#gotta get these outta my head

[2-eeillustration]

Studied some sword stances today just to see this idea in motion ⚔️💦

[prettymediocrewizard]

[mxwhore]

todays progress: finally! a safehouse comic

[newbiespud]

I'm sure it's been said before but I'll say it myself because why not

The game In Stars and Time makes for a revealing contrast to the movie Groundhog Day in how they treat their final time loop and how that reflects on the main character. (Even though, if I remember right, the dev largely wasn't aware of Groundhog Day when they came up with ISAT.)

Spoilers for both after the break, I guess.

In Groundhog Day, Phil starts out narcissistic and self-centered, has the realization that he can live life without consequences, gets depressed after having tried and done everything that he's got everyone and everything memorized so that nothing can delight and surprise him anymore, and finally escapes when he performs a loop that proves that a better, happier world is within his grasp to make, not something owed to him, and that he is happy with the life he has today, not always pining for his ambitions for the future.

In... In Stars and Time, Siffrin starts out deflecting and aloof, has the realization that they can do this perfectly - 'this' being not only the impossible challenge of defeating the King but navigating their relationships with their party - gets depressed after hitting wall after wall and repeatedly fumbling into faux pas after faux pas with their party, and finally escapes when they perform a loop where their true feelings come out, no matter how ugly, and they're honest about their own desires and wishes rather than trying to keep up an ideal façade.

Plenty of people have pointed out that In Stars and Time subverts the 'escaping on the perfect loop' time-loop trope that Groundhog Day largely codifies. Not only does the 'perfect' loop completely fail, Siffrin escapes on arguably the 'worst' loop, the one where they rightfully worry that they've hurt and alienated their loves ones forever and cannot escape those consequences anymore.

But I don't think this contrast is as direct as it seems, even though one could say that Phil got away scot-free compared to Siffrin and that In Stars and Time is the superior story for portraying a harsher outcome. (I do think that exploration and advancement of tropes is just inevitable and even healthy over time, and Groundhog Day came out in 1993 so of course it and the tropes it spawned deserve modern critique, but I digress.) I actually think that it reflects how both stories and the mechanics of their time loops are built around their main characters. (There's also something to be said about how genre shapes narrative since GD is an existential comedy and ISAT is an action-adventure focusing on interpersonal drama, but that's another digression.)

ISAT makes an impact on the whole time loop genre with its clever subversion, but like all the best subversive stories, it's couched in strong characters that embody its themes.

And to take a broader perspective, the best time loop stories are allegories for the real-life situation of making the same mistakes over and over again caused by your own deep-seated personality flaws, and being forced to finally confront your inner demons and overcome them and become a better, healthier person. (Relatable, much?)

Phil is a man who's never happy with his lot in life, so he needs to learn to find the eternal richness and beauty of what he has within his grasp, and that a better, happier life is something he can make for himself. Thus, he escapes on the 'best' loop.

Siffrin is a person who refuses to share their true feelings and problems with others to the point of self-destruction (and complete reinvention in one aspect), so they need to learn that no matter how ugly and twisted they think they are, being open and honest doesn't mean their loved ones will care about them any less, even when Siffrin is seen at their lowest point possible. Thus, they escape on the 'worst' loop.

It's not just clever subversion, it's holistic circular story structure!

...Though maybe I'm just drawn to these stories because I, too, would like some extra time to Figure Some Shit Out and have that time come with some superpowers along the way, even if it nearly destroys me in the process.

[columboscreens]

[skywalkr-nberrie]

I love how with literally any Anidala anti whom ships Anakin or Padmé with other characters tend to reek of jealousy and insecurity. We Anidalas don’t have to belittle any character to know that our pair is the best. We love, enjoy, and celebrate them for all that they are, without dragging another character into it and belittling them to somehow show that our pair is better. Only time we ever bring up another character is when an ANTI does and starts a fight, but what would they expect in a situation like that? However, on the flip side? We’ll find that “those shippers” always say things like “but who would go for a whiny angsty teenager like Anakin when OW was right there???” or “Anakin choked Padmé, he didn’t truly love her. And Anakin obviously cherished OW more than her.” Lol.

You won’t find a lot of posts of theirs that doesn’t in some way mention how “awful” Anakin is for Padmé because they prefer him with another character or ship Padmé with another as well. Like sure, you’re entitled to your wrong opinion, but why feel the need to reiterate yourself at any given moment?? If Anakin is sooo awful like you claim, and you also claim to know that XYZ character would be better for Anakin/Padmé then why not waltz along and focus on your preferred pairings rather then constantly bring up Anakin and Padmé? The fact that you can’t even focus on your own ship entirely and instead use that energy to always hate on another pairing which is canon seems interesting to me. It sounds to me like you’re not actually confident in what you claim, and you’re just trying to convince yourselves of it (and possibly others, too) because, deep down, you know you’re actually wrong 🤷🏾‍♀️

[salsasolutions]

I drew more Xiv

[stormbreaker-290]

In other news:

[creampuffiemina]

2 of my favourite horror games combined (kinitopet + shipwrecked 64)

[foolishfoolsgold]

Some misc. bacteria notes

Just wanted to get these down, I’m too lazy to draw them but I’ve been getting ideas nonetheless

PATHOGENS

-Both pathogens and probiotics are sapient (humanlike in intelligence, unless there’s a better word for it bc the spec evo community squabbles about this lmao). And unlike canon, they wear clothes too, they just don’t have uniforms like the cells do.

-BIG big inspiration from various arthropods, can range from a couple features to “that’s just a praying mantis in a tee shirt”

-Bloodborne bacteria have wings (kinda like how cancer cell sprouted wings when he became malignant)

-Pathogens have either colors that are far apart on the color wheel, or a combination of bright colors and jet black. Think warning colors on poisonous animals

PROBIOTICS

-Sapient like the pathogens, except they work with the cells as employees and/or just hang out not really doing anything. A lot of them wear work uniforms, but since they get more time off than cells (that is, any at all) they’re more likely to experiment with different clothing styles. Individuality is also a big thing among sapient bacteria bc they’re literally their own organisms and they like to rub it in the cells’ faces lol

-Speaking of individuality, both them and the pathogens have actual names! They’re usually colors, made-up words (cough cough fantasynamagenerators), or just words that they hear the cells say they think sound cool. Ex. Azure, Cobalt, Ritchakora, Diacada, Viscera, whatever else. Sometimes they use unrelated nicknames almost exclusively as well. Like ‘yeah that’s Pizza Hut Jimmy’ and it’ll have some insane lore behind it

-Where pathogens are usually based on athropods, these guys take from fish/sea creatures (since most of them live in the alimentary canal, and if they do, gills and tails are a must). This time the inspiration is generally more subtle than “straight up anthro fish”

-Colors are usually less striking than pathogens and stick to the same area on the color wheel.

OPPORTUNISTICS

-These guys are the oddballs. They aren’t sapient, and are the closest thing to animals that the world has. They are insanely diverse and break a lot of the previously laid out guidelines about color and design roots.

-They’re opportunistic because sapient bacteria can train them

-Not much on these guys. Tho I do have an idea for a cassowary-inspired one that would be commonly trained by pathos, or little beakless pterosaur guys who flit around in the digestive factories like finches in a Lowe’s

-But they don’t just take from birds and the like I’m just a big bird nerd. They can be literally anything, and the real world inspo is trivial/not even there more often than not

[vasira96]

this guy i’ve had a crush on for ages recommended i check out the new dnd movie and said that his favorite character reminded him of me so i’m gonna be riding that high for a while

[wwooyology]

no one understands the thoughts going through my head rn 😞💔 mafia ateez, mob boss ateez x assassin reader, arranged marriage between mafia families, psychiatric yunho x patience reader, the list goes on PLEASE GIVE ME THE STRENGTH AND WILLPOWER TO WRITE THESE BC I WANT TO SO BAD 😩😩

[brbgensokyo]

fucking 42.5k words deep into this project and the end is in sight

[thatfunkylittlejesterdude]

Really shitty sketch of an image I saw. Had to put it on paper

Ignore how scuffed it is and how fucked the proportions are lmao

(Og image under the cut)

Saw it and knew it had to be done.

[rottenlittlefink]

I’m permashifting soon but it’s so hard trying to keep the peace in this house until I do. Oh shit lmao it’s 4:44 as I type this <3

[unhingedcanadianbacon]

I’m gay for a raccoon and the raccoon is just as gay as me send help

Okay…

So, I understand “hopping on the gravy train” is kind of cliche, but I promise I have a good reason for it!

…I guess I should start ‘Rambling on about it’ then!

(I’m so sorry, none of these puns were intentional, but they were too good to miss)

—So, Indigo Park;

what even I would’ve expected was another quick cash-grab game in the mascot-horror genre, turned out to be a game that managed to make me start binge-watching livestreams and video-essays about the game, it’s characters and its development on the whole,

Just like every other millennial and gen-z’er out there.

I know it’s absolutely normal for people to become invested in something so quick…

But it’s been a long time since I’ve felt so attached —so spoken to,

especially when I haven’t really been part of those big ‘band-wagon’ trends at all,

at least with the exception of forcing myself to watch shows with my friends —which again, I don’t do much of that either.

From what I understand, there are technically multiple small factors that have led me to become attached to this game.

But frankly, there all of really part of the one major reason why there’s just, that, ‘something’ —a “spark” if you will—that makes me click with a game for the first time in so many years that it physically hurts.

He’s the star of the show, the elephant in the room:

Rambley;

A cute, furry-raccoon —who likes trains!

Now, as anyone who knows anything about me will tell you, these two factors are inherently weaknesses in my mental psyche.

Why, you may ask? It’s simple!

Firstly, —I too— like trains.

Also, I come from Toronto, Canada — a city famously (or to some infamously) known for its love-hate relationship with its unofficial mascot: the trash pandas! They’re an animal which I got to know well over 13 years, 10 months and ~15 1/2 hours of being a Torontonian.

—Which leads me to the second-half of the other reasons I resonate so god-damn hard with the game, and Rambley in particular:

Isolation

It felt quite funny that the number of days that poor-old AI racoony’ spent alone in the abandoned park was almost exactly double that of the days I’ve been a ‘Quasi-Canadian’ living in the United States, with not much interaction with my family back “home”. I had a single trip back for the first time in multiple years.

—It brang back a lot of memories which so happened to be similar to the ideas mentioned during Rambley’s post-chase exposition.

That little break in his character just made my heart literally melt and shatter and implode all at the same time;

“A little heart-to-heart” as they say, but just.. the way he breaks and talks like a true person, things he isn’t sure about, didn’t know, shouldn’t have done, is painfully, gushingly personal somehow!

It’s also extra cool when he gets excited about restoring the park, as being a former (small) volunteer and hearing about railway preservation stories, you start to realize and appreciate just how much having that other person helping you means when fighting in these “David and Goliath”-esque battles to keep old or unloved things going when everything is telling you it’s impossible.

(Side note, the extra lines where Rambley showcases his sentience and lets you into the staff-only area after realizing Mollie is chasing you made me love him just that much more, and is also what makes me feel the game is just that extra bit special.)

Long story short (TL;DR):

The honesty, personality, and just general likeness of the characters hits very close to home for me,

if for no other reason than that I happen to have (in concept at least) similar experiences in terms of feeling (though thankfully not literally being) isolated from friends.

Cheers, Critters!

—A.