#except going on the adventure is mandatory

[dravidious]

You're cool

The new ranked season on MTG Arena just started and I did a quick draft this morning, and I got matched against the bottom-of-the-barrel bronze players I've seen in months. They attacked me with a 4/4 when I had a 5/5 vehicle primed and ready to be crewed, and I figured "oh dang, I guess they have a combat trick. oh well, I'll force them to use it" so I blocked. And they just let their 4/4 die. So THEN I was like "oh I guess they just attacked to trigger its ability? not really worth it tho." And THEN they played a Dusk Rose Reliquary on my vehicle (exiles a creature or artifact). After combat. That they had in their hand from the start. Did they just... forget that vehicles can block? Truly, we cannot comprehend the advanced tactics of the bronze rank players.

[cavegirlpoems]

So we all hate DnD, but I am kinda curious what are the actually bad ttrpgs?

I know that 3,5e and pf got bloated even more than 5e did, FATAL is a meme, but what else?

I think Chronicles of Darkness tell you the system's gonna be a sleek, streamlined narrative system and then immediately bukakke's pointless fiddly complexity all over everything, to an extent that I never see most STs actually use half the subsystems (does anybody actually like the Doors mechanic?) but also you can utterly break the game if you combine the right merits and powers in a way that I really hope isn't intentional. WoD games all have slightly clunky, lame mechanics but at least in OWoD the mechanics take an extremely simulationist approach of simply modeling the fiction, balance be damned; CoD throws out the simulationism in favour of abstraction and narrativism, but perversely only makes the mechanics more complex, and deploys more weird dice tricks so eyeballing probabilities gets much harder. Everything is fiddly, everything has specific exceptions, and everything good is gated behind weird prerequisites and builds as if the devs thought they were making pathfinder. If you're some sort of weirdo who actually prefers the CoD settings, run them using OWoD mechanics for the love of god.

Shadowrun 6e's character generation is so complex that people have created third party apps that are basically mandatory in order to wrangle it into shape. It's notoriously complex in play with basically every action requiring multiple steps of calculation, to the extent that 'you need to do calculus if you set off a grenade next to a wall' is a meme; when I played we simply never used grenades because we were all to scared of trying to make sense of the mechanics. However, in play a slightly minmaxed mage can make every other party member obsolete by simply summoning an extremely powerful spirit to solve every task. I hated every minute of it.

Pokemon Tabletop Adventures uses d20-based mechanics for trainers, where you roll a d20 vs armour class to hit, and then roll some damage. It also recreates the mechanics of the pokemon video games largely verbatim. Its expected that trainers and pokemon can and will interact despite using totally different systems, and trainers can even learn pokemon moves. Some classes are good at things like 'capturing and training pokemons' while others are good at 'fighting pokemons themselves with martial arts' or 'winning contests' or 'being a film noir detective', but you only get XP or mechanical support for the first ones. Some classes get abilities like 'perfect mind-control, no save' while others get abilities like 'you're better at growing berries'. You are expected to calculate the stats of every pokemon individually, from scratch, for every encounter. Encounters typically feature 5-10 wild pokemons often of multiple species and levels, alongside 3-5 player characters and up to six pokemons per PC. Its a fractal spreadsheet nightmare. Unlike shadowrun, the app to make this insanity playable doesn't exist. Good god. Send help.

On the other end of the spectrum from stupid fiddly crunch, Ten Candles is responsible for the single most miserable ttrpg experience of my life. It claims to be a narrative game which gives players the ability to define the fiction as they go, but fails at this because the GM has secret knowledge that other players aren't privy to, meaning that it invites players to be creatively vulnerable when they have narrative authority, with a chance that they might get their contributions unilaterally overruled due to information they had no way of knowing. Since the game ends with everybody dying automatically, the game inherently leans on the GM to railroad in what's meant to be a colaberative narrative experience. And finally, on a purely practical level, the clever conciet of playing by candlelight and extinguishing candles as the game progresses means that by half-way in you can't read your fucking character sheets or dice, which is less spooky and more irritating. God I hate ten candles.

[catherinekal]

Giant Fucking List of Obscure Video Games I Recommend!

It's finally done!! Took me long enough, but here it is. Over 50 games I recommend. Just in time for the Steam Sale. Holy shit I spent way to much time on this.

Some of these are well known to anyone into the indie/AA gaming scene or just on the internet often, but I still felt the need to mention in case people haven't heard of them. All of these are obscure compared to any AAA game and I'm confident no one would have heard or played all of these.

They all have something I found interesting in someway. I was going to include a trailer for each game, but apparently Tumblr doesn't like that. So I have put a link to a Youtube playlist for all of them in the same order as this list. Some of these games are also on various consoles to, but I can confirm they're all on Steam beyond one.

I only picked games I've played personally. I know of many other good obscure games, but haven't tried or bought them yet so they don't get on the list. Also many games on this list remain unfished to me, but that's more due to time and other life shit then them getting bad.

There's a lot of fucking games In this list so hopefully you find something you've never tried before and give it a shot. All these games are on Steam with one exception, but that's a free game. I also organized them by genres that make perfect sense to me.

Trailers Link:

The Best Game Ever:

Outer Wilds

Fuck it let's just start with the only mandatory game on this list you need to play. You know how nearly every space game is a overpromised underdelivered fucking mess? Like all of them.

Outer Wilds is the actual good one. Don't want to say much more then that. This is very much an experience that you need to know as little as possible to get the best experience. Not even linking the trailer in the playlist.

Absolutely play this game if you had to pick only 1 thing on this list.

EarthBoundLikes:

OMORI

OMORI is a game about a group of kids who go on magical adventures and save the day. That's it. Nothing else sinister going on here.

It's a well known indie game and for good reason. It's fucking good. One of my favorite games of all time.

Art style is peak. A mix of pixel and pencil drawn art that works so damn well for me. The battle system is turn based and revolves around changing emotions and teamwork. It mixes a happy child like vibe with a darkness underneath it, which is right up my alley. A tale of trauma and grief. I'm still fucked up thinking about some story bits in there. 

All the characters are wonderful and the story is helped a lot by keeping it focused on a small group of friends.

Play it.

LISA: The Painful and LISA: The Joyful

LISA: The Painful/Joyful are a pair of games that fuck. They fuck hard.

They're morbid, tackle many taboos, and have a dark but also stupid sense of humor. The visuals are nothing groundbreaking, but this isn't a game that needs perfect pristine pixel art. The combat system is a lot of fun, but takes very clear inspiration from Earthbound. The story is just perfect though.

You play Brad whos on a journey to rescue his adoptive daughter who was kidnapped in a post apocalyptic world of only men. You meet the strangest allies and the game has a lot of odd characters in it. Want a lawyer fish in your party? This game has it.

It does not shy away from throwing punches and is not for anyone who can't handle a story that tackles themes of abuse, depression, suicide, and more. The game also has a sequel I don't want to say to much about, but it's absolutely worth it as well.

If you want a fun and fucked up 2D RPG adventure and somehow haven't played this then please do so.

Mandatory Metroidvania Soulslike Indie Game Darlings:

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights

Ender Lilies is the first of many metroidvania's on this list. The indie scene is filled with them and for good reason. The formula works so damn well.

What I love about Ender Lilies is the concept of the player character. You play a white priestess who is also a child and helpless on her own. However, you can summon the spirits of allies and slain enemies to fight for you and those spirits are all your attacks. Gameplay is the same as any other Metroidvania, but knowing I'm this helpless child in this world infected by blight really sells me on the setting.

There's nothing revolutionary to this entry in the pantheon of Metroidvanias, but the visuals and setting are why I recommend it. This game is a slow descent into hell. Also you do get a big heavy hammer attack and any game with a big hammer weapon attack is a good game. Big bonks.

Craving a Metroidvania with a macabre setting? This will do it.

GRIME

GRIME is something else. I don't hear anyone talk about this game and it's a damn shame. I don't even know how to even describe GRIMEs setting. You play as essentially a sentient black hole on a rock body. You go through, with lore slowly revealed as is the Metroidvania stable, and absorb your enemies.

This games aesthetic is best described as fleshy stone. It's very unique visually and what made me want to try it out. As for gameplay you'll need to learn parrying as this games combat system heavily relies on it.

This game surprised me and has a entire level I never expected with one very unique boss to top that off. Also be warned. This game is very much a platformer as well. Similar to how the Ori games are, not just pure combat challenges. If you like your metroidvanias with little to no platforming then you won't enjoy parts of this game, but nothing as difficult as things in Hollow Knight.

If you enjoy metroidvanias then this is a must play. More people need to talk about it.

Salt and Sanctuary

This is where it all started. Certainly not the first Metroidvania by any means, but the first 2D Soulslike Metroidvania or at the least first advertised as such. The devs intended to make Dark Souls in 2D and they did it. Before Hollow Knight, the games listed above, or so many others that took inspirations from Souls in the 2D world, was this game. I know this game was popular with the souls community as it came out, but I don't really hear about it anymore. Hollow Knight just dominated all discussion.

The controls and combat are very much Dark Souls but in 2D. The lore is cryptic and hidden away. There's a fuckton of weapons and spells and multiple playthroughs worth of stuff. The game is hard though Hollow Knight would easily one up it in terms of difficulty.

This game also has covenants that are actually good and the mechanics around them are vastly improved over any souls game that has covenants. I won't go into detail, but I wish the souls games copied this games mechanics for that.

The setting is high fantasy with the lovely dark bloody horror underneath it all. The art style can turn people away, it's not as pretty as other 2D souslikes, but I enjoy it personally. It fits.

The game has a lot to explore and you can get lost in its world pretty easily. I remember walking into a boss room from the exit somehow and got behind the boss and it was all intended if you navigated around him.

If you can appreciate or just get past the visuals and want to see where the 2D soulslike genre began then you should play it.

Metroidvania's Before the Dark Age of Soulslikes

Dust: An Elysian Tail

Long ago there was a time where Metroidvanais didn't have soulslike mechanics defaulted in and set in these bleak post apocalyptic worlds. I have 3 of them to recommend. Starting With Dust: An Elysian Tail

This is a fun little game. A game that I'm not sure many people know about or would think to play today. Metroidvanias pre Hollow Knight tend to get forgotten when I see people about them now. It has a mix of platforming and hectic combat. I remember the game having a cool spin sword attack with a even cooler aerial attack. I liked it a lot when I played it many many years ago.

The art style is colorful and everyone is an anthropomorphic animal. More games need anthropomorphic animals beyond catgirl or rabbitgirl, seriously I grew up on shit like sly Cooper and Ratchet and Clank.

You play as Dust and are accompanied by Fidget. you got a magic sword and you kill a bunch of shit while saving the day. Just a fun little Metroidvania that doesn't overstay and go on forever.

It may be dated in some ways, but if you're a fan of these types of games and want to play a older one then here you go.

Guacamelee!

The combat in this game feel great. Another little forgotten gem of a Metroidvania. It has such a unique style to it and has a fun cartoony vibe. It's pretty fucking great.

You play as a farmer who dons a luchador mask to save his friend he loves and the world being taken over. The combat is a mix of punches, kicks, and throws which is unique from the usual swords and magic these types of games tend to default to. As the game goes along enemies will have shields that need certain moves to break and you'll be switching from the land of the dead and living in combat and platforming.

Both this and Dust before it don't reinvent the genre or anything, but have their own unique charms that I recommend them both if you're a fan of Metroidvanias.

Cave Story+

This is a old classic. The original Cave Story came out in 2004, and was released with a enhanced version in 2011. This is a must play Metroidvania and an old gem. It's the oldest game on this list technically.

This game has little to no melee combat, but instead goes all in on using guns. More Metroid then Vania in that sense. What's unique to the combat is enemies will drop experience that will level up your guns automatically. Each gun can be upgraded to 3 levels, but when you take damage you lose experiences and levels. This adds a extra layer or rewards and punishment to getting hit that I like. Your weapons are perfectly usable at level 1 so it's not like you're fucked, but it gives a greater incentive to avoid damage.

It has fun characters and and fun gameplay. It's a genuine indie gem that I think everyone should play.

Pixel Action Adventure Games With A Dash of RPG Elements to Taste:

ANNO: Mutationem

This game is a pixel art cyberpunk adventure. I adore the art style. It's a 2.5D action platformer set in a futuristic setting. You're on a quest to save your brother with the help of your hacker friend/girlfriend. A quest which leads to a far more complicated story.

The story in this game goes off the rails in ways I love, but I know it threw people off. People have compared the latter half to Evangelion and It can be confusing to follow at times. I still highly recommend it, even if you get lost near the end. A simpler story in terms of Lore would have worked better, but I say fuck it. Go all in.

To me the appeal of this game is the setting. A fascinating cyberpunk sci-fi setting shown through wonderful pixel art. Just walking around the various cities was a joy on its own. There's a lot of attention to detail and I think it's worth playing for that alone. Combat is your standard side-scrolling Metroidvaniaish kind of stuff with various weapons and upgrades and all that. I found it a little challenging at times, but this isn't a game meant for extreme difficulty from what I remember.

If you want to play as hot badass woman in a cyberpunk setting given life through detailed pixel art, then this is the game for you.

CrossCode

This is the most dense indie game on this whole list. CrossCode has so much to do. The game is expansive and slowly drip feeds you with more. You have 5 skill trees, 4 of which are tied to an element, multiple upgrade paths in them. You have a mix of melee combat with twin stick shooter mechanics thrown in. The game has multiple dungeons with puzzles that are both difficult to figure out and then execute the solution for. These aren't like a 2D Zelda dungeon where things never get to complicated, I really took a lot of time with every dungeon.

The setting takes place on another moon physically, but its actually all virtual and a MMO people are playing from all over the galaxy. Though the game itself isn't a MMO really. You play as a set character in a set linear story that's unrelated to that actual in lore story of the MMO. 

The characters are fun and the setting is a joy to explore. There's a lot of side content and I don't remember any of it being a drag. This games also challenging and I know It took me a bit to progress at various points. The pixel art is very detailed, especially with the outdoor environments.

This game will keep you engaged for a while and there's challenging DLC and even fun incentives to play new game plus. This is just all around a solid game experience.

Hyper Light Drifter

I played this game a long time ago so details are hazy, but I know I really enjoyed it. It's top down and filled with action. You got a sword. You got a gun. You go kill things and I do remember many challenging combat encounters.

I have forgotten all story elements, but even now I still remember some imagery that reminded me of Evangelion, which is always a plus. Though story was never the main draw to games for me so the setting and combat were all I needed to keep engaged.

Not the most descriptive review of the game, but I know this is one of the furthest game on this list from when I played it and I only went through it once. It's a cool game though and if the trailer enticed you then you owe it to yourself to get it. 

Phoenotopia: Awakening

I adore this little hidden gem of a game. If CrossCode is the most dense indie game on this list then this is a very close second. Possibly even more dense, I truly can't decide for sure. It's cute, funny, charming, and full of legitimate challenges.

You play as Gail who lives in a small town village. Some shit happens that I won't give away, but you end needing to travel the land and go on a fun adventure. The story is full of comedic and lively characters. It never takes itself to seriously or gets really dark which Is a nice change of pace.

This game really is an adventure. You will travel a lot and get very familiar with any hub area. There's secrets and puzzles packed all over and gives you good reason to revisit. A nice drip feed of progress is felt as you unlock more stuff.

In terms of combat it's bar far the most simplistic on this list and could even frustrate others, but like everything else in this game it has charm and I adore it. The simple mechanics don't mean no challenge though. I was stuck often, but felt so satisfying when I won.

Some of the late game areas can be bullshit and will frustrate you, but stick with it. This is a genuine top tier hidden indie gem that got no attention. Honestly just under Outer Wilds this would be the other must buy. Absolutely play this.

Vampire Survivorlikes:

20 Minutes Till Dawn

Everyone knows about Vampire Survivor and everyone knows many games came out that tried to capture that style of gameplay. This one is the only one of those I've played and it's wonderful.

You unlock multiple characters and multiple guns with various upgrade trees. Kill the horde, survive, upgrade, survive even longer. Each level only takes 20 minutes, hence the title. I appreciate that as the game would never end with how strong you end up being by the end after you learn the mechanics.

This isn't anything groundbreaking, but if you need to kill half a hour then it's a fun thing to play.

Hawklikes:

Umurangi Generation

Let's fucking go!! This game rules!

As someone who is going to pursue photography more seriously as a hobby this game is perfect. Unlike something like Pokemon Snap or games with photo modes, this game really captures the feeling of holding a physical camera and the moment to moment decisions you make with each shot.

You unlock different lenses and control each shot as you would a real camera. After each photo you can edit it on the spot purely for your own creative reasons. The visuals are low poly and very colorful.

The game has a tony hawk style of progression. A hawklike if you will. You get dropped in a level and are given a list of photos to try and take. You can of course take photos of anything. You have a limited amount of film and can find more throughout the level.

Also there's a story. There's a dark undercurrent to the whole thing and the game is very overtly political in all the right ways. Don't like politics in your games? Fuck you! This game dives right in while still maintaining the core gameplay loop. Need more games like this please.

Please buy this game and it's DLC.

Action Games:

Furi

Top tier action game. It's a boss rush game, that's it. 10 bosses with some vague story that briefly connects them. It's not bloated with bullshit and knows exactly what to focus on.

The combat is a mix of intense melee combat with parries and dodges and the like, with twin stick shooting. No upgrades. No farming. No choosing between this weapon or that. No additional moves or mechanics. You fight a tutorial boss which teaches you everything and then you go. You have the full toolkit from the start and that lets you master it slowly over the game.

It's so fucking satisfying finally winning and knowing you improved and earned that win. I like the story as well. It's not that complex, but the ending bits worked for me.

If you want a genuine good action game that has no bullshit attached then get this.

Amid Evil

There's not much to say about this one other then it's really fucking fun. It's a first person action game where you use magic and weapons to go through combat filled levels. You have health and mana that all weapons use outside of your axe. The levels are filled with secrets, you move fast, and it's just a fun action game.

Sometimes a game isn't more then that and it beats games that are stuffed with unnecessary mechanical bloat. If you want a fun first person action game that's not just a full shooter then this is the game for you.

Adventure Games:

The Cat Lady and Lorelai

I love these games. No one ever talks about them or knows about them and they will certainly linger in your mind. The devs have made 2 other games that I have yet to get to so for now I am recommending only these.

Play The Cat Lady first. It's the first one and tells the story of a very depressed middle aged woman who gets a second chance at life, at a cost.

Lorelai is about a young woman in a very abusive household trying to survive while seeing what lengths she will go to save those she loves.

Both these games revolve around deals with a devil and feature a lot of horrific violence. Fun!

The stories in both evoke a creepy disturbing feeling and you're always on edge. I won't say these are straight horror games, but they sure use horror imagery. The art style really helps sells it. The animations or character models may not be the most beautiful thing around, but it has that indie charm I love. The voice acting isn't perfect either, but these aren't negatives for me. These are passion projects and imperfections are what make any piece of art shine brighter. Real people put their soul into these games and it shows.

The gameplay is standard adventure game fair, but all keyboard controlled. So no endless mouse clicking everything on the screen. which works wonderfully. Though being pure adventure games you're here more for the story then the moment to moment gameplay.

Please play these.

Detention

Detention is probably well known due to the controversy with Red Candle Games other game, Devotion being wiped online for shitty reasons. It's available now on their own websites store, though I still have never played it. I should one day as Detention was pretty fucking good.

The gameplay is the usual 2D adventure game fair. A lot of clicking and puzzle solving with some horror thrown in. The story and setting are where it's at though.

The game is unique in that it's made from Taiwanese devs and the games setting is rooted in their cultures history. I don't want to give away any real details beyond that, but it certainly left an impact and seeing a game not set in Europe, America, Japan, or any fantasy equivalent to those was refreshing. The games also not super long and could easily be beaten in a day.

Go buy it. Play it on a long free night. Support these devs.

Rime

I love the aesthetic of this game. Cel shading indie colorful goodness. I got this for the visuals alone and was very happy the game that came with it was good to. Visuals are a major factor in me getting interested in a game and the reveal trailer was enough for me to play it.

It's very light and cryptic on story for most of it as to be expected from this kind of game. You're a kid, you wake up on a beach and go forth exploring. You solve puzzles and hide from danger and go through each of the unique levels trying to piece together whats going on.

Like the game before, this isn't a super long one. Shouldn't take more then a day or a few to get through it all. Though I do recommend you take your time and explore like I did. Let yourself be immersed in the setting.

This is another example of just a pure perfect indie game. Doesn't overstay it's welcome, tells a simple but cryptic story, and has lovely visuals.

Atominous

This is the one of the few games on this whole list that I would say is truly obscure. In fact I have no doubt this is the most obscure. If you're big into indie games then nothing on this list will honestly surprise you, but I'm confident this is the exception.

In this free game you place as a a little guy who's job is like pest control. Instead of bugs your job is to collect and protect the world from rare atoms called Atominous. Basically little atoms that can alter reality. You go into a big house and your job is to find them through the power of puzzle solving and clicking every little thing you see.

This game is all about clicking everything. Nearly every object has unique text that pops up, if not multiple. You find keys to open more of the house and slowly suck up the atominous atoms and clean up the place.

That's it. It's a fun quirky little free game that shouldn't take more then a couple hours. No excuse not to try it, it's free. It's also the only game not on steam, but instead here

Adventure Games Where You Hit Things:

TUNIC

TUNIC is a lovely indie game. You play as a little cute fox and go on a adventure to save your poor trapped mom. such a cute game :3

I adore the visuals, I love low poly stuff and the game is full of charm. Looking at this game makes me happy. The game is like a mix of a top down Zelda and Fez and it being reminiscent of FEZ was what really took me by surprise. I won't go further in how it's like FEZ, but it really elevated the game for me.

It's a fun top down game with simple fun combat. You kill enemies, find key items, unlock more of the world, and get fed cryptic lore. The perfect formula for a fun little indie game. The game is decently challenging to with it's boss fights, and overall a nice fun little experience with some neat surprises.

TUNIC is wonderful, go play it.

Kena: Bridge of Sprits

This is the most PS2 game I've played since the PS2. I mean that as a compliment. This game felt like going back in time to a simpler time.

Visually the game is not at all like the PS2. The visuals are beautiful and has been compared to Pixar. It's bright, colorful, and well polished. To me this is peak aesthetics. This game is worth playing just to see all the work that went into the game's visuals alone.

It reminded me of a PS2 game because it's a self contained fun third person action adventure. Just a fun game with no bullshit holding it down or any other purpose then being a fun adventure. The world is a joy to explore with a nice steady progression. I especially love how the Hub is mostly corrupted and you slowly restore it over the course of the game. Shit like that always feels so good.

There's a lot of unexpected challenge to. Some of the later fights and especially bosses took me a bit to beat. Just like a PS2 game you'll get random difficulty spikes that are so fucking satisfying to beat.

I highly recommend this game.

Adventure Games Where You're in the Desert:

Sable

Sable is a coming of age story presented in a very fun interactive package. This is a game about heading out into the world and exploring on your own whim to figure out what your character becomes as an adult.

You play as Sable, a young adult girl who has to leave her tribe and head into the wider world to discover herself. The goal is to find mask which representative a life path and pick one by the end. The actual game is about heading into a desert open world, solving puzzles, helping NPC's, and discovering what bits of hidden lore hide throughout. You do this all on a hoverbike you can customize as you unlock more parts.

As always the art style is important to me and this game has something really unique. The characters animation is low framerate and it can be off putting to some, but of course I loved it as I love any odd creative choice. I love the lighting and colors to. It's hard to describe just why I was so mesmerised by the art style, but I can safely say it's one of my all time favorites.

The only negative goes to technical issues. The game ran like shit on my PC and my PC isn't bad. Even people with far better PC's then me ran into frame rate issues and others didn't have any. Sometimes games aren't optimized well, but this game was so magical to me that I loved it, despite the tech issues.

It's a very chill game. You want to explore a cool world at a slow pace and get lost in it? Sable's the game for you.

It Comes In Waves

This is a short game where you have to start over if you die. A penalty I feared, but truthfully this isn't that difficult of an experience. You start on one end of a desert and have to carry something to the other end as it grows inside a tank on your back.

As you wait for whatever your transporting to grow you will explore minimalist environments with some unique imagery that speaks of a wider history you just have to wonder about. The whole time you have to watch out for raiders and watch your water level. It always depletes and you will need to explore and refill it as you journey on. I also love how you have a map, but the map is like an actual map. It doesn't show you on it, but just the overall area.

This game will take you a hour at best and is unlike anything else on this list. There's something about just slowly walking across the desert, not knowing what's ahead, and hoping you can make it to the next water tank. Just a little experimental game about a harsh journey.

Platformers With 2 Entire Dimensions:

MO: Astray

Ever wanted to play as a little blob? No? Well you should because this game was a hidden gem. I was thrown off by this game at first and then pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

This game feels like it should be a metroidvania. It's 2D and you're on a broken down ship or facility or something. Nope. This game is fully linear and at first I didn't think I'd like that and was disappointed, but it works so damn well.

You play a slime essentially and you have the magical power to read the last thoughts and minds of corpses by settling on their rotten fleshy head. With this power and other little story tidbits you learn what's going on, your purpose, and so on.

There's no combat in this game really. You move by shooting yourself in any direction you can see and you can stick to surfaces. There's danger. There's enemies. There's boss fights. All without the usual fair of attack/dodge roll, that's standard for 2D metroidvanias now. This game is something different and that alone makes it worth it.

Also a note on the boss fights. All of them felt very unique from each other I prefer having a few well crafted unique bosses then having a bunch of the same type of fight over and over again.

Another genuine hidden gem you should try.

Platformers With 3 Entire Dimensions:

Frogun

Frogun is adorable. It's like a N64 game and I love it.

You have a frog grappling hook and go through little short levels that ramp up in difficulty. There's optional challenges in each one. The art style is absolutely going for that early 3D low poly vibe that is starting to become more popular.

This is a perfect example of just a fun video game for the sake of being a fun video game. No serious story or message or intense complicated gameplay mechanics. Just a cute 3D platformer reminiscent of a older time.

Also I played this back when I used to stream and a Frogun speedrunner showed up in chat and helped me pull off a couple speedrunning tricks so that was fun.

If you want something simple and fun then here it is.

Cyber Hook

The ultimate speedrunning game. You have a gun, a grappling hook, and the ability to slow down time. This is a pure platformer. You enter levels with the goal of getting through as fast as you can.

I never got great at it, but the few times I really got going fast and flew through a level felt awesome. It's so satisfying finally doing things right after many failures and you will fail a lot.

There's really not much more to it. Neat visuals with satisfying and simple mechanics. If that sounds fun to you then check it out.

Marble It Up! Ultra

Platformers really are just the perfect mechanic to make fun mindless games with. Marble It Up! Ultra is another simple 3D platformer that's just purely focused on being fun.

As always it's not that complicated either. You're a marble and you try to reach the end of each stage with a time limit. There's items to stop time, make you jump higher, and go faster. Just all about building up speed and there's tons of ways to skip past parts of levels. Like the two games before, this one is perfect for speedrunning.

It's fun, go buy it.

RPG's:

Roadwarden

I was going to make a big post about why I preferred this to BG3, but scrapped it. BG3 is fun, but the story just bores me from the get go. Where BG3 failed for me Roadwarden succeeded. All story and all fantastic.

This is a text based RPG. Very simplistic visuals which show just enough to let your imagination handle most of the work.

You play a roadwarden who has the lovely job to travel the dangerous roads and help the townsfolk all while working on your greater goals. You pick between 3 starting classes and those do change how you approach things quite a bit. You have a time limit and that will force you to prioritize things over others. You can't do everything in a single playthrough. Your decisions matter and you aren't going to figure everything out.

You have to manage your health, money, hunger, and cleanliness. You will never have enough money for everything and that helps create more interesting choices. You have to manage what you do in a day. You meet a lot of people and forge allies or enemies and it's all told with stellar writing.

If you want a well written fantasy interactive story then you must play this game.

RPG's With Intense High-Octane Turn Based Combat:

Epic Battle Fantasy 5

A long time ago in times forgotten there existed these ancient relics called Flash games. Maybe one day I'll talk about old flash games I was into, but for now I'm only talking about the latest instalment in one of them. Epic Battle Fantasy is a series of games made by Matt Roszak. They started as little flash games, but have since turned into bigger games that are on Steam. 5 is the latest one and also the best so I'm recommending this one.

I've gone through this game multiple times. This game fucking rules. The game is easy to control, satisfying, and has my favorite turn based combat system period. No seriously, this is my favorite turn based combat system. I could go on what I like about it so much, but I'll spare you all most of the details. I'll say it gets rid of mana entirely and put all your abilities on cooldowns which changes based on what you're using. This just fixes balancing and helps you from spamming heals and all that. I love this system. It's easy to control, intuitive to understand, full of options, and can have a chaotic randomness I enjoy.

In this game you explore the overworld, solve puzzles, and fight enemies. The story is not at all serious or anything like that. It may not be a Flash game anymore, but it still has the older internet spirit of not taking things to seriously and being a little juvenile. There's also a lot of post game challenges that still are impossible for me to really do well or at all.

You can change the difficulty anytime and another thing I love is the entire game can be controlled with just a mouse. You can use a keyboard to, but a mouse covers everything which I think is neat.

This is such a wonderful combat system and the game I've beaten most on this list. If you want legitimately challenging turn based RPG combat and don't care about story or characters to get that then this game is a must play.

Shadows Over Loathing

Want a lovecraftian mystery RPG injected with a dose of comedy where everybody is a stick figure? Yes? How very specific, but luckily there's a game just for you.

Shadows Over Loathing is a turn based RPG where you search for your missing uncle in a area full of strange locations and characters. I never did play their other game West of Loathing, and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was a lot of fun, creative, difficult at times, and had a world I really wanted to explore.

It has a lighthearted comedic tone throughout and the silly art and stick figure characters help with that. The actual turn based combat is fun to. Nothing to complicated but could be challenging to which is needed to help this style of combat really shine.

There's really not much more to it. If this sounds like something you'd enjoy then please check it out.

RPG's Fused With A Light Novel:

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA

AA games still exist! I finally get to talk about Ys. I've played 3 Ys games and I'm going to talk about my favorite one because of the fun gameplay. This is a very unknown franchise that has existed since the 80's and even now the 10th instalment is set to release later this year.

As for why I'm recommending Ys 8, it's because it has some of the most fun gameplay. The combat is fast paced, encourages good timing, and full of that anime over the top stylish action. You control up to 3 characters and can easily switch between them. Each character plays differently and has their own special moves and everything just feels so satisfying.

You play as generic light novel anime man, Adol. Tagging along is generic tsundere light novel anime girl and other light novel anime characters. Like edgy boy with a gun, loli raised in the wild, and blue haired girl. You crash land on a island and have to survive and find survivors. Much like LOST the story goes off the rails and of course in classic JRPG fashion you need to stop the end of the world somehow. Unlike LOST characters are generic and the usual anime fair.

Despite the lackluster story this game still fucking rules because it's so goddamn fun to play. It also solved crafting forever by making it so you can convert common items into rarer ones making anything you find useful potentially. Seriously it's such a nice feature and all crafting systems without it are lesser.

If you want some fun action combat and don't mind anime bullshit then really, check out the entire franchise. Any of them will do, but this is the one I'd recommend the most.

RPG's Fused With A Light Novel and A WW2 Textbook:

Valkyria Chronicles 1 and 4

Picture this. WW2, but with anime and magical girls. Japan just never stops with these incredible ideas.

I adore these 2 games. I haven't played 2 or 3 as those are PSP games and I don't hear great things. However I can confirm 1 and 4 are fucking fantastic.

These games are tactical RPG's where you command troops one by one in missions. Most are usually about capturing a enemy base, but there's a lot of variety beyond that in both of them. You lay out your troops at the start plus your commander who's in the tank. You get a set level of CP per turn and each CP is used to control a unit. The actual game is probably piss easy for experienced tactical game players, but I'm not that at all. I found it legitimately difficult, both games.

What sets it apart is the game turns into a sort of third person shooter when controlling the units. You can freely move up to your AP and get one action to do. If it was just top down the whole time I'd find that not that interesting, but actually moving around and taking cover unit by unit is very engaging. There's 5 classes in the first game and a 6th added in the fourth game. Each class can be upgraded as well along with weapons, equipment, and the tanks.

The stories in both are nothing special truthfully. It's anime WW2 with silly dumb anime characters. I don't mind that and had a lot of fun, but if you can't stand something like Persona then these games will infuriate you. To me stupid anime characters in games can be a lot of fun, like Raz in 4, the dumbest but somehow most entertaining character for me. Expect some silly anime cliches and tone changes and the usual fair for these kinds of games. Even if the story is a big nothing for you, I still think both games are worth it for the gameplay.

Another aspect that I really love is all your units have personality traits that can trigger as you control them. What caught me off guard was that they're both positive and negative ones. There's ones like a woman having man hater and fancies woman as traits, aka the lesbian. There's straight up a guy with misogynist as a trait. Some are lonely, frail, daredevils, have crushes or people they hate, even one with the masochist trait. All these good and bad traits translate into potential buffs or debuffs that can happen in the game.

Sadly these side characters don't get much story in the first game. Just a unique design with some personality traits and maybe a couple in battle lines of dialogue. However, the 4th one introduced squad stories. Essentially little side stories that revolve around the non important squad mates. They were always fun to do and the missions for them are more unique because they are designed around only using those 3 characters.

I recommend both of them, but if you had to play one I'm not sure. 1 has the better story, the overall lore itself establishes in 1, and the gameplay is still fun. 4 has the better gameplay, more unique missions, and the squad stories which were a highlight for me.

Just pick which one sounds more like your thing if you only want to spend the time with one of them. Both are fun.

RPG's About the Harsh Reality of Capitalism:

Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale

I adore this games concept. It takes the common NPC seen in these little RPG adventures, the shopkeeper, and puts you in their shoes. You're father has a big debt to pay off and you now have to sell items out of your house to help pay it off before the deadline.

You lay the items out and then have to haggle your way to a profit. Finding the line of when to haggle and how much is the key to success and I failed miserably. I never did beat this game, but I haven't beaten many games on this list and that won't stop me from telling you to play them. I think the concept alone is enough of a reason to check it out.

The game does have combat as well. You can hire an adventurer to go with you into a dungeon and fight enemies for treasure. I like how you hire someone from the Adventurers Guild, just another cool concept as a typical game would have you play as the character being hired instead all the time. I also like how dungeons are high risk high reward. If they die then you lose most of what you gather and essentially just wasted the day.

It's just a cool concept and a nice change of pace from how a game set in these typical fantasy settings would go. You aren't some savior of the world, but just a shopkeeper trying to pay off debt.

Spooky Games:

Yuppie Psycho

Do you want a game about a corporate building being haunted by dark forces and being a badass fighting your way through it all? That's Control. You just want Control.

Unlike Control which bored me to death after a while. Yuppie Psycho is about a haunted corporate building, but you play a new lowly worker who's been tasked with something far above his pay grade. Brian Pasternack is a new hire who's in way over his head. What should have been a normal corporate jobs turns into a witch hunt, literally.

You aren't a badass and will have to sneak your way to victory, uncovering the buildings hidden secrets along the way. For me that's part of why this works over Control as a effective story. You're kind of a fucking nobody who has to be extra careful and is reluctant to even do this. Far more relatable honestly.

The joy of this game comes from exploring this building and uncovering the secrets and horrors. Each floor is unique and this game gets creative with the corporate horror vibe. I love some of the designs of things and how it blends comedy and horror together. It also has branching paths and even limited save slots which seemed frustrating at first, but wasn't really a big deal. Not saving every chance you can really adds to the tension when sneaking around.

It's not a true horror intense experience, but as someone who is a baby with horror I found a lot of genuine tense moments. It's a real indie gem.

The Complex: Found Footage

Kane Pixels backrooms videos are honestly pretty fucking great. I'm not usually a fan of horror at all, but there's something about these videos that just work for me. Then pgWave decided to make a video game creating the experience of exploring these kinds of spaces.

This is a creepy game where you slowly move through liminal spaces and just sort of get lost in it. There's no jumpscares or anything intense happening, but as a baby with horror this game was tense to go through for me. Honestly I appreciate it's not a more traditional horror game with a monster or something. Just dropped in a space that's inherently unsettling and leaving it up to you to explore.

If you have a free night and want to get lost exploring spaces only games could deliver then play it. It's literally free.

Games Where You Gotta Go Fast:

Distance

This game fucks. I actually remember when playing the first version of this game back when it was a student project. Students at DigiPen made a game called Nitronic Rush and it was (maybe still is?) available to download for free from the schools website. That game fucks and they announced a proper full game called Distance and it was one of the rare instances I actually bought a early access game.

Distance is a car game about going fast as fuck. The levels don't put you against anyone and instead just getting to the end is the challenge in itself. You have a boost that can overheat, a jump, and even wings when needed. The levels will require you to weave in and out of oncoming danger. They have jumps where you'll need to turn the car 90 or 180 degrees to land on a new track. All while giving you a wonderful sense of speed and accomplishment when you pull things off right.

It's not a easy game either and levels will get challenging. There's a ton of levels and challenges and if you get sucked into the gameplay then there's a lot to keep you there. This game seeks to deliver the thrill of going fast in a dangerous track where everything is out to kill you, and making it to the end. There's really not much more to say. It has a specific vision and fully realizes it.

Games Where You Trust the Heart of the Cards:

Foretales:

This game is very unique and nothing quite like what I've played before. The entire game is card based. Each of the characters have their own decks that are all mixed together in your hand. You have 4 resources you can collect, gold, food, fame, and infamy. You can get item cards as well. The board has various location cards you need to move through to move the story along. What's unique about this is the cards can be used in battle or on locations.

It's hard to really go into details how this all works, but you don't have a separate hand or anything for when combat begins.

Some cards have uses in locations and battles and others don't, but there all mixed together which adds to you planning ahead and making the best choice. You can use a eavesdrop card near a guard post to get a juicy secret which can be used for blackmail later. You can forage for food and obviously a forest will give you more then a mine shaft. There's a lot of really cool little interactions and creativity put into this systems that's just to complicated to type out and explain.

One thing I can get into is the best feature of combat. The fact that you can get through it without fighting or with less fighting then needed. Those 4 resources can be used in locations for story or optional reasons, but they can also be used in combat pacify enemies. Bandits can be bribed with gold or food for example. Fame and infamy can be used as well in certain circumstances. They are a constantly growing resource that always have uses. I'm sure it's possible to do a full pacifist run, though I imagine it would be difficult.

The game also has multiple paths for the story to go and lots of optional stuff. Multiple characters to use down the line but only 3 party members so there's more choice as well. Also everyone's an anthropomorphic animal because why not.

I just like how it's a card based game that's not just a battle between opponents or a roguelike or how cards are typically used in video games. If nothing else this game should be played for it's game design alone. If you want a really unique interactive story experience entirely dictated by cards then this is about the only game I know of like it.

One Step From Eden

I'm very bad at this game. So bad I still have never beaten it once. It's really fun all the same though.

It's a deckbuilding roguelike set on a grid. As the formula goes you fight your way through, choosing your path, collecting cards, and seeing if you can win. In my case that's a no.

The game is set on a grid where you have to manage what spells you currently have, dodging enemies, and somehow making sense of the chaos. You can unlock other characters that have their own unique mechanics to help freshen things up. Also the game just throws you in the deep end and lets you learn through playing. No tutorial or anything, just have at it.

If you're itching for a roguelike that's very fucking challenging then enjoy. 

Inscryption

This is another game I expect many others to know about, but if not then honestly just play it.

It's a rougelike card game set in a wonderfully crafted creepy setting. You're alone in some mysterious persons shack forced to play a really well designed card game. Of course if it was just that I'd not be recommending it.

The mechanics are well thought out and slowly learning the mechanics feels nice. You will fail, a lot, as is the case for roguelikes, but keep at it. The game is filled with secrets and puzzles and mysteries that you'll just have to figure out for yourself.

Much like with Outer Wilds way back at the top, I don't want to say much more. If you have somehow not played this or don't know anything about it then you should.

Tainted Grail: Conquest

This is still the only proper deck-building roguelike in the same vein as Slay the Spire. While I haven't played much of that and honestly couldn't get into it, this game I did.

It was described to me as Slay the Spire meets Dark Souls by some poor soul who's brain is forever lost in soulslike hell. In reality it's just a cool deck building game where you fight creepy monsters and slowly build up the village to make each run easier. There's characters to find and NPC quest you can make little progressions on each run. It's just enough story and context to give this game a sense or purpose and progression outside collecting cards.

What added more replayability to me beyond the quest was having 9 classes to work with. In truth it's really 3 broad classes with 3 variations on those broader class types. You have the fighter, archer, and summoner as the broad classes. They use similar cards, but their strategies vary with each subclass. A summoner is more about making their summons powerful, bloodmages use their own life to summon minions that get stronger and die on their own, and necromancers sacrifice their minions to turn into a Lich. The fighter and archer subclasses are as varied and it's a good way to use similar cards across different playstyles.

I had a lot of fun with this one. It's a fun deck building game. 

Thinking Games:

Manifold Garden:

I love the space this game takes place in. This is the shit only games can truly deliver on. The world is basically always looping. Each level repeats in all directions when your in open space. If you fall anywhere, you'll be ok. You can just fall endlessly even, it's very mesmerising and freeing once you get used to the fact that you can just jump off anywhere, and even needed to solve the level sometimes.

The other fun mechanic the puzzles primarily revolve around is the ability to walk on any surface and change gravity as you do it. Essentially you turn the wall into the new floor and is the main mechanic for puzzles in enclosed spaces. This game uses blocks of various colors and the simple task of putting them in the right slot is made complicated by having to altar gravity and matching them up. There's other mechanics introduced of course, but you'll need to discover those yourself.

The game can be beaten in a day give or take your skill at puzzles. I appreciate that it doesn't overstay it's welcome and uses it's mechanics in interesting ways. Also this reminds me I still need to play Antichamber someday.

If you like exploring spaces only games can deliver on or puzzles then this is the game for you.

FEZ

FEZ! This is such a fun interesting little game. It's probably well known given who the creator is, but if you haven't checked this out before, then you should.

The trailer makes it appear to be more a platformer then a puzzle game and that's half right. Similar to another game on this list, FEZ goes much deeper then a mere platformer. It has some esoteric puzzles. As I understand (could be wrong) one puzzle still hasn't been solved legitimately, but had to be brute forced and even now the community has no concrete answers on how you were supposed to get the solution.

The good news is the harder puzzles aren't technically required to just finish the game. You could still enjoy this as a fun platformer. The way the world works is you see the game world on a 2D plane. Like any other 2D platformer. However, the world itself is in 3D and you can switch the perspective to change where platforms and other things are. It's really fun moving about this world and in a sense each level is it's own puzzle to figure out how to get through it with these mechanics.

I highly recommend this game.

Thinking Games for DJ's

FRACT OSC

This is another game I would be shocked if anyone knew about. No one talks about this game ever and I don't even remember how I found out about it wayyyy back in college. This is also the oldest game on here I've played. I haven't touched this is years, but know I enjoyed it a lot.

What i remember is it's filled with music based puzzles. I also remember being very fucking confused and having to look shit up, but the real joy is just the vibe. Everything makes sound and the whole game revolves around music. I slowly explored as much as I could and just took it all in. It's a fun space to be in and I'm a sucker for being dropped in a unusual place only games can delivery on.

If you don't know shit about music production like me you might have a hard time or maybe I was just a fucking idiot and needed help. Either way I still recommend this to everyone.

Vibing with the Beat Games:

Sayonara Wild Hearts

This is basically a interactive album. It's a rhythm game that's not to difficult, which is good as this is more about the flow and vibe. There's not much more to say about it. It will take an hour and every bit is lovely. It's a visual and auditory feast that has some clever ideas packed in. I think everyone should experience it.

Soundodger+

This game won't be on the Steam store for much longer sadly. Warner Bros being shitty and taking cool shit down. I haven't played any other of the Adult Swim games that are being taken down, but I encourage you to find the list and get anything interesting while you still can.

The game itself is a fun little bullet hell rhythm game. The song plays and you are a circle in the middle of larger circle. Obstacles are thrown out into the middle timed to the music and you simply have to dodged them. I don't remember it being to hard, but I know there are community levels and I just have to assume those are going to be tough.

It's a cool game to vibe to and it's going to be gone soon. Don't miss your chance to get it.

Artsy Games That I Don't Know Where Else To Put Them:

The Beginner's Guide

This a narrative experience about the relationship between the narrator and the game dev who's games are being played. That may not sound like the most interesting premise, but trust me it's very engaging. This game has a unsettling feeling underneath it all and it's really hard to go into more without just spoiling things.

The actual game is you going through a series of small little games made by a Dev named Coda as the narrator Davey speaks to you about various things relating to the game and Coda himself. It's explores a character who's frankly caught up in a unhealthy obsession with someone else and quite the journey.

It will only take a hour and half to get through and I think it's worth a playthrough if you like narratives only video games can deliver on.

The Static Speaks My Name   

This is the shortest game on this list. It's also the most depressing. If you struggle with dark thoughts and depression and really need something happy to distract you, then do not play this little free game.

It's a sad and unsettling little experience that has a lot of room for interpretation. I'm a fan of little strange pieces of art like this and if this sounds interesting to you then it's free. Check it out.

Minimalist City Builder Games:

ISLANDERS

This such a cute game. It's a simple city builder where the goal is to keep building things correctly and move on to another island. You start on a randomly generated island and are given a set of buildings and a number to reach. Buildings will get bonuses based on whats near them and as you unlock more buildings the number to reach gets higher.

That's really it. It's easy to understand and a nice little relaxing game about building a cool island town. Pretty cheap and pretty fun.

Multi Genre:

The Hex

This is multi genre because it quite literally has many different gameplay modes packed in it. A bunch of old video game characters stay at a Tavern where a murder may take place. It's a murder mystery! Also so much more.

In truth it's a narrative video game about exploring these characters past lives and revealing a larger narrative underneath it all. This was made by Daniel Mullens who's latest game I recommended earlier. Much like Inscryption, this game slowly draws you into it's setting and drop feeds you it's secrets slowly.

The Hex was pleasantly surprising as I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. It's worth playing.

That's it. That's the list. Over 50 more games to add to your Steam library which means over 50 more games you'll get to, eventually.

[denny-artsss]

Caine throws a "prom night" as the adventure and Gangle (reluctantly) agreed to be Jax's date and Jax basically shuts down because he did NOT expect Gangle to look that good in a dress, like DAMN

Caine: HELLO EVERYONE!! I HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL PLANNED FOR TONIGHT!

Jax: you're gonna learn to speak in your inside voice?

Caine: SILLY JAX! THIS IS MY INSIDE VOICE! NOW! WERE GONNA HAVE A PROM NIGHT!

Zooble: what are we school girls? Ragatha and Gangle be playing bingo like they're in a retirement home.

Ragatha: we play cause its fun not cause were old.

Gangle: bingo-

Caine: COME ON IT WILL BE FUN! YOU CAN DRESS UP IN DRESSES AND COSTUMES! ITS TONIGHT AT 8!

Jax: is it mandatory to show up?

Caine: YES! ITS ALSO MANDATORY TO HAVE A PARTNER!

*everyone finds a partner except Gangle and Jax*

Gangle: *slowly backs away*

Jax: *pulls her close* Gangle! My best friend!

Gangle: *raises an eyebrow*

Jax: best- frienemy? Whatever. You coming to prom with me.

Gangle: that sounded more like a statement than a question.

Jax: UGH YOURE SO PRETENTIOUS! FINE! oh my dear Gangle, light of my life, would you make me the HUGE honor of going to Caines stupid prom with me? *ironic*

Gangle: you forgot to drop on your knees and beg

Jax: YES OR NO

Gangle: *sighs* I would've gone with you anyway. There's no one left, big brain. But thanks for humiliating yourself I guess.

Jax: whatever. Have fun finding something to put on that body of yours. We'll see who's gonna be humiliated. *walks away laughing*

*Gangle walks with the others to look for something to wear*

Gangle: I'm not forgiving you guys for leaving me to be his date for prom.

Zooble: a risk I'm willing to take as long as I'm Jax-free.

Ragatha: yeah sorry Gangle. My Hate for Jax is bigger than my love for you.

Gangle: that's understandable. *picks up a nice black dress and puts it on* huh- this doesn't look too bad does it?

Ragatha: no it actually looks really good! Here- *hands her some accesories* ooo

Zooble: Gangle trust me.you don't need to get this dressed. Jax will probably just show up in his pajamas.

Gangle: pfft. Like If i was dressing for him anyway- *admires herself in the mirror*

Zooble: I think ill just slap a tie on and call it a day.

-time skip-

Jax: *knocks at Gangles door* you abstracted yet?

Gangle: I wish. *opens the door and looks at him* wow you actually put on some decent clothing-

Jax: ah this? I just stole it from those 2 npcs having a wedding now the groom is naked.

Gangle: there was a whole box of costumes downstairs. *steps out of her room into the light*

Jax: *stares at her, a blush creeping on his face*

Gangle: what? Does it look wierd?..

Jax: no- no it looks- *cleans his throat* it looks good- *hands her a red rose*

Gangle: *smiles softly and puts it on top of her head* how do I look?

Jax: beauti- I mean you look okay- *comes closer and wipes the running mascara off her face*

Gangle: I shouldn't have put make up on with my tragedy mask.

Jax: what happened to your comedy mask?

Gangle: Caine keeps forgetting to fix it-

Caine: DID SOMEONE MENTION MY NAME? MY MY! YOU BOTH LOOK STUNNING- oh wow Gangle I don't think that dress is prom appropriate

Gangle: huh? *looks down*

Jax: SHUT UP CAINE SHUT UP I WILL FORCE FEED YOU DENTAL FLOSS SHUT UP.

Caine: alright then-

Gangle: *walks with him to the prom* wow you must really like this dress-

Jax: *blushes embarrassed* yeah well- I also just really DISlike Caine.

Bubble: does this mean you're my date for the prom Caine?

Caine: ... *pops bubble*

.

(Also heres a drawing of her in the prom dress)

Yes I used this as am excuse to draw Gangle in yet another dress.

[sonicjustbecause]

Shadow generation. Impression (from the videos).

Only about the story.

Actually I didn't play the game, I just watched the cutscenes. Maybe I will buy the game someday.

First - the non spoiler thing:

Shadow's story has few aim: being fun and having a compelling character to control. Nothing complicated. So, although nothing special, it is pleasant, simple and relaxing. Also for once Shadow is not tied on certain Sonic rules that don't allow for more than few actions. Is a character that can open several scenarios. Speed and agility might be the mandatory characteristics but he can potentially do many things Sonic can't.

Shadow himself is better than what he used to be the last decade. Is not perfect (but I'm a fan of Maekawa's Shadow as I stated more than once in previous posts), but finally is relatable again. Seeing emphasis on the Doom Powers in the preview, I excepted him being a super edgelord, even worse than the one in IDW comics and without flaws, instead we see him being vulnerable, suffering the side effects of not taking care of his well being and a interesting side about his personality that can teach one thing or two to Sonic.

The spoiler (characters):

Maria, how much we waited to know her.

We hear about her since 2001, we saw pictures of her over and over but we never knew who she was. She was this gostly, mysterious figure in Sonic adventure 2 (I was wondering: "How comes this innocent looking good girl wish for total destruction? Something is not right!"). For long people assumed she was pretty much a strong person, but we never knew for sure.

She is a young teenager. The way she thinks shows that she's not exactly a child. But she's still extremely spontaneous because she has no real life friends around telling her she must act like an adult. So she still jump when excited and has lots of childish characteristics normally at her age and maturity she would have outgrow.

Her only two friends on ARK are one literal child, and an alien/hedgehog with no social skills. They would not pressure her into acting proper because they know nothing.

Idealized? Maybe. But we are seeing the story through Shadow's eyes. That's the point.

Also, finally she doesn't look anymore like a vintage italian doll. First time I saw her I wondered who was the one who though at that, uh, not so great design.

Gerard

Hints from Sonic Adventure 2 suggested that Gerard and Shadow are very similar. But Gerard has on his side the wisdom that comes from age. Also, unlike Shadow, his way longer life experience has been varied, with both good and bad moments, shaping a more mature and less emotional personality.

We never knew what was the relationship between Shadow and Gerard. For now we learned the bads, Gerard getting mad and turning Shadow into a weapon, condemning him to a miserable life.

But, both the Maria and Gerard we see in SxS gen are from before the raid, so we see the fatherly side of Gerard. Surely when he created Shadow, he didn't consider him a living being. But then he learned to love him. He's rightfully his son after all, even if an artificial being.

I'm glad Gerard and Maria aren't Black Doom illusions who serve him but they're the real ones, and they truly help Shadow though this adventure. Clearly they understand what is going on, and even that in the future they will not be on Shadow's side. So they decided to help him as much as they can to make him taking the right decision.

Shadow

Now, I think I have a lot to say about Shadow, he is both the protagonist and the main character.

He showed us sides of his personality that were either hidden and/or forgotten for a long time. Knowing his story he gave me the impression he was just forced to grow against his will.

Maekawa's Shadow used to be balanced, surely stubborn/laser focused, very quiet but also mischievous, good hearted and capable to take care of his well being. But after Sonic 06 his personality was changed into a cold, selfish mean edgelord without remeding qualities, that was on the good side just because of his whims. That was what made him into a joke among fans and a hero only among (few) kids aged 15 and below.

But now we seems we are starting from the basis. Peraphs Shadow will one day be similar to what he used to be. His personality will not change overnight, that would be jarring, it will be gradual. I hope he will act more rationally and balanced from now and in the future.

The side effect of his lack of self care.

They started from his superhuman laser focus and his stubborness, traits that were especially underlined after Sonic 06:

What if this slowly takes a tool on his mind? From dark beginnings, we see that Shadow is at his limits. His focus start to fade, he gets distracted easily by both his own tiredness and outside distractions. Dangerously on breaking point since he can get on the verge of panic attacks. And he is very harsh toward himself. Not just 'focus' but also 'what are you doing? Stop daydreaming'. Seems the hard hearted father toward his son. The only reason he doesn't get slapped for not being a good boy is because he can't slap himself.

Family.

Though he is nowadays known to be a loner... I wasn't and I am not so sure about this trait. Introverted for sure but I remember him always surrounded by friends (still in smaller groups than Sonic) in Maekawa's stories. Rouge and Omega in Heroes and 06, Knuckles, Amy and Blaze in Black Knight. In Adventure 2 he was alone, but he was a good team worker.

He feels more like lonely. In SxS Gen he was so happy to have found his family again and so hopeful to have a second chance that he seemed quite in good mood with everybody. Rouge, Gerard and Maria were very kind toward him, but they also did want him being real, to prepare him to the outcome. A real family (Maria and Gerard) and a real friend (Rouge).

Now, that's might be my interpretation, but Shadow seemed to wanting to show his progresses to his family, maybe to hear their approvations. And he searched their advices, listening carefully, being a good boy for people that are way kinder toward him than himself.

And now the thing Sonic needs to learn from Shadow (perhaps also Shadow from himself). Shadow is capable to be open and sincere toward his family more than how Sonic is toward those that consider his family (Tails). Maybe Shadow is afraid to open up toward Rouge because of this, SxS Gen, Sonic Adventures, Heroes, 06 and Sonic Battle showed that contrary to popular beliefs, Shadow is quite bad at hiding his emotions. He might not cry but is behaviour pattern changes noticeably. And he doesn't seems that annoyed when Rouge lend him her voice when he is unable to speak.

Normal and upset.

Mmmh is OK, I was just a bit tired, you know, running around...

Shadow is surprising again.

Well when you see a face like this:

What do you think the outcome would be?

The first surprise was discovering he was way more chill than what his face suggest. It is always a welcome feeling when a character surprises you in one or more ways. I'm always on the edge when I see Shadow approaching somebody or being approached in the game. And then, he just acts normally.

Though this is logical and excepted, no, this is not Shadow.

Compassion was the thing that saved him originally. And then this trait was removed. Now he is compassionate again.

David Humphrey on what he was told about Shadow when he worked to SA2. You can see the interview with him and Scott Dreier on YT.

It should be underlined that Shadow doesn't know yet who the girl is.

Better to avoid to compare with IDW or Sonic Team Racing, when he doesn't save Rouge and Tails and when he even steal popcorn from a chao.

Doom Powers

They are helpful in game, but what I focus on is how Shadow is always in pain, maybe even afraid everytime he gets a new power. The 'NO!' plead was in Italian too. Another thing is the colour distortion when he gets seemily possessed by Black Doom.

In another videogame I used to play (Saints Row 3 and 4) the same colour distortion was there when the character was high.

So I associate that efect with altered consciousness.

Shadow's body language and expressions...

I did noticed he was very expressive in the trailer. But so he was the whole game. He communicates/emotes through both his face and his body. With the player and with the NPCs around. If his personality keeps improving and he will be back to the Shadow we all loved, and maybe they will keep that friendly attitude toward the player, baybe making a Shadow games not every year, but occasinally when they have a good story, he will be super fun to play.

[blarefordaglare]

Fan Joy July day 9

This one’s by @theegh0st

Link: https://www.tumblr.com/theegh0st/754145854541250560/shenanigans?source=share

OH MY GOODNESS those two would most def play cards together! I also love how you emphasize Wind slapping down his card, it’s a beautiful detail that really adds character! Overall the way that the characters poses are fluid is really pleasing to see, and gives personality! I hope you enjoy this fic! 

Also this game reminds me of the game “War” I would play when I was younger (split deck in half, whoever gets all cards wins, there’s more rules on google or smth) so that’s what they’re playing! Also they both cheat, except wind has mischievous cheating legend is more of a card counter type cheating, but obviously you can’t count cards in this game but statistics wise- 

___

“Please Legend!” The youthful, whiney tone of the sailor echoed softly against the damp leaves and the dark, grand, trees, “It’s more fun when you play! I promise I’ll go easy on you!” Wind tugged on the seasoned hero’s calloused hand, yet his feet remained put on the muddy ground. 

Legend inhaled sharply, trying desperately to keep his patience, which was quickly evaporating into the atmosphere, “That’s what I’m worried about,” he fidgeted with the hem of his tunic, the thread coming out and a light rip slowly growing into a hole-he would have to sew that later, “your ‘easy’ is just a glorified cheating.” 

Wind continued to pull, not letting go easily, “Fine! One game-please! It will be fair I promise!” He was borderline desperate at this point, anything to tame the storm of boredom within his mind, “Please! You can’t cheat at war! I promise I won’t switch the cards-you can shuffle!” 

At that point Legend wanted to run, he wanted to yank his arm away and sprint away from that boy as fast as possible, but he was already too far deep, and he could show off his shuffling skills, “…Fine. Ace is high, and no looking at your own cards either. We shuffle after one of us finishes our deck.” 

“Sounds good!” 

Legend split the deck evenly, making sure to include two aces on each side-sure that wasn’t mandatory, but it made things easier for him to keep track of the sailor. He knew he would cheat, after all he did cheat many times before (Legend would never admit it, but he does miss his full wallet.). After successfully splitting the remaining 48 cards, along with shuffling the two decks, the game was ready to commence.

The first round started off smoothly, as the adventurer expected. However, as the game continued, he couldn’t help but notice the grin on Wind’s smile becoming wider and wider, and his pile growing closer and closer to a full deck. 

It was only until Legend and Wind both drew aces at the same time. Currently, Legend knew he had three aces in his deck from previous winnings. He also knew that the three were on the top, so he would be guaranteed a win. It was cheating, he wasn’t supposed to look at his cards, but you can’t trust the adventurer when a game he doesn’t even enjoy gets too intense. Yet, as the two yelled ‘duel’ and slapped down their cards, he was left with the sailor somehow having a second ace. There were only supposed to be four aces in the entire deck, but with Wind having another one, it added up to five.

“Sailor?” Legend’s voice was stern yet inquisitive as he spoke.

“Yes?” 

He tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t help but burst out in laughter, “You’re-“ he took a moment to collect himself, “You’re cheating.” 

Wind gasped in mock surprise, “Am not!” The wavering in his voice exposed the feigned innocence, “I promised I wouldn’t!” 

Legend took the two aces from the sailor, then exposing his own three, “The numbers don’t lie, Wind.” With a look of pure mischief, he grabbed a large handful of dirt from the ground, “And you know what happens to cheaters?” 

“No!” Wind shrieked, trying to scramble away as the dark earth was rubbed into his pale blonde hair, “Stop! No! Help! My hair is being murdered!” 

“Then maybe next time don’t cheat.” the adventurer got up, admiring his revenge, “Now excuse me, but I have a tunic to mend.” 

[everywishway]

Aguefort Adventuring Academy Headcanons

Specifically how I think the school runs/how the day and classes are structured, etc. Kinda had this rattling around my skull for a few weeks now and wanted to put it on paper (or online in this case)

The school runs on an A-B day schedule with Mondays and Thursdays being A-days and Tuesdays and Fridays being B-days.

Wednesdays have mandatory attendance but are used as a general "study" day where you can go to specific professors for help or outdoor practice/field days for students to work on technique in the courtyard or any available space

Originally the school was open 7 days a week because Arthur Aguefort didn't know the meaning of boundaries or breaks when it came to the pursuit of knowledge (or really at all) and it wore out the students and professors

Goldenhoard later fixed this because he didn't want to deal with brats kids every day and fixed it with Tectonya Karkivnya behind Aguefort's back and he didn't notice for like five years

The day is 7ish hours with five 70-minute classes a day and an hour lunch where students are free to leave the school grounds to grab nearby food

Your first two years at aguefort have mandatory math/science/common (english)/history/foreign language classes you'd have to take at a standard school (added by Tectonya)

But then you have like, five class spots to fill relating to your "Class" (like Bard, Fighter, Wizard, etc) plus electives if you have the schedule space.

The math/science/core classes are all practical education they would need for building houses or needing to check the velocity for stunts or the angle of an arrow, stuff you actually need in day-to-day life

Tectonya needs these students to be functional members of society, they can't all be Arthur clones of mass destruction

Starting your junior year tho, you can take advanced core classes as electives but most of your time will be magical/practical experience for adventuring and elective classes

All teachers are Aguefort Allumni and former adventurers. Math teacher needs to have experience with those arrows and Biology teacher is a druid who's been teaching anatomy for years and enjoys it so much

The one exception is Gilear, who is literally the only "normal" guy at the damn school and is regularly at the nurse for a revivify because he accidently got slammed into a locker in the hall by a freshman barbarian having a shitty day

[sepublic]

The Grapple Beam's in-universe chronology is interesting to me; It was first introduced in Super Metroid as the precursor to the Space Jump. Then we got Metroid Prime, which is modeled after Super, and has the Grapple Beam. Prime takes place before Super, hence Space Pirates having Metroids in their possession; And that's worth noting is that the Grapple Beam isn't something Samus first finds on Tallon IV. No, it's something she already has when she begins the game, and then regains while exploring the planet.

Meaning before Prime, she must've gotten the Grapple Beam; But the only game before that is Zero Mission, where it's completely absent. And that raises an interesting question, a story possibility regarding the circumstances in which Samus acquired the Grapple Beam before responding to the Frigate Orpheon's distress call. In a Metroid show, this would have to be explored/acknowledged.

In particular, I have to consider how Samus gains abilities within this hypothetical Metroid pitch; My idea is to avoid the 'Samus loses all her abilities and has to regain them' bit as much as I can. It makes sense from a gameplay perspective, but from a storytelling one, we can afford to play fast and loose here.

With Fusion, it makes perfect sense to retain the loss of her abilities; The story itself, the tone, is centered around Samus being set back to square one, being outpaced by the SA-X which still has her abilities, all that stuff. So for the Fusion arc it's mandatory, and makes sense with Samus having chunks of her Power Suit containing those upgrades removed, before they're mutated into the aforementioned SA-X.

Samus Returns won't have this; It's not relevant, it's not needed, it's never even addressed or explained. She's just at square one from the start. Other M, for its infamy, DID at least try to address the repetition with the 'authorization' bit, which was its way of approaching that gameplay trope from a different angle; A horrible angle, but I think that Doylist consideration is definitely necessary. Not that it justifies certain scenes revolving around the authorization issue, but alas...

Prime is an interesting case, since it marks the first moment in the timeline where Samus loses her abilities, and it's a hilariously mundane moment too; She hits a wall because of an explosion and it just resets her entire Power Suit. For a show, that won't happen... Losing her abilities, at least.

I do want to pay homage to that trope by trying to mix things up a bit, esp since we're approaching this from a storytelling and not a gameplay perspective now. So instead of losing her abilities, Samus' suit retains every feature but has difficulty trying to select the correct upgrade. So for example, Samus might try to use the Ice Beam, only to hit something with the Grapple Beam instead; Similarly, she might go for a Morph Ball bomb, only to use a Power Bomb instead.

There's opportunity for humor, and it's like Samus losing her abilities, but still different; This is resolved when on Tallon IV, Samus finds some leftover Chozo tech she uses to repair her Power Suit's nervous system, meaning when she means to use X upgrade, she uses X upgrade. But there's a good chance I'll just leave this bit out, or save it for another arc.

Likewise, I'm taking into account the abilities' chronology here; With Fusion being the exception, the first time Samus encounters an ability within the games' chronology is the first time she encounters it within the show. So Samus gets the Speed Booster during the Zero Mission arc, even if it technically debuted in Super Metroid. She doesn't get another Speed Booster until Fusion, where she defeats Serris-X and absorbs its Core-X. Samus doesn't get the X-ray visor in Zero Mission, because its first chronological appearance is in Prime.

I think there's storytelling potential to seeing Samus discover and use each upgrade; It could be a way to mix up her adventures within an arc by seeing how Samus adjusts to and makes use of this ability in creative ways. So when she gets her first upgrade, the Morph Ball, we see how Samus exploits it a lot. Individual upgrades for Samus act like story beats, and introduce new action sequences with them; Individual episodes can partially revolve around Samus acquiring a certain upgrade.

Of course, this means that when Samus starts off in the first season of the show, all she has is the power beam and that's it. That is... until we remember the Prime games, as well as Mercury Steam's own addition.

Things like the Scan Visor and Melee Counter are always with Samus, no matter what; They're as integral to her as the power beam, and are never shown being acquired. And a Metroid show, I feel, should smooth the differences between the 2D and Prime games, and make both worlds and their aesthetics and mechanics feel fully-integrated from the start.

So consider, the Mimicuria from the manga; It attacks Chairman Keaton prior to Samus' Zero Mission, but she defeats it anyway. Keep in mind she's already a famous bounty hunter, despite not having access to any of her upgrades... But at the same time, Samus is still a skilled warrior, she wears a durable Power Suit with Energy Tanks to protect her; Her arm cannon has infinite ammo, and as mentioned before, she has the Scan Visor.

The Mimicuria is a dangerous bioweapon, but Samus uses her Scan Visor to lay out its anatomy to the audience; The Scan Visor has storytelling potential to highlight the monster of the week, kind of like how in Pokemon or other shows, there's cutaways providing lore on certain tidbits. When Samus scans a creature, things stop to show a diagram as the suit explains to Samus/the audience everything to know.

It singles in on the Mimicuria's weak points, guiding Samus on attacking them. So in addition to her skills and the base Power Suit still being pretty advanced by Federation standards, the Scan Visor is a powerful asset as well; The suit has an extensive database, and they say knowing is half the battle. It helps Samus immediately dissect enemies and figure out solutions, and analyze the environment around her in order to use it.

Pyonchi might raise suspicions towards the disguised Mimicuria, but Samus' Scan Visor could be used to confirm Pyonchi's bad vibes; It being Chozo tech might make it a lot more efficient than most scanners within the setting. Again, this adds to the important distinction that Samus isn't just a badass because of her tools, but because she's smart and knowledgable and creative, making good use of everything; Someone else in her place would easily blunder.

When the Mimicuria lunges, Samus' shots not only injure it, but divert its attacking limbs, the force halting jabs in place. And here we see the physicality to Samus, emphasized by Mercury Steam; She's able to wrangle the monster, and on its last legs, it gets frustrated and reckless, leaving itself wide open as Samus baits it, grounding her feet. It lunges, making a clicking noise identical to the melee counter cues in the Mercury Steam games; Otherwise, such a sound effect is going to be absent for the rest of the show's enemies, because it makes little sense from an in-universe perspective.

Samus melee counters the Mimicuria, which just like in the games, leads to a cinematic, and creates an opening for Samus to shoot the Mimicuria in a vulnerable spot, finishing the creature off. But per her professionalism, she still keeps shooting at it, charring its body to a crisp, just to be safe; It's a bioweapon, it was engineered to carry out a mission. Who knows just how much damage this thing could be programmed to survive? The Federation does not want a horror movie moment where the villain gets up anyway after 'dying'.

As I discuss the Mimicuria scene, a part of me wonders if I should just include the Grapple Beam as part of Samus' arsenal from the very start, to compliment her physicality; The Grapple Beam is one of my favorite upgrades, at least from a fight scene perspective; It has a lot of potential for versatility in how it lets Samus interact with the environment in a more hands-on way, incorporating melee combat and the like to bring things to her, or herself to things, grapple (haha) enemies' limbs and the like, etc.

I think it could make sense, since at the beginning, Samus doesn't have much in terms of technology, so her emphasis would be on her physical combat skills, which the Grapple Beam would compliment. It's much more effective in the show, being able to grapple any object, whereas this is nerfed for obviously gameplay purposes within the games themselves.

I should also address Dread; I definitely want to show off all three phases of the Dread suit in the show, but that can only happen if Samus loses her Varia upgrade. Now it's possible I could just do things differently, have her start off with the standard blue Dread suit... But that does go at odds with the Fusion suit ending with the orange Varia coloration, which then transitions to the orange Dread Varia suit. The explanation could be that the musculature that grows over is blue, before becoming orange...

But there's also the 'Physical Amnesia' thing that Raven Beak makes up. For the Zero Mission arc, Samus knows about her various Chozo upgrades before returning to Zebes; The idea is that in their warrior days, the Chozo had a rite of passage where upgrades would be hidden throughout a natural environment, for a young warrior to find and complete their arsenal with; The challenge is in finding these upgrades, while surviving all the hazards of this environment. Like the game designers, the Chozo in charge of this ritual might intend for certain upgrades to only be accessible once another upgrade is acquired; They liked puzzles, even as violent conquerors.

This is what was planned for Samus when she returned from her time with the Federation, but then Mother Brain ruined those plans; But Samus knew what to expect beforehand, she had what was essentially her To-Do list, and was especially banking on the Missiles and Ice Beam to help against the Metroids when she returned. Samus returning to Zebes was her finally getting to complete that coming-of-age she was made to put off for so long.

ZDR is a Chozo planet, and the Mawkin would've still been practicing rituals like this because they were still warriors. So given Dread's plot of Raven Beak attempting to mold Samus into his heir and apprentice, and awaken her Metroid DNA... I can see him removing her upgrades within the show, in order to force Samus to redo that trial all over again, for symbolic and practical purposes; Because she did her Thoha trial, now it's time for Samus to do her Mawkin trial and embrace that aspect of her heritage too.

The Dread arc is about Samus coming to terms with the Chozo's violent past, seeing a different side of them than before; So it makes sense it would also reflect, in a darker way, the scavenger hunt she did in Zero Mission. And while I can't remember if it was explicitly stated, I think there is an implication that the EMMIs' abilities weren't programmed by Exelion; They had Chozo abilities because Raven Beak transferred Samus' upgrades to them, which is why she gets them back after defeating an EMMI.

In other words, it's like how Samus loses her abilities to the Ing, and then has to regain each one individually from a corresponding thief that has made use of it. The difference being that in the Echoes arc, the Ing don't remove Samus' abilities, they just copy them, because I want to avoid doing the lost upgrades bit as much as I can. But as I've said, with Dread there could be thematic relevance to Samus' original rite of passage, and with the EMMI adding to that justification, it might be that Samus loses and recovers her abilities only twice in the show. Although, Fusion and Dread are back-to-back, which means so are these losses; Dread's incident might come across as repetitive regardless.

[kraro-school-life]

✦ Studyblr Introduction ✦

Hello! If you´re reading this, welcome to my blog! I am pretty new to Tumblr, but I´ve always admired the Studyblrs here, so I thought of making one too. I am really excited to start this, so let´s go!

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About me ✮⋆˙

My (nick)name is Karo (♦️)

pronouns: she/any

I am Polish, but now live in Germany

17 y/o, leo

English is my 3rd language (so it´s possible that I make some mistakes, forgive me pls)

My favourite colour is red!!

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Education ✮⋆˙

Gymnasium

As I´m still in high school I still have all my chosen (mandatory) subjects, but the ones I chose to have advanced are: Math, Physics, Economics and Art

My current average grade is 9,75 (out of 10)

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Hobbies ✮⋆˙

Figure Skating!

I do figure skating and passed the 8. Kürklasse (German system). Currently trying to improve and train for the 7th.

Art!

I love everything related to art. I have to keep a sketchbook for school, but I really enjoy working very long on paintings.

Adventure & Mountains!

Skiing, hiking, climbing, mountain biking, camping, cycling, you name it...

The internet!

memes, youtube, Pinterest, etc. Also kpop; I love kpop in general, but Stray Kids in particular (they´re my ult). I´m a huge STAY, but other groups i like are: Xikers, Nmixx, xdHeroes and Zb1

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My Studyblr ✮⋆˙

Why did I make a Studyblr?

Motivation! Tracking and actually posting my progress makes me even more motivated to study. Because pretty pictures make everything better!!

Discipline! Honestly, I spend waaaay too much time on my phone. With this blog I hope to make a routine for myself and minimize my screen time, as I´m going to be posting here instead scrolling (hopefully).

Give back to the community! Studyblr helped me discover countless useful tips and tricks, as well as cool blogs that motivate me! I want to share my experiences in my own little corner of the internet for people to find.

Goals:

find a way to study sustainably, without burning out every other week

get my goal grades on exams and reports

figure out what I want to do in the future (mainly deciding on what I want to study in university)

genuinely enjoy my life as a teenager, and not “sit locked in my basement all day” - as my friend put it after seeing my grades lol

What to expect:

This blog is both a journal and archive for my academic journey, a diary of sorts. There will be everything and anything related to school (mostly tracking my progress), but also just my life. All photos are mine, except said otherwise.

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Navigation ✮⋆˙

original posts ➜ #karoriginal text ➜ #karorambles updates on stuff ➜ #karoupdates reblog ➜ #karoreblog day to day posts ➜ #karodiaries

Studyblrs I really like ✮⋆˙

@plantingatree | @shoosiopao | @miprimordialsoup | @why-the-heck-not | @ink-stained-clouds | @isasarchives | @proto-skyentist | @cyberstudious

[mayordea]

the miitopia crossover drawing post 😣

i think i promised this a few weeks ago but i didnt post it after i finished my supplementary images cuz i got mega sad and unconfident. but i might as well do it now before i completely forget.

anyway here's my beloved stinky miitopia party, i've been building up a crossover story in miitopia since i first played the game many years ago, and as my interests have evolved, so has my cast for every replay. (i have genuinely lost count of how many times i have replayed this game)

i'm cringe but free etc etc.... sayaka/lissa/alfred aka aph america have been here the longest (my legacy blorbos, if you will) and are always on my endgame team, so they have immunity. everyone else has been loosely swapped around until it's settled into the form it's in now (and it still might change when i get obsessed with miitopia again). the town/story npcs are not as important or consistent across playthroughs, they're easily swapped around with random characters i find in mii central. the only exception is the great sage, whom i've drawn here. i also think waluigi is my new main dark lord, since he was my first thief before therion entered the picture. never actually drawn him though

cirno is my main protagonist because she is my ultimate legacy blorbo. in my loose story adapting this adventure i like to think she gets the elf class as a mandatory story beat like an fe lord during the arc where the whole gang is getting back together in karkaton. (elf design here is kinda bad, i swear i had a design doodled of it in my sketchbooks but i couldn't find it so i had to improvise)

i had three other "travelers hub" characters in the mage/imp/princess class but i never got around to drawing them because to be honest my miitopia resurgence kinda faded by then........ maybe another day all these designs are either loosely based off of existing outfits in the game or ones i straight up pulled outta my ass lmao

lastly, the main piece that i wrote and drew all that for. it was to give context for the fuckin. blorbo cacophony of casting featured on this poster

grrrr this is a humbling experience but again i did say i was going to do it and i need to stop lying

[hiding-in-the-vault]

Do you have anymore fic reccs?

One of these days, I wanna do a more thorough and detailed fic rec list. but for now, here's just some of the main active/completed stuff on my bookmark list since I recently cleaned it out, in no particular order. (with some exceptions)

Some of these are pretty well known, but hopefully people find something new they'd enjoy ;u;

Also Plleeeaaase Mind The Tags! Some of these can get pretty brutal.

a second chance from beyond the grave

-modern au kinda

Penance of an Unforgivable God

-Post-prison dnf and dteam :(

Never

-immortal prison stuff. I havnt read all of it, but lotsa angst

Strays

-oof !

Scarecrow series

-5/5 fantasy adventure! i own a hard copy dfkghdf

Ouroboros

-*confused gesturing* prison is weird, Sam has issues

The Yawning Grave

-mostly prison stuff, plus some funky backstory shenanigans. I'm not caught up, but I'm liking it so far.

arctic anarchist commune au

-r i v a l s

Stuff by A-Ghoul

-mandatory addition. They had other fics :< where'd they go. (pls come back from the war pspspsp)

Basically anything by jr_filiux

-i havnt read the tree one yet but it haunts me daily somehow

Also basically anything by katsidhe

-prison trio go brrr

[chaosintheavenue]

Finally made it.

First thoughts and some scenery below the cut!

First up, Trin and Vector (Sibling A) tried The Most Sensational Game.

In summary... we didn't get far thanks to absolute swarms of near-immortal Overgrown, and things didn't end well. The whole 'you'll get shot if you fail' gimmick is not a joke lol.

Second try: Tax Evasion.

Sibling A loaded in before me and immediately exclaimed 'This place looks like Watoga's brother!'. And holy smokes, he's right. Meet Watoga, but green.

I didn't get as many scenic shots as I'd have liked here, but I'll absolutely be going back.

Mandatory shot inside the Neapolitan.

The rug has ace symbols! The rug has trinity-esque symbols!

As for the expedition, we did manage to succeed with this one... eventually! We both ended up slowly chipping down Buttercup's health for about 15 minutes with drills after Vector ran out of every kind of ammo in existence, and the famous plasma cutter even made a reappearance towards the end. All in all, it's pretty fun, and a cool new environment, but I'd recommend large teams where possible.

Trin Moments:

She felt so freaking bad for Billy being thrown in deep over his head and then held responsible for the resulting mess, when all he wanted to do, in his own words, was math

She's barely had a chance to gamble yet (and what little experience she did get involved activating machines at random as she ran past them in combat), but she has been significantly luckier than Vector so far

The Batsuuri twins had a mild go at her over her constant indecision, which she won't appreciate (but probably needed to hear)

The Overgrown definitely need to be added to the 'especially scared of' tier of her creature chart! Damn, those things are tough. She went from spotting them in the distance and making the inevitable weedling jokes with Vector, to legitimately fleeing for her life much faster than I anticipated

Bonus point: Vector has been absolutely plagued by some of the wildest glitches I've ever seen during this adventure, not limited to: having the asset sacks stick to her hands so she couldn't throw them into the trucks (the throw animation worked fine, except the bag just... didn't leave her hand in the process), dying whilst on fire and thereafter being visibly flaming on Sibling A's screen- but not mine- for the entirety of Tax Evasion and even after returning to Appalachia, and managing to hit Buttercup at the perfect time and angle to cause him to levitate and clip through the ceiling.

[queenretcon]

What would you say are the best stories featuring Booster?

I struggled with this for way too long (and forgot about it for a minute oops sorry) bc I am horrible at answering ‘what’s the best ___’ questions. I genuinely have been asking ‘does it have to be the best or can it just be my favorite’ since I was like nine.

In light of that, I just decided to list the comics that make my brain melt, that have the characterization and plot elements I yell about the most, or are just really solid stories I think everyone should read:

- Booster Gold volume 1 #2 (better than the growing pains of the first issue, and sets up a lot of the themes around performance and failure that have stayed Important)

- BG v1 #6-7 (first origin story and first Superman crossover!!! Lots of important stuff set-up here)

- BG v1 #25 (part of Millennium which isn’t good thought I enjoy boosters arc. But mostly it’s the wrap up of his first solo! Also: ted yells at booster to get his shit together and come home to the JLI for the first time and I scream every time that happens)

- Justice League #4 (the moment where booster clicked as a character for me)

- Justice League #8 (the first blue & gold story!)

- Secret Origins #35 (the perfect booster origin with the frame story of booster telling ted about his past. My two appearance blorbo Snake Eyes is from here.)

- JLI annual #2 (first of the heroes-for-hire blue & gold stories and also includes the best ending of any JLI issue. Chef’s kiss.)

- Justice League International #25 (my favorite jli issue for yeeeears. Others have overtaken it as faves but still so good)

- Conglomerate arc, especially JLA #37 & Justice League Quarterly #1 (the best booster arc I’ll accept no slander implying otherwise. the (in)famous Club JLI story is the set-up for this arc)

- JLA #51 (return to blue & gold hijinx after the conglomerate arc)

- JL Quarterly #10 (sequel to boosters origin that is so important. Should be mandatory reading even if it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Quarterly has various good booster stories, but 1 & 10 are the most important reads imo)

- JLA #70 (I’m not huge on boosters characterization from the jurgens jla run, but this issue is good)

- all of Dan Vado’s JLA but especially the Judgment Day crossover that ends it

- Extreme Justice #6 (sequel to BG vol 1. booster gets back what dirk davis took from him. Hell yeah.)

- I’m uncomfortable calling the magically fixed disability arc “the best” but I stand by Robert Washington being an unsung great of booster characterization, and the way he set up booster for future stories at the end of EJ was so exciting, even if it all got wiped away by:

- Superman #124 (does this immediately get rid of my darling Armor X costume? Yea. Is it still good enough to warrant its place on this list? Also yea.)

- Adventures in the DCU #8 (just cute blue & gold hijinx during a period where we didn’t get a lot of those!)

- Okay so listen. I know there are good stories in the v2 era. But I think they’re the exception, and because of that, I don’t reread that era as often as I should and don’t want to recommend stories based on ‘I remember liking this one I think?’ alongside comics like Secret Origins #35 or JL #4 which I’ve read so often I could redraw panels from memory.

- BG v2 #39 (this one’s good though & I reread it recently. I actually like most of the giffen & dematties run that led up to this (rani’s from this run!!!!) but smack in the middle of stories I really like is the fucking femdom space pirate vore plot so we’ll just go with recommending this one issue which doesn’t have all that)

- Justice League Unlimited #43 (giffen makes me want to throw things at him often, but when he’s good, he’s the best. Just a really solid blue & gold issue setting them up in the JLU universe in a way that combines boosters jlu deal with their comic selves really well.)

- Booster Gold/The Flintstones (best modern booster story.)

- Booster Shot from Actions Comics (okay I just reread this bc I’ve been meaning to & I wanted to be able to recommend something else modern other than the fucking flinstones crossover and while it has its flaws, I think it was a good set up for booster in the contemporary era that has yet to be built on successfully)

[fanficfish]

James ranch au headcanons

Main Post

like with the other headcanon posts for my human au some of these also kind of apply to my interpretation of canon. Also oh boy James this is gonna be fun-

He's the youngest in his family. Except he got middle child treatment when it was apparent he didn't have the talents or interests of his siblings. He actually wanted to go to beauty school, but ended up working for [redacted] before coming to the North Western Ranch.

He has anxiety, party from trying to live up to all of his siblings and get noticed by his parents and from trying to keep up with the other ranch hands even though he's much less experienced.

like a lot of the others, he's kinda just accepted his new home and family are the NWR. Which isn't a bad thing, he actually likes that he's noticed now and takes a lot of the teasing he gets in stride (everyone's a critic after all, not eveyrone can live up to his amazing hairstyles).

his love language is touch- he'll squeeze into the couch somehow even if everyone's taken all the space, he'll throw an arm over the nearest shoulder, he's definitely the one running and trying to jump into someone's arms when he sees them. With great dignity of course. (Gordon gets used to bracing himself when he sees an overly excited James coming directly at him)

His best friends are Thomas and Gordon. He and Thomas relate to needing to be seen and Gordon gets his frustrations at being the sibling that got tossed to the side but stil expected to not be a disgrace. Everyone always talks about Gordon, Henry, and James, but in reality whenever Henry is off sulking or something it's Thomas that takes his place. The three get into quite a bit of adventure, usually some elaborate plan to get Toby back in their ongoing prank war (Toby is currently winning.)

Edward is basically his mentor. He might tease and rib him for being old, but he's actually really impressed by the guy. He baked the man cookies (albeit a bit burnt) when Edward had his accident after struggling with a visitor tour wagon through a bad storm.

His original jacket was a full thing with sleeves and everything in bright red and yellow lining, but after several visitors thought he was a firefighter, he had the sleeves removed to make a nice vest. He kept the yello though, since it kind of matches the color on the others' blue jackets. In the winter he just layers up so he can still wear the vest.

He has shelves filled with various cosmetic products. He doesn't get to keep too much of his paycheck, but since his board and food comes with the job, he usually spends whatever he has left on little things for himself or for his favorite stallion. Percy, the ranch's head stablehand, claims he spoils that horse but James declares that a handsome ranch hand has to have an equally handsome ride.

adding on to that- he might be a ranch hand, but he still likes hairstyling and cosmetology. He often helps the others if they want to try something new with their hairstyle or need a quick haircut. When Daisy comes to the ranch, the two of them have quite the time.

he's also the guy who set up a barbarshop in an old shed once and had Duck come crashing through on a rogue tractor. Henry was less then amused, and Duck is still a little mad that James tried to shave him (he actually just flung a little shaving cream at Duck)

and one memorable time he got stung by bees on his nose after accidently dropping their hive.

oh and he loves being a tour guide, it's much more fun then dragging wagons and carts around with milk and hay and whatever all day long. He likes the attention, it fuels his ego when someone compliments him.

though he's oblivious to romantic advances and the others have a running tally of "how many times will someone flirt with James and he'll miss it by a mile". It's somewhere in the high 70s now.

and then of course, the mandatory piccrews

this one ^ is personally the most accurate in terms of how he's suposed to look. No idea where the sweat came from though.

My own artistic interpretation attempt

[smeargledshades]

Wouldn’t “starter week” be in the summer? Who sends a 10yo in shorts on an adventure through the wilderness in late fall/early winter?

YOU WOULD THINK THAT, WOULDN'T YOU.

In my neck of the woods we do things a little differently, and I can see why-- the idea is, you get your Pokemon about 6 months before you go out on your journey. You get some time to bond and train your 'mon and decide whether being a battle trainer is right for you, so you don't have a kiddo coming home in two weeks wailing about how their beloved Patrat got KOed by that mean kid who already has an Emboar.

This would be a good idea, except that we still have, y'know, mandatory education for any kid who isn't on their journey. 😐 So what you get is a bunch of half-trained Pokemon running around with their trainers at school while they sort out their nonsense.

You'd think I'd have gotten used to it after five years, but you'd also think that they'd do Starter Week in April or May, lol.

It's fine. This is fine. Most wonderful time of the year.

[olivereactsaboutgarbage]

One Piece Chapters 238-246

ATE WHO??? Dewey

My condolences to DuckTales fans.

Chapter 238 - Heaven’s Gate

HEAVEN’S DOOR!!!

Nico Robin reveals that the reason the combatants lost wasn’t because they were weak, but because they were high. High in the sky, not high in the drugs. For clarity.

The knight guy asks for some bizarro currency in exchange for being the crew’s bodyguard. Hmm... more than one kind of currency... just like in Fallout: New Vegas... and if I know ANYTHING about Fallout: New Vegas, this knight is a SCAMMER! Okay, I’ve solved the plot. We can move on to the next mystery now.

The knight reveals that the Gravity Modifier is actually not the intended dev route, but a risky speedrun strat that can be used to bypass the mandatory party member death scenes. Neat!

Also the knight gives them one of the plushies from Hades. Except they’re not going to die, so they’re only going to be able to use it once. Because those plushies only refresh upon death. Get it? Get it? Get it?

and then usopp falls to his death because the properties of the devil fruit were the only thing keeping lufpy afloat

...Nah that’s not what happens but that’d be funny though

Wow, that is hilariously tacky in a way that’s impossible to convey through text summary. Very good.

An elderly fairy appears. Lufpy thinks that’s an angel. I suppose contextually that’s logical.

So anyway the fairy reveals her life philosophy: Breaking laws is completely allowed, it’s just that enforcing them is also allowed. So if people feel like breaking laws they can just do it.

Lufpy thinks this is a good idea and begins to break laws.

Chapter 239 - Angel Beach

This chapter title ALSO sounds like a Stand name.

Sanji says that happiness is lame and then does a cartwheel. Nami gets attacked by a bird and is now shirtless.

Uh Nico Robin you just described the blandest most generically accurate definition of the word “adventure” possible. What’s YOUR idea of adventure? Small self-contained puzzles? Anyone who defines “adventure” like that shouldn’t be allowed to be a college professor.

I guess Oda gave up on trying to make speech bubbles not near characters be subtly contextually assignable.

There’s all kinds of wacky and weird stuff in the sky, like a harp playing pet owner named Coins.

WHY IS EVERYONE CHANGING THE DEFINITION OF WORDS???

Coins’ dad is named Papaya.

Chapter 240 - Dial Power

As a Chainsaw Man fan, I would obviously love to do that. With my phone. Ha cha cha!

Lufpy sucks at using jetskis. Sanji shares saving-Lufpy-from-drowning duty with Zoro. Meanwhile, Tony Tony Chopper attempts suicide, I guess, but only Usopp cares.

Nami is good at using jetskis. I can’t wait for Nami to come in clutch during the jetski arc.

Lufpy hates Nami for her jetski behavior. Noooo... the best characters are fighting... I wonder if this is how people with bad taste felt during Luffy vs. Zoro. Which is still not the name that chapter should have had.

I thought better of you, Usopp.

So the crew meets an Echo Flower from Undertale. But button-operated. So I guess it’s more of a normal device. So never mind. There are also ones that can record things other than sound. I can’t wait for someone to inevitably record violence with one of these for combat purposes.

Sanji is eating rotten nasty food again.

Nami goes to the Forbidden Forest because no one told her that was bad. It turns out Coins and Papaya are morons!

Chapter 241 - Heaven’s Judgment

Lufpy has no respect for other people’s cultures.

The Forbidden Forest is full of people who love to hunt humans. That’s nice! Nami isn’t sure if helping the human prey is a good idea. It doesn’t end up mattering because there’s a huge laser beam.

Lufpy sees very far-away cops.

Chapter 242 - Class-2 Criminals

holy shit what a line of dialog

Anyway, cops are trying to make the crew pay almost as much money as there are chapters of One Piece, but they don’t really want to. Nami tells them not to resist authority, and starts assaulting cops.

Lufpy assaults cops too. Usopp says “it was all thanks to me”.

Chapter 243 - Trial

lmao

I can’t wait for Lufpy to recruit a carpenter and render Usopp useless

Anyway, Nami, Nico Robin, Tony Tony Chopper, and Zoro get kidnapped, presumably by cops. Stupid cops forgot to check for Lufpy, Usopp, and Sanji!

Well, all’s well that ends well. I should skip to the ending of this arc to make sure it ends well.

Oh wait, it turns out I don’t need to do that: The cops actually DO intend on causing Lufpy, Usopp and Sanji to suffer. Phew! Wait, that’s bad. Phew! It would have been bad if that were good.

Chapter 244 - SOS

Lufpy, Usopp, and Sanji are evil tourists now.

...What’s Wei Stuff? I truly don’t know...

Wow! Lufpy REALLY doesn’t respect other people’s cultures! COOL!!! <3

Coins turns out to be one of those white women whose special move is calling the police. Now it’s time for a laser beam to kill her! Except Lufpy uses the Hades plushie instead. Now she’s irrelevant instead of dead! Phew!

THE KNIGHT WAS A GOD???

Well, I guess that explains why he had access to Hades plushies.

Chapter 245 - Adventure on Kami's Island 

The Forbidden Forest is trying really hard to kill someone. Poor forest’s a failure! :(

Lufpy and his two friends reach a video game level select.

Meanwhile, Zoro is trying to kill a fish. Also, Zoro thinks starving to death is pretty great. No wonder Zoro and Sanji don’t get along.

Zoro makes a Tarzan reference. Hmm, this is technically a new joke from Zoro, but... if anything, I think his power level just got lower... strange...

Chapter 246 - Satori, Vassal of the Forest of no Return 

Lufpy, Usopp, and Sanji decide they like balls. Usopp’s face gets torn apart piece by piece. Everything turns out fine though, other than the fact that snakes are attacking and everyone is explosion.

An evil ball announces his presence. The evil ball is like a cool martial arts guy or something.

Oh hey, I finished Volume 26. Phew! Now I don’t have to worry about the volume number being 26 anymore! Check back in tomorrow, where I’ll be reading the entirety of Volume 27.