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ronnytherandom · 3 years

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I started Writing My Thoughts On Things Again, I'm Sorry

15/8/2021:

Mass Effect Legendary Edition (Whole trilogy w/ all dlcs, Adept Class, Hardcore difficulty, 68 Hours):

Still brilliant! I adore this series. The first Mass Effect was one of the first games I ever played back in 2010 and Mass Effect 2 is one of the games I’ve played the most accruing several hundred hours over multiple playthrough from 2010 onwards, while Mass Effect 3 is a game I greatly appreciated but have more mixed feelings towards. Retrospectively as much as I liked the first Mass Effect, I did not nearly appreciate it enough back in the day. For a first entry in a new IP it is incredibly fleshed out with interesting Lore, an intriguing story and a cool galaxy to explore. I appreciate its combat far more now than I did back then but would still argue it is relatively weak in comparison to more modern titles and its own successors. Though the VA is rough in some places it is excellent where it matters, especially in the case of Sovereign whose iconic dialogue on Virmire is etched into my brain. A key element of the first mass effect I felt was sorely missing from the later entries was its exploration. While the galaxy grew routinely larger no game after the first had a drivable Mako, a vehicle I adore, and further lacked the opportunity to land on and explore the terrain of alien worlds for resources and side missions which I feel lends a lot to the atmosphere of the setting and could be made even more compelling using updated technology and a larger selection of assets and interiors which might have emerged from the higher budget successors. As it is I appreciate its inclusion in the first game. Mass Effect was also my first encounter with impactful choices in a video game and this is certainly something I appreciate but leads me to a major criticism specifically targeting the dialogue wheel layout as it is strange to me how you can puzzle out all of these possible dialogue outcomes but put exactly all of the positive outcomes behind the Upper Left dialogue option. While this is less pronounced in the First entry as the Renegade dialogue fills roughly the same purpose while sounding more badass, it becomes truer throughout the series as renegade options routinely just become nasty and exclusionary.

Mass Effect 2 innovates in some key ways which I have grown to appreciate more in the past 20 hours of play than I did when it launched. Primarily, its focus on characters and your relationships to them. Barring a couple of notable exceptions I found myself greatly invested in every single member of the Normandy crew and I think it’s a remarkable feat that each crewmate could be written to be so sympathetic, relatable and interesting in a world so full of appreciable elements. I would go into specific examples but id end up listing every character except Miranda and Jacob. This of course plays well into the Suicide Mission narrative which is perhaps my favourite overarching plot within the trilogy as it incorporates not just all of these incredible characters and plays upon your investment in them but also relies on the threat of both the Reapers and Collectors which are two excellently designed enemies which I find significantly more compelling than Saren and the Geth or Cerberus and the Reaper Husk Armies. Mass Effect 2 has a powerful horror element composed of the Collectors phobic horror and the reapers cosmic horror and it does wonders for the game’s atmosphere. I remember at this moment the Collector soundtrack which, like the rest of the soundtrack is absolutely excellent. Inasmuch as I would criticise it from a purely musical perspective for being simple at times and perhaps overly repetitive it perfectly fits the camp space opera that is mass effect. Galaxy Map and Suicide Mission are absolute bangers. I would hesitate to call the combat great. Playing the game as a weapon heavy class is superior, I’d argue as even with an armour build dedicated to decreasing ability cooldown it is too long to adequately utilise the powers of ability heavy classes like the adept. Additionally, ability play feels far more limited than in the game’s predecessor due to the limitation of this games skill tree elements which are frankly a step too far in simplifying the interface. It doesn’t massively affect enjoyment of the game but I couldn’t help but note every time I visited the abilities menu how much I missed Mass Effects abilities menu. So while I would say Mass Effect maintains a very well balanced game with regards to combat, roleplay and story, Mass Effect 2 eschews combat and mechanical roleplay in favour of an excellent story. Additionally while lacking an exploration aspect the more structured side-missions found by scanning planets throughout the galaxy create a lot of fun moments and interesting gameplay, emblematic of the fact that mission design vastly improves between this game and its predecessor.

Mass Effect 3 goes some way to resolve its predecessor’s imbalance as the majority of the game possesses enhanced combat, a much better abilities mechanic and an excellent story. First the addition of more mobility, loadout and engagement options benefits the combat greatly, while the addition of more complex enemy types than previous games pushes you to fully utilise these new options. A massive reduction in ability cooldown combined with liberal cooldown reduction bonuses in the skill tree means that abilities are very useful and versatile and you generally feel very powerful. Sometimes too powerful if you’re thinking from a balancing standpoint but given it’s a single player game this criticism is much diminished and being powerful is fun regardless. The skill tree system in this game forms a synthesis between its predecessors’ systems and comes out the better for combining a regular sense of empowerment with interesting choices within your own character build. All of this contributes to a much-improved combat experience, especially over Mass Effect 2. This also lends itself to the old multiplayer system which I honestly enjoyed when it launched (who cannot love a playable biotic Volus?) and feel is sorely lacking from this legendary edition. I would argue the only real problem with the multiplayer was requiring a player to engage with it in order to achieve the best story outcome; the actual multiplayer gameplay was thoroughly enjoyable and it gave players the opportunity to experience combat as an STG agent or a Krogan Warlord which were both fulfilling experiences from my memory. The aforementioned story is truly excellent and successfully builds off events in previous games but primarily succeeds due to Biowares exceptional character writing which persists from Mass Effect 2. Even in the case of its worst side mission content but especially in its primary missions the stakes and outcome of events are thoroughly compelling and the involvement of beloved Normandy crewmates is bound to incite intense emotions. This is possibly the only game that makes me cry multiple times throughout a normal playthrough. Unfortunately my goodwill often runs out when it comes to consider the ultimate ending of this series which I do not approve of. I admit there are mitigating factors: you should not play the mass effect series for the culmination of its plot. This series lives and dies with its characters and all of the major character arcs reach satisfactory endings before the final moments of Mass Effect 3, so the final moments have no real meaning as the thematic purpose of the series is achieved by galvanising the galaxy and uniting all these disparate races into a single force to fight the Reapers. Thematically the game is a success but the extent to which it utilises the choices the player has made, upon which the series builds its reputation, is limited in scope. This can likely be laid at the feet of the leaks of the original story ahead of the games launch which pushed the developers to create a new ending to avoid spoilers, but the quality of that ending is poor as it boils all the choices made throughout the series down to selecting the colour of a space laser. To make an odd comparison, this is why I think Game of Thrones’ and Mass Effect’s endings are different kinds of bad. Mass Effect reaches a fully satisfying conclusion in the moments immediately after launching the final mission, whereas Game of Thrones built its whole series asking the question “Who Will Sit The Iron Throne” With the final answer being “Actually, no one” after slogging through multiple series which did not live up to the quality of the first. Mass Effect answers its dramatic question of “Can Shepard Unite The Galaxy Against The Reapers” satisfactorily following sixty hours of excellent content and the colour of the space laser doesn’t actually matter. It just hurts to think that the finale could’ve been so much grander and more interesting. I would recommend the games, the disappointment of the finale doesn’t even come close to outweighing the grandeur that is the rest of the experience of Mass Effect 3, let alone the whole series.

There are only a few pieces of content I had not encountered prior to this Legendary edition playthrough. The Mass Effect DLC Bring Down The Sky is fun in that it adds an interesting combat experience with incredible stakes and immerses you in a stellar scale event, but the experience is very short. As part of the legendary edition I recommend it but having to pay extra for it at its time of launch I would have found it disappointing. Mass Effect 2s Overlord DLC is very good, introducing fun combat encounters, an opportunity to operate the fairly fun Hammerhead vehicle (even if it doesn’t live up to the Glory of the Mako) and explore a nice open environment with a truly haunting ending which is a kind of non-choice but it is gratifying to make that choice anyway. Additionally the visuals in the final station when interacting with the VI elements are very nice. The Arrival DLC is also quite fun, with a pseudo stealth section to open it, something which I believe occurs nowhere else in the series. The general element of operating solo is quite novel for mass effect as I believe outside of this moment, the opening of the Citadel DLC and the final moments of Mass Effect 3 there is no point where you fight alone. The indoctrinated nature of the project team does not come as a shock but regardless the dlc is enjoyable as a combat experience and the scale of destruction shown necessary to even slightly inconvenience the reapers lends a lot to the scale of their threat. I do not believe I played any DLCs in Mass Effect 3 before, insofar as I did not consider From Ashes DLC content as it was already on the disk and all buying the day one dlc did was activate it. Leviathan is very interesting from a lore perspective and does interesting things with its investigative process but I find it to be a relatively passive and uninteresting experience for the most part. Omega was more my style with a lot of good combat and interesting new enemies and a bit of bombast besides but still left me largely unmoved. Citadel was excellent but mostly for its “endgame” content rather than its story content. Despite featuring many hilarious moments throughout the actual plot it failed to interest me but I was definitely there for all of the fun character moments and the party is absolutely hilarious.

Ultimately a hearty recommendation but with tempered expectations for the finale.

Deaths Door (True Ending, 13.7 hours):

A Delight. Deaths Door is a charming little game about a bird that stabs things and I love it. It is incredibly impressive that this was made by a team composed of two people. The gameplay is fun in all regards. Navigation is a good time especially when all of the environments are lovely and full of personality. Obstacles come mainly in the form of puzzles and these are at a sweet spot between ease and frustration without being at all complex. Combat could’ve used a bit more work, primarily to create more meaningful distinctions between weapons or add a little depth, but it is still engaging and good fun. While the main bosses are challenging and satisfying to defeat, I worry over the side bosses; perhaps something could’ve been done to make them more distinct from one another? But a small gripe. I like the world, the aforementioned environments are well realised, the general aesthetic is artful and distinct and the story is good if slightly sparse. One notable element is the dialogue which is very good with a quick wit. The finale of the main game has the right amount of spectacle and weight while the endgame is cool and fantastical, with an ample supply of secrets and collectibles to find. Over all the music is incredible, soundtrack full of absolute bangers. I really enjoyed completing this game and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s into action adventure and souls-like games.

The Bad Batch (season 1):

This was Allright. To open I cannot overstate how good the animation and art of this series is. It is routinely beautiful and well-choreographed. Visually there are no complaints. The problems begin with the opening episode which I feel overpromised on a relatively dark take on the Star Wars universe by immediately dropping us into an Order 66 plot full of death, danger, brainwashing and the threat of an emergent empire. Now granted this series never explicitly promises that all of this would continue but I enjoyed these elements of the first episode and I was dissatisfied by their limited usage throughout the rest of the show. This is not to say I disliked the show, I did enjoy the characters who are all good fun, and most of the plots were good. This series I felt had a lot of filler episodes, which I’d simply describe as episodes I enjoyed less due to underwhelming plot or conflict, but they were still enjoyable despite what id perceive as a lesser quality. The show also “suffers” from what I’d called Star Wars Syndrome of Filonitis which is how Everything Must Be Interconnected, with regular cameos from extended universe characters which I feel is beginning to get a bit much. These features feel to me more often like nostalgia grabs rather than organically featuring a character in service of the plot and development. For example, I appreciate the Captain Rex feature as that served to highlight the inhibitor chip problem and drive the characters to seek a solution, however I appreciated Rafa and Trace’s feature less both because I’m less attached to those characters (especially Rafa) but also because the episode didn’t serve any particular purpose or create any particular set piece which couldn’t have been achieved without those characters. This is a similar issue I have with The Mandalorian, I adored season one as it was relatively self-contained and only featured vague or subtler references to the wider canon: to contrast season two is full of cameos from the wider universe sometimes for no reason other than to have a cameo when those roles could easily have been filled with new and creative content which doesn’t rely upon nostalgia to make something interesting. Ultimately Bad Batch is worth watching for the characters and the good episodes, it is fun and entertaining, it just has its issues.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: The Phantom Blood:

Its uh, its not good. Now that’s a very broad statement, as to assess this show critically at all is to take it far more seriously than you should, but to be more even handed the show certainly has a bunch of fun elements. Only from a story perspective, there isn’t really that much there; and from a pacing perspective it needs to be seen to be believed. I’m certain that if you condensed the show down to a reasonable size for the amount of content it has, you’d probably have a movie with a two-hour runtime at most which would be quite enjoyable but on a whole this first part wastes about 80% of its time on overlong drawn-out internal monologues and the dilated timeframes of the show’s fights. It also has an annoying habit of overemphasizing the weight of a moment or the genius of a characters unexpected action usually with no less than three people commenting on any slight manoeuvre which ruins the pacing beyond belief. Now I understand this is a staple of the Jojo series, only part 1 handles it very poorly in comparison to later parts. The fighting is especially hindered by this as most actual combat usually involves only four or five punches but they tend to take twenty minutes getting to each one. Additionally, Johnathan Joestar is pretty boring as a character with no notable qualities aside from being good both morally and at fighting. The intrigue of the stone mask is cool but this part deals in that very little. Like I say though, Part 1 is still fun to watch if you can disengage your brain and admire the potent meme quality of the series. It is not “good” from a critical perspective but it is incredibly amusing and the campness gives it a degree of charm. If you just want to watch a bunch of beefy men shout at each other and perform magic punches this is a good time. Speedwagon, despite being the worst offender of the “Explain Everything Twice and Ruin the Pacing” category, is still entertaining for the awful accent and endearing character. He’s also definitely in love with Johnathan and I will not be taking questions on that. Baron Zeppeli has a cool hat. Theres a lot of fun to be had as the show embraces the weirdness of everything that’s going on. So, check it out, it might just be a So-Bad-Its-Good Masterpiece.

300 (film):

This film was not so great in my eyes. I think there was one particular shot of the landscapes around Sparta which I felt was visually cool but everything else about the film lacked quality for me, barring practical effects which have aged significantly better than the graphical effects. The visuals are largely uninspiring, the washed-out colour pallet doesn’t help. Perhaps the dialogue was amusing at release but for me it’s all been memed to death. I can’t say any of the performances are particularly compelling, nice to see Magneto and Faramir though. The action could’ve been good and there are certainly moments where it has impact, but the constant application of slow motion I feel reduces the sense of power that should be there, like watching people fight on the moon. Ultimately, I can’t stomach it for two primary reasons: Historical inaccuracy and Racism, which feed into each other. The values of the Spartans do not accurately reflect ideas that historical Spartans held to and I must ask why? Historical accuracy is the default state, so to usurp those ideas in favour of others means the author of the graphic novel Frank Miller and director Zach Snyder replaced those ideas with purpose, in order to make the film more appealing to a mass audience or to express their own ideas perhaps? And the values they chose for the Spartans were freedom, justice and democracy which were things the slaving and monarchical Spartans did not believe in at least in the modern sense. This reeks of an imposition of the propagandised values of western nations on a historical society. This in itself would not be so much of an issue without the demonisation and perversion of the Achaemenid empire and the peoples therein. To establish the primary conflict as one of Civilised white westerners against barbarous non-white easterners, when historically the conflict was between two nations of a broadly similar heritage both possessing facets of good and evil, in the early 2000s? It feels as though some reactionary interpretations of the War on Terror have simply been recreated here with classical history as window dressing. Add to that reactionary attachment to the battle of Thermopylae as a representation of the western world’s struggle against the eastern world, in addition to other more problematic interpretations, and this film plays straight into extreme right-wing ideas of race. Cannot recommend, there’s a lot more better things you could be watching.

18/08/2021: Darth Vader (2015) comic (incl. Vader Down event):

This was really cool. The first comic I’ve ever actually read so I don’t have much frame of reference but I certainly enjoyed this. It was compelling, I’ve blitzed through this whole run in a single day. I think it serves a valuable purpose of demonstrating Vader’s potential and development between Episodes IV and V, as well as the nature of internal conflicts within the Empire. A side note, it is amusing that Palpatine identifies infighting as a factor in the fall of the Sith Empire and yet encourages it for his own political purposes anyway. I felt that the art and style was very good and fit well with the Star Wars aesthetic, though I couldn’t say if it is truly excellent or just standard: it certainly wasn’t bad, though I think a few designs such as Dr Aphra’s ship were hard to read as it were. Speaking of, I think characters new and old were well portrayed. The titular Vader is unmistakably the same character as appears in the classic trilogy, similarly for Han, Luke and Leia etc. And it was a pleasure to see Chewbacca absolutely destroy someone. The aforementioned Aphra I thought was fine but she lacks distinction to my mind, the real star was Triple Zero and by extension Beetee who I thought were excellent comic relief in addition to being a genuine threat, something I can’t necessarily say I felt with regard to the antagonists. This latter part doesn’t matter overmuch, I think the purpose of these antagonists was more to present Vader with pressure to fulfil his personal goals rather than actually oppose him and they work well in that regard, but are unmemorable beyond their basic attributes. What I think this comic does particularly well is create a kind of puzzle narrative and its almost thrilling at moments when Vader’s plots might be discovered. As a result of this I am looking forward to reading more comics in future.

The Suicide Squad (2021): Highly enjoyable! A big step up for the suicide squad as a franchise and a lot more fun, playing into a brighter and more humorous genre than its predecessor to good effect; This time with good editing, soundtrack, direction… well good everything in comparison. I enjoyed all of the characters and their acting particularly the rivalry between Peacemaker and Bloodsport and Margot Robbie is still fantastic as Harley. They all pale before King however, who is endearing beyond belief and a lot of fun to boot. The “villain” if that term is applicable is very interesting and actually threatening, no mere beam of light into the sky! And the willingness to engage in more mature elements such as gore and character morality is of immense benefit, serving to distinguish it from generally more childish superhero media and reach towards more interesting themes around colonisation, foreign intervention, America and such. Only a reach towards however as I don’t think it ultimately says anything beyond “This thing, kinda bad and dumb”. As I saw noted, it observes the theme but doesn’t comment on it which is a shame as that would bring it all together quite neatly. I feel it can drag a little at times and sometimes the dialogue and specifically its humour don’t hit right but the rest is of such quality that it hardly matters. It looks good, sounds good and offers a chance to engage in a little mindless and bloody violence. I hope Harley keeps the javelin.

27/08/2021: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 2: Battle Tendency: TW: Mention of Nazism, Discussion of Sexism

This is MUCH better. Part 2 covers most of the problems I had with Part 1. The Monologues are less egregious so the pacing is much improved; the lore is fully integrated into the story and creates a genuinely good narrative and Joseph is a much more compelling and interesting protagonist with a quirky and entertaining personality. The Pillar Men are excellent villains and the fights are fully engaging. Even when you know that Joseph will pull out a “And next you’ll say” twist at the end of a losing fight it’s still surprising simply by dint of the strange and wacky solutions he creates. And these adventures are even more bizarre, playing into the weird camp of the series which works so well. All in all, the quality is excellent here HOWEVER there are some highly problematic elements. The show being set in the 1930s is a neat part of the travelling through time factor of the series but when you’re globetrotting around Europe you need some solution to the problem of Nazis popping up everywhere and this show does not provide one, and fails so drastically to offer even a slightly critical perspective on the fascist characters. The noble sacrifice of Von Stroheim and his later resurrection and heroism serve to idolise a Patriotic German Nazi Officer, which is not good, and this unchallenged perspective on an Actual Nazi is troubling especially when the character himself is an unrepentant mass murderer. Additionally, the show has a horrible attitude towards women, who exist almost exclusively for sex appeal and romantic interest in this show. Lisa Lisa does demonstrate ability and character but when presented with genuine combat is relegated first as a bit of eye candy during the fight with Esidesi (notably eye candy for Her Own Son) and later as a Damsel in Distress during her fight with Kars. Women are frequently used as objects in this part; Caesar Zeppeli uses women as props by controlling them with his Hamon powers and Suzi Q exists only to be rescued from Esidesi and then to be romanced by Jojo. It’s pretty ridiculous to be honest. I am informed that this improves over the course of the series but as for this part in particular it is a lot of fun just so long as you can ignore some incredibly troubling portrayals.

13/09/2021: Rick and Morty Season 4:

There is ultimately not much to say as Season 4 is simply more Rick and Morty and operates as such. It is good, even very good. It’s still very funny. Its voice acting is still the pinnacle of such work. It is still smart and has a lot of interesting ideas, only not to the extent of the copypasta fan boys. Its sci-fi universe is cool and its design and aesthetic are still excellent. I feel the show has passed a threshold however as there’s only so much time you can spend on the “dysfunctional family is dysfunctional theme”. I hope season 5 proves me wrong once I get to it, but season 4 is fun and I’d recommend it all the same, it’s just more Rick and Morty and I think that’s enough.

Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings: Spectacular! Very easily amongst the best if not The Best Superhero Movie (aside from Into the Spiderverse). To begin with complaints as they are limited, the colour grading was a bit dark in a couple of the fight scenes and in some moments of the climactic fight the CG effects are a little Too Much and distract from the central action of Shang-Chi, Xialing and a Dragon owning the shit out of a multiversal super spectre, which incidentally is fucking epic. Additionally, the standard MCU comic relief dialogue is a little meh at times but what’s new there? They still need to get a handle on that, especially because this film was really strong when it was serious. As much as I love Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery, he was just a tad much here. Aside from a few moments of weak dialogue however the rest of the film is excellent. Acting is good, effects are good, the film is quite beautiful primarily once Ta Lo is reached and the score is bangin. I appreciate most of all the fight sequences which to me look well-choreographed with interesting arenas which were always appropriate to demonstrate the characters abilities; the sequences serve to develop character and plot at key moments also. The way the camera is handled during the fights is also a big step up, with wide perspective and long shots rather than the snappy close shots of old which serve to really show off that choreography and don’t muddy your understanding of the flow of combat. There is a good thematic line throughout the film of reconciling the bad and the good of your familial and personal history, to understand yourself better and channel that into developing and achieving your ambitions and I adore how that ties in with Shang-Chi and Wenwu’s final confrontation due to the nature and treatment of the Ten Rings themselves. They are a very interesting fantastical element especially once Shang-Chi acquires them and the way that he utilises them create a very cool combat style I can’t wait to see more of, even considering that their full potential is yet to be unlocked. I additionally approve of how they have been differentiated from their comic counterparts which to my understanding are just slightly weaker infinity stones; thus, a one-to-one reproduction would’ve been a boring mistake to make. It’s a fantastic film, go see it.

26/09/2021: Sable (20 hours, 99% complete) Sable has the makings of an absolutely fantastic game, it just has a few hiccups and hurdles to deal with. Thankfully most can probably be dealt with by patch as there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the game; but a game should never be released in a state where it needs a patch to function normally. This game is incredibly buggy. Probably one of the buggiest games I’ve ever played at launch, and I preordered Skyrim. Most of my complaints are with the menus, which simply do not work properly sometimes, but there are other documented issues with collision detection and weird bike movement among others including one annoying persistent issue with the soundtrack being replaced by random ‘bong’ noises. For these reasons I cannot recommend the game Right Now until it is patched or if it is on a significant sale. However, once the bugs are fixed this game will be a stunning achievement. The story is good and leads to powerful emotional moments, aided along by an excellent atmospheric soundtrack and beautiful visuals. The style and colour give this game an exceptional look, though diminished by a fairly rapid day/night cycle. I understand that this creates a visual contrast to make the daytime feel more vibrant and impressive, but I would also hold the sun still in the sky if that were an option. The world is well built, with interesting lore and cool design work. Varied environments show off a range of colourful landscape all with their own distinct atmospheres and landmarks which are good both for navigation and exploration, this being the bulk of the game. Exploring these environments is satisfying for curiosities sake but also offers collectible Chums that I adore and an intriguing backstory and world history to consider. Riding a hoverbike is cool and fun, and the customisability is nice though I would take issue with the “balancing” of bike parts as the best bike can be acquired only a few hours in and must be bought, where bike parts earned through long quest chains pale in comparison. This annoys me as I believe players should be rewarded more for great deeds than for acquiring currency, besides which the quest bikes look cooler. This is of little importance however as the game is a very casual and chill experience, keeping an excellent balance where it is not strictly challenging but does maintain your focus and attention. This world is full of strangeness and a little sci-fi magic; though I would argue it could use more of this I think that would threaten to overwhelm the player when even this world’s most mundane elements are still stunningly cool. I think a thick coat of bugs covers what is ultimately a magnificent game with many cool things to explore and even marred by its worst features I still had a great time playing it.

27/09/2021: The Matrix

Brilliant. A very cerebral action movie which definitely earns its place as an iconic work of cinema and its clear to see why its influence is so widespread. Fantastic action with a clear and open perspective which utilises the interesting and dynamic cinematography that runs throughout the movie. I particularly enjoy how over the top the fights are in terms of environmental destruction and gestures as a whole, with a great deal of emphasis added by practical effects which I enjoy. Cool characters, good dialogue and excellent performances across the cast. And, an interesting world well-built and designed. The robots particularly are quite intimidating and I like their arthropodal form. All of the design works well to create the feeling of a greasy industrial post apocalypse which contrasts sharply with the boring homogenous simulation, the latter having its own value as a setting due to its familiarity which would’ve been especially prevalent when this film first released. I love the soundtrack, especially the final feature of Rage, but most of all I love how deeply you can read into this film and its meaning. Having watched many videos about it I was primed on the trans allegory going in and it is very clearly a present part of the narrative before even considering the context around the Wachowski sisters and their own experience. It is a very interesting part of the story and plays well into other themes built around deconstructing the illusions pressed on us by our society, drawing strong parallels between the struggles of living as a trans person and fighting against an imperialist capitalist society. It is worth watching for any of its constituent parts but together they form a magnificent work of art.

28/09/2021: Star Wars: Visions

The series is a bit of a mixed bag. It definitely overpromises with its first episode which is of a remarkably distinct style, is incredibly cool and has great wacky moments in addition to tasteful call-backs to the wider Star Wars canon. I love the umbrella sabre, it’s a fantastic idea and there needs to be more of them. From there a few episodes are fantastic, The Elder and the final episode, and id rank the Ninth jedi just below them, but the rest of the series is definitely not to my taste. The wide variety of styles on show are all fantastic and the animation is universally very good, just some of the plots are more childish than I would appreciate and the rest are simply not engaging for me to the point that despite a great deal of spectacle occurring I would often be distracted. It’s worth a look if you’re into animation and unique takes on star wars but I find generally lacking.

Django Unchained (2nd Watch) TW: Discussion of Racism and Slavery

Red Flag: Tarantino Movie is good. Very good. Stellar performances from Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Leo Di Caprio, Christoph Waltz and everyone else in the movie to be frank; a special note for the trivia about Leo Di Caprio’s cut up hand during the dining room scene, a lot of respect for a man who can keep working through that kind of injury. We can go through a Tarantino Checklist say the film is well shot with beautiful environments; has excellent and witty dialogue with good attention to detail and mannerism; and finally has great and gory action which does not flinch from terrible injury and really appeals to a perverse bloodlust that seems to crop up from time to time in normal people. Strangely enough however, I could not recall if Tarantino indulges in his predilection for feet here. This film does indulge in Tarantino’s other predilection however and that’s the N-word, but here I respect it. Unlike his non-period works, the use of the N-word is a facet of slavery just as chains, whips and plantations are and slavery is the subject of this film which seeks to be historically authentic. If anything, the absence of the N-word would be very wrong in this case despite being the project of a white man as without it the film would lack the context of a key form of oppression that still exists today. I think Django does an excellent job documenting and commenting on the institution as it existed in the pre-war period. Django experiences every level of status a black person would encounter in this setting: first a slave, then a freedman, a black slaver and finally a Liberator and the final message of the film is that slavery deserved to be destroyed and any argument made for its return is horseshit which is kind of a “Duh” statement but with the state of modern politics and the state of education in the US it’s something that needs reiterating. You can interpret this beyond the bounds of slavery itself in addition, by arguing that there are existing powers in this world which seek to discriminate based on skin colour amongst other factors and create oppressed minorities for the benefit of a wealthy few with power and should the systems that create this environment be completely destroyed it would be cause for celebration. Beyond this I particularly enjoyed the historical authenticity of the environments, of the very varied biomes of the wilder parts of the US at the time, and the contemporary outfits especially King Schultz’ coat which I desire more than any item of clothing I’ve ever seen. The film is good at building suspense both in the moment to moment and through longer story arcs, particularly the second act, but I do feel like the 2nd act lulls a little, perhaps spends slightly too long reaching its climax. This is a great spectacle of a film which looks and sounds fantastic, puts excellent performances on show, tells a great story and has quite a bit of meaning bundled into it.

29/09/2021: The Road to El Dorado (Unfinished)

Despite not finishing it I think this film is actually really good. It certainly has a few elements which don’t fully gel with me but I enjoyed my time with it; I only felt like I should really be doing something else and that I wasn’t fully engaged with it, potentially as I’m not keen on cons and high stakes acting as it feels like a form of vicarious embarrassment for me which makes me immensely uncomfortable. Personal hindrances aside most everything about this film is excellent, I loved the animation and the very colourful world. The characters were fun, the voice acting good, the constant horniness was a great bonus also. I take issue with the music, much as it’s not my right to criticise Elton John, I feel it would’ve been better fully incorporated into the film. I enjoy animated musicals more when said music is diegetic and I think them beginning to employ non-diegetic music is part of what led to their downfall, outside of market saturation. Additionally, I was not a fan of The Trail we Blaze, just not a song that worked for me. I also appreciate the integration of 3d and 2d animation here as I felt the styles were reconciled better here than in most movies, especially for the time. I might take issue with what seems to be a plot about two Spanish men of the colonial age coming to central America and “enlightening” its people through humanitarian acts and music as that would reflect some troubling attitudes but I hold out hope that by the end of the film they decide to come clean about the lie, return the gold and help defend El Dorado from Cortez and his troops. Its enjoyable, I don’t feel drawn to finishing it though.

30/09/2021: Hunters Moon, Ghost

Here’s a new one, music reviews. This single is pretty good I enjoy it a lot. Opens slow and gentle and rapidly builds into some strong rock with a very 80s feel which scans with Ghosts whole historical rock and metal style they’ve always employed but have gone in extra hard on since Prequelle. The lead riff the track opens on is really nice and I would love to have seen it explored further, but the heavier style that ramps up progressively as the song continues is still great climaxing on the 9/4 post chorus riff which goes hard as fuck and I love that bit especially. It feels like it would be spectacular to witness it live. The bridge is a moment I’m not so keen on, the initial bass work is a little bare bone and overly repetitive but it definitely picks up once the guitar and vocals come in, even if just for the final moments. The final chorus leads into a good finale though I think it’ll serve better on an album version with a transition into another track, as I usually prefer to be fair. Technically I enjoy all of the different sounds and effects employed on all the instruments, especially in that leading riff, all of which are played well with good time. The vocals are great as usual. It’s a great track, I feel it was maybe a little short and could’ve explored some of its musical ideas or given them a bit more time to breathe; perhaps less time could have been given to overrepresented elements like the bridge and given over to work more into the very atmospheric leading riff but this is still a hard and heavy rock track and I enjoy it greatly.

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solipseismic · 3 years

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who is your fav oc? i don't know any of them yet so i would appreciate like, a mild intro for the main ones w more details for your fav? :D

OUHH MADDIE I AM INDEBTED TO U ETERNALLY. i would literally kill a man for u. in a heartbeat.

i do in fact have just over 300 characters (last count put me at 301 but i Know i'm missing several). here's a rundown of the ones i tend to talk about the most :)

IRA NEDA ROSHANI - part-alien worldhopper. farsi woman, 5'1, vigilante known as SKYSTEEL based in anehaven. she is perhaps ... maybe my favorite bitch of all. i've had her for approximately 586 years and she's easily one of my most developed! she's a retired world champ figure skater (two-time olympic gold medalist!) who now coaches several kids (baby vigilantes!!) who are also part alien, part human (noel ettin, nick king, esther tristian, ian pierce, ashley ledder, eden van harris, katie song). on weekends she bullies alan wilson (fellow vigilante known as "POLTERGEIST") and occasionally saves the world for fun and profit. she's a performer thru and thru and is haunted by 1) her dead twin brother (adrian nemat) and 2) a Very Bad decision she made in the wake of his death. her and her friends (adrian and four others) made an album when they were very young (around 16) and adrian and ira planned to retire from the figure skating scene and go into making music full time at the age of 18 (and then adrian was murdered and the band broke up). ira can speak any language (part of her super funky alien magic!) but usually goes between farsi (the language of her mother) and english :)

NIX BYRNE - african-british cockney lady with albinism! she's the youngest of six (i think) and also part-alien; her powers are technically telepathy, but she's not very good at it, so most of her powers are little spells and wards! she's also Very tall (around 5'11) and has precognition which manifests in the form of visions, which she draws (she's very good). vigilante call sign "hex"

NICK KING - possessed by an eldritch demon! hispanic figure skater with elements of body horror no. 1 (i only have three but it's ... weird that it's happened three times). also known as the vigilante KING LUCK.

SEPEHR FAINN - preferred name BLUE (or, if you're Kahali like him, "Sek," which is "blue" in Kahali! ex-assassin, ex-revolutionary, ex-child soldier. he's more recent but uhhh *slaps roof of man* this bad boy can fit so much projection about my MASSIVE mommy issues. he's from my unnamed space opera and his signature weapon(s) is a pair of deer horn knives :) and he's called blue because he dyes his hair THEE most obnoxious fucking shade of blue (the same shade he used to paint his armor)

EDEN VAN HARRIS - egyptian figure skater!! she is very angry all the time. part alien. once punched a man so hard she broke three of his ribs. she can and will pick a fight with literally anyone. her one true love is fighting people twice her size and winning. her vigilante call sign is "eden," bc i never said she was creative and she has gravity and friction manipulation!

FORMOSA FUYUE - another recent Kahali character!! formosa has albinism (weird genetic thing that's specific to the people of Kahal; about 27% of the population has it) and he's immune to pretty much any poison, toxin, or venom that affects humans (via a Very fucked up childhood). he's also 6'5 and wields a cool energy-based sword (ofc nothing At All like a Lightsaber(tm)) like a rapier with knuckle knives or a dadao as his offhand :)

ADETH DEL - she is ... wait for it ... a recent Kahali. she's extremely devout and dual wields twin sickles named "diplomacy" and "subtlety" / a pair of brass knuckles named "discretion" and "tact" (she is very funny ik)

EQUINOX &&. SOLSTICE - gays! nox (noah harper) and sol (alec iakabos) are one of the Sol Patented Enemies to LoversTM duos i have and they are both superheroes first seen in demon eyes (book two of apotheosis,, demon city is book one!). noah was a scientist studying the conjunction between science and magic / religion (ie the stuff that was used to give sol and nox their powers) and him and alec are the results of a (very inhumane) ritual / experiment that was intended to turn noah and alec into living gods (or something adjacent) (it kinda worked)

ORRICK GRAVES - part-time necromancer. hedge fund manager. chain smoker (he's trying to quit)

#slaps roof of my container of figure skater vigilantes.#these bad boys are so numerous.#ocs #maddie tag #asks #asks get answered #i am ... 🥺🥺🥺#thank u sm #adeth del #sepehr fainn #ira neda #eden van harris #alexios iakabos #noah harper #orrick graves #formosa fuyue #nick king #nix byrne

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snark-sniper · 4 years

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Snarker’s tag list

I’ve had this blog since 2014 and I may have finally figured out my tag system, so here it is in one convenient post so you can see what I’m all about. (More likely, it’s so I can browse my own blog without typing out URLs every time.)

Happy tags

Reblogging for how hard I laughed at this

Love it

I snorted

Positivity

Humanity - all the things that make humans connected and awesome

Puns

Cute stuff

Holy shit

Cool story

Space

Time travel

Humans and aliens (former tag: humans as the alpha alien)

Ferret - I had some as pets, so they get an automatic reblog from me

Informative tags

Huh

I love linguistics

I love languages - referring to languages themselves, not necessarily the science behind them

I love English

LGBTQ

Bisexuality

Transgender

Gender

Social justice

Feminism / Badass women

Racism / BLM

Disabilities / Ableism

Body positivity / Fatphobia

Intersectionality

Islamophobia and antisemitism

Labor rights

Stuff we should have covered in school

Capitalism

Sex ed

Religion

Christianity

Judaism

History

Science

Human evolution

Education

Mental health

Relationships - romance, friendship, family, parenting, etc.

Therapy - things actual therapists have said, or at least things that sound therapeutic to me

Neurodivergence - my catch-all tag for autism, Aspergers, ADHD, and so on

Current events

US politics

UK politics

COVID

Current events that are actually good

Global cultures / World cultures (I’ll combine these eventually) / US culture

Recipe

Job hunting / Work / Work life (everyday life at work)

Relatable tags

Adulting

Mental illness - no advice, just memes and the like

Millennials

University life

Media

Meta

Cinematography

The “facts” tag

Fanfiction facts - referring to the experience of reading or writing fic

Fandom facts

Reading facts - referring to books and non-fandom

Writing facts - generally not fic-specific

Tumblr facts

Mythology

Greek mythology

Norse mythology

Fairy tales

Writing tips

Fanfiction - referring to actual fic I read or plan to read

Fic rec

Poetry

Quotes - like smart ones from real people, not incorrect quotes from fandom

Comic

Music

Vine

My fandoms

Hetalia, a.k.a. what this blog originally was for

Hetalia fandom facts

Dennor, which is apparently my top tag

Hongice

My precious nordics, a tag I’ve been using longer than “aph nordics”

All other ships are tagged by their pairing name only (”fruk”, “rusame”, “sufin”, etc.). I don’t tag the individual characters within the ship

All other characters are tagged “aph [country name]” except for very old posts

Star Wars, including The Mandalorian and all three trilogies

Star Trek, including the original series, The Next Generation, DS9, Discovery, the reboot, and all of the above

Marvel, including the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Harry Potter

Disney, including Pixar and the Disney princesses

Musicals, including Les Mis, Hadestown, Phantom of the Opera, and a full-on Newsies sideblog

Stranger Things

Stephen King’s (and Andy Muschietti’s) It movies

Multiple reblogs and my reasons for doing so

I think about this a lot

I don’t care if I’ve reblogged this before

It got better

It got worse

It’s illustrated

Snarker-specific tags

Snarker speaks - every time I make or add to a post

Snarker writes fic

Me in a relationship

Stuff I want to buy (or be bought for me)

Tagging thing, like when I have to say something (my opinion, a quiz result, etc.) in the tags

Mesmerizing, a.k.a. stuff I stared at for a good while

My aesthetic

My bisexual role models

Reminder to myself - discontinued because I could never remember whether it was for cheering myself up or actual reminders

#snarker speaks #tag list

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vampireacademysims · 4 years

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Scrapped Story Challenge

I got tagged by @skyburned, thank you! <3

The Rules:

Post a few screenshots from a scrapped scene / edit / story!

Share why you scrapped this specific thing

Tag five friends, and watch the fun play out!

As for the Vampire Academy comic, I don’t actually have many scrapped scenes/edits, I actually only found one XD I tend to plan everything as to avoid wasting time on things I’ll not use, so I guess this was an exception.

This is the full panel that got cut to only focus on Rose’s face, back in chapter I - page 7 (top right). After the wasted time editing the whole thing to just use a bit of it made me rethink how I was doing things, so I plan better now. As for scrapped stories.... oh boy, sit down and have some popcorn XD Since it’s not VA related, I’ll put it under a cut. It’s trying to keep the comic going that is hindering alternate projects, but it’s nothing too new if you fallow my other Tumblr... unless you read to the end.

I don’t want to say these are scrapped stories.... more like, Temporarily In Limbo Projects:

The NaNo-born HP thing.

Before I started the VA comic, I nearly started a comic about an original story that was born in a NaNoWriMo over 10 years ago. It was a sort of alternate future of OCs I had in a Roleplay in back in the day, set in the Harry Potter universe. I never finished the story - 250 pages in English and 3 chapters away from finishing it to this day =’). Once a year I go back to read it just to feel the cringe.

What stopped me was all the extras I’d have to edit in, mainly cloaks and robes - because everyone had cloaks/robes, dragons (even if only for a chapter... 6 years ago no one had converted the dragons to sims 2 yet) and the hair of the protagonist. So I started VA instead, because it felt easier.

The AU Slice of Life thing.

From time to time, on my reblogs tumblr, I post images from the most “recent” OCs from the last roleplay I was in - I like to roleplay, ok? Once on FB a friend had posted a link to one of those online generators, there was one about generating demons and I tried it out. Funny enough, the very first result I got remembered about me about my character Thea. So I jumped to Sims and tried to make her as a demon, based on what the generator gave me and this was the result:

This was the first pass at the idea, but I wanted a tail and different feet...

And so came the no.2 pass, that I’m still sort of working on in the background. I liked this idea, placing my characters and the characters or my friend in a different setting. I wanted to write that story, but I needed the input of my friend and she doesn’t seem very interested, so I dunno if I’d be able to write a full story, I need her to bounce ideas with. Then I thought to just make slice of life images, the cool parts I have in my head, without having to layout a whole story. Again, problem would be having to edit things in, mainly tails (all tails would have to be hand painted in), feet aaand in the case of one of my friend’s girls, wings would have to be edited in. Oh and clothes. I don’t think finding decent harem style clothes is easy even today.

The I-Was-14-and-Wrote-Detective-Stories thing.

I got my first PC in 1996/7, no internet those days. And after I finished watching the last episode of a Brazilian soap opera about a female detective (A Justiceira), I decided create my own female detective and write stories. I wrote the 1st story in one hour and it only had 7 pages (in which I believed that American female detectives sporting midriff tops and high heel shoes to active work was completely normal). I still have those printed 7 pages XD And the cover I made for the book lol Only one friend of mine has ever lay eyes on those stories. It started all good and well, robberies and murders and stuff, but fast I branched out to human cloning, space travel, time travel, genetically altered wolves, alien abductions, religious/alien cults in Mexico, plane crashes, ghosts and an incident during the Paris-Dakar event... I was a huge X-Files fan at that time and got hugely influenced u_u I had 22 books planed, I wrote from 1997 to like 2003-ish if memory serves. Only finished 11 while the others stand in various degrees of scattered notes. As mentioned before, from time to time I go back to read it all and feel the ultimate cringe and wonder what I was on back in the day. It’s completely insane at times, but maybe with a bit (A LOT) of polish I could make something out of it. If nothing else, maybe remake the book covers in the Sims because back in the day it was only MS Paint and some cartoons on Powerpoint that I stripped and drew over on paint with a mouse to draw the covers and other scenes. It’s hilarious looking back at how dedicated I was, hot damn! I made wallpapers, Win95 desktop themes, Winamp skins, you name it XD That female Detective was the very first of my OCs and I never made her in the Sims correctly, maybe I should look into that because all I have to show for her is this XD Covers ranging from 1998 to 2003 (I only learned about Photoshop in 2005).

So these are my dirty little secrets that I might or might not one day act upon. Here, have a cookie if you made it this far. As for tags, people who have stories going probably have stuff to show so, @grecadeasimsstudios, @esotheria-sims, @veninorchid, @quiddity-jones, @cindysimblr, @grisdidthis :P Again, if it is not your cup of tea, it’s ok :)

#Scrapped Story Challenge #tagged by Skyburned #tagged stuff #more below cut because its not related to the VA comic #childhood things that have been my dirty secret

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letmemendthepast · 4 years

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what is captain harlock and how do i look into it 😳

ALRIGHT. so he's space pirate captain harlock, and, believe it or not, he's a pirate... and he's also in space. this is my only interest i feel like i can actually discuss to some degree of accuracy so here goes!!

tl;dr harlock is a space pirate captain, popularized by anime and manga released in the late 70s and early 80s, who fights for his ideals, rebels against the government, and saves the world a few times. no big deal

i'm mostly familiar with harlock anime, but you could start with the original series space pirate captain harlock (42 eps) or you could watch endless orbit ssx (22 eps).

space pirate captain harlock is the main character of the eponymous 1977 manga by leiji matsumoto. he looks like this lol:

i still haven’t read the original manga, but the first harlock anime, also called space pirate captain harlock, was adapted from it! it was the first harlock media i consumed, and it is 42 episodes of PURE space opera. UNADULTERATED galactic drama. set some time in the distant future, an alien race seeks to claim earth as their own. with an apathetic populace and a government that refuses to acknowledge the threat, earth is fucked. or it WOULD be, were it not for captain harlock and the crew of the arcadia. the motley band of space pirates gains a new member at the beginning of the story, and the audience learns about the arcadia's mission along with him.

i personally thought it started off strong, like in the first few episodes it absolutely intrigued me, but others have said it starts off very slowly and has a lot of filler eps. a lot of blatant worldbuilding happens at the beginning, but once the setting is well established things start to pick up. if you're not interested by maybe episode 3 or 4, it's probably not your thing. which it very well may not be, i guess it might be what you would expect from the 70s!!

i think you’ll be able to tell right off the bat whether or not you can handle watching the animation. some of the space backgrounds are very pretty though, and the old tech art is an aesthetic of its own.

i’d have to do a rewatch to list more specific triggers, but there’s some violence and death, nothing too graphic. some, maybe most, of the fighting is done in space though, so there are spaceships exploding and that kind of thing. there are also a few instances of nudity (just tits out i’m pretty sure).

BEYOND THE ORIGINAL SERIES, there's a movie and another, shorter series from the early 80s.

arcadia of my youth is the prequel to this second series and tells harlock's origin story. i should say ONE of his origin stories because there are quite a few variations of literally everything regarding harlock. and ok this is going to sound fucking horrible but. i paid absolutely no attention to the movie when i watched it. i don’t remember this movie at all. i honestly can’t tell you whether that’s due to me just being an idiot or the movie just not being any good. (will update you when i watch it again?)

anyways. you don’t have to watch the movie (you probably should, i just forgot everything that happens in it because i’m built different), but it sets up for the plot of endless orbit ssx. this second series, at 22 episodes, is much shorter than the original series; it was supposed to be around 40 episodes as well, but it had to be cut short because cultural focus had shifted from this type of romanticized space drama to shows like gundam (which is why i have yet to touch any gundam stuff—i hold a slight grudge against the mecha genre in general for this lol). i was expecting a really shitty ending due to that, but as a whole the show is still very enjoyable and the ending is fine, if clearly rushed.

endless orbit ssx was i think a bit heavier than the main series. earth has fallen under control of aliens, so this time harlock & co’s goal is to find arcadia, the mythical planet where they can all just live in peace and whatnot (a change of pace from the original series, i guess they know there’s no chance of saving earth this time around?), but along the way, as you can guess, they're opposed by the reigning alien race.

admittedly, i'm VERY biased when it comes to how good ssx is, simply because tochiro gets a lot of spotlight in the show. you should recognize him from somewhere ;)

he is just a fantastic little guy, i adore him, and his design in ssx is very very good (he just looks like a weird little man in some other media. full offense). he's smart, impulsive, and has a sense of humor, which makes him an excellent complement to harlock, who is often shown as the stoic, emotionless hero. they're best friends, like they have this bond where they’re pursuing their shared dream and all that. pretty cool i think :)

even aside from tochiro, ssx is still very good. in terms of writing and plot, i think it’s about on par with (or maybe better than) the original series, and there’s less room for filler. also, things get going much faster, so i’d say you could only give it an episode or two before you decide whether to keep going or drop it.

ALRIGHT SO. that's what i have to say about harlock, condensed as much as i could manage (and hopefully put in words a normal person might use). there are plenty of gaps in my knowledge, and a few shows and movies i haven't even bothered to watch myself. obviously the harlock stuff isn't for everyone, so. good luck i guess

you can find everything i’ve discussed here on 9anime.to!

#i only just started gun frontier #which is from idk early 2000s #and i can't recommend it. it's about tochiro so i was obviously hoping it would be really good #but the weird casual racism and sexism is offputting #that kind of thing was NOT prevalent in the other series which is why i can say they were good #anyways. smiling through the pain #also i have yet to touch the 2013 movie it looks. somewhat uncomfortable #not too bad though. i'll get around to watching it someday #anyways. Aaron i already said this but you're such an enabler. i love you #asks #jezzo #captain harlock #space pirate captain harlock #leijiverse #wait this probably wont show up in the tags bc links... oh well #i've edited this like 50 times since i first posted it help

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ganymedesclock · 6 years

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Yes! I am so fucking sick of the "fuck yeah humans!" mentality that's seems to have wormed its way into every fandom. I'm tired of reading stories and ideas about aliens marveling at how humanity is so strong, dangerous, powerful, intelligent, adaptable, and all that shit, and how they can beat anything and anyone because they're just "inherently better." It's that same 40k crap, just retexturized.

I feel like “humans are weird” is trying to be a rebuttal to the perception of humans as the generic, boring, everyman race, like “oh why would you ever play a human when you can play an elf or a space elf,” when I feel like ironically both of those concepts have the same problem: it’s a perception of humans as a default.

Humans Are Weird doesn’t actually challenge the perception of us as default, generally; it’s just a question of whether humans are the bottom line or the top, whether everyone else is more interesting than us, or everyone else is less interesting than us. Both, ultimately, flatter humans with the idea that we’re the meterstick by which the whole world can be judged, even if humans as the bottom line seems like it’s insulting us, which is why I think Humans Are Weird falls short- it perceives it as an insult and tries to solve it with aggrandization, but, in actuality, the problem is we’re already overly aggrandizing ourselves other hypothetical other peoples.

Many a generic trying-to-be-Tolkien high fantasy gives us Elf Cities and Dwarf Cities and Orc Cities, but if they just want to make a port town or a lovely peasant village or a bloodsports arena city these things are often made human. It’s the same problem that if you have a cast of white able-bodied men, they’ll be divided according to personality and theme, the Introverted Smart One, the Brave but Gentle Strong One, the Charismatic Leader, the Sarcastic but Loyal Second In Command. But in many traditional media, if your hero team has only one girl, being The Girl will be considered her personality trait, so she doesn’t need another one.

Same problem here- being The Elf is considered a personality trait. So if you have humans, they’re allowed to be a bunch of different things inside and outside of their culture but even if we have colorful characters, we might put a Proud Warrior on the cast because of his Proud Warrior Culture, or a charismatic linguist from their charismatic linguist culture, or a brilliant scientist from her brilliant scientist culture. While humans can have a proud warrior, a charismatic linguist, and a brilliant scientist- because since we are humans, we realize that the idea of trying to characterize even a single culture out of the many cultures on Earth as having a single personality would be ridiculous and stupid. We don’t have people in space operas introducing themselves of “oh, I come from the proud New York clan, in New York, everyone is a warrior, it’s simply not DONE otherwise,”

Personally as a writer, if you really want to take a crack at fixing the underlying problem posed by humans as default, I feel like there’s two solutions here.

If you don’t have any noteworthy standout thing to do with humans in your fantasy or scifi setting, exclude them entirely. This forces the audience instead of perceiving the environment as a default with a bunch of cool add-ons, that instead they need to empathize directly with the viewpoints of the elves, orcs, dwarves, goblins, etc. that dwell in this world.

If you do want to include humans... make them interesting. For example, being light on some details, I’m working on a Voltron reimagining AU which features people from Earth as part of a broader community of sapient life. And no, I don’t have Allura boggling in wonder and horror at, say, the lack of viscosity of terran tears. But I did still have some fun worldbuidling with the terrans:

They currently lay claim to the only fully artificial planet. They did that! It’s pretty cool. They also tend to modify and climate-control the hell out of a lot of their colonies, which is a tendency born of the fact that, as the intergalactic whippersnappers of the Leo Supercluster who also experienced a mass exodus early in their dealings with other races, they snapped up a bunch of what was not exactly prime real estate and didn’t look it in the mouth.

Similarly because of this you have a lot of terran diaspora on planets that aren’t Federation holdings. Comparatively, galra living elsewhere like that is rarer because the galra tend traditionalist and their culture is basically built around accommodating entire clans rather than specific individuals, so they tend to move or organize themselves.

So, in this setting, the terrans have an interesting chunk of worldbuilding to them, they’ve got a history that’s uniquely theirs that makes them good company with the unique histories of others, and this leads to some cool features you can see- for example the diaspora and ‘less habitable’ planets affects these versions of Lance, Pidge, and Hunk- Lance, who grew up on a Spaceport, which is full of different people, and so he’s the team’s cheerful polyglot who’s conversational in a large number of spoken languages since he grew up leaping from Spanish to English to several galran dialects to olkarin and back again in three conversations. Hunk, as a character, who comes from an affluent background and thus has access to the luxury of cybernetic augmentation- because before they had mastered making planets safe for them, terrans figured how to make themselves safe for planets. And Pidge, who’s from a high gravity planet so she’s short, abnormally dense, and capable of impressive jumps.

That’s not an insistence that you have to specifically characterize humans in a fantastical setting the way I have, naturally, but just, don’t treat humans as defaults, and don’t feel like you have to diminish everybody else to make up for how “boring” humans are.

#writing ruminations #readmore #Anonymous

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permian-tropos · 6 years

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The Last Jedi and Immersion

Forget the specific arguments about why people disliked TLJ for a minute. For every argument, you can point to another plot element in another SW film that does much the same. Eventually I’ve just heard people say, “it just made me feel awful, what can I say, how can I like a movie that made me feel awful? I couldn’t engage with it. Obviously all these problems I have with it are problems with the film.” Seems pretty legit.

Overall, People who hate TLJ seem unable to suspend disbelief. It’s “not their Star Wars”. But I don’t think this isn’t a problem coming from the facts about what happens in the plot, to the characters (since so many things that people disliked are things people have suspended disbelief for in other circumstances). I think this is something caused by the overall aesthetic tone of the film.

This could mean the film has bad acting, bad cinematography, bad editing, and so on, and I’ve seen people try to argue that. But only Star Wars fans have tried to argue this in large numbers. Bad filmmaking should be apparent to anyone with a background in film studies or film appreciation. But this is a movie that mainstream and independent critics generally had a good reaction too. It was also a movie that got good reactions from the general audience. Not everyone has a Rotten Tomatoes account, but polls of audience members as they were leaving theaters gave it something like an 89% approval rating, iirc. So… what the heck. How can only Star Wars fans be experts on film?

They’re not — but they’re something like experts on Star Wars film. Star Wars is their (our?) standard for what a good Star Wars movie is. This is even more specific than judging a movie by its genre — for a space opera film, The Last Jedi is really freaking good (sorry that’s just blatantly true). But it’s not being judged as space opera.

There are elements to the genre “Star Wars” that are highly specific and I don’t even think that’s a bad thing. I’m a big Star Trek fan, and I’m not a fan of things using the Star Trek property that don’t keep to its genre. Because I think it’s a good genre. But I think TLJ does something really funky clever with a foundational aspect of the Star Wars genre. I think it’s a good movie because it evokes reactions that are not all positive and are also not unintended. It’s a cunning little bastard.

Punch it, Chewie, let’s do more of this hardcore meta shit:

Star Wars is supposed to be inviting you in. It’s an immersive experience. The fact that it’s full of all this aesthetic detail, the reason why things like the cantina scene are so iconic, is because it doesn’t just serve to move the characters’ arcs along, or the plot. It introduces you to a setting that could be explored from a lot of angles. It’s a place you could imagine experiencing for yourself. That’s why I think the prequels have been rehabilitated after all these years — because they’re full of settings with details that spark the imagination. And one thing I think people felt disappointed by with TLJ is that it is very tight and sparse with its settings. Even when it comes to its parallel movie, Empire, this is distinct. In Empire, the settings are not just places where things happen, but they’re locations where you know tons of other things happened you never saw. The Hoth base was built and manned by tons of Rebels. Dagobah might not be settled, but it’s full of weird alien creatures you just know are lurking somewhere in the swamp. Bespin is a whole city. And even isolated asteroids might have giant worms in them. Now, Empire got mixed reception when it came out. And it’s also a lot more sparing with its settings. If you think about all the other movies (ie. come up with examples for yourself this is already too long), they’re far more inviting. They tantalize you with things that aren’t really conveying plot, or are maybe overcomplicated or weird, but that you’re happy to have the protagonists interact with because it’s just a cool place. You want to imagine having your own adventure there.

But TLJ has locations that are intensely focused on the plot purpose they serve — Ahch-To is a small island with just a few residents, the Resistance fleet is claustrophobic and dwindling, Crait is visually similar to Hoth but it’s not a fully manned base, it’s abandoned, and once its broken down equipment is used, it’s abandoned again. Snoke doesn’t have a whole castle to lurk in, he’s got a minimalist throne room on a big ship, and those Imperial/Order vessels can spark some imagination, but they have kind of repetitive architecture, and everyone dresses the same. They don’t feel as big as they are. The only location that has that kind of expansiveness is Canto Bight, and the movie deliberately denies you the wonder and excitement you’re usually supposed to have. Finn is in awe of all this ostentatious wealth, and Rose immediately shuts that down. Even the fact that they get busted by the po-po for parking wrong is so exclusionary. You’re not allowed to enjoy this, first of all it’s full of evil rich fuckos, second of all you’re not welcome here, you’re riffraff and you’ll be spotted instantly. The only people we can project onto for our own adventures are — and this is VERY VERY INTENTIONAL please remember this for later — the slave kids.

The Last Jedi is not being willfully ignorant about what people enjoy in their Star Wars. It’s paring down that feeling of adventure on purpose. Everything is bare and small and contained. You don’t have a place to slide your original Star Wars character in. You can’t join up. You are excluded. If you want be Luke’s padawan, too bad, his academy is gone and you never even saw much of it besides a burning building. And he hides on this tiny island until Rey comes along, and shortly after, he dies. If you want to be playing the craps table at Canto Bight, too bad, they’re all gross oligarchs, there aren’t even any familiar aliens in the crowd, and none of the patrons of the city get any characterization. Only DJ, and he’s deeply underwhelming and ordinary, like he wandered in from the wrong movie. If you want to be with the First Order, too bad, they all look like asshole chumps. They don’t get to look cool in this one, unlike in TFA, where Hux’s super fascist speech and the enormous scale of Starkiller Base were at least sort of thrillingly evil. I had First Order OCs after I saw TFA. I imagined them on SKB in this remote sector, having fascinating adventures. There was room for them. Not anymore! If you want to be with the Resistance in TLJ — too bad! Most of them die! You don’t want to be on one of those ships, as they’re being blown out of the void. There are so few people left at the end of the film that they all fit inside the Falcon. And you know you’re not on the Falcon with them. A lot of people were instinctively, deeply perturbed by how many Resistance members died, the fact that it’s just a few people left. And you know what, I wouldn’t be surprised if a big factor in this is because it doesn’t feel like Star Wars. Star Wars has always had settings and organizations and factions that you can imagine immersing yourself in, that’s kind of its biggest appeal. But this movie doesn’t let you in.

THAT’S FUCKING BRILLANT

What would you say is the central conflict the main characters from TFA goes through in this movie? — they struggle to feel like they belong. And by main characters, I mean Rey and Finn. Rey and Finn were the main characters that in TFA we got to journey alongside as they faced strange new worlds and people. They are the outsiders to this universe. Rey never left the barren Jakku until TFA. Finn had never left the confining, dehumanizing ranks of the First Order. We wanted to see more of the galaxy through their eyes.

But in TLJ, Rey struggles to feel like she has a place in this universe, and makes some bad decisions while pursuing a heroic destiny. And Finn doesn’t feel at home with the Resistance; he only wants to find Rey, and then later save the fleet so that Rey can return safely.

The fact that the movie conveys that feeling of not belonging, of being locked out, of being an outsider, of not having a place in it all, by subverting the most common Star Wars experience of feeling included and swept up in the magic, is REALLY REALLY AMAZING. People feel horrible from this film, they feel like it betrayed them, they feel like it isn’t Their Star Wars, they feel like they’ve been shut out. And that’s incredible, because it’s exactly the angst that the characters were enduring. It puts you through what they went through. You have to feel that alienation. And people who loved Rey and Finn are not less invested in those characters after the film. They’re really fucking invested, that’s why they’re super pissed that it felt like Rey and Finn weren’t treated right. The movie didn’t kill people’s investment. It heightened it deeply — and that was a negative emotion! It felt awful! And it was a deeply powerful aesthetic experience. Which is good art.

But remember the fact that the only people you can project onto are the Canto Bight slave kids? They’re the only group that is vaguely defined enough that you could imagine being a kid and being one of them.

Why do you think, having painfully restricted you, the viewer, to this one tiny group, the movie ends on them? Why does it end showing these kids retelling the events of the film with cute handmade toys in a language you don’t understand, so you can imagine them saying anything? Why does it end with one of the kids walking out onto a shallow incline pointing up at the stars, like the slope of the opening crawl of Star Wars, call his broom with the Force, and wistfully watching a ship jump into lightspeed?

The Last Jedi shuts you out the whole way through until that final scene. You aren’t invited to join, just as the characters are grappling with their sense of place and purpose (arguably Luke also grapples with this, and he used to be our POV protagonist too). But then it finally, FINALLY, invites you back. It makes you wait the whole fucking movie to see a place where you belong. And it shows you a completely random little kid using the Force.

That’s you. You’re Broom Boy. You have something special and wonderful inside you, and you are important, but you don’t know it yet, and the universe doesn’t know it yet. You are latent. You aren’t ready yet, but your time is coming.

But the thing is, this ending doesn’t fully resolve the anxiety of being shut out. It doesn’t make you feel like you love this movie. Every aesthetic choice leading up until this point hasn’t felt like Star Wars. One scene isn’t going to change how you see this film. But this isn’t the last film of the trilogy. The next film will be about closure, and resolution — for the characters, but also for your anxiety. You will be invited back in (I hope). The Last Jedi doesn’t position itself so you know exactly why you felt wrong about this whole affair. It just induces that feeling in you, to prepare you for Episode 9. Because you are definitely going to buy a ticket for Episode 9. There are people who expect Ep9 will somehow rebuke TLJ, and undo everything it does. I sincerely hope it doesn’t. That would be undermining the flow of a whole trilogy. But if it gives you this feeling of belonging again, that doesn’t mean TLJ was a mistake. Maybe if TLJ was exciting and satisfying and pleasing without a hint of anxiety, it would sort of fizzle out by the time Episode 9 comes around. I think we’re supposed to be agitated and angrily hungry for more.

#my post #the last jedi #more FUCKIN G META OH MY GOD SHUT UP ME

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astrophobia-space-blog · 7 years

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DevLog 10.27.17: To-Dos, and To-Dones

Astrophobia is a “neo-Lovecraftian space opera” comic book and audio drama series under development for an intended 2018 release.

Here’s some stuff I did on the project this last week.

Wrote Most Of The Astrophobia #1 Comic Script I’ve been having trouble putting pen to paper on this one... which is screwy, because I’ve got the story so tightly outlined that I know pretty much everything that happens on every page! But sometimes I have trouble getting started on the first issues of new projects, because I’m nervous about committing the wrong stuff to paper. In this case, it meant that I’d only managed to finish about a page or two a day this week — and on some days, not even that much.

Anyway, yesterday was a lovely day, and I tried working outdoors at a different coffeeshop than I’m used to.

I don’t know how much of it was the (awesome!) change of scenery, and how much of it was just me finally being “ready” to write the script. But suffice to say, I ended up writing ten pages. Only six pages left on the first draft!

Figured Out How To Make The #1 Story More “Lovecraftian” There’s certain elements people associate with “Lovecraftian” stories: “Madness,” impossible architecture, “things humanity was not meant to know” — and tentacles. But those are just surface elements. Trappings. And though I certainly want to play with all of those, I want to go deeper than that. To pull certain core elements out of HPL’s fiction that’ll make Astrophobia ring truer as something genuinely “Lovecraftian,” without being part of the Cthulhu Mythos, and without being a Lovecraft homage or pastiche.

One element that I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of before: A number of Lovecraft’s most prominent cosmic horror stories begin and end with the narrator reflecting on what’s happened to them, and the ramifications of what it means to be living in a universe where such things are possible. So I whipped up a test version of some text like that for the beginning of the Astrophobia #1 comic script:

Going to the stars was our biggest mistake.

It was bound to happen, someday. I mean... they're right there! Above us, every night! It was inevitable that, sooner or later, that we'd take that one giant leap. If for no other reason than because we could.

That was our sin, in the end. Not hubris, wrath, or any of the classic seven. Our sin was curiosity. It was built into us by... the ones who built us all.

And now all I can do is pray — to the caring gods that don't exist, and the uncaring "gods" that are way too real — that our species survives its own nature.

This is how it started.

(That’s the “test,” rough draft take on it. If I use something like it, it’ll be in a slimmed-down and spruced-up version.)

Figured Out How To Integrate The Comic & Audio Drama Story Elements Better One of the questions I’ve had as I work on this project is: What stories to tell in the comic, and what stories to tell in the AD? After a lot more thought and some talking to other AD people (see the next entry), I think I’m getting a better sense of what should be in both of them!

(Basically, the AD stories should be more character-focused, more intimate, and should involve aliens/monsters and such that would be hard to represent visually — or that are stronger if they’re just described verbally rather than shown.)

Figured Out More Story Stuff (For The Comic & Audio Drama) Including several new stories ideas (including a couple vaguely inspired by classic horror movies/scenarios), that may end up being in the comic series at some point. Also, firmed up some story plans for the AD.

Also: I’ve been having trouble figuring out which of my (many, many) story ideas to use, and what order to use them in. This week, I realized the obvious solution to that. For each set of stories (both comic and AD), I need to figure out what the overall plot or character arc that I’m focusing on is... and then select the story ideas that best fit that arc. Seems damn obvious now that I’ve thought of it. But it’s taken me literally months to realize it!

Came Up With Several Ideas For AD Music Ideas that I pitched to John (our musician) this week:

The music for different story elements could use consistent, different instrumentation for each element. For example: All the parts of the AD episodes that are about the human cast could use “traditional”-sounding instruments — while all the parts where they encounter aliens could also involve “weird” instruments (synths, weird effects, sampled noises, etc.) “The part of the xenomorph will be played by the bassoon.”

Maybe do short loops of music, like in a video game, more than longer “traditional” songs for the score? More modular, more “plug and play” than full-length songs?

There could be marches playing when the actor talks about the ship’s military crew and its mission. And there should be at least one dirge! And a death march!

Got Drinks With Some Audio Drama People It’s the Austin Film Fest this week, and they have a “Podcast Track.” So there’s some audio drama folks in from out of town. Had a nice, inspiring round of drinks with them at a shmancy, old-timey bar in downtown Austin last night!

(Got lunch with some comics people this week, too.)

Did Heaps Of Research; Found Heaps Of Visual Reference Research I did included: Rewatching Prometheus (what a stupid, stupid movie); listening to audiobook versions of Call of Cthulhu and At The Mountains of Madness; figuring out the specifics of the Alcubierre Drive (the actual hypothesized warp drive that scientists at NASA have been studying); and LOTS of Wikipedia-ing and time spent on Atomic Rockets.

Also: I’ve also collected a vastly larger quantity of visual reference and inspiration than I ever have on a project before. The majority of it, we’ll never end up using. But I think it’s going to come in handy. (Plus, Googling up visual reference is something I can still do when I’m braindead at the end of the workday, or even while I’m talking on the phone to people.) (...Yes, Dan Schkade, I may have been looking up concept art of “insectoid exoskeletons” while we were talking about your new story idea and Gross Pointe Blank on the phone yesterday...)

Here’s a few cool pieces of art that I found.

Whew! This is getting really long! Before I sign off, some stuff I need to do in the coming week. And some stuff that’s not a priority!

To-dos:

Finish the #1 script, and send it out to my “beta readers” for notes.

Firm up the secondary supporting cast/Orpheus crew. (The #1 script focuses on only three of the primary characters, with the other primaries just making cameo appearances, to be fleshed out in future issues. But since the Orpheus is a “closed system” — there’s only so many people on board, and that number’s just going to go down, not up! — it’s useful for me to get a good handle of all the prominent people onboard.)

Decide which stories to tell in the first “arc” of comics.

Decide which stories to tell in the first “arc” of the audio drama.

To-DON’TS (low priority but enticing stuff!)

Search for image ref when I should be doing something else.

Do a bunch of research about things that aren’t germane to my primary “to-dos.”

Come up with more weird aliens to tell stories about (this is a priority, but not a high one at the moment!).

If you actually read this far: Congratulations! Gold stars! :)

#DevLog #Astrophobia #Astrophobia Podcast #Astrophobia Comic Book #Lovecraft #Lovecraftian #podcast #audio drama #comic #comic book #horror #science fiction #space opera

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u23art · 8 years

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A LOOK AT NIER AUTOMATA

This one was another 40 hour campaign or at least 34 hours, yet this time there was so much more context to fill out all the tasks I performed, at least compared to Final Fantasy XV. Out of all the games revealed at E3 2015, this one particularly stood out to me. An abstract RPG installment made by the Platinum folks, sign me up. So finally the game released and I had a go at it.

So this game is the furthest thus far in the chronology of Yoko Taro’s wackydoodle brainchild timeline of games after the Drakengard games from the PS2 and Nier from the PS3. Humanity has been long since driven from the Earth, and in its stead have sent the humanoid androids of the Yorha organization to fight off threats. Specifically robots, and before that were some Aliens but they’re not here anymore. You will play as 2B with her sidekick 9S, and proceed to search and destroy just about every machine you see with a sidequest or two or three on the side.

Gameplay here is your typical hack and slash affair, square for light attacks, triangle for heavy attacks and a trigger button with lay out a volley of shots from your floating pod assistant. A small complaint I had was I couldn’t find the combinations of joystick direction and button presses like I would in Bayonetta, Revengence or other Platinum games in general to achieve different moves. Handling 2B on the other hand feels cool, it feels real how they convey forces acting against her. Controlling her became a welcome learning curve. Eventually though, you’ll come to control 9S, and in the place of the triangle heavy attack you have a hack attack. It’s quick, it’s relatively easy to use and it makes enemy or boss encounters a minor inconvenience. But eventually you get back to hacking and slashing as A2 and you feel cool again.

And honestly, as simple as the gameplay may seem, my true concerns with the game lie in the story structure.

To experience the full scope of the game’s story you have to make the credits role a total of 5 time. These are endings A through E, endings F through Z are joke endings achieved through failing certain missions or performing menial tasks you would think twice to do. I can appreciate this structure to an extent, switching between these perspectives all at once in one playthrough might have come to be jarring and maybe a little confusing to view them all.

But despite this, this structure doesn’t explore the characters enough. We know the scope of the situation, yet the villains feel so ill defined. Adam and Eve had very little weight to them. Heck they barely do anything villainous.

Not to mention the protagonists of the game. Yorha itself is very ill defined, the story never really goes into detail about how long it’s existed, notable achievements, where are the androids created, ect. The same goes for 2B and 9S, there’s little to go off of about their pasts or even if they’ve been alive for very long in the first place. A2 has a little more context going for her, we’re at least given small bits of exposition into the supposed betrayal at the hands of Yorha, it wasn’t much but it was enough to make A2 more likable in my eyes. She has a past, regrets, emotional moments, something that 2B and 9S sadly do not have.

This next point is a bit of a tangent but I’d like to say some words about this game’s hub world.

The hub world is simple and you’ll quickly learn how to traverse it more efficiently. Yet at the same time it can feel bare bones, sure side quests help to liven up the reasons you visit each area. Yet exploration will only bring you so far. there are maybe two instances I can think of where I found “secret areas”. There seem to be secret dungeon areas, but those require a key. I couldn’t figure out how to trigger a quest to get it during my playthrough, and I would have preferred these areas be rewarded through exploration rather than triggering an event.

Also, the map is suspiciously small, the menu has a large amount of blank space outside of the visited areas that I can move my cursor over. This might lead one to believe there is more to discover or this map is unfinished. This was especially pesky when a side quest rewarded me with a giant space port to look at over the horizon of the amusement park but I simply can’t visit it. Even in the huge desert area, the sand storm that acts as a sort of invisible wall feels like it’s masking a wider area to potentially explore.

Bosses here were a bit of a let down, I liked the bosses that I fought on foot for the most part. Engel at the beginning posed a bit of a challenge before I was shifted to the mech portion of the fight. And the opera singer gave me an enticing bullet hell fight on foot and a cool arena to fight in as well. The rest of the boss fights with huge enemies simply take the form of a bullet hell shooter in a mech, these are slow, and they’re kinda boring. It’s just waves of enemies against a blue-ish background rushing past me, nothing really going for it in the ways of creativity.

The ending for this game leaves me conflicted, more specifically, ending E. This was the final canon ending out of the 26 endings. It was fitting, yet it robbed me of a big loud climax. I need something huge to fight for the story to lead up to. Yet it was fitting for the bleak world I was given.

Lastly music, it’s haunting and atmospheric for the beginning portions of the game. Although the music will intensify for boss fights, random encounters on the regular map will be accompanied by the same overworld track I’ve heard for the past 30 or so hours that is droning at this point.

There was a point I was going to give this game a 9 out of 10 to get back at Final Fantasy XV, I tried telling myself that the coherent story was a grand step up, but this game simply is not a 9 considering what it amounted to. This game is one of the most unique I’ve played in a long time and it’s story was coherent and full of personality and food for thought. I only have the concerns that I have because I like what the game gave me, but it left me wanting more that it can provide.

I give Nier Automata a 7 out of 10.

P.S this game takes place 10,000 years in the future, I’d be interested to see if there’s a chance this game could be followed up by another installment.

#Mister23 #Nier #nier automata

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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The Best Online Serial Fiction

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If there was a golden age of serial fiction, it might have been the era when Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Mark Twain were publishing their stories-in-installments in print periodicals, with their readers desperately waiting for the next part of the tale. But if that’s true, right now might just be the platinum age of serial fiction. The digital medium is perfect for publishing stories as episodes, and modern readers who are used to receiving stories in an episodic format, thanks to television, may appreciate the medium in a more nuanced way than their historical predecessors.

Modern serials make use of both styles of writing. Some rely on a single author who publishes their novel bit by bit, keeping readers hooked. Others are developed in a television-style writer’s room. Some feature added features like music or illustrations, making use of transmedia opportunities made possible in the digital world. These stories span genres, including near futuristic sci fi (The Vela or Machina), urban fantasy (Ilona Andrews’s “Innkeeper Chronicles”), heart-pounding stories that will keep you guessing (C. D. Miller’s Dark Heights, Ray N. Kuili’s Eden Can Wait, or Casey Lucas’s Into the Mire), your favorite comics or television characters in prose (Black Panther: Sins of the King and Doctor Who), and illustrated (Twice) or audio only (Hope and Red) fantasies. Whatever you enjoy reading, there’s a serial for you to enjoy.

Find out more about where you can read online serial fiction here.

Ongoing Serial Fiction

While the science fiction and fantasy genres have the lead as far as the number of individual serials available for purchase, the serial format has always included realistic fiction and intrigue, as well as expanding into erotic novels. Take a peek at what’s new and what’s ongoing!

Hope and Red

Jon Skovoron’s Hope and Red was originally published in 2016, but the author is back with a serialized version—delivered straight to your podcasting app, narrated by the author. As the story that launched Skovoron’s “Empire of Storms” series, the novel introduces warrior Hope and thief Red, who must team up to take down a corrupt empire. This fast-paced fantasy has all the right cliff-hangers to keep you waiting for the next episode.

The Vela

One of my favorite recent space operas is The Vela, a Serial Box original written by powerhouse team Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon, and SL Huang. The story centers on soldier-for-hire Asala Sikou, who’s more worried about taking care of number one than she is about the imminent death of her star system. But when she takes a job to find a missing rescue ship, The Vela, she and her teammate, Niko, the child of the inner planet’s president, find themselves embroiled in endgames that will decide the fate of the universe. The season one conclusion had me sobbing at the end. (Check out my review of The Vela here.) Season two, The Vela: Salvation, is posting episodes right now, and I will be hanging onto my seat for each week’s new episode.

Doctor Who

This summer, Serial Box partnered with The Big Finish to release their full-cast audio dramas of Doctor Who to the serial audience. Two collections of stories, The Tenth Doctor Adventures and The Tenth Doctor Chronicles, feature the adventures of the Tenth Doctor and his companion Donna Noble, voiced by David Tennant and Catherine Tate in one and narrated by Jacob Dudman in the other. Four other offerings focus on earlier Doctors, crossovers with multiple Doctors, and the enigmatic Lady Christina. Fans of the television series are sure to find something to enjoy in these companion tales to the program, and listeners who have never watched the show (as rare as those may be!) have the opportunity to dip their toes into a very complex and well-loved world.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Playing with Fire

In Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Playing with Fire, Jessica transitions from comics and small screen to a prose serial—written by Lauren Beukes, Vita Ayala, Sam Beckbessinger, Zoe Quinn, and Elsa Sjunneson. She’s focusing on developing some healthier coping mechanisms (not drinking so much) and trying to take some cases less likely to kill her. But when a simple, cut-and-dry case has more lurking beneath the surface, Jessica can’t let it go, even when the stakes get dangerous. This is sure to be a hit with fans of the Netflix series, and it’s great to see a frequently underused Marvel superhero get more air time.

The 18th Century Man

While the conceit for The 18th Century Man, a serial on Medium by Dan Morrison, seems simple enough—a young man, conceived during a power outage, negates electricity—the first chapters indulge in a hefty dose of social and political commentary that let readers know they’re in for something that aims deeper. James grows up on his grandmother’s farm in Woodstock, Vermont, as the focus of speculation. Everyone wants to know how he became the way he is—including James himself. Reading on Medium requires either using a limited number of stories for free or becoming a subscriber; to help his readers, Morrison posts chapters into the same story, with email alerts that let them know when the next one is added. Readers just picking up this serial can easily binge the first seventeen chapters—and then keep a watch on Morrison’s email list or Facebook group for the next installment.

The Innkeeper Chronicles (and others) by Ilona Andrews

Husband-and-wife team Ilona and Gordon Andrews have been releasing a series of free novellas on their website as a reward to loyal readers. They’re fantastic at providing new content, some in the serial specific world of The Innkeeper Chronicles, which has now produced several novellas. Each weekly installment is a partial chapter, typically readable inside of fifteen minutes, and enough of a bite sized chunk to whet your appetite for whatever comes next.

They’re currently posting a new novel, Blood Heir, set in the world of Kate Daniels, featuring an adult Julie—Kate’s adopted daughter—in an Atlanta eight years after the original series concluded. For readers who weren’t ready to let the series go with Magic Triumphs, this brilliant relaunch is just the reward we needed for surviving a pandemic.

“The Innkeeper Chronicles,” the more frequent ongoing serial series, revolve around Dina, an Innkeeper, host for interstellar travelers that include familiar mythological figures like werewolves and vampires, as well as more outlandish aliens. Her inn feeds magic into her, so she can change reality on her inn’s grounds to better accommodate–and defend against–her guests. In Clean Sweep, the first novella, a supernatural danger threatens Dina’s non-magical neighbors. Dina isn’t supposed to get involved, but she’s not the type to let what she’s supposed to do stop her from doing what’s right. While most of the stories center on Dina, one focuses on Maud, Dina’s sister, navigating the intergalactic politics of space faring vampire civilization while keeping her half-vampire daughter, Helen, safe. Meanwhile on Earth, a holiday celebration at the inn is complicated when a cosmically powerful being needs a safe place to meet her amoral human uncle. The series is a fantastic hybrid of space action, swordplay, and romance, and shows that the series has plenty of room to grow.

Team Andrews creates a very cool world mixing fantasy and science fiction tropes and populates it with a fully realized cast, including not only Dina and her sister, but also the local (hunky) werewolf, a temperamental Quillonian chef, and Dina’s struggling inn’s only regular guest, a vampire noble claiming asylum on earth due to her previous ruthless acts. Can’t wait for the next installment? Andrews is updating the main blog with chapters of a new project in the world of Kate Daniels, which should tide you over!

Into the Mire

In this dark fantasy in a post-war world, a badass mercenary captain leads her crew on a hunt for the missing heir of a baron—who happens to be her old commanding officer. Unfortunately, the marsh into which they must travel is populated by carnivorous trees—and human enemies who may be even more dangerous.

Riss Chou, the head merc, is appealingly snarky; her second-in-command is a posh bisexual sorcerer who, on first read, reminded me of one of my favorite characters from Kill the Queen; and another team member is a blood sorcerer hiding his talent (because it’s illegal). While the first few chapters hint at the much larger world, the narrative never overwhelms, keeping the main quest story line at the forefront, and building the world in the background.

Launched April, 2018, the serial has completed its first full novel and is deep into book two. In 2020, the serial was nominated for New Zealand’s top literary prize in SFF: the Sir Julius Vogel Award. Author Casey Lucas updates the serial weekly on Wednesdays, New Zealand Time.

Twice

Matthew Rhymer is not what he seems—even those who know him best don’t really know his story. When his estranged friends receive a letter intended to be delivered to him, they become privy to an unbelievable story, which has to do with the Lady, her rule, and the hungers of a mysterious enemy. The newly launched illustrated serial “Twice” parcels out the mystery a tiny bit at a time, each episode giving a little more for readers to piece together. Each episode features a gorgeous painting from author/illustrator Mark J. Ferrari. While Ferrari has a tip jar on the site, subscriptions to the ongoing serial are free, and each episode can be read on the website, or delivered directly to your email. Season one concluded earlier this summer, but season two promises to bring readers even deeper into Rhymer’s world.

Dark Heights

If the audio experience is important to you and you’re looking for something for a mature audience, you might be interested in checking out music-enhanced serial Dark Heights by C. D. Miller, with music composed and performed by C. D.’s brother, Chris Miller. The music and prose are developed in tandem, so that they are intentionally intertwined. This indie serial is available at its original website but Part One was picked up by Serial Box, and is available through their app.

The story is of a town, Park Heights, where supernatural forces in a war of shadows converge. Caught in the chaos are town native Tess Bellamy and drifter Gabriel Majeaux. The series features an HBO-level of graphic content (so it’s not for young readers) and bends genres and genre expectations. If you’re a fan of psychological horror, this unique music and prose blend might be right up your alley. Just… be careful of those shadows.

Lady Victoria Howard

One of the reasons some readers may prefer a serial subscription to a paperback is that they can read bite-sized fiction discreetly on their phones. That’s one of the goals of the Lady Victoria Howard web app, an erotic serial written for women, by women. Billed as the world’s first serialized erotic novel, the web app has subscriptions available for the first three seasons (39 episodes), which are delivered weekly depending on when you start your subscription. The story follows Lady Victoria Howard, sister to a modern duke, whose past heartbreak has led her to a sexual awakening, that allows her to explore her sensuality—and live her life to the fullest.

Amazon Original Stories

Amazon Original Stories produces one-sitting fiction reads, such as their premiere releases Joyce Carol Oates’s novel The Sign of the Beast and nonfiction book Crown Heights by Colin Warner and Carl King. Their most recent collection, “Hush,” is a series of contemporary thrillers from authors like Oyinkan Braithwaite and Jeffrey Deaver. Other recent releases include the “Disorder” series of short stories, designed to keep you awake at night, and the “Inventions” series, which explores the true stories from the age of innovation. The imprint has also published “The Real Thing Collection,” six nonfiction essays about relationships including pieces by Fresh off the Boat author Eddie Huang and Pretty Little World coauthors Elizabeth LaBan and Melissa DePino; and the recent “Inheritance” collection, with stories from Alice Hoffman, Julie Orringer, Alexander Chee, and others. Other authors who have written for the imprint include Jennifer McMahon, Lisa Unger, Edgar Cantero, Emily Raboteau, Adam Haslett, Brandi Reeds, Dean Koontz, Nick McDonell, Susan Straight, Jeffrey Deaver, and Janice Y. K. Lee.

The stories are available for free to Prime and Kindle Unlimited subscribers; other readers can purchase the books for $1.99.

Ninth Step Station

In Ninth Step Station, a future Tokyo is torn, divided between the invading Chinese and the supposedly peacekeeping Americans. Disaster after disaster have kept Japan from recovering, and their police are short handed and short supplied.

When Metropolitan Police Detective Miyako Koreda is paired with US Peacekeeper Emma Higashi as her new partner, neither of them is pleased with the arrangement. But despite their hesitations, they solve a series of crimes that feature espionage, rebellion, and humanity at its worst, many of which revolve around the war.

Created by Malka Older, Ninth Step Station feels at once like great near-future sci-fi and a modern police drama in which both of the main detectives are, refreshingly, women. The second season, with writing team Older, Fran Wilde, Jacqueline Koyanagi, and Curtis C. Chen, just wrapped—but the cliffhanger indicates the solid possibility of a third season in the works.

Coming Soon

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene

What happens when a medium and a scientist are at odds in Victorian England—and a vengeful spirit enters the mix? That’s the premise of this forthcoming serial: scientist James Walker hires spiritual medium Beatrix Greene to host a seance. She’s worried he intends to prove that she’s a fraud, and she’s determined not to let that happen. Neither of them expect to have to banish a ghost—or to be so attracted to each other. The first episode is live (and free) at Serial Box, and the second releases just in time for Halloween chills and thrills.

The Co-Founder

One of two Serial Box titles in development for television, The Co-founder is a contemporary drama set to launch later in 2020. When two women, Val and Jules, create what could become the next big thing in gaming, they face a hurdle: they’re women. In order to fit in with the Silicon Valley tech-bro culture, they hire barista and failed actor Toby to act as their third co-founder. It’s a plan that might just work—until Toby tries to steal their gaming platform out from under them. The season, written by Alexis Wilkinson, is available for preorder.

Marvel’s Black Panther: Sins of the Father

It’s difficult waiting for news about the MCU’s Black Panther 2, but fear not: there’s a serial to tide you over! With a sneak peek released in August 2020, the full serial won’t release until January 2021, but I’m already ready to keep hitting refresh until it launches. Led by Ira Madison III, the writing team (Geoff Thorne, Mohale Mashigo, Steven Barnes, and Tananarive Due) take readers to a Wakanda plagued by undead. T’Challa, striving to be both a good king and an Avenger, must turn to his long-lost father to find out how to stop the supernatural onslaught—and face the demons of Wakanda’s past. With Emmy-nominated William Jackson Harper announced as the narrator, this one is going to be a fantastic read—or listen—when it releases.

Serials You Can Binge

These serials, which are not currently updating, are worth checking out, especially as some of them may later get a second season.

Marvel’s Black Widow: Bad Blood

We might not yet have a fully official release date for the Black Widow movie, but fans who can’t get enough of the Russian assassin/Avenger can get a fix with this recently released serial, which just wrapped its first season in July. As the second collaboration between Marvel and Serial Box, Black Widow follows Natasha Romanov as she tries to track down whoever stole her blood—because they also stole the blood of Bucky Barnes. There’s no good reason for someone to take the blood of two secret operatives, especially when there’s a possibility that the someone responsible is trying to develop their own brand of super soldier serum. A Barnes/Romanov team-up is something we’ll never really get to see in the MCU, but pairing these two is sure to hit all the right spy movie tropes. Serial Box veterans Lindsay Smith (lead writer for The Witch Who Came in from the Cold) and Margaret Dunlap (Bookburners) are joined on the writing team by feminist writer Mikki Kendall, urban fantastist L.L. McKinney, and thriller writer Taylor Stevens.

Knox

This recently completed serial is set in 1930s Manhattan, where a serial killer is on the loose, and Knox is the PI on the job. Both she and the murderer, John Craddock, served in World War I; the experience left Knox with the unenviable ability to see the paranormal. And the case with Craddock is anything but what it seems. Elements of Lovecraftian horror infuse this story of a badass Afro-Latina detective, and New York noir combines with queer romance to give the story a while different flavor from anything else in this genre. Let K Arsenault Rivera, Brooke Bolander, Gabino Iglesias, and Sunny Moraine take you on a trip of horrors beyond space and time—and try to hold onto your sanity while you’re reading.

Machina

The world is a mess, and the future lies off-planet if humanity is to survive at all. Machina is set after a climate apocalypse ravages Earth. In the first episode, readers meet a group of dreamers—best friends Trey, Stephanie, and Smits—who intend to save humanity from their crumbling planet, ravaged by earthquakes and worse, by creating AI that will terraform Mars. Skip forward a few years, and those Trey and Stephanie are feuding, running rival tech companies both striving toward the same goal. Although Trey’s company focuses on a more traditional style of programming—where the AI is guided at every step by humans at the helm—Trey is innovating with the help of AI anthropologist Noor Venable, whose understanding of AI may change the way everyone thinks. Stephanie’s group, determined to give their AI more independence, is led in part by ace-programmer Cameron—who finds themself as charmed by Noor as Trey’s AI. The competition is being covered by intrepid “kid-reporter” Hiro Watanabe, who steals every scene he’s in. With the writing team of Malka Older, Fran Wilde, Curtis Chen, and Martha Wells, all of whom have followings beyond their serials, this is one tech corporate drama that readers will be happy to binge—and hope for a second season.

Thor: Metal Gods

One of my favorite bits in the MCU is when Thor and Loki team up in some old-school “Road Movie” style comedy. This prose serial, the audio version of which is narrated by Daniel Gillies of The Vampire Diaries, doubles down on the fun of the Loki-Thor duo. Here, the at-odds brothers voyage through the galaxy to track down a dangerous artifact. But the cast doesn’t stop with familiar faces: new characters include a Korean tiger-goddess, Frost giant mercenaries, and a charismatic, gender-fluid space pirate.This is the first prose serial collaboration between Serial Box and one of the big comic publishers, featuring the writing team of Aaron Stewart-Ahn, Jay Edidin, Brian Keene, and Yoon Ha Lee. If you love it (or prefer a different hero), keep an eye out for Serial Box’s other Marvel titles!

Orphan Black: The Next Chapter

If you were among the fans who lamented the end of the Canadian SF show Orphan Black, celebrate the return of the Clone Club—eight years after the conclusion of the show! (Den of Geek chatted with Tatiana Maslany about continuing the series as the audio book narrator.) The first Serial Box season has concluded, but fans can keep hoping for more time with the Clone Club.

Other Half of the Grave

This may not be the vampire romance POV swap that everyone’s been talking about, but The Other Half of the Grave has some of the same appeal! Fans of Jeanine Frost’s “Night Huntress” series encouraged her to write scenes from the male lead of her first “Night Huntress” novel, One Foot in the Grave, for behind the scenes goodies. It’s not an entire book—readers would do best to read the original novel first—but the bite sized installments are a huge reader perk.

Foreshadow

After a hugely successful IndieGogo campaign, editors in chief Emily X.R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma have launched what they term a YA Serial anthology. Contributors include Dhonielle Clayton (in Issue 0), Malinda Lo (in Issue 1), Justine Larbalesteir (issue 10), and more. A print edition of some of the stories is due out in fall, 2020, but the original 12 issues remain available online.

Born to the Blade

High fantasy meets political intrigue in Born to the Blade, a serial that combines elements from Game of Thrones, Avatar the Last Airbender, and The West Wing. Duelist-diplomats fight for the fate of not only the neutral Twaa-Fei islands, but the world. Rumor has it there’s no second season yet in the plans, but if you’re like me and can’t handle the cliff-hanger from season one, spread the word!

Gods and Lies

Billed as American Gods meets The Maltese Falcon, Gods & Lies follows investigator Justix Iris Tharro, a human agent of the goddess of Justice. In order to solve the bizarre murder in the Temple of Wind, she has to team up with Andy, a disgraced demigod, trying to win back the favor of his divine parent.

First Street

First Street delves into contemporary events by focusing on four young clerks working in the Supreme Court. Recommended for fans of The West Wing and Shondaland series, who are sure to get drawn into the intrigue.

The Understudy

A dance school is the unlikely setting for this social thriller, where a group of moms must team together to protect their daughters from a series of brutal attacks—all of which began when new dancer, Imogen, started attending the same dance academy.

Alternis

In a not-too-distant future, the world’s governments have agreed to allow their standings in an MMORPG to determine their share of the world’s resources. A game designer has a choice: join Team USA or have her life’s project taken away. (We chatted with the writing team for Alternis in an exclusive cover reveal and with Summer Glau, who narrated the audio book.)

The Triangle

A covert group travels to the Bermuda Triangle to investigate disappearances, only to be stranded on an uncharted island… where they discover they aren’t alone. Secrets are slowly revealed in Michael Crichton style suspense, with a healthy dose of television’s Lost.

False Idols

FBI crime thriller False Idols pits Layla el-Deeb against a terrorist network operating via Ciaro’s art scene. Her entry into the world of Cairo’s financial elite is complicated by her impoverished childhood in Cairo’s slums, and going undercover in her home city comes with greater challenges than she expected.

Tensorate

JY Yang’s Tensorate novellas tell a technology-vs.-tradition tale of two twin siblings, Mokoya and Akeha, drawn to opposite sides of a rebellion. A prequel reveals the history of the Protector’s rise, and a continuation of the original duology, The Descent of Monsters, features a female inspector trying to solve a mystery that involves a cover up, an escaped experiment, and strange dreams she can’t define.

The Witch Who Came in From the Cold

This Cold War with witches spy saga had two seasons—and ended on a cliffhanger. If you like a good KGB vs. CIA story, definitely let Serial Box know you’d love to see a third season!

Silverwood: The Door

Continuing on from stories originally introduced in the Black Box TV series Silverwood by Tony E. Valenzuela, this serial offers a Lovecraftian creature driving people to madness, and nods to splatterpunk and slashers. (Check out our interview with the writers.)

Bullet Catcher

Imma Moreno’s dead-end life changes directions when she decides to apprentice herself to a bullet catcher—mythical warriors whose heroics are told in hushed voices, but who were supposed to have been slaughtered by the gunslingers long ago. Tales of Jedi and the series Avatar: The Last Airbender inspired this weird western by Joaquin Lowe.

The Fisher of Bones

Sarah Gailey’s The Fisher of Bones is a fantasy novelette in twelve parts released by Fireside Fiction, with an audio version produced by Serial Box. It’s a beautiful and desolate fantasy story filled with trials of faith, and the short chapters make it a quick read–but the chapters will linger in a reader’s thoughts much longer.

Dead Air

College senior Macy Walker is obsessed with death, and in her on-air show, “Dead Air,” she airs out the old case of horsewoman Peg Graham’s murder. But though she starts reporting her own findings—and realizing that plenty of people would like Graham’s case to stay buried.

ReMade

Twenty three teenagers, all of whom died in the same minute, become the last hope for humanity when they awaken in a brand new world. Here, there are robots that hunt humans, a dangerous jungle, and the ruins of an ancient civilization.

Geek Actually

This contemporary fiction piece focuses on a circle of female friends whose careers revolve around their geeky passions. The focus on powerful and healthy female friendships is a delight, and the diversity of the cast is wonderful.

Bookburners

Bookburners, the flagship series for Serial Box (and one of my personal favorites on this list), is the story of a team of Vatican-employed agents trapping demons in books—until they realize that magic is too big to be contained. The story finished its fifth and final season, and the collected episodes are too good to miss.

Tremontaine

This completed serial is a prequel to Ellen Kushner’s Riverside fantasy series, and the the swashbuckling and political intrigue kept readers hooked through the serial’s ultimate conclusion. Series creator Ellen Kushner has posted a guide to the Riverside novels and the order in which they occur chronologically for readers wanting to delve more deeply into that world.

1776

The Associated Press series 1776: The World Turned Upside Down was originally published for the bicentennial of the United States in a hardcover, large format book for news organizations. The serial features dramatized audio narration with voice work by Clint McElroy as Alexander Hamilton, Bob Garfield as Thomas Paine, Chris Jackson as Washington, Nicholas Christopher as John Adams, and Robin Miles as the narrator. (We talked with CEO Molly Barton about the project.)

A Most Dangerous Woman

Brenda Clough takes up the mantle of Wilkie Collins in creating a sequel to what many critics consider the first and finest example of the modern mystery genre, The Woman in White.

Exquisite Corpse and Embodied

You’ve heard of the game: several authors create a story together, writing a chapter at a time and then handing it off to the next, so that none of the authors really know where it’s going to end up until the last moment. Serial Box took the concept and turned it into a serial format, with two event serials: Exquisite Corpse and Embodied.

Royally Yours

Looking for something a little lighthearted for your bite-sized reads? In honor of the real royal wedding in May, Serial Box released a short, mini-series of love stories, not about the bride and groom, but about couples involved in the day’s events.

Whitehall

In the mood for courtly drama, full of machinations, intrigue, and fantastic clothing? Settle in for the turmoil of the romance of Queen Catherine of Braganza, her husband, King Charles II of England, and his mistress, Barbara. This is captivating historical fiction, vividly set in the 17th century.

Belgravia

Fans of Downtown Abbey will gravitate to this story, written by Julian Fellowes, of the Trenchant family. Belgravia integrates real historical details into the text through hyperlinking; the setting is viscerally described, and the characters presented with an open eye to their flaws as equally as their virtues.

Conclusion

The best part about serials is that they’re happening live — and if enough people are reading them, they make great Internet water-cooler conversation. So if you’re catching up on the latest episode of The Vela, or the most recent installment of whatever Team Andrews is writing, and need to gush — or just want to make sure I know about the hot new serial you’re reading — come on over and find me on Facebook.

The post The Best Online Serial Fiction appeared first on Den of Geek.

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recentanimenews · 4 years

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Five Must-Watch Anime Series for Star Wars Fans

It's a good time to be a Star Wars fan! With movies, TV shows, books, and games all readily available, there's plenty to keep us entertained. But as we await the next films, streaming spinoffs, and (most importantly) Season 2 of The Mandalorian, we need something to keep us entertained. Fortunately, there's plenty of anime that's perfect for fans of the epic space adventure.

For this May the 4th, we've compiled a list of anime series for Star Wars fans in need of a fresh watch. From journeys to distant planets to the origins of famous masked baddies, explore our list for something new to enjoy!

Somali and the Forest Spirit

If you're all done with Season 1 of The Mandalorian and itching to know what comes next, Somali and the Forest Spirit is a perfect stopgap. The series follows a golem nearing the end of a long life spent watching over a forest. He finds an abandoned human girl and decides to watch over her. However, with only a year to live, he decides to take her to live with humans like herself — a difficult task, as humans are being persecuted nearly to the point of extinction.

We've talked at length before about similarities between The Mandalorian and Somali and the Forest Spirit. There are key differences, but if you're a fan of the Lone Wolf and Cub-esque relationship between the Mandalorian and the Child, Somali will definitely be a good fit for you.

Mobile Suit Gundam the Origin: Advent of the Red Comet

Star Wars has never been shy about delving into less-than-heroic origins. Darth Vader, one of the most memorable film villains of all time, is the centerpiece of much of the Skywalker Saga, tracing his miraculous origins and his turn to the Dark Side. If you're a fan of that sort of deep dive into an antagonist's history, then Gundam has a series for you.

Gundam the Origin: Advent of the Red Comet pops open the history of one of the UC's greatest bad (and occasionally good) guys, Char Aznable. From his tragic youth to his plans for revenge, viewers who may have missed his back story in the Gundam the Origin manga can now get to know Casval Rem Deikun before he became the Red Comet. You'll also see Amuro Ray here and there, leading up to what will become one of anime's most memorable rivalries.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These

If you're a fan of the more political aspects of Star Wars, you'll find a good match in Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These. This new series is the latest version of the epic space opera penned by Yoshiki Tanaka. As ever, we follow the war between the Free Planets Alliance and the Galactic Empire — and, more specifically, the personalities behind each.

There isn't really a "Light Side" or "Dark Side" in Galactic Heroes. Each side has its good and bad people, its merits and flaws. But most important, each side has its military genius: the humble Yang Wen-li and the noble Reinhard von Lohengramm. The two respect each other above all else, even in the midst of one side fighting for freedom from the other.

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

The universe of Star Wars is full of beautiful and unique planets, each with its own style and culture. If you're a fan of sci-fi series with gorgeous settings, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is a great place to land.

The series, written by Madoka Magica and Psycho-Pass writer Gen Urobuchi, starts out as an alien-battling mecha show. But when Galactic Alliance soldier Ledo and his robot Chamber fall through a wormhole, things get a lot more ... aquatic. They find themselves aboard a fleet of ships called Gargantia, on an ocean-covered world long believed to be a myth. Ledo eventually finds himself loving this new world — including the Gargantia's messenger, Amy.

While there are still plenty of battles to be had, it's a beautiful show for fans of the — how should we put it — less sandy locales of Star Wars.

Captain Harlock

There are lots of reasons to love Star Wars, but we all know the real reason we're watching: we like to see space heroes fighting with magic swords and flying cool spaceships. And there's no anime that brings all those things quite like Captain Harlock.

Just one of Leiji Matsumoto's memorable space heroes, Harlock sails the sea of stars in the space-bound pirate ship Arcadia. Accompanied by a crew of humans and aliens, he fights back against the plant-like aliens known as the Mazone, as they attempt to claim Earth for their own.

If you're missing Han Solo — and, let's be real, lots of us are — Harlock is the space pirate you need in your life.

That's just a small taste of what Crunchyroll has to fill the Star Wars-shaped hole in your watch list. Be sure to check out our full catalog for more suggestions. In the meantime, May the 4th be with you!

What anime series do you consider essential for Star Wars fans? Share your suggestions in the comments!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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fantasticbookdragon · 5 years

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Hello!

I was so excited to get an email about the Nexus blog tour and jumped at the chance to host a date! Not only do I get to host a date, I got to put together a Q&A post for Sasha and Lindsay (I’m still pinching myself). I hope you enjoy it! My review of Nexus will follow shortly.

1. For those who don’t know already, can you tell us where the inspiration for the books came from?

S: We are both space nerds. We love sci-fi, action and a whole lot of epicness! So instantly, we knew what we wanted to write. Friendship and our love for space were both huge motivations for us to write The Androma Saga. We wanted to create a book where girls could be friends without turning against each other. We also just wanted to have a space opera with a diverse cast of characters like they do on Firefly and Star Wars. Sci-Fi is dominated by men and it isn’t very popular in YA, so we wanted to take a leap of faith, and show readers what we got!

2. The Androma Saga was originally a self-published 60 page novella. Was expanding it always on the cards, or brought on by the positive response from readers?

S: YES! We were always going to write the full story, just release it in parts. But then we submitted the book to publishers after hitting #1 on the NYT list and BAM! We finished the full book in a traditional hardback form.

L- We always wanted to write the whole thing, we just didn’t expect such an amazing response from the community! And once the first novella came out, we decided to give readers the entire book as a whole, and I’m so glad that we did!!

3. Did the writing process differ for book two, and if so, how?

S: For sure. Every book is written a wee bit differently, no matter if you try to do it or not. Although Zenith was written in a tighter turnaround time, Nexus was more of a longterm uphill battle, for the better. We really had to rip I apart and rewrite it to make it what it is today, a better and tighter story that has a worthwhile ending. Also, a huge difference was for Zenith, we wrote on top of each others writing but for Nexus, we each took a few characters each and wrote 4-5 chapters from each POV then would switch.

L- We had SO much more time to get it right! That was a super awesome blessing, especially because I was pregnant (and then had a newborn) through the writing process of book two!

4. The books are told from multiple points of view, were they co-written, or did you write for specific povs?

Going off what we said in the last question, we pretty much wrote these books with an equal stake in each character, with a few exceptions.

S: Lindsay was the mastermind behind Klarens POV in book 1. Originally, we didn’t have her as a POV but added her in later. Thank the godstars for Lindsay because It added all of cool dimension to the book. For book 2, Lindsay came up with an epic addition to Valen’s storyline. In book 1, he was my baby and in book 2, he switched to Lindsay’s in such a unique way. I’m just really proud of Lindsay and her creativity with last minute creations!

L- We write on top of each other!

5. Do you have a favourite character from the books and why?

S: Nor has always been mine. I love creating a character with many levels of motivation that can be seen as bad or good, depending on who he reader is and how they rationalize the characters decisions to do what they do. From the outside, Nor is the “villain” but throughout the series, we see her motivations reveal themselves. I think we did a good job plunging our readers into the murky area between good and evil as they read Nor’s POV. How they emerge from that grayness? Guess you need to tell me!

L- I will always have a place in my heart for Androma, because I love a reluctant heroine. But in NEXUS, I love Valen’s storyline. It’s dark, and it’s sad…and also beautiful, in some ways.

6. Now for some fan casting. If you could, who would you choose to play the lead roles in Zenith/Nexus?

S: EVERYONE FROM THE CAST OF “THE 100” (!!!!) For example: Eliza – Andi Bob – Dex

L- Lol…I always just picture the cast of the 100 when it comes to this duology!

7. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

S: YOU AREN’T A PERFECT WRITER. Let me explain: As hard as it seems, you need to be open to criticism and critiques, they will help you grow as an author. We always seem to strive for perfection, sometimes we see our books as “perfect” after the first draft. Its great to feel that way, but still get another set of eyes to look at it. Another struggle is writers who get fed up because even after multiple drafts, it still isn’t perfect. But what you need to know is that it will never be perfect. WHICH IS NORMAL! You will always want to change something, but thats why you should pass it off to someone else. They will give you a solid list of changes. Edit the book with those changes in mind and you’ll know when it’s ready. Just don’t strive for perfection, no author is perfect. Strive for pride and happiness in your work. Flaws included.

L- I love this question, because people always come to me saying, “I want to be a writer someday!” I ask them, “Well, have you written something already?” When they respond with a yes, I tell them that they’re already a writer. That passion is what fuels the ones who want to become a *published* writer, and they’ve got to carry that into the future. Read a TON. Write a TON. Let other people read your work, and be open to criticism on that work. It is always hard to share a bit of your heart and soul, but worth it in the end, because it helps you find growth.

8. With the duology coming to a close, what’s next?

S: I’m working on an urban folklore fantasy novel called Project Red (no the official title). You can follow my progress on it over on its IG page: @Projectredbook 🙂

L- A new single release for me, (stay tuned on news!!) about outlaw girls and alien horses.. and a lot of dark magic and mayhem.

9. Do you have any book recommendations for the inevitable post Nexus slump?

S: THE CHOSEN by Taran Matharu! So. Good. Its about a group of kids who suddenly disappear, just to be transported to another world and from there, things get really EPIC. It has lost history, dinosaurs, an *amazing* cast of characters and an ancient, unknown evil who is playing puppeteer.

L- I’m listening to the audiobook of A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC right now, and it’s fantastic!!

I hope you enjoyed reading this Q&A, both Zenith and Nexus are available now so definitely pick them up asap! Keep an eye for my review too!

Blog Tour: Nexus – Q&A with Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings Hello! I was so excited to get an email about the Nexus blog tour and jumped at the chance to host a date!

#Blog tour #Bookish Fun #Lindsay Cummings #Nexus #Q&A #Sasha Alsberg #Zenith

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recentanimenews · 8 years

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FEATURE: "Mass Effect: Andromeda" Review

Before we begin, fair warning: I am a massive, unapologetically biased Mass Effect fanboy. It's easily my favorite new game franchise in a long while, and I've spent more time playing and replaying the original trilogy than I care to admit. I have very strong opinions on its world, its story (I legit liked ME3's ending, but I'll discuss that in the comments), and had very high expectations for Mass Effect: Andromeda, the newest chapter in BioWare's space opera RPG. Were those expectations met? Well... yes and no. Let's start from the top:

Sometime during the events of Mass Effect 2, four massive ark ships, each carrying 50,000 individuals from representative races of our galaxy, departs for the distant Andromeda Galaxy, 2.5 million light years away. 600 years pass, and the crew of the human ark Hyperion reaches Andromeda, and things go immediately wrong. The promised "garden world" humanity was supposed to colonize is an uninhabitable hellscape, the first aliens they meet say hello with gunfire, and nobody has any clue where the turian, salarian, or asari arks are. From here, it's up to you, the human Pathfinder, to make things right.

Instead of the entire Milky Way Galaxy from the previous games, Andromeda focuses on one section, the Heleus Cluster, and two new races: the vicious, militaristic kett and the family-oriented angara, who've been stuck fighting the kett for longer than they can remember. Like past games, there are plenty of political entanglements to navigate, like rogue angara who (thanks to the kett) distrust all aliens, humans who want to say "screw the rules" go all Mad Max in this new galaxy, and of course, all the racial tensions from the Milky Way rearing their ugly heads all over again. It's smaller, but feels more intimate--I did miss how special humanity wasn't in the original Mass Effect and getting to learn about all these new, different races, but appreciated how Andromeda very specifically focused on handling the conflict between the angara and the kett.

Putting things bluntly, much of your time in Andromeda is going to be spent doing the same things you did in the previous trilogy: negotiate tense situations, survive double and triple crosses, take sides in a gang war, and help your nakama crew with their personal quests. Between all the big choices and the main quest of finding new homes for 200,000 displaced Milky Way immigrants, there are plenty of smaller, personal errands to take on: get a movie night together for your ship, find the perfect ingredients to create booze, help a particularly doofy colonist find a career path (and not get killed in the process), and of course, try to hook up with everyone that gives you the dialogue option. It's a Mass Effect game, and it's all familiar to a point. It's not all dead-serious survival stress, though, and I really appreciate Andromeda's lighter, more adventurous tone.

As opposed to the huge, sprawling cast we'd grown fond of (to varying degrees) over the initial trilogy, Andromeda starts small, with six squad members and a handful of crewmembers on your new ship, the Tempest. You've got your standard pair of human starting partners, like "I'm really not mad at you, I promise" Cora Harper and "I keep forgetting where I left my shirt" Liam Costa, a grizzled old krogan, a very business-first turian, and an asari Zooey Deschanel. The most interesting new face is Jaal, a member of the new angara race, and getting to know this new alien species on a personal level and earning his trust really adds to the feeling of being a total stranger in this galaxy. Rather than being tied down by "Paragon" or "Renegade" options and limiting responses based on your level, you can choose between Professional, Casual, Emotional, or Logical responses (with the occasional "Impulsive" interrupt) to determine your character's reputation, and a very clear Romantic option during dialogue whenever you feel the need to hit on Space Antonio Banderas Reyes.

The biggest changes come on the other side of the action-RPG coin: the combat. As mentioned in my preview a few weeks back, combat is faster, more streamlined, and expects you to be faster on the draw and smarter with your ability use. Enemy AI isn't the smartest, but the fact that they hit harder and always, always have the numbers advantage make you want to end fights as quickly as possible. Instead of being locked into one class like Soldier or Vanguard for the entire game, you're encouraged to have a mixture of combat, biotic, and tech abilities, and switch classes ("Profiles") as needed for your playstyle or different situations. I ended up favoring the Explorer Profile, which is a perfect balance between the three, and provides strong bonuses across the board, but dedicated individual skillsets like Engineer and Adept gave huge bonuses to specific biotic or tech loadouts. You're given full freedom to build your character's abilities the way you want, and with no level cap (and the usual medbay respec option), you don't have to stress over being stuck with upgrades that aren't working out.

That freedom extends to item creation as well--the sheer amount of junk you collect can seem daunting, but the game's crafting system will cause you to burn through it pretty quickly to create new, better weapons. If you spent a lot of time playing Mass Effect 3's multiplayer, you'll be right at home putting together your kit, weapons, armor, vehicle and all--I'm a big fan of the new melee weapons, like the asari and kett swords. Building planets' livability also allows you to customize what bonuses you get, like regular credit and resource packages, as well as upgrading your APEX strike team.

Feeling a lot like Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker's Extra Ops, your APEX teams can be called in to take care of side missions while you're playing the main story. Teams have different perks affecting their chances of mission success, and completing these missions earns you more credits, resources, and occasional weapon and armor drops. Some missions can also be played by you, and that's where Andromeda's addicting multiplayer mode comes in. Just like Mass Effect 3, you'll work together with other players and hold off waves of enemies, but this time you won't need to touch multiplayer to finish the main story (but you'll be missing out-it's fun). While there are a few missing classes (sadly, no more volus adepts), I was able to unlock a few more good ones after only playing a few matches--I'll be coming back pretty regularly to Andromeda's multiplayer just for how damn fun it is to run people over with a krogan.

But even with all the cool new stuff, there's a lot of problems with Andromeda, and not all of them can be fixed with a day-one patch. Character animations are unsteady and jittery, with characters popping into movements or just twitching for no reason during cutscenes. At one point, my Ryder was flirting with Cora, and his head started slowly turning 180 degrees before immediately snapping back to normal, just like I do when talking to women in real life. In a few instances, enemies got stuck in level architecture, completely catching me by surprise when a door started shooting at me. Other enemies wouldn't even respond, just standing in an idle animation while I ran up and punched them repeatedly. In one particularly infuriating issue, a quest update wouldn't trigger, but showed the next step available. When I finished that step, the last one still showed, and blocked me from further progress in the quest.

Andromeda's issues run deeper than just technical screwups. While the overall story is cool, moment-to-moment writing can run from bland to trying-too-hard-to-be-Joss-Whedon dumb. Some characters will constantly speak like they're trying to be the coolest person in the room (hi Liam), and when dealing with more minor technical flaws like characters not even looking at the people they're talking to (just in their general direction), it can really break that feeling of immersion. Back on the characters, there are a few truly tone-deaf attempts to be inclusive and show a better future--the intent is there, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The new, villainous kett--and their dickhead leader the Archon--are more annoying than threatening until the game's halfway point, but I can't stop thinking of the Archon as Sarris from Galaxy Quest.

"YOOOOOU AAAAARE OOOOOUR LAST HOPE"

Even with all that, though, I can't say I had a bad time with Andromeda--at all, really. It's funny how the game's launch kind of parallels the game's story: after a long wait, we're finally here, and nothing's the way it should be. Everything's going wrong, it's not quite matching up to how we expected, and there are a lot of good reasons to be pissed off. Thankfully, sticking with it doesn't just open the door to a rich, fantastic adventure. Mass Effect: Andromeda brings us new friends, new memories, and--most importantly--a new home.

REVIEW ROUNDUP

+ Brings you right back to that familiar Mass Effect sweet spot between in-depth roleplay and satisfying action

+ Lots to do across a half-dozen hub worlds and your ship, that never feels like busywork or filler

+ Aims for a lighter tone and mostly succeeds, making its emotional moments stand out more clearly

+ Faster, more intense combat is a step up from previous games

+ "Tone Wheel" adds more flexibility and better roleplay options compared to binary "Paragon/Renegade" responses

+ Fun, addicting multiplayer is also 100% separate from the story mode

+/- Lighter tone does come with some less-than-hilarious attempts at humor and quirkiness, but your mileage may vary

- Constant technical glitches and errors, likely due to me playing a pre-release build, but I'm surprised it's this broken

- Inconsistent UX decisions: why can I equip something from a chest, but not from my inventory?

By: [email protected]

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