#RIP JANKIE 2024-2024

[sophfandoms53]

THAT CUT TO COMMERCIAL WAS FOULLL WHAT THE HELL DUDE😭😭

[miradanii]

Beast Wars First Watch - Complete

I almost teared up at the end. 52 episodes of a old ass Transformers show. For a primitive CGI show about toys beating each other up from 1996 it holds up like REALLY. The issue is that we're in the year 2024 and it's very understandable that it wouldn't be easy to go and watch janky polygons for 52 episodes. So if anyone was interested in Beast Wars but couldn't go past the first episode because how weird everything looks, here's what helped me:

This is the second CGI tv show ever to air on TV, so give it a break.

1996...Beast Wars was animated by Mainframe. And their first CGI show in 1994 was called Reboot the first ever CGI show ever made. Sure when Toy Story came out and changed the game in 1995, they worked within their limitations. All the toys were plastic for a reason. They were very simple. Beast Wars said fuck that and in each 20 minute episodes contain characters with various textures, performing complex animations during whatever tv schedule they were on. If you ever spotted a character's face or body sliding when it's not supposed to, they were probably running out of time or there's an error that just couldn't be fixed as easily as it could now. I studied Maya in college years ago and I'm telling you rendering was a bitch if your sequence was long. Keeping in mind with what the team had to work with or possibly even invent on their own was just enough for me to be massively impressed. Our standards for CGI in TV have risen over the course of the years. We had Transformers Prime in 2010, 2015 Miraculous Ladybug premiered, CGI films became experimental such as Spiderverse and Puss in Boots. So think of Beast Wars as an early part of history in animation. It's nice to see how far we've come.

If you crave a silly time, this is for you. Whatever choices the animator's made were really funny (not the ones they had no control over), or just bizarre. When you get used to the style, over the course of the series the animation of the characters start becoming more expressive. Season 2 I think Megatron got increasingly expressive with his body movements. Whoever was animating him, they were having a lot of fun (at leas that's what it seems like). Inferno is a character to keep an eye on because he does a lot of fun motions with his body too. I kept losing my shit on the choices on how they animated in certain scenes. Kept me entertained until the very end.

2. Banger Voice Acting

The voice acting is one of the standouts from this show. Though the animation may not hold up well, the voice acting does. Garry Chalk is such a sassy young Optimus. A bit more fun than the young Optimus Prime that David Kaye (oh shit I just realized he's Megatron in Beast Wars...wow yeah this guy has range) plays in Transformers Animated if you were looking for anything similar like that. You'll still get some goofy 90's voice acting though like with Dinobot and Terrorsaur, even Rattrap but I think it's part of it's charm. I once again bring up Megatron as a reason to watch this show. The way this man delivers his lines is just *chef's kiss*

3. Fun and Weirdly Dark...

After finishing the series holy shit. I cannot fathom how you have a show with a rollerblading t-rex AND a decent onscreen death count. Hanna-Barbara cartoon noises alongside characters being constantly impaled and ripped apart (sometimes its for a teehee haha but then spin it around adding in some tension and that sweet composition and suddenly its not so funny anymore). Shakespeare. I don't know if it was just me but I couldn't predict most of what would happen next. Because being a high budget show to sell toys...knowing the 1986 movie...these characters aren't safe. I lost my shit, multiple times. More than I thought it would. Before finishing this show I did sneak a peek at what other people had said about Beast Wars and what was constantly being said was that nearly every episode was important to the over all plot of the series. And it's true! You miss an episode and you might be a little confused. I wanna know how kids who were first tuning into the show after a couple characters die and what their thoughts were...cause it's not like Batman Animated where you could watch the show in any order and be fine. Even before the box sets were released too.

Overall in the year 2024, I love Beast Wars. Obviously it's a product of it's time and no doubt has its flaws. But, that's what happens with a lot of beloved older series. Out of all the Transformers stories I've been watching/reading the past few months, Beast Wars got the biggest reactions out of me. It's also the one I had a lot of fun with because it's so unhinged and goofy/bizarre. I cannot stress that enough. Because Transformers is already bizarre enough and Beast Wars shot past it for me. How is Beast Machines gonna go after it???

I dunno. It's next on my list.

Even more thoughts and spoilers (end of the show spoilers) below:

I...yeah Beast Machines is next for me. I am gonna miss the silly polygons of the original Beast Wars crew. NGL I thought I had one more episode since the youtube playlist said 53. There must have been a double episode or something. I am aware that Beast Wars had complications later on in its run. Similar to TFP so it's obvious to say that I think they needed at least like two max three more episodes for certain plot points and just...character life span. No shit I would have wanted one more season. The lil ol 12 episodes and a 45 minute special at least. Dude...Dinobot 2...when that clone came back for a while, I really didn't think they were gonna do anything with him. There weren't any reactions to Dinobot coming back from the Maximals other than...a Pred...always a Pred...so I'm like okay Dinobot 2...different character...I don't need to think about it. Thanks for pulling my heartstrings show...really gotta push me off the ledge when I'm not looking huh? Man finds his honor, do his good deed after being released from the grasp of Megatron's control....looks at Optimus to fully remember himself and FUCKING DIES IN THE END...AGAIN???? That's so cruel. owie.

Tigerhawk after over 20 episodes an INSANE character reveal and clever way of bring back two characters for the price of one (because they can only afford so many voice actors and animate so many characters). This was a good concept. I would have loved to see it be explored...IF THEY DIDN'T DIE...AGAIN. Especially Airazor can't catch a break...this poor woman.

Okay bye Death Charge. You got what you wanted. At least he technically didn't die in vain? The shock that Rampage just let it happen...yeah those two are a character study.

dsafghjghtrjy yeah give Waspinator what he wants. The potentially immortal robot a good ending. At least he's not evil anymore????? Man does not care his former coworker's body parts are used as musical instruments and cooking ware.

This show has a higher onscreen character death than Transformers Prime (Vehicons don't count). Sheesh. Transformers die...a lot. However, Beast Wars surprised me the most with it. I noted from above that these characters get shot, torn apart, flattened?, and beaten senselessly throughout the show. So when a character dies for good its somewhat shocking in my opinion.

All the love for Blackarachnia. I was in constant fear about her character because I couldn't tell what was going to happen. There was a good chance she would either die or disappoint and become Megatron's goon again. The best version is her Transmetal upgrade and recognizing the design as inspiration for Blackarachnia in Transformers Animated. I screamed when I saw her design. I was so happy. I love her and Silverbolt. What a healthy relationship.

This is a show I do want to rewatch it at some point and even just...be one of those people that make a 45 minute video essay some day. I want physical copies but the site where they supposedly sold it is...not there last time I checked? Which is odd because I had a paper ad for it on the TFP blue-rays I got for my birthday.

Also...I do like this series better than Transformers Prime...not because it's better overall, like if you seen it, you know. Also just rewatching Prime simultaneously cemented my feelings about it. I still love both though. Prime is close to my heart since it's what I grew up with, but Beast Wars has a Dino on rollerskates and Optimus Prime as a blue gorilla riding a hoverboard...like...idk man. I just think it's neat.

[linka-from-captain-planet]

How would you rank the Dragon Age games?

my ranking is DAV > DA2 > DAI > DAO based on my personal taste. More/explanation below the cut if you're interested!

(if I were ranking my favorite DA media I've consumed, The Masked Empire would be #1 with 100/10)

Possibly important context: I played the DA series for the first time in 2024, and I played DAI -> DA2 -> DAO -> DAV in that order. So I have no nostalgia factor at play, and haven't had a decade to ruminate about any particular game in this series.

Veilguard (8/10) This is the Dragon Age game for Me. I think this is largely due to some really competent game design decisions; the quality of life playing this game is amazing, and the way the companions and quests are structured just really worked. It's polished and sleek. The progression worked, the way companions are integrated into the story so none can be fully ignored (I'm guilty of this) worked, the story worked, the whole vibe and spirit worked. It also accomplished what I never thought would be possible: fun DA combat. I actually have saves for the Siege of Weisshaupt and Fire and Ice and the endgame just so I can go back and do these big kickass battles. There's no one part of the game that makes me hesitate to fire up a new file. It takes a few hours to ramp up, but once shit gets real, it stays real. I don't feel compelled to mod it at all (I could nitpick, but I only mod for QOL). This is the game I want to play when it feels like the real world is more fucked than Southern Thedas. It drew out feelings I hadn't felt since Feb 2020. There are a few things I think could have been better (e.g. I think Faction was a weak way to frame the player's allies). After playing, I don't mind the lack of worldstate, but I really only wanted easter eggs and codex entries to begin with.

Dragon Age 2 (7.5/10) I would rather read a short story or novella than a big ass 500-page honkin novel so in this way - impact-per-hour - DA2 is my #1 always. I love the scope limited to one fraught city. I love the personal-political integration. On easy mode, the janky combat doesn't bother me (it's over fast enough) and I find a kitschy charm in the reused maps. It's impressive and also designed very competently for what resources they were given (i've said before - DA2 would never work with a dignified, sweeping story like DAO or DAI with its level of jank - giving the player one shithole city and a small group of dirtbags as companions is the only way its cracks wouldn't become canyons). Hawke is the best DA protagonist due to feeling very defined in their own right (I don't care to create OCs - Default Marian all the way. The drama and chaos of the finale - including having to fight-kill companions I couldn't sway - was top tier. Being pretty contained, I don't feel a big drive to keep playing DA2, like it's not really that "fun" to play for me. It feels like a very immersive book. It's pretty neck and neck with DAV, but DAV just being more *fun* edges it out.

Inquisition (7/10) My first DA! Drops below DA2 based mainly on quality of life. This game is a true slog - I don't think I'd be able to play it without mods when I return to it; the looting animation alone makes me want to rip my teeth out. I find it very impressive for the time it was developed (this game made me like 50% *less* impressed with BG3 actually), but it's very much a more-is-less situation for my taste. That said I love "the Inquisition" as a concept. My first play, I went in completely cold and had no idea what anyone was talking about ever (e.g. no clue what a Warden was, no clue about "circles" or why mages and "templars" were beefing) but still had a blast, and it was some of the most thrilling video game play I'd ever experienced. I felt engaged the whole first run. I also appreciate the variety in quests, companions, and locations. It was a great introduction to Thedas as a whole. The companions were hit or miss; I didn't swap them out much, and running around the ginormous Skyhold base to talk to them for 20 hours each was a colossal bore.

Origins (6.5/10) I hesitated to play DAO basically because of the broodmother, and I would not have played this game if I didn't find a way to skip it entirely with console commands/debugging menu. I also skipped all combat and can guarantee I wouldn't have made it through the prologue if i couldn't. I do find it very impressive for its time, and I try to give it some grace on the extremely mid-00s edgelord aura that makes a lot of the dialogue/dialogue options excruciating to me (note: I also despise Purple Hawke). The story was engaging and while I didn't really care about many of the companions (I never switched out my team of Alistair, Morrigan, and Leliana), I loved the supporting cast and antagonists. The power struggle aspect of the story was incredible, mixed in with the darkspawn threat - it felt very immersive and the stakes felt high. I didn't particularly care for the "gather your allies" part of the story, but this probably would have been cooler if I didn't killallhostiles everything in every battle including the endgame. While this is a very competent (for its time) and engaging game, there's just nothing about it that makes me feel insane. The closest it comes is how sick the Warden Lore is, but there are no characters or story beats that make me want to write a fic or play over and over. Ultimately, DAO comes last because of its grossness about women, being unplayable (to me) without skipping like 30% of the game between the end of the Deep Roads and combat, and just not having anything that makes me feel insane.

[audiobook-mike]

Ainsley was going to be charged with child abandonment charges so instead she got rid of the evidence and killed her only son Jankie

RIP Jankie (2024-2024)

[yoshihashismattebum]

8, 14, 22 for the end of year asks, please!

8. Game of the year?

I've actually not played that many games this year! Though to be fair, even in years when I do play a lot of games, I'm a dabbler: I only tend to play a game for about two weeks at a time before I move on to something else, which sometimes makes it hard to pick a favourite. I think this year the running theme was 'games that I recognise aren't particularly good but I enjoyed them anyway'.

The first one that springs to mind is House Flipper. On the surface it looks like every other janky simulator game, but there's something about it that's oddly compelling. All the little tasks feel very satisfying to perform, and being able to choose the decor scratches the same interior design itch as the Sims for me.

I also played quite a bit of Fallout 4, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's a good game. The writing in it is generally dreadful imo, and the world mostly feels like a missed opportunity. Plus, like most Bethesda games, it has the breadth of an ocean but the depth of a puddle. But hey, sometimes it's fun to splash around in a puddle!

As usual, I've also played a lot of trashy wrestling games, mainly WWE 2K23 and Wrestling Empire. I would particularly recommend the latter despite it being a bizarre, janky mess a lot of the time. Something about it is oddly compelling, and it runs equally well on phones and PC, which makes it perfect to pick up for 15 minutes at a time. Plus the matches can be really good! The system of move counters is particularly impressive.

One of my aims for next year is definitely to play games a bit more intentionally and less mindlessly. It would be good to work through some of my huge Steam library backlog!

14. Favorite book you read this year?

Again, it's been a lean year for me this year in terms of books, but I'm coming out of a multi-year slump where I barely read anything at all, so I'm at fine with that.

The only print book I read this year, and thus my favourite by default, was The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. Fortunately I thought it was great! It's the fourth in her 'Wayfarer' series, which is probably my favourite series of books of all time. I think this one was maybe the weakest of the four for me, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd highly, highly recommend the series to anyone who wants something warm and light but also thought-provoking (themes of personhood, identity, community etc). Even if you're not typically a SF fan, I think you'd get something out of them.

I did listen to a few audiobooks as well though! The highlight was probably Caliban's War by James S. A. Corey, the second in the Expanse series (yet more SF). Having enjoyed the TV show, I was quite disappointed by the first book, but this second one was lightyears better imo, so I'm glad I persevered. It's where the series really starts to get into the political intrigue that I loved in the show.

22. Favorite place you visited this year?

I answered this one already in a previous post, but I think I can come up with another answer! 2024 was the year I finally made it to Warhammer World! If you're a massive nerd like me, it really is paradise. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to see some cool fantasy and SF dioramas, even if you don't have any interest in or knowledge of Warhammer. I was blown away by the scale and detail of some of them. Seriously impressive stuff, and it helped to get me back into the hobby! RIP my money...