#because now it’s like the devs are telling you to do stupid shit

[theoretical-tactician]

They’ve done it. They’ve made a sequel that I like less than the original all by adding a cool new mechanic.

[bbeelzemon]

okay first of all was anyone going to tell me that ac/dc is an australian band. and second of all was anyone else going to tell me that they're apparently colloquially referred to as "acca dacca" in australia

[epic-and-kitty]

waking up early and realizing new Splatoon news is out is a happy feeling

Seeing just how quick people are to immediately attack the devs when something happens that they don't like makes me want to go back to bed

[baejax-the-great]

One of the things missing in Veilguard is any sort of meaningful power struggle. By keeping to the poorer parts of the city-settings, we don't really deal with corrupt or powerful nobles. By defanging the Crows, an organization who famously has lethal squabbles between factions, they turned them into some weird, benevolent family organization. Even the assassin trying to make "evil" power plays doesn't actually manage to kill any of his targets, and his ruthless relatives? Also don't kill him in revenge. In the end, the status quo is maintained. Nothing has changed.

In Tevinter, we have the Threads, an organized crime unit who we know runs "protection" rackets on the locals and is involved in some kind of smuggling (it's Tevinter--so presumably this would involve slavery and dangerous artifacts, but it's Veilguard, so I guess not). Instead of them beefing with the Shadow Dragons, who presumably ruin some of their deals with their pesky "freeing the slaves" thing, and instead of their main issue being with any sort of law enforcement, something which doesn't exist in Veilguard beyond one singular templar who does all of jack shit the entire game, their main power struggle is with the Venatori, who are evil just to be evil.

And instead of the Veilguard siding with law enforcement or the threads and enlisting their help to, idk, unseat the corrupt head of the templars or otherwise deal with the venatori shit, the threads are highly favored by the storyline, and in the end the only real choice is to make Neve a thread or to make her... idk, the same Neve? The game calls her an "inspiration", but it's not like she's part of any organization, so we can't call her a figurehead. It's just like, see that random citizen right there? She rules. And I don't really see how that increases the power of the rule of law, because even if one good person is working within rule of law to get things done, she's not part of the system, and everyone already know the system is corrupt in Minrathous. Random citizens in fucking Ferelden know the system is corrupt in Minrathous, or they would if they weren't all dead. Neve is now just playing on hard mode to appear righteous, which, good for her, but I'm sorry, won't inspire all that many people who are still paying "protection" money to the local mafia.

(Putting Neve in charge of the Threads is an absolutely whackadoodle decision by the devs that I don't even know how to respond to. She has a single Thread contact. Presumably the Threads have a hierarchy. She has never demonstrated interest in being a smuggler. Being a detective really has no overlap with being a crime boss. Telling a group of criminals that they are all detective's helpers now is sure to go over like a lead balloon. What the fuck was that. Why did that happen.)

Maevaris and Dorian arguing came out of nowhere and lasted a fairly long time, which was interesting, but after the most recent election in the states, Maevaris's position sounds unbearably naive and trite, and this hardly counts as a power struggle as they both say they will support the other depending on what some random outsider thinks should happen. (That is soooo not a basis for a system of government. Why would Maevaris OR Dorian cede their power to Rook, someone they don't know and who doesn't matter)

The power struggle within the Wardens is also very stupid and easily solved. The First Warden is a moron. He dies (kind of). For some reason the extremely hot and competent couple who we first encounter in the middle of nowhere are next in command, so, phew. Problem solved there. A question of what the Wardens will do now that the Blights are over would have been interesting. Do they keep recruiting lest the Blight somehow reoccur and nobody remembers the Warden secrets? Or do they disband? Do they set themselves to seeking a cure and nothing else?

The closest you get to that is deciding what the griffons will do, which, again, why the fuck is Rook deciding that, but also there are 13 of them, in two or three more generations they will be dead unless a lot of mages bone up on genetics real fast.

Who is left? We have Rivain, which is just pointless in this game. I played as a Lord of Fortune, but you could drop that faction and not a single thing changes in the game. Pirates who don't loot valuable artifacts because they are elvhen? Give me a fucking break.

Same for the Mourn Watch. There is pretty much nothing going on in that region. You could excise it from the game and nothing changes in the slightest. There is not a single excuse for them not using the Eluvians to help the Veilguard earlier in the game, given just how little they have going on.

The Veiljumpers are just missed opportunities all over the place. They could have had factions debating whether to join the god of vengeance in fucking up the human civilizations as payback for, you know, everything. They could have had people joining Cyrion in thinking that a Forgotten One might be the best way to face down the gods, given they'd done it before. There could have been a HUGE cultural impact on "what do we do now that we know our gods are evil fuckfaces--what do we keep and what do we throw away," but Veilguard ain't that deep. They could have had knowledge of a super-weapon or some elvhen bullshit that would help the Veilguard fight the gods... but nah.

In DAO, your decisions not only affected the political futures of the various regions, but they decided who would help you and how. Did the dwarves have golems? Did you have templars or mages? That whole wolf thing with the Dalish that I no longer remember that well? And the Dalish deciding to help changed how they were viewed in Ferelden. The mages helping you meant the monarch would treat them favorably. It fucking mattered.

In Veilguard, the only situation remotely close to that is the dragon decision at the beginning, which was one of the fucking dumbest plot points in a video game I have ever played. It was the first thing that made me set my controller down and go... what? What the fuck? The idea that Rook, a nobody, is the only person singularly capable of driving back a dragon in the entire north is laughable. What the fuck was Dorian up to that day? How is Rook more capable than every single Crow? How is it the two companions you sent to the other city were absolutely useless? If Lucanis/Neve + two companions were unable to drive a dragon away, what makes them think Rook would be the deciding factor? What makes them blame Rook when they themselves couldn't fucking do it? Neve in particular was a big part of fucking up that ritual and releasing the gods, so why is Rook taking all the fire for this?

AND WHY IS THEIR RESPONSE TO A BLIGHT TO FIND A SINGLE DRAGON HUNTER? HEY DIPSHITS, THE DRAGON IS HUNTING YOU. YOU DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT PART. YOU NEED AN ARMY.

But Treviso or Minrathous being spared doesn't change the global political situation at all. It would have been really interesting if it did. Tevinter hobbled? How many kingdoms would be salivating to take a bite out of their territory? With the trade princes of Antiva being absolutely fucked over by the Blight, who is taking over that trade? Who is getting rich?

Nobody, I guess, because why would Rook know or care about that, because, as previously mentioned, they are a nobody who doesn't matter and honestly shouldn't be listened to.

The stakes in this game are nothing because the bad guys are all so obviously bad that you know, as a video game player, that you are going to defeat them. Oh, the Antaam are just mindless, faceless brutes fucking up Treviso? Okay, let's kill them. Venatori again? I'm pretty sure they aren't the heroes of this game. There's no power struggle, and in the end all we've done is revert to the status quo, (except i guess Treviso is no longer occupied).

Except for the south. The south is dead. but we didn't have anything to do with that for some reason. Couldn't even be bothered to house some refugees in our safehouse that was built specifically to house refugees. The Inquisitor, who has access to the eluvians, couldn't figure out how to get other people through them or something so... sorry, every single Orlesian, Fereldan, and Marcher.

[dilemmaontwolegs]

The Nickname Runs in the Family || CL16

Summary: When you end up crying on your father’s shoulder over a boy, Kimi enlists the help of Charles to teach him a lesson. Charles Leclerc x Raikkonen!Reader Warnings: nsfw, fighting, mentions of sex, WC: 2.9k

To the outside world Kimi was known as ‘The Iceman’, garnered for his cold personality in the media and how he never let anything bother him, at home however he was just called isä or dad. You really could have done with more of The Iceman persona because when it came to his family your father was anything but cool and collected.

“Tell me what happened,” Kimi demanded, your tears only streaming faster down your cheeks.

“Nothing happened, dad.”

“Something happened, tytär, don’t lie to me.”

It was stupid to go there after what happened. You should have just returned to your student accommodation at the college but you needed the comfort of home and someone you trusted. Now all of Monaco was going to hear just how hotheaded The Iceman got while your step-mother tried to put your baby half-sister back to sleep.

“Nothing happened!” you sobbed, burying your face in your hands as embarrassment flamed across your cheeks. “I said no, okay. I said no and he called me a frigid bitch before dumping me and leaving me at the party.”

You expected to hear something break, or at least his heavy stomps storming towards the front door. You didn’t expect your dad to throw his head back and laugh, a deep belly laugh that echoed around the quiet living room. 

“Ah, that’s my girl,” he laughed as he bundled you into a hug. “I like that, Frigid Bitch. It’s good.”

You snorted a laugh despite the hurt and wiped your tears on his shoulder. “I thought you would be angry.”

“Oh, I am,” he admitted somberly. He placed a kiss on your head before standing up and pulling his phone out of his pocket. You didn’t see who he was calling so late at night but groaned when it was answered. “Hello, Charles. You know everyone in Monaco, where does Devereux Laurent live?”

“Isä! No!”

Your father ignored you as he grabbed his car keys and his jacket, his phone shoved between his shoulder and his ear. “I’m not going to kill the little bastard, fuck, Charles, I just want to have a chat.”

The door slammed shut behind him and you collapsed back onto the sofa with a groan about keeping your mouth shut next time. You were still ruminating over your life choices when the doorbell rang an hour later. 

“Charles?” You frowned at the man panting in your doorway like he sprinted across the city before your eyes widened at the split lip he sported. “What are you doing here? What happened?”

“Kimi.”

“Fuck.” 

“Yeah.”

You grabbed your purse that had been discarded on the kitchen table when you arrived. “Where is he?” 

“The police station.”

“Shit, he didn’t do that to you, did he?”

Charles reeled back, clearly offended. “No, you’re asshole boyfriend hit me.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” you clarified as you dragged him inside and grabbed a tea towel to wrap a bag of peas from the freezer. Charles flinched as you gently pressed the ice pack to his lips and you sighed. “I’m sorry my dad got you involved in this.”

“It’s okay,” he murmured, taking the pack from your hand to place it on his swollen knuckles that you hadn’t noticed. “I got myself involved when I heard what Dev did. Are you okay?”

“I didn’t get punched in the face,” you said as you playfully rolled your eyes, however you soon sobered. “It's nothing a few drinks and a bad romcom can’t fix, after I’ve bailed dad out first. It’s not like we were together long enough to get heartbroken. Do you want me to drop you off on the way?”

“I’ll drive.” He snatched a set of keys from the hook by the door, but you caught his wrist and took them back.

“That’s Minttu’s minivan.” You hung the keys back on the hook and grabbed a set for your dad’s Rolls Royce Wraith instead. The empty hook beside it was where the keys to his Ferrari Pista usually hung. “She wouldn’t be happy if you crashed her car again.”

“I didn’t crash her car,” he argued as he pocketed the keys and opened the door. “You were driving!”

“I had a shit instructor. You were too busy checking yourself out in the mirror to teach me.”

His finger jabbed the call button for the elevator as he scoffed. “You only know that because you were too busy checking me out to watch the road.”

The elevator arrived but you held a hand out to block him as you stepped into the small space. “Sorry, your inflated ego is too big to fit in here.” 

“That wasn’t a denial.”

You ignored him and jutted your head to the fireproof door. “Try the stairs.”

“But we’re on the top floor.”

You smirked as the doors started to close but he darted inside before they sealed shut.

“You’re still not denying it.”

“So you really went swinging for my honour?” you deflected as he hit the button for the garage level, exposing his swollen fist again.

“You sound surprised.” He leaned back against the wall and looked at his hand, massaging the tender bruises. “When I saw he was still at the party…”

You frowned, first at the fact that Dev went back after leaving you there, asshole, then at the fact Charles knew where he was. Charles was definitely not at the party, if he was then you would have heard the women going feral for him. “How did you know he was there? You don’t follow him on Instagram.”

“Not on my main account,” he said with a shrug. Anyone that Charles followed on social media made sure to announce the news like it was an instant ticket to ViP treatment, and Dev would have been no different. It was also the exact reason you went by Y/L/N, your mother’s surname, instead of Raikkonen. You didn’t want to be used by people for the name you carried. 

“You hate him, why would you follow him?”

“It doesn’t matter why.”

“It does to me.” 

Unfortunately the doors opened and he pushed off from the wall to stride past without an answer. A flash of lights responded to the click of the button on the keys and Charles slowed his steps for you as he led the way to the sedan parked in a secluded corner, the space beside it empty of your fathers red Pista. Charles stopped at your door and opened it for you, his eyes scanning the open space that was empty and quiet save for the whine of the elevator leaving the level. 

“For you,” he admitted as you slipped into the leather seat. “I followed him to keep an eye on you.”

The door closed and you watched him walk around the car, dropping into the driver’s seat before pushing it back to suit his longer legs. He then silently adjusted the mirrors and turned down the heavy rock music that blasted when the engine started. You didn’t know what to say, all you had were more questions that could only lead to more confusion.

“You deserve better,” Charles said, breaking the awkward silence as he pulled out into the street. 

“He was just drunk.” 

“That’s not an excuse. You deserve someone who will wait until you are ready to have sex, not try it on drunk and at a party.” His words were seething by the time he finished and his knuckles turned white from the tight grasp he had on the steering wheel.

“Uh, Charles, I was joking about my honour…I’m not a virgin.”

“Wait, what?” The car slammed to a halt and he earned a toot from the Lamborghini behind before it drove around when Charles didn’t move. “Since when?” he asked as he turned in his seat to face you.

“I didn’t realise it was such a big deal. Was I meant to stand at the corner and hold a sign that said ‘deflowered’ in Times New Roman or Comic Sans?”

He didn’t even blink at your icy tone and heavy sarcasm. “But Dev said he dumped you because you didn’t want to have sex. He didn’t force himself on you, did he?”

“Oh my god, no! I can’t believe we are having this conversation, Charles.” You figured it couldn't get any more awkward as you looked out the window into the sleeping city. “Sex wasn’t the problem, he was upset because I didn’t want to have sex with him.”

“Oh…oh.” He cleared his throat and put the car back into drive before continuing his way to the police station. “So, uh, is there anyone you do want to, um, have sex with at the moment?” 

“Why? Are you offering?” It was meant to sound teasing but there was too much curiosity in it.

His face flushed pink and his lips parted two twice before his voice worked. “I don’t do casual.”

It wasn’t a no, and that somehow made things both better and worse as a new possibility began to worm its way into your mind. You didn’t like the hope that fluttered in your stomach. Charles was a friend. Charles was someone your father trusted after Seb vouched for him. Charles was off limits. 

By the time you had filtered through the thoughts he had induced, Charles was pulling into the police station and you hoped your dad was fairing well behind bars. It turned out you had no reason to worry as you walked inside and heard his voice from behind the glass wall. 

Kimi was being well taken care of by the officers. He had a coffee in one hand, a pastry in the other and was answering questions that had nothing to do with Dev. You cringed as he recounted why he missed meeting Pel�� years ago, but Charles chuckled along with the policemen as you knocked on the door.

The Monégasques fawned over their hometown hero while you watched Kimi pull himself to his feet, cracking his back that had stiffen while he was sat down. 

“I thought you would be in maximum security by now,” you said as he pulled you into a hug. “What did you do?”

He patted your cheek and smiled mischievously. “I like Charles even more now.”

He gave you nothing else but that was expected. Whatever happened was obviously not on the record and you wanted to keep it that way, especially since he didn’t have a single scratch on him - like he hadn’t been in a fight at all. You were quietly contemplating that knowledge when you climbed into the backseat of the Wraith and your father readjusted everything on the driver's side back to how he had it.

“You took the fall for Charles, didn’t you?”

They both swivelled back to look at you. Charles’ eyes widened, while your father’s narrowed. 

“Fucking hell, I’m not going to tell anyone,” you growled as you threw your arms up in exasperation. “I just want to know what actually happened tonight.”

Charles waited to see if your dad wasn’t going to explain as the car pulled out of the station car park. After a moment of hesitation he took a breath and started to rattle off the truth.

“I called Kimi when I realised Dev was still at the party. It was only a block away so I thought I would meet him there to point him out.”

“I was just about at the address he gave me when he called. I got there as fast as I could but Charles was already inside,” Kimi said with a proud chortle. “Got a few good hits on the little bastard too.”

“Iså,” you warned as he enjoyed the violence just a bit too much and Charles looked sheepishly down at his hands. “Why did you fight?”

“You know why. I couldn’t stand by and let him talk about you that way.”

“Good man,” Kimi said with a stern nod. 

“And you, what did you do, dad?”

“What I had to do,” he said with a shrug. “I’m retired, Charles has a career.”

You stretched the seatbelt and leaned forward to hug your dad and kiss his cheek before doing the same to Charles. “Thank you.” Your eyes lingered on Charles as his eyes said everything he couldn’t with your father in the car. 

“He’s not pressing charges but there may be some questions if anyone caught the fight on camera. You might want to give your PR team a heads up.”

It took a moment to realise where you were and why the car had stopped outside the venue where the party was still in full swing. Drunken revellers could be heard behind the velvet curtain hanging over the door and your father handed his keys over to Charles with a shake. “Make sure she gets home safe. I’ll pick it up in the morning, no scratches.”

“Yes, sir,” Charles promised with a nod before getting out.

“You’re trusting him with your Pista?”

“I trust him with you, the car I can replace.”

You surprised him with another hug as your door opened, your voice thick with emotion as you said, “thank you.”

“Do you want to come home?” he asked quietly. “I can make up the sofa bed.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t think I’ll want to get out of my bed tomorrow.”

“Fair enough. Love you.”

“Love you too.” You stepped out and Charles closed the door, placing his hand on the small of your back and guiding you to your father’s favourite car. “He doesn’t even let me drive this, you know.”

“Maybe that’s because you don’t support Ferrari,” Charles teased as you buckled yourself in.

“I support it now.”

“What changed your mind?”

You dared to look at him and met his green eyes. “You.”

—

“Awww, she called her little puppy,” Dev taunted as he spotted Charles walking towards him.

Charles chuckled, but it held no humour and his smile was dark. You had never seen that look in his eye and your thighs clenched in response. “At least she will still call me. You just lost the best thing you never deserved.”

“Well you can have the frigid bitch, good luck getting her to put out though. Fucking cocktease.” The snort Dev made was cut off by the fist that crashed into his nose and then the both of them were going to the floor, grappling and twisting until Kimi darted into the fray and grabbed Charles.

“Go, she’s at home,” Kimi ordered as he pushed Charles back the way he came. “I’ve got it from here, kid.”

The video looped back to the start and you watched it twice more before determining you were fucked. It hit you like a train, the pressure slamming into your chest as you realised you were in love with Charles. No one had ever stood up for you like that, or taken a punch for you or risked their career. But he had.

You stayed cocooned in your blankets for most of the morning, watching the video footage from the night before and it became your new favourite binge worthy entertainment. It would probably be classed as insanity if anyone knew you had become addicted to it, but it was only the fact someone knocked at your door that you placed your phone down.

“Charles? I’m getting a little déjà-vu here,” you commented as you opened the door and found him sweating.

“Will you go on a date with me?” he blurted out. “Please.”

Your brows shot up at the outburst and you checked the student halls were empty before pulling him into your room. “Uh, you do realise who my father is, right?”

“I do, thank you for your concern,” he chuckled. “I was actually just with him. I wanted his permission to ask you on a date.”

“Well that explains why it looks like you’ve been running for your life.” You looked at your door expecting to see it kicked in. “Was he chasing you?”

“What? No, I wasn’t running. Fuck,” he groaned as he ran his hands over his jeans to dry his clammy palms. “I was just nervous about asking you out. You still haven’t answered my question.”

“I will.”

“Answer the question or go out with me?”

“I will go out with you,” you clarified with a laugh.

Relieved, he took a seat at the edge of your bed and sighed happily. “I have been waiting years to ask.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded before flopping himself down comfortably and you dropped down beside him. “Your dad scared me,” he admitted as he took your hand in his.

“But not anymore.”

Charles smiled and it was one so similar to the video that was still playing on loop. He seemed to recognise the muffled sound coming from the blanket at the same time you remembered it was there and fished it out. “You’ve seen it.”

“Once or twice,” you lied. “I see why you’re not afraid anymore. That’s one hell of a right hook.”

“Oh no I am definitely still afraid of Kimi,” he corrected as he rolled on his side to face you. “But I am done watching you date assholes when I know exactly how you deserve to be treated. I want to give you the world, if you’ll let me.”

[devillime]

Okay I’d like to talk about the treatment of the side characters and how empty the world feels so this is not proof read or anything this is a rant

Firstly

The world

We know that other students are there i understand that making a game takes time but for crying out loud the whole world of devildom feels so empty and yes we have the Little D’s but they are mainly in the castle with barbatos so they are practically diavolo servants like barbatos and even the recent event we are helping barbatos with serving nobles

NOBLES

Which is just baffling to me because games like arcana twilight that came out after obey me and are clearly inspired by obey me at least feels alive do we see full body sprites no of course not but we this

We can see what the characters look like to get a better understanding of how they look yet in obey me nothing really now I know if I remember CORRECTLY Nightbringer will be a continuation of the original game but it’s honestly stupid how a game like a obey me that been out longer than arcana twilight feels so empty

I’m asking for but if you want to write a good story and make me fee apart of it then take a moment to let us explore how the world works on OUR own.

Secondly

The side characters

Don’t get me wrong I love the brothers but I also love the side characters just as much but it’s ridiculous on how little screen time they have now is crazy not to mention the treatment of the new characters

First diavolo HES THE FUTURE KING OF HELL FOR CRYING OUT LOUD I believe he should get enough screen time but no the devs go against it

And before anyone say “well originally the side characters weren’t dateable” I only started playing after they were dateable but are doing some research the “side characters” have been dateable for a good while to the point they technically be considered they are perusing the mc minus Luke

So why are they still getting shit on by the devs? Probably because when most people think of the game they think of the brothers but honestly which character peaked your interest before playing the game because for me it was diavolo

And don’t get me started on the new characters this is more of a pet peeve with the fandom but why do you guys mischaracterize Mephistopheles and Raphael? Raphael has a similar if not same personality as belphie yet a lot of people say belphie is being cute while Raphael is being rude and Mephistopheles I’m sorry Lucifer fans but think of it from Mephistopheles perspective I’d be piss to if I was born to practically be someone right hand man only to get cased aside for something new?

A lot of you guys had mischaracterize thirteen when she came out but the devs oh god we barely seen thirteen and Mephistopheles in Nightbringer now Raphael I can kinda understand but the two that are in devildom with us don’t show up? That’s a joke like seriously

At this point why did they add them if they don’t appear as much hell I dare say obey me could have been a yandere otome game where the brothers became yandere after making a pact with the mc and the side characters like Solomon and Mephistopheles noticed this and try and help us but Solomon can’t tell Simeon and Luke because another war might break out again

But that’s all I have to say I brought up the world building or lack of in the official obey me server and people seem to say “but it be more pressure on the devs” I get that but this game gets a lot of money and I’m pretty sure it’s more pressure if they can’t keep the story straight because after lesson 40 I’m pretty sure we all have questions

And please PLEASE LET US SEE THE SIDE CHARACTERS MORE IN THE ANIME PLEASE

Rant off

[martialartslover7]

Why Asuka Deserves Better. #JusticeForAsuka

Oh, Asuka. My poor, dear Asuka. You were meant for greatness. You were meant, for so much more. Your second name only ended up becoming the subject of ridicule to the developers, despite them having breathed life into, with very clear intentions on making you a hidden MVP of the story.

No matter what any of these cringe dudebros in the FGC, the demented twits on Twitter, or the braindead Redditors claim about you, you are a character, that deserved to be on the top half of the totem pole.

You deserved to fight alongside Jin, Hwoarang and Xiaoyu, the main Tekken trio. You deserved to kick, at least ONE, of Mishima's asses, entirely on your own. You deserved to meet Jun, and maybe even train under her guidance to become a full-blooded Kazama, completing your training…

…You could have, you could have, it's all I can say with her. And it genuinely pisses me off, how she never evolved beyond what Tekken 5 showed to us. And listen, I know that, to many of you, she doesn't even seem like much "to begin with", but that's only because, you're not as invested as I am, much less in the character, and what she was truly meant to be, which, I am pretty sure, most of you just view as "shallow, coomer bait", or "gooner material for virgins".

Well, if you truly think that way, jokes on you, you're the true loser of this tale, as it just proves my point that, you're just a typical FGC shill, who is merely here for the ride, but not for the long term. Much less for the overall integrity of the game's integral core qualities, that made everyone else fall in love with it, in the first place.

And listen, I am fine with it, whatever floats your boat. But then stop trying to copy some pro player's opinion, like a mindless lemming, and then act so surprised, when people rightfully make fun of you for it. Whenever I see these people talking shit, I keep referring back to this meme right here:

But in all seriousness, since this is Asuka's birthday, and I want to clean up the trash, left behind by online circle-jerking sessions on any platform, claiming that "Asuka is just irrelevant, move on, buddy", allow me to take charge, and show to you, WHY Asuka always deserved to be relevant, in spite of the glaring evidence speaking against the argument. Lemme start with this:

When Asuka first debuted in Tekken 5, it became quickly clear, that her fighting style was a derivative, more up-front and aggressive version of Jun Kazama's style of martial arts. And if you really want to go there, I mean…

…Just look at her, man. This doesn't take a genius to realize: Her appearance, her design, the vibes she exuded, all of it, contributes to her feeling like a near-perfect, honorable and tasteful homage to Jun Kazama, who, by the way, at this point in the series, was declared "missing". She wasn't considered dead, just missing.

Not helped by the fact, that…

…Come on, look at her facial features, how can you NOT see a bit of Jun Kazama in her? Especially, when you put this in-game face model of hers…

…right next to Jun's facial model from the character select screen in Tekken 2. Am I being crazy, or do these look actually related, for real now? These two feel eeriely similar. And just for that alone, you could tell, the devs, at one point or another, certainly had bigger ideas with her.

But this is not where it ends. If it was, I wouldn't even be writing this stupid long thread.

Despite Asuka's ending in Tekken 5 being comical in nature, there is STILL some serious value to be found, a trace, a hint, of her being of far bigger importance than even the devs themselves ever gave her credit for…

…And seriously, sorry for going off-track about this, but, I am sure I am speaking on behalf of every Asuka fan, anywhere: FUCK. OFF. With this bullshit mindset of:

"Asuka was never meant to be a serious character, stop trying to pretend, there was ever anything salvageable about her, when all she ever was, is just a cringe, cliché moe anime tsundere girl with huge honkers and a rotten, loud-mouthed attitude, that makes me want to rip my ears off, every time she opens her mouth. Stop the cap. You probably just goon for her, in that case, you're a horny pedo, get outta my face." -- Every FGC shill on social media

And listen, I know, it probably was never exactly like this, but all the key- and buzzwords probably allign, because, I have been there, numerous times, especially in YouTube comment sections and Twitter. And it wasn't just limited to Asuka. This is a universal problem, that can be applied to all fighting game characters in general. We all know the drill by now, the moment you get confronted with the FGC, hoping to find at least one nerd, who is willing to partake in story discussions and theories like in the anime community, the majority of users will, 9 times out of 10, claim:

"I don't care about story in fighting games, no one should, it's a Nothing Burger. You cannot expect that quality from something, not meant to be played, all by yourself. Oh, by the way, I had sex with your grandma." -- Some loser pro player on social media

How. Fucking. Often. Did I hear this justification. ANYWHERE? Try to guess. Believe me, the count is too high to count at this point. Why are people THIS freaking boring in the FGC? Is the part about, "being so accepting of crushing mediocrity, and never wanting to wish for better" the most common commodity these days? You just want to play the game? Good. Then do me, and everyone else, especially yourself, a favor, and…

SHUT THE FUCK UP! NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR MENTALLY IMPAIRED TAKES, WHEN YOU NEVER CARED TO BEGIN WITH! SHUT! UP!

But, now that I got THAT out of my system, back to Asuka. As I said, her Tekken 5 ending, despite not being much to go off of, is probably, the one and ONLY time, where we see Asuka, being at her absolute best, despite not being much to go off of, is probably, the one and ONLY time, where we see Asuka, being at her absolute best, despite the comical outcome, which, I am obviously going to cut away, because I didn't come here to waste everyone's time. I am glad to give reminders, here you go:

…and what happens after this? Does it ever get expanded upon? Does Asuka become relevant in any sort of way? Does she maybe get the chance to fight at Jin's side--

Oh, right. No, this is not what happened. What actually happened, is this:

And just seeing her laugh this maniacally like a psychopath, it just reminds me of this laughter right here, when Mephiles killed Sonic in 06, except, Lili's creation itself killed, what little left there was of Asuka's potential as a character, so, same thing:

But just wait, this isn't the only thing we came here for, and that is me dunking on Lili, which, at this point in time, has become far too easy for me, so I will leave that for some other time. For now, just a reminder: It never improved from here. Instead, it just got sadder, the more time passed. And for some reason, everyone is so accepting of it, despite Asuka's and Lili's """""rivalry""""" (or lack thereof, as, by this point, it feels more like an ongoing trainwreck, circus performance, than an actual rivalry to take seriously) feeling like a shittier "carbon copy" of Sakura and Karin.

A can of worms I may need to tackle in the near future...

Since it's her birthday, let us all come together, as Asuka fans, and celebrate, what makes her so great in the first place. And one of those things being:

Her badass attitude.

Ignoring her arcade ending for a moment, every other scene with her in Tekken 5, may it be either against Feng Wei or Jinpachi, was this: Peak. Not much else to add. And because I like being petty, I will gladly remind you all again, why I am saying this, no further comment needed.

THIS is why, many of us grew to love Asuka. Every situation she was put in, she just stood tall. She didn't feel even remotely intimidated by Feng's appearance, let alone Jinpachi, and he looks the most demonic. Any normal person would have just run away, but she never did. And considering she managed to "heal" Jin afterwards, her Kazama blood actually meant something here, which leads me to assume, her fight with Jinpachi must have been insanely one-sided. It's not much, but considering the implications of her ending, and Kazuya's ending in Tekken 4:

This was very likely, a setup for Asuka's character. Considering that, it never openly specified, how pure-blooded of a Kazama you need to be, to have this level of power potency, to match and reject the Devil Gene. Especially since, Jin had always been more Mishima, than Kazama, even by blood. And even if, Asuka just so happens to be from a Side Branch of the Kazama family, this doesn't really change anything, the consistency still alligns with what we have learned. And again, someone like Jin, who was more on the dominant Mishima spectrum, still managed to keep his own powers under control, thanks to his mother's Kazama DNA...

...for a while, at least.

Meaning, as things stand, Jun is not the only one, who was able to keep Kazuya's Devil Gene under locket, to give herself a fighting chance against him. And if Jun managed with him, then surely, Asuka must have done the same to Jinpachi.

And again, I am fully aware that, this is all purely speculation, but the points still stand, even if it doesn't get on-screen confirmation, the implications still hold weight, even now, despite all the retcons. A hidden W for us, Asuka fam. Yay!

(Megumin, because her English VA, Erica Mendez, is just pitch perfect for Asuka, should Bloodline ever get a season 2, don't @ me)

Also, another reason, why we love Asuka, even in some non-canon material, are scenes like this:

*cough* Ahem, considering the thumbnail, I am looking respectfully, please don't smack me, Asuka.

But leaving my bonobo monkey brain thoughts aside, this ending may not be canon, but let's be real: Does it even matter? THIS is the Asuka we are all looking for. She may be a tough cookie, but this ending shows another major strength of hers, that alligns with what we know from her in the canon games:

Her pure soul.

Sure, she throws punches, and yes, she is brash in her wording, but here, as you can see, she doesn't immediately throw herself into the frey, coming at them swinging. She remains patient, even with said patience gradually dwindling with them, because, we all know, mobsters suck. She has a perfectly good reason to get moody on them, but she chooses not to, at least, not the moment she arrives. That only proves one thing: She might be a vigilante, but getting violent on people is not something she likes doing regurlarly, unless, she isn't even the aggressor in the situation.

In fact, despite being given no incentive to do so, she still decides to show empathy to them, and promising to let them off the hook, if they start behaving from now on. Whether that's truly effective or not, considering that we are talking about Yankees here, that's a different question entirely. The point is: Asuka remains the bigger person, first and foremost, despite living in a hostile, unfriendly environment. If that doesn't make you sympathize with her, then, allow me to remind you, WHY she decided to join the 5th tournament in the first place:

Her father.

That makes her stand out: While most competitors in the series join for monetary gains, in hopes of gaining control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, or just becoming famous...

...AND DESIRING VENGEANCE ON A FUCKING MISHIMA FOR THE UPTEENTH TIME...

...Once again, another sympathy point to garner from her: She is not fighting for any grand goals, she just wants to get penance on the person, who dared to lay a hand on her family. That simple action by itself, speaks volumes of Asuka's overall character. The fact, that she goes this far, in joining a tournament, which has become infamous for being more of a macabre bloodsport than an actual tournament, while she was barely around Xiaoyu's age, too...

This girl, will gladly lay her life down for you, if you're family to her.

Again. The Jun Kazama parallels just keeping coming with this attitude of hers. She knew her life was at risk, just by joining this damned tournament, and yet, she didn't give a damn. She joined regardless. That alone tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about her character basics.

And another point to be made about her:

She is genuinely hilarious. Check her out.

Screw this moronic slapstick humor, where everyone gets turned into a butt monkey for no reason...

I AM LOOKING RIGHT AT YOU, HARADA.

Another reason why I love Asuka: Every situation she gets put in, even when she is the one being made the "loser" of the situation, the way she reacts to all these ludicrous moments feels SO. FUCKING. RELATEABLE. Every time she is confronted with Lili, or she is faced with ridiculous circumstances, like pretty much all her interactions during the Scenario Campaign, she feels like my personal rage translator. The self-awareness she brings, is my jam. And the sarcasm she throws in Hwoarang's face is so freaking delightful, that moment still makes me laugh.

This is where you know: You know a character is good, when they become super relateable in instances like that. You don't need slapstick for this, just have them react in ways that any normal person would.

Another point for contention, and this is one where, if you think about it for a few moments, it just makes too much sense to happen, but you end up becoming sad, that it never got to that point. And that is this:

(Image done by JIN-XIA-HWO-ASK-STE)

These four look so good together as a team, anyone saying "No", you are just lying to yourselves. These four look like a dream team. And I am not just saying that from a design and aesthetic point of view, but also, well, Jin is the only Kazama in the team, that cannot keep his own powers in check, unless he went through very extreme measures to do so. This team needs one Kazama, that can keep his power in-line, preventing him from going haywire again, and risk the lives of Xiaoyu and Hwoarang. Asuka, is, if you will, the super glue, that keeps this trio together.

And though we never saw them interact as a unit, Asuka's prologue in Tekken 6, once again, shows that, despite having all the reasons to be spite- and resentful of her relative, for his actions having gotten negatively reflected back onto her, due to them sharing the same second name, by some freakish "misfortune", look at this:

...Do you see her having any killing intent? Like, does she truly want to exude true harm on her relative, despite everything he has done? Nope. And if it's presented in this sort of fashion, it becomes more than clear, she isn't taking herself TOO seriously. And I like that. She might be a good guy, but she isn't living any delusions, she is aware that her own behavior is not exactly acceptable, and as we established: Family first. Which is why, I am not sensing malice from her. She just wants to have an excuse to smack some sense into him, because, that is how she expresses: I care about you.

Oh, Asuka. We really don't deserve you.

But the biggest point of all...

...and I am sure, everyone is able to agree with me on this, on how to make Asuka the true complete package for an awesome character, forget Lili...

...we need a rivalry between her and Reina. I mean, do I even need to explain why? Just look at these two, and dare to tell me, this doesn't sound like peak story material.

(Image done by @_jelart)

Asuka - A heroic tomboy, fighting for others, never herself, and a Kazama, that purifies the supernatural evil

Reina - An evil tomboy, fighting for dominance, to assert herself above others, which is true to her Mishima nature, enforced by Heihachi, and bearing the Devil Gene (technically, she is a Hachijo, but that makes it more epic)

Kazama VS Hachijo.

Both are foils to each other, and unlike Lili, Reina is an actual challenge for Asuka, not just in terms of combat, but also differing backgrounds, how they were raised, and the clans they both come from. It's just perfect, man. Come on, Bamco, don't be cowards for real, do this. You will have a cash cow waiting for you. Anything to get away from this airhead blond.

Oh, also, another excuse for me to show off this amazing artwork, to match Reina's Devil form:

(Big thanks to @Raydash30 on Twitter for this, you rock, dude)

In conclusion, Asuka Kazama is a queen among queens. In all of fighting games to me.

No matter anyone says, she is deserving of so much more, and I will never forgive Harada for just shoving her into the background, that would be bad enough, but never even TRYING to resolve this "conflict" between her and Lili. This has gone very stale after a while. Like, I don't mind comedy with Asuka, but what you do, my dude, is the equivalent by putting someone in a torture chamber, and putting a laugh track over it. It's not fun, it never was, and it never will be. Outside of it having overstayed its welcome.

Even the white bread basic bitches in the community, who cannot tell the runs from apple sauce would be able to tell you, how old this has grown with these two. Just go on Reddit. OF ALL PLACES. Or in YouTube comment sections, whenever Asuka was a topic in any way. EVERYONE says the same thing: She was meant for so much more. If that doesn't set the tone, then I don't know what will.

YOU HAD ONE FUCKING JOB. ONE. FUCKING. JOB.

AND YOU FAILED HER. EVERYONE LOSES.

If you're interested, check out my video here of why Asuka deserves better, it's her birthday, and I pray to, whatever god is out there, if there even is one at this fucking point, that it will go up from here for her. I am not living any delusions though:

Other than that though, one video summarized Asuka's best core design aspects better than I ever could. And here it is. Check it out, it's very interesting how much thought was actually put into her, overall.

And for more details, if you need a cohesive timeline for all this, check out my Twitter thread for this.

And to end it off in an epic way, here is, what I call, Asuka's theme song for when she fully embraces the main character energy. Enjoy. Now go and do AMVs with dat shizz.

And with that...

Happy Birthday, Asuka. This one is for you.

(Image done by my bestie, Jared789 from DeviantArt)

Peace.

[bricreative]

Thoughts on Life is Strange: Double Exposure so far (SPOILERS) because I think about this stupid series way too much

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings. Some of it’s good, but I’m mostly just sad and disappointed about the whole thing. I’ll try to keep it just about the game, but I also want to talk about the build up, how the marketing (so far) has mislead fans about certain choices and characters, how fans have been teetering on harassment to the devs, and what I’m hoping for in the chapters 3-5.

I'm sure there are others out there who can articulate these points better than I can and I'll probably repeat said points, but if you want to see a rare ramble from me, here are my thoughts, either in full paragraphs or bullet points ->

EDIT: Leaks are already coming out so half the shit I say in this probably doesn’t even matter 🙃

Early access has been out for more than a week now and I was only able to finish parts of it until I had to go on vacation. Parts of the story were spoiled for me before I got around to finishing the second chapter. So any “ twist” or revelation that did occur wasn’t as exciting as it could’ve been. And that’s mostly on me because I never really feel the need to block words/tags to avoid spoilers, unless I actually cared about said story.

And well, as much as I try to give Deck Nine some grace, the outlook for this game wasn't looking great to begin with…

Like the fucking break up with Max and Chloe?? While it wasn't a total shocker, the marketing has been leading towards that, it still left me heartbroken that this is how it's playing out. I was trying to be hopeful (delusional) that maybe they were going to do the long distance route. I thought that just made the most sense. I thought that’s why they were only releasing the first two chapters.

(I also know it was to get people to buy the ultimate edition, I know, I know)

I can see a route where taking some time apart could make sense given the overwhelming guilt, pain, trauma they obviously faced. But the way Chloe is currently written just feels so ooc? I don’t think she would’ve thrown so much shit Max’s way, especially about her rewind powers. I would think given it's been 10 years after the events of Arcadia Bay, she would trust Max completely. It’s also crazy considering Deck 9 made a whole ass prequel game revolving around Chloe?? And made a cute DLC with Max and Chloe as kids. It’s just baffling me how they’re treating her character.

I wonder what the reason was for not including Chloe more into the story. Did Square not want her in it at all? Did they even attempt to try and bring Ashley Burch back? I figured, they probably couldn’t get her to reprise the role full time, so maybe they opted her for a part time role, or a meaningful cameo. Are they hiding Chloe because they only have Rhianna and they’re afraid of disappointment/ backlash? 

And now we have lines from the original game redubbed by her, so it’s looking more and more like that’s the case. It’ll be Rhianna...

And look, I don’t hate her or her performance in Before the Storm, I’m just not crazy about it. She has some powerful scenes in it for sure, but I do think it is the weakest game of the series. At the end of the day, Ashley will always be Chloe, and she has the best chemistry/dynamic with Hannah Telle.

It doesn’t help that we barely know what happened in between the events of LIS and DE. It’s crazy to me that the writers didn’t even bother to put simple dates on text messages, some journal entries, etc. They have in the previous games, why not now? Are they hiding something or was it just an oversight or lack of care? And don’t get me started on the artwork in this journal....

It’s not bad but it's SO not Max’s style. It’s so cartoony? She’s writing less and less. What would’ve been cool to see is a portfolio of all of her previous work so far. She would’ve had SO much from traveling the country? Such a missed opportunity. AND an actual photo mode, hello?? What we have right now is kinda lackluster

I don't like that this series is becoming a glorified dating sim.The romances that did work in the past were built off of genuine connection and chemistry? They just jump right into this one?? 

While I actually do like Amanda, I can see them working in a BAY route only

Max would not go for a guy like Vinh in any timeline. Holy fuck, he’s so gross

It's just so obvious they had to shoehorn his romance route last minute

At this point, i'm agreeing with the argument that Max is a lesbian rather than a bisexual (even though I love the pattern that all lis protags are bi)

Or better yet, we don't have to go the romance route at all

I know all fandoms are annoying but the way certain fans have been acting towards the official accounts/ developers has been frustrating to witness?? I'm not saying you can't be critical, especially when it's on your own personal posts/accounts, but it's getting to the point where y'all are harassing them for every little fucking thing. I don't know, I just don’t have the energy to pester or harass accounts this fucking much. Don’t yall have better things to do? There are bigger things going on in the world

Focus all of that energy into creating art, writing, etc.

Remember that these characters are made up, it is a game

There’s a difference between thoughtfully criticizing and just plain bashing people

While I do think it’s frustrating, I can kinda understand why Square/D9 decided to be cagey about Chloe’s appearance. They’re walking a thin tightrope right now

There have been issues revolving around leaks even before the official announcement of the game came out AND there are leaks going around as we speak

They went the Last of Us II marketing route and essentially tricked people, yes. It sucks, it’s frustrating, I get wanting to build hype, any press is good press I guess

Maybe Chloe will have a bigger role in the later chapters? I’m more than prepared to eat my words but I’d rather maintain a little bit of hope here

I also think it's important to point out the things that I do like, at least to keep me sane:

The performances, especially from the first chapter, are pretty strong! Particularly from Safi, Max, Amanda, and Moses. Like that performance capture technology doesn't get talked about enough! The level of detail, the expressions, it’s incredible! You don't even see that in AAA games sometimes!

I do love that D9 brings in talent from outside the gaming industry, really makes the performances feel well rounded. True Colors did this very well, especially with Erika Mori

The doppelgänger power that’s being hinted at is SO cool imo. Every time I think that there aren’t any other worthwhile powers they can bring into this world, they surprise me. I’m interested to see where they’ll take it

Maybe they’ll do something fucky with Bay/Bae route. It’s hinted that timelines are overlapping. Maybe something crazy will happen.

What if we encounter multiple Max's (again) maybe another Chloe, were already jumping between timelines

Maybe they’ll bring Rachel back, maybe the doppelgänger ruined Max and Chloe’s relationship. We don’t know!

And look, I love this series. That much is obvious. The brain rot has always been there. I can joke and jest that this new story makes me sad and depressed, (even my playlist that I made is hitting different knowing that they broke up Max and Chloe,) but at the end of the day it's a GAME

I feel like I need to reiterate this for people but the game is still not fully out yet! I, at least, want to reserve some judgment before I fully decide how I feel about the game. Maybe they’ll surprise us, maybe Chloe will show up in the later chapters, maybe there will be a positive twist.

If it doesn’t turn out that way then that’s fine too! There are other games and comics and books to fall back on. There is so much more to this series than just Max and Chloe. I wish more people would realize that and give the other games a real chance

[bodysnatch3r]

putting this under a read more because i have nowhere else to put it. this ended up being long! mostly i am Processing.

i think what's fucking me up about veilguard being so polarising is that i have no way to make my own value judgement. i can't play it, at all, full stop. consoles are expensive, i live paycheck-to-paycheck and realistically speaking cannot even begin to think about buying a current gen console until well into 2025. i was saving up and then in june shit happened and those savings had to be used for something else and my stipend got reduced by a couple dozen pounds and the bills went up. so it goes.

i do not want to watch someone play it because it is just antithetical to how i relate to dragon age as media, and besides anyone posting playthroughs is inundated with critical comments. and the result is that the usual mechanisms i have against brainworms concerning certain types of critical statements—knowing i can fall back on my own experiences with the games and my own judgements of where the writing succeeded or didn't, what story am i trying to tell through these interactive games, how do i reconcile it with the story the devs were trying to tell, where does it diverge, etc.—are totally inaccessible to me.

this would have been fine, i think, if the fandom consensus i've been seeing hadn't been mostly "either you hate it or love it with no in between. and if you think the opposite of me you are Stupid". which. well i guess ten years in the fandom have taught me Nothing. but i digress.

i would have been fine, because i know from experience that i am often satisfied with scraps that others may find lacking—for example, i think dai quickly dropping and flattening the mage/templar conflict into a couple of missions in the hinterlands was fine, because we have several books that hint at and deal with the larger-branching consequences of da2. much of my fan experience is, generally, concerned with where i can "fill in the blanks" because that is what interests me the most. i thrive in the corners and margins. the less i know, the more i can take what canon gives us and run.

plus, over the years i have developed a tendency to meet bioware where they are at. past experience in creative industries has really shown to me how stifling any form of artmaking can be in a corporate environment, and i know that right now the blame as to why we got veilguard and not joplin is being passed around like a hot potato, but the truth of the matter is, we will never know beyond the fact that bioware management is beholden, like all companies, to the "number go up" capitalist doctrine, no doubt reinforced by their parent company ea. and that, at least following the failure of anthem and andromeda (but i suspect from even earlier, as david gaider has said), bioware has been the ugly duckling of ea's roster. (as an aside, i would love to know who in ea has such a soft spot for bioware, that they allowed them to continue on following those massive failures.)

what i am trying to say is, i have been struggling so much with something i had managed to heal myself from, precisely because the one coping mechanism that does work for me (stewing in the source material) is totally inaccessible to me. so i have all of this antsy, nervous, conflicted energy, exacerbated by my own obsessive tendencies and the fact that sometimes having a childhood hyperfixation return full force as an adult just really fucking sucks when my personality is prone to regressing into harmful thought patterns and behaviours—is it as bad as people are saying? will it be a massive disappointment when i finally do play it? should i even like it when apparently it is such a slap in the face to the fans?—and nowhere to put it.

i kind of preferred it when we all thought this game was just never going to come out and i had made peace with it.

[buggitino]

some headcanons about sebastian solace from the hit game pressure roblox

to start - this may seem unimportant to you guys but its important to me: that ring on his finger is about as serious as the squirrel stapler room (that is, to say, the whole thing is a bit that the devs have included in their silly project and i will be treating it as such) (for selfish reasons, of course, but idc!! i'm having fun with this stupid game that i love and thats all that matters) (update on this: as i'm typing, i'm finding out that zerum is serious about her and sebastian being married which is honestly kinda...) (like sure fine that's cool and all if he were JUST your OC but sebastian has reached a point of publicity where he is more than that. obviously, i think it's rude and terrible and disrespectful to disregard a creators wishes as to how their character is used in fan-made content (this especially goes for NSFW art cause i think its fucked up if people make that sort of content of a character and POST IT after the creator explicitly said not to). at the same time, there are many people on the internet who do not care and will do what they want regardless. i think it'd be fair for her to ask not to have any of it sent to her specifically or posted in the Pressure server that she co-runs where she will obviously see it but she's saying she doesn't want anyone to make that sort of stuff period which is unreasonable and will only serve to hurt her in the long run. i don't know how old zerum is but this is reminiscent of my own (early) internet phases where i would become EXTREMELY attached to a character and refuse to acknowledge that that character existed differently (or at all) to someone else (i don't want to admit it was a sans AU but i really don't think i have a choice). i really hope she gets past this in a healthy way and comes to understand that a character who's been made public the way sebastian has been made public has a very different dynamic than an OC that you're sharing with your friends)

☆ pretty basic and angsty interpretation and im positive most people in the fandom agree with me on this - he doesn't like getting hit with the bright light not only because of the angler fish DNA making his eyes sensitive but also because it reminds him of surgical lights (which is why he has a Take No Shit policy (since the update) for expendables flashing him) (yeah, he has a pretty short fuse already, but he wouldn't deck an expendable for leaving and coming back in once nor would he shoot them for using the keycard on his wares) (so even though its because of the DNA mixing, i like headcanoning theres more to it for funsies)

☆ can and will let the expendables die in his shop because then he doesn't have to leave to collect all the shit they drop (on that note, wags his tail and chuckles when you buy stuff cause he knows it'll ultimately be useless and he'll just get it back)

☆ collects data so he has records of urbanshades bullshittery (so he can prosecute their asses the second he escapes) AND so he can re-discover his own identity (this plays into my headcanon that he's slowly forgetting what he used to look like as well as what his life used to be outside of urbanshades teensy weensy ginormous fuck up facility)

☆ i know this is (basically) canon but i'm solidifying it for myself by calling it here: he's chilean american (and speaks chilean spanish) and i know like i KNOW if his radio was working he'd be blasting Bio Bio or Futuro or Pudahuel 24/7

☆☆ bonus!! he 100% listens to mid 90s - early 2000s emo music now (have you even seen him) (that mf painted his nails pitch black in middle school) (walked out the door listening to Green Day and One Last Wish on his walkman while his mom kissed him goodbye telling him to have a good day at school TRUST) and his favorite chilean genres are nueva trova chilena, folklore, cueca, and punk melodico! (im not entirely familiar with chilean culture and music so if anyone here is chilean and likes Pressure PLEASE chime in i'd love to hear your thoughts)

☆ on the topic of family, he would help his mom cook and clean sometimes when his older sister was out (his dad helps too!!)

☆ twirls/plays with his hair (mostly because he doesn't have anything else to fidget with) (projecting he's self conscious about it cause thats why i play with my hair whoops)

☆ soft spot for teen/young adult expendables that he doesn't have for the older ones (every time he sees an expendable younger than 30, his disgust and rage towards urbanshade grows)

these are all for fun and just my personal opinions/headcanons!! i'll update these eventually (maybe) and i wanna hear what you guys have to say too :D

[donnabenevientosimpingzone]

Hey! Now that you’re back I wanted to ask about Resident Lover? I remember you were on the team- but then the game came out and your name wasn’t on the dev list... what happened?

I can’t escape this question can I- and for those of you who messaged me, I did delete them in hopes of avoiding this- but I don’t want rumours to spread so lemme be transparent.

Also pls read this for how I’m handling coming back to this blog: https://www.tumblr.com/donnabenevientosimpingzone/741337986608873472/complex-feelings-and-absolute-pandemonium-about-my

No, I wasn’t kicked off the team, nor was I invited back when I left- and they made the right choice doing that. I was not mentally stable. I didn’t take the project seriously, I had jealousy issues, and didn’t take criticism well- I self destructed badly- blew up and burned that bridge to ashes, not to mention what sorta hurt I caused the team.

It did hurt a lot when I saw the game release. I was so upset, and spent so many weeks thinking about “what if I didn’t fuck up”. But there are no “what ifs” in history, we are meant to go through what we do in order to become the best versions of ourselves. The whole ordeal was part of the last push I needed to finally seek professional help. And the fact it still hurts whenever I see it around means I still care and carry guilt about everything that happened.

I’m practicing exposure therapy to try and heal that gaping wound. RE8 has turned my life completely on its head and I don’t want to abandon it- the best outcome will be the day I can download and play the game and find it within myself to genuinely love it with no more wounds to lick- but for now I’m content with seeing it float around every once in a while on my dash.

Out of respect- I hope none of you will pester the devs about this either. They did something amazing, and I’m so proud of what they’ve accomplished. Out of all of them I really miss MJ. They were the best, most hilarious friend- I always thought they were super attractive- and the whole reason the game was possible. Show them some love- idk message them “you’re cool!” for me or something. Anon ask if you have to. Don’t tell them I’m the one who sent you- I think it’ll be funny to just have a whole buncha people messaging them outta nowhere bahaha

And with that I hope this clears it up and stops people from messaging anymore about it. It’s still a sensitive wound I’m working to heal and I’d like to do it at my own pace<3 I don’t regret the experience, I’m in such a better place now because of it. I would love to make peace with my past self and accept the pain as a part of growing.

Until then enjoy me going back to my usual shenanigans before all the shit hit the fan. I’m very excited to draw more Spider Donna and Beneviento Sisters, I hope y’all enjoy it too<3

Update edit: https://www.tumblr.com/donnabenevientosimpingzone/737803172475781120/stupid-lil-update-i-wanna-do-as-per-my-pinned

Update! https://www.tumblr.com/donnabenevientosimpingzone/737980137572892672/people-who-knowknew-me-personally-probably-arent

Update that shows old sprite: https://www.tumblr.com/donnabenevientosimpingzone/738487941680316416/want-me-as-a-professor-okay-damn-ignore-the

Update where I rant about Angie and Daniela with a cat: https://www.tumblr.com/donnabenevientosimpingzone/740499151828156416/can-we-see-the-png-of-the-angie-sprite-holding-a

Update about the dangie ask on the RL blog: https://www.tumblr.com/donnabenevientosimpingzone/742312364040454144/hey-just-a-heads-up-that-the-rl-team-recently

[also-fours]

the hi-fi rush situation really bums me out.

we had this game that looked super unique, everybody loved it, it won tons of awards

and then it barely got any marketing, feels like it only got as popular as it did thanks to word of mouth and the initial shadow drop, was deemed a "failure" despite selling what many companies would consider a success back in the day, (because it didnt sell call of duty numbers, probably.) and then its studio got shut down

the studio was just starting to spread its wings, start making shit that could inspire their peers, other devs, to start making different things and experiment

and they fucking killed them

it's gone

i mean, maybe they'll make their own studio, i've heard something like that's happened a couple times with the yooka-laylee devs and sonic mania's dev team

but i dunno

as much as i love games like spider-man and god of war (and i mean literally just those two, like, anything else sony does aside from ratchet and clank im not into) i wish they didnt worry so much about modelling photorealism

the obsession with stuff like that is what's made game development so expensive and unsustainable at this rate

i know this is tumblr so the first reaction im gonna get to saying something like "i like spider-man and god of war" at least in my circle is "GOOD GLAD THAT IT'S BECOMING UNSUSTAINABLE FUCK THEM" but like. i actually like what these games had to say and what they brought to the table.

"spider-man had nothing to say it's just a stupid marvel game cash grab and god of war is a generic over the shoulder game"

if you're going to tell me something like that, kindly, please don't interact with this post

like, please?

thank you

anyway, i want games like that that...don't have to upgrade their graphics every time and. waste everyone's time.

genuinely with how they both looked in 2018 i'd be happy with them just. not changing the graphics at all

but uh. sadly sony knows their audience, haha

there'd be hell to pay if they did that

(i hate mainstream gamers)

and as for everything else that xbox and playstation are doing right now, i still want them to do something different

and microsoft killed off the developer that could've inspired others to do that

soooooooo fuck. what now. are we just gonna be stuck in this position forever.

probably not, i mean, again, with how expensive games like spider-man 2 have gotten to produce and the amount of people in and out of the industry screaming that you gotta CHILL THE FUCK OUT, we won't stay like this forever

it might get better

maybe when we get a new series of spider-man games they can have a visual style similar to spider-verse, wouldn't that be rad?

...i mean. judging by the leaks, they might already be experimenting with that...

or something like shattered dimensions have y'all seen that game? looks fantastic, go look it up, they made four different dimensions of spidey and all of 'em have their own unique visual style inspired by their books

sorry im getting off topic

im juat rambling at this point

i just hope people learn the right lessons from hi-fi rush.

and that the people who made it find a way through and can still make great things

thats what i hope for at least

...anyway at least we still have fortnite and its really fun art style--

[ninjapotatohead]

Hype culture is just as destructive as outrage culture. I don’t want to make people feel bad. It’s not for the cringe. That isn’t the point. The point is that blind hype is CONSTANTLY dragging Sonic down.

Ive heard the same argument over and over again, “ugh can’t you just let people enjoy it and be hyped it’s FUN!” Literally anything is fun when you don’t think about the consequences of that instant hype and fun. You don’t really think about how this affects the overall lifespan of the character as a whole, you just enjoy that momentary high you get from anticipating a “new Sonic thing” coming out soon and OOOH what’s it gonna be like?!

But then that thing comes out and most are let down and then they immediately run to seek out their next high. You come, you ravage, then you leave.

You’d get about the same amount of “enjoyment and hype” from a sonic shaped box that can either have gold or a pile of shit in it. It’s a gamble, and you are addicted to that feeling of wonder. Even after you discover it’s a pile of shit over and over and over you still come back with the false hope that maybe the NEXT one will actually have gold in it!! But you don’t actually care if it does or not. Those moments before you open the box is all that matters.

That’s not the bad part though, that’s just the human condition. PROVEN human condition I might add.

It’s like watching your friend kick a beehive over and over and instead of telling them to stop or trying to pull them aside, you just shrug and say “Eh let’s just stay positive and see where this goes. I don’t want to be negative and ruin the fun! Look at how much fun we’re having!” Ol and behold your friend gets hurt, everyone around them scolds and mocks them for what a stupid thing they did. But you won’t worry about that. “Next time we’ll just kick the beehive a little differently and be MORE supportive!!”

You’re not helping. You’re enabling.

Why encourage that shit? Cause being positive is good, no matter what the result is?

Just because you CAN be positive about something doesn’t mean you SHOULD, especially if it’s creating an ugly pattern that Sonic’s being put through over and over and you people just keep egging it on.

I will always be the angry old man yelling at clouds on this one but I’m standing my ground.

I said the same shit about No Man’s Sky and people said the same thing to me then. Game came out and people were not happy with it. The devs ruined their reputation.

I said the same thing about Forces, people said the same argument again. Game came out and while a lot of people tried to convince themselves they liked it, over time people began to realize just how flawed and lazy it really is. Almost every respected critic on YouTube has little good to say about it and plenty to mock. And these people aren’t IGN, these are critics and reviewers with real understanding about games.

I said the same thing about Fallout 76 and well you get the idea by now.

Why oh WHY do you keep doing this? You know what the definition of insanity is?

Stop doing the same fucking thing over and over again and expect a different result. Sega doesn’t care if this is good or not. Paramount doesn’t give a shit! I’m starting to think the directors may have their fair share of what Shaun Murray gave us a taste of.

I know you must care. You HAVE to care. I GET not shitting on something for no reason. I understand why keeping a hopeful outlook can be good, but did you know you can do BOTH? I’m hopeful they will CHANGE it. And if they don’t I’m not going to roll over and let Sega have their way with Sonic AGAIN. Of course we’re going to make a stink about it, because we care. You don’t want to shit on it because you care.

We all want the same thing, for Sonic to be GOOD again, but turning a blind eye to its faults and fuck ups for the sake of getting more of that precious high you crave is hurting it more than anything.

I know this is jumbled as fuck but it really pisses me off when people dismiss the justified uproar as just hating or shaming.

Like I always say, the Sonic fandom is its own worst enemy.

[apollos-boyfriend]

my main beef with matpat was the kris/frisk/chara misgendering and the indie dev thing what the fuck did he do?????

like outside of those things you mean? here's the ones i'd listed/instantly came to mind. a lot of things people rag on him about are like OLD old (early 2010s, like the whole "basing pyro's sex off of weird pseudoscience), which is why i won't be listing Every issue i've had because i want to assume he's grown and changed since then, at least with those things. anyways

has a weird tendency of equating video games to real-life murders. the first time i can remember him doing it was with the first ever fnaf theory, where he said it was about the actual murder of chuck-e-cheese employees and that you played as the murderer rotting in hell. which is. weird enough. but that was 2014, nearly 10 years ago, shit happens. however. that was the only time he's done this. it happened again in 2017-2019 with petscop, equating the game to the murder of a 10 year old girl. and, to his full defense, the creator of petscop ALLEGEDLY said that he did start basing his game off of that case, but that he severely regrets it and regards it as an extremely stupid decision. that doesn't make matpat's actions any less weird, because if you realize a game is Actually tied to the killing of a real-life child, just. don't fucking comment on it. it's weird and even the creator regrets his decision to do so.

on a theory about what i think was a alleged fnaf arg, he asked for his followers to help him "discover more clues" by asking them to physically call/visit locations in the real world he believed were connected to this so-called arg. (from my knowledge, this arg doesn't exist btw.) at NO point during the writing, producing, recording, editing, etc of the video did he manage to connect the dots that, hey, doxxing real-life locations for my fans to swarm to is a Bad Fucking Idea, meanwhile every other major fnaf community rushed to shut it down the SECOND his video came out, with large reddit, twitter, etc accounts imploring for fans not to listen to him, and that similar incidents have happened in the past and led to nothing (to the point where scott cawthon himself has had to step in and tell people to knock it off). i can't remember exactly how long it took for him to take it down/call off the masses, but the fact that it even got published in the first place is honestly just inexcusable, both for him and for his team (this was june of last year)

he blamed etika's suicide on cancel culture and has never apologized. the tweet is still up, for some insane fucking reason, although multiple people both close to matpat and close to etika corrected him on completely erasing the issue of mental health (this was 2019)

and lastly, while i've heard rumors of him stealing theories for years now, the only first-hand i've seen was his hermitcraft theory. the original creator of the theory can be found here [link], alongside all his theories, evidence of theft, etc. she has never been properly credited for this, and those who tried to comment on the video to properly do so had their comments instantly deleted. (this was late 2021)

[orcboxer]

having painstakingly looked through every palworld creature design, I can confidently say I ain't interested. I wanted my negative first impression to be wrong but lord amighty it does not look better up close.

I was an absolute pokemon kid growin up and I love seeing people's fakemon and fangames and the idea of a poke-like game appeals to me, so I have a lot of thoughts. if you feel defensive of palworld then uhhhh don't read this because tldr I think it looks awful

I thought it looked bad when it was announced so I wasn't paying close attention, but lookin through the pals quickly killed what little interest might have been lurking in me. like I don't wanna be unfair to anybody tryna make pokemon-like games, but these things weren't made with love I can tell you that for sure. there's maybe like 5 that look pretty good and original but the rest.... where do I begin

So first thing, the ripoff pokemon designs. I thought people were exaggerating but oh my god, they weren't. I would be disappointed to see one knockoff pokemon model, but there are dozens of them holy shit. Like at least half the dex is badly-tweaked pokemon models. This alone is enough to completely turn me off to the game because creature design is the heart and soul of this genre so if you ain't even gonna bother making your own damn creatures, what's the fuckin point? Even on some of the more "original" designs, I can point to at least one element that was straight up copy/pasted from an existing pokemon.

Second thing, recycled models within the game. Why do so many bird pals use the same (ripped off) body model? Why do so many pals suffer from same-face syndrome? The first pal I saw was Chillet, I thought it was cute. When I looked through the pals, I kept thinking "oh that face looks like Chillet. oh hey that face looks like Chillet. that one too." The overall effect of this is that a majority of the designs are forgettable, they blur together and feel indistinct from one another. the dex feels increasingly hollow with each reused asset. if you got 10 bird designs and 6 of them look the same, you really only got 5 bird designs.

Third thing (sort of. it's related to the other two), I noticed that there are no object-mon designs in palworld, which I would guess is intentional. I get the feeling that the devs were like, "object-mon are stupid, everything has to look like a creature," which is a common discourse topic in poke-like fan communities, and I think that maybe this played a part in the reusing of assets, because making animalistic creatures that look both natural and distinct from each other is hard! Trying to fill a whole dex with no inorganic-ish creatures is a daunting task, and at a certain point you either need a lot of time, or a lot of artists, otherwise you get same-face syndrome and heavy asset recycling. (I personally enjoy object-mons, as they're reminiscent of yokai, it's like hey here's a mundane object that has been inhabited by a little spirit! I think it's cute.)

Fourth thing, the silhouettes are too busy. Chillet works because it's simple and distinct. Most pals, though, have too many features going on at once, and you couldn't really play "who's that pokemon" with them. Again, this is a consequence of trying to mix-and-match the same pool of assets instead of designing from scratch. In order to make them look more distinct from each other you have to just add a bunch of unnecessary frills and appendages that makes for a cluttered visual impression.

Fifth thing, varying degrees of detail? Some of those pals have smooth, almost textureless skin/fur, but then others like jormuntide have super detailed texture? (also I know I've seen jormuntide's face before, it's from a different game on the tip of my tongue but I can't place it right now, but that's beside the point) You generally want to keep your creatures relatively consistent in terms of like, level of texture detail. It's like some of them are just higher resolution. Which if I'm being honest makes me think they stole assets from more than just Pokemon.

Finally, edginess. Maybe this is just me being too cynical but it feels like this game hates Pokemon. It feels like middle schoolers making jokes about hurhur what if somebody killed Barney the Dinosaur with a gun. The whole making them work in factories and butchering them? Who is the target audience here? There's a pal called Hangyu which vaguely resembles a noose and its dex entry says it was used to execute people by hanging them and also ripping their skin off....Come on man.

in terms of pal design, I give palworld 2/10 because Chillet is cute

[kitsun3imp0ster]

Another post cause I was just made aware of this and I NEED to talk about it

what do you fucking mean she's supposed to be 'chubby'. She literally looks like every highschool mean girl ever, there is No Chub to be seen. She's just wearing a damn sweater. She's literally my body type, and ur telling me that she's supposed to be PLUS SIZED??

this seems to be a consistent thing in regretevator, making characters skinnier than they're supposed to be and dogging on people who draw fat people in general

Just look at the difference between split's model and her official art. The model just looks like she's wearing a big sweater, she does NOT look plus sized, and even if then, she's supposed to be a good bit bigger either way.

This is how regretevator devs make plus sized people and it's driving me crazy. It shouldn't be that hard.

Literally. I'm a beginner when it comes to drawing plus sized bodies, but at least I TRY and do my research.

An example of some art I did a couple days ago of my chubby OC. Notice how she Actually looks plus sized and not like she's just wearing a big sweater, even behind two layers of clothes.

ALSO ANOTHER THING is the whole situation with that one person who got kicked for drawing 'fat fetish art' and asking to draw Gnarpy fat (they themself are plus sized and just mentioned how they like to see them self represented by their fav character.)

THEN gregoriah's VA and the person's ex proceeded to slander them everywhere.

This is the kind of art they make.

Not at all fetishizing it, just drawing a fat character.

And tbh, the fact that their ex was one of the main people slandering them makes me feel a certain way, plus Gregoriah's VA being well known for starting conflicts for basically no reason is another thing added on top.

To be honest, it really just feels like the regretevator devs don't respect plus sized characters and the fact that they exist.

Before I go, I will add this since I've gotten some anon asks saying some stupid shit:

I'm NOT trying to cancel anybody or start drama. I'm simply screaming into the void and putting stuff out there, which is already public info. I'm not a troll and I'm not trying to ragebait.

If you don't like it, just block me instead of sending me weird asks. And have fun not sending anon asks anymore, cause I turned it off. Now I can actually block you if you decide to try and say that stuff again, because guess what?

I'm not gonna interact with people I don't want to. I'm simply not going to give you the time of day, and I'm simply going to block you, like you should do with me.

Anyway rant over. Like I said above, I'm just saying shit and putting my opinion out there. Don't agree? Just block me, it's better than getting in an online argument.