#anyway i'm just trying to find ideas to finalize some character designs and every time i have to suffer once more

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

I don't get why people hate on different fire emblem games. I've had a lovely time with every game I've played, even fates, which people for some reason insist sucks? It's so good. Here's my favorite things about each game I've played just cause. I am very sick so no one can criticize me btw.

Binding: obviously goes for all gba games but the battle animations are so!!!!! Lovely and charming. Roy's just a silly guy, Lilina :], the cast is excellent, everyone from the most insignificant playable characters to the nastiest of villains like Narcian and Jahn is just so fun and nicely written.

Blazing: I LOVE THE ELIBEAN LORDS SO MUCH THEY HAVE MY ENTIRE HEART AND SOUL. I think fe7 has my favorite cast. Everyone is awesome like in fe6 but cranked up a notch. And I quite like how this game isn't about war!!! Lyn's just trying to save her grandpa and Eliwood is searching for his dad. There's some hints of civil war here and there but ultimately less war than usual which is quite fun and interesting.

Sacred stones: I adore how the game is like. almost horror. In my ideal fe8 remake they would lean into the horror aspect a more and maybe have a higher age rating. I really love how it starts out like any other fe game then you start to see monsters and then there's the necromancy and characters like Riev who worship this vile demonic thing. And the art director for this game was Wada Sachiko! She was such an excellent choice for the art director because her style leans into the darker feel than fe6 and 7. Also I'm a Christian so I do really enjoy L'Arachel's character where she's obviously inspired by Christianity but not in an offensive way. She's a nice god(s) (?) honoring teenage girl full of whimsy and optimism!!! Also I love Eirika. Did a cosplay of her once and gotta say, I felt drop dead gorgeous in it lol.

Path of radiance: I have yet to finish this one but oh MAN do I love the artstyle and combat and character design. Not a single bad character, they're all nicely written. Except Devdan but he's not real if we ignore him. I love how believable Ike and Mist are as siblings and I got say I actually find the bad voice acting to be charming, especially in that opening cutscene where Mist says something like "you're finally awake! 'bout time!" like she's so silly and cute I would die for her. I also really love how Ike is not royalty, he's just some guy!!! With autism!!! Like for a while my view of Ike was kinda skewed by looking at super smash bros content of him so then playing the game and discovering he's such a kind, reasonable and autistic dude was a very pleasant surprise. Seriously though this dude NEEDS to get assessed. Anyway I quite like the laguz too. Reyson, Tibarn and Caineghis are my favorites and I'm excited to see more of Kurthnaga because he's got such a pleasant design. Also just. Caineghis is probably one of my top favorite character designs ever, like top 20. It goes so unbelievably hard.

Awakening: THE TRAGEDY. THE TRAGEDY OF EMMERYN'S DEATH. UWAAAGHHHHH. I love LOVE how Emmeryn is written, how you can't save her despite Lucina being able to time travel, how you're given the options "save Emmeryn? Yes or no?" and it doesn't matter if you pick yes cause she dies anyway. The cast is not quite on the same tier as fe7 or 8 and there's certainly some characters I do not like but my favorites really are just so wonderful and lovely. I'd kill and die for Henry, Maribelle, Libra, Gregor and like 5 other people. The child unit mechanic is also very fun! It's such a clever idea for a time travel game and it gives you so much control over how your units end up. The self sacrifice ending also makes me feel sick. /pos "there's better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know. Here, give me your hand" and then Robin reaches out to Chrom and the symbol of Grima is gone and when he pulls them in closer, he says "it's finally over." just. Ahdhdjsjsjsj!!!!!!!

Fates: now, I've only played birthright but it was a very nice experience. I went in expecting nothing and had my socks blown off. Combat is fun, characters are so silly billy and it's got such a nicely done representation of a broken families. It's nice. The characters and supports are nice, even if I do feel like we could've had a few less support chains. And idc if I doesn't make sense story wise, bringing back child units was fun!! Again with the unit customization but also it's so fun to give your favorite character a teenage/preteen kid that they have to deal with. Azama and Mitama's supports are peak silly. I think people would enjoy birthright more if they took it a little less seriously. It's full of whimsy and people ignore that in favor of comparing it to more serious games which I think is kinda unfair.

Shadows of Valentia: oh MAN. I LOVE THE TWO ARMIES MECHANIC!!!! And bangin' cast! Absolutely adore almost every single one of those gay bitches!!! The artstyle is so gorgeous and I hated the combat at first but grew a soft spot for it, it's so strange and I like it!!! Also the game is less hefty so my computer had an easier time running it than POR, awakening and fates which is quite nice too. I love Berkut's character (I won't defend him, he's a son of a bitch) and MAN Ian Sinclair really went HAM on that voice acting!!! Also Zeke and Tatiana feel handcrafted for me specifically. Angsty married couple? Where one has amnesia?? And the other is worried he'll leave her if he remembers another woman he was dating??? And they're voiced by Patrick Seitz and Cristina Vee, two of my favorite voice actors ever??????? SIGN ME UP!!!! I'm excited to eventually play the Marth games and see what else is up with Zeke :] also adore Celica, Silque, Jesse and Boey! Very nice, solid characters.

Three houses: different routes! DIFFERENT ROUTES!!!! You get to see all sides of a war and it's so fun piecing together the history of Fodlan and nature of Rhea's character as you play each route. And again, excellent voice acting!! And it was fun being in the 3h fandom when it first came out and seeing all the silly things the VAs did together. I've got like 400 hours on this game and it holds a special place in my heart cause it was the very first game I finished without help from siblings and it was my first fe game. Also banging soundtrack, fun and unique combat (LOVE battalions) and amazing characters.

Enage: now I'm only 8 chapters in, I think? Haven't been able to play it recently. But it's so fun! Before getting it, I hated the bright artstyle and character designs but they've grown on me and I have been enlightened so I now know that f!Alear is a cutie patootie and I love her. I love the mechanic of adopting animals. Like I am quite happy recent fe games have, in some aspects, become more a little more lighthearted and silly. I love variation in game series' and when the devs aren't way too formulaic!!! That being said I also love the archetypes!!! I just really love fire emblem :]

I'm excited to finish engage and POR and play more of the games :]

Sorry about the long ass ask, I'm full of love and I want people to know it because I wish other people could learn to be a little more positive and focus on the aspects of fe games that they like instead of being hardcore haters. Okay now everyone say thank you Senri Kita (fe9 art director) and Wada Sachiko

.

[possumkingluca]

me when i'm able to find decent references for women's fantasy outfits/armor (<- i had to scroll through multiple pages of softcore porn for this)

[notebooks-and-laptops]

Just realised the reason I'm not getting that cool Bellara outfit with the tiara is because i won't encourage her to destroy the archive. Which is really annoying, because I think destroying the archive is a decision neither she or Rook should be making and really puts the nail in the coffin for me on this game just not caring at all about the elves and especially the dalish at all. Like. Bellara could GIVE IT AWAY but to destroy it is to take history and knowledge away from so many people who are desperate for such knowledge. The game basically only brings up the dalish if they're victims of the gods they worshipped in this game (or worse, when the writing tries to force white guilt onto a group of people it makes no sense to have white guilt). And then to just decide suddenly that all these clans who have worked so hard to try and restore some history, the VEILJUMPERS themselves...just. don't get a say in this?

Like. Think of Merrill. Merrill would LOVE to get her hands on that archive. And yes Merrill can destroy the mirror at the end of her questline but if she DOES it's a huge emotional beat in which she believes that she thinks she was wrong and it got her keeper/clan killed. It's really done more out of anger and pain than anything else (the bit where it shatters chills me to my core every time). It's during the rivalry path and it's like, she believes she is so so so alone at that point and that the mirror took it all away. It's a really good character beat and I think maybeeeee they were trying to replicate it here? Because Bellara is also grieving and her brother was taken from her.

But it just doesn't work because it ends up as rooks decision and it ends up being like a methodically thought out one where we're just taking history away from all the dalish clans that they may want or find useful? And it also feels less done out of grief and more a reference to the previous white guilt convo that Bellara has about the Gods and it's like????? It makes me feel so icky to have to make that decision. It's NOT OURS TO MAKE. I just. Bellaras final beats they had so many options it could have been like; her becoming a spirit again or not, her following Anaris or not, her saving her brother or not. If they really really wanted to make it about like elves past Vs their future (false dichotomy but go off I guess) they could have had her find a way to remove her Valislin and whether or not she takes it (also I love the design but give her one we recognise and maybe make it one of the gods we are fighting to give it extra oomf?? I mean I like the idea of different clans having different designs but this kinda falls flat when she and Cirian are the only ones who have different designs?) because at least that decision would only affect HER and not you know. All the clans that constantly have their history erased and desperately want to hold onto it????

Anyway. I don't want to destroy the archive.

But I want the tiara. I want it so bad.

[anbaisai]

Finally had time to sit down and write, but honestly there’s not much to be said other than thank you to everyone who wrote a message on my tree! I really enjoyed reading every single message and screenshotting to save them into a folder for when I need a lil boost ww (including one from Mr. Viper himself above that got a laugh out of me, thanks Jamil really appreciate you thinking I’m cool)

Some sappiness under the cut:

I never expected to receive this much support for my silly yume/oc ship content when I began posting, and I really don’t have the words to express how grateful I am. I’ve met many wonderful people through this fandom, and also just had lots of fun in general making art. I mean it when I say I genuinely never had this much motivation and inspiration to create for any fandom (or original content) in the past. There was a long, long period in my life during which trying to find even a crumb of motivation to draw felt impossible. There was always some reason that I couldn’t - be it school/life being too busy, feeling too tired, having other stuff to do first, etc. I thought I’d never rediscover my love and passion for art, until I finally pushed myself to design my Yuu for real (instead of just thinking about it) and then everything just snowballed from there. (For context, I began playing TWST in 2020 and, despite being very much in love with it, only began drawing anything for it this year.)

I have such a massive list of ideas that I still want to draw (plus several asks that I want to answer that I just haven’t had the time to yet), so I’m certainly going to be kept busy for a while. After previously making every excuse possible for not drawing, I’ve learned that yeah, once you really love something you will squeeze time out for it no matter how hard things get, because it kills you not to. All those times when I wondered when I’d ever be able to draw as much as my favourite artists now feel like a distant relic of the past, and I have Twisted Wonderland (especially Jamil) and this community to thank for it. If anyone reading this is going through something similar, I promise it gets better - you will need to put in the effort to make it start, but you will get there.

There’s also my past experiences of being in fandoms that, well, did not welcome yume/self-shipping type content. If I so much as thought of creating any, the fear of being ridiculed would make me back away from the idea immediately. I’m glad to see that sentiment seems to be no longer the norm, but also the TWST fandom has been one of the most supportive of yume content I’ve ever seen. To everyone wanting to participate but has been hesitating, you absolutely should! My only regret is not starting sooner, seriously. In a sense I feel like I'm fulfilling a childhood dream of mine, and all of my past hesitation and anxiety just dissipated once... as cringe as it sounds - once love took over. So go pour your love and passion into that character you adore, they deserve it.

Anyways, wishing everyone a happy holidays and happy new year! Here’s to another year of enjoying TWST and creating for the things we love ❤

[falciesystemessays]

So I beat the RPG Maker cult hit Helen's Mysterious Castle today! I could heap a lot of praise on this game, from the innovative combat system to the storytelling by implication to the sheer technical wizardry required to make this game in RPG Maker 2000. It's a well-designed game with a lot of good ideas.

But I actually want to talk about a subtler aspect of its design, one that solves a problem I've had with RPGs for a long time. It's the game's approach to grinding and character progression, and how the difficulty is always in the player's control.

So, let's set the stage here. Let's say you're playing a new RPG, and you find yourself loving the combat system. So many people have said that RPG combat is boring, but you've known that's never been true. It's so good that you end up playing it for its own sake, just doing whatever random battles take your fancy. But each fight you win gives you experience points, that gradually make you stronger until you're vastly overleveled for the area. The game has interpreted your love of the combat system as a desire to grind, and now the game is significantly easier, permanently.

You can see a character's level as a kind of inverse difficulty slider, one that can go easier, but never harder. The only way to preserve a sense of difficulty is to play the game less. This deeply annoys me, and has given me an adversarial relationship with leveling systems on the whole. Some games have cool solutions to this; The World Ends With You lets you level down at any time, and rewards you more per battle if you do so. Rereleases of Final Fantasy XII come with a New Game- mode that prevents you from leveling entirely. And indie RPGs like Cataphract OI ditch leveling altogether. That last one comes with a unique advantage, because it allows the designer to precisely design encounters around specific stats. I'm a fan, as you can hopefully tell.

But Helen's manages to compromise between traditional leveling and player choice, letting you decide your difficulty but never forcing it. And here's how: Every increase in stats is voluntary.

Let's start with EXP. First of all, EXP only goes to upgrading weapon stats, and you have to choose to do so. You can grind all you want (and I have), but your stats won't increase until you say so. Moreover, you have a lot of choice as you upgrade. You can hold 8 pieces of equipment at once, and each one serves a distinct purpose. So maybe you want a quicker heal, or a more defensive sword, or a stronger bow. These weapons have a cap of 10 upgrades, and many powerful weapons can't be upgraded at all, so there is a hard limit on how much you can grind. This allows Helen's Mysterious Castle to have a clear minimum difficulty that can be designed around, and I personally found it satisfying.

But here's the other touch that I think is truly inspiring: The steaks after you fall. Essentially, every time you're defeated, you wake up in your room or an inn, so you have to do a lot of the dungeon again. But, each time you wake up, someone leaves a steak on the table. Choosing to eat this will increase your Max HP by a very small amount. This lets you subtly decrease the difficulty if you want to, but only after failing a challenge. The fact that the increase is small encourages you to try again anyway with a new strategy. What this does, in practice, is give you the sense of constant forward progress while making it clear that your skill is what will decide the fight. Helen's Mysterious Castle is a very tightly-designed game, but loosening the grip just a little bit helps the game not feel cold to the player. Also, there is a cap on how much HP you can gain this way, and lategame will set you to that automatically, so it's not possible to simply cheese the game by dying over and over.

RPG Maker, for a while, has been known as the engine of narrative and aesthetics, for making cool adventure games but not so much cool RPG's. Recent years have seen a change in this paradigm, with several developers (including myself) seeing this engine as a valid tool for RPG game design. It's a common beat in game reviews that RPG combat is inherently boring, but we know that isn't true. And it's cool to think that small developers in a maker engine are not just making games that are Pretty Good, but actually making clever choices that solve real problems in the genre.

[tea-the-not-understanding]

Finally... Holiday and no more school

Now I can work on MY project. I've been working on a map for Nautila. And I've been struggling on designing her Seeing! form. So after a few times designing the map idea and listening to some musics, I found a song that matched to her voice and fitting her in the Seeing! form as well.

Anyways, this is the first sketch idea where she's a swimming floating skeleton with large eyes poking out of the shell. But then I scrapped that idea because I dislike the idea of having tendrils and tentacles around her body, it gonna slow my time animating that and figuring out a code to see how am I going to make character moves and runs with different animations. Fun. Anyways, this is the official design on the Seeing! form

More siren and skeletal form, almost closely to a grim reaper. And the character you'll be playing as in a player haven't decided yet but it'll going to be someone with the lore that matching with her lullaby and singing with this song

It fit her very well and I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to animate her in 3d with the lips scynce to the lyrics. But not the whole song tho because it'll kill me lol

I were thinking that her story will be sorrowful and sadness of watching her love ones perished one by one and she couldn't help so much. All because of her curiosity to discovery leads her to who she is now and even then, she wish that she know some form of medical ways to help others or at least be something useful then just a stupid researcher who admire fossils and sea creatures. She finds and see herself useless every moments and even she knew how much creatures and beings living dislike her or didn't interact with her. She know that she's an outcast and see that what she love or her own hobby and job wouldn't bring admirations or ability to make a proper friends. Let alone a fake friends which put her more into sorrows.

She's were almost left forgotten and the only one who come to visits her from time to time is Twinkle and yet, it still didn't uplift her sorrow and sadness inside her. That is until she able to see ghosts and seem to be able to communicate to them. Those ghosts are fishes and the fossils of their past selves. Saying that they see her sorrow and sadness and will be her friends forever, and all she has to do is accept them. She took that deal without a second thought and completely mesmerized and spent months isolating. Seeing that not many noticed her disappearance only fuel her sorrow more. That is until Twinkle come to visits her and this time, he won't take her word 'leave' this time and bust the door down and enter the museum. Her own pride and joy, just to see so many ghost fishes flying around and Nautila as the mother reaper.

Her museum still in a work in progress, because I am pretty shitty at designing invironment this big and it my first time on it and I'm screaming. But next week, I'll be visiting my friend who been studying about architect and interior design so Imma ask for her help. Y'all who read this far can also suggest me and I will try and added to it too!!! But for now, I'm trying to work on the large tank area and this is the progress so far. Pretty huge but it supposed to be for the ghost fishes to be swimming around this area.

Anyways, thank you for reading this and follow my work, I'm actually trying my best to make a sequel to the game idea of this. :D

coding for later, now I'm working on models and map for easier for my brain to function.

[dancer-nguyen]

Why artist should write?

Why tho?

Because I hate my art most of the time, and I think you hate your art most of the time, too.

Stress, pressure, self-doubt, comparing to others, all these stuff fill my mind when I try to draw something. "I must make something good, I have to, as good as the 5000 pins I saved on Pinterest".

These thoughts overwhelm your mind, basically.

Arts are supposed to make us feel better, they are supposed to be our instrument of expressing our thoughts and clear the burden in our mind. So why are we, artists, always filled with negative thoughts?

Have you ever felt this way: constantly changing the sketch, fine-tuning the smallest pixel of the lineart while thinking that this piece will go nowhere and you are a terrible artist, and finally you block down some color+shadow and whoaaaaa it suddenly clicks: "I actually feel something from this piece"

The "click" is something I would like to call "the-stage-which-your-art-begin-to-express-your-ideas-and-feelings". Until we reach this stage, we cannot express our ideas, gestures need to be drawn, line art needs to be polished, colors need to be blocked, shadows need to be shaded, and I-don't-know-why-but-it-looks-good filters like grain and chromatic aberration needed to be added.

We have to go through everything so that our art becomes "something". Until that something appears, our mind just keeps filling with our own negative thoughts to the point that it is overwhelmed. I give up most of the time before my art actually becomes something. Thousands of sketches and line art are wasted just because I cannot push myself a little bit more.

But hey, who said the only way to dump our negative thoughts is by pushing ourselves to finish the piece?

The way I choose is writing

(ironically, another form of Arts).

Writing is a great way to express yourself! Unlike art, where the learning curve can be tough and a bit discouraging, writing is more forgiving. All you need is the ability to write, and you're good to go.

Don't be afraid of writing. It's a personal medium, so there's no need to polish your writing to the same extent as you do with your art. It's like sketching - just put your thoughts down on paper. However, not all artists can express themselves through sketching alone. So while telling them to "just sketch and don't worry about how it looks" may not create any more negative thoughts, it may not necessarily get rid of existing ones.

I have a notebook where I write every thought in my head down. And so far it has been filled with neat writing, bad writing, skeletons, nude figures, random shaded spheres, letters I want to send to my favorite YouTuber but I just don't have the courage to do so, and so so much more. And so far, it has been nice. Sometimes I'm just too tired to write (literally every day lol) so I just flip back and forth and see all the things I have made, unpolished, unaffected by my crippling perfectionism. And oh boy after that I just had more motivation and ended up writing anyway.

You can just journal random stuff that pops up in your mind, both negative and positive, no need to polish anything. And done, your mind is clear now and you can focus on the piece of art yayyyyyy.

Actually you're just gonna fall into an endless cycle of being stressed, finding something to relieve it, pushing yourself to finish the piece, being happy after completing it, and finally being stressed about the next piece.

But the thing is not about the endless cycle of pain, it's about how we deal with it. After all, living itself is painful, but by dealing with the pain and finding ways to enjoy our lives, our existence becomes meaningful. P/SS: Writing is actually really good for noting down inspirations and composing your future pieces. Sometimes I just write prompts for my character designs or environment designs because I don't wanna sketch them out. Later I will re-read the prompt and imagine all kinds of different stuff I can make. (I learned this from that chapter of Bakuman, when the illustrator tells the story writer to use only words to describe his ideas instead of using sketches, the illustrator can have more freedom in designing the pages)

[angelshizuka]

Is there anything at all that you actually like in F2? Mostly plot-wise, maybe outfits, if you must. I'm not counting songs bc I must admit they're pretty good (not my favorite though). Im asking bc I'm not a fan of this movie either, but I'm trying to find some positive aspects, waiting for the unevitable F3...

There are definitely things in F2 I actually like, but that's also part of the problem for me. The puzzle pieces were there, but holy hell did they fail the landing...

Basically, I do like the designs and visuals. Aside from a few details (since nothing's perfect) I genuinely love the outfits, animation, the locations and new characters (though underdeveloped). I love the songs out of context, but in context almost all of them suck and I still find it hard to even listen to them (not you TNRT, we're happy to have you here! <3)

I honestly don't even hate Ahtohallan and Northuldra in concept, it's just the excecution I think is godawful.

Though, there is one thing I still have a problem when it comes to Ahtohallan, even in concept. Iduna is the one who preformed the good deed that gave Elsa her powers, yet she was punished with death for daring to seek answers after watching BOTH her children suffer for a decade and just wanting to help her child who's literally terrified of this "gift". And just in general the idea that Elsa got rewarded for something she had literally nothing to do with, but still gets praised to hell and back for it like she deserved it, despite all she did was be born...

Anyway, it's definitely my Anna bias, but she's the character I hate the least in this sequel. I definitely hate the "haha look how crazy she is" type of writing when she's experiencing 100% valid paranoia in a dangerous sitiation she was literally told beforehand Elsa could die from if gone wrong. But besides that it's actually nice seeing Anna mature after having her naivety slapped out of her by reality at the end of F1. Her arc to becoming queen was basically non-existent (because everything had to be about Elsa, even Anna becoming queen was more about Elsa than it was about Anna), but as a concept I love it.

I also liked seeing more of Iduna, but once again comes with the problem that thanks to the narrative it comes across like Iduna heavily favors Elsa. We literally see Anna being forced to sleep instead of being allowed to hear the whole song like Elsa... There was literally no valid reason for this (especially when you consider this is the night of the accident and Anna wakes up again later, so yes, she was forced to sleep when she wasn't ready yet). And then it's once again Elsa getting the "special moment" with Iduna in Ahtohallan, while Anna's literally down in a ditch.

Speaking of, F2 has felt "off" to me since the first time I watched it, but I couldn't really put my finger on why, so just shruffed it off. But then they released the "Her love could hold up the world." deleted scene (basically giving Anna an Iduna moment like Elsa got) and that's when my downward spiral of hating this sequel really started. It made me realize how with every change they made, the worse it got.

TNTR is my favourite scene in the entire movie and it makes sense when you consider it's one of the very oldest concepts that made it into the final cut (it's confirmed the oldest song). But yeah, that's definitely another positive, I genuinely love the part of the movie when it's just Anna. It's not just my Anna bias, it's just that Elsa in F2 pisses me off any time she's on screen, because of the way she's written, voice acted, animated ect.

I didn't mean for this to turn out so negative, despite me genuinely liking some things in F2, it's just so mixed in with all the bad stuff it's hard not to mention it.

Also, general reminder (not aimed at you, Anon): My F2 rants aren't an inviation to argue with me.

[peemanne]

Resident Evil (2002) Review: Five. Hundred. Door Cutscenes.

Don't tell anyone but I finished this review a day before I actually beat the game. That's right. I'm drunk on power. Which one of you is gonna stop me? Anyway, sick ass game. I'm gonna go order a t-shirt with the PS1 logo on it and bold text that says "I HEART TANK CONTROLS"

This review contains MINOR SPOILERS.

Reviewed on January 7, 2025 Last completed on January 7, 2025

Completed on PC (Remastered)

Rating: 8/10 (4 Stars)

About half a year ago now, I checked out and eventually beat the Resident Evil 2 Remake, making that my first actual horror game sans some silly sessions of Lethal Company with buddies. For my first, I think I picked a really good one to set my standards to! RE2R’s got tight moment-to-moment gameplay that strikes a sense of panic between ammo/health management and careful routing, a delightfully eerie atmosphere thanks to strong setpieces, and an eye for attention to detail to wrap everything together. It’s an almost airtight package that I had an amazing time with. Now, a bit of a self-report here, but I used to wince whenever I saw as much as a FNAF thumbnail a few years back. While I’d like to think I’ve gotten a little braver since then, historical cowardice tends not to go well with someone trying out their first horror game. I’d get jumped, retreat to a safe room, retreat again to Discord, and type out something stupid like, “I HATE THIS GAME!!!!!!!! I JUST GOT JUMPED BY LIKE 5 DOGS!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS WAS DESIGNED EVIL PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!���

I think Resident Evil (2002) actually was designed by evil people.

The zombies are one thing, right? Now you’re also fighting against the camera. You’re always wrangling with the tank controls, be it from the get-go or for the final hours of a playthrough. You're going to miss the zombie 2 feet in front of you because the camera angle won’t let you see it. You're going to go back and forth in the same room while getting chased down by a dog you’re trying to zigzag around. You will get annoyed by it. You’re also going to have to fight your inventory– or lack thereof, on the regular. I was waiting for Jill to find a fanny pack in a safe somewhere to upgrade the little space that I had, only to be graced with the knowledge that it’ll only get worse if I decide to go back for a Chris playthrough. Your weapons take up slots, of course separately from its ammunition. Then you have to stash up on healing supplies as well, right? How about the space for the keys you need to get around? The gemstones, medals, and weird cranks? Oh, who even knows what those things do, keep them in the box. What if you need them? That’s an annoyed backtrack for future you. Finally, you better keep one slot open for your precious, precious ink ribbons! It’s the only way you can save any of your progress, also you need to haul ass over to a save point to do it, and also it comes in limited supply. Joy.

I’m kind of amazed at how much I enjoy this game. There’s no “regardless” or “in spite of” at the end of that statement. Every aspect of this game just effortlessly comes together for a uniquely engaging experience. The incredible atmosphere for one: a haunted mansion might feel like an overdone concept, but this game features an almost flawless execution of that idea. There’s an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, and yet a sense of scale remains throughout the game. From the cramped, cobweb-filled residence to the labyrinth that is the mansion itself, Resident Evil does a great job of inciting dread that never quite leaves, even when you’re completely safe. A lot of this praise can be owed to the look of the game. A reminder that this was on the GAMECUBE. The backgrounds are gorgeously pre-rendered, and it only pops out more thanks to the fixed camera angles. You open a door and you’re typically met with your character starring in a cool-looking shot. The fact that the backgrounds are pre-rendered also lets them allocate resources to the stuff that does move, so you have your character and monster designs looking just as sleek as the sets that they stand in.

The gameplay is stressful, and again, so many factors lend a hand to let that happen. There’s the expected gambles between health and ammo. Do you shoot down the zombie in your way, potentially burning through multiple bullets of your handgun, or do you shoot a much more valuable shotgun or grenade shell? Will you have to go back and burn the corpse, otherwise risking an encounter with a significantly deadlier Crimson Head if you ever do return later on? Do you just run past the zombie, keeping it a threat on top of the possibility of getting grabbed anyway, requiring the usage of one of your precious herbs? At the back of your mind remain your ink ribbons. Should you run back and use one of them now, or do you keep going so as to not waste resources? Are you sure you can evade death long enough until you absolutely need to save, or are you going to be met by a pack of undead hounds in the very next room you enter, sending you back minutes or even hours of progress? The tank controls further add to the stress. Going in circles in an empty room is one thing, making sure you don’t slip up while being chased down is another. Careful route planning, keeping everything steady and getting out of danger unscathed despite my panic rewards me with an incredible sense of ease that I don’t think would be there without all these layers I have to constantly keep track of. Naturally, the stress only spikes with the variety of monsters the mansion holds. I’m not going to dance around it, I was utterly TERRIFIED at some of the freaks proudly on display here. I think this game sparked an arachnophobia in me I didn’t know I had, and I think I finally understand Jaws. The controls, the enemies, the map and its maze-like layers, the puzzles, and the limited resources all make you feel completely helpless. Conquering that helplessness and fighting the horrific odds anyway feels euphoric, to say the least.

Was it intentional? Obviously, some of it can’t have been, but it would be outright ignorant to think Resident Evil isn’t meticulously crafted. I’m very much hesitant to use the term as it might demean or devalue a game when it really doesn't deserve it, but I find it difficult to skirt around. Resident Evil is jank. The controls are jank, the inventory is jank, and the camera is jank. It’s not going to be for everyone, that much should be clear. If you can not just stomach, but embrace that “jank”, though, then you’ll find a supreme horror experience in Resident Evil.

[ RESULT ]

unsandwiched. unstoppable. unburdened. free

(also, i picked the middle option at the beginning of the game thinking that'd be the normal mode. what do you MEAN i was out here fighting for my life on EASY DIFFICULTY)

[veebs-hates-video-games]

I finally finished Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, and it only took me barely less than two years to do it. Woo.

I took a lot of extended breaks from it because I kept getting burned out on it, but the stuff I liked I liked enough to eventually make it through the rest. The game probably would've been better and I probably would've needed a lot fewer/a lot shorter breaks if it were like 20 hours shorter (it took me about 80 to do almost everything you can do on a single playthrough), which would've been really easily doable with a few QoL improvements and slightly better design decisions with stuff like combat and the dungeons, all while still keeping all the story/character stuff that I genuinely liked and never had a problem with.

The two biggest problems I had were the dungeons themselves and the lack of useful guidance/direction/tracking for a lot of the side content.

Dungeons first: they're just too long. Make more of them but have each one be smaller, or keep the same number and make them a bit shorter. I always was like "are we there yet?" by the time I got to the end of them, and they really started to drag. The unique gimmicks for navigating each of them were mostly fun the first time through, but some of them suck suck suck every time you have to go back there for a character's side quest or a request or something. If I ever have to even look at Illusory 106 again I'm going to hunt down the person who designed it and bludgeon them with a Wii U gamepad.

Quest tracking second: it's mid at best and nonexistent at worst. Doing everything through an in-game phone UI is a fun idea, and it works pretty well for some stuff. The organization of it for quest info is not the best though, and having to reread a bunch of text messages to hopefully find the info you need is not great either. The worst offender is the requests though. Hi, sorry I didn't play your game for like five months, but I have no idea what this dingus wants me to do because I can't use the notes app my phone doesn't have to write it down apparently, and they'll only repeat a single sentence to me that doesn't have any useful information for me to figure it out.

Sometimes even when they do tell you and you don't stop playing the game for months in between the information it gives is pretty vague and makes it hard to figure out where to go and what to do too. Cool, I have to get...a thing? And it's in this idolasphere...somewhere? Is it on the ground? In a chest? From an enemy? On the third floor? Near the boss? Oh, I'm just supposed to run around for an hour until I stumble on it (or look it up online)? Cool and good, fantastic way to respect my time. I don't need a glowing line on the floor or anything, but give me something to work with at least.

Anyway, I liked most other stuff about it. The combat system is fun, even if I did get a little tired of it by the end because of the overly long dungeons (also not being able to permanently learn skills and swap them in and out of your loadout whenever you want is a dick move, no one wants to spend multiple hours relearning everything just to try a different setup) and each attack takes like twice as long as it should even with quick session on.

I still think it's one of the better looking games on the Switch. It's not super technically impressive or anything, but the art style and character designs are fun and colorful, and thank you for not trying to push the hardware beyond what it's capable of. Slightly lower detail and simpler lighting but native(?) resolution and a mostly steady framerate will do wonders for image quality and let people actually enjoy all the fun stuff your artists did.

And the characters and story were all surprisingly fun for me. It definitely came out better than a lot of actual Fire Emblem stories, and they really leaned into the shonen anime in a fantasy version of the real world vibes and made it work while still incorporating a bunch of FE stuff while they were at it. I actually ended up liking pretty much all the characters and the way the developed and grew across the story and how that tied in with their FE counterparts too. And they really did just go for it and turn Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light into Shadow Dragon and the Opera of Light, because sure why not?

Kiria's probably my favorite, which isn't super surprising because I also really liked Tharja when I played Awakening (so many people seem to like her because she has female mages aren't allowed to wear clothes disease or hate her because she's a bad parent, but they're both wrong and the real most important thing about her is that she's a snarky bitch in a cast full of people trying to use the power of friendship to save the world). I actually found Itsuki pretty relatable though, which surprised me because usually generic dude main character is completely unrelatable to me in stuff like this. He's just a decent guy who learns that the thing he's best at is helping the people around him feel better about themselves and support them doing their own things, which like yeah me too buddy, if only I'd learned that when I was 18 too.

So yeah, pretty good game that I mostly had a good time with, even if there were a few moderately big issues that frustrated me more than I would've liked (see also: holy crap the amount of time I spent going through the menus just to upgrade weapons must be measured in multiple hours at this point, please streamline stuff like that). I think I liked it more than maybe half the Fire Emblem games I've played and every other MegaTen or adjacent game I've tried too, so that's something.

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Pacific Rim Uprising - Gipsy Avenger (PRU) vs Obsidian Fury (PRU)" on YouTube

Gypsy danger is the Jager that our friend here started with the design of the all of them are designed after it but practically it's a massively powerful weapon system you have no idea what it's like some of you have fought them and you got it and the new version is designed like this but it has more power no it has a stronger endoskeleton it takes a lot of hits and he added it to that we added it to this one and it is unstoppable you don't understand this man and we do and you're pushing him and pushing him for what now you're going to see what Jason is kedro around with chasing these kids around trying to stop them from ruining everything and his brother is involved somehow and may have made the devil himself and his wife Lilith that's incredible

I'm going to war with you people and you don't know what you're doing still

Tommy f

I was mentioning it but we sort of have to you're flying over us with a 100 and it's illegal and we can't breathe people are dying because of the electrical current and it's not going to be great okay you're trying to kidnap him with it and it's obscene but we do see why that creature isn't possibly huge and me and a man oh man deadly it is 2 miles long which is fairly large and we've seen sharks that are much bigger but that thing will go right through a shark and it's vicious and very fast and I tell you what it can lift its weight 20 to 100 times or more I've seen it live some Folgers watching it boulders and it was video someone took and there I don't understand he says underwater it's not as heavy firstly and that's true and secondly he's using a fulcrum and but really it's bug like and they do it all the time and we do see that this thing is incredible the power of this thing hasn't is intense is armor is almost in perishable and Tommy f has been holding them off of humanity to a degree it's not the greatest job it has been doing it and now it's time for us to see what's going on and what damage there is and this is going to be hell and we're going to have to make these and you can see that we pick it up

Mac

So I was trying to say they're trying to ruin the manufacturing so you can't make Jager and other things you need they're in better weapons and so on

Thor Freya

The whole world is electrified finally it's going to be freedom for myself and some people here our friend won't be so stressed it's ridiculous answer all these dumb questions making them look bad I'm sick of it I won't have it anymore

Mac

We have to stop because we're going to stop it's ridiculous somebody ships came out we counted 2,000 a minute and it's rising now it's like 2500 minutes but it's coming up the coast this is serious it's going to be global meaning right now it's just higher up so no and they were shocked appalled and frightened and scared and I mean of every group they're horrified this guy is dealing with it and his clothes are nuts and the giant kid he is just as strange as they come I mean he's like an alien talking to them all sorts of weird things are happening he says nobody is holding him off and the clans were doing it and their experts and you have to look at their documents Max and leave me alone you'll see that you're not doing the job at all for the most part they're in their houses the vanderbilts and the Rockefellers the rothschilds and all those names that you discount all the time veneer Bush and the bushes ghwb that's one of his characters and you'll find that he was the rocket Man and world war II anyway the v form I mean there's also a lot of they have mansions and castles the castles have ancient stuff with these demons in it the writings I don't know what you guys read comic books or not even you're eating the Wall Street journal and you don't even have that much stock and he says all that that whole paragraph and I do understand it sounds true because it really is and a wimpy little shield might not work at all in these things and he says it won't you going to get them angry and they can all float up to see you and go through like donuts is what they were saying my people are saying about Scott McCracken who is possibly Dave next door and now it's time to see something you couldn't figure it out and it looks crazy and his hair's out and you understand what it means people calling you the monchichi and he looks like it float in almost anything so now we get it okay it starts happening with it and we're going to look pretty bad if we zap him the cracking any of them actually so it's going on now we're starting to pay attention

Macs

Olympus

[shytulipartist]

First sketches of Ms. Orange

What is this?

For those who have never seen my main blog, I'm writing my first novel and, so far, I have shared my progress rewriting some chapters.

But lately, I thought about drawing my characters and random scenes from the book, just for fun. I don't actually plan to use my drawings as illustrations when it gets published. I'll hire a professional because they will definitely know more about character design and drawing dramatic scenes.

Anyway, I wasn't sure whether to use my cartoon style or my semi-realistic style because both seem appropriate for the story.

On the one hand, the novel takes places in a cartoony world (this is more noticeable when you learn the characters' names) and my idea is to make the reader believe at first that they are reading a children's book, but then "SIKE!", they realize it is actually for an older audience (it doesn't have anything inappropriate or scary, but it has existential topics).

On the other hand, one of the main themes is reality vs. fiction. The premise is more or less that the main character (the one I drew for this post) finds out that she is lives in a fictional world and tries to stop the author from continuing the story. As you can imagine, no one believes her when she tells the other characters that they are not real. I'll go into more detail in a future post, but not on this blog.

In a few minutes, I'll be posting a poll on my main blog so you can help me decide which art style I will use to draw the characters.

That's all the important information I wanted to give. If you want to know more about the process for both versions of the drawing, keep reading.

Tell more about the drawings...

For context, both sketches are based on a scene from one of the final chapters. Without revealing too much, Orange is trying to grab the piece of paper that fell from "above" (there isn't a sky and she isn't inside a building). The background is supposed to be black, but I didn't colour it because it would have looked messy.

I wanted to draw the scene from a high-angle shot, but I struggled in both versions:

In the cartoon version, I had problems with the perspective because at first I didn't find many references with the angle and the pose I wanted (at the time, I put "image of woman in panoramic view", instead of "high-angle shot". My bad). Because of that, she looks more like a child, even though she is in her thirties.

Thankfully, by the time I started the semi-realistic version, I found some pictures.

However, I couldn't draw her left arm in a similar position to the one in the third image.

Despite these problems, I'm happy with the results. I finally had time to draw something.

Obviously, this isn't her final design. Once the poll is over, I'll try to give her a more interesting outfit and may redesign her appearance every now and then.

[failingradish]

Hello, I have just started following your blog and I really admire your work. I always wondered what all the past avatars had looked like since very few made an appearance in the series. Anyway, I just came across your team avatar drawings for when after Korra had died and was reincarnated. I always tried looking up what people's ideas were for the future avatar and your designs for this certain era just stood out to me. Now many people have come up with names for their Earthbender avatar oc, though I don't recall seeing a name for your avatar on this blog and would like to know more about him. He's so interesting and I love how he is accompanied by some type of goblin spirit? The animal familiars that you have made for each avatar are just breathtaking. I think you are a very creative artist and if you don't mind I'd like to know more about the next avatar after Korra if you'd share some information with me. I'm sorry if I bothered you and if someone has already asked you this question, though I am just really interested in your artwork and want to know more about your characters.

Hi thanks so much for your compliment- but WOW that's a long question, but I'll try to answer it anyway- 💕

Truth be told I haven't put that much thought into the single characters- because that's not really what I'm most interested in. But I have some specific concepts in mind that I'd like to see partially addressed by a next avatar series-/ how I would do it with my 5 braincells.

1. It's not the avatar after Korra, but the one another generation down (Water-> Earth -> FIRE)

I want to see a world that NEVER found the next avatar and let the next one after figure out what happened to the one b4 them- or even a couple of fake avatars be declared by diffrent nations, since as unbiased as the avatar may be being the nation with the avatar has some advantages especially in a time of political peace trying to enforce soft power onto other nations.

(Similar to what the Chinese government is trying to do- capturing the penchen lama, so they can declare their own Dalai Lama once Tenzin Gyatso dies :( )

2. The mystery of whether the main character is actually the avatar (did the Earth Avatar actually die already or are they just another fake)

Ideally this would mean that 1- this wouldn't take place too long after korra's death (like 30-40 years) and 2- the mc can't bend any element yet (or just 1 element but that's somehow more boring to me)

They could be running away from the people claiming they're the avatar, trying to find the real one- traveling the world is an important part of avatar and that would be the perfect reason.

3. Growing independence movements.

I really want to see diffrent cultures within the earth kingdom and fire nation strive for independence now that they don't need the protection of a bigger state anymore and nobody (idealy) wants to look like the big, bad oppressor.

Similar to what happened in europe post ww2

4. The current avatars main mission always seems to be fixing something the previous avatar failed at-

Like how Kuruk fixed Yangchens mistake with neglecting the spirit world,

Kyoshi uuuh not sure- did she fail at anything?

Aang ended the war that Roku failed to prevent,

Korra brought back the air nation after Aang couldn't

And Korra ofc lost the connection with all past their lives.

I actually don't want them to change that- stick with it.

But I want the mc to go on a journey to discover his predecessor in the first season (build the problem for the final season //point 5) and then a treasure hunt of sorts to discover all avatars that were "forgotten"- avatars from cultures like the ones from point 3- tying these points together and discovering the avatars and (more importantly) their peoples identity and how to move forward.

Let them write it all down too, so they won't be forgotten again.

5. Every avatar story needs a main antagonist, so that's where I put something completely wild but stick with me-

The Earth avatar that was never found was born into an underground kingdom that was founded long ago by powerful earth benders(/or spirits idk make it a legend) that in an effort to shield their people from the dangers of the surface submerged their city, isolating it from the rest of the world for hundreds or thousands of years. Over time they created an elaborate tunnel system- building more and more cities and creating an empire.

The new avatar would realize who they are at some point and seek to understand this world they supposedly were meant to protect. The avatar would then attempt to befriend the next in line to the throne in order to attempt to convince them to let their empire rejoin the surface world. A suggestion that would eventually end up getting them killed by their friend (you could insert a tragic lesbian couple here ❤)

So the new mc finds out eventually what happened but not who killed them- keep that part hidden for the final show down.

6. Spirit gaang member

I want them to do something interesting with the joined worlds concept- so give them a spirit that aids in the groups journey- my version is a time based spirit that gave the mc a old fashioned clock that'll help 'unlock' the stories of the past avatars. Could also be a mount. Pls don't let it talk. If they make a comedic relief spirit i might oof myself tho.

Also also. Kill them.

7. So that's about it ofc, my only other request is pls bring back proper character development for the side characters. Like mentally bolin and mako stayed the same throughout korra...

??? Idk storytelling really isn't my strong suit

(Not question related)

FOR FULL DISCLOSURE! I didn't completely draw all of the backgrounds for this ask- for a lot of them I used Photos to bring across what I mean better.

(And also this is an answer for a Tumblr question and I already spent way too much time on this I'm sorry djbdkdbdzk)

All of the images  I used can be found HERE- other apps I used were Prequel, CSP, Paint Tool SAI and Photoscape.

Thank you for reading this far.

[hagofbolding]

hi! i hope this question makes sense. i was just wondering, do you have a specific process for blocking out the character poses? they way they "act" is really natural and lively, and the poses feel so specific to each character and their actions. do you use a lot of photo referencing and acting the pose out yourself to decide on the gestures?

thank you! i love the comic and i get really excited every time it updates. <3

OH I love this question, thanks so much! I definitely put an unreasonable of thought into every little expression and pose so I really appreciate that it's being noticed, haha.

I do many of my poses straight off the dome, but I definitely will use mirrors and photos for reference when I need to (which is often.) I have no issue with people who wanna use models to pose their characters (especially where extreme foreshortening/perspective may be involved!) but boyyy do I gotta say that continuing to practice gesture & figure drawing will do you wonders in saving time and getting more expressive poses - or at least, moving your character's design away from the generic CSP dummy. (I know it when I see it)

I start hammering out acting details pretty early in the thumbnails, and try to exaggerate things, because it's easier to reel it back in if I think it's getting too hammy and I also want to make sure I am set up to remember my exact intent/idea later one when I'm penciling/inking.

(Also, usually these are usually my favorite drawings. I wish this was what the whole dang comic looked like)

Something I like to keep in mind aside from obvious stuff like "watch movies/consume media/life draw to pick up cool acting & body language ideas" is also how to incorporate the characters' design with their little mannerisms. Buckthorn's glasses give him a really fun prop to play with.

Or like - if someone has long hair, would they play with it or mess with it when they're bored or frustrated? If they're shy, would they "hide" themselves with baggy clothes / accessories when they're uncomfortable? My another solution of mine for making what has been a very acting / dialogue driven comic more interesting has been "ALWAYS GIVE PEOPLE SOMETHING TO DO" because talking heads are boring.

Anyway: obviously things get tied down with pencils, goofy cartoony stuff gets grounded in some approximation of reality (unfortunately.)

And then, like, at least a month after I finish penciling I finally make it to inking & coloring this particular page. After having an indeterminate amount of time to obsessively think about the story and characters up to this point, I make several significant acting / drawing changes because I am a ding dong. I just wanted to point out the tweaks I made here - on the left page, I changed Sanctuary to appear more interested in tuning his instrument than looking like he's intently listening to Buckthorn. Because ultimately, the purpose of the scene was to make him look a bit dismissive of Buckthorn's complaint, it felt like a better pose.

I also felt that the forehead kiss felt a little more natural in this sequence & rolling into the panels on the page that follows these.

Anywayyy - I rambled longer than I intended here, but I love this stuff and I got excited. I hope y'all find it interesting and / or useful!

[gbgamebun]

Road to Cream64 v1 Part 3: So many friends and an egg.

I was hoping to do two of these a week but man this has been a crazy week. Anyway, we back to wrapping up the rest of the NPCs. Actually had to grab

Star Toads were next and I wanted to make each one unique. The thought process for who got chosen was a mix of who was connected to Cream and just who I liked. The obvious answers were Amy and Blaze and I ended up choosing Blaze for the second toad. Doesn't mean I would leave Amy hanging, as she got a little side story in v2, but when we get there of course.

In Blaze's dialog, she mentions that Marine was also with her and that she's somewhere. So go help her find this mangy raccoon! I wanted to do something special and stick Marine in a level where you'd just run into her. Though with very limited code knowledge, even if you find Marine, Blaze's dialog stays the same. Mostly just a cute little event that would eventually fuel my desire to add more stuff like this in later versions. So much more...

The first star toad as you can see here ended up being a leftover from a small edit I did when just figuring out dialog edits and stuff. Eventually just ran with the idea of a single stubborn toad who refused to leave when Peach gave the order for every toad to go on vacation for this party.

Even after all the latest versions and dialog rewrites, his has been the only one that's stayed the same since v1. People really have come to love this little asshole.

For the last toad, I ended up choosing a little blue bunny for reason that should be clear: she be my bun bun.

Around early 2020 is when I finally had gotten out of my weird funk about my drawing ability and stuff and finally started getting back into Sonic stuff. Bare with me for a bit for I must go into a tangent into what I've been doing for the past few years before all this.

Near the end of 2019 I started slowly getting back into Sonic AUs and OCs again, a bit of that can be attributed to the Sonic movie and my friend's revigorated interest into that part of the fandom. One of my oldest characters, Mark, was stuck in a weird limbo of being in a Sonic AU and being in an original story for a few years. It reached a point where I just tired of it and shelved him to focus on an entirely new story and characters unrelated to anything I've done before.

Now back to the start of 2020, I actually go out of my way to try and update his design and do some stuff with him.

And we have our new design. I swear one day I'll go into his backstory but I'm dragging on. So where does this rabbit fit in? One of the new story bits I had in mind was that he would find a little rabbit named Katalina and adopt her. Then while he does his adventurin', he would leave her with Vanilla and that's how she would form a bond with Cream and the rest of her family. It's also why she calls Cream "Lil' Sis" in her dialog since she's like slightly older than Cream.

So yeah this hack is based off my AU, which is still mostly just told through these hacks. Don't blame people for getting real confused as to who the heck she is and eventually her adopted pappy. Sorry for the long bit, I rarely get a chance to speak about them as much like this. Speaking of, let's go back to him since that we're now done with the toads.

Changing Yoshi was just like changing the other model though this is the first time changing someone's model who was bigger than the model swapped (in this case it's using Mario's rig on a model that's taller). The best way to describe it is that the root position is off so he's kind of sticking a bit on one side, even if his shadow looks fine. His collision is kind of wonky as a result.

I would end up leaving this for v1 but it is something I would fix down the line. It was just a matter of changing the root point or even moving the rig a bit before exporting. Also noting, Mark here has changed again, with Blaze like fur sticking out instead of the weird white hair flowing from the back. Saved me a lot of effort down the line, lemmie tell ya!

Ya know I guess I should at least show what they're latest designs are. From the ref sheets I got, made by my friend @fudgernutter.

And now time for the big boy. That's right, it's time for Eggman and his Egg Koopa Mk 2!

God, this monster was one of the hardest thing to put together, if only just to uncrumple him so I can apply his textures and fix up the head mesh.

WHY IS YOUR JAW SO FAR APART?! It was one of those that was so bad I had to write down which bone was moved and how much so I don't accidently mess up the whole thing. Gah, it was a mess but as the years have shown me, it was 100% worth the effort.

It wouldn't be the first time messing with Bowser's model and rig, as I did an edit for Super Suwako 64 by turning him into a Cirno cosplayer. Don't mind the missing jaw, had messed up rotating on of the bones. This is what can happen.

The actual design of the EggBowz basically just comes down to "I wanted the robot to look as close as I can with him". So changed the hair to brown, the horn and spikes to gold to match Eggman's buckles, the upper torso is red to match his coat and the lower half is black for his pants and shoes. The mustache model is just his SA1's stache slapped on the front of the nose cause it seemed like something he would do.

Carving a hole into Bowser's head mesh wasn't too hard thankfully and then just repositioning Eggy to look like he's sitting and we're good! Still weird to think that it was initially just a random thought to actually do this but hey that's how half the ideas in his hack have worked out. Shoutouts to Cream nerds on twitter.

And with that, we got every major character swapped out! I suppose the last reoccurring character not mentioned here would be Mips so I'll just stick him at the end here.

Sonic is full of small animal critters so grabbing one of them was perfect for Mips. Ended up grabbing a model of Pocky from I forget either Smash 4 or a mobile game where the animal friends are there (and low poly). Everything here is still the Mips model except for the head obviously. Then just applying Pocky's textures and even connecting his ears so that they're a single mesh.

Whew that's a lot but there's not much else left. Just enemy models, UI stuff and the soundtrack and that's gonna be fun to discuss. Gotta see if I still have spreadsheets of the songs I chose before adding them.

[heloisedaphnebrightmore]

Play with me [Billy Russo x Reader] - Requested [15+]

Title: Play with me Pairing: Billy Russo x Female!Reader Word count: 3.3k Published: 13 June 2021 Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore Notes: There's no smut in it, but it is quite suggestive so I think it deserves the 15+ rating. Warnings: Suggestive phrases, mention of alcohol and drinking Summary: Once again you find yourself dragged to a fancy event as part of your work by none other than Billy himself. Your boss seems to be enjoying your discomfort, finding entertainment in your grimaces and sulking comebacks. That is until you decide to turn his little game against him. Request: [x] Prompts requested by @sunrisefairy for my celebration event.

Billy Russo x Reader Fluff #19 - “It’s not a double date. We’re just third and fourth wheeling.” Spicy #20 - “Are you flirting with me?” Spicy #39 - “I’m a little drunk and a little horny.”

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You've never been big on attending all those fancy events your company has been hired to work at, but Billy always said it was a good way to build connections. Not once have you found yourself in a pretty little ballgown, following your boss around with a stone-cold expression, silently trying to suffocate him with your murderous gaze. You were hired to be a security agent not a peacock, but Billy didn't seem to mind the invisible daggers your eyes shot at him, if anything, by the smug grin across his face, he appeared to be enjoying the situation.

Just like many times before, this event was organised by one of his clients as well and he had been invited, along with a plus one to your utter disappointment. Though it sounded like you were supposed to be guests, in the end the man made it clear that he wanted Billy to have his back and his people to be blended in the crowd. Therefore, most of the night, you and Billy have been following around the old man, some no name politician you couldn't even recognise with his wife on his arm, smiling like a wild beast.

"You know, if you think about it, this could be our first date," Billy smirked as his eyes scanned the room. "It's like a grand double date," he smirked, earning an annoyed huff from you.

"It's not a double date, I wouldn't even go out with you if you were the last person on this planet," you groaned. "We are just— third and fourth wheeling for the sole purpose of their security," you nodded towards the couple in front of you.

"If denial makes your sensitive little heart feel better about your attraction towards me, who am I to object," he chuckled. "Though I have to admit, that silk dress on you makes it very hard for me to focus," he scanned your body, his gaze studying every single inch as though he could see through the thin material. His eyes dwelled longer on the high cut design that ran up to the top of your thigh, exposing your bare legs. His intent gaze burned your skin, your ears feeling as though they were on fire before realisation hit you.

"Hold on a minute, are you flirting with me?" You asked incredulously.

"As smart as you are, I'm surprised it took you this long to realise," he replied with his smug grin growing wider.

"Wipe it off," you scoffed at him as he grabbed your arm, rougher than you expected and linked it with his, patting the back of your hand. You walked around the ballroom with him on your side as he shook hands with all kinds of men, each seemingly interested in every breath Billy took, almost as though he was more important than the old man in front of you.

"Why? If it wasn't for your distaste in all these events, you'd be drooling over me by now," he chuckled playfully, offering you a subtle wink, before he turned back to the sea of people with his head held high, his body straightening in an authoritative manner.

"You are delusional," you hissed, teeth gritting in frustration.

"Right, I guess you just love staring at me then. Though I'm not surprised, I'm certainly good to look at," he huffed.

"No and No," you scoffed with a grimace. "And remove that shit-eating grin from your face already," you retorted as Billy clicked his tongue.

"Pretty lips, but such a dirty mouth," he let out a low, throaty laugh as he leaned closer, his lips brushing your ear, his warm breath sending a shiver through your body. "You know, I have a couple of ideas what you could use that mouth for," he replied in a suggestive tone, arching a single brow as he pulled back.

"Oh, do you now?" You offered him a playful smile as your eyes looked him up and down before your gaze met his again. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not interested," you shook your head, trying to act as though his offer didn't affect you, as though his body so close to you didn't force your heart into a dangerous pace. Though mostly you found it easy to ignore his teasing, you had to admit a part of you was indeed inclined to know more about where his mind was wandering off to.

"Ouch," he placed a hand in front of his chest, acting as if he was indeed in pain before he rearranged himself. "Your loss, I guess," he shrugged nonchalantly, earning an annoyed eye roll from you.

As the night went on, you tried to ignore the music in the background and focus on your work. Your eyes scanned the gigantic room as you shimmied through the sea of people dancing in pairs whilst Billy followed right behind you, clearing his throat. Looking back over your shoulder, you realised his eyes weren't on the people surrounding you or establishing eye contact with the rest of the team. His gaze fell lower, lower than you expected.

"Do you like the view?" You asked, arching a brow as he finally stopped staring at your backside and lifted his gaze, running his tongue across his bottom lip.

"What can I say that dress seems to enhance your beauty in all the right places," he smirked, earning a scoff from you. "Hey, can't I compliment you?" He raised his hands innocently, but you didn't fall for it, his proud grin spread wider as he ran his eyes all over you again.

"Pig," you spat as you finally reached the end of the crowd and stole a glass of champagne from a tray one of the servers walked around with.

"You are not supposed to be drinking," he gave you a cold look.

"I can't handle you sober," you chugged the content of the glass in a swift movement, earning a loud huff from him.

"That's not very professional," he replied as he stepped closer and placed a hand on your waist, tugging you closer in his side.

"Well, screw professionalism," you huffed as you felt the alcohol hit you. It was already warm inside, but with the alcohol, you felt your cheeks flush. Your eyes wandered to your side, where his big palm cupped your side, his touch radiating further warmth into your already heated body. "Is it just me—," you asked as you met his gaze, "or your hand seems to wander way too carelessly on my body tonight," you squinted suspiciously.

"I'm just making sure you are safe," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm not the client, you know that, right?" you huffed as you grabbed his hand, took it off your waist and walked towards another room, searching for the old man, before you heard a voice in your earpiece, letting you know about his whereabouts. Heading to his position, you felt Billy's presence right behind you again. You halted your steps and turned around, folding your arms in front of your chest.

"You were not supposed to be drinking," he repeated himself with a stern expression across his face, one that told you this time he wasn't playing around, he was indeed unhappy with you. But instead of apologising or acknowledging his presence for that matter, you simply ignored him and looked around the room. "Do you even realise that I'm your boss?" He frowned, looking at you with a questioning gaze. "I feel like I have been way too lenient with you," he groaned as you stared him down. You caught sight of a waiter heading your way, so you quickly snatched another glass from his tray and gulped down the champagne.

"So? What are you going to do about it?" You asked in a mocking tone, smirking at the man as he chewed on his bottom lip. The words escaped your vocal cords before you could even protest. In normal circumstances you would have never dared to say them out loud, but the alcohol in your system, the two glasses of champagne seemed to do the trick. As you weren't big on drinking and barely had any alcohol, it hit you harder than someone who was used to its strength.

"I could fire you in this instance," he hissed, his tone low and warning. You took a step towards him, barely leaving a couple of inches between you as you looked up at him.

"Then why don't you?" You asked, arching a brow, waiting for a reply. "Come on, why don't you, huh?" You taunted him. "What did you expect? That I'm going to beg you to let me keep my job? Humour me, Russo," you huffed, this time wearing the same shit-eating grin he wore before.

"You are playing with fire," he spoke through gritted teeth as he sneaked an arm around your waist and pulled you flush against his chest, forcing you to lift your head higher to be able to look up at him. "I don't appreciate that tone," he continued in a low, dark voice, one that made your knees buckle, the air stuck in your lungs. "If you want to get my attention, then you can stop, you have had it for a while," he growled as he brushed his lips against your earlobe, his breath fanning the sensitive skin behind your ear. "But if it's for the sole purpose of pissing me off, I advise you to cut the bullshit, because I don't like your stupid little game," he squeezed your side as he pulled back, his jaw clenched.

To be fair, you weren't sure why you were taunting him, but there was something about him when he was frustrated, when you knew he was just a push away from snapping. You never dared to cross that line, nor did you want to do it now, but that borderline dangerous look in his eyes made you feel weak, his strong arm around you rough and warning, still you couldn't stop yourself from poking the sleeping lion. "So, you can play with me, but I can't do the same? Don't you think that's hypocritical?" You scoffed, folding your arms in front of your chest, creating even more space between you. There was a moment of silence as Billy studied your face, trying to decide if you were serious or you had gone completely mental.

"You are drunk, you are not making any sense," he scoffed as he got hold of your arm and started dragging you towards a closed door. As he opened it, you found yourself in some sort of a lounge with a sofa on the opposite wall of the room, an armchair on each side and a small coffee table right in front of it. The dim light and empty room created a rather welcoming feeling after the loud ballroom. "Sit down and take a minute for yourself, I will be back in a second. Hopefully by then you will make more sense," he threw the words at you as he left and closed the door behind himself.

You didn't attempt to take a seat and lounge around, you didn't want to sit down and do nothing, though the slight dizziness you felt urged you to do so. For a second you debated if you should listen to your instincts and indeed rest your tired limbs, but you shook yourself out of the thought and instead wandered around the room, looking at the paintings on the wall. Each art was of the same man— the one you were supposed to be protecting— wearing the finest of clothing you have ever seen. Rich folks, you scoffed at the thought, but before you could have dwelled on them any longer, the door opened. Without looking over your shoulder, Billy's cologne filled your nostrils. "Did you come back to police me?" You said without turning to look at him.

"It seems I didn't give you enough time to clear your head," he mused.

"My head is completely clear," you shot back at him, stumbling a bit as you felt slightly lightheaded. He stood in front of the closed door, hands tucked in the pockets of his trousers as he casually leaned against the wooden panels.

"I can see that," he scoffed, this time with a tiny smile in the corner of his mouth, running his eyes up and down on your body, his gaze darkening.

"I'm not drunk," you pointed at his chest as you walked up to him in haste, halting your steps right in front of him, leaving a barely visible gap between the two of you, feeling the heat radiate from his body.

"And I believe that," he replied in a mocking tone. "Though it leaves me with a question. It seemed you had some difficulty standing on your own two feet just a minute ago. What was that about that then?" His smug grin grew wider, knowing he was right. Indeed, there were some side effects to the alcohol you have consumed.

"Fine," you replied, jaw clenched in anger, teeth gritting as you held yourself back. "I'm— I might be— a little drunk," you cleared your throat as though admitting it caused you physical pain.

"Okay, now we are getting somewhere," he said as he lifted his hand and brushed his fingertips along the curve of your shoulder, slowly following the path down to your wrist. "So, why did you drink then?" He asked, with a slight amount of curiosity.

"You pissed me off," you shrugged nonchalantly, earning a chuckle from Billy as he kept repeating his movements, running his fingers along your arm, causing goosebumps to appear on your skin, which he did not miss.

"That's not very professional, is it?" He asked, teasing you as his strokes moved from your shoulder to your collarbone, forcing your breath to turn shallow. He lifted his eyes, meeting your lustful gaze, only to caress his ego further. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you are not only drunk, but that smart little head of yours might just be filled with some very— very dirty thoughts," he chuckled as you swallowed nervously, his palm cupping your face, running his thumb along your lip.

He wasn't wrong though. There were thoughts that you wished never to voice, thoughts that had him standing in front of you naked, completely exposed, your hands running across his toned chest, his mouth nipping at the soft skin of your neck. You licked across your lips as the thought became even more vivid, his grumbling tone forcing you to draw your thighs together, needing some sort of a friction. He arched a brow at the movement, a cocky grin spreading across his face. "It seems I'm right once again and you are not even trying to deny it," he breathed as he planted his other hand on your waist and drew you closer. "Tell me, where is that pretty head of yours wondering to?" He let out a low chuckle, but you didn't answer, you didn't dare to say it. "Let me guess," he leaned down to your ear, tickling your neck with his beard, causing a knot to appear in the pit of your stomach, your breathing turning ragged, "are you horny?" He let out a low chuckle as he bit your neck, earning a silent squeaking sound from you, his actions 'almost' sobering you up. 'Almost', because within seconds you find yourself leaning into his touch.

"I—," you tried to reply, but your throat seemed too dry, your heart was beating so heavily, you could hear the drumming of your own pulse in your ears. "I maybe— just maybe a little horny," you breathed as he ran his lips along the curve of your neck, forcing your eyes to flutter shut. Before you realised your own actions, you cupped his cheeks and pulled him away from your neck, pressing your lips to his, stunning him for a mere moment, before he returned your advances. The kiss was hungry, teeth tugging at lips, tongues fighting for dominance, but that was what you needed. You pressed your body against his, closing any remaining gap between the two of you, earning a low growl from Billy. He grabbed your hips, holding onto you as though he was trying to ground himself, keeping himself sober in the haste of that heated kiss.

"I think we should stop," he breathed as he finally found his strength to leave your lips. A deep frown spread across your brow as you studied him.

"Why?" You asked in confusion, knowing— feeling his body's reaction to you.

"Think whatever you want of me, I can be a lot of things, but I like to think that touching someone without their consent is wrong. I believe we have already done more than we were supposed to," he cleared his throat as he tried to push you back gently, but rather firmly and you obliged.

"I'm giving you consent, Russo," you replied in disbelief.

"You are drunk, so I'm not sure you are," he shook his head. A loud huff left your lungs as you walked up to the sofa and sat down, placing one leg over the other, crossing them as you sunk deeper into the cushions.

"Okay," you scoffed. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I said I was a little drunk. You see little is the key word here," you tilted your head, hoping he would understand where you were going with this. "As you can see, I'm capable of talking, walking, thinking and I'm certainly not crawling on the floor, am I?" You arched a brow, watching his expression turn contemplating. "I will make this easy for you, Russo," you continued, your tone inviting. You lifted your leg from the other and spread them just enough, so the opening of your dress fell between your legs, the high cut design revealing your bare thighs. Seemingly it was enough of an encouragement for Billy to tense up and swallow visibly. "So, what's it going to be?" You asked as a mischievous smile grew wider across your face just as you slowly started closing your legs. Before he could even stop himself, he pounced on you, kneeling between your legs, stopping you from closing the gap as he pressed his lips against yours, ready to take you up on your offer.

His mouth attached to yours hungrily, grabbing your thighs as he pushed you further into the sofa. You busied yourself with his clothes and started untying his tie and unbuttoning his shirt, impatiently trying to pull the material out of his trousers. You threw his tie on the floor, soon followed by his shirt, before you pushed him down beside you and crawled into his lap, earning a groan from him. "You little beast," he grinned at you as he grabbed the back of your neck and pulled you down to meet him halfway in a heated kiss, his hands grabbing your ass, pulling you further down onto his lap, his kisses trailing down to your neck, leaving you panting, whispering his name in your half-clear state of mind.

"Just so you know, I still hate you," you breathed against the crook of his neck as you returned the satisfying attention he was giving you, nipping on the sensitive skin, earning you a throaty groan from him.

"Yeah, I can feel it," he chuckled as he bucked his hips, causing a gasp to erupt from your lungs. "Let's discuss that after you stop screaming my name in pleasure," he replied through gritted teeth as grabbed your hips and with a swift movement changed your position, throwing you on your back, hovering above you. He studied your dishevelled look with a smug grin across his face, before he pressed his lips to yours again, his hands exploring every part of your body that he didn't have the chance to before, forgetting about everything and anything about the ball on the other side of the safely locked door.

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