#i haven't written in a while and Felt The Horrors rising and writing that ^ made me feel worlds better <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[quirkle2]

what if i threw my th at u guys what then

[thatoldstandby]

Games of the Year 2024 because why not

So, this is unusual for this place, but uh.

I spent a lot of time on video games this year, and I feel like I have to write something to make up for it because otherwise. Eesh. Plus I want to write a thing more often this year, and this will be the first/second, depending on when I finish it up. Below the cut, I'll start with some games I'd still like to play or play more of; honorable mentions because I played a lot of things I loved and they don't fit in the top, and a top 5, because who has time for 10 games (please ignore the above numbers).

THINGS YET TO BE FINISHED

Here's a list of games I haven't touched, haven't completed, or haven't done enough of a Think to figure out where it stands. I'd love to get to any of these, and probably will. Unless I forget.

Nine Sols, Lorelai and the Laser Eyes, Arco, Cryptmaster, Metaphor ReFantazio, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Unicorn Overlord, Indika, Slitterhead, Fate/Stay Remaster, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Metal Slug Tactics, Caves of Qud, Arctic Eggs, Sorry We're Closed, probably some other stuff I'm forgetting.

HONORABLE MENTIONS in no particular order

Trails in the Sky FC and SC: This was the year I started my Trails journey. Luckily, it kicks off pretty nicely. Trails in the Sky FC is a fun, fairly generic JRPG with an entirely too lovable cast. Estelle is real and my friend. And then the last hour happens, and my interest is piqued immediately. And then SC is great, telling a compelling story with the cast of goobers you now care for and expanding the world expertly. And then the last hour happens again, and I'm super excited to keep delving into the world of Liberl. What an excellent throwback that fully explains why it's existed for twenty years.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth: Ichiban is real and my friend. I've been playing the Yakuza games since Yakuza 0 was first released, and then I needed a depression/mindless work game series to plow through while working my way through law school, and let me tell you. There's nothing more perfect than a series where there's always something new and the city barely changes between instances. The Ichiban games are similarly excellent, and wonderful JRPGs in their own right, but this one took the cake by also acting as a conclusion (for now) to Kiryu's story that completely nailed everything it needed to. I think it got a little out there in the final hours, but I was still along for the ride to the end. What a game. Dondoko Island is basically another game inside of it.

Balatro: Jimbo is real and my friend. It's Balatro. It's probably the single best designed game loop of anything released this year. It doesn't do a lot for me, personally, in that I like it and appreciate the artistry behind it, but I haven't lost my life to it at any point this year. Good game, highly suggested, not fully my cup of tea. That soundtrack is excellent though.

Conscript: So I played three Resident Evil (PSX) style survival horror games this year. I felt that one of them was pretty bad, and so won't talk about it here. But Conscript? Conscript hit just right. Set in the trenches of Verdun during WWI, it's an excellent survival horror game that eschews the stereotypical supernatural elements attached to the genre in a way that makes it work. It's got just enough of a narrative pull to get you through the game as well. Absolutely worth looking at if you're a fan of classic survival horror.

Rise of the Golden Idol: The Case of the Golden Idol was one of the best written mystery games I've ever played; one I'd put right up there with Return of the Obra Dinn. The DLC was still good, but less than the main game; not only was it weirdly difficult, but something just felt... off? about it. Luckily, Rise was just as good as the original game, and an excellent second entry. If you haven't played the Golden Idol series but love mysteries, then by all means, you should play it. It's really good. I don't think I like Rise quite as much as Case, but that's mostly quibbling about hairsbreadth differences at this point.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail: I dunno, it's FFXIV. It's kind of a lodestone in my life at this point. And while Dawntrail was certainly not the best expac of the game, that's less to do with the quality of Dawntrail itself (which is mostly fine, with some shockingly clunky pacing issues, some off-sounding writing, and some poor VA direction for some of the scenes) and more to do with the one-two punch that is Shadowbringers and Endwalker. There's still a bunch to love about this game, and Tuliyolal and the surrounding environs are just so cool to me for a lot of reasons. Plus my static is cool and I love hanging out with them twice a week.

Threshold: I just played this last week? And I'm still thinking about it? What a weird, weird little thing.

BEST GAME OF SIGNALIS (2022)

Signalis (2022)

A highly prestigious award that Signalis has won every year since release. Excellent work Signalis. Keep up the good work.

TOP FIVE GAMES OF 2024 (AS OF ROUGHLY RIGHT NOW

5. Crow Country

The other Resident Evil (PSX) style survival horror I played this year! It's excellent, a tightly designed and paced adventure set in a creepy environment with a unique art style. The game controls really interestingly as well; adding a fun modern layer onto such an obvious retro love letter. It might have ranked higher on my list; but some of the puzzles (notably the mushroom puzzle) were actively bad and I haven't forgiven it.

4. Tactical Breach Wizards

I've been a fan of the Defenestration Trilogy since I first played the original Gunpoint back in 2013. Then, it was a neat, well written comedy stealth action game. I even liked the follow-up Heat Signature, though that had less writing and more of a focus on the gameplay loop, which was OK, but not mindblowing. So when the developer Tom Francis announced he was working on the third of the unrelated trilogy, and that it was called Tactical Breach Wizards, I was instantly excited and willing to wait for as long as it took. And it took a while. But when it came out? It was excellent. It is a strong tactical combat game centered around pushing enemies around a map, ideally out of windows. On top of that, it might be one of the best written games of the year. It had the unenviable narrative task of balancing around a SWAT-esque team of characters without falling too far into copaganda or falling for tacticool problems. Luckily, it not only does that, but is genuinely one of the funniest games I've played in a while. Utterly strong comedy writing, which is something that you don't come across in games often. Also, fuck Steve, no one likes Steve.

3. UFO 50

Most games have trouble getting down one or two gameplay loops. So the guy behind Spelunky, one of the best action rogue-likes, was like, I'm going to make that problem fifty times harder by releasing fifty different games as one. And then the madman did it; and he didn't just do it, he did it well. The concept behind UFO 50 is that it's a collection of 50 games that was a lost developer's entire back catalog originally released in the 1980s. So, UFO 50 is literally just 50 NES style games for you to peruse and play. It is an amazingly impressive feat of both game design and historical understanding. By hour count, it's the game that I've spent the most time in by such a large margin it's astounding. I don't even love all the games; but I love enough that there's always something more. It's such an amazing little package.

2. 1000xRESIST

A latecomer to this list, 1000xRESIST is... a lot. At a basic level, it's a narrative exploration game where you explore a world, chat to people, and "enjoy" a story being told. And what a story. It's about so much. Isolation, resistance, memory, familial trauma (and the continuation thereof), expectations, being a teenager, the things you carry forward.... Fuck, there's a lot, and it hit me in a very particular place that was difficult to continue at parts, but that's a sign of quality in a story. It ends astoundingly, and I love it very much. If there's one negative thing I can say about it, it's that it's a pretty ugly game. I try not to focus on that too much; but my god the models. It's really a shame, because there's some striking art design at play, and the use of colors is among the best I've seen this year. But those models are bad. Hekki Allmother; red to blue.

Mouthwashing

Fuckin'. Mouthwashing. Another narrative game, but where 1000xRESIST is a narrative sword, full of heft and weight, Mouthwashing is a scalpel. It is a tightly edited, highly focused that gets in to do what it wants, cuts through you with the cold horror and understanding of what it's going for, and then gets out. I played it myself after watching one (1) TikTok; I streamed it for a friend like two weeks later; I watched numerous streamers playthrough it; and then I played through it again with another friend. What an astounding piece of media, with some of the best cinematography I've seen in an embarrassingly long time. Just. Astounding.

[ell-vellan]

2 and 7 from the writer asks!

Thank you for asking!

Fic Writer Asks

2. Is there a trope you've yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Hmm, probably?? I don't tend to go for the typical Ao3 tropes - coffee shop AU, soulmate AU, that kind of thing. I don't tend to read them either.

I think Found Family is one I adore reading but haven't specifically written? Like I've written some that have found families in canon (the Chargers, and the companion groups in DA) but they haven't been the focus. I do love any chance to write friend-banter, though!

And maybe one day I will come upon the perfect opportunity to use Only One Bed - but the specific circumstances have to be just right for me. I did use the "huddling together for warmth" which is sort of a cousin to Only One Bed in my sole Grishaverse fic A Nation of Two.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

This is an excerpt from The tide rises, the tide falls, my short character study of Iron Bull when he's forced to face his PTSD and fear of madness upon learning that Seheron was lost to Tevinter, due to the Inquisition's failed alliance with the Qun.

Most of this fic is prose, which is a departure for me, as I'm usually dialogue-heavy. But I'm really proud of the metaphors and imagery in this one. I was in a very existential and melancholy mood when I wrote it, while looking out at a stormy sea for a week and just feeling a lot of things.

I also really enjoy diving into Bull's relationship with the Qun.

TW for mild mentions of blood and language.

Seheron has fallen to Tevinter.

Bull punched the tree again, just for good measure. A fine spray of blood from his shredded knuckles decorated the snow in a thin arc.

Snow soaked up blood just like sand.

He averted his eyes.

Why the fuck should he care? Fuck that shithole island and everyone on it. Everyone who looked at his high attrition numbers and read his casualty reports and his strongly-worded warnings about failing supplies and morale, yet kept sending him new recruits barely out of training so that he could lead them out to die like cattle.

The grief inside was like a wild animal, tearing him to shreds from within. Desperate to escape but trapped there, forever.

All that blood he'd spilled in service to the Qun – his own, his enemy's. All those friends thrown into the gaping maw of the Qun's demands. Chewed up and spat out without a second thought. Used up, bodies broken, thrown away.

Again and again and again until a decade of his life was gone and now it was all for nothing.

The shit he'd seen. The horrors he'd faced day after day, going to bed with it stuck in his brain like splinters and waking up to do the same fucking shit all over again. The bits of his soul he'd felt grow poisoned and black and wither away.

Everything he'd willingly sacrificed. Body, soul. The men under his command. For a place that wasn't even his. It meant nothing.

Fucking pointless.

Every Qunari who had paid for that island with their blood, thinking their deaths were in service to furthering the Qun, believing that to be their one and only reason for being alive, that their glorious deaths served a grander purpose.

He had spat on the innumerable noble sacrifices of his people, betrayed them beyond the grave. For his own selfishness.

He could have given the order for the Chargers to hold position. They were his men, not the Inquisitor's. But he couldn't. He had deferred to the Inquisitor, who made the call he knew she would, and saved them when he couldn't bring himself to betray the Qun, even now.

The Chargers respected him, trusted him. And they would've gone to their deaths for him like all the others that had come before.

For the Qun, who never gave a fuck about any of them.

It was all a waste.

[the-fellow]

Jurassic Park:

The latest book I've knocked out is probably one you've heard of or seen. Jurrassic Park.

Overall, I give it a 7/10 maybe a 6.5 as I haven't done much else reading in the genre. Honestly, it was kind of a 180 slap in the face going from fantasy to scifi horror/thriller and it being so dumb smart.

What do I actually mean by that? Well, the man can write. And gets to in a way that I wish I could. Where he doesn't really write descriptive characters. He gives you the name. He gives you the age and maybe what they're wearing which sometimes are so simplistic, it makes me laugh.

"She was eight years old."

"He wore khaki shorts and a shirt."

Easy. Done. But then he goes on and on and scientific talk and speak that I assume is well researched because I'm taking it at base face value and I'm not going to go research it myself. And of course at this time the book is pretty outdated and even the movie probably has some of it's own issues. I've already noticed some differences between the two.

And honestly that wasn't something I was intending to do because in the other mediums if I'm reading the comic, I'm not going to watch the show. Whereas, if I'm reading the book, I'm probably not going to watch the show or movie. This was one of the first exceptions where I heard it was very different and very much darker especially when you get into it.

After Movie Rewatch:

This section is an in-depth comparison to the movie and may contain various spoilers for either the book or the movie itself somewhat drawing on differences and things I like exclusively done to one or the other.

The book shows a lot of different perspectives in the beginning to build up this world before they get into the park and the film seems to do the same thing only showing different parts of the same story which if you've read the book kind of adds to it to an extent. In the book you're only told that the attack happens and you're left with tons of mystery trying to solve what's going on by a whole bunch of people whereas in the film they just show you the attack. And I believe that's just a big rise and fall to get you prepared for what's to come as it all mellows back out for awhile.

The first obvious big thing is the mass info dumping and throwing it all at you at once whereas the book slowly tells you all this information while doing the World building telling you the political side of everything and the business side of everything whilst also providing scientific viewpoints, evidence, and explanations that are further extended upon much more than in the movie where it just goes really fast. For each medium, I think both handle it well. the movie is still a sizable length for its time and to include every little thing obviously is going to be a challenge.

Ultimately, you get the same result between the movie and the book. Sure different people live and die and how some of them live or die differs. But really what you're seeing is the influence of Hollywood in the movie, which even though was screen written with Crichton, the novel felt like it's stood for a lot more. the nature of humanity doing unnatural things and the way progress is viewed for corporate gain rather than for the benefit of mankind.

Missing Pieces: Again I understand the restraint for time but some cool instances if they would have made their way in, the brief showdown in the aviary, the T-Rex and the waterfall, and of course Alan fighting the raptors and tracking those left. Some of these moments do get call backs or even used in future films in certain ways which is kind of cool and I acknowledge that, but the old riding into the sunset film ending feels, off, in my opinion anyways.

Added Pieces: Some of these changes I assume were made for the benefit of Hollywood and partially so you would get a different experience if you had read the book. most dominantly they changed Alan's character, to wear him and Adler are in a relationship and apparently discussing a future with kids, but movie him doesn't care for that idea or seem to like them, but of course supposedly comes around on that their ride in the sunset. In the book, Adler is his former student, now work partner and even has a fiance. Alan loves kids and loves teaching them but loves even more when they can teach him even if he already knows it because he likes that kids want to learn, and of course in the movie, he's just annoyed by Tim's knowledge because he already has it. The kid change while different, feels better because I'd rather not have a young girl whining the whole time, (see Tom Cruise's War of the Worlds), so them swapping ages between Tim and Alexis and making her the computer 'nerd' instead felt like and okay choice for me.

This will be the final thing I say about the movie because I just want to point out that if the movie did anything different that was good, I felt like it was the raptors in the kitchen encounter. I mean it had those couple of iconic moments from the jello shaking to the camera angle with the reflection, and there being more than one to deal with. To me, the whole sequence was much better than how it was in the book.

For more points of view and other topics touched or re-examined you can find my video review here as well:

My Goodreads:

[silvercityyir]

11 and 31

From the TMNT ask game:

11. Which version of Raphael is your favorite?

I say between Raph!03 and Rise!Raph. I mean all iteration of Raphael are well-written.

31. What is one piece of TMNT canon that you dislike/ignore?

I'm not sure about that, hence the very late reply to you, anon, sorry. But I guess most of the canon parts were mostly from the 2012 iteration.

When I rewatch it, it's still fun with the slight horrors and minor censored gores and all. I even bare with all it's ups and downs but I guess I dislike how the writers sometimes wrote Raph's anger, he's quite terrifying in season 4, and his character development kinda goes a bit zigzag, which felt a bit OOC for me. and I don't really like how the writers write Mikey too, but this one the mikey stans adressed it better, I don't know how to word it properly in my way.(english is not my mothertounge)

Well, that's actually two points, but I did drop tmnt 2012 for a long while, so I haven't really watched it since the 03 iteration and 07 iteration are somewhat relatable to me, hence my current fav tmnt iteration.

I hope I don't offend you or anyone else with my answer

[shittyblogname]

Hello! I thought of a cute fanfic idea for Michael x reader. What if Michael and the reader work at Sister Location and they have to hide under the desk together? Thank you, keep up the good work! Have a good day/night :)

Thanks for the request :), I have 2 more Angst requests that I'm gonna write either tonight or when I slept (its 4am here lol) but Michael fluff is always wanted >:)

Warnings: tight space, bidybabs (those mfers haunt me in my Nightmares)

When I write these sorta long requests I listen to the ambience of the game we're talking about & it always gives me the creeps when I reread my own writing for mistakes 💀 (with the phone guy angst I listened to the classic Fazbear chime & legit felt like I'm being watched, dunno if any other horror writer has this xd)

I deadass replayed that Night just for accuracy here

I finished this at 5:15am so forgive me for wacky spelling or weird phrasing oof

The lights went off as Handunit informed both of you about the Situation, a slight panic rising in your chest. You turned to Michael, who seemed to have trouble finding his flashlight. "Oxygen?!" you whisper-shouted, furrowing your eyebrows. "Yeah, crazy innit? We're so deep down that they have to use artificial ways of getting enough into this place." he sounded so calm, as if he's had to do this before. You knew a little bit about him, at least what he was willing to tell you. For example that he mainly works for his father, and he was stuck in establishments similar to this one previously. The motion trigger went off, causing you to flinch slightly. Michael raised his eyebrow, turning around to shine the dim light to the vent both of you came from. "entry way? Nobody's supposed to be here at night." you crossed your arms, arching your brows. "oh really? Who would've thought?" the slight anger and fear in your voice was clear to him, although you were more mad at the system for being so wack. The voice spoke up again, this time telling you about the maintenance vents. Michael pinched his nosebridge in annoyance. "How is it possible that he can think of such technologies in Robots, but not make a stable system that the place runs on?" You chuckled quietly at his words, a image of who he was talking about coming up in your mind. His dad, William Afton. He talked about him before, but when you met him for the job application you instantly got goosebumps around him. Tall, lanky, that creepy smile. It all came together for the looks of a perfect serial killer in your opinion, and that comment made Michael laugh for a good bit when you shared those thoughts in the main office.

"seriously! I've never seen such a creepy dude before." you leaned back in your chair, taking a sip of water from the bottle that you brought with you. Michael was still laughing, the sound of which making your heart flutter. He wiped away a few tears that formed, sitting back up straight. "oh man, I haven't laughed like that in a while." he faced you, a gentle smile on his lips. "thanks."

Suddenly, another female started speaking, startling both of you. You faced Michael again, unsure of what to do. He looked like something wasn't the way he was told it's gonna be, however you quickly dismissed that thought. You opened your mouth to say something, but the horror took a hold of you. Why would you need to hide? You hesitated kneeling down to find the space, heartbeat picking up the pace. Michael however searched around the desk, pulling the heavy steel aside, revealing the hiding spot. "I don't like this Michael-" your voice was trembling, just like you. "come on, we don't have a choice." he turned his head to look at you, concern written all over his features. Slowly, you made your way into the tight space, making sure to not take up more than necessary. He took his place in next to you, almost sitting in front in a protective manner. Pulling the door shut, your ears began to ring. A deafening tone spreading through the small room, forcing you to grab Michael's arm in panic. 'Try not to make eye contact' it was, you feared whatever would be on the other side. He slid his hand down to your hand, grabbing it in a firm hold in an attempt to reassure you. You shared a look with eachother, his eyes soothing you like a warm shower despite the worry circling in them. You jumped when the sound of metal hitting the plate seperating you from the machine on the other side echoed through the office. You were shaking, hysterically checking every single hole in the door before finding a eye. Icecold shivers ran down your spine, causing you to snap your head into the other direction, hitting Michael's shoulder. He ran his thumb over the back of your hand, encouraging you to hide your face there. He did as instructed, avoiding eye contact. Your heartbeat throbbed in your ears as you felt the door sliding open, eyes wide with horror. You grabbed onto whatever you could, trying to rip it out of the steel hands from the Robot on the other side. Eventually, it let go again, whispering that they 'have to leave now', followed by silence. Michael shone his light through the openings, looking into the room to make sure this wasn't a trick before opening the cover. He slid out first, grabbing your hand to help you stand. There was a moment where he held you close to him, gently rubbing your back to comfort you. The female voice spoke up again, then Handunit. You shared another look with Michael, agreeing to stay where you were for a bit before you hid your face in his chest again.

[lowestechelonabomination]

Hello! If possible whats your wip called that your writing a chapter were akutagawa see's kunikida throw dazai it sounds really funny (if its posted yet in general, no pressure)

thanks for asking! it's a scene from an unposted chapter of this half-abandoned fic. the first 4 chapters are up, but they're old and not very good because I started writing the fic as a low effort joke while bored. the first two chapters were written almost entirely while I was half listening to online classes, so that should give you an idea of the quality. I've been planning on revising them for over a year now, but I just haven't had the time. so if the fic interests you, I suggest maybe checking back in a few months, when I (hopefully) finally finish chapter 5 and rewrite the first 4 chapters to be less *gestures vaguely*

anyway I dug through my very unedited draft to find that specific scene, so here it is. warning for some Akutagawa-typical self hatred, because my poor boy has a Whole Lot Of Issues. as usual, I tried to be funny but ended up accidentally being angsty instead :')

He was spared from his thoughts by a crash as Dazai was knocked face-first into the table. "TIME ISN'T LIKE YOUR BANDAGES, STOP WASTING IT!" He searched his mind for a name. Kunikida Doppo. That was who had dared attack Dazai. He stared in mute horror. He knew firsthand what it was like to suffer under Dazai, but it was four years since he was thrown aside and abandoned. What bloodbath would ensue now? Akutagawa could envision it perfectly, a wave of darkness rising in him and threatening to drown him. First he would deliver an incapacitating kick, then crush the fingers, then carve out lines of red in places no one would bother to look—

Dazai laughed. He blinked. Dazai...was laughing. He barely restrained himself from stumbling back. The blood drained out of every part of his body, and he felt an excruciating pressure start growing in his chest. He glanced around the room, at the detectives who looked exhausted and unconcerned with what was happening right next to them. The only times he had ever seen Dazai laugh was when he was about to deliver a punishment more cruel than any human being would be able to come up with. Was this the power of the Armed Detective Agency? Were they really so unbeatable so as to not show even a hint of fear in the face of the Demon Prodigy?

A strangled gasp escaped him and quickly turned into a cough that tore itself out of his lungs. "You okay over there?" the Agency doctor asked monotonously, suddenly looking at him. Her eyes almost seemed to pierce through him and see the useless mess he was, how his body malfunctioned and his very self was so intrinsically flawed that he could hardly be considered a person.

He snapped up, wiping his mouth and pointedly ignoring the aching itch in his chest. He wasn't weak, he didn't need help, he didn't need anyone or anything, ever. "I'm fine," he spat, and struggled to suppress the next cough.

"Okay," she said, and turned away, clearly not believing him. "Whatever you say." He wanted to scratch that look off her face and beat her until she could see that he wasn't sickly and frail and weak. He may be completely useless, but he would never accept weakness. And, in that moment, he wanted to destroy everything around him until they understood that.

He realized that Rashoumon was floating around him and forced it to stay down.

Then he realized that Dazai was flying through the air and was unable to hold down the next round of coughs.