read more next month though!

I can't believe you've never read or watched Wonka! It was seriously one of my favorite books as a kid. I remember that I said I was in my schools version of it and you didn't say anything haha. I like every version of the story and all the movies. Are you familiar with the musical at all? I also like it I guess and I think Christian Borle made a pretty good Wonka. I spent this week listening to the Wonka and Mean Girls soundtracks again and enjoyed them a lot more. For Wonka, my sister compared the movie kinda similar to the Greatest Showman..where the songs could be on their own without the movie in a way but I still enjoy both. It was just pretty family friendly and I don't feel like I need to watch the movie again but I enjoyed the songs. I hope this makes sense. I wonder how it would be if you watched Wonka before the others, since you don't really have to know Charlie to watch Wonka. That's kinda fun to think about actually. If anything, I liked that it was different than anything before, and the songs were still original cuz it wasn't based on anything

For Mean Girls, I went back to the original cast recording and it was a lot better than the movie, especially with more Cady songs but I also didn't mind the movie as much as others did. I just accept it for what it is and I guess I'm still glad it was made. It was never gonna be as good as the original movie or musical anyway. Listening to the original, I think they made the right choices of what songs to cut or leave in mostly but maybe you're right that watching the movie is better than just listening to it. I also listened to the new Color Purple soundtrack too and they also made a lot of cuts or changes to make it more likable for non musical fans I guess. They wrote a lot of new songs to replace the songs from the musical for some reason. It was weird and idk why they did that but I'll have to see how it is in the movie. I was kinda shocked Wonka or Color Purple didn't get Oscar original song nominations

Apparently Erika Henningsen is in a new animated musical show called Hazbin Hotel if you wanna hear her singing..since the Cady in the movie wasn't good. I haven't watched the show yet but I will eventually cuz I always like new original songs and musicals. Schmicago got cancelled which made me sad so maybe this can be a replacement..idk. the only other thing I know about it is that Jeremy Jordan is also supposed to be singing in a few episodes too! I hope Gatsby can be good and hopefully they have made a few changes to make it better. But I saw someone say the only good thing about it is the two leads, which is probably true. I will probably somewhat enjoy it if there is a bootleg unless it's really bad though, but I do not love Gatsby a lot, so I'm keeping expectations low for this too. I honestly don't know much about the other shows this season or how it would compare to them. The only song I heard Lola sing was from Tangled and Hadestown music is very different than that but I would be interested in hearing her sing a song from it.

Your choices are so good and some I didn't think of. I have heard Maggie's version of Tim McGraw and liked it. I just think i always prefer the original usually over covers but mostly they're fine. I'm sorry if you didn't know some of the artists I named lol. I'm sorry if I forgot anything but do you think Taylor will win any Grammys on Sunday? I hope Antihero will win song of the year and I wonder what color she will wear. I haven't really thought about other wins yet, but I think Billie could win something too. I still might not have time to reply but I hope you have a great week!!!

hi friend!! you're totally fine; nothing to apologize for or anything 🤍 just know i'm always rooting for you!

i'm okay!! i am doing much better! i'm listening to all sorts of things — if you're on airbuds, you're more than welcome to add me!! i've been listening to a lot of noah kahan, laufey, and maisie lately, but in terms of new (to me) music, i've just finished fall out boy's discography! i listened to a jimmy eats world album, the maine, sam fender's debut album, the last dinner party's debut, and digital heartifacts by l devine this week! it's been a good music week/month, and i'm really glad i started my albums experiment thing!

i sent you a goodreads invite! i definitely will not be finishing the starless sea this month (i actually barely touched it), but i'm hoping to read it in february! it probably won't make a lot of sense until maybe the 80% mark, but once you get there, it's amazing (or so i personally think). the night circus is a little more straightforward, and also has a stronger romance plotline which i do enjoy, whereas the starless sea is a lot more convoluted! i really liked the summer of bitter and sweet, but hadn't heard of pink mountain nights! i'm looking the plot up right now and putting a library hold on it!

i am not familiar with the musical either! the only things i know about the musical are that christian borle shaved his head and that michael wartella pissed off the entire city of fresno during the wicked tour — but i think he was also in wonka? or maybe i'm just thinking of things? do you care about the grammys? do you have any thoughts on the musical theatre grammy noms/win for this year? i don't have any strong opinions but i'm hoping a specific album does not win. anything else i'll be happy with!

i thought of you when i heard schmicago was cancelled :( i still have to watch it ... i've been in and out of a musical mood lately; i listened to the waitress obcr today and was reminded of how much i love it :") ugh i miss seeing shows, hopefully something good will come to seattle soonish and i can go see that :( i do tend to prefer originals over covers, but 9/10 times i'll prefer an acoustic/stripped down version over the regular one? not sure why! and with the grammys, i wish she'd won for cardigan, i feel like cardigan is a much stronger song than anti-hero, but i'll be happy either way! i think she'll probably wear green or black, as is the trend with her lately! and i hope olivia wins something for guts — and i'd love it if noah could win for best new artist! 🤍

hope you're having a good weekend!! sending u lots of love and a hug!

[startistdoodles]

What is your opinion on all of the pokemon gens? Is there gens you like over others? Or do you love them all equally?

I love all of the gens for different reasons, but there are certainly some I love more than others. Fair warning, I'm gonna be a bit critical with some of these, and if you disagree that's totally fine!! These are just my opinions ^^

Anyways, I'll put them all under the cut since this is about to get VERY long and rambly ^^; Sorry about that, I have a lot of thoughts and there are many regions, haha.

I will also include TL;DR's for every region for those who just want to know briefly what my opinion is on a specific generation.

GEN 1: KANTO - (RBY/FRLG/LGPE)

I'm going to start this one off by saying that the Kanto games are great for series starters. It was a wonderful introduction into the world of Pokémon and has a simple yet enjoyable story. It also contains some of the most popular and recognizable characters and the first season of the anime is my favorite. There's a reason it went on to become a franchise that is one of the most popular in the world.

But, and this is probably gonna be controversial, I think the Kanto games are kinda....boring. It really does have that 'first game' feeling to me. There's kind of a story with Team Rocket and I really like the twist of Giovanni being a Gym Leader and your rival being Champion, but other than that it's kinda...meh! Quite a few of the Pokémon in the Kanto dex feel like filler and aren't really as memorable as later gens.

I've played through Let's Go: Eevee and had a pretty fun time! But I don't really see myself playing through Kanto as often. It's just kinda meh. I think they only got better from here.

TL;DR: The weakest of the gens, but makes for a great first installment to the franchise and I respect it for that.

GEN 2: JOHTO - (GSC/HGSS)

Johto was definitely an improvement from Kanto, and I like it a LOT more. There still isn't a very strong story but I do think they build upon the foundation that Kanto created very well. Allowing the player to travel between Kanto and Johto in the postgame is amazing and it makes for the biggest world with the most locations in any mainline Pokémon title I believe

I love the music, the mythology with the two new Legendary Pokémon they added, and in HGSS having your Pokemon follow behind you is a feature I never tire of. This following feature was implemented so much better than in future titles, in my humble opinion. Johto may still lack a bit in the story and memorable Pokémon department (at least imo), but I think that they compensated HEAVILY with the new mechanics and features that are still used to this day. Stuff like breeding and shiny Pokémon are all thanks to gen 2.

TL;DR: Beautiful region (especially in HGSS), lovely soundtrack. Still not as much story, but it's a big improvement from gen 1 and it compensates by having so much more content in it.

GEN 3: HOENN - (RSE/ORAS)

Hoenn took a big risk by separating itself from Kanto, and I'm really glad it did. The Hoenn games are tied with Sinnoh for my second favorite gens in the series, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I believe Hoenn is the first game where the badge quest almost comes second to the overarching plot of saving the world from the criminal organizations. In Kanto/Johto, it was mostly just scaring off bad guys who were up to some evil shenanigans but didn't really have much of an 'ultimate plan' that would threaten the region. In Hoenn though, things get much more interesting as you battle against Team Aqua or Magma (or both) in order to stop them from summoning an ancient legendary Pokémon that would flood/dry up the world.

The stakes are very high, and I really like that. It gives us more to work towards other than being the very best trainer. Not to mention the Pokémon designs are super good and unique and are some of my favorites. Hoenn is the Pokémon game that I have replayed the most, it's just a lot of fun.

The music in Hoenn is ICONIC, Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza Battle lives in my head rent-free, as does Aqua/Magma Boss, Elite Four Battle, Abandoned Ship and so many more.

TL;DR: Great story, great Pokémon designs, great music, Gen 3 is popular for a very good reason. Tied with Sinnoh for my 2nd fave gen.

GEN 4: SINNOH - (DPPT/BDSP)

I'm going to mainly focus on the original Sinnoh titles and their remakes, but I'll do a very quick little opinion on Legends: Arceus:

L:A: It's very very good!! It does lean pretty heavy into Sinnoh myth but I think it explains it enough for new players to grasp. Graphics and the human dialogue animations could be better, probably the weakest aspect of it. But other than that, wonderful game!! I've already replayed it once and it's truly a lot of fun.

NOW onto the main Sinnoh titles: As I stated before, it's tied with Hoenn for my second favorite gen in the series. I'm sure you can tell by now that I really like the games with an interesting story and that's why I enjoy Sinnoh as well.

Gen 4 is when they introduced the mythology of the Pokémon world, how it came to be and the deity Pokémon that rule over it. It's very neat and I love all of the hidden books and details that may be overlooked that add even further to the lore. It's not really shoved in your face too much about what these Pokémon are all about. All you know is that Cyrus is fascinated by them and he seems to have something to do with them. The rest of the lore is pretty much up to the player to dig around and find bits of old texts. Cyrus' laptop has research notes in it about them, Canalave Library's top floor houses several ancient books. It's not entirely spoon-fed to you, and I like that about it.

I do think Platinum is the much more improved and 'definitive' version of Sinnoh, as the characters seem a bit more fleshed out (Cyrus in particular) as well as some more quality-of-life things like the expanded Pokédex and not having to backtrack all the way to Hearthome for the badge, you just get it on your first visit.

The Pokémon designs here are also very iconic to me, however....it may have a bit too many legendaries. I know Sinnoh is all about mythology and legends but...Pokémon like Manaphy, Phione, Shaymin and Heatran feel shoehorned in. I like them, don't get me wrong (I have no strong feelings about Heatran though). But I can admit they're a little unnecessary :')

The music is also VERY good and atmospheric here, with a lot of the town and route themes being my favorites. Route 209, Route 216, Canalave City and Game Corner are just a few of my faves :)

Anyways, I have a soft spot for gen 4, it was my first Pokémon game and the one I have put the most hours into. I have never reset my original Pearl copy because it's just meaningful to me that way. Lots of memories in that game.

TL;DR: Sinnoh is a really interesting region with lots to discover. I love the music, the Pokémon and the mythology this gen introduced. Platinum is much better than DP/BDSP though and I believe it to be the definitive version of Sinnoh.

GEN 5: UNOVA (BW/BW2)

And now we reach gen 5, my absolute favorite in the series. And I don't think it's hard for me to explain why as it combines all of the elements that I love about Pokémon games into one game.

The story. It's just so thought-provoking for a Pokémon game. I love most of the stories, but this is the only one that makes me think. The titles are Black and White, but the plot certainly isn't when compared to the previous titles. In Hoenn, for instance, there is a clear and definitive bad guy who wants to control a legendary to do something that is a negative for everyone. But in Unova we are challenged by N, who seems to have noble intentions despite being an antagonist. He says what most people who hate the Pokémon series have been saying for years: that people only hurt Pokémon and they should live apart from one another.

It's very philosophical with its message which may seem complicated for most people, but for me, it really made me appreciate and feel more involved in the story. Not everything is so black and white, and this game shows us this.

I could go on for ages about the story and characters and their arcs, but maybe if you wanna hear me ramble more I will talk about it in another post. For now, I'd like to talk about the Pokémon designs and the music. The music?? Is amazing. I'm always playing the BW/BW2 soundtrack while I'm working. Some of my favorites include Village Bridge, Gear Station, Opelucid City (White), Driftveil City, Unwavering Emotions and Elite Four Battle.

As for the Pokémon designs, they are so unique and memorable to me that they've become some of my faves. Yes, even the ice cream cone that is stronger than you realize and carried me through the Elite Four. BW Forces you to rely on new Pokémon and form new bonds rather than rely on your trusty Gyarados or Machamp. It isn't a huge problem for me since I tend to exclusively use Pokémon native to the region I'm playing but change is a gooddd thing.

TL;DR: Pokémon BW/BW2 are absolute masterpieces and my favorites in the series. The love and care that went into them is obvious and i am desperate for more unova content nintendo please im starvi

GEN 6: KALOS (XY)

This is going to be a bit of a turn, but while I like Kalos as a region and have put many hours into Pokémon Y, the story is...well...it's certainly not my favorite, lets put it that way.

I'll go ahead and start with the positives because even though Kalos isn't in my top 3, it does have very good things in it. Such as Mega Evolution, the switch to 3D was done very very well, and the music is also lovely and very unique.

Mega Evolution is probably the most popular and memorable thing about Kalos and for good reason. It gives us a chance to use some Pokémon that may have been overlooked before and gain an insane power boost now. Not all of them are created equally, however (looking at you Mega Kangaskhan and every Mega Pseudo-Legend that was already powerful to begin with and didn't need stronger forms).

The switch from 2D to 3D was done very well, and I remember importing so many Pokémon from my old games JUST to see what they looked like in 3D. It was so neat at the time, and seeing old Pokémon in this new style was such a cool experience!

The music is also very nice!! Some personal faves include Lumiose City, Trainer Battle, Laverre City and Xerneas/Yveltal battle.

As for the story...it's got a lot of. Weak points. First of all, Team Flare's plan doesn't really make a lot of sense to me and whenever I'm asked about Lysandre by my friends I just never remember what his deal is or why he hates the world so much and wants to destroy it. It's very vague and there's not really any hidden lore like with Cyrus about his past. All we really know is that he and Sycamore used to be friends. And then Lysandre turned to the dark side. Maybe there's more but I just don't really care that much about Lysandre...at all...to look into it. He's just kinda boring to me. 🙃

Not to mention that Megas are SEVERELY underutilized in XY. There's maybe like? 3? Fights? Where your opponent uses a Mega? And the final gym leader doesn't even use Pokémon with a full moveset? Even though by that time you're like level 40?

Honestly XY deserves a rambly post of its own but all in all despite its flaws I think it's an enjoyable game. Not my fave and not one I really return to often, but it is fun for what it offers.

TL;DR: More enjoyable to me than Kanto, but still has a lot of flaws. Definitely deserved a 3rd version. But the music, 3D graphics and Mega Evolutions are all well done.

GEN 7: ALOLA (SM/USUM)

I haven't replayed Alola in a hot minute so forgive me if I misremember parts or aren't as thorough. But concisely: I like Alola a lot! I really like the deviation they did from Gym battles and turned them into trials that you face. It's almost like the Noble Pokémon trials from Legends: Arceus, except there's more of them.

I like how theres different islands, the Kahunas all have really nice designs and the regional villain not being an 'Evil Team' was a really cool decision that deviated a lot from the other games! I ADORE Team Skull, they're all stupid and they're family to me.

I was very conflicted about Ultra Beasts for quite a while but I have recently come to like them. I think very weird alien Pokémon that come from another universe is such a neat concept and I actually hope they return in future games. I want to know more about Ultra Space and the wormholes!

The music is also very good, but there's not a whole lot of standouts for me. However the Abandoned Thrifty Megamart haunts my dreams forever.

I love the characters, the new Pokémon and Alola as a whole!! The biggest glaring downside though is that it's way too hand-holdy and there's wayyyyy too many cutscenes. It seems like every three steps triggers a cutscene or someone telling you what to do. It gets better later on in the game but the early game is pretty slow because of this. Also, I hardly ever use Z-moves. Not super interesting to me, but it's nice that any Pokémon can use them as opposed to the select few that can Mega Evolve.

TL;DR: Alola is a very good and enjoyable game with great characters and some of my fave Pokémon. Its main flaws are just that it's very hand-holdy and somewhat easy for experienced players.

GEN 8: GALAR (SWSH)

And finally we arrive in the Galar region. Sword and Shield get a lot of hate, and while I do think it has areas where it's lacking and it's not my favorite in the series, I don't think it deserves all of the hate that it gets. There is, however, room to criticize and that is what I will do. (Also: I haven't played the DLCs nor do I know enough about them to properly criticize, so I will just be talking about the base game)

But first! The good parts. The 3D models in the 3DS games suffered from lack of saturation disease, so I'm glad that SWSH fixes this. The Pokemon and the overworld is so vibrant (the wild area isn't as much, but the cities and routes are so overlooked imo, they're stunning). I love how Pokémon are walking around in the overworld like in LGPE, while others hide in the grass and can only be found if you search for them there. I also love how the Pokémon can be aggressive and chase you, it's great fun xD The camp, Pokémon jobs and the water bike are also great additions.

This is where I get a bit more critical. First, I find Dynamax a bit more interesting than Z-Moves, but it's still kinda eh. Not a lot of thoughts about it other than I think Gigantamax forms are a lot cooler than normal Dynamax even though the whole mechanic is pretty broken in competitive I hear. Ah well. It's a fine mechanic, I don't mind it existing.

And now the story. It's very reminiscent of XY where the potential is there but it just seems very unfinished. Chairman Rose's goal at least makes more sense than Lysandre's but that doesn't really make it compelling. I found it odd how Rose just summons Eternatus out of nowhere, this Pokémon that was never mentioned or hinted at beforehand and then he goes on to announce to the whole region that he made an oopsie and he's making that everyone else's problem. It's just very weird and feels a bit out of character for Rose. I know he's a paranoid man and has concerns for the region's future and all but this drastic measure just kinda came out of left field for me.

I will say though that before this moment, I found Rose to be a very funny and interesting character. I mean I kinda knew he would be the main villain but I found his paparazzi disguise and moments of braincell singularity charming. I think he would have made for a good antagonist but maybe not the best main villain.

Also I really really wish there were more fully animated cutscenes. That kinda goes for every 3 Pokémon game nowadays but just...seeing Zamazenta do a walk cycle while turning on the Y axis was just. So underwhelming.

TL;DR: SWSH may be flawed, but I did have fun playing it and there's a lot I love about it. I just wish the story was better executed and had some more interesting animations.

[bregee13]

The 5 Hour Spamton Playlist

It's been many months, and it's finally complete enough to share (though I might add more later). And yup, you read that right, it's just over 5 hours long.

I even decided to order it for some reason. So if you're able to listen to the whole thing in order, that's appreciated! Though it's not required of course.

But either way, I hope this playlist drives you up the wall as much as it did to me.

Anyway I'm gonna put a bunch of commentary under the read more. (This thing has been sitting around in my library for almost a year, since a week or two after the chapter 2 release!!!, I have every right to be annoying about it)

(I was originally going to comment on every other thing on the playlist, but then I got overwhelmed lol. Still keeping some of what I wrote. Might elaborate more on some things later idk. )

(Hope y'all like it!)

I tried to keep the Spamton songs in the same order as the soundtrack. In fact, the whole playlist is roughly organized based on those songs! I guess you could say each section has its own themes.

Imagine. You start the playlist eager to hear what bs was added to it. You listen to HEY EVERY !, and then it ends. Everything's quiet. And then "BWAH BWAH WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT-"

I've seen people add Mamma Mia and Dancing Queen to Spamton playlists, which is neat, but ngl Ring Ring and I'm a Marionette fit way better. And they're both really good.

I like to think I Get Around and Outside represent the very beginning of the bigshot era

But Telephone by Red Vox feels like it'd be from a lot later than that. Like someone looking back at the past with regret. And seeing a loss of independence and control.

Y'know, with the perspective constantly changing between different points in Spamtons story, it sorta reminds me of Death of a Salesman. Except not as good.

Anyway Spamton brings us back to the present. Even if it's just for a moment.

GAS GAS GAS I'M GONNA STEP ON THE GAS (surprised how few playlists used these tbh)

Ok ok I know Business Man has nothing to do with Spamton aside from the title, but it's goofy and gives levels of suspicion that felt relevant >:)

I Really, Really, Really Like This Image comes off as a convo between Spamton and Gaster for some reason, and I really really really like that image in my head. Also Jevil is there at the end (ps the image is an image of an egg 😊)

I'm not sure if I can properly explain It's Still Rock and Roll To Me. Pre-bigshot era? Early bigshot era? Idk. It just feels like Spamton to me. Actually Billy Joel music in general seems to fit imo. Can't explain why. Just does.

Haha All Star hehehe!!! Oh DAng it's a cool place and they say it gets colder??? Snowgrave reference??????

I hope when you hear Doin it Right, you know what I WANTED to put there...

At first Baby Hotline felt like me inserting it for the heck of it, but the more I listen to it in the context of Spamton, it fits more. Being put on hold (literally as well as metaphorically), the implications of suicide/suicidal thoughts. There's also kind of an implication of someone rooting for Spamton to improve. (Which would probably be the player, but who knows)

Ngl Promised You A Miracle is a song I stole from my Mirror Man playlist. And it's not the only one. They both share themes of religion/heaven, changing your appearance to be perfect, becoming god/superior to others, and being seen and respected.

Easy Money is a late addition. I couldn't not add it. It's good.

NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A

Temporary Secretary

(But seriously, can we agree that Temporary Secretary is definitely a Spamton song? It feels scummy, unsafe, DESPERATE, and dare I say unhinged. )

Cars by Gary Numan. That's all I have to say. It's cars. Spam man likes cars!

When adding Hanging On The Telephone, I had to choose between the Blondie version and the one by The Nerves. I chose the Blondie version. It was gayer.

OuiOui's First Crime was added because Peepy's Theme didn't fully capture how much people wanna baby this middle aged puppet. Also It's OuiOuis First Crime specifically to still show that as much as people love this guy, he isn't as innocent/nice as we sometimes want to make him out to be. He's scamming and killing people! Good for him!!!

Don't You Want Me is another song stolen from the Mirror Man playlist. I like to think in perspective of Spamton, this song has multiple layers. It's about Spamton actually being seen as someone important for once, him asking for reassurance that people want him, and threatening them if they don't. It's about Spamton getting more successful because of Gaster/Mike and wanting independence from them, causing his downfall. It's about teaming up with Kris to become BIG at the expense of Kris and potentially everyone in cybercity. It's about Spamton wanting the player to like and pity him. There's probably more connections that could be made than that even!

I'm too overwhelmed to comment too much more atm, but please know that at a certain point of making this and listening to it over and over trying get the order right, I momentarily mentally turned into Chris McLean from Total Drama. I will not elaborate lmao

[memes-saved-me]

Curious, how many of the Vampire Chronicles have you read? I loved Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat(though I thought it weird he kept checking out his literal mom he turned into a vampire), The Queen Of The Damned(making me hate how inaccurate the movie is but loving that the movie had an amazing soundtrack), and stopped at the Body Swapping one that I believe was the fourth book because at that point the writing quality and the vampire Lestat just got too weird for me.

I've read the exact same as you lol. I was obsessed with the movie growing up. I used to watch it constantly on vhs and then sort of forgot about it until I was 18 and found out it was a book. Keep in mind my mother who saw the movie twice in cinemas has read the og trilogy and just didn't mention it existed so I got a hold of them and read through Interview and Lestat in like 2 weeks (I had uni work as well lol) but got stuck and had to force my way through queen of the damned. Body thief I got so bored of after 2 chapters. Once I found out she fired her editor and pushed Louis aside I dropped it and like to pretend the og trilogy is the only books that count lol.

Interview With The Vampire is my favourite book. It just is THE book for me and it will probably stay at that status forever. I have three copies, one of which I got at a bus station and its literally falling apart so I'm going to use the pages for something one day. But yes that book is just brilliant in so many ways and I love it so much.

The Vampire Lestat I love that book so much but I love Lestat so getting his life story and his chaotic adventures is just so much fun. Nicholas😭 and the Vampires of Paris were so interesting to read about for the first time. The Gabrielle thing is....yeah not good and tbh I blocked that out the first time for the better but I do love her as a character.

Queen of The Damned was just urgh. I don't like Akasha and skipped a lot of her scenes with Lestat because I just don't care?? The concert and all the vampires meeting again was great and really entertaining, Daniel and Armand is just one of my favourite plotlines but Akasha and that whole thing was boring. I don't care about the origin of vampires or Lestat becoming overpowered. It was too ambitious for my liking, I like the domestic love and fighting not Lestat saying he loves Louis then fucking off with Akasha the night day.

I tried Body Thief multiple times but just couldn't be bothered and after reading about what happens I was really put off and probably won't try it again. I'm not interested in reading about Lestat messing around with anyone who looks his way and Louis just waiting around for him. My main love for this series is Loustat and their relationship through bad and good. So yeah I didn't bother after that.

Rice herself said she lost interest in Louis and regretted letting him slip to the sidelines but then again she went way off the rails storywise and Lestat being indestructible is boring. Plus the modern setting isn't as satisfying as the historical ones.

There's a few vine compilations of these 3 books on my YouTube lol from when I got into the books and even shows where I fell off.

Thanks for asking because I will ramble about this series so hour haha

[stained-glass-shatters]

Info-dump then, man! /pos

Okay- okay okay, this is probably going to be really long and I'm gonna start with DOOM (yes, both of them, both 2016 and Eternal and the DLCS for Eternal), and then move onto the entire Splatoon series (but focusing more heavily on 2 and its DLC since that one just... Got me man)

Warnings below for definite spoilers for DOOM 2016, DOOM Eternal, The Ancient Gods Part 1, The Ancient Gods Part 2, Splatoon 2, Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion

Okay so... With DOOM, just the everything? I hate gore and blood and all that nasty stuff usually but with DOOM it's... Different I guess? All the different weapons you get, and the fact you never have to reload?? I adore that so fucking much. Like and how it goes level by level, slowly giving you things while also feeling like everything's speeding past you, it's the perfect pace. And oh my gods, the soundtrack for them both goes so fucking hard, though I do personally prefer Eternals soundtrack they're both amazing. And the story it tells? How it goes beyond just The Slayer and saving Earth and all that? How every single demon is completely different from the last and how it consistently throws new mechanics at you? I love love love that.

I'm also going to touch on Eternal more here because I love the collectables and the secrets? How you get music that you can play and also all the toys? The Slayers room? It gives him so much more than just huge guts kill maim murder man because he got fucked over. The comics, the books, how it displays your weapons in your room? The broken mech that hangs in the station? Just the entire scenery is... It's incredible, it's so detailed and being able to see just how far it's come from when it first came out to now is... It blows my mind when I think about it too long.

And the DLCs for Eternal? The plot twist? The fact that everything led up to this if you go back and play it and all the little hints they left along the way that didn't mean anything if you haven't played the DLC yet I just... Wow. Wow man wow. Also just saying getting to finally fucking deck Samur? Oh I was thrilled to do that, absolutely delighted I love getting to bash his stupid fucking Seraphim head in over and over. And part 2? Where everyone just showed up to literally help you I had to put the controller down. In a good way because just... Oh it was the perfect ending, just everything about these DLCs was perfect. The very end of the game where they seal you back up? Man... Gets to me every fucking time without fail for a game that's on the surface funny haha kill game

Now for Splatoon... I didn't get a chance to play the first one unfortunately, though I've probably spent a good couple hours digging into it, though I don't know as much about it as I do Splatoon 2. For starters, the square? It's so detailed and thorough. How the TV's move with things on them, how there's players just chilling? I love all that. And that all the characters, at least NPCs all look different, and have such different backstories and personalities on top of all that.

I love the differences in Pearl and Marina. Looks, their personalities, their histories and backstories just all of it? I mean Marina was a fucking child soldier for the Octarian Army if I'm not mistaken. And Pearls dad is so fucking rich, and yes she's spoiled, but she's kind at the same time. They did a really good job balancing her out and I adore her color pallet. And it's the other little things around the game that really make it for me.

For a game with really simple and repetitive mechanics, it keeps you interested. Because it's not just turf wars. That not your thing? Go do salmon runs, or play one of their ranked battles! Personally I love splat zones. Or you just wanna be here for the story? Play hero mode! That too hard and you want a different branch of the story? Get the DLC.

The mem cakes, the fact that you could skip levels if they were too hard and still get the rewards from them, the fact that the train consistently refreshed with new passengers on it? Oh and dont forget the chat logs you got to see giving you even more story, alongside the fact that once you beat it you can actually play as an Octoling? And OH MY GODS THAT END FIGHT. The music, the setting, the everything got me so hard. I won't even lie I cried a little at it.

It's not just a game where you shoot either, all of the incredibly creative weapons, and how if you don't like the bomb or the special on that one weapon, you can find the same weapon, but with a different bomb and/or special? I love that so much. I also love how it's locked behind leveling, it makes leveling seem actually important and not just... Do it for bragging rights, which yes it's also that once you stop getting weapons at level 30 I believe, but you get what I'm getting at. And all of the clothes and the shoes and the hats you can put onto your little guy! Oh sometimes I just go in to mess around with that.

There's just so much to them both and I love them both dearly.